We came back from Paso and as usual we had an appointment at Tablas Creek since they are one of our favorite producers. From there we went to Lone Madrone , which is Neil Collin’s (winemaker for Tablas) own project and the wines were extremely different. I’m not saying the wines were bad, but we didn’t get excited about any of the wines like we do with tablas creek wines. What experiences have you guys had with these 2 different styles from the same winemaker.
Grasso in Barolo is a great example. Two classic cuvées and one modern cuvée. The modern one is, to my taste, excessively in the direction of oak / spoof. The classics are some of the top examples of Barolo. The stylistic gap between the wines couldn’t be wider.
Edit: I read what differences in styles have you guys had from “a” wine maker. I didn’t note “this” winemaker. Nevertheless I suppose the Grasso note is worth keeping as a reference.
When you work for someone, you make the wines they want you to make. When you work for yourself, you make the wines you want to make.
Not sure this is exactly on-point, as it’s not so much a stylistic difference. But like playing in two different ballparks. But a long way back I always found it interesting that Erich Bradley made primarily (exclusively at one early point?) Pinots for Sojourn and all big reds (Cabs, GSM blends, etc) for Audelssa (now Repris).
Over time, Sojourn has grown their cab program and now there are a couple pinots knocking around in the broader Repris program. So the contrast isn’t as evident.
Muga makes the old-style Prado Enea and the internationalist Torre Muga.
This can be true to an extent, but if Lone Madrone was Neil’s sole venture I’m not sure that he would necessarily make wines in that same exact style. I asked Neil a month ago what his identity was with Lone Madrone and his response was that it was essentially a place to experiment and do something different. At Tablas he has the opportunity to make more traditional wines and LM is a purposeful departure from that.
So if Neil was flying solo, I’m not sure that he would leave the influences and style of traditional winemaking far behind. I have no doubt that it would be different to some degree, but in some ways I think LM is different merely for the sake of being different. If you weren’t looking for something purposefully high contrast and off-the-wall how else could you come up with “Barfandel” - a Zinfandel, Barbera and Petite Sirah blend? ![[wow.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/7/7d450e9830889c8943b674446a21b7254cad657e.gif "wow"){kind=small}
Look at what Pax Mahle does now. He has full on AFWE at Wind Gap, middle of the road (to my tasting so far) with his re-launch of Pax, and big, rich stuff with Agharta.
Great example, and both styles done well. Torre Muga is not to my liking, but some close friends love it.