Had the Mataro with steak last night.
Dense, full flavored, well balanced and velvet in the mouth. A lovely wine and just 13.6 abv. Easy to drink and ready now.
Best, Jim
Mine is down below Jim, but mirrors yours.
Oops.
The Carignane this evening repeats the theme I have found with the reds; wines that are true to their varietal character, very well made and balanced, and, quite tasty. The Trousseau was similar with a clear expression of variety.
Call me crazy but these wines, as good as they are (and they are good), make me wonder where’s the where?
But I sure like drinking them.
Best, Jim
I have no idea what that means. Help me out, here. Thanks!
I took it to mean that they don’t have a sense of place.
Gertrude Stein ref?
Chris,
Corey is right - I find little sense of place in them.
However, the wines themselves are so accomplished, I’m not sure my observation is a complaint.
When a winemaker consistently creates wines that are archetypes of their variety (and that is what I seem to be finding here), that may be the best compliment of all.
And up until tasting these wines, I’m not sure I would have thought that.
Best, Jim
Given the Mataro is a blend from Contra Costa and Amador vineyards, I don’t see how it could have a sense of place, or as a blend that it would intend to. But I think what Tegan is trying to show is the sandy soil. Does it do this? Honestly I’m still so much in the learning phase that I couldn’t answer authoritatively, but I found the 2010 Mataro to be reminiscent of some of the better Cline Contra Costa Mourvedres from the '90s, which were part of what started getting me interested in California wine. I certainly wouldn’t have thought it came from the Rhone.
The 2010 Mataro I found to be surprisingly fruit-forward pop-n-pour, which is perhaps typical of the vintage, but a solid acidic backbone and it gained lots of complexity and interest with about an hour of air, showing red fruits/sour cherry, eucalyptus, pepper, and some cured meats through the mid-palate. Easily approachable now, nice balance of tannin and acidity.
Sense of place seems slightly overrated to me. Okay, I get the concept. But say as an east coaster I’ve never visited the “place.” Sure, I might have had other wines from that “place” but do I want all wines from that area to taste the same? No, not at all. So I guess what’s the big deal? I get it if you’re drinking an Oregon pinot and it tastes like it came from Paso. But really at the end of the day aren’t we looking for well-made, unique wines?