Friday, October 17, 2003
(October 11, 2003—Los Alamos, CA) Dinner in Los Alamos means the biker bar in the middle of town, or the city’s only restaurant with an open kitchen. I’m talking about Charlie’s, the intimate 12 seat place that’s complete with an outdoor dinner garden for nights where the weather’s either not to hot or not too cool.
Charlie’s is the kind of place that really makes an out of towner feel at home. A warm welcome from the chef/owner, smiling servers, and the freshest of fresh everything tells you right off the bat you’re in for a treat.
Corkage is non existent, and while Charlie’s wine list needs some updating, it remains the best place to have dinner for a BYOB crowd So while all the “listed” dining establishments were having $125 type wine dinners or had waiting lists a mile long due to harvest weekend, Brian Loring and I decided that to enjoy his five exquisite Pinot Noirs that were just bottled, no better place that Charlie’s would do. You see, besides what Charlie himself calls “real good Mexican” that he makes there, it’s the Santa Maria BBQ that keeps us all coming back.
From the four burner stove and outdoor grill, Charlie cooks up a storm each day and night. Serving fresh rolls, slow roasted beans, the freshest of green and garden vegetable salads and creamy rich ice cream, the roadside café in the lazy acre long town of Los Alamos may be the best bargain in wine country. Any wine country. Anywhere. After three visits in the last few months, Charlie has never skipped a beat, dishing up home cooking with a flavorful, and zippy kick.
As for the wines, we went through all five wines from Brian Loring, a few from Seth Kunin, Ethan Lindquist and a few others. But the best flavor of the night came from Charlie’s Tri Tip and his steak friendly salsa. Oh yes, the price. $12.00 a person, tax included. $8.00 tip per person for the servers. Food that good, and service that friendly, can’t go unappreciated. Besides, after 12 or so wines who wants to count the change.
The Wines
2002 Loring Wine Company Brousseau Vineyard Pinot Noir
Amazing cherry flavor, with soft dusty strawberry notes. A very open and friendly wine, that offers up charm and grace.
2002 Loring Wine Company Ontaveros Vineyard Pinot Noir
Flavors of raspberry and black cherry, tobacco leaf and a big, thick jammy, ripe fruit blast, is the first thoughts this wine conjures up. Deep ruby red color showing great extraction, the wine fend up with a long lingering finish.
2002 Loring Wine Company Gary’s Vineyard
Perhaps the finest wine Brian has ever made, from this famed vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands of Monterey County. Right now the wine is lean and angular, but is already showing a very long, deep and concentrated array of fruit, spice and tar. Very complete already, the wine is very concentrated and absolutely stunning.
2002 Loring Wine Company Rosella’s Vineyard
This is an earthy wine, and an absolute counterpoint to the Gary’s. Here’s a wine that is just saturated with strawberry and raspberry flavors that is as much fun to drink now as it will be in ten years.
2002 Loring Wine Company Clos Pepe Pinot Noir
This was the most closed of Brian’s very young wines, all of which put him in the same league as Josh Jensen, Tony Soter and Jim Clendenen. The wine is massive, monolithic and slate like, with an absolutely stunning back palate of black stone fruit and spice. Give this wine time and it may eclipse the Gary’s.
2002 Ethan Viognier
Ethan is the offspring of Bob Lindquist. While he’s learned from dad, he won’t let dad make his wines. Not a matter as he’s doing quite well on his own with a delightful white wine that is light, flowery, lilac petal like with pear, peach and apricot flavors.
2001 Refugio Vineyards Syrah San Luis Obispo
This is a very Shiraz like Syrah, from the heartland of California’s Central Coast. The wine is very much touched by oak and has a shellac like outer shell, but underneath is textbook California Syrah, full of soft blueberries and raspberries, with a nice, if not rather pleasing finish.
2001 Kunin Syrah Alisos Vineyard, Santa Barbara County
A very nice, easy to drink, early maturing Syrah from one of the best vineyard plots in the county. Dense color, ripe fruit and a long finish.
2001 Kunin Syrah, Santa Barbara County
Here’s a jam packed blueberry and black pepper oriented wine that is rich, deep and creamy. Age this wine and watch it develop. Possibly better than the Alisos, which is a real surprise.
2002 Carina Cellars Colson Canyon Syrah
This wine is cut in a style of Cote-Rotie, with seven percent Viognier, yet as it is so youthful, it reminds me more of the D’Arenberg Laughing Magpie than a traditional Cote-Rotie. Jammy, sweet, with a plumy cassis aroma, the wine clearly needs more time.
2001 Ethan Syrah Arroyo Grande
This is a wine that you should buy all you can find. Mark it “rookie” bottle and just watch it develop. Each time I’ve had a glass of this wine I’d had to wonder if pape Bob had his hands on it. It’s that good.
2001 Core Wines 541
Yeah, he showed up late for dinner, but David Corey brought wine, and a fine wine it was. As good as ever, also a rookie release, the wine is not perfect, but that’s the charm about it. Gingerbread and all spice on the nose, blackberry and plums on the attack, this is a perfect wine for TriTip.
Cheers,
Andy Abramson
Charlie’s is the kind of place that really makes an out of towner feel at home. A warm welcome from the chef/owner, smiling servers, and the freshest of fresh everything tells you right off the bat you’re in for a treat.
Corkage is non existent, and while Charlie’s wine list needs some updating, it remains the best place to have dinner for a BYOB crowd So while all the “listed” dining establishments were having $125 type wine dinners or had waiting lists a mile long due to harvest weekend, Brian Loring and I decided that to enjoy his five exquisite Pinot Noirs that were just bottled, no better place that Charlie’s would do. You see, besides what Charlie himself calls “real good Mexican” that he makes there, it’s the Santa Maria BBQ that keeps us all coming back.
From the four burner stove and outdoor grill, Charlie cooks up a storm each day and night. Serving fresh rolls, slow roasted beans, the freshest of green and garden vegetable salads and creamy rich ice cream, the roadside café in the lazy acre long town of Los Alamos may be the best bargain in wine country. Any wine country. Anywhere. After three visits in the last few months, Charlie has never skipped a beat, dishing up home cooking with a flavorful, and zippy kick.
As for the wines, we went through all five wines from Brian Loring, a few from Seth Kunin, Ethan Lindquist and a few others. But the best flavor of the night came from Charlie’s Tri Tip and his steak friendly salsa. Oh yes, the price. $12.00 a person, tax included. $8.00 tip per person for the servers. Food that good, and service that friendly, can’t go unappreciated. Besides, after 12 or so wines who wants to count the change.
The Wines
2002 Loring Wine Company Brousseau Vineyard Pinot Noir
Amazing cherry flavor, with soft dusty strawberry notes. A very open and friendly wine, that offers up charm and grace.
2002 Loring Wine Company Ontaveros Vineyard Pinot Noir
Flavors of raspberry and black cherry, tobacco leaf and a big, thick jammy, ripe fruit blast, is the first thoughts this wine conjures up. Deep ruby red color showing great extraction, the wine fend up with a long lingering finish.
2002 Loring Wine Company Gary’s Vineyard
Perhaps the finest wine Brian has ever made, from this famed vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands of Monterey County. Right now the wine is lean and angular, but is already showing a very long, deep and concentrated array of fruit, spice and tar. Very complete already, the wine is very concentrated and absolutely stunning.
2002 Loring Wine Company Rosella’s Vineyard
This is an earthy wine, and an absolute counterpoint to the Gary’s. Here’s a wine that is just saturated with strawberry and raspberry flavors that is as much fun to drink now as it will be in ten years.
2002 Loring Wine Company Clos Pepe Pinot Noir
This was the most closed of Brian’s very young wines, all of which put him in the same league as Josh Jensen, Tony Soter and Jim Clendenen. The wine is massive, monolithic and slate like, with an absolutely stunning back palate of black stone fruit and spice. Give this wine time and it may eclipse the Gary’s.
2002 Ethan Viognier
Ethan is the offspring of Bob Lindquist. While he’s learned from dad, he won’t let dad make his wines. Not a matter as he’s doing quite well on his own with a delightful white wine that is light, flowery, lilac petal like with pear, peach and apricot flavors.
2001 Refugio Vineyards Syrah San Luis Obispo
This is a very Shiraz like Syrah, from the heartland of California’s Central Coast. The wine is very much touched by oak and has a shellac like outer shell, but underneath is textbook California Syrah, full of soft blueberries and raspberries, with a nice, if not rather pleasing finish.
2001 Kunin Syrah Alisos Vineyard, Santa Barbara County
A very nice, easy to drink, early maturing Syrah from one of the best vineyard plots in the county. Dense color, ripe fruit and a long finish.
2001 Kunin Syrah, Santa Barbara County
Here’s a jam packed blueberry and black pepper oriented wine that is rich, deep and creamy. Age this wine and watch it develop. Possibly better than the Alisos, which is a real surprise.
2002 Carina Cellars Colson Canyon Syrah
This wine is cut in a style of Cote-Rotie, with seven percent Viognier, yet as it is so youthful, it reminds me more of the D’Arenberg Laughing Magpie than a traditional Cote-Rotie. Jammy, sweet, with a plumy cassis aroma, the wine clearly needs more time.
2001 Ethan Syrah Arroyo Grande
This is a wine that you should buy all you can find. Mark it “rookie” bottle and just watch it develop. Each time I’ve had a glass of this wine I’d had to wonder if pape Bob had his hands on it. It’s that good.
2001 Core Wines 541
Yeah, he showed up late for dinner, but David Corey brought wine, and a fine wine it was. As good as ever, also a rookie release, the wine is not perfect, but that’s the charm about it. Gingerbread and all spice on the nose, blackberry and plums on the attack, this is a perfect wine for TriTip.
Cheers,
Andy Abramson
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