Woodside Vineyards doesn't open for tasting very often; one of the few events is over Memorial Day weekend. I went up on Monday to check out the current releases.The 2006 Kings Mountain wasn't being poured; only 250 cases were produced and as a result it's only being sold to restaurants and wine club members. I managed to persuade them to let me buy a bottle, so that will get reviewed in the near future.
2003 Estate Brut Sparkling Wine
Woodside markets two sparkling wines; their non vintage "California Champagne" is manufactured for them by Weibel, but the vintage Sparkling Wine is made here from roughly 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Chardonnay. It has a toasty, yeasty, mineral nose. On the palate it's creamy with lemon and apple flavours, mineral notes and a crisp, nutty finish.
2007 Woodside Chardonnay
Rich, full nose of vanilla, lemon and caramel. It's rather oaky with some lemon and tropical fruit, and a quite bitter, tannic finish. Just released; needs time to settle down.
2005 Pinot Noir
The fact that the major wine critics don't pay much attention to the Santa Cruz Mountains is the only reason this wine is still available to buy. Great nose of earth and underbrush, with cherry and strawberry underneath. On the palate it's balanced, rich and spicy; layered flavours of black cherry, Asian spice and earth, and a long finish. Very good, and highly Recommended.
2006 Zinfandel
Initially earthy, with raspberry and toast notes. Has good, pure raspberry fruit, though there's some unresolved oaky bitterness on the medium length finish. As with the 2005 I tried recently, I think a bit of cellar time is in order, but it certainly has potential.
2004 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
Musty at first, but that soon blew off to reveal nice blackcurrant fruit with hints of toast and earth. On the palate there's good blackcurrant fruit; more so than the 2002 I opened on Saturday and the tannins are less evident. However the acidity still shows rather prominently despite having a higher pH than the Zinfandel tasted just before. Definitely needs time.
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This event (which includes next Saturday and Sunday) should be the last at this location. (Dave knows this, but) they sold the property a couple years ago. Future events will be at their new location, inside Autovino in Menlo Park. Brian was saying that there's a few upsides to that. They've been limited in production volume by the City of Woodside. By increasing in scale, they'll be able to afford better equipment and make even better wine.
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