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. Greg Graham Knight's Valley Viognier 2001: Pale yellow color; bit earthy/stoney slight floral/Viognier/pear rather low-key nose; soft/fat lighht pear/Viognier/floral slight earthy flavor; med.short soft/fat light pear/Viognier finish; rather on the soft/porky side and lacking zip; a bit disappointing; not worth the $25.00
2. Ridge Calif Zinfandel Llewelyn (81% Zinfandel, 17% Carignane, 2% PS; 15.1%; 47 brls; Drk: 12/07-12/09) 2001: Med.color; strong blackberry/Zinberry/black cherry some dusty/old vines classic Draper perfume some buttery/buttered popcorn nose; tart rather buttery/oaked/buttered popcorn ripe blackberry/Zinberry spicy flavor; med.long buttery/buttered popcorn ripe blackberry/Zinberry finish w/ light tannins; lovely balance but a bit too buttery; very nice drinking Zinfandel. Castagna Victoria / Australia La Chiave Sangiovese (13.6%) 2001: Med.color; beautiful/perfumed/ fragrant spicy/bright cherry/ Sangiovese slight eucalyptus slight smokey/ pungent nose; tart very bright/vibrant cherry /spicy/fruity light minty/ eucalyptus bright Sangio flavor; very long slight toasty/tobaccoy very bright/spicy/vibrant/cherry/black cherry/Sangio finish w/ some tannins; balance/tart/vibrant Sangio w/ a purity of fruit I've never seen in Sangio; terrific wine.
3. Ethan Redwood Valley Sangiovese Gabriella Vineyard (14.5%) P&B by Ethan E. Lindquist, Sebastapol, Sonoma 2001: Dark color; deep/earthy/blackberry slight tomatoey light toasty/oak nose; tart but rich/lush black cherry/blackberry some toasty/pungent flavor; long lush blackberry/black cherry light pungent/toasty/oak finish w/ some tannins; needs a yr or two; speaks more of MendocinoCounty Zinfandel than Sangio but a very nicely-made/tasty red wine.
4. Rancho Arroyo Grande Arroyo Grande Valley Zinfandel (13.7%; www.RanchoArroyoGrandeWines.com) P&B by Arroyo Grande Cllrs, ArroyoGrande, SLO 2001: Med.color; lovely/lush bright raspberry/ Zinberry slight dusty some oak nose; tart/smooth bright raspberry/Zinberry vibrant very spicy/ balanced light oaked flavors; long bright raspberry/Zinberry finish w/ light tannins; a lovely bright/zippy/vibrant Zinfandel much like a Rockpile DCV Zinfandel; well-priced at $19.00.
5. Santa Barbara Winery Santa Ynez Valley Zinfandel Lafond Vineyard (13.8%; 27 yr old vines; www.SBWinery.com) 1999: Very dark color; very strong/intense blackberry/perfumed/aromatic rather cracked black pepper bit toasty/smokey oak nose; tart very rich very spicy/blackberry cracked black pepper light toasty/pungent/oak flavor; very long some tannic strong blackberry/Zinfandel/ spicy quite peppery finish; needs several yrs; much like RussianRiverr Zinfandel but more acidity and lots of black pepper; great/unusual rendition of Zinfandel at a great price. $19.00
6. Brogan Cellars Russiana River Valley Lone Redwood Ranch Zinfandel (14.6%) 2001: Med.color; attractive dusty/ old vines very fragrant/perfumed bright raspberry/blackberry complex nose; soft/smooth very perfumey/fragrant some dusty/old vines bright/zippy/raspberry low oaked balanced flavor; very long perfumed/fragrant/aromatic dusty/old vines bright Zinberry/raspberry/cranberry finish w/ light tannins; a lovely very fragrant/perfumed balanced Zinfandel much in the Coffaro style; way overpriced at $40.00.
7. Bucklin Old Hill Ranch Sonoma Valley Zinfandel (15.2%; www.BuckZin.com) 2000: Med.dark color; deep blackberry/boysenberry slight minty some taosty/pungent/oak nose; tart/rich slighht buttery/ toasty/oak some blackberry/Zinfandel flavor; med.long ripe/blackberry light toasty/oak finish w/ some tannins; attractive/pleasant Zinfandel but just that.
8. Carneros Creek Winery Esola Vineyard Amador County Zinfandel (15.5%) 1999: Med.dark color; classic Amador/briary/ blackberry very ripe bit alcoholic bit dusty/old vine nose; tart very ripe bubble gum alcoholic dusty/old vine classib briary/blackberry/Amador Zinfandel flavor; med. alcoholic briary/blackberry/ Zinfandel finish w/ light tannins; lots of briary Amador character but not the richness or extract that Frank's Amador Zins showed in the mid-'70's; fairly priced at $16.00
9. Santa Barbara Winery Santa Ynez Valley Stolpman Vineyard Nebbiolo (14.8%) 1998: Med.dark color; rather pungent/tarry slight funky/earthy bit licorice/floral some toasty/oak nose; hard/tannic dusty/ earthy pungent/tarry slight floral light toasty/oak flavor; long pungent/tarry toasty/oak pretty hard/tannic finish; needs much age; very interesting tarry/Nebb more in the Valtelline style; will be interesting to see how this evolves.
10. Turley Napa Valley Charbono Tofanelli Vineyard (14.0%) 2001: Black color; very intense dusty/earthy very grapey/blackberry some cherry/Grenache or Dolcetto-like nose; rather hard/tannic earthy/ rustic/coarse some blackberry light toasty flavor; long quite tannic toasty/Fr.oak light blackberry finish; needs much age; a big/rough/rustic wine; very reasonable price. $25.00
11. Tofanelli Family Vineyard Napa Valley Charbono (14.3%) 2000: Very black color; rather reduced/pungent/ stinky earthy/dusty rather clunky/PS-like bit toasty/charred/oak nose; tart rustic/rough/tannic quite earthy/dusty slight licorice/blackberry quite tannic flavor; long very tannic/hard earthy/ dusty low fruit finish; needs much age; rather clunky & PS-like; may age well. 
12. Blum Pince Villanyi Kekfrankos (12%) 2000: Dark color; strong grapey almost Grenache or Dolcetto-like slight volatile/pickle juice nose; very soft/fat/underacid grapey/earthy/ licorice somewhat sour some metallic/tannic flavor; short/soft very grapey rather tannic finish; needs age but pretty flabby to go anywhere.
13. Montevina Special Selection Amador County Zinfandel (15%) 1979: Med.light color w/ little browning; rather aged/musty/earthy some cedary/old Zinfandel quite charred/pungent/burnt nose; soft some tarry/licorice rather charred/burnt/toasty some cedary/old Zinfandel little fruit flavor; med.long dried out/astringent rather charred/burnt finish; pretty tired Zinfandel w/ lots of charred/burnt character, probably from the old Inglenook CaskReserve barrels Cary Gott used on those wines.
14. Calera Calif Zinfandel (13.0%) NV (ca.'77-'78): Med.color; very earthy/walnutty/dusty some spicy/ Zinfandel/jammy/cloves tobaccoy/old Zinfandel surprisingly young nose; very tart/acid quite spicy/peppery/ cloves rather walnutty/tobaccoy old Zinfandel/cedary flavor; very long very acid walnutty/dusty rather spicy/peppery finish w/ light tannins; very interesting Zinfandel but on the palate like running your fingernails down a chalkboard (if you can remember those things!!).

And then a few dessert wines to celebrate/mourn the departure for LasVegas of Mike & Debbie Payne:

1. Foxen Late Harvest Viognier Vogelzang Vineyard Santa Ynez Valley 2002: Med.gold color; beautiful/lush/ fragrant tons of fruit honeysuckle/floral/peachy some honeyed/botrytis nose; tart very sweet very honeyed/botrytis lush grapey/floral/honeysuckle/gardenia perfumed flavor; very long/ lingering loads of ripe fruit & botrytis finish that goes on & on; a terrific LH Viognier at a fair price. $30.00/hlf
2. Santa Barbara Winery Lafond Vineyard Santa Ynez Valley Zinfandel Essence (SaH: 43%; RS: 27.2%; 10%) 2002: Med.color; beautiful cranberry/raspberry/cherry/strawberry chocolate-coverred cherries/ CherryMash very perfumed/aromatic nose; very tart cranberry/Zinfandel/raspberry/chocolate very intense very spicy flavor; very long/lingering cranberry/raspberry very spicy perfumed tons of fruit finish; terrific Essence not at all Port-like; will age well I suspect but a terrific dessert wine now; fairly priced at $30.00/hlf.
3. Santa Barbara Winery Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc Lafond Vineyard Santa Ynez Valley (SaH: 50%; RS: 33.8%; 8%) 1999: Very dark gold color; slight volatile/fumey very intense botrytis/peachy/apricotty slight caramel/creme brulee slight earthy complex nose; very sweet very intense loads of botrytis/peachy/apricotty caramel/butterscotchy pudding tart slight buttery/oak flavor; very long/lingering intense botrytis/apricotty/peachy slight earthy finish; a stunning botrytis very Sauternes-like (despite the low alcohol level) wine at a fair price. $45.00/hlf

1. Ridge 2001's: Of all the 2001 Ridge Zins we've had thus far, they've all been extremely good. Looks like Ridge homered (as in "hit a home run", not as in HomerSimpson) w/ the 2001 vintage.
2. Castagna Sangiovese: A new producer for me. Julian Castagna (Italian for chestnut) had seen my reviews on cold-climate Syrahs on the Web, tracked me down, and oferred to send me some samples direct from Australia. I gather they have no distribution in the USofA, but they should. Web site is: www.Castagna.com.Au Sangiovese is a variety that I think has the potential to make world-class wine. Some of the Tuscan examples can be pretty decent, but there also a lot out there which show a lot of that nasty Italian character. In Calif, it's much like Syrah was ca. 1978. You see glimpses of its potential, but precious few deliver on that promise. They oftentimes display a mean/acidic/ tannic streak with only some of that bright cherry perfume that great Sangio can deliver. I was mightly impressed with this Sangiovese; definitely a world-class Sangio. It had that bright/vibrant/cherry frangrance of Sangio, almost like a perfumed DryCreekVlly Zinfandel. But on the palate, it had a roundness & lushness that Sangio doesn't often deliver. A stunning wine I thought. Not great Chianti, but a stunning illustration of pure Sangiovese character.
3. Ethan: This be Ethan Lindquist, son of Bob Lindquist. After a number of yrs helping Bob market the Qupe wines, Ethan has struck out on his own. As he was living up in Northern Calif at the time, he made his wines there in Sebastopol. He has since returned to LosOlivos and will be bringing his wines down shortly. He also makes a Syrah from EdnaVlly grapes that's quite good. I was expecting his wines to be Qupe-clones, but they're not. They, in fact, remind me some of Bob's wines the way they were made back in the mid '80's; which are not quite as polished and balanced as they are now. His brother, Luke, is now the chef at the LosOlivos Grocery (out on the hwy from Santa Barbara, just south of Main St) and doing some very good things there. It's as close to Dean & Delucca or LazyAcres as you can find in the Santa Ynez Valley. Lots of good things there, and a small but very well-selected wine shop. Definitely worth the stop.
4. RanchoArroyoGrande: A new operation way up in the SaucelitoCnyn are up above Lake Lopez in the upper ArroyoGrandeVlly. They sell Syrah grapes to Bob Lindquist, Mike Bonaccorsi, and others. This is the first of their own wines I've had and I was mightly impressed. Not a big/extracted style of Zinfandel, much different from the SaucelitoCanyon Zins, with lots of bright/vibrant fruit. I;m looking forward to trying their Syrah in a few weeks. A winery to keep your eye upon.
5. SantaBarbaraWinery: This is a winery I've followed from the very start. When I first started trying their wines, I was pretty underwhelmed. But, over the last 3-4 yrs, winemaker Bruce McGuire, has been turning out an impressive array of wines, both under the SantaBarbaraWinery label and the Lafond label. These two Zins come from the Lafond Vineyard out on the western extreme of the SantaRitaHills appellation, near the SeaSmoke and LaRinconada Vineyards. Very cool growing area. It is totally insane that anybody planted Zinfandel in this area; it's much too cool to ripen Zinfandel in most yrs. But when they do....zowie!!! I first had this Zinfandel at the SantaBarbara Vintners festival last October and was blown away by its intense peppery character. It seems to be developing more rich/deep blackberry character than it had last Fall. Terrific Zinfandel at a great price.
6. Kekfrankos: This is a variety grown in Hungary that is also know as BlauFrankish. In WashState it goes under the name of Lemberger. This was brought by a German friend, Rudi Proske. He had just purchased property in that area and the farm has a beautiful underground wine cellar in which he plans to make his on wines using purchased grapes. The resemblance of this wine to WashState Lemberger was there, but this Hungarian version showed a bit of rustic winemaking in it.
7. Calera Zinfandel: Early on in his winery, Josh used to make Zinfandel to hone his winemaking skills. I would like to see him do it again as there are some terrific old Zinfandel Vineyards in his neighborhood. In its youth, this was a big/juicy/plummy/blackberry/jammy Zinfandel. I fully expected it to be dead. But it had a screechingly high acidity (probably no M-L on this wine) that has carried the wine out 20 yrs in a great fashion. Not a great Zinfandel, but very interesting for a relic from the dim/distant past.