The Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association runs an annual Commercial Wine Competition, open to all of its members. This year's competition was held last Monday at Ma Maison restaurant in Aptos, and I was  invited to be a judge. The judging panel is made up of both trade professionals - restauranteurs, sommeliers, wine buyers etc., and consumers.

Judging Table. 8 judges each tasting a different set of wines.

I arrived in Aptos at 9:30 and was greeted by the chilly grey morning skies that help to make the western side of the mountain such a great place to grow Pinot Noir. I signed in at the main desk and was assigned Flight #5 - Pinot Noirs. When everyone had arrived we were led into the restaurant and told to sit at any table, in front of our particular number.

Each table had 8 judges, with every judge tasting a different flight. The purpose of this is so that you can talk to your fellow judges without worrying about affecting the results. The wines were laid out on the table in front of us, with each glass labelled only with a 4 digit code number. We were also given a sample of a white wine (a rather pleasant New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc at a guess) as an introduction.

The organisers gave some basic instructions on evaluating the wine. We were to score on the 100 point scale, with 90+ indicating a gold medal, 85-89 indicating silver and 80-85 indicating bronze. We were advised that around 20-25% of wines typically fall into the Gold category and around half fall into the Silver category. Very few get no medal at all. This seemed reasonable; in my personal scoring system anything below 85 isn't worth buying, anything below 80 is not worth drinking. On this scale 70-79 is supposed to indicate an 'average' wine, so I take that to indicate the mass of sub-$5 supermarket plonk.

As with most blind tastings the wines were poured in the same order for everyone. I typically go through the wines in order and smell them, to get a first impression. I then taste them in an order based on those impressions; if a wine seems odd or unbalanced I'll leave it until last. After tasting them all I'll go through them again to confirm my decisions.

The first flight. Each wine is identified by a 4 digit code number

The first flight was fairly straightforward. There were 7 wines, 2 of which I gave Gold scores to. They turned out to be 2008 Clos LaChance Santa Cruz Mountains and 2008 Sonnet Muns Vineyard. I gave good marks to the 2008 Domenico Santa Cruz Mountains and 2008 Black Ridge Estate.

The second flight had one wine that I found particularly unusual. It had almost overpowering notes of white pepper and spice. After trying it a couple of times I decided that it worked and awarded it a Gold - it turned out to be the 2008 Beauregard Santa Cruz Mountains. Another Gold went to the 2008 Santa Cruz Mountains Vineyard Branciforte Creek, and an honourable mention to the 2008 Ahlgren Veranda Vineyard.

The final flight was unusual in that the first and last wines seemed very strange; I left them until the end and declared them both to be not medal worthy. My favourite turned out to be the 2008 Woodside Estate, with 2008 Muccigrosso and 2009 Soquel Estate also scraping Golds.

We then had a pause while the administrators tallied up the scores to determine the top 10 wines. While we were waiting there were some snacks including some delicious rillettes on mini croissants.

Finally the top 10 wines were revealed. We were told the variety in each case, and they were presented in order of lightest to heaviest, so I sampled them in that order. I was suprised to see that the winning Pinot Noir was not on my tasting list. It turned out that there were so many entrants that a fourth flight of Pinots had been given to a different set of judges, who had also been tasting the 'mixed' reds and blends. Frankly I wasn't overly impressed by their choice; there seemed to be a lot of sulphur evident, with the nose showing struck match and the fruit muted.

One of the judges analysing a wine.

Picking a favourite from 10 completely diverse wines is tough; ranking them in order is tougher still. Of the reds I particularly liked the Cabernet Sauvignon which was revealed to be the 2007 Woodside Estate; they also were awarded the best Zinfandel. I correctly guessed that the Petite Sirah was from Sones, though I thought it was probably from French Camp. The Soquel Chardonnay was very good and well balanced, and the dessert wine - a 2004 Angelica from Picchetti - was in a class of its own in more ways than one.

But in the end the top award went to Martin Ranch for their delicious 2009 Thérèse Vineyards Malbec. What's even more impressive is that Martin Ranch also scooped the top honour last year for their 2007 Lester Family Vineyard Syrah. Congratulations to Dan and Thérèse Martin!

Top 10 wines (Santa Cruz Mountains AVA unless noted)
2009 Martin Ranch Thérèse Vineyards Malbec Santa Clara Valley, Dos Ninas Vineyard
2010 Soquel Chardonnay, Ben Lomond Mountain, Meyley Vineyard
2009 Black Ridge Viognier
2007 Byington Pinot Noir Block 4
2008 Martin Ranch JD Hurley Merlot, Santa Clara Valley
2008 Sones Petite Sirah, Lodi
2008 Bargetto Syrah, Nelson Vineyard
2007 Woodside Cabernet Estate
2007 Woodside Zinfandel Estate
2004 Picchetti Angelica of Chardonnay

Share |

Open daily: Fleming Jenkins, Testarossa
Open weekends: Pinder, Black Ridge
Appointment Only: Heart's Fire, Perrucci Family, Sensorium, Stroth-Hall, Travieso

Testarossa are open daily from 11-5PM in the old Novitiate winery in Los Gatos. They also make wines under the Novitiate label. Fleming Jenkins have a tasting room nearby in downtown Los Gatos, open daily except Mondays from noon-6PM. To the south just off Highway 17 Black Ridge are open from 11-5PM on the third weekend of the month, and at other times by appointment. Sensorium Wines and Perrucci Family are also located in Los Gatos; I believe both are available by appointment but I've never visited either of them. Neither are participating SCMWA members.

In Campbell four wineries share an industrial unit close to the junction of San Tomas and Highway 17 under the banner of Campbell Winemakers' Studio.
Pinder and Travieso pour their wines every Saturday between 11AM and 4PM. Heart's Fire are open between 1-4PM on the first Sunday of each month. Stroth-Hall are only open by appointment.

Share |

The SCMWA held a trade tasting in San Francisco today. A couple of dozen great wineries pouring their current releases for buyers, distributors, restauranteurs and writers. It would be difficult enough to try all the wines without taking notes; at every table there's an old friend to catch up with. Many apologies to everyone whose wines I didn't get to taste.

These are more impressions than proper tasting notes. Overall the quality was excellent, with hardly any signs of over-manipulation.

2007 Black Ridge Viognier, Santa Cruz Mountains
Lychee, mango and tropical fruit nose. Touch of residual sugar, flavours of apricot and mango. A great pairing for spicy food. 90
2007 Black Ridge Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains
Heavy, black cherry nose. Rich, spicy cherry fruit. Medium, tannic finish. Needs a year. 91+

2007 Clos LaChance Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains
Black cherry nose. Smooth, rich cherry fruit, some spice. Light on the tannin and acidity. Drink now. 89
2007 Clos LaChance "Buff Bellied Hummingbird" Zinfandel, Central Coast
Smoky, ripe raspberry nose. Intense, concentrated dark raspberry fruit. Good structure too. 91 This would be good value anyway, but apparently Safeway have it on offer for $12 right now. Back up the van!
2006 Clos LaChance "Lila's Cuvee", Estate
Rhone blend. Smoky, meaty and earthy nose. Well structured, with good fruit backed by mushroom and earth notes. Needs a year or two. 90+
2006 Clos LaChance Cabernet Sauvignon, Estate
Soft blackcurrant fruit, fine tannins and a smooth finish. 90

2007 Heart O' The Mountain Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains
Tart cranberry and cherry nose. Rich concentrated fruit, kirschwasser on the finish. 90+
2006 Heart O' The Mountain Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains
Dusty oak, cherry. Nice sweet fruit, seemed more balanced and integrated. Drink or hold. Think I'm in the minority in preferring the 2006, to drink now at least. 91

2001 Kathryn Kennedy Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains
Lovely rich warm, nose, complex currant notes. Wow. Intense fruit, nicely integrated. Seriously delicious now but will hold. 96
2005 Kathryn Kennedy Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains
Fainter nose than the 2001, black fruits. Good fruit but not as integrated. Lots of structure. Less intense than 01 but perhaps more elegant. Needs time. 94+
2006 Kathryn Kennedy Small Lot Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains
Sourced from 10 different vineyards from Woodside to Morgan Hill.
Soft, rich berry fruit on the nose. Smooth blackcurrant fruit, nice oak, good acidity, quickish finish. 91

2006 La Honda Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains
Cabernet Sauvignon 57% Sangiovese 43%
Light nose, some black fruit. Light bodied and earthy. The tannin has calmed since I last tasted it, but it still needs time. 86
2006 La Honda Cabernet Sauvignon, Chalk Hill
Blackberry and dusty oak on the nose. Big, rich, ripe blackberry/blackcurrant flavours. Long tannic finish. Give it at least another year. 92
2006 La Honda Meritage, Chalk Hill
Nice floral, black fruit nose. Good blackcurrant fruit, less tannin than the Cabernet Sauvignon. Drinking well now. 91
2007 La Honda Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains
Unlike 2006 all the fruit went into one blend. I think it's a good decision.
Cherry Cola on the nose. Big ripe fruit, cherry and cranberry. Needs time. 90+

2008 Martella Sauvignon Blanc, Monterey
Fermented in steel, aged sur lie for 5 months.
Citrus nose, grapefruit, lemon and fig. Bright and fruity, mandarin pear and peach. 90
2006 Martella Grenache
Ripe, porty nose. Ripe, tart fruit (acid added?). Notes of liquorice. 85
2007 Martella "Hammer" Syrah
Earth, black fruit on the nose. Lots of tannins, liquorice again, bitter finish. 87
2008 Martella Zinfandel
Initial mushroom nose blew off to reveal floral, rose petal nose. Some residual sugar. Sweet raspberry, low acid, tannic finish. 85

2008 Martin Ranch JD Hurley Chardonnay
Cidery nose. Vanilla cream and smooth apple. Cidery finish. 86
2006 Martin Ranch JD Hurley Merlot, Santa Clara Valley
Oak, smooth plum fruit. 88
2006 Martin Ranch JD Hurley Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains
Earthy berry nose. Good acidity, nice fruit, tart finish. 88
2006 Martin Ranch Therese Vineyard Syrah, Santa Clara Valley
Earth, smoke and black fruit. Lovely fruit, nice acidity, crisp finish with white pepper 91
2005 Martin Ranch Therese Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains
Shy, earthy nose. Dense blackcurrant fruit, lot of tannin. Needs 3+ years in the cellar. 90+
2006 Martin Ranch Therese Vineyard Sangiovese, Santa Clara Valley
Lots of earth and sweet oak. Nice red fruit, red currant, earth, smoke, liquorice 91
2007 Martin Ranch Therese Vineyard Zinfandel, Amador
12% petite Sirah. Around 0.5% residual sugar.
Sweet raspberry syrup nose. Sweet raspberry, decent structure 87

2007 Mount Eden Saratoga Cuvee Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains
Made from declassified estate fruit as well as some from managed vineyards.
Peaches, pears and vanilla on the nose. Rich, sweet fruit, nice oak - not too heavy. Good tart finish. 91
2006 Mount Eden Estate Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains
Lighter nose than the Saratoga Cuvee, showing some caramel. Bright fruit, green apple. Not really showing much right now. Long finish though. Great potential. 90++
2007 Mount Eden Estate Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains
Huge nose - cherry, raspberry and oak. Full bodied - rich cherry spice, orange peel and so much more. Long, lingering finish. Could be better than the awesome 2005. Buy this and cellar it. 96+
2007 Mount Eden Saratoga Cuvee Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains
Always a good value. Nice dusty, blackcurrant nose. Good berry fruit, nice balance. 89
2006 Mount Eden Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains
Another 2006 with a light nose. Seems to be a feature of the vintage.
Elegant and structured, but way too young. There's a big wall of tannin around the fruit. Hard to rate at this stage; 89++++

2008 Odonata Chardonnay, Peter Martin Ray Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains
Toast, fig and apple pie on the nose. Rich pear, peach and apricot. Toasted brioche on the finish. 92
2008 Odonata Grenache
Raspberry/cherry pie on the nose and again on the palate. Spice, raspberry, shows some oak. 91
2007 Odonata Malbec
Tart blackberry nose. Orange, blackberry, toast and clove. Good acidity. 90
2007 Odonata Durif, McDowell Valley
Nice black fruit. Spicy. Good tannin control. 90

2007 Sarah's Vineyard Old Vine Grenache, Santa Clara Valley
Interesting smoky, meaty nose. Medium bodied. Rich, concentrated fruit, light tannin. Very tasty 91

2008 Storrs Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains
Apple and vanilla nose. Flavours of green apple and tropical fruit. 89
2006 Storrs Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains
Spicy, with cinnamon, clove and dried cranberry nose. Sweet cranberry fruit and white pepper, but there's bitter tannin on the finish. 88+ if the bitterness goes with time.
2006 Storrs "Two Creek" Rhone blend, Santa Clara Valley
Savoury, gamey, roasted meat nose. Rich and full bodied. Sweet, dark fruit; intense and concentrated. Medium finish. Good tannins. Great value at around $25 92
2005 Storrs "Lion Oaks" Zinfandel, Santa Clara Valley
Spice, black pepper, raspberry nose. Another wine with intense, concentrated, sweet fruit. Long finish. 92
2005 Storrs Petite Sirah
Nose shows barnyard, some tart black fruit. Lots of tannin, but not too much and there's fruit to support it. 89

Share |

Many wineries have their share of gold medals, but there can't be many that boast an Olympic gold medal. Figure skater Peggy Fleming won the USA's only gold medal at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France. She and her husband - former dermatologist turned winemaker Greg Jenkins run the Fleming Jenkins winery. The wines are made at the old Novitiate Winery, now home of Testarossa, and they have a tasting room in downtown Los Gatos. The fee is $5 and normally includes 5 wines; the port usually isn't available to taste.

Note Further to my recent comments on scoring systems I've decided to give the 100 point scale a shot.

2008 "Victories" Rosé
A blend of 87% Syrah and 13% Pinot Noir, barrel fermented but no malolactic. Part of the proceeds go to support breast cancer research (Peggy was diagnosed and successfully treated in 1998.)
Light nose with ruby grapefruit, wild strawberries and a hint of banana. Though dry it has a light, sweetish, fruity character; sherbet, strawberry and tropical fruit, with good acidity and a mouth watering finish. A nice summer sipper. 87 $20

2007 Jenkins Vineyard Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains
From the 1 acre vineyard planted by the owners home. The wine sees about 35% new French oak.
Light nose showing lemon zest; on the palate there's a subtle blend of creamy vanilla, lemon, melon and some minerality, good acidity and a medium length finish. Nice, but not a bargain. 89 $38.

2006 Black Ridge Syrah, Santa Cruz Mountains
Nose shows smoky oak, black plummy fruit and a touch of liquorice. Nice complexity; flavours of plum and brambles and some white pepper. Good structure; will repay cellaring. 92 Recommended $40

2006 Madden Ranch Syrah, Livermore
From a 100 acre vineyard owned by John Madden, in Livermore. The warmer climate produces a riper wine than the Black Ridge; the nose is smoother and lighter, the palate shows ripe fruit, less structure, with liquorice and smoke on the finish. An easy drinking Syrah that lacks the complexity of the Black Ridge; drink it now and leave the others in the cellar. 89

2005 Choreography, Napa Valley
A Bordeaux blend with 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc, 9% Merlot and 1% Malbec
The light nose of blackberry jam and smoke belies a good, balanced, well structured wine; espresso, blackcurrant and smoke with a nice, dry tannic finish. 91 $50

2004 Petite Sirah Port
9% residual sugar. The port-like nose (well, duh!) shows some volatile acidity; on the palate there's chocolate with spicy black cherry and an oaky, toasty, porty, sweet finish. Sorry but with one very notable exception (and this isn't it) I'm not much of a fan of US pseudo-ports. 84 $34 (half bottle).

Share |

2007 Black Ridge Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains
Nice nose of tart cherries. Good cherry and cranberry fruit on the palate, but lots of tannin and acidity. Worth getting, but leave it at least two years before opening.
2005 Stefania Syrah, Eaglepoint Ranch
I love the way this wine has developed. Lovely floral/herbal nose; Nice balance of black fruits and game with a touch of cedar. Continues to improve each time I try it; will I have any left by the time it peaks?
2007 Clos LaChance Estate Muscat
I rarely drink Muscat as I find them simple and uninspiring; I much prefer Sauternes or Tokaj. However I like to keep some around as I find it's the perfect compliment to a fresh fruit salad. This is a perfect example; the sweetness level and orange flavours match rather than mask the berries. A bargain on closeout for $3.

Share |

On a slope overlooking Lexington Reservoir sits the 70 acre Black Ridge estate. Grapes were grown on the site before Prohibition; it later became a prune farm and more recently grew Christmas trees.

The site has great views of the Santa Cruz Mountains and downtown San Jose. Several impressive buildings have been erected, including one which may house the winery that is still under construction.

Beginning in 2000 owners Fred Faltersack and Jim Landes began planting vines. Around 22 acres are planted, with 11 different varieties. The first vintage was produced in 2005 by Jeffrey Patterson of Mount Eden Vineyards; subsequent vintages have been made by Bill Brosseau at Testarossa. All wines use 100% estate fruit

2007 Viognier
The only white currently produced, it has a lovely fresh fruity/floral nose, with apricots and canteloupe. Flavour soft pear and vanilla with a rich, creamy mouthfeel and a crisp, oaky finish.

2005 Cabernet Sauvignon
Smoky, brambly nose. Plenty of acidity and tannin, but the fruit seemed a bit muted.

2006 San Andreas Red
69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot
Bright, fruity nose showing redcurrant. Good balance, with plum and blackberry flavours. Tannins on the finish seemed a little harsh.

2006 Cabernet Franc
Nice tobacco and cedar notes backed by blackcurrant and blueberries. Rich, well structured. Dry, tannic finish.

Also on offer were barrel samples of a 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, made by assistant winemaker Ashley DuBois. A sample from neutral oak showed bright, pure brambly fruit with a rich, smooth finish. The sample from new French oak added notes of caramel and coffee, while the fruit remained pure and focused. This looks like being an excellent debut release for Ashley.

Share |

In my previous post I mentioned that I'd attended a SCMWA trade tasting on Monday. Being trade only it wasn't anywhere near as busy as Pinot Paradise, but with over 30 wineries participating (some pouring 5 or more wines) and constantly switching between varietals it was way harder. If anything my notes are worse than last time, and I doubt that I visited more than maybe half of the participants. So what I have are more impressions than anything else.

New names that stood out for me at Pinot Paradise were Heart o' the Mountain and Black Ridge. Both were at this event too; Heart o' the Mountain are exclusively Pinot producers and were pouring the same vintage as last time, so nothing new to report there. It's good stuff. Check it out.

Black Ridge has the potential to be a much larger outfit. They have something like 20 acres planted with at least as many different clones, from Cabernet Sauvignon to Pinot Gris. The Pinot Noir is only the second vintage from those vines (the first was not commercially available) but is excellent - good rich fruit and plenty of complexity; not badly priced at $39. They were also pouring an Estate Viognier ($25) - not a common varietal in these parts. I fully expected to find a hint of residual sugar, and on the palate it was extremely fruity, but the finish was bone dry. A very nice wine indeed. It turns out that the winemaker is in fact Testarossa's Bill Brosseau, who knows a thing or two about Pinot Noir in particular.

Another little winery that I've been banging the drum for recently is Vidovich Vineyards. They are based up on Monte Bello Road, close to Ridge and Naumann. They produce a single Cabernet Sauvignon called "Montebello Road" that's a terrific value at $20. I swear that if it said Napa on the label they would be charging 3 times as much. Picchetti has been making a Cabernet with fruit from the same vineyard that retails for $45.

They were pouring the just released 2003 vintage, which seemed just as good as the 2002 that I've been quaffing by the case. Until now it was only available at certain restaurants and from Unwined in San Jose, but it appears that they have finally lined up a distributor, so I would expect it to be more readily available, and for the price to rise as more people discover it.

Share |