Nor Cal Wine Trip: Big Basin, Rhys, Carlisle, Pisoni/Lucia, Mending Wall/Rivers-Marie, Kutch, Copain

WINE TALK
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It’s been 4 years since I have been able to get back to Nor Cal to taste. What used to be annual trip took a back seat, but I finally got some time to make it work, and so for the past week I have been hitting some of my favorite stops with a small crew. Sean Kennedy joined me, as well as a few other folks who are important in my life and also enjoy wine.

It’s customary for me to start in Santa Cruz and then finish in Napa/Sonoma. This year I built it the same way, starting with Bradley at BIG BASIN on Tuesday. We then went to RHYS and saw Kevin and Jeff on Wednesday. For Thursday, we split the day CARLISLE and Mike O in the morning, then finishing with Jeff at PISONI/LUCIA in the afternoon. For Friday, we got cracking early in Napa, meeting with Will for RIVERS MARIE and MENDING WALL, then finishing in the afternoon with Jamie and Joanna at KUTCH. Finally on Saturday, we ended with the good portion of the day at COPAIN, tasting with Wells. Along this tour, we had Cary Wun, Mike Dildine and Alan Rath join us at a few stops, along with Brian Tuite who also dined with on Friday evening at his crib in Forestville.

I will attempt to build this report in day sequence, adding the visits and narrative/TNs. I’ll post some photos, some of wines/vines and also more importantly of people, the people in this hobby that I appreciate and respect. I welcome comments to the post here and I appreciate you reading my perspective .FWIW, I won’t get to all this in one post so please check back if you want to read about the days, as I am able to build them here.

Tuesday–BIG BASIN. We met with Bradley Brown, who some of you know as the owner and winemaker. I have tasted with Bradley a handful of times in the past few years–some at his winery, some here at the house over dinner. I have got to know him, his energy for evolving and trying to create change in his approach, most notable in the past few years. Already committed to organic farming, I have also seen the wines recently be more to my liking, as the size and weight of the wines has become more focused and elegant, with balance. His approach to lessening new oak, of re-aligning acidity and alcohol. For me, the wines are improving and some of them are excellent in my palate lane. He continues to evolve each vintage and I see and heard that evolution in our recent visit. Below are some of my impressions, mostly finished wines from bottle but I did post a few barrel notes, to give some props to where I saw some barrels really singing. Bradley, I appreciate your passion, as you dial in your Santa Cruz pinots, as well as your rhones. Keep going, man.

  • 2012 Big Basin Vineyards Pinot Noir Alfaro Family Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (7/23/2017)
    Made with about 40% whole cluster, 13% ABV. Spicy/lightly stemmy aromatic, which also gives it a perfumey note. Cranberry and dark cherry. Juicy with plenty of structure to let the wine evolve further.
  • 2013 Big Basin Vineyards Grenache/Syrah/Mourvedre Gabilan Mountain - USA, California, Central Coast, Monterey County (7/23/2017)
    49% G, 27% S, 24% M. Juicy, some meatiness, dark cherry and raspberry, good acidity and no heat (which was showing on the 13 Grizzley we tasted just prior). I like the juicy quality of the wine here, along with a light brushing of minerality.
  • 2013 Big Basin Vineyards Grizzly - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (7/23/2017)
    Due to timing, this got picked after a heat spike so that extra push of ripeness reflects in the wine. For me, I didn’t care for that impact in this wine. This bottle showed a light maple quality, some heat on the nose and a candied raspberry. Some will like this, I just found it a little big for my tastes.
  • 2014 Big Basin Vineyards Chardonnay Coastview Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Monterey County (7/23/2017)
    Crushed rock aromatic with lemon peel, lime, anise and a bitter-like tangerine note. Anise in the finish.
  • 2014 Big Basin Vineyards Pinot Noir Alfaro Family Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (7/23/2017)
    Made with 100% whole cluster, 13.2% ABV. Forest floor/pine aromatic, and the stems give influence to the palate through an herbal note. Cherry is the core here, and tasting this next to the 2012, it comes off riper. There is plenty of structure here that is burying some of that fruit so this needs more time.
  • 2014 Big Basin Vineyards Pinot Noir Coastview Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Monterey County (7/23/2017)
    12.8% ABV. Juicy, red/black cherry, minerality and a good dose of structure in the finish. This is tight and will deserve some time to soften.
  • 2014 Big Basin Vineyards Roussanne Homestead Block - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (7/23/2017)
    Lime, melon and light touch of vanilla bean. In tasting this with Bradley, he also added that he gets a gardenia/white flower in this wine, which comes from a small plot on the lowest part of the estate hill.
  • 2015 Big Basin Vineyards Altitude 2292 Coastview Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Monterey County (7/23/2017)
    This is a brand new wine for Bradley, something I believe could be a flagship for the winery. It’s a 5 Bdx blend, made with 25% new wood and grown at 2200 feet on Coastview. Light bdx aromatic, with cherry, light tobacco leaf, cedar. I enjoyed this.
  • 2016 Big Basin Vineyards Pinot Noir Lester Family Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (7/23/2017)
    I don’t usually put barrel samples into CT but I believe this is close to a composite of what the wine will be so I will go ahead with my TN. This sample was excellent. A blue/red mix, showing a lovely balance with juicy acidity that complements the fruit. Ends with some mineral and tannin. Should this expression hold up once under cork, this will be excellent.
  • 2016 Big Basin Vineyards Syrah Coastview Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Monterey County (7/23/2017)
    Barrel sample, and this really struck me as delicious, so I am going to drop a TN for it here. Purple/blue fruit (reminding me of Copain Brosseau), dried potpourri, great acidity, length. Just a beautiful sample and I look to see if Bradley can get this under cork when he bottles. Really good.

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And finally, a couple cool photos.
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Wednesday–RHYS. I always enjoy this stop, one I have done several times, getting to know Jeff and Kevin over the years. One thing about Rhys that governs my perception–these guys bust their ass to keep learning and investing in their pathway. You can see the intensity in Jeff’s comments as he discussed the wines, as well as the focus of Kevin. Their both excellent to taste with because I always learn something from them about pinot noir, about their views on grape. While it’s easy to throw a dart at them that the wines are stemmy, or that their approach is this or that, I will tell you this is not the case. These guys flex and realize a rigid approach doesn’t work, so you will see in my notes some of the data on whole cluster, which may not be what you think. Yes, lots of whole cluster in the Home, but I could not sense it. Or, the Alpine which is less than 20%. These guys keep pushing their vision and driving ahead, I dig it.

Our visit was a tasting of all the 2015s, as well as a few additional wines for perspective. In total, to see all the 2015s and line them up side by side (like Family Farm and Home, or, the Bearwallow pinot plots). I really appreciate Kevin and Jeff, and thank them for letting us see the craft and such a complete way.

  • 2012 Rhys Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (7/23/2017)
    Floral and perfumey, really cool aromatic. The palate is generous with strawberry, and I want to say jammy, but that seems to send a connotation to some that the wine is sweet or cloying, but it was neither of these in the glass. Medium weight, spicy finish. Minerality here, light creamy and after 5 years is developing very well. My notes have a star next to them, as did the 2015 Alpine, and so I now find myself landing with finding a new appreciation for Alpine, as I already have with 'Shoe. Terrific PN here, the 2012 is excellent.
  • 2014 Rhys Syrah Horseshoe Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (7/23/2017)
    Light incense, dried potpourri (which suggest to me stem inclusion, yet my notes don’t have the %). Lots of tannin and grip here, with purple flower and game. This should be age-worthy and a vintage of 'Shoe to track over time.
  • 2015 Rhys Chardonnay - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley (7/23/2017)
    12.5% ABV, declassed Bearwallow. Light pineapple, lemon, touch of vanilla, spicy yellow apple and a tangy finish. Approachable now.
  • 2015 Rhys Chardonnay Alpine Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (7/23/2017)
    Tasted next to the 2015 'Shoe Chard, and while I liked that wine a lot, I really dug this Alpine–my notes have a big star next to it. Pineapple, a touch creamy, light lemon curd with a great depth and intense finish. There is a sexy quality to this vintage. Excellent.
  • 2015 Rhys Chardonnay Bearwallow Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley (7/23/2017)
    After tasting the 2015 AV Chard right before this (which is essentially declassed Bearwallow), I can see the quality difference in this wine. As opposed to the declassed AV Chard, this wine shows more intensity through a lemony/citrus acidity. Green apple/pippin with a long finish. And FWIW, I did not perceive any wood/oak tones here. I know some of us around these parts have debated oak/wood perceptions in the Rhys chards so I offer this final comment to add to that debate.
  • 2015 Rhys Chardonnay Horseshoe Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (7/23/2017)
    Minerality and an intense lemony cut. What intrigues me about this vintage of Shoe Chard is the depth and intensity that is here, yet the wine is neither heavy or dense. Just a real power in a leaner frame that I really dug.
  • 2015 Rhys Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (7/23/2017)
    Just under 20% whole cluster. Aromatics have a lifted, spicy quality–terrific. This wine has a distinct purity, with beautiful depth, length and balance–all of this just dialed in. My notes has a big star next to the wine, along with the last word being ‘gorgeous’. Jeff nailed this wine in 2015.
  • 2015 Rhys Pinot Noir Anderson Valley - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley (7/23/2017)
    This is the AV cuvee, which I believe (like the AV Chard) is declassed Bear PN. Pine needle, herbal and juicy. Cherry and blood orange flavors (I credit the blood orange reference to Jeff Brinkman who made the remark during the tasting). It finishes with black cherry note, and some good tannin.
  • 2015 Rhys Pinot Noir Bearwallow Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley (7/23/2017)
    This is 5% new oak, totally destemmed. Juicy, almost plush, with a spicy component, gamy and a dark cherry finish. My notes also say blue fruit, which given the proximity to Kiser, I’d expect some blue tones here, too.
  • 2015 Rhys Pinot Noir Home Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay (7/23/2017)
    100% whole cluster and what caught my attention is that the wine has integrated the stems, meaning I didn’t sense anything herbal. Pretty cool. Dark cherry, some strawberry but this is darker and brooding than the Family Farm, which is essentially adjacent to Home. Plenty of complexity here, depth, touch of incense, finishing with a black cherry, spice and tannin. Very good version of Home, for sure.
  • 2015 Rhys Pinot Noir Horseshoe Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (7/23/2017)
    This is fully destemmed in 2015, yet it does have a cool, sage-like note in the aromatic. And, I am going to be called crazy for saying this, but when I wrote notes in a tasting, I jot down honestly what comes through my senses. In this instance, my notes say an aromatic of chicken soup. So, maybe what I was digging on was the savory quality of that aroma, and yet there are no stems here. Just a captivating aromatic whatever you take away from my perceptions here. This is juicy, approachable with crunchy red fruits of raspberry and light watermelon and just perfumey. Finishes juicy. This is a rad bottle of 'Shoe that will be something cool to try again when released.
  • 2015 Rhys Pinot Noir Porcupine Hill - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley (7/23/2017)
    Made like the 2015 Bearwallow, so this is destemmed and just 5% new wood. This is approachable now, with dark cherry and moderate complexity. There is some minerality here. My notes have a question mark abut the wine’s development, meaning is the wine going to need more time to show added complexity? At this stage, I prefer the 2015 Bear better but we’ll see with time. I plan to buy the 2015 Porkie, as I want to see where the wine heads.
  • 2015 Rhys Pinot Noir San Mateo County - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, San Mateo County (7/23/2017)
    33% whole cluster, a blend of declassed Family Farm and 'Shoe. Smoky note in the aromatic, along with a nicely open-knitted texture. Round, juicy. Some redder tones of strawberry and a soily/loam note in the finish. I found this to be quite drinkable at this stage.

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As for a few photos…
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For the remainder of the trip, please check back over the next few days, as more to come…

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I’ll chime in later. For now, all I can say about the FMIII roadie is:

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Mike, was really great to have you along for many of these stops…look forward to any thoughts you want to share on the wines we had together. When you reply, if you can add some perspective about the Rhys project called AERIS, I would appreciate it. My notes are not tight on this so I need a little help. Cary and Alan, please help too if you would like.

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FMIII, the gift that keeps on giving. Loving the read, loving the spoils! Great to see you my friend. Sorry our departure was so abrupt but D had a rough night Friday. [drinkers.gif]
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A bit about our visit with Kevin and Jeff at Rhys. I first visited Rhys some 8 or 9 years ago when Kevin contacted a few of us to inspect his new, state of the art Pinot, Syrah and Chardonnay project. We walked the vineyards, toured the cave and then tasted each available Rhys wine. While the entire experience was overwhelming, what really impressed me was the “Rhys laboratory” - the unlimited, soup to nuts experimental zeal that Kevin, Jeff, Javier and the team approached each aspect of farming and winemaking.

Happy to say that the same rabid experimental curiosity that marked my first visit was still alive and well at Rhys. And the quality of the product has absolutely rewarded the faith of the early adopters like myself (not to mention the blood, sweat and treasure invested by Kevin and his team).

Frank did an excellent job (as usual) of covering the tasting notes. I’d add as context that the '15s throughout the lineup, including the appellation wines, exhibit exceptional intensity. Scarce quantities and a couple of my favorites (Skyline and Swan) will be missing, but these are great wines that will reward patience. I’m very much looking forward to these!

Now, for something new - Aeris! Aeris is a new Italian wine venture that will be brought to you soon by the Rhys team. It will feature Nebbiolo and a white wine variety from Sicily called Carricante. Most here are quite familiar with Nebbiolo - I found it interesting that Kevin appeared just as passionate about the Carricante. According to Jancis’ “Wine Grapes,” Carricante is a “potentially very fine, crisp and distinctive Sicilian white variety.” Kevin believes it has the quality of the world’s finest white varieties.

The team has planted Nebbiolo and Carricante along the Northern Sonoma Coast. I’m a little sketchy with details (as I was too busy enjoying the '15 Rhys lineup), but I understand that Aeris will also be taking grapes from Italy!

An article from the NYT describing the Aeris Carricante venture can be found here: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/20/dining/mount-etna-wine-sicily.html

The team will also be making “small quantities” of a Loire-styled Chenin Blanc and (drumroll please), very small quantities of a “pinot-styled” Zinfandel! It is imperative that all great California wine estates produce a Zinfandel!

To manage the new production, the team will construct a new wine facility near Ukiah.

Not sure I caught everything - I’d appreciate further details (and corrections) from the group.

One of the great experiments in modern California winemaking lives on! For those interested, the Aeris website: http://www.aeriswines.com

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Thank you Brian, it was terrific to see you for the Friday dinner at your crib and then at Copain for the following day. Great having Berserkers around to get together and taste.

Mike, thanks for the details on Aeris. This sounds right to me. The one thing I would add is that Kevin spent time with us talking about how he chose that ridgeline plot. I seem to remember that he said he identified this site because of the data studies on weather, soil and temp, all seeming to align well with the Nebbiolo growing area in Italy that he wants to mirror. Fascinating stuff.

To continue the trip, let me discuss Wednesday morning.

Wednesday AM–CARLISLE. I have been buying from Mike Officer since 2002 so I have a lot of history with his craft. Hell, I still have a copy of a really old newsletter going back to the 2002 vintage, where it was a hand write and fax routine to order. How times have changed.

As is Mike’s custom with us, we did barrels only. We went through about 15 2016s, tasting all reds. I will say that the 2016 zins we tried (Carlisle, Pagani, Papera and Montafi) were drinking great. Beautiful colors, acidity and no perceivable alcohols, although we were in the winery so the cool ambient temp could throttle out that aromatic to be fair. I LOVED the Carlisle zin barrel, as it was bright and full of the Carlisle terroir. And, of course with my love for Palisades, we did taste the petite, which was excellent.

One unique thing we did taste was a 100% Alicante Bouschet, which for me was as dark as the Palisades. The Alicante stained the glass and was like ink. Mike said he is going to bottle this separately, which should be a gas. A photo of the wine is below.

In sum, given all the barrels we tasted, and the rate we did them, I didn’t scrawl any notes so I will leave you with my top level comments above but safe to say I continue to enjoy and remain a strong advocate for Mike’s wines.
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Now you’ve got me salivating. We’ll be tasting with Mike in less than 2 weeks. We’ve been visiting with him since his old days at Copain in 2004.

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Always a pleasure to join the FMIII road tour. Frank did an excellent job of posting detailed notes, I’ll just make a few more general comments:

Big Basin: My first visit to the winery/vineyard was back in 2006. I hadn’t been out there in probably a decade (it’s well worth the trip, for anyone interested, but it’s a bit of a trek through some beautiful Santa Cruz mountains country). Back then Bradley was making somewhat bigger wines, using more new oak, and was just introducing some Pinot wines. I took a bit of a break from the winery, with so many others to pay attention to. So this was a reintroduction to what Bradley is doing now, and it was a real revelation. He is making much more elegant, restrained, quite beautiful wines across the board, including Pinot, Syrah, Grenache, Chardonnay. Of the “negocient” Pinots, I particularly enjoyed the Alfaro and Lester bottlings. The Estate wines are even more elegant and refined. I think Big Basin is moving into the upper echelon of California producers.

Rhys: Starting with the 15 Chardonnays reinforced that Rhys is in the top tier of California Chardonnay producers. The 15 Anderson Chard is going to be a CU “best buy” for sure for its quality. The two mountain vineyards continue to show the tremendous intensity and balance they always have, a fascinating study in terroir between the two. Alpine shows the greater intensity and depth, while Horseshoe is just a bit more restrained. Hard to choose between them. Can’t ignore the Bearwallow, with its elegance and minerality, right up there with the mountain wines.

The 2015 Pinots from Bearwallow were an interesting comparison. The “Anderson” bottling is another best buy winner, with intense but reserved dark cherry, plenty of structure, needs time in the bottle. Bearwallow a bit more floral, dark fruit, has a blue fruit face powder character; 15 Porcupine has the dark fruit but not blue character, plenty of structure, seemingly a bit tighter and more reserved than the straight Bear.

With only two mountain bottlings, 15 is a really small Pinot vintage. I found the Alpine to have a reserved, coiled depth of dark red fruit, great length, with a savory loamy element, needs years. Horseshoe is slightly higher toned, with reserved medium dark red fruit, slightly more feminine than the Alpine.

Referring back to the “what California Pinot is like Rhys” thread, I honestly don’t think there are any California Pinots being made like Rhys. They are just different enough in their combo of place of origin, farming and winemaking styles that, to my tastes, they stand alone. Maybe I’m a little more sensitive to structure, but for me most of the Rhys Pinot bottlings are longer term wines that need time to age, much more so than other Cali producers. In my mind, that’s a good thing, because I think it’s the mark of a potentially great wine down the road. I won’t be opening any of mine before a minimum of 5 years of bottle age (7 years post vintage).

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I think many of the Rhys Pinots are just now entering their prime drinking window. We tasted an 07 Horseshoe on Friday night that was remarkable. I think Alan’s rule of thumb (minimum seven years post vintage) is excellent advice.

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I revisited the Horseshoe this afternoon and it has faded. The nose hints of manure. Not any resemblance to Friday night. The '07 En Haut on the other hand has some great fruit still but I’m picking up just a touch of TCA or simething similar on the nose that wasn’t there Friday. The '08 Skyline Syrah is still a beast, chewy tannins, blackberry and pepper.

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Enthusiastically reading along here, gentlemen. Thanks for putting the time into writing all of this up.

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Great notes everyone! I appreciate the insights very much and some day I hope to make the trip visiting some of the wineries that I enjoy…

Cheers,
JP

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Aaand, the Brett is blooming wildly in that 2000 Magnien MSD Les Chaffots. Yeah everybody, Mike Dildine brought a Burg to dinner!

I’m tasting through all the Kutch wines but I’ll leave the notes to Frankie. I have been adding sparse thoughts on Delectable if you follow me.

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Great to read about the 16s. Did you not get a bottle of the 13 Alicante? I have one, with no idea when to open it, but we can do it together some time down the road. Mike also made an Alicante in 2004, though I’m not sure of the fruit source. I’m assuming this Alicante is from Pagani (where the 13 originated). Years ago, I used to buy the Pagani Zin and Alicante from St Francis, until I discovered producers like Carlisle that don’t smother their wines with new oak. I crossed my fingers for years hoping Mike would someday get that Pagani fruit, it’s been great to see what he does with it compared to those old St. Francis wines.

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And the trip continues on…this time with Jeff Pisoni at their new place in Rhonert Park

Wednesday PM–LUCIA/PISONI. I met Jeff Pisoni many years ago. For those that know his Dad, who can be a ball of energy and light up room, Jeff is quite the opposite, a curious thinker, someone who is both kind and deliberate in his words and ideas. There are many instances in the past where I have lobbed Jeff a question and what I get in reply is consistently a transparent and thoughtful answer, a depth. This is Jeff.

I have followed these wines since the early 2000s, tasting at the Estate, then Santa Rosa, and now the new place off 101 in RP. Jeff met with us and we tasted some bottles, then we got after some of the 2016 barrels. These wines have been made in a consistent way now for many years, with perhaps the size of the wines pulling back a bit, not as big as they once were. For me, they remain towards the end of the spectrum where I drink PN, Chard and Syrah, yet I find a connection to the wines, most often the Syrahs. In addition to these wines, we also tasted the wines from Jeff’s wife, Bibiana, who makes wines for Pahlmeyer now, but more importantly on her own, bottled under the name CATTLEYA. http://cattleyawines.com/ She and Jeff also make a wine called SHARED NOTES–both of these are listed below. We had CATTLEYA at Falltacular last year for the first time, and I appreciate and we want to support female winemakers who are working to succeed in the wine business.

We did not taste any PISONI Estate on this trip, as I forgot to ask Jeff to open some but I do have the photo below of the ladies tissue wrapping and packing the 2015 Estate, which will be allocated in the next several weeks. As usual, I will buy my six pack as I do dig the Estate.

As Jeff continues the brand, partnered with his brother Mark who does all the farming, this is a long relationship I value and wines I continue to enjoy. What follows are the notes from the bottled wines we did. I did not take notes on the barrels but I did enjoy the 2016 Garys’ PN, less so the Soberanes as that wine just shows too big for my fragile tastes.

  • 2013 Cattleya Pinot Noir Donum Vineyard - USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros (7/23/2017)
    Aromatic of brown spice, like a clove note. Juicy, savory black cherry, with good balance and depth. I dug this wine because it balanced well the savory and cherry elements. Finished with a roasted, spicy finish.

Posted from CellarTracker

Posted from CellarTracker

  • 2015 Lucia Chardonnay Santa Lucia Highlands - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (7/23/2017)
    Lemon curd-like, spicy and a glossy texture. Finished with a candied, lime rind tone. This is a sexy, spicy wine.
  • 2015 Lucia Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (7/23/2017)
    Black and red fruit, with a zesty quality. There is some cedar in here, too. Generous, dark and spicy.
  • 2015 Lucia Pinot Noir Soberanes Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (7/23/2017)
    Dark, citrusy, richer styled with spice and dark fruit. This is leaning towards the bigger side of PN yet the acidity helps anchor it all down.
  • 2015 Lucia Syrah Garys’ Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (7/23/2017)
    Inky, sweet leather, creosote, garrigue, tarry and tangy with crunchy fruit and acidity. For me, this is the style of Lucia I enjoy in their syrahs.
  • 2015 Lucia Syrah Soberanes Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (7/23/2017)
    95% whole cluster. Inky, purple fruited and generous with light tar and a dark, plummy fruit core. Like the Soberanes PN, this has a core of richness that comes through. This vineyard is making some intense wines, plush wines.
  • 2015 Lucia Syrah Susan’s Hill - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (7/23/2017)
    Dark, chewy, black fruited with stone fruit, which is what I usually sense in SH syrah. Brooding wine here. Of all the 3 syrahs that Jeff makes, this to me is his best. This to me is the SLH syrah best personified as to the place and depth of the SLH AVA.

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Great notes, thanks for sharing. Kicking myself for passing on the 2015 Rhys.

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Wow great notes of a great trip Frank. I’m in aww.

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I assume you mean the 2014’s as the 2015’s have not been released yet.

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Thanks for taking the time to post the pictures and the notes, Frank. This has been an enjoyable read. It reminded me that it was time to order some Carlisle. :slight_smile:

Thanks,
Ed