You really have to hand it to professional tasters. It's not easy tasting 50+ wines and making meaningful notes on each one. I am not a professional taster, so these impressions are minimal at best.
Ahlgren Vineyards
2004 Santa Cruz Mountains: Lots of bright fruit, good acidity. $35
2007 Veranda Vineyard (Barrel Sample): Slightly sweeter, less acidity.
Alfaro Family Vineyards
Tasted on Saturday.
2007 Alfaro Family Estate Rose: A light, dry summer sipper with flavours of strawberries. $15
2006 Alfaro Family A: Good value - rich and easy drinking. $25
2006 Martin Alfaro Deer Park: Good flavours of cherry and strawberry. $33
2006 Martin Alfaro Schultze Family: Best of the line-up. $36
2005 Alfaro Family Lindsay Paige: Tight. Tannic. Needs time. $40
Bargetto Winery
2006 Santa Cruz Mountains:
2006 Deverey Vineyard:
Both were decent, well made wines but they didn't particularly stand out from the crowd.
Beauregard Vineyards
Did not taste.
Black Ridge Vineyards
2006 Estate: Quite an atypical Pinot; much more black fruits than cherries. My note says "Blackcurrant wine gums". First release from this winery - definitely one to watch. Well priced at $31
Burrell School Vineyards
Tasted Saturday
2005 Veranda Vineyard: Bright nose, with some of that "Pinot funk". Good acidity on the palate, with pleasant cherry flavours. $38
2005 Estate: On the nose I got oak and raspberries. On the palate it was richer and more intense than the Veranda vineyard.
2006 Barrel Samples - Four samples of different clones; 115, 667, 777 and 05, each remarkably different. An impromptu blend of the four showed great promise; this could well turn out to be better than the 2005.
Byington Winery & Vineyards
2005 Estate: Tasted, but no note.
Cinnabar Vineyards & Winery
2006 Santa Cruz Mountains: A strong aroma of smoked meats that carried over to the palate.
Clos LaChance Wines
Did not taste
Clos Tita
2005 Cuvee:
2005 Estate:
Both wines showed good, bright cherry/raspberry fruit. The Cuvee also had a slight hint of brettanomyces; not overpowering or unpleasant, but certainly present. Unfined and unfiltered.
Domenico Wines
2006 Santa Cruz Mountains: Tasted, but no note.
Hallcrest Vineyards
2004 Vista Del Mare Vineyard: A rich, full bodied wine.
2004 Barrel Select: Ironically the barrel select showed a hint of oxidation that I didn't care for.
Heart o' the Mountain
2005 Estate: Very impressed by this debut release. Definitely a winery to watch. $48
Hunter Hill Vineyard & Winery
2006 Estate: Lots of tannin. Some good fruit, but it was hidden behind the tannins.
Kings Mountain Winery
1999 Santa Cruz Mountains:
2003 Santa Cruz Mountains:
My notes simply read "Good nose, good acidity, a little thin on the finish".
Loma Prieta Winery
2006 Santa Cruz Mountains: $50. My notes just say "Pleasant Valley Road".
McHenry Winery
2004 Estate: Made in a more elegant, restrained style. Very good value indeed at under $22
2004 Swan Clones: $28
Mount Eden Vineyards
2004 Estate:
2005 Estate:
What can you say about Mount Eden that's not already been said? Arguably the best Pinot maker in the region, both wines were beautiful with rich fruit and a long finish. Definitely ones for the cellar.
Muccigrosso Vineyards
2004 Estate: Big, spicy wine, but with some green tannins giving rise to a bitterness on the finish.
2005 Estate: Similar, but without the bitter tinge.
Nicholson Vineyards
Tasted on Saturday.
2006 Estate Chardonnay: High levels of ethyl acetate giving rise to a "pear drops" nose which carried over to the palate. Lots of acidity. Not to my liking.
2006 Rose: Again, not to my liking. Lots of green tannins.
2005 Estate Pinot Noir: Hint of pear drops again, but not as strong as on the chardonnay. Bright cherry flavours and a hint of sweetness.
2006 Estate Pinot Noir (unreleased): Showed more oak than the 05. No pear drops here, but lots of tannins. Needs at least a couple of years in the cellar.
2007 Estate Pinot Noir (barrel sample): Very tannic indeed. There seemed to be some good fruit under the tannins. Definitely has potential.
Pelican Ranch Winery
2006 Deer Park: High levels of volatile acidity.
2005 Green Valley Road: I got the strangest impression from this. If you've ever done any electrical work you'll know that acrid smell that solder flux gives off - I got that on the palate and couldn't get past it.
Pleasant Valley Vineyards
Tasted on Saturday
2004 Brittany Morgan Chardonnay: A lighter style of chardonnay, creamy and lemony with good minerality. $35
2005 Brittany Morgan Chardonnay: Higher in acidity than the 04, with more lemon $35
2005 Dylan David Pinot: A very elegant Pinot. Cherry flavours nicely integrated with the oak. A nice wine but hard to justify the price at $85
2006 Dylan David Pinot (Barrel Sample): Following on from the 05, with brighter cherry and less oak at this stage.
2007 Viognier (Barrel sample): I only got the last drops of this, not enough for a real taste, however it seemed to have some residual sugar.
Roudon-Smith Winery
2006 Santa Cruz Mountains: Tasted, no note
Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard
2004 "Bailey's" Branciforte Ridge:
2003 Vine Hill Reserve: Blend of last of the Jarvis vineyard and first crop of "Bailey's"
SCMV makes wines that need to be cellared for a few years. Both showed good, bright fruit with an earthy component.
Sarah's Vineyard
2007 Santa Cruz Mountains (Barrel Sample): Very primary at this stage. Needs to spend a while longer in the barrel. However it certainly shows promise.
Silver Mountain Vineyards
Tasted on Saturday:
2004 Estate Pinot:
2005 Estate Pinot:
2004 Muns Vineyard (SCM):
2004 Tondre's Grapefiled (SLH)
2005 Tondre's Grapefiled (SLH)
Sonnet Wine Cellars
Tasted on Saturday:
2004 Kruse Vineyard:
Tasted on Sunday:
2005 Muns Vineyard: Very good. Rich cherry flavours and a long finish. Better than the 2004 Silver Mountain Muns Vineyard.
Soquel Vineyards
2005 Muns Vineyard: Another good expression of Pinot from the Muns vineyard. Interesting to taste this immediately after the Sonnet; it seemed much more tannic and young. Definitely needs cellar time. Good, but not cheap at $50.
Storrs Winery
2005 Santa Cruz Mountains: From Pleasant Valley. Tannic and young, but rich - needs time to show its full potential.
Testarossa Vineyards
2005 Schultze Vineyard: Yet another winner from the Schultze vineyard, but at $55 Windy Oaks is better and cheaper.
Thomas Fogarty Winery & Vineyards
2005 Santa Cruz Mountains:
2006 Santa Cruz Mountains:
My notes simply say "Excellent".
Trout Gulch Vineyards
2006 La Source: Two samples. First was slightly corked, the second oxidised.
2001 Estate: A knockout. Really very good. No longer available, which is a shame as I'd have definitely bought some.
Windy Oaks Estate Vineyards & Winery
Tasted on Saturday
2006 Diane's Block: Great bright fruit. Diane's Block is a seperate 3 acre vineyard in nearby Aptos.
2006 Estate Cuvee: More complexity than the Diane's Block. Should repay ageing.
2006 Wild Yeast: Quite superb. Rich, complex spicy flavours.
Wines of Vine Hill
2006 Gatos Locos: Very tight and tannic. Needs time.
2005 Cumbre: I got an overpowering impression of tar and asphalt from this wine. Couldn't get any fruit at all.
Woodside VineyardsDid not taste - they apparently ran out of wine very quickly. I heard very good things from a few people who did get to taste it.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comments:
Yeah, these tastings are challenging and surprisingly hard word. But you get better the more that you do them. Thanks especially for the Fogarty "excellents." I keep meaning to try their wines and this is a good reminder to do so.
Post a Comment