Saturday, April 26, 2003
Road Reports, Vol 2003, #2
April 25, 2003
(San Francisco, CA) As a dear friend likes to say, “any time, is wine time.” So last night I ventured along with a local Bay area sidekick to San Francisco’s London Wine Bar to join other members of the Rhone Rangers and Sidekicks for a North South Rhone Wine Shootout featuring the wines of Cline Cellars, Joseph Phelps, Philip Staley, Andrew Murray, Tablas Creek and Zaca Mesa.
While there wasn’t really a competition, what the event showed was just how good California Rhone style wines can be, if people let them age. All of the six wineries represented brought library wines, in addition to “new” wine. Some of the new wines were so new they didn’t even have names or labels.
Candidly, there wasn’t a bad, flawed or defect wine the entire night. Even more so, the wines showed so gloriously that as I walked around and tasted it became very apparent that if less and less French Rhone wine gets bought this year, as many experts are predicting coupled with the 2002 vintage being a total washout in the South of France region, that Rhonies will have very compelling alternatives.
Of all the wineries represented, the three most impressive lineups of reds came from Petaluma’s Philip Staley, Cline Cellars and Andrew Murray.
White Wine of the Night
2002 Zaca Mesa Rousanne---offering exceptional balance, delicate flavors, and a very elegant length, this single grape white delivered ripe banana, fresh apricot and chewy peach flavors. It was rich and dense for a Rhone white and delivered the goods with a very long, lingering finish.
Red Wine of the Night
This was a real tough choice as so many of the wines were just perfect. The nod has to go to a new $10-12 red that remains unnamed by Philip Staley. The wine, which contains all estate grown fruit from the Petaluma region of Sonoma County was in a word, amazing. I don’t think I’ve tasted a new wine like this since I tried the new wines from Sylvain Fadat of Domaine d’Aupilhac in the Languedoc. And, that should come as no surprise as both wines share the liberal use of old vines Carignane, despite being grown in two different parts of the world.
The new Staley wine that should be in stores by early summer reeks of terroir. A blend of 80 year young Carignane, Syrah and Mourvedre, it is so dense, with earthy, truffle, mushrooms initially engulfing the senses. As it opens it reveals super ripe raspberry, blueberry, truffle and cherry flavors. This is one wine I want to keep an eye out for.
Cline Cellars
1990 Contra Costa County Mourvedre Reserve—very soft for a 13 year old, old vines Mourvedre from grapes grown on soft, sandy soil. Lots of black pepper, meaty flavors and black plums.
1991 Contra Costa Mourvedre—tart blackberry, chalky with black pepper, black plums and a dry finish.
1992 Contra Costa Mourvedre—soft notes of blueberry, dense plums, violets and raspberry. This was the best of the trio and likely has the potential to live the longest. It was in perfect balance, with a finish that seemed to linger for almost thirty seconds. It made me think La Cabassaou from Domaine Tempier.
2000 Contra Costa Mourvedre—Lots of good forward fruit, with a flavor profile very similar to the 1992, only showing more plums and less raspberry or blueberry.
2001 Contra Costa Ancient Vines Mourvedre—Earthy, truffles, mushrooms all scents of terroir on the nose, while the wine offered up currants and coffee flavors.
2001 Contra Costa Small Berry Mourvedre—the most age worthy wine made of the smallest and most concentrated group of clusters, this wine is loaded with black jammy plums and blueberry fruit and is backed by soft gentle rolling tannin that gives the wine enough body to age for 15-20 years.
Philip Staley
2000 Viognier—made from estate grown Russian River Westside fruit the Staley Viognier offers apricot and banana fruit flavors with a light dry finish.
1994 Rue Rivage—more estate fruit, this time, Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, the Rue Rivage reminds me more of a Languedoc from Chateau LaRoque than a Cotes du Rhone. Soft and most evidently ready to drink; the wine has blackberry and tart cherry flavors.
1995 Syrah—this is Syrah alright. Of course it has blueberry and black pepper which are so typical, but the added in bottle development has given the red wine a cola, cocoa nose with a mint and cedar finish that accompanies the blueberry flavors. Very impressive.
Joseph Phelps “Le Mistral”
1996 Le Mistral—I recall when the LeMistral series of wines came out. The were either wimpy, unimaginative, Randall Graham Bonny Doon wanna be like wines or full throttle tour de force wines that smacked the palate around, so it is very interesting to see how a wine like this has evolved. For the better. Much better. The wine, while not in the league with many of the other wines tasted tonight, has become a glorious red, that is easy to drink and much different than its original release in style, elegance and flavors.
1994 Syrah—this very soft, ripe red plum and blueberry flavored wine had one of the best finishes of any pure Syrah, and was a good rival for the Staley in depth and structure.
2001 Le Mistral Barrel Sample—it seems the folks at Phelps have come around to the thinking that the wines they make are better made if the build them to age, not try and make a Rhone style wine that is meant to be a “drink” now upon release. Good flavors of black raspberry, cherry and blueberry fruit. The wine is sturdy and big, with hints of roasted meat and toasted bread.
Andrew Murray Vineyards
I’ll be the first to admit that Andrew Murray along with Qupe’s Bob Lindquist are likely making the most French like Rhone wines in Santa Barbara. And, like Lindquist, the wines from Andrew Murray need time. Lots of time. So, in a tasting of so many older wines that were being poured, one has to place the Murray wines in almost a different category, for his wines are almost monolithic when young.
1999 Andrew Murray Esperance—a typical Rhone blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre, but that’s where the typical stops for Murray. It’s soft, forward and easy to drink now, made in a true Cotes du Rhone style the raspberry, black plums, blackberry, blueberry, licorice and anise is a very enjoyable wine. This is ready to drink if you have any in your cellar.
1998 Andrew Murray Esperance—Like the 99 in blend, plus the addition of some Carignane, the wine is bigger, bolder, spicier and not surprisingly, fruitier with a much more elegant finish. The addition of Carignane brings in a light cranberry and strawberry flavor that seems to give the wine some delicate notes not found in the 99. In my mind I could drink either easily, but the 98 gets the nod, ever so slightly as the better of the two.
1998 Andrew Murray Roasted Slope Syrah—Young, big, earthy, with black plums, blueberry, cherries, currants and black olive flavors. This wine is so much like Cote-Rotie in flavor profile that it easily could be put into a blind tasting and be thought to be from Rostang or a Guigal of the mid 80’s in style. Bravo!
1998 Andrew Murray Hillside Reserve Syrah—is a really good stone fruit based wine, with dark plums, red raspberry and blueberry flavors. It has a super long finish and needs to age a good while.
Tablas Creek Vineyards
1999 Tablas Creek Blanc—a nice blend of Marsanne, Rolle, Viognier, Grenache Blanc and Rousanne, I last had this wine two years or so back at the famed Beaucastel/Tablas Creek dinner at Los Angeles’ Patina Restaurant. My, how the wine has evolved to become an almost look alike and taste alike to its ancestral Coudelet de Beaucastel Blanc. The lemon zest attack on the palate is then followed by flavors of peach, pear, limestone and tart lemons and ripened melons.
2002 Tablas Creek Cote du Tablas Blanc—this is a new release for the Paso Robles winery and has been designed to resemble the famed Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc. A blend of Viognier, Marsanne, Grenache Blanc and Rousanne, if tasted blind in a flight of Beaucastel whites, you would not easily detect that the wine was made in the USA, unless its youth gave it away. In a year where the Rhone was so hard hit, especially in Chateauneuf du Pape, lovers of that style of wine will have an eager and ready substitute.
Twenty something wines in 90 minutes. Not bad. Today over five hundred wines will be available, so we skipped the Tablas Creek and Zaca Mesa reds. They’ll be poured today…I can wait. I hope you can too.
Cheers,
Andy Abramson
April 25, 2003
(San Francisco, CA) As a dear friend likes to say, “any time, is wine time.” So last night I ventured along with a local Bay area sidekick to San Francisco’s London Wine Bar to join other members of the Rhone Rangers and Sidekicks for a North South Rhone Wine Shootout featuring the wines of Cline Cellars, Joseph Phelps, Philip Staley, Andrew Murray, Tablas Creek and Zaca Mesa.
While there wasn’t really a competition, what the event showed was just how good California Rhone style wines can be, if people let them age. All of the six wineries represented brought library wines, in addition to “new” wine. Some of the new wines were so new they didn’t even have names or labels.
Candidly, there wasn’t a bad, flawed or defect wine the entire night. Even more so, the wines showed so gloriously that as I walked around and tasted it became very apparent that if less and less French Rhone wine gets bought this year, as many experts are predicting coupled with the 2002 vintage being a total washout in the South of France region, that Rhonies will have very compelling alternatives.
Of all the wineries represented, the three most impressive lineups of reds came from Petaluma’s Philip Staley, Cline Cellars and Andrew Murray.
White Wine of the Night
2002 Zaca Mesa Rousanne---offering exceptional balance, delicate flavors, and a very elegant length, this single grape white delivered ripe banana, fresh apricot and chewy peach flavors. It was rich and dense for a Rhone white and delivered the goods with a very long, lingering finish.
Red Wine of the Night
This was a real tough choice as so many of the wines were just perfect. The nod has to go to a new $10-12 red that remains unnamed by Philip Staley. The wine, which contains all estate grown fruit from the Petaluma region of Sonoma County was in a word, amazing. I don’t think I’ve tasted a new wine like this since I tried the new wines from Sylvain Fadat of Domaine d’Aupilhac in the Languedoc. And, that should come as no surprise as both wines share the liberal use of old vines Carignane, despite being grown in two different parts of the world.
The new Staley wine that should be in stores by early summer reeks of terroir. A blend of 80 year young Carignane, Syrah and Mourvedre, it is so dense, with earthy, truffle, mushrooms initially engulfing the senses. As it opens it reveals super ripe raspberry, blueberry, truffle and cherry flavors. This is one wine I want to keep an eye out for.
Cline Cellars
1990 Contra Costa County Mourvedre Reserve—very soft for a 13 year old, old vines Mourvedre from grapes grown on soft, sandy soil. Lots of black pepper, meaty flavors and black plums.
1991 Contra Costa Mourvedre—tart blackberry, chalky with black pepper, black plums and a dry finish.
1992 Contra Costa Mourvedre—soft notes of blueberry, dense plums, violets and raspberry. This was the best of the trio and likely has the potential to live the longest. It was in perfect balance, with a finish that seemed to linger for almost thirty seconds. It made me think La Cabassaou from Domaine Tempier.
2000 Contra Costa Mourvedre—Lots of good forward fruit, with a flavor profile very similar to the 1992, only showing more plums and less raspberry or blueberry.
2001 Contra Costa Ancient Vines Mourvedre—Earthy, truffles, mushrooms all scents of terroir on the nose, while the wine offered up currants and coffee flavors.
2001 Contra Costa Small Berry Mourvedre—the most age worthy wine made of the smallest and most concentrated group of clusters, this wine is loaded with black jammy plums and blueberry fruit and is backed by soft gentle rolling tannin that gives the wine enough body to age for 15-20 years.
Philip Staley
2000 Viognier—made from estate grown Russian River Westside fruit the Staley Viognier offers apricot and banana fruit flavors with a light dry finish.
1994 Rue Rivage—more estate fruit, this time, Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, the Rue Rivage reminds me more of a Languedoc from Chateau LaRoque than a Cotes du Rhone. Soft and most evidently ready to drink; the wine has blackberry and tart cherry flavors.
1995 Syrah—this is Syrah alright. Of course it has blueberry and black pepper which are so typical, but the added in bottle development has given the red wine a cola, cocoa nose with a mint and cedar finish that accompanies the blueberry flavors. Very impressive.
Joseph Phelps “Le Mistral”
1996 Le Mistral—I recall when the LeMistral series of wines came out. The were either wimpy, unimaginative, Randall Graham Bonny Doon wanna be like wines or full throttle tour de force wines that smacked the palate around, so it is very interesting to see how a wine like this has evolved. For the better. Much better. The wine, while not in the league with many of the other wines tasted tonight, has become a glorious red, that is easy to drink and much different than its original release in style, elegance and flavors.
1994 Syrah—this very soft, ripe red plum and blueberry flavored wine had one of the best finishes of any pure Syrah, and was a good rival for the Staley in depth and structure.
2001 Le Mistral Barrel Sample—it seems the folks at Phelps have come around to the thinking that the wines they make are better made if the build them to age, not try and make a Rhone style wine that is meant to be a “drink” now upon release. Good flavors of black raspberry, cherry and blueberry fruit. The wine is sturdy and big, with hints of roasted meat and toasted bread.
Andrew Murray Vineyards
I’ll be the first to admit that Andrew Murray along with Qupe’s Bob Lindquist are likely making the most French like Rhone wines in Santa Barbara. And, like Lindquist, the wines from Andrew Murray need time. Lots of time. So, in a tasting of so many older wines that were being poured, one has to place the Murray wines in almost a different category, for his wines are almost monolithic when young.
1999 Andrew Murray Esperance—a typical Rhone blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre, but that’s where the typical stops for Murray. It’s soft, forward and easy to drink now, made in a true Cotes du Rhone style the raspberry, black plums, blackberry, blueberry, licorice and anise is a very enjoyable wine. This is ready to drink if you have any in your cellar.
1998 Andrew Murray Esperance—Like the 99 in blend, plus the addition of some Carignane, the wine is bigger, bolder, spicier and not surprisingly, fruitier with a much more elegant finish. The addition of Carignane brings in a light cranberry and strawberry flavor that seems to give the wine some delicate notes not found in the 99. In my mind I could drink either easily, but the 98 gets the nod, ever so slightly as the better of the two.
1998 Andrew Murray Roasted Slope Syrah—Young, big, earthy, with black plums, blueberry, cherries, currants and black olive flavors. This wine is so much like Cote-Rotie in flavor profile that it easily could be put into a blind tasting and be thought to be from Rostang or a Guigal of the mid 80’s in style. Bravo!
1998 Andrew Murray Hillside Reserve Syrah—is a really good stone fruit based wine, with dark plums, red raspberry and blueberry flavors. It has a super long finish and needs to age a good while.
Tablas Creek Vineyards
1999 Tablas Creek Blanc—a nice blend of Marsanne, Rolle, Viognier, Grenache Blanc and Rousanne, I last had this wine two years or so back at the famed Beaucastel/Tablas Creek dinner at Los Angeles’ Patina Restaurant. My, how the wine has evolved to become an almost look alike and taste alike to its ancestral Coudelet de Beaucastel Blanc. The lemon zest attack on the palate is then followed by flavors of peach, pear, limestone and tart lemons and ripened melons.
2002 Tablas Creek Cote du Tablas Blanc—this is a new release for the Paso Robles winery and has been designed to resemble the famed Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc. A blend of Viognier, Marsanne, Grenache Blanc and Rousanne, if tasted blind in a flight of Beaucastel whites, you would not easily detect that the wine was made in the USA, unless its youth gave it away. In a year where the Rhone was so hard hit, especially in Chateauneuf du Pape, lovers of that style of wine will have an eager and ready substitute.
Twenty something wines in 90 minutes. Not bad. Today over five hundred wines will be available, so we skipped the Tablas Creek and Zaca Mesa reds. They’ll be poured today…I can wait. I hope you can too.
Cheers,
Andy Abramson
Comments:
Post a Comment
