We tasted ystrday (5/13/07) the New San Sakana Releases:
1. SanSakanaCllrs Viognier Catie'sCornerVnyd/RussianRvrVlly (14.4%;
http://www.SanSakana.com) 2006: Pale gold color; very perfumed/floral/peachy/ripe/
Viognier classic nose; soft rich/lush very ripe white peaches/floral/Viog
loads of ripe fruit flavor; very long/lingering white peachy/floral/pear/
perfumed soft finish; would like a bit more acidity; loads of very strong
Viognier fruit; classic DollyParton Viognier. $36.00
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2. SanSakanaCllrs Viognier BrokenLegVnyd/AndersonVlly (14.5%) 2006: Light gold
color; some minerally/earthy/stoney very floral/carnations/gardenias/pear/V
lovely spicy nose; tart very rich strong floral/gardenias/pear/very spicy
slight stoney/earthy flavor; very long/lingering very spicy/pear/gloral/V/
gardenias finish; rich/lush but good acidity and great balance; not your
usual rendition of Calif Viognier. $38.00
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3. SanSakanaCllrs Viognier BrokenLegVnyd/AndersonVlly (14.6%) 2005: Light gold
color; ripe candied/spicy/almost GWT-like/creamy some pear/V bit smokey/Pinot
Gris-like perfumed complex quite interesting nose; softer but still tart less
rich creamy/floral ripe pear flavor; very long creamy/pear/floral complex
finish; much less Viognier character bu a very lovely/interesting wine.
$gone/gone
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4. SanSakanaCllrs Syrah LasMadresVnyd/Carneros (14.4%) 2005: Black color;
beautiful smokey/pungent somewhat roasted/espresso/very cracked black pepper
very Rhonish strong blackberry/Syrah complex nose; tart very rich/extracted
very smokey/pungent/roasted/espresso/cracked black pepper some blackberry/
spicy/Syrah very Rhonish/complex flavors; very long/lingering intense cracked
black pepper/roasted/espresso some blackberry/Syrah pungent/smokey finish w/
fair tannins; needs several yrs but should go 10-15; very classic cold-climate
Syrah w/ loads of Rhonish character; one of the best '05 Syrahs I've yet had.
Very fairly priced at $45.00.
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5. SanSakanaCllrs Syrah WhiteHawkVnyd/SantaBarbaraCnty (14.8%) 2005: Black color;
very strong/intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah slight herbal/peppery/green
olive/new mown grass almost Oz-like nose; soft very rich/lush intense
blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah slight smokey/toasty/oak slight herbal/green olive
flavor; very long intense Syrah/blackberry/boysenberry/ripe slight herbal/
green olive finish w/ fair tannins; needs several yrs; classic SBC Syrah but
almost Oz-like in character. $52.00
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6. SanSakanaCllrs Mourvedre AltaMesaVnyd/SantaBarbaraCnty (14.4%) 2005: Black
color; very lush ripe/plummy/black cherry/boysenberry slight licorice some
smokey/earthy nose; soft/lush ripe black cherry/red plums/licorice slight
earthy/dusty flavor; very long plummy/black cherry/juicy ripe/lush finish w/
some tannins; very good example of Calif Mourvedre. $40.00
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. These were hlf btl samples sent to me directly by BettinaBriz. Prices are
taken from their WebSite.
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2. Viogniers: I liked both the '06 Viognier quite a lot. The Catie's is pretty
much an in-your-face classic Calif Viog, loads of varietal character;
rich/lush but the acidity to not seem fat/flabby. The BrokenLeg was easily
my favorite of the pair; very spicy/interesting, less classic Viog in character
and an earthiness that I get more often in WashState Viog, particularly
the Harlequin, one of my most favorite USA Viogniers.
The '05 BrokenLeg was a real puzzle. When I first had the two '05's early
last Summer, this wine was very similar to the '06 now. It seems to have
changed quite a bit in this last yr's time. Less Viog in character and not
quite as interesting as it was.
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3. BrokenLegVnyd: This is a vnyd I'd like to walk (climb??) sometime. Managed
by Steve Williams, it is out West in the AndersonVlly. He was, I think, the
first to plant Viognier and Syrah in that Valley. It supposedly is a steep
mountain-top vnyd w/ slopes approaching 60 degrees...Cote-Rotie terrain.
The grapes go to some pretty top-notch producers...Copain, VIE, Donkey&Goat,
SanSakana. It also produces Zinfandel. I've been pretty impressed w/ all
the wines I've had from this vnyd.
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4. Syrahs: The LasMadres was my no-brainer favorite of the two. They are quite
striking in their differences. The WhiteHawk is very similar to the Tensley and
Drew in their styles. Whereas the LasMadres is classic/cold-climate Syrah at
its best. When I first had the '04 LasMadres a yr ago, it seemed a bit clunky
and dumb, but the last btl I had about a month ago was dynamite, very much like
this '05 is now. I think the '05 is even better than the '04; both are pretty
stunning Calif Syrahs.
Both wines are huge & extracted. But I was very taken by the balance they
show and see no reason not to believe they are long agers, given their
acidities.
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5. LasMadresVnyd: Another stunning example of a Syrah from this vnyd. When I
first started tasting Carneros Syrah from Lee Hudson's vnyd, I was not
particularly impressed; good, but not classic cold-climate Syrah; a bit on
the clunky side I thought. But there are now some pretty stunning Syrahs from
Hudson and it must be considered one of the great Syrah vnyds of the world.
I think we can add LasMadres to that list now as well.
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6. Mourvedre: This is SanSakana's first venture into Mourvedre territory. And a
dandy addition to the portfolio it is. It reminded me a lot of the Mourvedre
that Dave Corey makes in its style.
TomHill