This is a note I just posted on the Parker board. The title got cut off and some of the post is relevant specifically to the Parker board and Wine Advocate.
The full original title is:
Domaine Mount Eden tasting notes and a rant in praise of the Santa Cruz Mountains & Antonio Galloni.
By coincidence, I picked up a 3 case, long-standing order of Mount Eden wines, mostly 2nd label, the day the Wine Advocate was released. With help from family and friends, I’ve opened, tasted and consumed three of their 2nd label wines in the past 48 hours. Here are the notes. Wouldn’t it be great if 1% of the world’s 1st wines were as good as Mount Eden’s 2nds?
2008 Mount Eden Chardonnay, Saratoga Cuvee, Santa Cruz Mountains [this corresponds to the quality now sold as ‘Domaine Eden] – Almost painfully young. How many California Chardonnays are still good at four years, much less too young, much much less too young for the second wine?
Fresh tight aromas of Granny Smith apple, with a lot of conifer and a hint of pineapple. Good minerality on the palate with a reprise of apple and now some crisp yet ripe Bosc pear. There is a note of sappy pine, the pineapple is gone. This has good intensity but is very closed. Rated 88.5. The second day, there is now breadth, less apple, more pear, plenty of minerality and a hint of pineapple in the background. Rated 90.5. This wine demands at least another two years in the bottle to reach a peak of 91.5 – 93.
2010 Domaine Eden Pinot Noir – The intensity and subtlety of the aromas are absolutely stunning for any Pinot Noir, from anywhere, much less one this young! The black cherries are intense, but so are the black raspberries, with piney aromas in the background. On the palate there is plenty of black fruit, now including blackberry. This has serious body and glycerine, yet retains the lacy texture of fine Pinot Noir. It is wonderfully vivid, but not at the cost of balance. Rated 93.5, drink now or over the next 10 years. I may hold a few bottles for longer, as the unreal balance may equal great longevity.
2007 Domaine Eden Cabernet Sauvignon – Classic Cabernet aromas with red currants and black cherries, along with some ginger and a distinctive note of pine. Moderately ripe and very peppery on the palate, with red currants and black raspberries integrated with a firm, ripe, tannic structure. This is approachable at 5 years, but far from ready to drink, even less open than the ’08 Chardonnay. It’s not broody, just young and muscular, but with no bad attitude. I will let the rest of my half case rest another 3 years. Rated 90.2, up to 2 points of improvement likely. I’ll be retasting tomorrow.
I have been screaming for decades what Antonio Galloni wrote:
““There is no doubt in my mind the Santa Cruz Mountains is the greatest and most overlooked terroir in the United States. Period. The result is a series of breathtaking wines, Pinots especially, that are among the finest being made in the United States.”
Except that I would add Chardonnay and Cabernet; I don’t have enough experience with other varietals to expand the list.
I think the Santa Cruz Mountains is one of the world’s very great terroirs for Chardonnay, standing in relation to the rest of California exactly as Chablis stands to the rest of Burgundy.
Besides Ridge Monte Bello, I have had many great Cabernets from the Santa Cruz Mountains including legendary old Martin Ray bottlings. For decades, the Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard Cabernet bottlings from Bates Ranch were fully up to Monte Bello standards, and tastings of aged bottlings of Mount Eden and Monte Bello find Mount Eden favored as often as its more famous neighbor.
I have tasted a good half dozen of the Santa Cruz Mountain wines that Antonio reviewed (including those above). Our notes and opinions are very similar. I have great confidence in Antonio for all of the regions he covers for the Wine Advocate.
Having said that, I have to repeat that Antonio has too much on his plate. A while back I posted on how many writers it would take to cover the world of wine. I figured 8 at a minimum. Burgundy is a full time job and so are Italy and California. Covering two of these three regions is asking a lot; covering all three is simply impossible.
Antonio reviewed 51 wines from the Santa Cruz Mountains, certainly the most ever in a single Wine Advocate issue. However there are about 80 members of the Santa Cruz Mountain Winegrowers Association, 2/3 of whom make wines from Santa Cruz Mountain fruit. Antonio reviewed wines from 6 producers, leaving about 50 without notes. Again, this is NOT a complaint about Antonio; it’s an example of the impossibility of his tasks.
I have tasted from about 40 different producers of Santa Cruz Mountain wines, including some that no longer exist. The variety of wines and styles is incredible for such a tiny vineyard area; the overall level of quality is stunning. Unfortunately production of most wines is small, often really tiny. It is not easy to visit Santa Cruz Mountain wineries. Roads are windy and difficult, producers can be just a few miles apart but almost an hour away. Few are open for tasting on a regular basis. Still, this is one of the world’s most magical vineyards, both for beauty and quality. I can’t go into detail about favorites that Antonio couldn’t visit or taste; there are too many and my tasting history is too old, but the wines are there for those with the will to find them.
Last but far from least, I should point out that prices remain incredibly reasonable for quality. I believe that only Monte Bello is over $100. Rhys I think tops out around $60 and there are a plethora of wonderful Chardonnays starting in the high teens, rarely hitting $50. I could rattle off a dozen producer names that are among the best wines and best values in California, but encourage everybody to find out for themselves.
Dan Kravitz