6. Boheme Zin CraigheadVnyd/Laguna de SantaRosa/RRV (14.5%; Plntd: 1874; Hrvstd: Oct.22; 4 brls; Aged: 20 mo. in Fr.oak brls) 2023:Very dark color; beautiful OV/Zin/dusty light pencilly/oak strong blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/very spicy bit peppery lovely spicy nose; fairly tart/tangy strong blackberry/peppery/Zin/quite spicy light pencilly/oak quite dusty/OV complex flavor w/ ample/brisk tannins; very long/linger structured very spicy Zin finish that tracks flavor; not as rich/lush as Carlisle/Bedrock but very structured & very spicy; reminds a lot of the old Ravenswood WoodRd-Beloni Zin under JoelPeterson; needs another 2-5 yrs at least; a beautiful OV Zin at a very good price. $37.50 (LA)
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7. Boheme Syrah Occidental Hills/SonomaCoast (14.1%; English Hill Vnyd; Hrvstd: Oct.25-26; 4 brls; 50% w-c; Aged: 22 mo. in Fr.oak brls) 2019:Very dark color; beautiful c-c/black pepper/Syrah very complex intense blackberry/boysenberry/spicy/Syrah classic c-c/peppery some toasty/Fr.oak bit Rhonish complex somewhat structured flavor w/ some ripe tannins; very long/lingering tart rather tannic finish that tracks flavor; beautiful structured classic c-c/Syrah/peppery wine; needs another 3-8 yrs yet; a bit Rhonish but resembles more a Val d'Aosta Syrah; as good a c-c/Syrah as it gets. $41.25 (LA)
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8. Boheme PinoNoir TaylorRidgeVnyd/WestSonomaCoast (13.3%; Swan Slctn Clone; Htvstd: Sept 11; Y=0.8 tons/acre; Aged: 20 mo, in 30% new Fr.Burgundy brls; www.BohemeWines.com)
Kurt Beitler/Occidental 2023:Med.dark color; strong black cherry/PN/cherry strong pencilly/Fr.oak complex lovely perfumed nose; fairly tart/tangy fairly cherry/PN/black cherry some pencilly/oak bit simpler lovely flavor w/ modest tannins; long/lingering finish that tracks flavor; a lovely four-square Sonoma Coast/c-c/PN at a good price. $48.75 (LA)
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9. Boheme PinotNoir StullerVnyd/West SonomaCoast (13.3%; Harvard: Oct.2-11; 0.97 tons/acre; Aged: 20 mo. in 50% new Fr/brls) 2023:Med.dark color; stronger more spicy black cherry/PN bit c-c/peppery/pungent more complex nose; bit tarter more structured more spicy strong black cherry/PN more complex really lovely flavor w/ modest tannins; very long/lingering finish that tracks flavor; a lovely c-c/PN cut from the same mold but more structured w/ slight Burgundian haracter. $48.75 (LA)
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More geezlegirt from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. The prices are the discounted prices for LosAlamos.
Boheme is the wnry located in SonomaCnty that specializes in cold-climate grown wines, mostly from the SonomaCoast. Owned/run by KurtBeitler of the Wagner/Caymus family. He was recruited to plant their PinotNoir vnyd out on TaylorLane. It is one of the few vnyds trained to the pergola system because they were worried about ripening in the c-c on TaylorLane far SonomaCoast climate. "Dorothy, we're not in Napa anymore"!!
I first met Kurt when he started making the Syrah from AlRago's QueSyrah vnyd out at the end of TaylorLane after EhrenJordan gave up on the vnyd. We used to buy a fair amount of Kurt's wines some yrs ago but they sorta fell off our radar. I think Kurt is more interested in making wine then he is in marketing them. He has a tasting room in downtowm Metropolitan Occidental.
The Craighead Zin is his 2'nd effort w/ those grapes. Several other winemakers make Zin from those grapes. The vnyd was planted in 1873, so is definitely OV Zin. It's one of the more interesting Zins I've come across of late. It's the only vnyd he does not farm himself.
The EnglishHill vnyd was planted by Kurt some yrs ago & contains both PinotNoir & Syrah. It's on a high hill overlooking the village of Sebastopol off in the distance. He has some very special Pinot in there that came directly from Burgundy. I forget the exact story. Kurt only made the QueSyrah Syrah for a few yrs and it is now owned/farmed by the Arnot-Roberts folks.
The TaylorRidge vnyd is just up the TaylorLane from QueSyrah & is owned by Vince Rago, Al's son. The StullerVnyd is a few miles to the North & West of the TaylorRidge vnyd. But definitely a c-c vnyd & rather isolated.
Anyway, these four wines Kurt sent us to try were quite impressive. Boheme is one of the unsung treasures of Sonoma Coast and worth making the journey up to Occidental to try/buy.
Tom