Epic tasting of 15 Tercero wines with Larry

We convened a group of wine lovers, some Berserk and some not, to sit down to a lengthy evening of great food, companionship, education, and 15 Tercero wines, covering most of his varied offerings, and spanning from his first vintage in 2006 to wines just bottled two or three days before the dinner.

I went into the dinner with high expectations, but my expectations were greatly exceeded by the lineup of wines we tried. Wine after wine showed balance, terroir, drinkability, and the passion and dedication of Larry to his craft and to constantly improving it.

Here are a few photos - the site will only let me upload three at a time for some reason, but I will add some more to the thread in separate posts. And then I will get to the wines.

Our separate back building at A Restaurant in Newport Beach, which we had all to ourselves, perfect for getting to mingle, taste, learn from Larry, without interfering with, or being interfered by, other diners.

A couple of photos from our dinner.


Before dinner:

2014 Gewurtztraminer “The Outlier,” Santa Barbara County. Bottled just three days before it was served to us (what bottle shock?), this was one of the stars of the lineup. Fresh pineapple,melon and pear flavors which do not come off as sweet or rich. The real excitement is copious white spice and florals, a tiny bit of petrol, and a long steely finish. I’ll be buying this for sure.

2014 Albarino, C5 Vineyard, Santa Ynez Valley. Larry doesn’t break from the Rhone varieties often, but as with the gewurtz, this proves a highly worthy endeavor for Tercero. Bitter pineapple and papaya, white pepper, and a taut citrusy finish. This was bottled two days before it was served to us, but it’s already off and running.

2014 Mourvedre Rose, Vogelzang Vineyard, Santa Ynez Valley. Very pale salmon, with tart strawberry, citrus peel, mineral. Harvested at 22 Brix. At this young age, this pushes near the limits of how bony and pale I personally want a rose, but it will probably flesh out with a little time, and it certainly is a good food wine already.

First Course:
Pressure Cooked Octopus
watercress | potato barigoule | hearts of palm | espelette | citron

2009 Grenache Blanc Camp 4 Vineyard, Santa Ynez Valley. While these may not be destined for a decade plus of aging, this wine shows how well Tercero’s whites, and the grenache blanc grape, can age into the middle term. There was a distinct, but not excessive, petrol smell on the nose. Pears, melon, a hint of honey, and some good stony mineral. Really at a nice stage of its development, though I would probably not expect further improvement with more age.

2011 Grenache Blanc Camp 4 Vineyard, Santa Ynez Valley. I gave this the edge over the 2009 on this night, though both were excellent. This was fresh, tropical and spicy. The wine sees 5-10 year old oak barrels; Larry said he has tried making grenache blanc purely in steel, and the result was too simple for what was aspiring to. But there is zero sign of the oak at this age.

2013 Grenache Blanc Camp 4 Vineyard, Santa Ynez Valley. After trying the 09 and 11, this wine came off as having a bit too much creaminess, with a bit of caramel, but I would expect that to resolve with some time. Honeysuckle and white flowers, melon, pear and some white spice appear towards the end. I would hold these off to start drinking in summer 2016, personally.

Second Course:
Diver Scallop
sunchokes | hedgehogs | leeks | red pearl onions

2010 Viognier White Hawk Vineyard, Santa Barbara County. This is at a nice age. From a vineyard planted in 100% sand, where the vines struggle to ripen. Larry said this wine was backward for most of its life, but is recently starting to emerge and hit its stride. Lime, green apple, white flowers, with a bony finish.

2013 Viognier White Hawk Vineyard, Santa Barbara County. Very young, not really showing its best yet. Some underripe tropical fruit, bitter green apple, honeysuckle. I’d probably hold this for two years to see it at its best.

Third Course:
Niman Ranch Pork Boudin Blanc
shaved brussels | onion puree | pickled mustard seed

2006 Mourvedre Camp 4 Vineyard, Santa Barbara County. Camp 4 Vineyard is a warm vineyard, and combined with the 2006 vineyard, this wine is not surprisingly showing a lot of sun and ripeness. Red plums, prune and a bit of a porty feel to the fruit. The wine is redeemed by some earth and some dark spice towards the end. Enjoyable, but not at the level of most of the evening’s offerings.

2011 Mourvedre, Santa Barbara County. To me, this was the most thrilling red of the evening. This receives the Santa Barbara County designation, because Larry went with a blend of the warm Camp 4 Vineyard and the cool Larner Vineyard. The blend, combined with the cool precision of the 2011 vintage, work wonders on this bottle. This is still a young wine, with considerable improvement ahead. It shows brambly blackberry fruit, black pepper, mineral and leather. With some time, some of the trademark beef and blood flavors are suggested. I’ll be quite excited to purchase this wine and watch it develop over the next 5+ years.

Fourth Course:
Magret Duck Breast w/ Confit
carrot puree | lentils du puy | huckleberry gastrique

2010 Grenache Larner Vineyard, Santa Ynez Valley. This shows the cool freshness of the Larner Vineyard. The wine spent 34 months in old French oak and is not yet released. This has bright red fruit, ripe and enjoyable without being sweet. There is a warm, Christmasy spice, and the wine finishes very cleanly with no heat, oak or heaviness. Really lovely and easy to like.

2010 Grenache Camp 4 Vineyard, Santa Barbara County. While a wine I most likely would have happily enjoyed on its own, with the benefit of this format and the opportunity to taste the Tercero wines in verticals and horizontals, I discovered that I really prefer the Larner Vineyard. This was on the ripe side, almost a little Porty, and more of a crowd pleaser, but not as precise and fresh as the Larner. An interesting look at two vineyards, and a producer who lets the vintage and vineyard speak in the glass.

Fifth Course:
Akaushi Striploin
black garlic jus | caramelized onion | potato gratin
2010 Syrah White Hawk Vineyard, Santa Barbara County. With the disclaimer that I don’t usually care for syrah, either domestic or international, I was seriously impressed with this wine. Beautiful floral aromatics, pure purple berry fruit, dark spice, and a very clean, citrusy finish. This walks a nice medium style, neither a big rich new world syrah, nor a lean, leathery style. While this should go strong for many years, this drinks so nicely now, I’d open one if you have it.
2010 Syrah Larner Vineyard, Santa Ynez Valley. A cool climate style of California syrah. Violets, lavender, bright fresh dark berry fruit, really nice. I liked the 2010 White Hawk slightly more on this night, but these were both terrific wines.

Dessert
Berries and Cream

2012 Late Harvest Viognier Camp 4 Vineyard, Santa Barbara County. Larry did an amazing job juggling the temperatures all night on top of everything else, except this one was extremely cold when we tried it, and it was hard to get a good read. This is clearly not a sweeter late harvest wine, though that was undoubtedly overstated by the wine temperature. The impression was a clean, minerally wine with just a hint of sweetness to the fruit. I think he was aiming for a middle ground between Sauternes type wine and a table white - it will be interesting to see where this one goes in time.

+++++++++

Many thanks to Larry for his generosity with his wines, his time, and his immense energy. His passion for his wines is adding something unique and special to the world of California wine. And thanks to everyone who attended; we had a great group, who relaxed and had fun but also really appreciated the wines and information.

I’ll post some more photos below, and I also look forward to some impressions from the other attendees as well as anyone else with thoughts on recent experiences with Tercero.

By the way, though tasting 15 wines may seem excessibe, there were 11 of us, taking two ounce pours from one bottle of each wine, and we were there over almost four hours, so it wasn’t nearly as sloppy as it sounds.

In the words of the great Jerry Seinfeld, “who are these people”?

Counselor Mon-deuce, thanks for working with Larry to set this up. I really enjoyed the evening and my notes are below. The standouts for me were several of Larry’s white wines, to include the Albarino and the Outlier (Gewurz). Both of those wines were very good for me, reflecting terrific balance, acidity and expression. The other standout was that dynamite 2011 Mourvedre. It had old world notes to it, which I dug a lot.

Larry, your energy and passion come through these wines. Like many generous guys in this business that I have been fortunate enough to meet and build relationships with over the past many years, I appreciate you once again coming down and spending your time with us, sharing what you do. Keep it up, buddy.

TERCERO DINNER #2 IN THE OC WITH LARRY SCHAFFER - A Restaurant In Newport Beach, CA (3/7/2015)

• 2014 Tercero Mourvedre Rosé - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
  Strawberry, kiwi, guava and a spicy refreshing note. Enjoyed this for the energy it showed.
• 2014 Tercero Albariño C5 Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
  Was bottled under twist just 2 days ago. This is the essence of mandarin orange for me. It’s infused with this flavor. Aromas of citrus blossom and what I thought was a smoky note (although not the toasted kind that I dislike in chardonnay, it’s not that note). Same smoky note in the palate with big lime skin, delicious and spicy. This reminds me some of the better chenins I enjoy, like Huet. Really good stuff, a wine I will order.
• 2014 Tercero Gewürztraminer The Outlier - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
  Each time I have this varietal by Larry, I really dig it. I believe like a handful of whites that he showed us last night, this one was recently bottled in the past few days. This vintage shows juicy peach, lime and stone fruit. What really grabbed my attention was the peppery finish, what Counselor Mon-deuce seated across from me at the tabled, he referred to it as “white pepper”. This was spot on. What a great bottle of wine, with the stone fruits and that zing of spice in the finish. Another wine I will purchase.
  
  
  
• 2009 Tercero Grenache Blanc Camp 4 Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
  Smells like an Alsace. A good brushing aromatically of petrol/diesel. A core of melon fruit, too.
• 2011 Tercero Grenache Blanc Camp 4 Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
  Similar to the 2009 with the diesel/petrol note, although lighter in aromatic volume than the 2009. I find more citrus and acidity here compared to the 2009, with the melon notes leaner and more focused, too. Acidity is very present. Shows the signature of the vintage.
• 2013 Tercero Grenache Blanc Camp 4 Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
  Shows the same aromatic consistency from the 2009 and 2011, with the diesel/petrol note. Shading of lemon, the same depth of melon found in the other two vintages and the a guava-like note. I wrote “pure” in my notes, to convey a balance and clean sensation. Like with a lot of Larry’s wines last night, there is a spicy note in the finish, this one anise-like for me.
  
  
  
• 2010 Tercero Viognier White Hawk Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
  There is a distinct spice to this wine, that goes alongside the aromatics of peach and nectarine. That spicy quality is most evident in the finish, where I also found a sour apple/sour peach note.
• 2013 Tercero Viognier White Hawk Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
  This wine was just bottles under twist just a few days prior, if my notes are accurate from what Larry told us. And of all the whites we had last night, this one was the tightest, had the most evident structure, too. Spicy like the 2010, but this version has more tropical notes, what I wrote down in my tasting book as “green tropical”. Will need time to of course come together.
  
  
  
• 2006 Tercero Mourvedre Camp 4 Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
  Larry explained to the group that this was the first wine he had made under his new label, way back almost 10 years ago. Having very little of it around, he kindly brought it to the dinner to share with us. I enjoy these kinds of moments in my wine universe, as it’s these where you can have that window into a person that is unique, special. This wine smelled riper styled to me (sans any heat that I could tell), and even with that, I also scribbled into my notes the sense of some 2ndary aromatics, too…they’re just beginning to emerge. Dark cherry which for me felt even like a syrupy impression, then finishing with charcoal and in my view ready to drink. Thank you again, Larry, for sharing this history with us.
• 2011 Tercero Mourvedre - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
  Tasted next to the 2006. As much as that 2006 has the bedrock of Larry’s first work inside that bottle, the 2011 for me just really showed best. Of all the wines last night on the table, this was the star for me. Aromatically was just bitchen, with green tobacco leaf, spice and smoke. Then the fruit reflecting cedar, dark cherry, leather, black cherry and a juicy, tarry finish that felt very youthful and balanced. Reminded me a lot of Bordeaux, too. Easily my WOTN and a wine I will buy for sure, several actually to enjoy over time. Bravo.
  
  
  
• 2010 Tercero Grenache Larner Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
  I don’t think this wine is even yet released, so added to the database. Spent 34 months in old oak. Perfumey, dried flower, spicy and a concentrated black and red fruit profile, which to me exhibited also aspect of hard cherry candy. Charcoal, bitter chocolate (just a brushing). Also sensing what I call “hot rocks” (which sounds pretentious as I suppose who would eat or know what hot rocks taste like) so I guess in better terms would be to somehow think about minerality that is charred with a red, spicy note.
• 2010 Tercero Grenache Camp 4 Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
  Like the 201 Larner Grenache poured next to it, this also spent 34 months in old oak. I find this Camp 4 to be perceptually richer, too. Just feels broader on the palate and the alc seems a bit more elevated also, but not boozy to the degree I would call it heat or fumey. Just think bigger in tone overall than the Larner. It shows an additional aspect of garrigue and brush, that I didn’t find in the Larner.
• 2010 Tercero Syrah White Hawk Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
  Both syrahs I tasted, which was this one and the 2010 Larner poured alongside, they were larger in frame then I seem to drink in syrah these days. However, I will say squarely that I did not find heart I either wine. This to me is an important call out, as it’s easy to equate darkness and density with booze. This White Hawk showed as spicy, with density, bitter chocolate and lots of iron. Black and red fruit, too. This would be a good syrah for those who want to drink in the syrah value spectrum, yet not get clubbed over the head with big alc and yet get a nice mix of black and red fruit.
• 2010 Tercero Syrah Larner Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
  This vintage was not yet in the database so I had to add it. Not sure if the wine is unreleased at this time but that would be my guess. I found this wine to be tangier than the 2012 White Hawk which was poured next to it. I also found it to be brighter, with the red fruit as present or moreso than the black. Citrus peel, cherry skin but like the White Hawk, showed a similar palate density. I preferred this wine over that one too, as it drinks more like syrah that I enjoy these days.
  
  
  
• 2012 Tercero Viognier Camp 4 Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
  This is a late harvest style wine, although the database title here that I chose to use would not paint that distinction. There is about 4% RS in this wine, with an alc level around 13%. I don’t care much for sweet wines anymore, not do I get enamored by high scoring expensive ones–I simply don’t enjoy the sweetness, the density and heavier side of them. This one here, it doesn’t come off like that type of late harvest. Apricot, grapefruit, peach and guava, with a touch of sweetness but yet refreshing. If I was to drink late harvest, this is where I would spend my time and money.

Posted from CellarTracker

Glad it went well, wish I could have made it. The Outlier really struck a chord with me the first time I tasted the wines, and seems like the Morvedre is killer too. Is “The Climb” over and done with?

I’ll let Larry answer that question, but I’d just note that despite the array of wines at the dinner, this wasn’t all of his current lineup. Off the top of my head, I can think of the Roussanne, Verbiage Blanc and Verbiage.

I hope to see you at a gathering sometime soon, Robert.

Of WBers, we had me (fourth from the left in the large group photo), Larry Schaffer (guy on the left of the second photo above), Frank Murray (middle guy in the second photo above), Jim Dietz (far right of the large group photo), and Bryan Cottriel (second from far right of the large group photo).

Sorry to miss this one but the family was in town.

I thought I created a tasting story from Berserkerfest 8.0 in November when I visited Larry but doesn’t seem to be the case after poking around. So here are my notes from many of the wines you tasted.

• 2014 Tercero Mourvedre Rosé - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County (2/24/2015)
  Falltacular 2015 (FMIII in the OC): This was a barrel sample I lifted and took home, guess I’ll return the lab bottle to Larry next time I see him. Disclosure: this is our house rosé for the last 3 years, it’s great.

As with the last vintage, palate is dominated by fresh cut peaches. Nice earth mid palate, not sweet like a great rhone rosé. Delicious. We’ll be ordering some as soon as he gets it into bottle.

• 2010 Tercero Grenache Watch Hill Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County (11/26/2014)
  I guess this was just release since I created it in CT. Very bright ruby color, sparkling. Nose is cherry, herbs, sage brush, and crisp. Tannins are fine but there’s a grip wrapped around a bing cherry core. Very complex. Medium finish. Very good and let this sit for a couple of years.
• 2010 Tercero Mourvedre Larner Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley (11/26/2014)
  This is like getting punched in the face and I like it. I bought some. Really dark color and the palate has tons of herbs, pepper, blackberry, and dark fruit. Long rough and tumble finish with a dry ending. If you open this now do it the night before. I’m burying mine deep with a “do not touch” note.
• 2010 Tercero Syrah White Hawk Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County (11/26/2014)
  Excellent. Incense aromas. Blackberry and dark cherry fruit with a chalk foundation. Tannins are fine and a medium weight in the mouth. Really long finish. Very good.
• 2010 Tercero Verbiage (Rouge) - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County (11/26/2014)
  Dark maroon like a black cherry. Enticing nose, attractive dark fruit, and touch of heat. Another solidly built wine with angular tannins and I’m getting a stem note. There’s no whole cluster here so don’t believe your everything you smell. Long finish. I scribbled down “hide in the cellar”.
• 2011 Tercero Mourvedre - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County (11/26/2014)
  Somebody smarter than me needs to set the drinking window on this wine. Although very dark garnet color, there’s a clarity to it and I can see through the glass. Cool. Ripe cherry aroma although that doesn’t hop out on the palate. Lots of structure here with an extremely long finish. Big boy mourvedre.
• 2012 Tercero Viognier Camp 4 Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County (11/26/2014)
  This was a little gift from the wine gods that showed up in barrel so they bottled it. Chris loves this wine so a bottle followed us home and we’ll pop it with her father. RS is something like 4. Sweet pear, obviously, with medium plus weight but the acid does a nice job of holding this all together and preventing from becoming syrupy.
• 2012 Tercero Viognier White Hawk Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County (11/26/2014)
  I like Tercero Viognier. Quick note because I’ve tasted this before but noticed a honey not this time and added some weight, med+
• 2013 Tercero Gewürztraminer The Outlier - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County (11/26/2014)
  Very light color. Big perfume nose and pear fruit. Palate is loaded with acid and strong pear flavors. Very clean finish. I like this vintage better than the last few and they were good.
• 2013 Tercero Verbiage (Blanc) - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County (11/26/2014)
  Pale yellow color, even a little bronze hue. Excellent aromas and a whiff of honey. Palate of pearl, med+ acidty, great complexity, and nice balance. Long finish and a ridiculous QPR for a white rhone blend. I guess I’m a sucker for all things rhone.

Posted from CellarTracker

When is that blended Mourvèdre being released?

I don’t know when it goes out to the wine club and on his website, but I’m pretty sure you can buy it now if you just contact Larry.

The 2011 mourvedre is available.

http://www.tercerowines.com/red-wines/detail?item=2011-mourvedre

Very nice, sorry I missed you.

Odd. I looked at the whole list of reds this AM, and it was not there.

By the way, though tasting 15 wines may seem excessibe

To whom? Esp w 11 people!

Anyhow, looks like a good time. I like Larry’s wines, at least those that I’ve had and one day in the near future hope to get up his way. I love that he’s doing all those grapes that don’t always get the love a Cab or PN does, and they’re from different vineyards. Good job Chris

BTW - pressure cooked octopus. How did that come out?

David, I just bought the wine earlier today off the website. It’s there, look at the bottom of the red wine page. It does not have a photo for it. 35 bucks.

Hey folks! First off, I want to thanks Chris and his wife Joanne for arranging for me to make it down there for the dinner. It was a pleasure and an honor - and so much fun to look back at the wines I’ve produced in the past and compare and contrast them with current vintages. This is something I don’t do very often - and something that is made that much for informative in a group such as this!

I loved the intimate setting for this dinner and the fact that those in attendance were varied with regards to their knowledge of my wines. We were able to go through the 15 bottles truly without consuming that much - especially the first two courses, which were served at breakneck speed!!!

The food was fantastic - and as with a good winemaker dinner, made my wines taste even better. I loved the pairings, with the duck/grenache and octupus/grenache blancs perhaps my favorites.

To answer a few questions and correct a few things:

The three starter wines - the 2014 Mourvedre Rose, 2014 Albarino, and the 2014 The Outlier - had just been bottled on Wednesday, 3 days before the dinner. I do not bottle these with much SO2 since each has a relatively low pH and therefore doesn’t need much. Though not as ‘open’ as they had been in tank prior to bottling, I was still quite happy about the way each showed.

I pulled out two different ‘older’ vintages of Grenache Blanc to compare with my newest release, and it was really fun to compare and contrast. I hadn’t had an 09 lately, and I loved the slight petrol notes coming into play. The 11 is still a puppy to me and needs more time, and the 13, I believe, will have a nice long life ahead.

I poured both my 2010 and 2013 Viogniers, both from the White Hawk Vineyard. My current release is the 12 but wanted to take a sneak peak at the '13 as I think it’s starting to show beautifully. Both of these wines were a tad ‘shy’ to me - but that’s the style I tend to make this variety in. I pick based on pH, preferring to bring it in at 3.4 or 3.5, regardless of brix levels. These came in at 24.0 in 2012 and made a 14.1 alcohol wine; the 2013 grapes came in at 22.3 and made a 13.1% alcohol wine. This 13 was bottled last August.

The 2006 Mourvedre was the first one that I made. I only used Mourvedre fruit from Camp 4 until 2010, when I started getting Mourvedre from Larner as well. Starting with 2013, I’ve expanded my Mourvedre sources to include Thompson and El Camino Real (2013) and Zaca Mesa (2014) and could not be more excited!

The Mourvedre was NOT up on the website earlier today but it is now - I have not ‘officially’ released the wine but have added it in case those in attendance, or reading this, would like to get a few That’s true of the Rose, Albarino, and 2014 Outlier as well.

Cheers!

Oh good. I am not crazy.

Sounds like a fun time - thanks for posting your notes. But 15 wines is hardly “epic” - that’s a pretty typical tasting with Larry!

FWIW, here are some notes from a visit with Larry at his tasting room in January (14 wines in about 90 minutes):
Visit with Larry Schaffer at Tercero, January 2015

Check out Winston Churchill here.