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Last Saturday I was invited to attend a lunch with winemaker Shane Finley in Sebastopol to taste his 2006 releases as well as some of the white Rhones that influenced his winemaking. I met Shane last year when I was visiting Kosta Browne where he is Assistant Winemaker. We were the first account to offer a small amount of  his first release of 2006 Shane The Unknown in January.

After whetting our palates with a couple flights of 2001 Yves Cuilleron and Pierre Gaillard white rhones from St. Joseph, we dove into the trio of Shane's 2006 Syrah; Jemrose, The Unknown and Valenti.  Out of these three I heavily favored the silky violet, cassis quality of the Valenti which paired beuatifully with the lamb leg I ordered.

Following lunch, we departed for Kosta Browne where Shane makes his wines. The entire production is barely 20 barrels in 2007. He has added a fourth Syrah called The Villain coming from a pair of distinct vineyards; Alder Springs (Emerald Pond) and Broken Leg.  My impression of the four Shane Syrah has the Valenti and Vallain showing the most concentration at the moment. The wines will be bottled in about a month.

Shane's new project with a partner  is a micro production Pinot Noir called Spell. He has fewer than 180 cases of a pair of wines that will not likely see the light of day until 2010. The smallest lot is a mere 50 cases of Pinot Noir from Barton Vineyard in Russian River. It is accompanied by 120 cases of a multi-clone bottling from Weir Vineyard in Yorkville Highlands that uses about 25% whole cluster.

Vinfolio plans to grow our relationship with Shane Finley and his projects as they move forward. His ultimate goal is to get to about 1000 cases, even at that there will never be a lot to go around.

Shane was mentioned as one of my winemakers ON THE CUSP OF DISCOVERY in my June 9th blog post.

Today was the most recent Pinot Days Grand Tasting in San Francisco, now in its fourth year. The festival this year seemed to be missing a few of the names I was expecting to see like Kosta Browne, Patz & Hall, La Fenetre and Loring. There was seriously no shortage of great wine I made sure to get around to as many of the new producers and ended up tasting nearly 150 wines.

Here is what I wanted to mention as the best of the new crop I tasted:

2006 Addamo Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley Reserve; VF 93

A nose of violet. lilac, red cherry and raspberry Very nice flavor profile as well.

2005 Ampelos Pinot Noir Rho Santa Rita Hills; VF 92

Spicy nose of sassafras and cherry, smooth on the palate with a backbone of dark fruits

2006 Arista Pinot Noir Russian River Longbow; VF 93

Superb structure with a smooth ripe flavor profile - everything in solid proportion

2006 Aubin Pinot Noir Dundee Hills; VF 92

Burgundian in style with delicate aromas, nicely made

2007 Bohemian Pinot Noir Freestone; VF 94

A really beautiful barrel sample, nice acidity with good concentratio of black cherry and creamy midpalate

2006 Benovia Pinot Noir Cohn Vineyard; VF 95

Beautiful and abundant raspberry, cherry and blueberry theoughout

2006 Clos Pepe Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Vineyard; vf 93

Elegant and focused nose the cherry and mineral influenced flavors have a solid texture

2007 Coterie Pinot Noir Saralee's Vineyard; VF 93

Smooth and elegant aromas of cherry and violet. The palate shows delicate cherry and plum

2007 Couloir Pinot Noir Roma's Vineyard: VF 93

An exciting project good acid profile and dense fruit flavors of cherry, black raspberry and plum

2006 Demetria Pinot Noir Gaia's Vineyard; VF 92+

Supple and delicately scented fruit, nice emphasis on palate

2006 Dovetail Pinot Noir Windsor Oaks; VF 92

Full of rich extracted cherry and plum

2005 Eno Pinot Noir Fairview; VF 94

One of the best wines of the day, super supple and beuatifully balanced

2006 Foursight Pinot Noir Charles Vineyard; VF 94

A great find and one of favorites of the day, pretty cherry and spice aromatics with a smoothe rounded palate

2006 Jalama Pinot Noir Cargasacchi Vineyard; VF 93

Firm and brilliant on the palate with excellent structure

2006 Jim Ball Pinot Noir Anderson Valley; VF 92

Nice wine a solid backbone with plenty of cherry raspberry strawberry on the palate

2005 Kindred Pinot Noir Anber Ridge Vineyard; VF 95

Smooth core of cherries, pomegranate, spice and red raspberry

2005 Mcintyre Pinot Noir Monterey; VF 94

Very pretty nose with a smooth flavor profile

2006 Shandel's Pinot Noir Oppenlander Vineyard; VF 91

Nice nose with good fruit concentration. The palate seems a bit young but certainly one to watch

2006 Small Vines Inot Noir Sonoma Coast; VF 91

pretty nicely focused aromatics, black cherry and a bit of violet throughout

2007 Sojourn Pinot Noir Demuth Vineyard; VF 91

Lots of bold black fruit in nose with baking spices on the palate; cinnamon, clove and black cherry

2006 Stephen Test Pinot Noir Russian River Valley; VF 93

Great aromatics of chalky charry and spice, the palte is well focused and delicately smooth

2005 Thorne Pinot Noir Rio Vista Vineyard; VF 93

Premiere release nice aromatics of cherry and mineral, black raspberry on palate with a bit of licoice

Many of these wines will receive more formal tastings in the next few weeks before appearing at Vinfolio. Keep an eye out for them in the Wilder Side of California.

This last Monday, I attended the annual Oakville Growers Tasting held at Robert Mondavi Winery. Over the years this tasting has become one of the most talked about venues for tasting because of the presence of wines such as Screaming Eagle, Harlan and Bond. Tasting these wines becomes a rite of passage if you have ever had the chance since they are highly allocated mailing list only wines. When reality sets back, I start working my way around the room to try other new producers and familiar brands with new releases to taste. 2005 vintage seems to be a pretty sturdy one without much smoothness at this point. Patience is recommennded.

The top wine for me out of 27 producers I visited was the

2005 Tierra Roja Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, VF 95 made by David DeSante

This wine was very good last year as well but what I liked about the 2005 was the amount of pure creamy blackberry that I found in the wine. DeSante treats this fruit very gently and is rewarded with exceptionally beautiful wine.

followed by

2005 Ghost Block Cabernet Sauvignon, VF 93

This was literally the first wine I tasted this year as it was a BIG surprise last year. More of the same is in the offing with supple, ripe smoothness to the black currant and cherry flavors.

 

Other tidbits...

2005 Futo

I have notes from a prior tasting that I did with Tom Futo at the winery I will add here later today. Sadly this wine is not available retail

Russell Bevan is the new winemaker at Showket and he was pouring the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon barrel sample. The wine is beautifully formed now, with ripe currant, licorice and plum. I expect it will put on some weight over the next 24 months but it will be something to look forward to.

This event had been on the calendar for a couple weeks - A tasting for about thirty local Sommeliers and Wine Buyers of virtually everything out of Abe Schoener's Scholium Project library, from the 2000 Les Tenebres and the 1999 Sangiovese he made at Luna, all the way to the un-released 2007 Naucratis and Gemella. Actually it was more than just a tasting. Abe held court for 45 minutes discussing his philosophy of what makes his wines unique and his inspirations. For someone who was fairly familiar with what the origins of many of the wines was, I was able to cover some of the minor details people at my table asked about such as "What is the difference between La Severita di Bruto and Cena Trimalchionis? They are both Sauvignon Blanc from the same vineyard..."

I felt very fortunate to retaste some of the great wines: Babylon, Scheria, Iseult, Gemella, Glos, LSB, Cena and Sylphs and see how they are progressing. I can't say any were going through any type of oddball phase (even though there were two consecutive bottles Abe determined to be corked and never poured them.

It seemed quite a few people were enraptured by the 2006 Prince in His Caves, currently available at Vinfolio. It was tasting superb and I highly recommend picking up a few bottles. I was especially curious about the 2002 Guman Vineyard The Sylphs, VF 100 that helped make Abe Schoener my Winemaker of the Year in 2006.

After nearly six years it is still bright golden in color with no orange or brown to be found in the color. Open to air now for nearly 40 hours and not being gassed, I get whiffs of apple tart, lemon curd, dried anise and salt. The palate is brilliantly focused with some smooth nuttiness mingling with the apple, pear and honey drizzled baked white peach. I looked back at my notes just now from 2006 and they are very similar. It seems to confirm my first evaluation of the two+ decades this wine could last in the proper conditions. If you have a few bottles, you could certainly enjoy one this year.

The tasting was hosted at Nopa in San Francisco, located at Hayes and Divisadero.

Following a few weeks back in the office, I am  leaving at  the end of next week for sunny Santa Barbara to take in the 19th annual Santa Barbara Wine Cask Futures tasting on March 29th It is the one place to taste through over fifty producers and close to 200 wines in an afternoon, meet the principals of the wineries and get a first look at what will be coming out over the next twelve months.

I am excited to see several new producers that will be there:

Alta Maria Grenache - This is possibly my favorite variety currently and their Pinot Noir at WOPN was one of the top three wines i tasted there.

Arcadian - Will be there with a full slate of 2006 Pinot Noir including the ever popular Dierberg!

Blair Fox - Somebody whispered this name to me when I was in Shell Beach that it was a "must stop". OK I look forward to it - Viognier and Syrah.

C3 - Is a new Dave Corey project, made with his sisters; a three grape blend. Is there a theme here?

Carlson: I look forward to these again. My visit last year to the winery has us on track to get some wines soon from this excellent producer of Pinot Noir

Cimarone: A new producer of high end Cabernet Franc from Happy Canyon

Coquelicot - The new owner of Wine Cask, Bernard Rosenson, and Louis van Tonder, former assistant winemaker at Margerum. Sauvignon Blanc, and Syrah hold the most interest here.

Dara: From Gary Burk of Costa de Oro; Larner Grenache/Syrah blend!

Dragonette: 125 cases of Pinot from Ashley's and Fiddlestix? Gotta check this out!

Kaena: Been wanting to try these for a while - a Larner Grenache may very well be my first stop!

Noble Storm: Three barrels of Le Bon Climat Pinot Noir from a new producer? Enough already!

P2: Another name whispered to me recently. possibly out of the same mold as Waltzing Bear.

Turchi: A blank sheet of paper for me; Malbec from Dave Corey

There will be several dozen more producers I am more familiar with but these will be the wineries I explore in detail.

I will report back my findings when I return,

I promised the highlights of the World of Pinot Noir tasting I attended in Shell Beach recently. This annual event is split over two days because the three tents simply can't contain all of the producers (according to the catalog, there are 190 wineries) and each is pouring three or four wines. I ended up tasting nearly 100 wines over the two days and came back with very positive reaction on a number of them. As these are all initial impressions, I will notate them with a series of (*) with the range going from

(**) = solidly built wine 90 - 92 range

(***) = special stuff 93 - 94 range

(****) = extradorinary 95 + range

The real find for me was a small winery called Waltzing Bear Wines **** that had their first release in 2002. I admit that I walked right past them during the tasting in my effort to pick out the most interesting producers. It wasn't until I tasted them at a private post-event soiree that I had the chance to meet the winemaker, Brad Lowman, and view the new package that I came away with the most positive impressions of the weekend. I tasted the new releases of three Pinot Noir sourced from Cargasacchi, Ontiveros, Solomon Hills Vineyards and a Viognier that was notable as well. Production on these wines is crazy small. Look for an offer in The Wilder Side of California within the next week. Lowman had worked with Brian Loring and his Pinot Noir rank up there with the best I have tasted from the Santa Barbara region. The following list were all a significant cut above most of the wines I tasted and I am working at getting samples of all of these for formal tasting note over the next couple weeks.

2006 Black Kite Pinot Noir, Kite's Rest Anderson Valley ****

2006 Black Kite Pinot Noir River Turn Anderson Valley ****

2005 Dierberg Pinot Noir Steven Santa Maria Valley ****

2006 Derby Pinot Noir Cambria **

2006 Elk Cove Pinot Noir Mt Richmond Willamette Valley **

2006 Harrington Pinot Noir *** from several North Coast sources including Iund, Gap's Crown and Wiley Vineyards.

2005 Johan Pinot Noir Willamette Valley ***

2005 and 2006 Lincourt Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills ***

2006 Alta Maria Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyard Santa Maria Valley ****

2006 Penner-Ash Pinot Noir Willamette Valley ***

2006 Roessler Pinot Noir La Encantada ***

2005 Donum Estate Carneros ****

Keep an eye out for many of these wines over the next month in The Wilder Side of California.

Next up for me is the Santa Barbara Wine Cask Futures tasting at the end of the month. Last year there were several new discoveries from this tasting you will begin seeing soon at Vinfolio.

 

I'm getting out of town tomorrow for the first major road trip of the year to spend a weekend on the cliffs over Pismo Beach. The event is the annual World of Pinot Noir tasting in Shell Beach. It is now a three-day affair of tastings, seminars and wine dinners where consumers and trade people like myself can rub elbows with winery principals from around the globe (as long as they make Pinot Noir) There will be over 150 wineries in attendence. The event is so big that the wineries can't all fit in the tent at the same time.

When I attended the event for the first time last year, there were a few new producers I didn't recognize but I didn't get much out of the seminars which I didn't sign up for this year.

 For this trip I am planning on concentrating solely on the two days of tasting. There is apparently an "un-official" event following the tasting on Saturday for those like myself who find more satisfaction getting together with fellow enthusiasts rather sitting through an expensive, noisy banquet dinner. At a nearby private home over 50 people will gather to pop open at least that many Pinot Noir from the Santa Barbara region. My contribution as a ringer is the 2006 Zepaltas Pinot Noir Suacci Vineyard VF 92.

I look forward to filling you in on the best wines I taste there.

 

Well the dust has settled following the annual Premiere Napa Valley barrel auction which raised 2.2 million dollars for the Napa Vintners to fund their marketing over the next twelve months. There were 200 lots represented at the tightly controlled trade tasting on Saturday, February 23 at CIA - Greystone. I was struck by how closed many of the wines appeared. Ones that seemed to showing well were the

2006 Clark Claudon Cabernet Sauvignon:

Very concentrated and rich showing lilac and violet in the nose with a solid, well integrated palate

2006 Farella Park Cabernet Sauvignon Terrace Reserve

Pretty nose of dark berries and cherry and elegant on the palate

2006 J. Davies Cabernet Sauvignon McEachern Terra Luna

Excellent concentration and extraction

2006 Parallel Cabernet Sauvignon

Toasty aromatics with ripe black cherry and cassis

2006 Rubicon Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

A beautiful nose (Clone 29) and exceptional elegance

2006 Cliff Lede Cabernet Sauvignon Bohemian Devil

A really beautiful wine that punches all the right buttons

2006 Corison Cabernet Sauvignon Premiere Reserve

Quite robust yet elegantly formed showing cherry, blackberry and spice

Yet the wine that absolutely floored me was the

2006 Spencer Roloson Syrah La Herradura Vineyard Le Ferrieur

It was brimming with chocolate, coffee, blackberry and currant and a kiss of herb on the finish. It was one of only two Syrah in the entire room, yet it was outstanding and noteworthy. This has always been one of my favorite properties for Napa Valley Syrah. It went for only about $800 a case to Paul Roberts and the French Laundry. Congrats to Sam and Wendy for pulling the upset of the day (at least in my opinion)

Monday Sam invited me over to the winery to taste the first 2006 Spencer Roloson Cabernet Sauvignon La Herradura. There will be about 150 cases and the wines in barrel display beautiful polish, blueberry, spicy chocolate and espresso. Look for more extensive tasting notes in June or July. This will be one to watch for as will be the 2007 Spencer Roloson Viognier. The first impressions in barrel reminded me of a well focused, apple and marmalade nuanced Condrieu. One barrel was produced. Vinfolio will be one of the few places on the planet to find these wines once released. Stay tuned.

Free Run Juice Blog Post #100

One of the lead up events this year to the prodigious Premiere Napa Valley is called "In Vino Unitas", a group of twenty-four producers who self distribute in California. It is being staged in Napa Valley on February 11 and San Francisco the following day. It is a little bit like the who's who of small to mid size producers. With names like Stony Hill, Mayacamas and Diamond Creek you immediately recognize the caliber of the wines as this trio have been producing for over 40 vintages each. Generally the principals or Senior Sales Executives are on hand and create a special insider environment like few others.

There were more than a few wines that were startling good led by Paul Frank's Gemstone duo of 2005 Facets and 2005 Gemstone. Both of these wines showed excellent, dynamic balance that belied their youth. Michael Polenske's Blackbird was featuring three of their wines, including the 2004 Blackbird, which for the longest time seemed reluctant to come out of its shell. I believe the extra year has benefitted it. The nose and mouthfeel were more tightly integrated than I had recalled when first tasting in 2006. As happens with producers who stress the basics, the tight wines will eventually blossom. Sadly all of the 2004 is soldout. The 2005 Blackbird Proprietary Red Wine, VF 94 was in fine shape as well. This is still available on the Vinfolio site.

Wines I will take a hard look at bringing into the Vinfolio fold are Mayacamas: their 2004 Chardonnay was classically focused with clean, bone dry mineral. the 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon was every bit as attractive, again showing classic mountain fruit intensity so indicative of this iconic producer. Pride Mountain was showing 2005 Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon that all displayed ripe, sculpted aromas and flavors, La Sirena's Heidi Barrett was pouring a beautiful 2004 Syrah from Santa Ynez.

Beaux Freres was offering three of their 2006 Pinot Noir from Oregon; Willamette Valley, Beaux Frere Vineyard, and The Upper Terrace. All were very solid wines and merit a revisit when I travel to Willamette Valley in early April.

You may place quote requests for any of these wines at www.vinfolio.com

 

 

 

 

 

Last week I received an email from the Napa Valley Vintners inviting me to a tasting of 100 Cabernet Sauvignon three days hence only blocks from my office. As my tasting appointment calender was fairly full in the afternoon, I decided to make the most of the morning section of the tasting thinking that it would be getting crowded fast. When I arrived there was only one other person in the room with nearly 18 cases of Napa Cabernet Sauvignon to taste. The tasting was arranged at the request of Jancis Robinson of Decanter Magazine for the benefit of their California correspondent, Linda Murphy, to review. After a quick survey of the room I resigned myself to start at the far end and work my way around backwards so that I would only overlap Linda once.

I made it through about 20% of the available wines with notes but tasted more than that which I left without notes. A few of the top wines of the day are noted below. I will add more notes here and to VinCellar, with my ratings over the next week.

2003 Staglin Estate - Beautiful fruit, allspice, creamy cherry and berry. Excellent structure with extracted smootness.

2004 Laura Zahtila Beckstoffer George III - Chocolate and cherry nose; smooth concentrated and polished on the palate. Nice tannins with a smooth grip.

2004 Crocker Starr Stone Place Cuvee - Solid berry and herb laced nose. Very sexy on the palate and grippy tannins

2004 Lewis - Rich, polished nose with licorice, blackberry on the palate. Very intense.

2005 Revana - Pretty nose, blackberry, briary polished blueberry. The palate is intense with great length.

I would like to thank Terry Hall of Napa Valley Vintners for putting this amazing lineup of wines together for those of us who were able to make it to the event. It was a one of a kind experience.

Last month I mentioned there was to be a blind tasting of a dozen 2002 California Cabernet Sauvignon in October at Ch. Brane-Cantenac, in Margaux. Click here for participating wineries.

The tasting was organized by The Vintners Club and the tasters included

May-Elaine de Lencquesaing, former owner of Ch. Picon-Lalande, Hubert de Brouard of Ch. Angelus, Kees Van Leeuwen of Ch. Cheval Blanc, Eric d;Aramon of Ch. Figeac and Lilian Barton of Ch. Leoville Barton

The results are now in.

1. Rocca

2. Caymus Special Selection

3. L'Aventure Estate

4. Wente N'th Degree

5. O'Shaughnessy Estate

6. Ramey Jericho Canyon

7. Robert Craig Howell Mountain

8. Flora Springs Rutherford Hillsides

9. ZD Reserve

10 Palmaz Gaston

11. Ridge Monte Bello

12. Justin Isosceles 

This is the second blind tasting where Rocca has finished in first place since August. As reported on the Rocca Wines website, their 2004 vintage Cabernet Sauvignon also placed first in a Vintner's Club tasting held in San Francisco.

With Rocca winning two blind tastings with different vintages illustrates the ability of winemaker Celia Masyczek to create a wine that seems to transcend a particular style and appeal to two decidely different palates. This week's issue of The Wilder Side of California explores the breadth of Masyczek's portfolio of wines. Please joiin me in congratulating Celia Masyczek, along with Mary Rocca and Eric Grigsby of Rocca.

First of all, I want to explain I am not going to this tasting produced by the Vintners Club. It occurs this coming Friday at Ch. Brane-Cantenac, Margaux and will be the first time California wines, all 2002 vintage, are evaluated blind by Bordeaux producers, negociants, wine professionals and press. The lineup includes the following:

Caymus Special Selection

Flora Springs Rutherford Hillside Reserve

Justin Isosceles Reserve

L'Aventure Estate

The Nth Degree Cabernet

O'Shaughnessy Estate

Palmaz Gaston

Ramey Jericho Canyon

Ridge Monte Bello

Robert Craig Howell Mountain

Rocca * This wine, made by Celia Masyczek, recently was the top rated wine in a blind tasting sponsored by the Vintners Club. It came out ahead of Caymus Special Selection, Ramey Pedregal, Ridge Monte Bello, Dominus, Corison Kronos, Shafer Hillside, Flora Springs Out-of-Sight, Gargiulo, Kendall Jackson Stature, Williamson and Chappellet PHEV.

ZD Reserve

It will be interesting to see where these wines finish being tasted by predominantly established old-world palates. Hopefully I will have results to report within the next few weeks.

I just returned from my four days at Oregon Pinot Camp and it truly was as billed. An out of body experience where everything was new. A non-stop, in-depth, embracing, collegial educational experience in the beautifully diverse Willamette Valley.

I arrived in McMinnville, ORaround 3 PM on Saturday and checked into my hotel, the Red Lion. I had been told by those who had attended before that the accommodations would be monastic, but i was surprised that I had a spacious room with wi-fi. So I was thrilled. I barely had time to unpack before I had to get to the registration event in Dundee, about 7 miles North. On the way out to my car, a fellow camper asked for a lift to the Dundee event as he had been left behind. During our conversation en-route I learned he was from Athens, GA but didn't know very much about the top tier of CA wines, which surprised me.

The registration event featured a walk around pouring of nearly 50 Oregon producers, all sponsors of Oregon Pinot Camp, now in its 8th year. The private event was hosted at the Ponzi Winery tasting room. Surprisingly the first person I saw was an old colleague of mine from Dean & Deluca who now has her own wine shop in Frisco, CO. I immediately began tasting as many of the producers were new to me. The first wine I tried was a delicious Riesling from A to Z Winery, crisp and fresh with beautiful balance. I followed that with a visit to Josh Bergstrom and was very impressed by his wines; 2005 Bergstrom Vineyard PN and de Lancellotti Vineyard PN (the latter was exquisite). Production is very small here. I then paid a visit to my sponsor, Chehalem, where the charmingly irrepressable Harry Peterson-Nedry was pouring the 2005 Chehalem Corral Creek PN, recently reviewed at Vinfolio. Elk Cove was pouring their delicate 2006 Rose and balanced 2005 Mount Richmond.

Following the three hour tasting, I had been invited to attend a private dinner hosted by several of the participants at Penner-Ash Winery. On the way, I pulled to the side of the road to check the directions, and within seconds a SUV pulled up next to me and the woman in the passenger seat asked if I was going to the dinner. When I replied that I was she said to follow them. Once we disembarked from the cars, I introduced myself to my guides and it turned out they were in fact my hosts, Ron and Lynn Penner-Ash. The event was attended by only about fifty guests and included wnes of the Northwest Core Collection, a portfolio of small Oregon wineries including:

 

A to Z Wineworks

Bergstrom Vineyards

Bethel Heights Vineyard

Penner-Ash Wine Cellars

Solena Cellars

Seven Hills Winery

Rex Hill Vineyards

We were informed that Pinot camp would start in earnest at 745 Sunday morning when we boarded the buses. I said goodnight around 10 PM and fell asleep while reading about the adventures that lie ahead.

 

More to follow.

The last time I got on a bus with a bunch of other campers, it was to spend a week in the hills above Oakland California forty years ago. The highlights were the archery shooting, catching snakes and the night hikes. It was a Summer Day Camp so every afternoon I came back my mom made me get undressed on the back porch. The clothes went into the wash and I went into the tub to get all of the dirt and critters off of me. I was one of the lucky kids though because for some reason I was immune to poison oak. I could walk through it all day without a problem. I wouldn't try that anymore though. These were some of the highlights of every summer. Singing songs on the bus, being part of a tribe, and getting real dirty. The reason I bring this up is because starting tomorrow I will be getting on more buses, the first one is a jet, but it will take me to Portland, Oregon where I will begin my first ever Oregon Pinot Camp, what is billed as a Three Day event but is seriously a 4 day proposition.

Oregon Pinot Camp is intended as an invitation only retreat for writers, sommeliers, retailers, and beverage directors who already embrace the region in their offerings or recommendations to immerse them in Oregon Pinot Noir culture. Every day is regimented to seminars, lunches, dinners and other activities that show the diversity of viticulture, geology, cuisine and lifestyle that are unique to Northern Oregon.

Apparently the hotels are just places to keep your luggage and crash at between events. To prepare for this onslaught of Pinot Noir overload from Oregon, I stepped into the mouth of it this week in Issue 109 of The Wilder Side of California where I tackled nearly a dozen excellent new Willamette Valley area releases.

The Oregon Vintners spend a tremendous amount of time and resources to make this one of the most talked about events for any wine professional who has ever attended it. Every morning the buses will pick us up at our hotels and drive us to our appointed seminars and then back to the hotel for a quick nap before picking us up again for dinner. This goes on for three days and I can't wait for all of the camper mentality to set in with everyone lined up in their Oregon Pinot Camp Jackets and matching backpacks. I'll have to see if there are any college drinking songs where you can replace the word "beer" with "Pinot".

I'll blog a full report when I return - but the day after I come back is the begiinng of Pinot Days in San Francisco.

Vinfolio is proud to be a sponsor of this event and we will be there pouring some of the top Pinot Noir picks from The Wilder Side of California

2005 Lemelson Thea's Vineyard

2005 Dierberg Estate

2003 Walter Hansel South Slope

2006 Robert Sinskey Vin Gris

If you are planning on attending the tasting, please stop by our booth or look for any of us in the building. We are easy to spot in our Vinfolio headgear!

To end what was already a full week of eating at Meadowood and CIA, and tasting an endless array of Napa wines at the Wine Writers Symposium, I seamlessly slid into Premiere Napa Valley (regarded fondly in these parts as the first blowout party of the year!) This is one of my favorite events. First of all it is only open to the wine trade which makes it more intimate and less likely to be a party scene. There were 192 wineries which was a record. One thing they did this year that I have been asking years for is to arrange the lots in numerical order, 1 through 192. It used to be Schramsberg was the first every year because it was a Sparkler, followed by whites; Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay leading into the heavier reds. The problem was the numbers were never sequential in the order to be tasted. But before i get ahead of myself, I did mention party earlier, didn't I?

When a retailer or restaurant signs up to attend Premiere you automatically begin receiving invitations to classy hospitality events from a number of the producers. These events happen throughout the weekend and usually requires serious culling simply because there is so much overlap. It goes something like this: "OK Chappellet runs 1 - 4, Shafer runs 12 - 3, and Spring Mountain is 11 -2, so if we  want to do all of them, we can spend an hour maximum... Oh wait, these other two look interesting..." You get the idea, There isn't enough time. Decisions, decisions!

The one I did make special time for was Michael Polenske's private lunch for Blackbird at Erin Martin's Interior Design Gallery on Main Street. The food was excellent and the space made you feel like you were at home, well a very thoughtfully appointed home... There was plenty of great wine from Blackbird to consume, the current 2004 and barrel samples of the 2005. On my way out I spotted the bottle of wine that started it all; the Selene 1999 Blackbird Vineyard Merlot. Beautiful! The Blackbird events are always memorable.

The big event tasting on Saturday had me quickly hop-scotching around the room trying things I was interested in, including the guilty pleasures like Hourglass and Robert Foley/Switchback. I had several "dark horse" wines on my hit list but the one I coveted the most was Diamond Terrace; Lot 122, Thomas Brown's first wine for Hal and Maureen Taylor, a 50/50 Howell/Diamond Mountain blend. I dropped out of the bidding 20% below the winning bid. I could not support the price it went for. I take great pleasure in offering their delicious 2003 Diamond Terrace (for a lot less money!)

Well that pretty much catches you up with me. I already wrote my piece on World of Pinot Nor and I have finished circling back around. Now it is full speed ahead into March. Next up

Hedonism and a taste of the future in the southland

For anyone who pursues writing about wine as a career, I can't imagine there are many other experiences like the one I attended in Napa Valley several weeks ago. The Symposium for Professional Wine Writers at Meadowood Napa Valley is an intense 4 day experience exposing 50 attendees to some of the top wine writing talent in the world. The Symposium is organized by Writing Coach and Writer, Antonia Allegra of Napa Valley. This year the panel included:

Eric Asimov; Chief Wine Critic - New York Times

Michael Bauer; Executive Food and Wine Editor - San Francisco Chronicle

Dan Berger; Syndicated Wine Columnist

Anthony Dias Blue; Author and Syndicated Wine Columnist

Elin McCoy; Wine Writer - Bloomberg, Author - The Emperor of Wine: The Rise of Robert M. Parker Jr. and the Reign of American Taste

Karen MacNeil; Chairman, Center for Professional Wine Studies at the Culinary Institute of America in the Napa Valley, Author - The Wine Bible

Alder Yarrow; Editor and Publisher - Vinography.com

Steven Spurrier; Author and Wine Educator

Over a period of three days I attended writing exercises on telling stories (I realized quickly that there are several ways to write about the same subject and that many of the writers do a far better job than I do!) Seminars on blogging, writing tasting notes, knowing your audience, Writer's rights and the Internet and the Wine Writer. The dinners were an excellent opportunity to meet some of the speakers and learn about the projects of the other attendees. There was no shortage of excellent Napa Valley wine to try throughout the Symposium as each meal had wine and the dinners were especially well stocked.

I made several new friends and am in the process of adding those with blogs to freerunjuice.com

The event ended in time to jump immediately into

Premiere Napa Valley - The Winter Barrel Auction

stay tuned...

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.