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. Joseph Phelps Vnyd Napa Valley Viognier (14.1%) 2000: Med.gold color; lovely/fragrant pear/ peach/Viognier elegant nose; tart/lean bright pear/peach/Viognier slight minty/spicy zippy flavor; med.long bright spicy/pear/Viognier finish; an attractive bright Viognier w/ a richness overlying a tart/lean stracture; great price at $18.95
2. Sierra Vista El Dorado Viognier (EB; 14.2%) 2000: Med.gold color; light pear/spicy/Viognier light toasty/butterscotchy/pencilly/oak slight earthy nose; tart bit hot light toasty/ pencilly some pear/Viognier slight earthy/sour flavor; med.short bit earthy light pear/ Viognier/floral light pencilly finish; an attractive low-key fragrant Viognier w/ nice light-handed touch of oak.
3. Calzada Ridge Santa Ynez Valley Viognier WTW (#440 of 600) Richard&Pamela Harris; P&B by Andrew Murray Vnyds 2000: Med.light gold color; beautiful/fragrant floral/pear/peach/Viognier classic Viognier very perfumed nose; soft/fat slight bitter big/ripe/lush Viognier/peachy oily/valve oil/floral flavor; long big/ripe/lush oily/textured intense pear/peach/Viognier slight licorice/spicy finish; a big/ripe classic Dolly Parton Viognier; a gift from Peter& Becky Work but priced about $22.00.
4. Garretson Viognier Vogelsang Vnyd Santa Ynez Valley Table 62 (14.2%; 600 cs) 2001: Med.dark gold color; very intense/perfumed slight volatile/fragrant ripe/melony/peach/Viognier slight toasty/pencilly/oak nose; soft/fat very lush/oily strong pear/peach/Viognier/ripe honeydew slight minty/spicy/anise flavor; very long soft/fat/oily light pencilly/oak very strong pear/peach/Viognier/melony floral/spicy finish; big/rich DollyParton Viognier w/ a nice complexing touch of oak.
5. Spencer @ Roloson Rutherford/Napa Valley Viognier SkellengerVnyd (14.5%) 2001: Med.gold color; strong pencilly/toasty ripe peach/Viognier slight milky/smokey nose; soft rather taosty/ pungent/smokey/oak very ripe/peachy/Viognier quite floral flavor; long toasty/pungent/Fr.oak ripe peach/Viognier soft/fat finish; attractive rather oaked Viognier but a bit overpriced at $27.00.
6. Mathilde et Yves Gangloff Condrieu (14%; MalP) 2000: Med.gold color; slight volatile incredible perfumed/fragrant/floral very ripe/peach/Viognier bit butterscotchy/oak very minerally/valve oil/complex nose; off-dry(?) incredible perfumed/floral/ripe peach/Viognier soft/fat rather smokey/OscarMeyer weiner pungent/Fr.oak quite minerally flavor; very long/lingering intense floral/Viognier/ripe peach some toasty/pungent/oak very minerally finish; a dynamite somewhat oaked Condrieu; classic DollyParton w/o the silicone; the real McCoy for Viognier; not that overpriced at $43.00.
7. Jaffurs Santa Barbara County Viognier (14.3%) 2001: Med.light gold color; rather clean pear/Viognier very spicy/fragrant bit smokey/pungent classic Viognier nose; tart very spicy/Viognier/pear/7-Up/ melony some minerally flavor; very long bright/spicy classic Viognier/pear light smokey nose; a lovely/classic Viognier; more JuliaRoberts than DollyParton; one of Craig's best Viogniers yet; great Viognier at this price. $25.33
8. Jaffurs Santa Barbara County Viognier MelvilleVnyd (15%) 2001: Med.gold color; very ripe/very perfumed slight oaked some perfumed talc lovely rather low-key/pear/Viognier nose; soft/rich/lush attractive melony/citrusy light pear/Viognier slight oaked/smokey flavor; very long soft/lush light perfumed/perfumed talc light pear/Viognier finish; a lovely lush/rich white wine but not strongly Viognier/varietal in character; most preferred the Santa Barbara Conty for its stronger Viognier character; will be interesting to watch where this wine goes to.
9. Cuilleron Marsanne Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodoniennes (12.5%) 2001: Light gold color; very attractive/fragrant minerally/appley very perfumed/Condrieu-like some toasty/oak nose; classic Marsanne tart/hard/lean rather minerally fairly perfumed/peachy/Condrieu-like yet rich flavor; long lean/tart/hard rich peachy/Condrieu-like some smokey/toasty/pungent appley/minerally finish; one of the best young Marsannes I've ever had; much like a minor Condrieu w/ structure; incredible steal at $15.00.
10. Cuilleron Viognier VdPdCR (13%) 2001: Med.gold color; beautiful/fragrant Viognier/peachy/pear minerally complex aromatic/perfumed classic Condrieu nose; lush/rich beautiful peachy/ Viognier very minerally bit tart/hard flavor; med.long peachy/Viognier rather minerally perfumed/aromatic finish; beautiful Condrieu nose but a bit short on the palate; classic Condrieu/minerally character; a steal at $22.50.
11. Eberle PasoRobles FralichVnyd Viognier (13.9%) 1996: Med.dark gold color; very ripe/floral/ perfumed bit overripe/botrytis slight oxidized/rotted apples complex bit smokey nose; soft/ fat overripe/rotted apples some toasty/oak/pungent flavor; med.long soft/fat overripe/ rotted apples finish; interesting fat/porky wine that's not benefited from age. Howard&Rhoda's mystery wine.
12. Jaffurs Santa Barbara Conty Roussanne Stolpman Family Vnyd (13.9%) 2001: Light gold color; lovely/fragrant/ perfumed very floral/Viognier-like butterscotchy slight toasty/oak complex nose; soft/rich/ lush lovely floral/perfumed/honeysuckle some Viognier/peachy flavor; very long/lingering honeysuckle/gardenia/floral some peachy/Viognier light toasty/pungent finish; a beautiful Roussanne, Craig's best one yet. Great price at $22.33.
13. Garretson Roussanne Santa Barbara Cnty The Limoid Cior (14.3%; Lemon Honeycomb; 56% WesterlyVnyd; 44% StolpmanVnyd) 2001: Med.dark gold color; beautiful fragrant/butterscotchy some minerally/honeysuckle very ripe nose; soft/lush/rich floral/honeysuckle some minerally/ lemony/citric flavor; very long perfumed/honeysuckle/lime/citrusy/lemon minerally/spicy light pungent/toasty finish; beautiful fragrant/perfumed rich Roussanne; fairly priced at $28, a steal at the pre-release $21.
14. Consilience Santa Barbara Conty Roussanne (13.5%) 1999: Dark gold color; bit volatile very ripe/overripe/ rotted grapes bit oxidized some toasty/oak nose; tart/minerally bit oxidized charred oak/ toasty/pungent overripe/rotted grapes flavor; med.long toasty/charred/pungent overripe/rotted grapes slight oxidized finish; a rather over-the-top/exotic Roussanne w/ lots of charred oak; tastes like grapes left long on the vine trying to get the sugar up.
15. Sine Que Non The Boot Calif WTW (14.9%; 52% AlbanVnyd Chard, 24% Roussanne &24% Viognier from Stolpman & Alban Vnyds) 2000: Med.gold color; very intense toasty/pungent/ smokey/Fr.oak/tobaccoy loads of oak light fruit some Chard/melony light floral nose; tart lovely/spicy/honeysuckle some floral/fragrant rather toasty/Fr.oak/pungent complex flavor; very long/lingering toasty/Fr.oak/smokey/pungent some floral/honeysuckle/perfumed finish; interesting wine that will probably benefit from age; loads of Fr.oak but a rich/perfumed character on the palate.
16. Qupe Santa Barbara Cnty Los Olivos Vnyd Marsanne (12.5%) 1992: Med.dark gold color; very strong hazelnutty/caramel/cinammon/nutmeg very ripe complex nose; tart rather oaked/pungent nutty/ hazelnutty bit caramel/oxidized ripe flavor; med.long hazelnutty/nutty/complex some caramel/ butterscotchy finish; interesting/complex wine.

1. Jaffurs whites: I've followed Craig Jaffur's wines from the very start; sitting out on the front porch of the LosOlivos W&S Emporium with Larry Archibald one crisp Saturday morning. Craig brought a barrel sample of his 19?? Viognier. At that time, I was very into the big/ ripe DollyParton Viogniers. I recognized this one as quite different, more on the lean/austere side w/ a wonderful minerality to it. Kind of like Trimbach GWT vs. a Z-H GWT. It's been interesting to watch the evolution of his Viogniers in style towards a richer, more lush style; yet still retaining that minerality and not becoming DollyParton-like. And they're Viogniers that seem to age, like the Alban Estate, better than most. Wonderful Viogniers. The Roussannes have been a bit more difficult to get my arms around. The early ones were pleasant white wines, but just that. This 2001 effort is, to me, by far Craig's best Roussanne yet; one of the best from Calif I've yet had. It comes from StolpmanVnyd, so it's true Roussanne. One of the best examples of varietal Roussanne I can think of.
2. Cuilleron Marsanne/Viognier: Amazing wines for the price for an area of the Rhone that's going to be getting more recognition. Start trying them now so, you too, can say you've followed those wines from the very start!! Prices were at Prima in Walnut Creek.
3. DollyParton Viognier: The Eberles have always, to me, been classic DP/Viognier, loaded w/ silicone; beautiful/soft/fat/lush great drinking from the very start. This '96 was a good example of what DP/Viognier do with age; the silicone puddles up and things start to sag. Interesting wine, but age has not been kind to it.
4. Calif Roussanne: When Roussanne first started appearing in Calif (BonnyDoon), I had a hard time trying to get a handle on the Roussanne varietal character. Part of the problem is that many of those early Roussannes were, in fact, Viognier (thanks Randal!!). Now that more and more true Roussanne is coming on-line, I'm still not sure I can recognize Roussanne. But the quality of some of the recent ones have been mightly impressive; the Jaffurs and the Garretson two of the best I've had. It's a variety that I think capable of some stunning wines in Calif. Yet I don't ever see it being, like Viognier, more than a niche variety; it will never become the next Merlot/WhiteZin/Chard wave that producers can ride to fame & fortune like many are trying to do w/ Syrah. Eventually, I think Roussanne may eventually make a better white wine in Calif than Viognier. It seems to have much of the same perfume as Viognier; yet is able to handle the oak better than Viognier can, and capable of producing, like Syrah, a broad range of styles. Some exciting times ahead for Roussanne.
5. Aged Marsanne: The Qupes are some of the best examples around of Calif Marsanne and what happens to it w/ age. When they're just released, they can be a bit dumb & simple, appley in character. But w/ some age on them, they can evolve into very interesting complex/nutty wines; some like old Aussie Semillons. This is a character I particularly like in Marsanne; but realize it's not to everyone's taste. If you demand that your white wines be fresh & fruity, then you'll probably find the slightly ozidized character of old Marsanne not your cup of tea. They're a bit of an aquired taste.

TomHill