BABCOCK:
pouring 3 wines
2000
Syrah "Black label ". $32.95. Big lush nose of anise and blackberry,
with a touch of toasted grain that carries through the long finish.
Overall score: B+
Comments:
I think Bryan could just about dial this one in from now on. Once
again, he's turned out a very nice syrah, and although maybe a bit
less racy than some of the others, was certainly among the best
Syrahs of the day.
BECKMEN:
pouring 4 wines
2001
Grenache "Purisima Mountain". $23.99. Effusive nose of sweet
raspberry with some floral and spice notes. Full almost chewy mouthfeel,
nice concentration, with a semi-sweet long fruit-filled finish,
and delicious aftertaste. Tablas clone. Overall score: A-
2001
Syrah/Mourvedre/Grenache "Purisima Mountain". $24.95. Very fruity
nose of raspberry and blackberry fruit. Fruit-filled andjammy mouthfeel,
with lots of raspberry and blackberry flavors, and a long finish.
A ramped-up version of the Cuvee Le Bec. Overall score: B+
What
kind of cheese is this? |
2001
Syrah "Purisima Mountain". $27.95. Big nose of blueberry and
blackberry fruit on this wine. Very jammy mouthfeel, with lots of
blueberry and blackberry fruit, and very long finish. Trading a
little weight for touches of refinement, I found this more accessible
than last year's version. Tablas clone. Overall score: A-
2001
Cabernet "Purisima Mountain". $32.95. Lots of herbaceous black
and red fruit as well as oak on the nose. Huge and chewy mouthfeel,
with flavors of sage and olive, and very long finish. Overall score:
B+
Comments:
each of Steve Beckmen's wines were excellent, with the Syrah just
edging out the Grenache as my favorite. And, speaking of Grenache,
the Beckmen just keeps getting better and better. This is the first
Cab from the Purisima Vnyd, and won't be released until next year.
Fred
Brander |
BRANDER:
pouring 4 wines
2000 Tempranillo. $18.95. Very nice nose of black cherry, smoke
and a touch of anise. Substantial mouthfeel, with chewy semi-sweet
fruit, spicy flavors, and a long finish. Overall score: B+
Comments:
darn interesting Tempranillo. Is it true to its 'Old World' roots?
No, not really. However, it's jucier and more flavorful.
BREWER-CLIFTON:
pouring 4 wines
|
2001
Pinot Noir "Rozak Ranch". $34.99. Beautiful nose of black
cherry, floral and cinnamon-spiced aromas. Medium-full
|
Greg
Brewer |
mouthfeel,
balanced to the acid side, with very nice somewhat hi-toned fruit,
and a long silky finish. Overall score: B+
2001
Pinot Noir "Melville Vnyd". $45.99. Effusive nose that almost
had more sweet Syrah qualities than Pinot. Young mouthfeel, good
concentration, lots of stemmy strawberry and black cherry fruit,
very long finish. Wow. Overall score: A-
Comments:
both of these wines by Greg Brewer are quite nice. The Rozak seems
the least concentrated of the pair. Plus, I like the stemmy qualities
in the Melville.
...oops,
excuse me... sorry, I beg your pardon |
FOXEN:
pouring 5 wines
2000
Syrah/Mourvedre "Cuvee Jean Marie". $23.95. Fleshy, fruity, and
meaty nose and mouthfeel, with smooth chewy texture, lots of fruit
and a touch of toast on the long finish. Overall score: B+
2000
Syrah "Tinaquaic". $27.95. Dense, slightly fleshy, spicy and
earthy nose. Moderately full mouthfeel, with lightly spicy blackberry
fruit, and a slight licorice flavor to the long finish. Overall
score: B
2000
Cabernet Sauvignon "Ma Mere". $59.95. Quite herbaceous,
with a green bean, earthy and cedar-infused nose. Moderate mouthfeel,
lean and slightly austere flavors, and long finish. The price of
this wine reflects the limited production of this vineyard. Overall
score: B
Comments:
slightly disappointing not to have a Foxen Pinot in the lineup this
year. But as a consolation, the Syrah/Mourvedre was drinking
very nicely.
GAINEY:
pouring 3 wines
2000
Syrah "Clone 99". $19.95. Nose of blackberry and tar, with a
touch of leather. Moderately full mouthfeel, nice structure, long
finish. A nice wine, relying more on finese than brute power. Overall
score: B+
Comments:
here was a pleasant surprise. Previously only offering a Merlot,
Gainey has come through with a nice Syrah from a fairly new 4th
leaf Estate vineyard.
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|
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GARRETSON:
pouring 2 wines
2001
Syrah "Fione Cisteog". $23.99. Nose is filled with
floral notes and boysenberry and raspberry fruit. Full mouthfeel,
plenty of grip on the palate, and a long fruity finish. Overall
score: B+
Comments:
Mat makes a beautiful $45 Rozet Vnyd Syrah. Want a junior
version? Here you go. This blend of Rozet and Halter fruit
has more of a red fruit profile.
|
Amie
Garretson
|
HARTLEY-OSTINI:
pouring 3 wines
2000
Syrah "Purisima Mountain". $19.95. Nice floral and blackberry
nose. Full mouthfeel, fruity flavors, decent structure, long finish.
Overall score: B
Comments:
juicy and flavorful, moderate complexity.
JAFFURS
WINE CELLARS:
pouring 3 wines
2001
Syrah "Stolpman Vineyard". $26.99. Nose of blackberry, bacon,
and toast. Toasty mouthfeel, nice and silky on the palate, with a
nice long fruity finish. Overall score: B+
2001
Syrah "Melville Vineyard". $26.99. Big spicy blackberry nose.
Moderately toasty mouthfeel, chewy fruit, with a definite cinnamon-spiced
quality to the finish. Overall score: A-
Comments:
Craig was pouring the recently-bottled barrel samples from magnums.
Always a nice touch.
KENNETH-CRAWFORD:
pouring 2 wines.
2001
Syrah "Lafond/Melville". $19.95. Big ripe and fleshy nose, with
slightly floral blackberry and blueberry fruit. Very chewy on the
palate, smooth mouthfeel, very fruity from mid to back palate, and
long finish. Overall score: B+
Comments:
one of the bigger, if not biggest surprises of the tasting, this
Syrah was huge, yet very approachable, owing to its fleshy and forward
style. This will drink best over the next five years.
KUNIN:
pouring 2 wines.
2001
Syrah "Barrel Selection". $27.95. Fabulous nose of floral, blackberry-blueberry
fruit, anise, and toast. Full and chewy on the palate, with excellent
integration of fruit, toast, and spice, with long seamless finish.
Overall score: A-
Comments:
the best Syrah I've tasted from Seth Kunin.
LONGORIA:
pouring 2 wines.
2000
Pinot Noir "Mt. Carmel" $42.50. Floral, smoky and fruity
nose. Substantial mouthfeel, slightly stemmy and chewy fruit, with
a touch of cola and cinnamon spice to the long finish. Overall score:
B+
Comments:
this is a very nice Pinot by Rick Longoria, somewhat bigger in style
than some of his previous offerings.
|
MARGERUM:
pouring 3 wines.
2001
Syrah/Mourvedre/Grenache . $19.95. Lots of fruity aromas
in the nose, with a lightly spicy and floral quality. Nice
structure on the palate, plenty of fruit, touch of smoke,
stems and toast, and a long spicy finish. Overall score: B+
2001
Syrah/Mourvedre. $31.95. Beautiful slightly gamey blackberry
nose.
|
Brad
Harrington, Doug Margerum |
Full
mouthfeel, very fleshy and forward, with a long peppery finish. Overall
score: A-
Comments:
debut release for the Margerum label (from Wine Cask owner Doug
Margerum), and there's some really nice wines here.
MELVILLE:
pouring 4 wines.
2001
Pinot Noir "Clone 115 - Indigene". $27.95. Beautiful lightly
sweet and floral nose, with bing cherry, strawberry, cinnamon and
rose petal. Full mouthfeel, very tasty fruit, excellent balance,
and long finish. Overall score: A -
2001
Pinot Noir "Carrie's Block". $34.95. Fabulous sweet fruity and
floral nose, with aromas of cherry, strawberry, and roses, with
just a hint of stem. Full mouthfeel, chewy fruit, some obvious new
oak, excellent balance, very long finish. Overall score: A
Comments:
both of these Pinots are very nice. I preferred the Carrie's, which
exhibits more dark fruits and bolder profile.
ANDREW
MURRAY VINEYARDS:
pouring 2 wines
Andrew Murray |
2001
Syrah "White Hawk". $23.95. Nose here is higher toned
and more to the red fruit side of Syrah, with a touch of oak
and orange zest. Mouthfeel is mostly somewhat sharper, with
plenty of acidity, ample fruit and a long finish. Overall
score: B
2000
Syrah "South Slope". $23.95. Dense and very ripe nose
- seems somewhat reduced. Plenty of blackberry-blueberry fruit
onthe palate, and long toasty finish. Overall score: B+
|
Comments:
for 2000, the South Slope seemed to return to its old form - big,
ripe and gutsy.
|
|
|
PINOT
NOIR:
2001
Melville, Carrie's Block
2001 Brewer & Clifton, Melville Vnyd
2000 Richard Longoria, Mt. Carmel
SYRAH:
2001
Beckmen Purisima
2001 Garretson, Fion Cisteog
2001 Jaffurs Melville
2001 Kunin Barrel Selection
2001 Kenneth-Crawford, Lafond/Melville
2000 Ojai, Melville
2000 Ojai, Roll Ranch
2001 Andrew Murray, South Slope
2001 Tensley, Purisima
OTHER
NOTABLES:
2001
Beckmen Grenache
2001 Brander Tempranillo
2000 Foxen Syrah/Mourvedre - Cuvee Jean Marie
2001 Foxen Cabernet, Vogelzang
2001 Margerum Syrah/Mourvedre/Grenache
|
OJAI
VINEYARD: pouring 5 wines
2000
Syrah "Roll Ranch". $38.95. Exceptionally jammy nose of blueberry,
blueberry and licorice. Big off-sweet mouthfeel, smooth and chewy
from front to back palate, with spicy blackberry flavors, and a
very long finish. Overall score: A-
2000
Syrah "Melville". $31.95. Nose of blueberry, pepper, and blackberry,
with wth a touch of licorice. Mostly chewy mouthfeel, great blueberry
fruit, and a fabulous very long finish. Overall score: A-
Comments:
of these two, I slightly preferred the Melville for its 'Blue Suede'
mouthfeel and taste.
QUPE:
pouring 6 wines
2000
Syrah "Colson". $19.95. Nice inky and licorice-infused nose.
Nice flavor profile, but somewhat less gutsy than than many of the
other Syrahs here today. The nose seems real nice, but the mouthfeel
more so-so. Overall score: B
2000
Syrah "White Hawk". $19.95. Big blackberry and inky nose - almost
Petite Sirah-like. A bit monolithic on the palate, with a dense
chewy consistency, and very long finish. Overall score: B
Another
of the many Hors d'oeuvres tables |
2000
Syrah "Bien Nacido Reserve". $31.95. Nose of rich blackberry,
spice, and a touch of bacon. Medium-full mouthfeel of spicy
blackberry fruit, very smooth and toasty across the palate,
with a long finish. |
Nicely
made wine, and the nose here is terrific -as always. But, somehow,
the mouth seems to lack some punch. Overall score: B+
Comments:
well-made Syrahs. This is a smoother B/N than I've seen in the past
- maybe too smooth. The White Hawk will take some time to resolve,
and the Colson may just be the best for food paring.
SANFORD:
pouring 3 wines
2000
Pinot Noir "La Rinconada Vnyd". $46.95. Rich slightly floral
nose of stemmy strawberry, bing cherry, cinnamon, and cola. Full
mouthfeel, chewy off-sweet strawberry/cherry fruit, very long finish.
Overall score: A-
Comments:
the Stone Killer from last year is back. And, I'd say this time
it's built a little more for aging.
|
TENSLEY:
pouring 3 wines
2001
Syrah "Larner". $23.95. Fascinating nose of blackberry,
boysenberry, and a touch of citron. Full, but not massive
mouthfeel, with good
|
Joey
Tensley |
concentration
of flavors, and a long finish. Overall score: B+
2001
Syrah "Colson Cyn". $23.95. Very dark color. Huge wheaty/toasty
nose of blackberry, herbs, and spice. Jammy mouthfeel, chewy and
smooth consistency, the fruit stays constant through the long finish.
Overall score: B+
2001
Syrah "Purisima Mtn". $23.95. Nearly black-purple in color.
Very jammy nose of blackberry, spice, and toast. Huge mouthfeel,
jammy blackberry fruit and tar/licorice, huge long finish. Tablas
clone. Overall score: A-
Comments:
I thought this year's Tensley wines were less massive instructure,
exhibiting less density across the palate than in past offerings.
Are these getting classier, or have I just become desensitized?
WESTERLY:
pouring 1 wine:
2000
"W". $35.95. Somewhat herbaceous, with cassis and stemmy qualities.
Very Bordeaux-like on the palate, with cassis, shoepolish, oak, and
a fleshy stemminess to the long finish. 60/40 CF/Merlot blend. Overall
score: B+
Comments:
impressive tasting blend.
Unable
to taste and review:
AU
BON CLIMAT: pouring 10 wines
BARHAM-MENDELSOHN: pouring 1 wine
Cold Heaven: pouring 2 wines
COSTA DE ORO: pouring 2 wines
DI BRUNO: pouring 2 wines
DOMAINE SANTA BARBARA: pouring 1 wine
FOLEY: pouring 1 wine
DANIEL GEHRS: pouring 2 wines
ICI/LA-BAS: pouring 2 wines
MAKOR: pouring 2 wines
IL PODERE DELL'OLIVOS: pouring 2 wines
STOLPMAN: pouring 2 wines
VITA NOVA: pouring 2 wines
ZACA MESA: pouring 2 wines
|
