Falltacular 2010 Highlights

WINE TALK
1

Wow, once again, Frank proves why he is the king of Offlines. A HUGE event, executed flawlessly and smoothly. I was able to setup early, then had to bolt because of a tennis match, then return to Falltacular for some vino.

Always a highlight, along with seeing friends new and old, is to chat with winemakers, particularly when you have some interest in their wine, and you want to learn more. It’s so valuable to have that opportunity.

I didn’t take copious notes, as I leave that for the folks like Paul Lin and Cris Whetstone, but I did take the time to mark some highlights/favorites.

Highlights (alphabetical order, as they are in the program):

2008 August West ‘Graham Family Vineyard’ RRV Pinot Noir - I mentioned this one after Pinot Days, as that was the first time I had the chance to thoroughly enjoy this wine, and I’m quite convinced that I’m a big fan of the vineyard.

2007 Flying Wine ‘White Hawk Vineyard’ Santa Barbara County Syrah - very ‘Cote Rotie-esque’, tons of barn funk, highly atypical of everything else there. I enjoyed their cabs as well, no specific notes.

2006 Joseph Swan ‘Trenton Estate’ RRV Pinot Noir - I’ve come to realize that I probably like every Pinot Rod Berglund puts out - what a fantastic wine. We had the pleasure of enjoying some of the library bottles Rod brought to the pre-Falltacular dinner, and the '06 and '07 Trenton are also fabulous, and you KNOW they will age so well.

2007 Keefer Ranch ‘Keefer Ranch Vineyard’ RRV Pinot Noir - I typically enjoy ‘Keefer Keefers’ even though they are slightly out of my wheelhouse in terms of overall style, but the '07 was particularly good, and I got a good dose of rhubarb in it, which I really love in a Pinot, and find every once in a while in RRV fruit.

2007 Ladd Cellars ‘Cuvee Abigail’ Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir - wow, I’m a fan of Eric Lundblad’s wines. Never had the chance to experience them previously, but I’m happy I had the chance to. Cuvee Abigail needed quite a lot of air, and at the tail end of the day, I came back to it, and it was just singing. Beautiful vegetal quality - artichokes/avocados/asparagus (much like what I experience often in Peter Cargasacchi’s wines), balanced fruit, alcohol completely in check (and low abv I’m guessing), and more of the rhubarb I found in the Keefer Keefer. Also a tremendous wine of his is the 2007 RRV Pinot Noir.

2008 Loring Wine Company ‘Graham Family Vineyard’ RRV Pinot Noir - one of only 5 Lorings I was able to try - too many wines, not enough time! I sought this one out because I know I love the fruit from there, and this was another fantastic Pinot with the Graham fruit - different in style than Ed’s August West, but beautifully balanced and bright.

2007 Storm ‘Stolpman Vineyard’ Santa Ynez Valley Syrah - trying to recall more specifics of this wine, but I do remember that it was one of the best examples of Stolpman fruit I have had, as I recall chatting with others about Stolpman.

2008 Wind Gap ‘Woodruff Vineyard’ Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir - this was possibly my WOTN because of its uniqueness. I was drawn to it because of the low abv - 12.3% - and was not at all disappointed. It’s very light in color, nice mouthfeel, and a huge, long finish - I couldn’t believe how substantial the finish was on this otherwise light wine.

I tried MAYBE 1/3 of the wines, and just got fatigued - it happens with this many wines…maybe it should be a two day event!!!

Thanks SO much to Frankie and Jill for hosting, and for those who donated time and/or goods for the auction.

2

LOL - then I ran home, the long way, to get a half-marathon in.

I did make quick work of the match, though, as I had a LOT of wine waiting for me. 6-3, 6-1, see ya later, gotta GO!

3

Thank you all for coming, for supporting the event yet again. All of you that heard my wife and Margaret Bayston of Laura’s give the kick off talk y/day as we got the event going…they talked of the women who need our help and through y/day, we did a lot of good for them. Domestic violence takes a toll on all of us, it touches all of us. With wine, the kindness of all of you–auction lot donations, winemaker donations, the volunteer crew that helped, and Team Yamada. The whole thing went great and we done good.

I will post final donation tally later this week but I am thinking just over $11,000. You guys are great!

Here are some photos that were taken yesterday byt Jim Burkie Burk and Steve Christle:

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As a final note, it was hard to both stay in event coordination mode and take notes. I do recall some things I liked a lot, as noted by the following:

2007 Copain Hawks Butte Syrah
2007 Keefer Ranch Keefer Vineyard Pinot Noir
2007 Bevan Cellars Red Wine Showket Vineyard NV
2008 August West Graham Vineyard Pinot Noir

Thank you all again for making this such a terrific event.

4

Glad the event went well. Jim had some great pics! However, I didn’t see many plunging necklines and fake boobs, as I have come to expect from watching “Real Housewives.”

I was also surprised to see Mr. Toronto in a sweater when the Gun Show Boys were sporting their Berserker T’s. I would have figured that the OC folks would be in parkas and Mike would be walking around in a t-shirt. neener

5

‘Gun show boys’ - LOL!

Yeah, Mike in his Norwegian wool sweater was hilarious…

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Mike sat outside in his tshirt around 6pm. Me, Jason Hagen, and Larry S. were freezing our butts off but he just chilled there like he was on the beach.

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But while you northern OC pansies were shivering, the Gun Show Boys were comfortably outside in their Berserkers t-shirts…

8

LA don’t let my slanty eyes trick you into thinking I’m from Irvine insert slanty eye smiley

9

Another Franktacular event! Wonderful day for a great cause.

As always too much wine and food. I didn’t take notes but some of the ones that made an impression on me were: Bevan Cellars Showket Cab and Red Wine, Wind Gap Castelli Knight, Wind Gap Woodruff PN (only 12.3% abv), Sojourn Beckstoffer barrel sample, Tercero Gewurztraminer, Big Basin Alfaro PN, Clos Pepe 2002 VS!!, Saxon Brown Durrell. I’m sure there were more amazing wines, my palate was dead after about 35.

Thanks Frank and Jill and especially to all the winemakers and donors.

[welldone.gif]

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Another vote for the Bevan Red Wine - I neglected to mention that one.

11

Great meeting you Todd, funny about the Wisconsin connection.


Brief notes:

Missed out on the Black Kite, River Marie, Keefer Ranch and many others…too much time talking and not enough tasting!

Some of may favorites-no formal notes

Whites:

Really enjoyed the Etre-good job on this Jeff!

Pinots:
August West Graham Vineyard Pinot '07-love this vineyard
Joseph Swan Trenton Estate-'06, it was drinking very well. The '07 was also good, just young.
Saxon Brown Parmalee Hill Vineyard '07, also liked the Durell Vineyard Haystack Pinot
Spell Sonoma Coast Pinot '08, Russian RIver '08
Clos Pepe-think The '04 was best, but all are very good. And thanks Wes for breaking out the 09 Rose of Pinot Noir-always a summer favorite at out house!
Ampelos Lamda '05
Sojourn Gap’s Crown '08
Cargassachi Jalama Vineyard '07
Hug Rancho Ontiveros '05
Loring Graham Vineyard Pinot & Clos Pepe '08

Grenache:
Tercero Barrel Sample Grenache-Larner('08?)
Outpost Grenache '07 Howell Mtn

Syrahs:

Copain Hawks Butte '07-I have always liked Well’s Hawks Butte bottling, this was great
Tercero Larner Syrah
Saxon Brown Parmalee Vineyard
Bevan Dry Stack '06
Shane- The Unknown '07
Carlisle Two Acres Blend–very drinkable, first time I had this one

Cabernets:
Bevan Cellars Showket Vineyard Oakville Cab '07 + Red Wine Blend
Sojourn Beckstoffer '08

Great seeing Brian Loring, Peter Cargassachi, Wes Hagen, Craig/Sojourn, Larry/Tercero and Russell Bevan again great to meet Jeff/Saxon Brown and many others.

Great to see the auction do well; everyone stepped up and I’m sure a record was broken on total donation to Laura’s House.

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Great to meet you, finally, Ki! The fact that you are a fellow cheesehead just makes it better!

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Many more thanks to Frank and Jill. Hosting seems to come naturally to them, and coordination of such an worthy benefit was surely a huge amount of work. It’s not easy to invite 100+ strangers over for drinks and food, but you pulled it off. BTW-good decision to install tile throughout the house. Laura’s House is lucky to have you. My wife Sahba and I were happy to help such a worthy cause.

As newcomers to this event, we appreciate being allowed to attend and enjoy this unique wine tasting event. How many opportunities are there to taste such a wide variety of quality CA wines while mingling with winemakers, grazing on Persian food and snacking on cookies?

My six-way tie for WsOTD would be the Copain Hawk’s Butte Syrah, Big Basin Fairview Ranch Syrah, Copain Monument Tree/En Haut Pinots, and the Wind Gap C-K Syrah and Woodruff Pinot. Surprises were the Ladd and Sapphire Hill wines. Missed the Rivers-Marie and Swan wines, but you can only do so much.

Since I’m essentially lazy, I took no notes. However, I felt motivated to regurgitate what I could from memory, so this is what stays with me 24-hours after the event.

My favorites in no particular order:

Copain - Hawk’s Buttes Syrah - My favorite Copain to date. The epitome of cool climate CA syrah.

Copain Monument Tree Pinot - Elegant AV pinot with just enough spice to keep your attention. More enjoyable than the En Haut at this point.

Copain - En Haut Pinot - Sort of the Obama-Nobel-Peach-Prize of the 2007 CA vintage. It’s all about potential.

Copain Clos Pepe Pinot - I was a bit loopy, but I remember a unique/intriguing profile that I couldn’t quite put my finger on…

Black Kite - Angel’s Hawk Pinot - Maybe a size too big for me, but the striking nose and pure, AV, red/dark fruit were hard to resist.

Shane - Unknown Syrah - Both 2007 & 2008. Couldn’t keep the vintages straight, but I found them both a bit more open than I anticipated.

Big Basin - Fairview Ranch Syrah, Mandala Syrah, Alfaro Pinot - One of my favorite producers. How does Bradley do it? His syrah is distinctive, balanced and seductive. My wife and I love this stuff. Is there a more underrated producer in CA?

Ladd - RRV Pinot & SC Pinots - New producer for me. Lighter style, but with just a dash of concentration.

Sapphire Hill - RRV Pinot - New producer for me and a pleasant surprise. Elegant with classic RRV palate.

Cabot - Humboldt County Syrah - Bacon, duh, but … bacon’s tastes good.

Clos Pepe - Estate Rose - Fun and lively.

Wind Gap - Castelli Knight Ranch Syrah - Lean and lithe, but with tasty dark/blue fruit.

Wind Gap - Woodruf Pinot - Nice SCM pinot in a bite-sized package.

14

Fantastic event and for a wonderful and worthy cause. Ditto the thanks to Frank, Jill, volunteers, and winemakers. [welldone.gif]

My first Falltacular and a bit overwhelming as I only made it through about 30 wines. I know I missed many outstanding wines, but of those I tasted the following stood out for me:

Syrahs:
07 Wind Gap Castelli Knight
07 Big Basin Fairview Ranch
07 Bevan Dry Stack
07 Storm Stolpman
07 McPrice Larner

Pinots:
08 Wind Gap Woodruff
08 Weber Kelley Family
07 Keefer Ranch
07 Rivers Marie Occidental

Cabs: (only tasted a few)
08 Sojourn Beckstoffer Georges III flirtysmile
06 Outpost True

Zin: Only tasted one, but it was great
08 Sapphire Hill Winberrie Old Vines RRV

Also had a great time at the pre-Falltacular Dinner on Friday and happy to meet many new friends and acquaintances and taste more great wines!

Cheers, [cheers.gif]

Steve

15

Just a quick post to thank Frank and the Dr. Mrs. What a great way to raise money for an important community need, at a time when charities are really struggling. Thank you Frank and Jill!

Also, to alleviate some of the angst, I wanted to post a photo so folks know things are alright back on the Panda farm. We have been providing the Pandas with wine and letting nature take its course.

16

I see you are preparing the crop for next year’s party!

Now that’s what I would call ‘sustainable’.

17

Great event, great cause, great people, great wines, great food . . .

Nuf said!

Cheers!

18

That would be the next offline in Dallas. [shock.gif]

I wish I could have made it this year. [cry.gif]

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Favorites:

Zapaltas Pinots & Chard

Flying Wines 05 Reserve Cab

Bevan Red & Cab

Clos Pepe 06 & 07 Pinot

Sojurn 08 Beckstoffer Cab; and the

Swan Pinots.

20

Sorry I had to miss this (well… actually, we were soaking up sun in Mexico, so I wasn’t suffering)…but glad Clayfu could fill in for me. Sorry to have missed the Bevan wines, really sorry, as I’m having to cut my purchases waaay back this year, and wanted to have a chance to try these before buying… and glad to see that Hug is getting some love too… very nice Pinots (and other varieties too) at good prices…