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. Williams-Selyem Hirsch Vineyard Sonoma Coast (14.4% ) Pinot Noir 1999: Med.color; fragrant/perfumed violets/floral/Pinot Noir rather spicy light toasty/pencilly/oak nose; tart cinammon/spicy light pencilly/toasty/oak floral/violets/Pinot Noir elegant some Burgundian flavor; long/elegant floral/ violets/Pinot Noir pencilly light earthy finish w/ light tannins; an attractive/pleasant $25 Pinot. $55.00 
2. Williams-Selyem PreciousMtn Vineyard Sonoma Coast (14.3% ) Pinot Noir 1999: Med.dark color; deeper more blackberry/peppery/black cherry floral/fragrant slight herbaceous nose; tart more lush rather black cherry/peppery quite spicy light toasty/pencilly flavor; very long floral/violets black cherry very spicy richer/lusher finish w/ light tannins; a lovely/drinkable attractive $30 Pinot. $80.00 
3. Williams-Selyem Coastlands Vineyard Sonoma Coast (13.6% ) Pinot Noir 1999: Med.dark color; fairly deep floral/violets/Pinot Noir some pencilly/Fr.oak rather spicy nose; tart light floral/black cherry/ violets some pencilly slightly thin flavor; med.long spicy/violets/floral/cherry pencilly finish w/ light tannins; much like the Hirsch; lovely/elegant $25 Pinot. $60.00 
4. Williams-Selyem Ferrington Vineyard Anderson Valley (13.3% ) Pinot Noir 1999: Med.color; strange metallic/ fusel oil/pungent/bit funky nose clears to a slightly funky bright cherry/spicy/Pinot light pencilly/oak slight earthy nose; tart bit thin/lean some bright Anderson Valley/cherry/floral toasty/pencilly flavor; med. tart bright cherry/Pinot/floral light earthy/spicy finish w/  light tannins; not much better than a good $20 Navarro Pinot. $55.00 
5. Williams-Selyem Rochioli River Block Vineyard Russian River Valley (14.5% ) Pinot Noir 1999: Med. color; classic RRV/mushroomy/earthy deep/black cherry some dusty light pungent/toasty/oaked nose; tart fairly rich deep/black cherry/Pinot some earthy/mushroomy fragrant/floral some toasty/ pencilly/Fr.oaked bit Burgundian flavor; very long earthy/mushroomy rich/black cherry/Pinot some toasty/oak finish w/ light tannins; my favorite of these W-S Pinots; classic RRV character; a lovely/balanced $35 Pinot. $60.00 
6. Williams-Selyem Allen Vineyard Russian River Valley (13.5% ) Pinot Noir 1999: Med.color; more brighter cherry/black cherry loads of fruit bit simple/floral/Pinot Noir clean light pencilly nose; tart/ elegant very spicy bright cherry/spicy/Pinot/floral light pencilly flavor; med. bright cherry/ Pinot Noir clean elegant bit simple finish w/ light tannins; lots of effusive bright/cherry Pinot fruit; more Oregon than RRV; balanced/simple/clean/bright $25 Pinot. $65.00 
7. Harlequin WC VanJohn Vineyard Willamette Valley OR Chard (14.5%; 125 cs) 2000: Med.gold color; clean ripe melony/Chard slight leesy light toasty/oak quite spicy nose; tart/crisp lush/melony/ Chard/ripe bit leesy slight earthy/straw/Kansas feed store light toasty/oak round/smooth flavor; long very spicy ripe/Chard/melony some leesy/ML light toasty/oak finish; lots of lush character for an Oregon Chard; very attractive lightly leesy ripe Chard.
8. Panther Creek Willamette Valley Stewart Vineyard Melon (12%; 800 cs) 1992: Crumbly cork; med.dark gold color; rather oxidized little fruit some toasty/oak bit herbaceous nose; bitter oxidized light butterscotchy/oak slight spicy/minty/cheap Christmas candy flavor; still a few interesting things therein but much too oxidized; obviously the cork as leaked air in.
9. Harlequin WC Hoodview Vineyard Willamette Valley Pinot Noir (14.0%; 150 cs) 2000: Med.color; bright/ spicy/cherry/ORPinot/Cheracol fragrant light toasty/pungent/oak bit dusty nose; very tart bright/cherry/Pinot/Cheracol very spicy bit vanilla/oak/pungent flavor; med.long tart/lean very spicy bright/cherry/Pinot light vanilla/oak finish w/ some tannins; seems a bit tight and closed right now; lots of bright/spicy/cherry OR Pinot fruit w/ nice touch of oak. Not yet released.
10. HarlequinWC Hoodview Vineyard Willamette Valley Pinot Noir (12.5%; 150 cs) 1999: Med.color; bit funky/ Burgundian deeper black cherry/cherry perfumed/perfumed talc light toasty/smokey/oak some complex nose; softer/richer deep black cherry very spicy light dusty very perfumed light toasty/oak flavor; long very spicy bright/cherry/black cherry perfumy light vanilla/toasty oak finish w/ some tannins; also a bit tight and lean and needs a yr or two of age; a classic bright Oregan Pinot.
11. HarlequinWC DuBrul Vineyard Yakima Valley CabernetSauvignon (13.5%; 75 cs) 1999: Very dark near black  color; very strong charred/toasty/pungent/Fr.oaked dusty chocolaty/vanilla/Bourbon toasted coconut strong blackcurranty very complex nose; soft some tannic big/rich/mouthfilling chocolaty/blackcurranty/Cab/black cherry  vanilla/Bourbon/toasty/pungent complex flavor; very long/lingering complex toasted coconut/pungent/charred/smokey/oak strong licorice/ chocolaty/blackcurranty finish w/ fair tannins; needs 2-5 yrs; noticable toasty oak but well-balanced w/ the intensity of Cab fruit; a terrific WashState Cab.
12. Edmunds St. John Port O'Call Brand New World Red Authentic Calif TW (12.8%; 50% Zin, 25% Mourvedre, 25% Charbono) 1989: Med.color; rather tobaccoy/old Zin hair oil/perfumed some bretty pungent/dusty/old vines bit herbal/cherry nose; some dried-out old Zin/tobaccoy some cherry/Cheracol bit oaked some bretty spicy/complex flavor; med. old Zin/tobaccoy pungent/ dusty/old vine some bretty rather cherry/Cheracol complex finish w/ little tannins; a definite old Zin character but good color and still some interesting things therein.
13. HarlequinWC Sundance Vineyard Columbia Valley Syrah (15.2%; 150 cs) 2000: Very dark color; lovely blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry loads of Syrah fruit slight toasty/smokey/roasted light oak fairly complex nose; tart rich strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah loads of spicy fruit light toasty/oak slight pungent/smokey rather lush/rich flavor; very long rich/intense/ blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah quite spicy some pungent/roasted/toasty finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; a Syrah loaded w/ blackberry fruit; terrific Syrah.
14. Glen Fiona Walla Walla Valley Syrah (76% Syrah, 19% Cinsault, 5% GrenacheNoir; 13%) 1995: Near black color; very fragrant near volatile walnutty complex some roasted/coffee/NorthernRhone pungent very strong Bourbon/vanila/Am.oak light boysenberry/Syrah nose; strong/tannic very Bourbon/Am.oak/vanilla some pungent/toasty/charred/roasted weak boysenberry complex flavor; long tannic intense bourbon/vanilla/oaked some pungent/roasted/charred finish w/ fair tannins; a very inteesting/complex Syrah.
15. Sanford Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir (14.0%) 1999: Dark color; very strong fragrant/ floral/cherry/ Pinot somewhat pungent /smokey/Burgundian /Fr.oak complex nose; rich very strong toasty/pungent/ Burgundian/Fr.oak some herbal/cherry/Pinot flavor; long toasty/pungent/oak strong cherry/ Pinot bit herbal/green olive finish w/ light tannins; a really nice drink Pinot for a very good price. Larry's mystery wine.

1. Williams-Selyem: I've followed their wines from the very start, back in the days of Hacienda Del Rio label. Mostly because of their Zins. But I've always liked their Pinots and still do. There's been frequent discussion that the quality of their wines has slipped since Ed & Burt sold out. If it has, I sure haven't seen a distinct decline. What I have seen is a rise in the prices. And therein lies the problem. For $60-$80/btl, I'm expecting a wine that'll knock my sox (or codpiece... or whatever) off. These wines just don't do it  for me. They are lovely, well-crafted, elegant, immenently drinkable Pinots; but wines I'm not seeing a dramatic improvement in with bottle age that justifies these kind of prices. Back when Ed & Burt started making great Pinots, there were not a whole lot of GREAT Calif Pinots around. Ed&Burt showed that they could be made in Calif in a consistent fashion. Much of the Calif wine world learned from then. But now, there are many more GREAT Calif Pinots being made, and they no longer sit atop the pinnacle of Calif Pinots. But they're priced that way, alas. End of rant.
2. Harlequin Cellars/Robert Goodfriend: This is a brand new operation up in Renton, WA; truly a garagieste (sp?) operation; purchasing grapes from here&there in Oregon & Washington. It is owned & operated by Elizabeth Cook and Robert Goodfriend. Robert makes the wine. Robert and I go waaaaay back to when he owned/operated and was chef at a SantaFe restaurant known as e.k.mas. It was a very special place in space and time. The food was very good and well-priced. The wine list was was one of the best in NewMexico. Not in terms of depth or breadth, but in terms of interesting/innovative wineries that earned a spot on their list. Their winemaker dinners were outstanding (well...... there WAS that one time the Detroit Pistons were in the NBA finals that the cheers from back in the kitchen made it clear why it took 30 minutes for the next course to appear!!). It was a place that wine afficianados in NewMexico gravitated to. Winemakers sought out the place to do dinners at. Sitting out on the patio on a bright/sunny NewMexico afternoon trying a range of wines from the various sales reps was pure bliss. They had some pretty terrific wait staff as well (Paul & Pat for two). They treated my two kids when we went there like royalty. Josh took his date there for dinner at his first prom and she was mightly impressed (alas!!). It just had a certain feel to it that has never been repeated in SantaFe. After Robert closed e.k.mas; he went to Paso Robles and opened a restaurant there, which didn't survive. He then worked a crush at Wild Horse w/ Kenny Volk. Then up to Bellingham, WA to run an Italian restaurant. Then down to Hindman Vineyards/SylvanRidge as a winemaker. Then  marriage to Elizabeth, a small son, and now Harlequin Wine Cellars. Overall, I was rather impressed with these wines. They all seemed to show a very careful hand with the oak. The Chard was the least interesting, but then I find very few Chards that do excite me. Most of the OR Chards I've had seem to have a lean/mean streak to them on the palate. Robert's was more soft & round than I usually find from OR.  Both the Pinots struck me as fairly classic bright/clean cherry-like OR Pinots w/ a subtle hand w/ the oak. Not a lot of depth or profoundity now, just bright lively vibrant sort of Pinots that Oregan does so well at. The Cab was a mightly impressive wine, as good as many of the top-flight WashState Cabs as I've had. Not a lot of tannins or power for to be long ager, it does have the balance to carry it ten yrs I suspect. Alas, only 3 brls made and it sold out in 10 days. But the Syrah was easily my favorite. It had a purity and intensity of fruit that I usually more often find in Calif Syrah than WashState ones. It rememinded me of some I've had from Beckman or Tensley. The WA Syrahs often have a sort of funky earthiness to them and, often, an abundance of toasty/charred oak. The oak was definitely low key in this Syrah. This was probably Robert's first attempt w/ Syrah and I must say I was impressed. Anyway, I was impressed with Robert's wines and proud to say I've followed him from the very start, way back when he was making the world's premier raz-maz (raspberry mazarin). Definitely a winery to keep your eyes on.
3. GlenFiona '95: I was a bit disappointed in how this wine has evolved. At release, it had a ton of Syrah fruit. It seems to have lost most of that now and the Am.oak/Bourbon character seems to be dominating it now. Though still ample tannins, I don't see this Syrah developing much in a positive way. Nonetheless, it's still a very interesting wine.
4. Port O'Call: Not quite remembering Steve Edmunds story behind this wine. For a rain-besotted vintage, it's held up decently well, I fully expected it to be dead. It has a really neat old-timey label. Probably a bunch of Brandlin fruit therein, I would guess. Maybe Steve will enlighten us as to its background.