For all of you looking for wines from off the beaten Napa/Somona/Central Coast path – look no further! Grab some of these wines from Los Angeles vineyards and don’t look back!
I had the privilege of tasting 5 of the Byron Blatty wines. As soon as I found out I would be tasting Byron Blatty wines, I checked out their website to see what I was in store for (since I had never heard of them previously). I was very intrigued to learn that they are making all of their wines from family-owned vineyards located throughout Los Angeles County. Truth be told, going in I was a bit skeptical about LA sourced wines, but was looking forward to tasting the wines with an open mind since I thought it would be cool to find a great “local” winery (since I was born and raised in LA).
In short, these wines blew me away! All of the wines I tasted were fantastic! They are as good as any wines from Napa/Sonoma/Central Coast – I don’t think I would be able to pick these out in a blind tasting. The website describes the wines as bold, powerfully styled wines, and the alcohols levels on the wines I tasted ranged from 14.2% to 15.5%, but I found that while the wines packed a lot of flavor, they were well balanced and not hot or overextracted. In addition, I really enjoyed the plush, rich mouthfeel that all of the wines offered.
Mark was great throughout the process, tailoring the sample wines to what he thought would line up with my palate, dropping of the wines in person, and patiently answering my questions as I was tasting through the wines.
All wines were tasted over the course of 3 nights. On the first night, it was pop and pour. Then the bottle was corked and stored in my cellar overnight – this was at Mark’s suggestion since he said his wines would hold up for several days. On night 2, grabbed the bottles from the cellar, poured off my glasses, and then recorked and stored back down in the cellar. On night 3, grabbed the bottles from the cellar and poured off my final glasses. No decant time for any of the wines on any of the nights.
2018 Tremor
This is a blend of 70% Grenache, 20% Syrah and 10% Merlot. The Grenache is from the Neenach Ranch Vineyard in the northeast corner of Los Angeles, the Syrah is from the Alonso Family Vineyard in the Sierra Pelona Mountains, and the Merlot is from the Smith Family Vineyards in the Antelope Valley. 15.4% alcohol.
Mark said he included this wine in my samples because I am a pinot fan and this wine would be right up my alley…and he was totally right! Maybe not exactly what you would expect from a Grenache/Syrah blend, but delicious nonetheless!
Night 1 – The color was light violet with a bit of bricking (Mark noted that the brick color was very typical for Swayze Vineyard where the Grenache was sourced from). The nose was beautifully fragrant as I poured the wine into the glass, and with a little swirling, mouthwatering aromas of juicy raspberries floated up from the glass. The raspberry flavors carry through on the palate. It was interesting that the wine smelled lighter bodied than it came across on the palate, where the wine came across as rich but not heavy. Juicy raspberries all the way down, with a hint of earth on the long, lingering finish. I can see why Mark thought I would like this wine since I am a big pinot fan – despite the Syrah and Merlot in the mix, I can see how the flavor profile and mouth feel was similar to a pinot.
Night 2 – The color was a little darker in the center than the first night, but still had that same light violet, brick hue. The nose on night 2 started to show a bit more of a strawberry profile, with a hint of earthy spices. On the palate, the flavor was kind of a cross between strawberries and raspberries. The wine came across a little lighter bodied on the palate than last night, but it still coated the mouth with flavor. Some nice earthy spices kick in on the long lingering finish. Tonight, it felt like this wine was shifting from the pinot-ish profile of night 1 to a lighter bodied grenache profile.
Night 3 – The color is starting to show a little bit more bricking, but still basically the same as night 2. The nose was once again all about strawberries and spice, and this flavor profile carried through on the palate. On all 3 nights, the flavors really coated the mouth and linger on the palate, but there was no sense of heaviness. A little bitter tea note shows up on the back end of the palate. This wine might have been a touch more angular tonight compared to nights 1 and 2 and that’s only after having been under cork in the cellar for 2 days, but it was still tasty. Based on my experience over 3 nights, I would enjoy this wine in the nearer term (now to 3-4 years).
2016 Tempranillo
This is 100% Tempranillo from the Swayze Family Vineyard in the Antelope Valley. 14.5% alcohol.
Night 1 – The color of this wine is dark burgundy with black in the middle. The nose was intriguing, I get whiffs of leather, incense, red currants and a hint of mint. On the palate, my tasting notes start with “Wow! Super Tasty!” Dark berries jump out of the glass onto the palate. Interestingly, this is lighter bodied on the palate than I was expecting from the nose (kind of the opposite of the Tremor), but it still really fills the mouth with flavors. I get a little leather on the back end of the palate – but what I enjoyed the most is that dark berry flavor just lingers on the back of the palate long after the wine goes down.
Night 2 – The color hasn’t really changed at all since night 1 – dark burgundy with a black middle. On the nose, I get macerated black cherries with a hint of spice. On the palate, my tasting note tonight starts with “YUMMY!” Dark juicy raspberries with a hint of black pepper. Great mouthfeel tonight – plush, mouthfilling. I get some plum skins as the wine goes down, and again, that long lingering finish is just terrific.
Night 3 – The color still hasn’t changed that much from night 1 or 2 – still dark as night in the middle transitioning to a dark burgundy color. On the nose the wine is showing a little redder fruited, with more of a red current aroma vs. the black cherry flavors from last night. On the palate, I am getting spice, leather, juicy black berry flavors with a hint of white pepper. I am also getting a bit of tar on the finish. Similar to the Tremor, on night 3, this wine is getting a little bit angular compared to nights 1 and 2, so similar to the Tremor, I think I would enjoy this wine in the nearer term as well (now to 3-4 years).
2017 Evenfall
This is a blend of 73% Tempranillo, 25% Petite Sirah and 2% Merlot. The Tempranillo is from the Neenach Ranch Vineyard in the northeast corner of Los Angeles, the Petite Sirah is from the Manini Vineyard in Paso Robles, and the Merlot is from the Smith Family Vineyards in the Antelope Valley. 15.5% alcohol.
Night 1 – The color of this wine is dark – black with hints of purple shading. The nose features black currants, earthy spices and with swirling, I get what I call a nice bass note coming out of the glass (it is more a sensation than an actual flavor that’s hard for me to describe but I really enjoy in big deep reds – I wonder if this is from the PS). On the palate, this is the most closed of all 5 of the wines I am tasting. First sensation on the palate is grippy tannins, and then eventually with lots of swirling, I get some dark blackberry/black currant flavors with a hint of tar on the back of the palate. This wine has that same great plush mouthfeel, but maybe a little shorter finish than the other wines. This feels like it needs some time – I’m interested to see how it evolves over the next 2 nights…
Night 2 – The color on night 2 is still dark black, but with a little more of a burgundy hue. The nose jumps out of the glass with an intense blackberry jam aroma. The palate is not as exuberant as the nose, but it does offer nice black currant and black cherry spice notes with that same tarry note as it goes down. This wine still feels a little more subdued than all of the others – its kind of like the dark, brooding brother compared to the playful siblings that are the other wines I tasted.
Night 3 – The color on night 3 has not really moved from night 2 – black with burgundy tones. The nose is once again that exuberant, intense blackberry jam that just smells so inviting. And the palate is again dark and brooding, with tart black cherries and tar, although tonight there was a nice lingering blackberry finish.
I didn’t feel like I got a great feel for this wine over the 3 nights of tasting (it felt like there was more potential there), so I had about 2 oz leftover that I poured off into a 4 oz Boston round bottle and threw in the fridge for a week. I tried this last 2 oz the next Friday, to see how it would evolve over the course of the week. The nose immediately jumped out of the glass with blackberry pie and hints of leather and caramel. On the palate, it is still dark but brighter (rather than brooding), with blackberry and lead pencil flavors that really coat the mouth. There is a really nice finish of black cherry licorice that lingers long after the wine goes down. Based on this, I think I would hold this for maybe 3-5 years before drinking (or maybe earlier with a good decant), and this could probably go for 10 years.
2018 Byron Blatty Proprietary Red
This is a blend of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc which come from the Lobo Vineyard in LA’s Malibu Coast AVA. 15.1% alcohol.
This is their flagship bottling, complete with the heavyweight Bordeaux glass bottle and monogram printed in platinum on the bottle.
Night 1 – The color of this wine was dark inky purple, but with a vibrancy to the color. The beautiful aromas waft from the glass as I start to swirl even before I stick my nose in the glass. This smells delicious, with dark black currants that seem to get a little sweeter smelling with some air. The palate follows through on the promise of the nose, with rich, black currant flavors coating the mouth. There is also this deep bass note that I really dig that adds volume to the wine. Really well balanced, I love the mouthfeel on this wine. As the wine opens up, it gets a little more exuberant/fruit forward, but not too over the top. The flavors keep churning through the nice long finish.
Night 2 – The color of this wine on night 2 is still dark and inky, but with a little red tinge mixing in with the purple base. The nose is intoxicating, with what smells like black currants and cream – a little less sweet and a little “creamier” than night 1. On the palate, it is definitely redder fruited tonight, but still a mouthful of flavor. The acidity is little more noticeable on the palate, but it does not stick out, but rather balances out the fruit a bit more so that it does not taste quite as forward as it did on night 1. My tasting notes say “not quite as rich as night 1, but I like it better – more smooth and balanced”. Once again, a long lingering finish that keeps pumping out the flavors long after the wine goes down. This wine paired great with the grilled flank steak I had for dinner tonight!
Night 3 – The color of this wine remains dark and inky. The expressive nose smells rich, with dark berries inviting you to come on in and enjoy. The palate offers up rich, black fruits with a nice minerality that really complements the fruit and adds a little brightness to the wine. I am also getting a creaminess on the palate that is delicious, which really adds to the plush mouthfeel that I get on this wine (and which I am finding seems to be a common stylistic element in all of the Byron Blatty wines). But interestingly, I am also picking up a little tannic grip on the palate tonight. The finish is once again long and lingering – would really like to spend more time with this wine watching it evolve in the glass over the course of an evening. This wine reminds me of the Bevan Cellars reds that I love so much – rich, plush, mouthfilling flavors that are not too over the top. This wine was yummy on the pop and pour night 1, but I think got even more delicious over the course of the 3 nights, so while I wouldn’t hesitate to open one now to enjoy in its exuberant youth (though I would probably pour a glass and then give the rest a vigorous decant to see how it evolves over the evening), it will probably improve in the cellar for at least 5-8 years (and probably longer).
2019 Crestarun
This is a blend of 70% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot. The Sangiovese is from the Villa Cresta Vineyard grown in the hills of Bel Air, the Cabernet Sauvignon is from the Triunfo Canyon Vineyard in the Malibu Coast, and the Merlot is from the Smith Family Vineyards in the Antelope Valley. 14.2% alcohol.
This is Byron Blatty’s take on a Super Tuscan blend, and Mark said he included this wine in my samples even though it is sold out at the winery because he found out that I really dig Italian reds.
Night 1 – The color on this wine is red violet, probably the lightest of the group. The nose offers up aromas of bright red cherries, and it smells light but delicious. On the palate, the flavors turn a bit more toward black cherries, with juicy acidity that would match well with food. The wine is light bodied on the palate, but still manages to come across as rich, offering up a mouthful of flavor. The finish is juicy, but maybe just a tad bit shorter than the other wines tasted tonight. This is a fun wine that tastes like it is meant to be enjoyed with food.
Night 2 – The color on this wine is a similar lighter red violet color as night 1, maybe just a little less violet and a little more red. The nose tonight features red cherries with an earthiness that is very appealing. There is also a slight metallic sensation in the nose, like the sensation you get if you scratch a metal surface. On the palate, the wine is a little darker tonight than on night 1. It has really fleshed out nicely, showing a little more body on the palate, but still with that same juicy dark red fruit profile, and the earthiness I get on the nose shows up as a nice warming spiciness on the palate. With some air, the wine starts to lighten up and turn a little more red fruited. The finish turns a little more black cherry-ish, and tonight the wine lingers more on the back of the palate. Quite yummy!
Night 3 – The color on night 3 is still the lighter violet reddish color, with maybe just a touch of bricking starting to creep in on the edges. The nose starts out with juicy black cherries, but starts to lighten up with a little air. On the palate, I get a delicious mouthful of cherries and cream, with that same warming spices that showed up on night 2. The juicy acidity is still present, and although the wine is not quite as lively as night 1, it is still delicious and holding up well. I really enjoyed this wine (I’m gonna have to see if I can beg Mark to “find” a bottle or two to purchase), and based on my experience over 3 nights, this is a wine to enjoy now (and in the near term) with great food and friends.
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