Last Wednesday, we showed up unannounced at Gorman Winery. We were disappointed to see that tastings were by appointment only. As luck would have it Chris Gorman was packing up his car to leave for the day and invited us in.
Chris poured several of his wines including:
2009 Behind The Black Curtain
This was the star of the tasting. Chris is starting a wine club and this wine will only be available to wine club members. This wine is a 100% Reserve Syrah that is sourced from the Klipsun vineyard, It is aged in 100% new French Oak and there were only 96 cases made.
The wine is dark purple in color and opaque. The nose reveals large amounts of dark fruit including black cherry. There were also scents of leather, blood, iron, mushroom (forest floor) with just a bit of sulfur. Fruit coats the entire tongue with mild tannins. Long lingering finish.
2008 Bully
This was released this past Saturday. It is a blend of 85% Cabernet and 15% Petit Verdot. The color once again is a deep purple and opaque. The nose reveals dark red fruit, cassis, olives and flowers (violets). There is a subtle “steminess” with moderate tannins. This wine coats the entire tongue with a 30 second finish. This can be consumed now or age it for 7 - 10 years.
We did not take notes of the 2008 Pixie or the 2008 Evil Twin.
Finally, Chris was kind enough to provide us with a bottle of his 2009 Cry Baby which is 100% Chenin Blanc (late harvest) for our dinner at the Seastar Restaurant. We shared the Cry Baby with our server and the sommelier, which blew them both away (and then questioned her as to why this was not a staple on the wine list). This wine is pears, pears and more pears.
Thanks Chris … for inviting us in and spending so much time with us.