Wines of Robert Foley

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Paul Lin

Paul's interest in wine extends beyond simple appreciation and enjoyment. As an academic, he's never without his notepad and pen, and he loves to analyze a wine the way a scholar might pore over a fine piece of literature. After being bitten by the wine bug during graduate school, Paul embarked on his wine journey out of a sense of intellectual curiosity and romantic self-indulgence. Recently, he has turned his sights from simply drinking and writing about wine to actually making the stuff. In 2007, under the label Terra Novus, Paul produced his first barrel of Pinot Noir from grapes from the Sonoma Coast.

Eric Anderson

Eric first became interested in wine in 1983, after sampling the 1982 Bordeaux vintage. It was a watershed event, and he immediately began to accumulate a library of wine books, and spent the next several years attending as many wine tastings and seminars as possible. Since 1990, Eric has chronicled over 600 visits to wineries, both in the U.S. and Europe. Aside from simply enjoying the beverage, he found his interactions with winemakers and proprietors has further enriched his life, and continued to nourish his interest in wine. Eric is also part of GrapeRadio, the James Beard nominated podcast series.

The Wines of Robert Foley - June, 2007

Everyone would probably agree that wine tasting is a subjective matter - maybe even highly subjective. One person's "stunner" might be another person's "blah." Yet, there are also occasions when there is a meeting of the mind as to what is in the glass. We've always wondered just how much and how often tasters will differ in their opinions of the same wine. With that in mind, we felt it would be downright interesting, if not instructional, to have two tasters sample the same wines and write tasting notes on each - for side-by-side comparison.

Overall impressions: the Foley, Pride, Switchback, and Hourglass lineup offered an interesting opportunity to taste through as many as seven different vintages of the same bottlings. All of the wines were from either the appellation of Sonoma County or Napa Valley's Spring Mountain District. The alcohol content varied from the high 14% to the middle of the 15% range.

Our two tasters agreed, relatively speaking, on several of the wines poured at this tasting. Yet, they obviously had differing opinions about some of the other wines - some quite notable. In fact, when reading the notes, you might even wonder if they were tasting the same wine. So, who's right? Well, if you learn one thing from this episode, there is no right or wrong - just differences. There are differences in how we each perceive aromas and flavors, differences in how we think one thing compares to another, and so on. There are also external forces at work at most tastings. For instance, the fact that this was also a dinner tasting with food components could have easily swayed one into a positive or not-so-positive opinion about a given wine. So, let's take a look at the same wines from 'both sides now.'

Paul's Tasting Notes

Flight #1 - Whites
Carpaccio of fresh Hawaiian center cut swordfish, drizzled with lemon and olive oil, sprinkled with capers, and topped with baby arugula

Eric's Tasting Notes

Flight #1 - Whites
Carpaccio of fresh Hawaiian center cut swordfish, drizzled with lemon and olive oil, sprinkled with capers, and topped with baby arugula

2004 Pride Mountain Chardonnay Vintner's Select Cuvée Mountain Top Vineyard - Sonoma County
Not my favorite style of chardonnay. Nose of lemon curd, vanilla, and toasted oak. Nice butterscotch note on the palate, although the heavy use of oak seems to mask most of the fruit. Heat on the finish. (86 pts.)

2004 Pride Mountain Chardonnay Vintner's Select Cuvée Mountain Top Vineyard - Sonoma County
Lots of lemon, lime rind and citrusy qualities in the nose, along with the certainty of oak - but nicely integrated. Dances on the palate, with elegant nuances of fruit and background notes. I thought this was an impressive nose; less so mouthfeel.

2005 Pride Mountain Viognier - Sonoma County
I really enjoyed this wine. Aromatic nose of bubblegum (I said Bazooka while LB said Hello Kitty), peach, lychee, and mineral. More peach and some light citrus notes on the palate. An opulent wine, one that seemed to pair best with the swordfish carpacccio, yet very refreshing and easy to drink. WOTF. (91 pts.)

2005 Pride Mountain Viognier - Sonoma County
Nose of clover, peach, and floral aromas. Big and blousey in mouthfeel, very chewy, with notes of white and yellow peach. Nice, if a definite departure from Condrieu.

2006 Robert Foley Pinot Blanc - Napa Valley
A bit outsized by the 2005 Pride viognier that preceded it. Honeydew melon, cantalope, and lemon zest aromas on the nose. Delicate peach flavor on the attack, but then turns watery and thin and finishes rather short. 86-87 points. (87 pts.)

2006 Robert Foley Pinot Blanc - Napa Valley
Nice nose, with touches of boxwood and leaf. Good mouthfeel, nice aftertaste. Decent stuff, but seemed a little uninspiring.

Flight #2 - 1990s
Porcini mushroom risotto with fresh Parmigiano Reggiano

1999 Switchback Ridge Merlot Peterson Family Vineyard - Napa Valley
This wine is showing extremely young and vibrant, which I attribute in part to the fact that it has been impeccably stored in Kelly Peterson's own cellar. Rich sweet mocha and cherry compote on the nose. Palate perfectly matches nose. As Parker notes, "lush" and "mouth-filling." I concur. (91 pts.)

1999 Switchback Ridge Merlot Peterson Family Vineyard - Napa Valley
Big rich nose of dark fruit, toast, and a blast of chocolate. Big, rich and nicely ripened on the palate, with very good balance and texture and nice long finish. My WOTF.

1999 Pride Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley
This wine is starting to show some of its age, although I'm not sure to its benefit. Dusty aromas of cedar, tobacco, and smoke. A bit monolithic on the palate, with narrowly focused dark fruit flavors. Nonetheless, a smooth wine. (88 pts.)

1999 Pride Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley
Interesting nose, with a light herbal note of Cab Franc and some beet root (I liked it). Kind of steely on the palate - could be tight, could be just the fruit has taken a hike.

1997 Pride Mountain Reserve Claret - Napa Valley
This wine is drinking beautifully right now. Complex and multi-dimensional in aromas and flavors. Initially began with a shy nose, but by the end of the risotto course, which I loved, I returned to it and was able to get some nice black currant, dark cherry, and hickory smoke aromas. Rich medley red and black fruits on the palate -- in particular red currant, cranberry, and blackberry. Tannins seem pretty well resolved. Very silky texture. A lovely wine. 93-94 points. WOTF and tied for WOTN. (94 pts.)

1997 Pride Mountain Reserve Claret - Napa Valley
Lovely chalk-scented tannins accent the refined cassis nose. refined and elegant on the palate, with still evident structural elements of backbone, though the finish rounds out with nice smooth fine-grained tannins. MY #3 of the flight.

1999 Pride Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - Napa Valley
I wish I had devoted more time to this wine, as I think it really had some very nice characteristics to it. Nose of currants, smoke, and graphite. Red fruits and toasted oak on the palate. (92 pts.)

1999 Pride Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - Napa Valley
Gorgeous nose of cassis, with hints of spice and vanilla, dusty tannins and the sense that you'd just walked into a bakery. Big, but with lovely balance, texture and mouthfeel, and long seamless finish.

1999 Robert Foley Claret - Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
Very nice depth to this young wine, which I believe came from Robert Foley's own cellar, and should get better with more time in the bottle. Cassis, espresso, and cedar on the nose. Intense and concentrated on the palate, with black currant, coffee, wet loamy soil, and graphite flavors. 91+ points. (91 pts.)

1999 Robert Foley Claret - Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
For me, this was even a shade better than the preceding wine. Completely melded together, the parts we almost inseparable. Bordeaux-like nose of dusty cassis, with bits of tobacco and leather. Silky texture on the palate, and flavorful long finish.

1999 Switchback Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Peterson Family Vineyard - Napa Valley
Another perfectly stored wine from Kelly Peterson's cellar. Rich sweet nose of melted dark chocolate. Dense and layered on the palate, with sweet plum, cherry and vanilla flavors. Creamy and decadent. Like a liquid red velvet cake. 92-93 points. (92 pts.)

1999 Switchback Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Peterson Family Vineyard - Napa Valley
Slightly riper and sweeter than the preceding '99s, this one also carried more cocoa/chocolate scents and flavors. Seemingly bigger and richer in mouthfeel, I think it was just the overtly sweet fruit and oak that delivered the pleasure here. My #2 of the flight.

1999 Hourglass Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley
This perfectly stored wine came from Robert Foley's own cellar. The gorgeous nose reminds me of a left-bank Bordeaux, with its intoxicating aromas of cassis, scorched earth, and graphite. A pure expression of fruit on the palate, with ripe cherries, blackberrie, espresso, and sweet oak. Smooth and lovely to drink. 93-94 points. Very close to being the WOTF. (93 pts.)

1999 Hourglass Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley
Slightly less sweet than the Switchback, there was also a fascinating soy/caper/juniper quality here that bordered on a CF-based Bordeaux. Very nice flavors, balance and finish, I found this more "serious" than the it RP score of 92 would dictate.

Flight #3 - 2000s
Filet of beef tenderloin with a rosemary brandy sauce, served with creamy polenta

2004 Pride Mountain Merlot Vintner's Select Cuvée Mountain Top Vineyard - Sonoma County
Never thought I would rank a merlot as one of the WOTN, but this one just rocked my world. A huge wine, no doubt, but I loved it. Rich nose of dark cherry, cinnamon, clove, and molasses. On the palate, more black cherry, mocha, and Asian spices. An incredibly lush and multilayered wine. Just terrific stuff! WOTF and tied for WOTN. (94 pts.)

2004 Pride Mountain Merlot Vintner's Select Cuvée - Sonoma County
If anything could be called a Cab of a Merlot, this was it. Big framed, great structure, filled with off-sweet fruit and spice, this was a perfect match for the beef tenderloin. Excellent balance and very long finish.

2004 Switchback Ridge Merlot Peterson Family Vineyard - Napa Valley
Nose of melted chocolate and cinnamon spice. Although the palate was slightly marred by the heavy presence of oak, I did enjoy the black cherry, cinnamon, and Asian spice flavors. (91 pts.)

2004 Switchback Ridge Merlot Peterson Family Vineyard - Napa Valley
A more subtle version of the previous wine, this was stealthier in its appeal. Here, the fruit and spice crept up you quietly, until at the finish and aftertaste, you're left wondering - what the heck was that! Beautifully spiced dark fruit, just the right amount of ripeness, excellen balance and lovely long finish. My WOTF.

2002 Pride Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley
Nose of red fruits, cassis, and just the earliest stages of secondary characteristics. On the palate, red fruit, plum, and roasted meat flavors. (90 pts.)

2002 Pride Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley
Almost Medoc-like in the nose, with tobacco and leather scents woven into the cassis. Smooth and almost surprisingly soft on the palate, very good balance and smooth long fiinish.

2004 Pride Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley
Perhaps my least favorite of this flight. Spicy nose. On the palate, cassis, sweet mint, and herbs. 87-88 points. (87 pts.)

2004 Pride Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley
Surprisingly light in appearance, this also carried through in both aromas and textures and somewhat underfilled finish. This seemed to be a victim of the hot vintage, and more of an aberration of the usual style.

2003 Pride Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - Napa Valley
I was expecting a rich, extracted 2003 cabernet, and this one did not disappoint. Nose of currant, cinnamon, and molasses. Ripe blackberry fruit and espresso on the palate, with just the right amount of acidity to keep this wine just barely in balance. A wobbly but nevertheless successful tightrope performance. (92 pts.)

2003 Pride Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - Napa Valley
Rich, nicely ripened fruit, creamy textures, beautiful balance and long seamless finish. Very, very nice throughout. Still has plenty of life, but drinking beautifully now. My #2 of the flight.

2003 Robert Foley Claret - Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
Nose reminds me of a cinnamon cherry danish. Mmm ... cherry danish. Lots of sweet red and black fruits on the palate, accented with a touch of vanilla and molasses. Another extracted 2003 that seems to work pretty well. (92 pts.)

2003 Robert Foley Claret - Napa Valley
This was like walking into a pastry shop. There was lovely ripe red and black fruit, baking spices, croissant-like aromas and a faint wiff of French Roast coffee. The flavors didn't quite follow, but these olfactory qualities accented the fabulous textures, taste and finish of this wine. Still carrying a bit of oak, the wine was neither candied nor cloying, but just flat-out delicious from front to back. My #3 of the flight.

2003 Hourglass Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley
This wine tasted the most manipulated of the flight. It also showed the most heat. Nose of overripe plums (prunes even), cinnamon and molasses. Sweet red and black fruits on the palate, with an interesting floral component. Not bad; it just tasted really overworked to me. (89 pts.)

2003 Hourglass Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley
I though this wine got a bad rap, both from RP (87pts) and from others at the event. I enjoyed the hint of cocoa to the red fruit, and thought the balance was very nice. It was a bit of an oddity, considering the rest of the '03s were so well done. So, let's just say I felt sorry for the wine.

Flight #4 - Petite Sirah
Grilled New Zealand baby lamb chops, peppercorn sauce and sautéed spinach

2001 Pride Mountain Syrah - Sonoma County
It was nice to change things up a bit after the last two flights. Maybe it was my palate, but I was not really feeling this wine too much. Nice aromas of plum, dark chocolate, and earth on the nose. But the palate does not really live up to the promise of the nose for me. And the very high acidity tended to overpower the otherwise decent blackberry and plum fruit. 87-88 points. (88 pts.)

2001 Pride Mountain Syrah - Sonoma County
Given that it's more about the fruit and spice, one would never mistake this wine for Old World. Packed with black fruit and baking spices, along with nuances of licorice, this wine just seems too big for it britches - that is to say, it's spilling out of them. I suppose the spice adds some refinement to the fruit and the oak to the texture, but in the end there's really nothing subtle here. It's just a big ol' chunk of blackberry pie - not that there's anything wrong with that. My WOTF.

2003 Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard - Napa Valley
As a disclaimer, I should say that I'm not a huge fan of petite sirah. To my tastes, I tend to liken the varietal to football linebackers: they may have power, they may have finesse, but ultimately, they just want to knock you down. Nose of blueberries, plum, and spice. Plums, hard spice, and vanilla on the palate. (90 pts.)

2003 Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard - Napa Valley
Well, take the Syrah above and add a more brooding and darker quality, and you have a sense of this wine - and maybe all Petite Sirah for that matter (can you guess how I feel about Petite Sirah - or, "Pets" as their aficionados call them). Big, thick, inky, plodding, and seemingly incapable of provoking discussion about nuances, there just isn't anything left but to quaff the stuff. Is it well made? Definitely. But, just because they're grapes, doesn't mean you should make them into wine.

2003 Robert Foley Petite Sirah - Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
A big bruiser of a wine, and IMO, a bit too primal and tannic to fully appreciate. Blueberry and espresso on the nose. Blackberry jam coats the mouth. Nearly over the top. (91 pts.)

2003 Robert Foley Petite Sirah - Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
If the Switchback was the appetizer, this was the entree. It smelled and tasted like the color black. Okay, there were some redeeming qualities. It did taste a bit like chocolate licorice-flavored Port.

2004 Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard - Napa Valley
Another monster, although a bit broader and expansive on the palate. Espresso and chocolate on the nose. Blueberries, chocolate, and loamy earth. 91-92 points. (92 pts.)

2004 Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard - Napa Valley
Another entree of a wine, yet I actually found some small details in here. There was a very nice underlying floral scent, that also seemd to come across on the palate. Nicely balanced (see, I can be nice) and I actually got some flavors on the extended finish (sorry, I slipped back).

2004 Robert Foley Petite Sirah - Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
Palate was officially dead after this wine. Nothing else tasted the same afterwards. Huge nose of blueberry and espresso. Dense and chewy on the palate, with tons of blue and black fruits, as well as chocolate. A monster and very tannic at this young stage. WOTF. (92 pts.)

2004 Robert Foley Petite Sirah - Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
Okay, this is a little better. Something high-toned seems to peek through the black curtain here, and there is more than just impenetrable black fruit here too. Touches of espresso, chocolate, and spice make the flavor and finish almost delightful.

Dessert : An arrangement of assorted cheeses, candied walnuts, and white and dark chocolate

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