I’ve talked to a few winemakers who say they have lightened up on the oak and ripeness, Mark Ryan, for instance. From what I can tell, they have turned about 45 degrees, not 180.
Some of the newer winemakers started out going for a more transparent style. There weren’t many of those 15 to 20 years ago.
Please report to New Zealand for re-education
I have not tried any since he took over. My post was not a commentary on him, but rather, the sale of the winery, which was a different set of circumstances from what caused me to buy in originally. I’m sure the wines are fine, I just moved on.
PS. Had a rather nice, un-oaked 2016 Copain Chard last night to pair with some Mahi.
Ditto—I will enjoy my remaining bottles.
Last weekend we drank an 07 (the year before the change) James Berry. While I prefer the wines after the style change, the JB was absolutely delicious.
Trump Winery.
First, there was no oak.
Now, there is lots of oak, which has to be masked.
Like Caymus, this is an example of moving in the opposite direction.
Have there been examples in Bordeaux of estates having gone to the dark side and then coming back and making traditional wines again - seems like a one-way street there.
There are rumors of some estates that went OTT, like Cos d’Estournel and Trolong Monday scaling back in 2016 and after, but at $200+ who the heck wants to risk it. I wrote both estates off quite some time ago. I have a line 2005 Cos that was a gift, and I gifted my 2008 Troplong to my pops. He loves these big blowsy wines.
Could you tell the difference blind between Troplong Mondot and Ovid?
Ovid has lower ABV! 
And much more Cab Franc in the cepage.
Poor Troplong… Poor, poor Troplong
Nah, I enjoyed a vertical at the estate last summer (04, 11, 12, 13, 14). None were big, blousy, or overly alcoholic. 9/10 certainly have that reputation, and I have a couple 15s in the cellar where the jury is out, but the wines have character and a sense of place (at least with some bottle age). Plus it’s a sweet visit.
I’m quite interested to try some of the wines he makes for them.
I think Ryan was also a guy, like Wells, who went from a riper style in the first years of his Zepaltas label to a leaner style towards the end. I don’t know if “total 180” would be the way to describe it, but he’s also been on the journey that many California winemakers have been on from the era of higher ripeness in the early 2000s up to more balanced styles today.
you mean, like, one in a million?
more like one in a billion 
Wasn’t Bergstrom a winery which went from a full-blown style into a more moderate style along the way?
I just had a few from the early phase – the ones I had were the kinds of wines that were flashy young, and fell apart with even medium age. I’ve read on here that they’ve changed their style considerably, but I haven’t felt compelled to revisit them after my bad experiences.
Ryan is such a down-to-earth guy who is one of the easiest guys to talk to. Reach out to him directly if you are interested in the styles of the wines that he is currently making.
Chris made a great point - Ryan was making wines along Adam Lee in the 2000s and everyone at that time was influenced by the richer, more ‘flashy’ wines of the times. Were there any that were following a different path back then? Sure - folks like Jim Clendenon, Bob Lindquist, Rod Berglund and a number of others, but the influence of the riper style definitely ‘affected’ many.
Cheers.
Too bad you didn’t try the 2005. It’s a big boy.
turley is the best example for me
back in the day up to 17.5
now an entirely different animal
Isn’t Kosta Browne in the middle of doing a 180 too?
Turley is a great example.
Martinelli for the Chard and Pinot come to mind too.
I bought Bergstrom wines for a couple of years because friends who got us into visiting Willamette wineries had them on the regular itinerary. Gradually we dropped them along with other overdone wines like Domaine Serene. Sometime soon after 2005 we met Paul de Lancellotti, son in law of John Bergstrom, at a tasting, and liked his rendition of the wine from de Lancellotti vineyard far better than the Bergstrom version. Paul explained that he preferred a less ripe, less oaky style.
The wine was actually made by Josh Bergstrom. Maybe the change in style took hold. I haven’t gone back to trying Bergstrom wines again, but I have heard that there has been a change.