Evan- the 13 Bacchus is the one with the white wax capsule ? I’m out of town but pretty sure I’ve got it. It sounds like it’s one to put away for a few years. How does the 13 Neighbors compare to the 12 and in general the 13 line up compared to 12 in terms of being open and in the zone. I think the 12’s will benefit some additional time.
The 13 Neighbors is quite different from the 12. Much lighter in color, when it was first bottled it was more strawberries and minerals. That is changing as it ages and the stems are having their say. We only released it to the TR on Monday. People are really taken back at the contrast between the color and the complexity of flavor. Not many folks that come in have experience with sweet stem tannins, mostly oak tannins and they are pleasantly surprised. Earthy funk right off the bat and a coating mid. with a bit of young danciness from the structure. I could drink this stuff all day long. The 12 Neighbors tasting fantastic right now, particularly with Chicken Tikka, Palak Paneer and a Dhal. You hopefully will understand from that the breadth and strength of the 12 Neighbors. Petaluma Gap really is showing the concentration/structure combo that is making winemakers compete for the fruit. In 13 we added the Janian Vineyard 114 along with the stems from our Hillside Estate 115, Mt. Eden, Pommard and Swan. The final component was Sun Chase 667 and 777. 14 Neighbors we flipped and took stems from Janian as we like to experiment.
AFA the 13s in general:
Grist Zin has been in the TR for a while and is a crowd pleaser. We will release some more 13 Pinots to the TR this spring. Probably the Hillside Estate and Sun Chase. My impression from tasting last month is that the rest of the Pinots are still young and closed but I will taste again this week and give you a better idea. I would imagine the Sun Chase would be the most open as it usually is and the RR Floodgate would take the longest to come around like RR usually does. I bet the Syrah is opening up now but it has been gone for a long time and we haven’t tasted it for a while. I’ll check in on that too. That reminds me that I have to get my drinking chart together for the website.
Thanks Evan. Great update. Sounds like i need to try the 12 Neighbors. I haven’t pulled one since our visit in 14 so looking forward to checking in on it. Sounds like plenty to do at the winery this winter/spring.
I may be pedestrian but I’ve never heard of any of those three items lest tasted them.
Is there anything a bit more mainstream that would compare? When I bought my '12 Neighbors at the tasting room on my first visit I got the impression that I wouldn’t be popping the cork for 5 years or more.
My go to in my TR spiel is Osso Buco if that helps. I’d say that it is right at that 3-year-old-pinot opening phase and that is why it may be exciting to me.
Come on by the TR as I have a few more 12s in the back. The last 5 cases are for library. I’ll open one and you can do a side-by-side with the 13. No need to take the risk when I’m so close by. Just make sure I’m there as I usually am out by 2pm during the week for Mr. Mom duties.
Tasted some 13s over the past couple of days. Neighbors is open for business. Floodgate is more open than the 12s at this time of evolution but primal and still was waaaaaay better the second day. Hillside is still very primal and I’m not yet getting the perfume from the Mt. Eden clone but I had this a month ago and on the second day exploded beautifully, maybe dumb phase. Checking in on Sun Chase tomorrow.
2012 Fogline Vineyards Pinot Noir Fogline Neighbors- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (3/3/2018)
Dark for the pinot spectrum. Some funk and sulfur on the nose that blew off in 20 minutes. Brooding, savory, dark cherry with a medium amount of acidity and a slightly dusty tannins. The meaty finish makes me think pommard clone. Tasting great right now with a little air.
Thanks fo the TN Rama. We don’t get many being so small.
I last tasted this at our retrospective in Nov. with similar results. There is a hefty chunk of Pommard from our Creekside block that we will be finally breaking out as a separate bottling this year. Stemmed - 667,777, 115, 114, Pommard, Swan, and M/t Eden. 12 was all 30% new FF M+ Tronçais. We started 30% whole cluster in 2013 on the Neighbors.
Great thread. Had a Syrah tonight to check in on it and will be doing one of the pinots this week. Have yet to try a Bacchus so probably will go with the 13.
Evan- looks like you guys are doing well. Hope to see you in 2020.
Just saw this thread and I’m happy to have made Evan’s acquaintance this year. Loved the wines. And with chicken tikka I’d happily have the Chardonnay!
Thanks guys. It has been a challenging year personally and while we are fine business wise I have seen a big decline in visitors to Sonoma County, I imagine due to the fires and flood over the past few years. I am happy to say that we are excited about some new wines we will be making and releasing over the next two years. Outside of our newer block selection Pinot Noirs from our estate, we will be releasing our first Petite Sirah from Grist Vineyard and, later, a vineyard designate Syrah from Cloud Twelve. It took about 5 years to fully renovate the vineyard to the point where we could make both the Rosé of Syrah and a full bodied Syrah. In 2016 it was a large component of the Summit Select Syrah blend. The vineyard was a component of Flowers Perennial when Hugh Chapelle was the winemaker. It already is amazing, 33% whole cluster with a smidgen of co-fermented Ehrenfelser.
AFA Library Wines we recently tasted:
2010 Russian River Floodgate Pinot Noir - fully mature, very elegant Drink now.
2012 Sonoma Coast Sun Chase Pinot Noir - Nearly fully mature, fruit still present, anise spice, beautiful. Drink.
2009 Dry Creek Zin - Mature and balanced, claret style. Zin from Grist and Carignane from the valley floor. Only year this blend was made. Drink.
2011 Dry Creek Grist Zin - the profile that people know from our Zin. Beautiful, still full of fruit. Drink or hold.
2014 Dry Creek Grist Syrah(oldest Syrah vines in CA) - My favorite of the tasting. Rich and fruity with tons of savory flavor. Can drink but will still get even better.
It is too early to tell when or if it will happen but we had a respected reviewer here a few months ago that will hopefully write a story about us for a wine publication I respect. Can’t give details, but if it happens I’ll be pretty proud to be considered worthy.
Look for some deals for Berserker Day and Happy New Year. It has to be better than 2019.
![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
wax on the Bacchus.