Vinfolio.com

Several years ago I met a guy who worked for Champagne Mumm who would create wire bistro chairs from the crown and wire cage from champagne bottles. They were a cute novelty, but nothing more. Beyond wine, I am just as passionate about excellent design in architecture and interiors. I receive periodic emails from http://www.designwithinreach.com, the modern interior catalog. Every year they have a contest where people will create a chair only using the cork, crown, cage and foil from a bottle of Veuve Clicquot. This week's entries are quite exciting. If you have some spare bubbly and some time, try your hand at creating something unique.

I find there are so many new winemakers making an impact in California recently that it may seem easy to overlook some of the pioneers and their contributions. I received an invitation recently to attend a twenty-five vintage tasting of Patrick Campbell's Laurel Glen Winery in San Francisco. It took me all of 5 seconds to clear my calendar as this was undeniably a very rare occasion. The title of this thread pretty much says it all; the names Patrick Campbell and Laurel Glen have existed together as a winery since the premiere vintage in 1981 but the story begins in 1968 when he planted his first vines on the side of Sonoma Mountain on a tiny 3 acre parcel. For several years the fruit grown here went to Veedercrest Vineyards for a vineyard designated Laurel Glen bottling as well as Chateau St. Jean. Patrick launched Laurel Glen and it wasn't long until the demand for this iconic producer began to grow. My first exposure to Laurel Glen was in 1990 when I entered the wine business. It was a 1987 vintage and the wine was delicious. In the store I worked in at the time we also had a few bottles of 1982, Patrick's second vintage. All you needed to do was look at the label and it gave a sense that something special was inside. Patrick has spun off other projects, Counterpoint is estate fruit that doesn't make the cut for LG and he also has a project in Mendoza, Argentina.

The tasting was seemingly for no more than 30 - 40 people and it was held over a long enough period in a spacious room with plenty of opportunity to go back and taste as much as the guests desired. I tasted every vintage and found few that showed they were past their prime. I include my notes below with Patrick's comments in ( ).

1981 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon - Premiere release
(A moderately good year, devoid of rainfall... good dark colors, vines in fine shape, nice crop) Patrick Campbell vineyard and cellar notes

Marked by a bit of herb on the nose, the palate initially seemed lean and narrow but fleshed out with some air, still showing decent acidity. VF 85 - Vinfolio notes by Doug Wilder

1982 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon
(A difficult year, late harvest which never quite achieved maturity... good viscosity in the grapes, very big crop - too big!!) PC

Elegant feel pushing through slight earthiness in the nose. The herbal character is nicely integrated into the wine, dry finish. VF 87

1983 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon MAGNUM
(A really difficult year... threatening skies, front moving in, very acidic tasting, vines are stressed and beginning to shrivel) PC
A slight mustiness was evident on the nose. The palate is surprising in its depth and vitality. Plenty of acid. A pretty nice wine considering the tough conditions. Mature. VF 90

1984 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon MAGNUM
(The first of 3 fine vintages, early ripening under ideal conditions ... ripe, full, beautiful, best vineyard flavors since 1978) PC

A light earthiness on the nose with rich, dark fruit flavors. smooth on the palate with plenty of balance. Still showing very nicely. VF 92

1985 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon MAGNUM
(A legendary year in California... beautiful, crisp, rich fruit with zero rot, fine green rachis, spicy and balanced) PC

Classic Laurel Glen - a nose of red and black fruits, with smooth balanced fruit on the palate. Sublimely elegant throughout. VF 94

1986 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon
(My favorite year of the mid-1980's... mature, soft skins, red juice, green and healthy vines) PC

Light on the palate with delicate under filled flavors. Seems to be in decline. VF 84

1987 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon
(I always thought the vintage was over-rated by the pundits... "nuclear winter") PC

A sentimental favorite of mine. Earth and olive tapenade in the nose. dryness seems to dominate the mid palate with much of the fruit gone now. VF 87

1988 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon
(A really tough vintage, but LG was one of the best of the vintage...lowest crop level ever due to very poor and protracted flowering) PC

Big fruit in the nose and smells very young. Velvet like on the palate with plenty of guts. VF 87

1989 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon
(Dodging rainfall throughout harvest. Brett in the cellar... very juicy berries, swelled by rainfall) PC

Earthy and heavy, in decline. VF 77

1990 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon MAGNUM
(A fabulous vintage, trouble-free and with perfect ripeness and balance... pure, delicious, balanced, sweet, very rich, fruit; v.v.v. inpressive!! slightly sauvage, meaty, pepper/spice, blackstrap molasses, tannins firm and rich, plenty of acid) PC

Bold aromatics of black fruit. The palate shows excellent polished black fruits with well developed acidity. VF 95

1991 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon
(A very long,cold year; fine maturity, but not up to 1990 in quality, This is the year many innovative winemakers decided to let brettanomyces run its course in the barrels in order to stabilize the wine and thus avoid a heavy filtration. This was a mistake, as many of the wines from this vintage developed, not surprisingly, brettanomyces which lingered in the resulting wine... excellent balance, maturity, slight tinge of greenness) PC

Strong acidity, very tightly round VF NR

1992 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon
(One of the great vintages in California. Perfect pre-harvest weather, excellent maturity, higher than normal sugars for the time... warm, ripe, full, delicious, balanced fruit; ditto in wine, slightly dry tannins that will need time to resolve) PC

Dark fruit with plenty of youth. Nice tannins. The fruit is holding up beautifully. VF 91

1993 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon
(A cooler year with some green tones in the fruit that have taken many years to resolve... good maturity at a lower scale, fine balance, vineyard in good shape, no rot or shrivel; brix may have exceeded maturity; excellent darkness and balance, but without the zing of a great vintage) PC

The wine is heavy and dull, very dried out. VF 75

1994 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon
(Another great year, the even years of the 1990s were terrific and the odd years more problematic with the exception of 1999...balance, rich, full, dense, complex; wine follows vineyard notes; a terrific vintage) PC

Nice aromatics followed by excellent flavors, chocolate, black cherry and spice. Very nice bottle of wine. VF 95

1995 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon
( A wine that has taken years to develop. Originally it was rather hard, like a St. Estephe. Another "nuclear winter" like 1987, due to forest fires...no rot or shrivel; strangely as brix rose above 22 brix, maturity seemed to slip away. Higher than normal acid levels, medium complexity. weaker vineyards are showing green flavors) PC

Smooth aromas, the heat seems to a problem in this wine. Ends up quite dry on the palate. VF 84

1996 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon
(A very hot summer and end of season heat wave and subsequent heavy marine layer resulted in a very fine vintage, which has taken a decade to come around... vines in fine shape, no rotor shrivel; very high quality fruit, jammy and intense, thick, delicious, very complex, impressive) PC

Excellent structure for a 10 year old wine . Still tastes fresh and youthful. VF 91

1997 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon
(Another year the press rated highly, but which I was never really fond of. Thew wines of the vintage were, I thought, mple, and fruit forward without the underling intensity to hold the up-front flavors... beautiful ripeness, but a bit cooked and over-the-top flavors. no rot, seemingly not enough ime on the vine to allow full maturity; this may be a flashy wine; jammy, full, rich, but a bit simple?) PC

I think it is holding up remarkably well. Very ripe and smooth aromas, showing a vital richness on the palate with excellent structure and dusty tannins. VF 93

1998 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon
(The latest vintage to date [harvested 10/22 - 10/29] and a year to try the winemaker's patience. a very long and cool year that took a great deal of editing to make a good Laurel Glen [producing lowest yield ever]... extremely varied maturity levels among the various blocks, some blocks green and scant aromas, others with dark red fruit an perfect maturity) PC

Bright and delicate nose. a pretty wine that seems to show a bit of elegance but fairly light. VF 89

1999 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon
(A wonderful year with an Indian summer. The first year we really paid attention to acid levels and just let the sugars rise to the levels neccessary to achieve acid balance - around 24.4 brix... extensive green harvest, very late spring, very selective pickings. 5% shrivel, lots of dried and fallen leaves. very high quality, very rich, huge and delicious) PC

Dark fruit nose with some earth. Excellent structure to the palate. VF 91

2000 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon
(A modest, but very pretty wine; not a cocktail wine...overall seems quite ripe for the brix level. nice balance, a year to pick at lower sugars? thick skins and small berries; some rain and coolness prior to harvest) PC

Smooth and creamy showing very nice fruit. Anise, cherry and earth, VF 91

2001 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon
(One of the all-time great vintages. Elegance and style with a rich underbelly. Avg sugar: 24.6 brix... vines in perfect shape, extensive green thinning; dark red juice, balance, should be a great vintage) PC

Chocolate and spice box with very pretty fruit. Shows excellent structure. VF 92

2002 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon
(Another great vintage... leaves drying out, full maturity, many passes through vineyard to remove raisins and sub-standard clusters. great potential) PC

Rich, bright aromas with a solid flavor profile of ripe balanced black fruits. VF 92

2003 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon
(A good year with very little Laurel Glen made. Rigorous selection of lots in the cellar... lots of vine desiccation, very selective picking. best lots are thick and delicious. average harvest brix at 24.6) PC

Very tight on the nose and palate. needs time to settle down. VF 88

2004 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon
(Outstanding year, big sugars, full ripeness, excellent balance) PC

Excellent, deep rich creamy nose, sweet and ripe on the palate. VF 92

2005 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon
(Very fine year, though cooler. Excellent balance and complexity) PC

Dark tannic nose with some green firmness. Needs time. VF 87

2006 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon
(could be the vintage of the century!!) PC

Way too young to evaluate. VF NR


There were two additional wines to taste that still had some lovely characteristic.

1972 Veedercrest Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Cask 306N Laurel Glen Vineyards

Still hanging in with ripe smoothness. Excellent mouth feel even though clearly mature. This wine was in a decanter (as all of the wines were) and it showed no hint of fading. VF 91

1974 Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma Mountain

Contained bright, varietally correct fruit. Not well balanced though. VF 78

I want to thank Patrick Campell and his staff for making this event possible. It gave a chance for rare insights into wines I would not ordinarily experience.

The seemingly growing stream of excellent boutique wines coming out over the next year is certainly impressive. over the first few weeks of 2007, I am spending at least one day out of the office meeting winemakers, tasting their new release wines and also their barrels. I am fortunate that most of these new discoveries are within an hour of St. Helena so I can get to them in an afternoon after tasting in my office. Yesterday was my first chance to taste with Russell Bevan, who I met last year through a wine community bulletin board. We had the chance to get together for dinner in Paso Robles last year for the Hospice du Rhone and I learned some of what he was doing with Cabernet fruit from Showket in Napa Valley. Russell has had wine flowing through him for many years and I had no reason to doubt that his skills matched his passion as he doesn't strike me as a man who does anything halfway.

I met Russell at his winery, actually a tucked in back corner of a large warehouse in Sebastapol that was formally an apple processing plant. He doesn't need much space as his 2 vintages currently in house number far fewer than 50 barrels. Seemingly, Bevan goes about his winemaking like a chef makes a recipe. Not wanting his wines to be mono-chromatic, he uses a veritable spice rack of barrels and coopers; Gamba, Taransaud and the very sexy wood from Darnajou. We tasted through different component barrels of 2005 Syrah from Dry Stack with the primary difference being the thickness of the staves (20 v. 27mm). There was a marked difference in the flavor profile of the wines. We spent several hours together putting together hypothetical blends. One of the highlights was a Cabernet-Syrah blend that is showing excellent integration already.

Release will be in Fall 2007. Vinfolio is one of three retailers in the world who will have the wine to offer. Production is very small and mostly dedicated to a full mailing list. Russell was just appointed consulting winemaker for Showket Winery replacing Heidi Peterson Barrett.

Every January I look at the calendar and realize I must organize the first 6 months of the year before it's too late. The most important wine events of the year seem to crammed into the months January through June and I need to decide which ones to do before they sell out.

January - It all begins this week with the prodigious amount of wines offered at ZAP (Zinfandel Advocates and Producers) held in San Francisco. The tasting is the largest event in the world dedicated to one varietal. over 300 wineries are represented pouring Zin in all of its guises. There are generally a half dozen new discoveries that are noteworthy. Before I do that, there is a 25 year vertical of Patrick Campbell's Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon to attend today.

February - I will attend a four day wine writers conference held at Meadowood Resort in Napa, which happens to partially overlap with the open houses for Premiere Napa Valley, the Napa Vintners Winter barrel auction. The big tasting is on a Saturday.

March - The week after Premiere, I go to Shell Beach for The World of Pinot Noir for three days. Since I'm more than halfway to Santa Barbara, it probably is a good time to barrel taste with as many producers in Santa Ynez and Santa Rita Hills over the next couple days.

April - fairly quiet for festivals but it is the core of Spring releases!

May - Very busy with the annual trip to Paso Robles for the Hospice du Rhone followed 2 weeks later by the California Cabernet Society barrel tasting; our first look at 2006 California Cabernet, followed immediately by the Hospices of Sonoma auction.

June - jammed with Auction Napa Valley at the beginning of the month with Oregon Pinot Camp in the same week as Pinot Days in San Francisco. The calendar says it is possible to do both!

In the interim I will find myself regularly tasting new releases and sampling barrels with winemakers throughout the region. 2007 is shaping up to be very exciting. I will blog about the events after they conclude.

It was a crystal clear winter day in the valley Monday and I just returned from a small (stand up) focus tasting with Michael Polenske, Sarah Gott and Paul Leary at Blackbird primarily to taste components for 2005. Without saying too much about their plans, it looks like they will have some blending flexibility by using other highly regarded sources. We tried an A and B sample of 2005, and then a sourced 50/50 Bordeaux blend. The A sample was tasting quite forward and ripe where the B had a bit more acidity. I opted for the B simply because this wine won't be released for another 10 months and further development will happen in barrel and bottle; the wine is still 3 or 4 months from bottling. The 50/50 blend seemed more focused at this stage but I get the sense it wasn't finalized. I also had a splash of the 2004 which I think I will revisit here in the next few weeks.

Has anyone tried the 2003 Blackbird recently?

Every time I taste Oregon Pinot Noir lately, it is like hitting the progressive slot in Vegas; the good stuff just keeps coming out.

I may not be the first to say it but from where I stand only 2 weeks into 2007. I am feeling real good about the 2005 Pinot Noir from Oregon. In last week's issue of The Wilder Side of California, I reviewed no fewer than four 2005 Oregon Pinot Noir that rated an average of 94 points. The Raptor Ridge Shea Vineyard, VF 94, $43.00 and Lange Reserve,VF 93, $27.00 are excellent examples for the price. The Lange Yamhill Vineyards, VF 95, $60.00 and Shea Estate, VF 95 are exceptional.

I talk about 2005 directly in regards to these wines but perhaps an examination of what seem to be extraordinary examples of Oregon Pinot Noir from 2004 mayy well be eclipsed by the 2005. Specifically I am referring to a trio of 2004 I covered in Issue 86

2004 Patton Valley Lorna Marie, VF 98 $60.00
2004 Rex Hill Maresh Vineyard, VF 97 $50.00
2004 Auteur Hyland Vineyard, VF 93, $45.00

Let's not forget that the only 100 point wine tasted last year was a 2005 Oregon Pinot Noir. I look forward to bringing many great Pinot Noir to your attention in 2007.

Last year at this time, Napa Valley was drying out after being underwater in a lot of spots due to the relentless rainfall during the last week of 2005. A client who was with me on New Years Eve Day got a little more adventure than he had bargained for as we explored flooded out roads and overflowing dam spillways. We had no control over that, but it got me thinking about things I do have some modicum of control over and so this year I present a short list of resolutions.

2006 at Vinfolio saw the business grow substantially, and 2007 will build on those successes. It is an exciting place to be and I see excellent opportunities on the horizon, so I decided to share some business resolutions with you:

5. Expand the offerings from Oregon and Washington as part of our growing wine portfolio. It wasn't until August that I really "discovered" this area in 2006 and it became a significant region.

4. Seek out and acquire more emerging benchmark wines; the next DuMOL, Dierberg, Arcadian, Buccella, Scarecrow, Scholium Project, Auteur and Drinkward Peschon of the world. More of these types of wines are being produced now and we are at the forefront of bringing them to market.

3. Taste and review even more wines than last year. We did about 450 in 2006, I'd like to increase it to at least 600 in 2007.

2. Visit all the major growing regions from Walla Walla to Santa Barbara with the newsmaking winemakers and report back to you the jewels I find. Access to wines and winemakers is what makes Vinfolio the leader in groundbreaking wines.

1. Blog more. I admit it, blogging is very new to me and it isn't something I have totally embraced yet.

Here is to sharing many great wine experiences in 2007. By the way, if you find yourself in Napa Valley anytime, give me a call and say hello. I'm always happy when our clients can stop by the St. Helena office for a few minutes for a chat.

It is one of the most anticipated events of the year for me to taste the upcoming releases with Abe Schoener, the brilliant winemaker/owner of SCHOLIUM PROJECT. Tomorrow at noon is the debut of his new lineup of wines and I imagine they will all be interesting. The erobertparker.com Bulletin Board has been lighting up every few minutes with comments from Schoener's newly minted fans. The wines will likely go into a special edition of the Wilder Side of California. The most talked about wine seems to the Lydian Queen, a Semillon based dessert wine that will be tightly allocated even to us. Schoener makes miniscule amounts of wine but at extraordinary levels of quality. Vinfolio clients will be the first to see these wines. Don't hesitate when they are offered because they always go very fast.

Update; As you can see from the image above, I tasted the Scholium Project wines with Abe today. look for an offer on them next week at Vinfolio.

If you have had any of the SCHOLIUM PROJECT wines and would like to share your thoughts please post a comment.

We met some new friends in Calistoga on New Years Eve for dinner and since I wanted to make them feel welcome I pulled a bottle of 1999 Beaux Freres PN (a recent BD gift) to bring with us. We're still getting to know each other and one of the things I noticed about Andrew is that he pulls out a slip of paper from his wallet to jot a note whenever I give him a little tidbit of information he wants to collect; the name of the wine we had at Tra Vigne Pizzeria in October, the name of an excellent Italian restaurant in the Valley (Don Giovanni) were added to this little scrap before we even got to open the wine. When I smelled the wine and noted it was corked I decided to have our friends smell the wine so that they will be able to detect it in the future. They had never noted it before but I think it made an impression. Out came the wallet and the paper scrap and he scribbled down the initials TCA when I finished my story about the culprit of corked wines. With no backup bottle in tow, I went with a sure thing from the list, 2004 Scherrer Pinot Noir. Delicious. Since it isn't so common to find a corked wine, even though statistically they crop up frequently it was a valuable opportunity to teach something about wine to avoid in the future.

What experiences have you had with wines that made a lasting impression, either good or bad?