Sunday, July 20, 2003
Friday night a group of 11 of us gathered at Flemings Steak House and Wine Bar in the Aventine complex here in San Diego. We had a special treat as winemaker David Corey, of Core Wines from high up in the hills of Santa Barbara County, came down to share his two new wines, a scintillating, mostly Mourvedre based 2002 Rose, of which only 23 cases were made, and his previously tasted 2001 Red Table Wine. Given our guest was from Santa Barbara most of the wines came from that region to show off how diverse the wines made there can be.
2001 Beckman Vineyards Grenache Rose, Santa Ynez Valley
Typical deep rose petal color for a largely Grenache Rose. Nice strawberry flavor, with a bit of cottage cheese on the finish. Juicy, fruity, well made. Worth drinking more of.
2002 Core Wine Rose, Santa Barbara County
Move over Beckman. Stop the presses. David Corey has really nailed the idea of a Bandol Rose made in the USA. Rich, deep, but dry enough to fool most experts, the dark rose petal robe and the very aromatic nose makes this wine a real crowd pleaser. Up til now I always though the best Mourvedre based Rose made in the USA was the 2001 Tablas Creek, but what has always held it back was the very high price of $27.00 retail. Corey, with his $14.00 Rose has really hit the mark.
2001 Beckman Vineyards Estate Sauvignon Blanc
This crisp and forward white, on sale at San Diego Wine Company for $7.99, may be one of the best value Sauvignon Blancs on the market today. Light and flavorful, with a taste of pear, melon and tropical pineapple, this is an ideal accompaniment to fresh green salad with Thousand Island dressing.
2002 Shadow Canyon Viognier
From high up in the Santa Lucia Highlands, Shadow Canyon's Gary Gibson makes world class, hand crafted Viognier. This absolutely stunning white, tasted for the third time has all the right stuff and despite it's $35.00 retail price tag, is worth every penny. Loaded with ripe honeydew, lavender and apricot aromas, the wine has an almost honey like palate weight, but is not cloying like other more aromatic whites. Rich in tropical and sub-tropical fruit flavors, this is a wine that is worth seeking out.
2001 Alban Vineyards Estate Viognier
Much less extracted, and more in a style of a crisper style. Flavors of cloves, peaches and pears. Good balance, but it seems to have some vanilla oak touches to it.
2001 Core Wine Red Table Wine, Santa Barbara County
A totally impressive debut release from winemaker David Corey. Mostly Mourvedre with some, Cournise and Syrah in the blend, the wine is even better than when I tasted it back at Hospice du Rhone in late May. Jammy black fruit, the wine is loaded with plums, berry and pepper. Make sure you grab you case of this when you can find it, for the wine already is showing a "Roussillion/Languedoc" like flavor, not normally found in California Rhone clones.
1994 Chateau Lavabre Coteaux du Languedoc
Some earthy, truffles and mushroom aromas are in this wine on the nose, but they don't hide the massive layer of fresh red plums, ripe raspberry and soft, powdery strawberry fruit. The wine is easily at peak and ready to drink.
1994 Domain Clavel "Le Mejanelle" Coteaux du Languedoc
I never tire of this wine that has the typical aromatics of the Languedoc called "Le Garrigue." Smooth as velvet, the red is clearly ready to be drunk as it's soft black raspberry, cherry and plum flavors, along with hints of herbal mint, wild thyme and lavender make this a winner.
2000 Troc Claret (Babcock Winery)
Bryan Babcock set out to make a wine that can compete with the so called "fighting varietals" and inexpensive red that come from the likes of Randy Capparosso, Randall Graham (Big House Red) and Patrick Campbell's "Reds." With this release, he surely has. A blend of 57% Cabernet Franc, Stolpman Vineyard, Santa Ynez Valley and 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, Shandon Hills, Paso Robles the very raspberry and blackberry smoothie wine is an in your face, tour de force red that is an exceptional sub $9.00 value. Not as complex as his Fathom, the wine is perfect for enjoyment with friends who don't understand wine, but like a good glass now and then.
1996 Babcock Fathom
Babcock enjoys working with Cabernet Franc almost as much as he enjoys the Pinot Noir grape. So when he realized he could make a great wine in the Bordeaux style, he looked at Loire reds, made from Cabernet Franc for insight. What he has in the Fathom, is a delightful interpretation of solid, well made French inspired wine, made from Santa Barbara's finest sources of grapes. While this wine is long gone from store shelves, it's flavor sure wasn't.
2001 Babcock Santa Barbara County Syrah
Big, chunky, thick. That's how to describe this very Gigondas like Syrah from Santa Barbara County. Once again, Bryan has hit the mark with an old school, textbook rendition of what the wine is to be like. Blueberry and black pepper are obvious from the first whiff, but the flavors of blueberry pie crust, cardamom, tar and a hint of black plums in this young wine says buy some for laying down for a good five to seven years. Yum, this wine is a real winner.
2000 Bedford Thompson Santa Barbara County Syrah
I continue to be impressed by the wines produced by Stephen Bedford. Old school, very much Southern Rhone meets Bandol. That means lots of earthiness, and a wine not made for the faint of heart, or the impatient. Sure it has blueberry and black pepper, like the Babcock, but it goes further, with Provencal herbs, wild mushrooms, black plums, oriental spice and Asian tea. A robust wine, this screams for saddle of lamb, coated with pepper and lathered in melted blue cheese with rosemary, that has been charred over an open flame....
Cheers,
Andy Abramson
2001 Beckman Vineyards Grenache Rose, Santa Ynez Valley
Typical deep rose petal color for a largely Grenache Rose. Nice strawberry flavor, with a bit of cottage cheese on the finish. Juicy, fruity, well made. Worth drinking more of.
2002 Core Wine Rose, Santa Barbara County
Move over Beckman. Stop the presses. David Corey has really nailed the idea of a Bandol Rose made in the USA. Rich, deep, but dry enough to fool most experts, the dark rose petal robe and the very aromatic nose makes this wine a real crowd pleaser. Up til now I always though the best Mourvedre based Rose made in the USA was the 2001 Tablas Creek, but what has always held it back was the very high price of $27.00 retail. Corey, with his $14.00 Rose has really hit the mark.
2001 Beckman Vineyards Estate Sauvignon Blanc
This crisp and forward white, on sale at San Diego Wine Company for $7.99, may be one of the best value Sauvignon Blancs on the market today. Light and flavorful, with a taste of pear, melon and tropical pineapple, this is an ideal accompaniment to fresh green salad with Thousand Island dressing.
2002 Shadow Canyon Viognier
From high up in the Santa Lucia Highlands, Shadow Canyon's Gary Gibson makes world class, hand crafted Viognier. This absolutely stunning white, tasted for the third time has all the right stuff and despite it's $35.00 retail price tag, is worth every penny. Loaded with ripe honeydew, lavender and apricot aromas, the wine has an almost honey like palate weight, but is not cloying like other more aromatic whites. Rich in tropical and sub-tropical fruit flavors, this is a wine that is worth seeking out.
2001 Alban Vineyards Estate Viognier
Much less extracted, and more in a style of a crisper style. Flavors of cloves, peaches and pears. Good balance, but it seems to have some vanilla oak touches to it.
2001 Core Wine Red Table Wine, Santa Barbara County
A totally impressive debut release from winemaker David Corey. Mostly Mourvedre with some, Cournise and Syrah in the blend, the wine is even better than when I tasted it back at Hospice du Rhone in late May. Jammy black fruit, the wine is loaded with plums, berry and pepper. Make sure you grab you case of this when you can find it, for the wine already is showing a "Roussillion/Languedoc" like flavor, not normally found in California Rhone clones.
1994 Chateau Lavabre Coteaux du Languedoc
Some earthy, truffles and mushroom aromas are in this wine on the nose, but they don't hide the massive layer of fresh red plums, ripe raspberry and soft, powdery strawberry fruit. The wine is easily at peak and ready to drink.
1994 Domain Clavel "Le Mejanelle" Coteaux du Languedoc
I never tire of this wine that has the typical aromatics of the Languedoc called "Le Garrigue." Smooth as velvet, the red is clearly ready to be drunk as it's soft black raspberry, cherry and plum flavors, along with hints of herbal mint, wild thyme and lavender make this a winner.
2000 Troc Claret (Babcock Winery)
Bryan Babcock set out to make a wine that can compete with the so called "fighting varietals" and inexpensive red that come from the likes of Randy Capparosso, Randall Graham (Big House Red) and Patrick Campbell's "Reds." With this release, he surely has. A blend of 57% Cabernet Franc, Stolpman Vineyard, Santa Ynez Valley and 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, Shandon Hills, Paso Robles the very raspberry and blackberry smoothie wine is an in your face, tour de force red that is an exceptional sub $9.00 value. Not as complex as his Fathom, the wine is perfect for enjoyment with friends who don't understand wine, but like a good glass now and then.
1996 Babcock Fathom
Babcock enjoys working with Cabernet Franc almost as much as he enjoys the Pinot Noir grape. So when he realized he could make a great wine in the Bordeaux style, he looked at Loire reds, made from Cabernet Franc for insight. What he has in the Fathom, is a delightful interpretation of solid, well made French inspired wine, made from Santa Barbara's finest sources of grapes. While this wine is long gone from store shelves, it's flavor sure wasn't.
2001 Babcock Santa Barbara County Syrah
Big, chunky, thick. That's how to describe this very Gigondas like Syrah from Santa Barbara County. Once again, Bryan has hit the mark with an old school, textbook rendition of what the wine is to be like. Blueberry and black pepper are obvious from the first whiff, but the flavors of blueberry pie crust, cardamom, tar and a hint of black plums in this young wine says buy some for laying down for a good five to seven years. Yum, this wine is a real winner.
2000 Bedford Thompson Santa Barbara County Syrah
I continue to be impressed by the wines produced by Stephen Bedford. Old school, very much Southern Rhone meets Bandol. That means lots of earthiness, and a wine not made for the faint of heart, or the impatient. Sure it has blueberry and black pepper, like the Babcock, but it goes further, with Provencal herbs, wild mushrooms, black plums, oriental spice and Asian tea. A robust wine, this screams for saddle of lamb, coated with pepper and lathered in melted blue cheese with rosemary, that has been charred over an open flame....
Cheers,
Andy Abramson
Comments:
Post a Comment
