August 7, 2012 – Wine: 2001 Joseph Phelps Insignia

I was browsing a web site for half bottles when I stumbled across this bottle and thought “I wonder what a 95 point wine tastes like.”  I was working a second job for a short while and I decided to splurge on a half-bottle of Insignia.  Could a wine with that score be bad?  Apparently not.  When I opened this bottle in June of 2010, the wine was clearly performing at its peak.  (I used the word “spectacular” in my notes.)  I recall a magical richness, elegance, balance, and flavor that I have yet to reproduce.  So, I located three more bottles online.  Now, two years later, the magic is waning, but the wine remains terrific.  Well layered with flavors, I noted blackberry, pencil lead, chalky tannins, powerful minerals, and subtle black currant, all woven together in terrific balance.

2001 Joseph Phelps Insignia

August 1, 2012 – Wine: 2007 August Briggs Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

I remember tasting this wine at the winery when it was released and noting its classic Russian River Valley richness.  That was three-and-a-half years ago.  When I opened the bottle I brought home, the first thing I noticed was the smell of Dentine (cinnamon) gum.  After a while in the decanter, the fruit from this wine started to express itself on the nose.  On the palette were delicious flavors of cranberry, blueberry, cinnamon, and mineral, delivered in a richly textured body with terrific balance.  This wine was dark and fairly dense as Pinot Noir goes, but none the less delicious.  I would describe this as a cab-drinker’s Pinot Noir.

2007 August Briggs Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

Space Shuttle graces Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyards (video)

In its only pass over the San Francisco Bay Area, the Space Shuttle Endeavour, mounted atop a Boeing 747, graced the skies over the Santa Cruz Mountains this morning (September 21, 2012).  As part of its final mission, I’m nearly certain that the purpose of this flight was to add a magical touch to the wines made from grapes grown in these mountains, especially the Ridge Montebello harvest for 2012.  This video was taken from a parking lot just three miles from the foothills below Montebello.  As a big space geek, the fly over gave me goose bumps.  I’ll have to open something special tonight to commemorate the event.

(wait about a minute for the video to load)

July 27, 2012 – Wine: 2005 Rudd Crossroads Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon

To lure a friend to join me for the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, I offered up this beauty.  I fell in love with this lush wine in the tasting room at the winery back in 2008.  Had they bottled it in half-bottles, I would have brought home a case of it then and there.  Instead, I bought just three full bottles that I have to share with dear friends.  Tonight, I did not decant as long as usual (just 15 minutes).  When I first tried it, there was an intense blend of dark chocolate, molasses, and coffee on the palette.  Given an hour, this wine pulled together in perfect balance, bringing out black cherry, red currants, minerals, and a note of maple.

July 26, 2012 – Wine: 2005 Savannah-Chanelle Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

I was really impressed with this wine when it was released, especially considering that the price was just under $30 (at the time).  I bought a bottle to lay down.  Tonight, I opened it to share with a friend who had shared a 2009 Russian River Pinot Noir from a lesser price point the night before.  While the 2009 was clearly a young wine, this wine was balanced and smooth, without any harsh edges.  The palette featured an interesting mix of red and black fruits, baking spices, minerals, and notes of sweet black prunes on the persistent finish.  I have always admired the wines produced by Savannah-Chanelle Winery in the Saratoga Foothills.

2005 Savanna-Chanelle Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

Gary Farrell Winery, July 25th, 2012

Winery - 8 / Wines - 7
Range:  1 to 9 (9 is best, 5 is average)
Mountain-side winery with tree-top views of Russian River Valley.  Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah
www.garyfarrellwinery.com

After rushing about Sonoma County working with the planning department, I had enough time left for a single winery visit along the Russian River.  So, I visited my staple winery there, Gary Farrell Winery.  For avid, mountain-climbing bicyclists, the ride up the driveway to the tasting room will be exhilarating … for the rest of us, drive a car with a sturdy motor, as the hill is an ambitious trek up to the tasting room, but not without its rewards.  The driveway entrance to the winery can be found off the lower portion of the Westside Road, but is easily missed if not watching for it.  A modest wooden sign announces the entrance to the winery.  Once atop the winery driveway, you immediately understand why it was located there: the views are spectacular.  So much so that the tasting room is built around the views, with tasters at the bar looking out a panoramic window that wraps around the tasting bar.



The view of Rissian River Valley from Gary Farrell Winery

 The tasting room has an elegant mountain home feel to it, with rustic lumbers on the ceiling, beautiful (yet simple) woodwork surrounding the doors and windows, plenty of natural light, a tile floor that draws in the colors of the forest just outside, and glass doors that open onto a patio where you can enjoy your wine tasting in the beautiful Russian River Valley summer weather.  When the weather is less agreeable, there are a few tables indoors for a sit-down tasting in addition to the handsome tasting bar that wraps around two lengths of the room.  The tasting bar is my favorite vantage point because you are practically forced to take in the tree-top splendor outdoors as you take in the glorious wines that this winery produces.




Entrance to Gary Farrel Winery on top of the hill



The tasting list consists of two Chardonnays and three Pinot Noirs.  My favorite of the Chardonnays was the 2009 Rochioli Vineyard for its clean fruit, grass and mineral notes, and balance.  The three 2009 Pinot Noirs represent the best of Northern and Southern California wine-growing.  The first comes from the famed Bien Nacido vineyard near Santa Maria and was the lightest of the three.  The second was from the Hallberg Vineyard in the Russian River Valley, and was the most balanced, fullest, and richest of the three.  The third was from the Rochioli Vineyard (just a few miles up the road) and was the most complex of the three.  I was so taken by the Hallberg that I bought a bottle.

Inside Gary Farrell at the seated tasting area

Based on this experience, I would rate the winery as an 8 and the wines offered as a 7.  This is consistent with all of my previous visits.

July 21, 2012 – Wine: 2005 Corison Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

I was Jonesing for a juicy Cabernet, and I recalled the last time I tried this wine (a year ago) it delivered nicely.  This time, the juice seems to be more locked down.  Although the signature sweet tannins and red currant notes dance along the perimeter of the palette, the middle of the palette is locked down, with little fruit expression.  There are the usual mineral, spice, and wood, but the mid-palette fruit is unavailable at this time.  I’ll give it another year or so and try again.

2005 Corison Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

A pair of Miner Family Wines

I enjoy the Miner Family winery nearly as much as I enjoy their wines.  These folks produce a couple of truly remarkable wines, but nearly everything they stuff into a barrel comes out nicely made at the very least.  Here are two examples ...

July 18, 2012 – Wine:  2005 Miner Family Winery Cabernet Sauvignon
I last opened a bottle of this wine a year ago in June and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Since I just ordered three more half-bottles, I decided to open one before the new bottles arrive.  While this wine has evolved over the past year, it has retained its balance and richness.  The wine is now much smoother than last year, albeit less crisp.  It starts with flavors of black cherry, black raspberry, and minerals followed by subtle notes of dark chocolates.  There is enough structure and body to last another two to four years easily.

July 19, 2012 – Wine:  2006 Miner Family Winery Sangiovese

My first experience with the Minery Family Winery Sangiovese was with the 2005 vintage.  That wine showed impressive quality for the price (about $24).  I remember standing in the tasting room and recommending it to others when it finally dawned on me … I should get some.  And I did again with the 2006 vintage.  The 2006 vintage of this wine is one of the few red wines that lacks many of the 2006 vintage characteristics that I don’t care for.  There is no harshness, no steel or charcoal or scorched earth, and the balance is incredible.  To say this wine is smooth would be an understatement.  It starts off with a potent nose full of fruit, followed on the palette by sour cherry, pomegranate, mineral, and subtle baking spices.

Winery, Vineyard, or Garage?

Today I was doing business in the quaint town of Healdsburg, towards the northern end of Sonoma County.  Directly across from the office I was visiting was an operation receiving shipments of Nitrogen and Argon gases.  The first business that came to mind that works with both of these gases was winemaking.  Sure enough, as the truck drove off, a large label on the backside read Clos du Bois.  Occupying the adjacent office space to my visit was another winemaking operation, as evident from the wine barrels tucked neatly inside.  I took the opportunity to chat for a moment with the winemaker, who works for (and owns) Roadhouse Winery.  They produce a scant 1,500 to 2,000 cases of Pinot Noir each year.   Inside the warehouse they have constructed an insulated, cooled barrel room (aka cave) that is not apparent from the outside.  They have no dedicated tasting room, but instead offer their wines alongside other brands at a tasting room in downtown Healdsburg.  This is the quintessential Garage Wine, in that it is a small operation that either purchases small lots of grapes or harvests a handful of acres in the area and has no facilities on the vineyard land for processing the grapes once harvested.

This brings up an interesting distinction between a winery and a vineyard.  A winery is a winemaking operation where grapes are processed after harvest.  Processing includes sorting, crushing, fermenting, and aging the wine in barrels or tanks.  The finished product is bottled and labeled, then boxed for resale.  There may also be a tasting room where the winery can offer direct sales.  A vineyard is the land where grapes grow on the vine each year.  Think of this as a grape farm.  Not every vineyard has a winemaking operation.  A number of wineries are situated on vineyards.  Wines produced by the winery from grapes grown on any property owned by the winery are called estate wines.

A number of garage wineries buy their grapes instead of growing them.  Some vineyards produce more grapes than their winemaking operations can process.  Other vineyards sell their grapes to the highest bidder or by contract and produce no wine under the vineyard’s label.  Napa Valley’s famed Beckstoffer To Kalon vineyard in Oakville is a good example of this.  This arrangement allows the winemaker to provide growing objectives to the vineyard without having to monitor the daily operations.  The other model is probably best typified by Charles Shaw wines of Trader Joe’s fame.  These wines are made from the leftover grapes in the vintage.  In a good year, there are more good grapes than can be made into fine wine that winemakers are able to bottle, and so the excess juice gets sold off.  This in turn improves the quality of the wines made from the excess grape juice on the market.  In an off vintage, you are taking more of a chance with these cheaper wines.

July 15, 2012 – Wine: 2005 August Briggs Syrah

I remember tasting this wine at the winery when it was released and noting the promise it offered.  I also recalled how well the 2002 vintage of this wine performed, so I decided to get a bottle to give to my sister on her birthday in a few years.  I gave it to her last May, and today when I stopped by for a visit she asked which wine she should open.  When this one was offered as a candidate, I jumped at the opportunity.  All I can say is … wow!  The nose on this wine is amazing, offering up a complex mix of red and black fruits.  On the palette, I noted red and black raspberries, white pepper, dark chocolate, mineral notes, and subtle vanilla on the finish.  While this wine had the composition to go another three to five years, it is performing wonderfully right now.

July 9, 2012 – Wine: 2007 Saint Clement Oroppas (Bordeaux blend)

I faced a difficult decision back in 2010 (yeah, right).  I was opening about 20 full-bottles of wine a year, but collecting more than 50 bottles.  I usually open a half-bottle (375ml), so the full-bottles were starting to stack up.  I was faced with getting more storage space or cutting back on my wine clubs.  So, this wine was my last wine club shipment from St. Clement before I dropped out of the program.  Luckily, I have plenty of St. Clement wines from the three years I was a member to last me for a while.  This wine was paired with Salmon, which is probably the perfect red-wine fish.  The wine had a nice nose, followed by a vintage-typical palette, leading off with blueberry, blackberry, notes of oak, and slightly spicy tannins.  The wine is showing its characteristic balance which makes the Oroppas a pleasure to enjoy in any vintage.  If only they would bottle the occasional vintage in half-bottles again.