Congratulations to Sycamore Creek, who got Best Red Wine/Double Gold for the 2007 Mosaico as well as a Double Gold for their 2007 Uvas Valley Cabernet at the 2010 West Coast Wine competition. Out of 1400 wines only 14 Double Golds were awarded, so to win two of them is a remarkable achievement.

Full results are here. Other local winners include:

Clos LaChance:
Silver - 2007 Merlot, Central Coast
Silver - 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, Central Coast
Bronze - 2009 Sauvignon Blanc, Central Coast
Bronze - 2006 Syrah, Central Coast

Dancing Creek:
Silver - 2008 Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains
Bronze - 2008 Merlot, Santa Cruz Mountains

Martin Ranch:
Silver - 2006 JD Hurley Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains
Silver - 2007 Therese Vineyards Syrah, Santa Cruz Mountains
Silver - 2006 Therese Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Estate, Santa Cruz Mountains
Bronze - 2009 JD Hurley Sauvignon Blanc, Arroyo Seco
Bronze - 2007 JD Hurley Zinfandel, Santa Clara Valley
Bronze - 2006 Therese Vineyards Syrah, Santa Clara Valley

Jason/Stephens
Silver - 2006 Dorcich Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Clara Valley
Silver - 2006 Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains
Bronze - 2006 Syrah, Santa Clara Valley
Bronze - 2006 Merlot, Santa Clara Valley

Kings Mountain Vineyard
Bronze - 2005 Meritage, Santa Cruz Mountains

La Rusticana d'Orsa:
Bronze - 2007 Santa Cruz Mountains

Loma Prieta:
Bronze - 2008 Pinot Noir, Saveria Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains
Bronze - 2008 Pinot Noir, Estate, Santa Cruz Mountains

Pietra Santa:
Gold - 2005 Vache Red Blend, Cienega Valley
Silver - 2008 Pinot Grigio, Cienega Valley
Silver - 2008 Chardonnay, Dunne Ranch, Pacheco Pass
Silver - 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, Cienega Valley
Bronze - 2007 Chardonnay Signature Collection, Cienega Valley
Bronze - 2006 Sangiovese, Cienega Valley
Bronze - 2007 zinfandel, Central Coast
Bronze - NV Sacred Stone, Central Coast

Poetic Cellars:
Silver - 2005 Petite Sirah, Livermore Valley
Bronze - 2007 Ballad, Livermore Valley

Sycamore Creek
Best Red, Double Gold - 2007 Mosaico, Santa Clara Valley
Double Gold - 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, Uvas Valley Vineyard, Santa Clara Valley
Silver - 2007 Syrah, Santa Clara Valley
Silver - 2007 Cabernet Franc, Santa Clara Valley
Silver - 2007 Malbec, Santa Clara Valley
Bronze - 2009 Sauvignon Blanc, Monterey

Vine Hill:
Gold - 2007 Cumbre Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains
Silver - 2007 Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains

Windy Oaks:
Bronze - 2007 Pinot Noir 'Diane's Block', Santa Cruz Mountains

Share |

Thanks to the tough economic conditions pretty much everyone is cutting back on their purchases. As Paul Romero noted in his current blog entry, people are in the market for wines at a lower price point than they previously paid.

One good place to pick up bargains is in the secondary market. Cellar storage isn't free; not for wineries or for customers, so if tastes have changed and people have wines they don't plan to drink it may make more sense to cut their losses and sell them off. In many cases it's possible to buy mature, well cellared examples of wines for less than the price of current releases.

I spotted a couple of vintages of Sycamore Creek at auction recently. One was the excellent 1978 which I've written about previously and also the 1979. A weaker vintage to be sure, but I put in a low opening bid and won.

Unlike the 1978 which carried the Central Coast label, the 1979 was made with fruit from San Luis Obispo County. (The winery had replanted in 1977 and the young vines were not yet producing.)

1979 Sycamore Creek Cabernet Sauvignon, San Luis Obispo County
Fill level on the bottle was good; base of the neck. Removing the foil showed a little mould on the cork but no obvious seepage. The cork came out easily, unlike the 1978s; it was stained almost entirely and the sides were moist, with some tartrate crystals in the void spaces.
The wine had a russet colour, with a clear meniscus. The nose was a little musty and slightly sherryish, with aromas of beef jerky. On the palate it was fully mature - flavours of leather and cedar and a little dill. There was still plenty of tannin and acidity, and some dried berry fruit, but not much. Some mustiness on the finish. But when served with food the tannins were diminished and the sweet dried fruit came to the fore. 86
Although it's by no means a classic the wine has held up remarkably well, especially considering it's from a weaker vintage. Well worth the $10 I paid for it.

Share |

Sycamore Creek is a winery with an uneven history. Since 2005 it's been owned by Bill Holt, who also owns the nearby Uvas Creek vineyard. This was their first vintage, with fruit from the old head-pruned Cabernet vines. Those vines were torn out this year and the vineyard is being replanted; the new vines will be properly trained but won't be producing for a few years.

This didn't taste as good as the last time I had it. Decanted and poured immediately. Nose of black fruits, vanilla and smoke. While there's plenty of good black fruit, this time it seemed overpowered by chewy oak and didn't seem to improve over the course of the evening. A big wine if you're an oak lover, but on this showing I couldn't give it more than 86. $28

Share |

I first tasted this Zinfandel 6 months ago at the Bella Mia tasting in San Jose. The fruit comes from a small domestic vineyard in Coyote Valley; I don't believe that the vines are particularly old.

The nose is showing lots of espresso coffee, "red vines" and strawberry. The oak is showing more than I remember, as is the heat. On the palate it's rich and concentrated; spicy in a chili pepper way. There's a lot of raspberry and some black pepper too. The tannins are smooth, not overpowering and it has a good long finish.

It's been sold out at the winery for months but I'll certainly be looking out for future vintages. 91

Share |

There's a nice article on the Santa Clara Valley wineries by Alan Goldfarb over on Appellation America. For those who don't subscribe, John Aver has it reprinted on his website.

Speaking of Aver Family, their Petite Sirah gets praised by Laurie Daniel in her weekly piece for the Mercury News.

Share |

I've written about Sycamore Creek before, in particular their stellar 1978 Cabernet Sauvignon but this was my first visit to the winery. It's located off Watsonville Road, at the junction with Uvas Road. There's a narrow bridge over the eponymous creek leading into the vineyard; 10 acres of dry farmed head pruned old vines.

The current owners of Sycamore Creek, Bill and Carolyn Holt, also own the highly regarded Uvas Creek Vineyard, which is located a further mile down Uvas Road. Fruit for the wines is sourced from both vineyards and some is purchased locally. The Holts are gradually refurbishing the old vineyard and introducing new VSP trellising. All the wines with the exception of the Sauvignon Blanc carry the Santa Clara Valley appellation.

There are two tasting options; a flight of 5 current releases that is free and a flight of 5 reserve wines that costs $5. The fee is not refunded with purchase.

2007 Sauvignon Blanc, Monterey County
A lovely crisp, fruity Sauvignon Blanc. Nice herbal nose with notes of lime. Dry with mouth-watering grapefruit and lychee flavours. $17

2006 Chardonnay
Sourced from the nearby Vanumanutagi vineyard it clearly shares many characteristics with the offering from Fernwood Cellars. Rich aromas of creamy vanilla and butterscotch lead into sweet caramel and mango flavours and a long finish. $22

NV Uvas
A legacy of the previous owners, the Uvas is a blend of Cabernet and Chardonnay, with 3% Syrah added. It's an unusual combination, but it proved popular so has been continued. The nose shows blueberries and oak; on the palate there's the caramel notes from the Vanumanutagi Chardonnay combined with the berry flavours from the Cabernet. $18

2005 Syrah
The nose suggests fresh berries, smoke and English tea. Sweet flavours of blueberries and black olives, with a tannic finish. $18

2006 Mosaico
A Bordeaux blend, featuring all 5 grapes. Smoky, rustic nose with violets and brambles; flavours of brambles, blackcurrant and graphite witha good, structured finish. $25

2006 Carignane
Sourced from 100 year, old dry farmed Blake Family Vineyard on nearby Redwood Retreat Road
A smoky, dusty, earthy nose like a library or old wardrobe. Layered fruit; raspberry, sour cherry, allspice and new mown grass, with a tart finish. Nice structure; a good food wine. $21

2006 Cabernet Franc
New release. Aromas of black cherry and tobacco; Rich, sweet, silky black fruit, coffee and tobacco with racy acidity. $?

2004 Cabernet Sauvignon
Nose of leather, Cedar and spice. A big, tannic wine that needs time; great flavours of, blackcurrant and spicy oak. $20

2005 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
A vibrant, smoky nose with berries and a hint of mint. Seemed smoother than 2004; nice cassis fruit, long finish and good structure. $28

2006 Petite Sirah
A typically inky, glass staining colour with a funky, barnyard nose. There's some good fruit backed by huge, chewy tannins. A wine to lay down and forget for a while. $20

2008 "Cabernet Blanc"
I confess I didn't get this. A rose of Cabernet Sauvignon, the label says "Late harvest"; it has 15% alcohol and 1% residual sugar. The wine was pressed after just 24 hours, giving a pale rose colour. It's got ripe, sweet flavours of wild strawberry and guava. To me a summer rose should be light with lithe acidity and relatively low in alcohol. This seems to be more of a get-your-date-tipsy kind of wine. $?

Share |

Between them, Santa Clara Valley wineries garnered 45 medals at the Chronicle wine competition this year. To celebrate and raise public awareness, Jason Goelz of Jason/Stephens Winery organised a tasting in downtown San Jose. In all, 9 wineries participated. It was a very pleasant event; enough time to visit all the wineries without feeling rushed.

Many of the wineries are only open to the public on the 3rd weekend of the month. Here are my brief notes from the event.

Cinnabar
2006 Mercury Rising (SILVER)
A good value blend of bordeaux varietals sourced from several regions; Napa, sonoma, Lodi and Paso Robles. Meaty, smoky nose; balanced with nice berry fruit.
2007 Pinot Noir, Sleepy Hollow Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands (GOLD)
Nice expression of Pinot from this well known vineyard in Monterey County. Rich chocolate and cherry fruit with a lingering finish.

Clos LaChance
2007 "Glittering-Throated Emerald" Chardonnay (GOLD)
This unoaked Chardonnay shows mango and other tropical fruit dlavours. Nice clean, crisp finish. Always a bargain; watch out for it on offer in Safeway and stock up.
2006 "Black Chinned" Syrah (SILVER)
A nice fruity nose leads into good fruit and spice flavours; hints of nutmeg and white pepper. Good oak and tannins.
2006 "Buff-Bellied" Zinfandel (BRONZE)
Light nose; good raspberry fruit. Tart cherries on the finish.
2005 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon (GOLD)
The Estate series is generally available direct from the winery. It spends over 2 years in new French oak. There's big blackcurrant fruit together with espresso and a hint of mint. It's still very young and needs time for the oak and tannins to soften.

Creekview Vineyards
2005 was the first vintage for Creekview, based in San Martin.
2007 Chardonnay, Arroyo Seco (GOLD)
Lemony nose; butter and vanilla on the palate. This is your textbook Californian oak-and-butter Chardonnay.
2006 Syrah (DOUBLE GOLD)
Sourced mainly from the Dorcich vineyard, it also contains 6% Mourvèdre and 3% Négrette.
Dark fruit and a little smoke on the nose, rich sweet fruit on the palate. A real crowd pleaser that's ready to drink.

J. Lohr
Based in San Jose, J Lohr produces over 1 million cases annually from their 3000 farmed acres, mostly in Monterey and Paso Robles. Known mainly for their Estate series found in supermarkets everywhere they also have several high end labels.
2007 Sauvignon Blanc "Carol's Vineyard", Napa Valley (SILVER)
Very aromatic, crisp nose. Peach and gooseberry flavours, with less acidity than I expected. Nice finish.
2007 Pinot Noir "Fog's Reach Vineyard", Arroyo Seco (GOLD)
Notes of sweet cherry and toffee, both on the nose and palate. Fine tannins show on the long finish.
2006 Cabernet Sauvignon "Hilltop Vineyard", Paso Robles (GOLD)
Concentrated flavours of blackcurrant and coffee, with big tannins. Surprisingly good value at $35

Jason/Stephens
First vintage for this partnership of winemaker Jason Goelz and veteran grower Stephen Dorcich.
2006 Cabernet Sauvignon (BRONZE)
Bottled under screw cap and targeted at the restaurant 'by the glass' market, this is an easy drinking, balanced Cabernet. Nice fruit; lightly oaked.
2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Dorcich Estate (BRONZE)
Sourced from the same vineyard, the Estate sees more oak, which shows on the nose. There's also a lot more tannin, but there's decent fruit and nice acidity. Needs another year or so for the oak to integrate.
2006 Syrah (SILVER)
Earthy, smoky, rustic nose. Great fruit, good balance, long tannic finish.

Monte Verde
2006 was the first vintage from this husband and wife team in Morgan Hill. The estate is planted with Spanish varietals Tempranillo and Verdejo.
2006 "Villa Palma" Merlot (BRONZE)
Nose reminiscent of dried lavender. On the palate it's got nice plum fruit, if a little 1 dimensional. Soft tannins on the finish.
2006 "Muritabo" Syrah (SILVER)
A bright nose of red apples. On the palate there's black cherries and coffee, with quite a long finish.

Sarah's Vineyard
2007 Estate Chardonnay (SILVER)
The more I try this wine, the more I like it. There's a nose of green apples and pears; on the palate today it was showing a creamy caramel fudge quality. Very nice.
2007 Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains (SILVER)
Similar in style to the Estate, but with more lemon on the nose and more acidity on the palate. Long, rich finish. Two excellent Chardonnays.
2007 Estate Pinot Noir (GOLD)
Spicy nose showing cinnamon and oak; rich cherry fruit with a long finish
2007 Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains (BEST IN CLASS)
Very perfumed nose; it's the Estate and more besides, with the oak showing a little too much at this stage. Give it cellar time.
2005 Syrah, Besson Vineyard (BEST IN CLASS)
For some reason the nose on this reminded me of tinned sweetcorn. A big wine, lots of ripe fruit and a long finish. A nice wine, but a touch too ripe for my personal tastes.

Satori Cellars
Another newcomer; 2006 is their first vintage. Bright, eye catching labels and a real sense of fun.
2006 "Halelujah" Cabernet Sauvignon, Washington (GOLD)
I haven't had many cabs from Washington, but what I've tasted so far has been good. Interesting nose of Vimto and smoke. Good rich, sweet fruit; blackcurrants on toast. Soft, crisp finish.
2006 Estate Zinfandel (NOT ENTERED)
Big, bold raspberry flavours are only hinted at by the light nose. The tannins are firm on the finish.
2006 "Ta Da" Syrah (BRONZE)
A bright nose of blueberries. Soft fruit on the palate and a fairly quick finish
2006 "Ha Ha" Petite Sirah (BRONZE)
It's hard to make a Petite Sirah that isn't a tannic monster, and this is no exception. Smoky, oaky nose and a hint of liquorice on the finish. There's some fruit there but it's mostly obscured by the tannins.

Sycamore Creek
Taken over in 2005 by Bill Holt and Ted Medeiros, of Uvas Creek Vineyard.
2006 Chardonnay, Vanumanutagi Vineyard (GOLD)
Nose of oak and butterscotch. On the palate it shows rich, creamy fruit, particularly honeydew melon.
2005 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Uvas Creek Vineyard (BRONZE)
Floral nose; violets from the Petite Verdot and some oak. Lush fruit; blackcurrant and brambles. Soft tannins on the finish.
2007 Zinfandel (DOUBLE GOLD)
Sourced from a 1 acre domestic vineyard in Coyote Valley. Bright fruity nose; raspberry and brambly, which follows through to the palate. Very nice acidity and balanced; no heat from the 15% alcohol.

Share |

Santa Clara Valley has a rich history of grape growing and wine making. When the first Spanish settlers came they found grapes growing wild; the area became known as Cañada de las Uvas, now Uvas Canyon. Soon after, Etienne Thee and Charles Le Franc established the Almaden winery, which was later owned by Paul Masson. At one time the names Paul Masson and Almaden were synonymous with quality; a far cry from the wines that bear their names today.

By 1980, the Santa Cruz Mountains had taken over the quality mantle; the valley languished and became known for a cluster of small family wineries clustered around the Hecker Pass area. Despite the presence of some quality producers such as Sycamore Creek (the 1978 Cabernet Sauvignon is sublime) and Sarah's Vineyard, when the boundaries of the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA were drawn the valley was carefully excluded, while including other low elevation producers such as Kathryn Kennedy.

But in recent years a change has been brewing. Driven by the high cost and low availability of suitable vineyard land in the Santa Cruz Mountains, growers have started to take another look at the valley. The most obvious sign is the 150 acre Clos LaChance estate vineyard in San Martin, but others are more subtle.

Bill Holt and Ted Medeiros began growing grapes at the Uvas Creek vineyard, located along the creek that marks the border between the AVAs, in 1998. Since then they have quietly built up a reputation for growing some of the finest Cabernet in the state. Stefania's 2005 Uvas Creek Cabernet was recently featured in the DC Examiner as one of California's undiscovered "Wine Nuggets", though perhaps undiscovered isn't the right term to use for a wine that has a waiting list to purchase. In 2007 Bill purchased Sycamore Creek. Since the 1980s the property had been owned by a member of the Morita family, who own Sony, and the wine had been almost exclusively exported and poured at corporate functions. The 2007 Sycamore Creek Zinfandel recently won double Gold at the SF Chronicle wine festival.

Sarah's Vineyard was purchased by Tim Slater in 2001. Since then there has been significant investment in the property, both in terms of winemaking facilities and in the vineyards. New vineyards have been planted, while the old ones have been renovated, including replacing the old trellising and in some cases changing the orientation of the vines. The efforts have paid off, with two Best Of Class awards, as well as Gold for the estate Pinot and Silver for the estate Chardonnay.

Buying an established winery is one thing; building a new one is a different matter. Santa Clara Valley now has two new wineries; Jason-Stephens is a joint venture between winemaker Jason Goelz and grower Stephen Dorcich, based in a brand new facility in Dorcich's 79 acre Uvas Canyon vineyard. The first releases, a brace of 2006 Cabernets, each scored Bronze in the Chronicle competition. The vineyard certainly has potential; the 2006 Creekview Vineyard Syrah was sourced from here and it scored double Gold. It will take time to replace the old sprawling trellising, but this is one to watch.

The other new winery that I mentioned is Castillo's Hillside Shire. Located in Morgan Hill they just released their 2007 vintage. As yet I haven't had the opportunity to taste the wines, but they will be open for the Santa Clara Valley passport event later in the month.

Most of the above mentioned wines, and many more, will be poured at the Santa Clara Valley tasting event at Bella Mia on Wednesday.

Share |

As any fule kno, the vast majority of wines aren't made to be aged. After 10 years many are past their prime, and after 30 years all but the best are utterly shot. So when you're buying a wine that's 30 years old you look for names that have proven track records of ageing - wines like Monte Bello, Grange or top Bordeaux.

You probably wouldn't automatically put Sycamore Creek in that category. In fact you probably haven't even heard of Sycamore Creek. The winery is located in Morgan Hill, in the Santa Clara Valley AVA. It's an area long known for wine growing; there's been a vineyard on the site for about 100 years. As far as I can work out it didn't operate as a winery after Prohibition until two former school teachers, Terry and Mary Kay Parks purchased it in 1975. They restored the old Zinfandel and Carignane vines and reopened the winery with the 1977 vintage, aiming to produce high quality wines. They won several medals at competitions and with only their second vintage produced a world-class Cabernet Sauvignon.

After a decade running the winery the Parks decided to retire a second time and sold the business to Morita Kazuaki, part of the Morita family that owns Sony. He exported most of the wines to Japan where they were poured at Sony corporate events. Then in 2005 the winery was purchased by Bill and Carolyn Holt, who also own the highly regarded Uvas Creek Vineyard. I've heard great things about the wines currently in barrel, but until those are ready to be released the winery is selling off the vintages made by the previous owners, which are frankly best avoided.

According to the winery web site, the vineyards were originally planted with Zinfandel and Carignane. The Parks replanted Chardonnay and Cabernet in 1977, which means the fruit for the 1978 Cabernet Sauvignon must have been purchased.

I picked this up for just $30 at K&L, following a tip off by my friend Wes. He'd tried the same wine at a recent retrospective of 1978 California cabernets, and it had shown very well. The cork showed slight signs of seepage but the fill level was reasonable - at the base of the neck. Removing the cork proved difficult; it was very crumbly and the seepage had effectively glued it to the glass, but with a little effort it was removed practically intact. I decanted it to get rid of the fine cloud of sediment and was pleased to note that it smelled great. It tasted great too; layers of sweet fruit - brambles and blackcurrants - and fine, soft tannins. Tremendous value at $30; I was tempted to scoop the remaining bottles but showed commendable restraint, so last time I checked there were still some left.

Share |