by Tom Hill

A self-admitted wine geek, Tom lives in Northern New Mexico and works as a computational physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory doing numerical neutron transport & large scale code development. He has been tasting wines since 1971, participates locally with a couple of large tasting groups in his area, and is practically a fixture at most California wine festivals, such as the Hospice du Rhône, Rhône Rangers, and ZAP. Other interests: Tom is heavily into competitive sport fencing (foil & epee), biking, cooking, basketball, skiing, backpacking, mountain climbing.

 
1. Rosenblum Santa Barbara County Roussanne Rodney's Vnyd (14.5%) '99: Med.gold color; very fragrant pear/very spicy/orangy perfumy some oaked/tobaccoy nose; tart ripe pear/floral/perfumed rich very spicy some tobaccoy/oak flavor; long/tart very spicy/pear/orange/floral rather oaked/ tobaccoy finish; really lovely pear/orange/spicy character w/ a noticible oak component; this is, in fact, Viognier, not Roussanne.
2. Failia Jordan Edna Vlly Viognier Alban Vineyard (14.2%; 94 cs) '99: Med.drak gold color; strong tobaccoy/Fr.oaked/pungent beautiful floral/perfumed/orangy/orange blossom nose; tart tobaccoy/ Fr.oaked glycerined very spicy orangy/orange blossom fragrant/floral bit hard/austere flavor; very long rather tobaccoy/oaked floral/orangy quite perfumed slightly bitter finish; needs some age; not obvious a Viognier but very interesting.
3. Tensley Cuvee Zoe Santa Barbara County (13.5%) '99: Med.color; lovely fragrant Grenache/strawberry bit blackberry/floral nose; tart spicy bit earthy slight bretty/tobaccoy/pungent fragrant strawberry/Grenache flavor; med.long tart/spicy strawberry/blackberry slight bretty some smokey/pungent finish w/ light tannins; very nicely done blend w/ some CdR character.
4. Domaine de Cassan Beaume de Venise Cotes du Rhone Villages (14%) '98: Med.dark color; strong earthy/dusty bit roasted/CdP-like black pepper bit alcoholic some bretty nose; tart thin metallic hard bit peppery/stoney/earthy little fruit flavor; med.long thin/lean rather bretty stoney/ earthy finish w/ light tannins; pleasant enough CdP nose but unattractive on the palate. Larry's mystery wine.
5. Sierra Vista ElDorado Celestial Syrah (13.5%; <100 cs) '99: Very dark color; strong earthy/ mushroomy blackberry/blueberry/Syrah spicy/cinammon some toasty/pungent nose; tart/tannic very spicy blackberry/blueberry spicy/cinammon rathe hard/austere flavor; long blueberry/ blackberry hard/tannic spicy/cinammon finish w/ bit funky/wet dog fur way in the backtaste; lots of Syrah fruit but hard & tannic on the palate; needs 2-5 yrs age; good value. $20.00
6. Dry Creek Vineyard Dry Creek Valley Syrah (13.5%; 500 cs) '98: Dark color; strong pencilly/oaked fragrant cinammon/spicy/chocolaty classic DCVnyds floral/perfumed nose; tart rather pencilly/oaked spicy cherry/raspberry/chocolaty some tannic/metallic/hard flavor; long tart/lean rather pencilly/oaked some raspberry/blackberry finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; not the usual DCVnyds lushness but has the classic DCVnyds fragrant oak & the DCVlly spiciness.
7. Domaine de Vallouit Les Roziers Cote-Rotie (12.5%) '89: Med.color; lovely classic roasted/gamey/ espresso/C-R elegant/complex nose; tart elegant strong roasted/coffee/espresso complex classic C-R flavor; very long lingering elegant/complex roasted/espresso/toasty/pungent finish w/ some tannins; a beautiful classic mature C-R. Howard&Rhoda's mystery wine.
8. Failla Jordan Sonoma Coast Syrah Que Syrah Vnyd (13.2%; 231 cs) '99: Black color; intense peppery/ toasty/pungent/smokey very fragrant/aromatic/perfumed cracked black pepper terrific nose; tart/intense blackberry/coffee/smokey very peppery/black pepper pungent/toasty/charred/oak rather C-R-like terrific flavor; very long/lingering intense very peppery/black pepper toasty/ pungent/coffee slight herbal/green olive rather C-R finish w/ some tannins; a terrific Syrah by any standard.
9. Andrew Murray Vineyards Santa Ynez Valley Syrah CuveeVenteux (13.9%; 100% Estrella clone) '99: Black color; bit volatile/fragrant/perfumed slight funky/acetic/EA some blackberry/Syrah nose; bit hot/volatile/acetic/oxidized/funky some blackberry/Syrah bit toasty/oak flavor; med.long blackberry/Syrah bit hot/volatile/funky some Rhonish finish w/ some tannins; the volatile/ oxidation is noticible enough to make this a flawed wine but not unpleasantly so; doubtful future for this wine.
10. Andrew Murray Vineyards Santa Ynez Valley Syrah NorthS lope (13.9%; 100% Durell clone) '99: Black color; very strong coffee/toasty/pungent strong blackberry/Syrah slight volatile/perfumed nose; rich rather tannic very intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah some toasty/Fr.oaked rather hard flavor; very long intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah somewhat hard/tannic slight volatile/ hot finish w/ ample tannins; needs 3-6 yrs; almost as good as HillSide Reserve.
11. Andrew Murray Vineyards Santa Barbara County Syrah Hillside Reserve (13.5%) '98: Black color; very intense blackberry/boysenberry/blueberry/licorice/chocolaty perfumed toasty/pungent/Fr.oaked very fragrant/complex nose; soft rich/powerful intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah licorice/toasty/ oak flavor; very long intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah rather smokey/pungent/toasty/Fr.oak complex chocolaty finish w/ fair tannins; needs 2-6 yrs; terrific very Aussie-style Syrah. $23.00 (futures)
12. Alban Vineyards Edna Valley Alban Estate Syrah Lorraine (14.5%) '98: Totally black color; bit funky/ stinky/reduced very intense coffee/espresso/toasty/Fr.oak intense blackberry/boysenberry very spicy bit peppery complex nose; huge/intense blackberry/boysenberry/peppery/spicy pungent/ coffee/toasty/charred/Fr.oak mouthfilling complex flavor; very long huge/intense peppery/ blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah peppery/spicy toasty/charred/Fr.oak complex finish w/ ample tannins; needs much time; incredible intense Calif Syrah.
13. Alban Vineyards Edna Valley RW Pandora Seymour'sVnyd (14.3%; 66% Grenache, 33% Syrah, 1% Thompson Seedless) '98: Black color; bit stinky/funky/H2S very intense blackberry/framboise/boysenberry more high-toned some toasty/pungent/Fr.oak complex nose; very intense blackberry/framboise/ Alpine strawberry some toasty/Fr.oak/pungent coffee flavor; very long lingering intense blackberry/framboise/strawberry strong coffee/pungent/toasty finish w/ ample tannins; needs some 3-8 yrs; best Calif Rhone blend I've ever had; much like the Syrah but a bit less toasty oak and a bit more high-toned (Grenache) character; stunning wine. $86.00
14. Alban Vineyard Seymour's Vnyd Syrah Edna Valley (14.2%) '98: Incredible black color; huge/intense blackberry/boysenberry complex pungent/coffee/toasty/Fr.oak/smokey incredible nose; huge/ mouthfilling/extracted blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/framboise strong toasty/coffee/pungent/ Fr.oak complex flavor; very long huge/extracted intense blackberry/boysenberry/framboise pungent/toasty/Fr.oak complex finish w/ mucho tannins; needs ?? age; incredible extracted Syrah; much like Lorraine but harder & more extracted & less balanced.

1. Failia Jordan Viognier: With the combination of John's Edna Vlly fruit and Ehren Jordan's; they wine is not a classic/obvious Viognier and many tasters will think it too over-oaked. I loved this wine for incredible fragrances intermingled w/ the strong oak. I think it's a Viognier that will age well, but we'll have to see. But, since Viognier is not "supposed" to have much oak in it, it's not a wine that will be highly regarded I predict.
2. Tensley wines: I've been mightly impressed w/ the wines Joey Tensley has been making of late; both when he was winemaker at Beckmen (he recently left that position) and the ones under his own label. His Beckmen Cuvee LaBec I've liked quite a lot. This Cuvee Zoe (don't know who Zoe is, though) was even better. Some like Bob Lindquist's LosOlivos Cuvee but a bit more bright fruit to it. Very well-done blend.
3. QueSyrah Vnyd: This is a vnyd owned by the Ragos over near Occidental... Pinot/Chardonnay country. Whatever they're doing.... they're sure doing it right. This is the second vintage Ehren Jordan has made from their grapes. As with the '98, I'm mightly impressed. It has that cracked black pepper character that you sometimes get in great Cote-Rotie, one of the few times I find it in Calif Syrah. The toasty/charred oak gives it a lot of that roasted/C-R character as well. One of the best Calif Syrahs. Clearly, one has to include the QueSyrah vnyd in any list of great Calif Syrah vnyds. And wait'll it has more maturity on it. I must visit the vnyd next trip up to Sonoma. It's rather interesting how the views on Syrah has changed in Calif. Originally, the idea was that Syrah should make a great wine in Calif because of the warm Calif climate was like that in the RhoneValley. But my understanding is that CoteRotie is not all that warm. But never a thought was given in Calif to planting Syrah in Pinot/Chardonnay climates. It now appears that some of the greatest Calif Syrahs are coming from the coldest areas. The Edna Valley (Alban) immediately comes to mind. SteveEdmunds has some great vnyds at very high elevations in ElDorado that are now producing great Syrah. Just think what Syrah could do up in the AndersonValley. Better yet, what a great Syrah we'd have if it were planted.... gasp.... up on MonteBelloRidge!! Just a thought!!
4. AndrewMurray wines: I've followed young Andrew's wine from the very start; when he first showed them at a WineCask futures tasting. I've been, generally, pretty fond of them and it's been fun to watch Andrew's winemaking style to evolve. Some of his '97's showed a distinct volatile/EA character when I thought was a bit too strong in this Venteux. At least strong enough to make the wine's future iffy. I was really looking forward to doing this comparison between Estrella & Durell clones. Alas, the Estrella version was a bit too volatile to illustrate the clonal differences I was looking for. My impression, averaged over many different winemakers, is that the Estrella clone produces lighter & more strawberry/perfumed/aromatic Syrahs and the Durell producers wines more towards the peppery/spicy/blackberry part of the spectrum. Maybe Steve Edmunds could educate me on this. Stolpman Vnyd has both Durell and Estrella clones, so the comparison could be made from those wines, perhaps.
5. Alban Vineyards: I've followed John Alban's wines from the very start. He's pretty weak on his bowling skills, but boy does he know how to make wine. But foremost, John is one of the best grape growers in Calif. The guy even grows Chardonnay!! His Grenache is world class (as are all his wines) and maybe the best in the world. I prefer it to Rayas, at least any that I've had. They have all the intensity of great Oz OldVine Grenache, but also the acidity and structure those wines often lack. The first Reva/Lorranie pair of Syrahs ('96) were quite clearly slanted towards the Lorraine as a bigger/more extracted Syrah. With the '98's, the differences seem to be growing less. The Reva (John's Mom) is from the more northernly more fertile block of Syrah down in front of the winery, whilst the Lorraine (John's wife) is from a more rocky/less fertile southern block of Syrah. If that distinction is still maintained, I'm not sure, or if it's now simply a barrel selection. The Seymour vnyd is up on top of this high hill behind the winery; very rugged growing conditions, one of the most sepctacular hillside vnyds in Calif.
6. Alban pricing: John's wines used to be a real bargin. Now they are no longer so. Some of the wines are getting pretty expensive. Part of the problem is that John has two years of very low yields, often less than 1 ton/acre. You gotta price your wines to stay in business is always a reasonable philosophy. The price hikes for the '98 vintage has certainly raised the hackles of some of John's fans. If you don't know John, it's easy dismiss him as just another greedy/arrogant wine grower out to rape the consumer. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth. He is one of the most generous/honest/genuine guys I know in the wine business. If the wines seem too expensive; the solution is simple.... don't buy the wines. I'm certainly buying fewer Alban wines because of their prices. So be it.