Thursday, December 30, 2004
The last few days in Santa Barbara County's wine region has been as always, a total blast. Tasting bottled wines, finished wines still in barrel and wines in barrel that are still fermenting is always a great way to see how a wineries past, present and future will be. While it's too soon to tell what the 2004 wines will be, based on tasting those wines from Doug Margerum, David Corey, Jim Clendenen (Au Bon Climat), Morgan Clendenen (Cold Heaven) and their Clendenen Family Vineyard, Bob Lindquist (Qupe) and Luisa Lindquist (Verdad) I can safely say if you enjoyed 2001 and 2002 then watch out for 2003 and 4.
The two years are different. O3 is a fat, ripe and voluptuous vintage, while 04 promises more structure, balance. 03 seems to be more of a winemakers vintage, while 04 is truly on where the vineyard will have done its magic on the grapes long before the winemaker can mess with the grapes future.
Margerum, Clendenen and Corey are all playing and still experimenting with new wines. For Corey it will be a line of whites made from Grenache Blanc, Rousanne and Marsanne. His Grenache Blanc is already full of ripe tropical fruit, bananas, peaches and fleshy apricots. The Rousanne is almost Sauvignon Blanc like right now with herbal notes, but a nice fruit base. The Marsanne is the oddest and still most backwards, but his 03 and 04 reds are humming right along. Clendenen is playing, so what's new. He found a new vineyard source named de la Cuna where Syrah and Viognier are planted. As a result Jim is making a real Cote Rotie style red, cut with a small portion of Viognier. I already told winery sales manager Mike that I want a case when this is finally released, likely in 2006 or later. It's just gorgeous. The pure Syrah is hedonistic, backwards, old school. Think August Clape, only chunky and big from California. Then there's Doug Margerum. He's making more different wines, but still small lots, but still keeping all the favorites as the best and highest quality vineyards from all of the county supply grapes to the restaurateur turned winemaker to carry the Margerum Wine Company label. We even tasted before a sumptuous winery lunch a special blend of the end of each fermentation tanks grapes that goes into the M5, his version of Santa Barbara style Cotes du Rhone. I jokingly called it La Coeur de Cinq (the heart of five) and Doug actually liked the name. Time will tell if the wine and the name sticks.
Cheers, from the Vineyards...
The two years are different. O3 is a fat, ripe and voluptuous vintage, while 04 promises more structure, balance. 03 seems to be more of a winemakers vintage, while 04 is truly on where the vineyard will have done its magic on the grapes long before the winemaker can mess with the grapes future.
Margerum, Clendenen and Corey are all playing and still experimenting with new wines. For Corey it will be a line of whites made from Grenache Blanc, Rousanne and Marsanne. His Grenache Blanc is already full of ripe tropical fruit, bananas, peaches and fleshy apricots. The Rousanne is almost Sauvignon Blanc like right now with herbal notes, but a nice fruit base. The Marsanne is the oddest and still most backwards, but his 03 and 04 reds are humming right along. Clendenen is playing, so what's new. He found a new vineyard source named de la Cuna where Syrah and Viognier are planted. As a result Jim is making a real Cote Rotie style red, cut with a small portion of Viognier. I already told winery sales manager Mike that I want a case when this is finally released, likely in 2006 or later. It's just gorgeous. The pure Syrah is hedonistic, backwards, old school. Think August Clape, only chunky and big from California. Then there's Doug Margerum. He's making more different wines, but still small lots, but still keeping all the favorites as the best and highest quality vineyards from all of the county supply grapes to the restaurateur turned winemaker to carry the Margerum Wine Company label. We even tasted before a sumptuous winery lunch a special blend of the end of each fermentation tanks grapes that goes into the M5, his version of Santa Barbara style Cotes du Rhone. I jokingly called it La Coeur de Cinq (the heart of five) and Doug actually liked the name. Time will tell if the wine and the name sticks.
Cheers, from the Vineyards...
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