Sierra Foothills Wine Alliance Tasting Event

WINE TALK
1

SIERRA FOOTHILLS WINE ALLIANCE - Blackhawk Country Club, Danville CA (9/19/2010)

This tasting event of Sierra Foothills wineries was held in Blackhawk Country Club in Danville, CA. I’m not a big fan of gated communities, McMansions, exclusive country clubs, etc. This location almost caused my wife and I to skip this event. We decided to attend anyway, and the venue was ok. Temperature was quite warm in the room where the tasting was held, and the space was quite crowded. Food was decent although it ran out before the event was over, and we would have liked water to be more accessible. The time allotted for this tasting (3 hours) was way too short, and we were only able to sample select wines from about half the wineries present before time ran out.

We’ve been long fans of the Sierra Foothills wine region. This is a scenic area with a very laid-back and friendly group of wineries. This region contains some of California’s historic Zinfandel vineyards, and is capable of producing lighter weight, peppery, spicy, zinfandel, which my wife and I find much more enjoyable than the flabby fruit bombs grown in bulk in the valley below. We also find this region an up-and-coming region for quality Rhône varieties.

In an effort to control how much wine we consumed at this event, we limited ourselves to tasting mostly Zinfandel and red Rhône varieties.
Sierra Vista Winery
El Dorodo
http://www.sierravistawinery.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Tanner Vineyards
Calaveras
http://www.tannervineyards.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

  • 2007 Tanner Vineyards Syrah - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Calaveras County
    Smokey nose, cherries & plums, peppery, very long finish. Excellent (90 pts.)

Milliaire Winery
Calaveras
http://www.milliairewinery.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Terre Rouge/Easton Wines
Amador
http://www.terrerougewines.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Not sure what happened here - Normally I’m a huge fan of Easton and they occupy a decent amount of space in my cellar.

  • 2008 Easton Pinot Noir Duarte-Georgetown - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Shenandoah Valley
    Light ruby, very lightweight in the mouth. Leather & anise. Not much to like here
  • 2006 Easton Zinfandel Estate - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Shenandoah Valley
    Minty, rubber/latex paint. Curious, 2nd '06 zin in this tasting that smells like latex paint to me. Something in the air that year?
  • 2006 Domaine de la Terre Rouge Syrah - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Fiddletown
    Wine was poured from a decanter. Hot, alcoholic. No nose besides the alcohol. Very distant purple fruit, not much else besides heat. Maybe should pour from a blender next time?

Bodega del Sur Winery
Calaveras
http://www.bodegadelsur.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

  • 2007 Bodega Del Sur Syrah - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Calaveras County
    Tawny port nose, palate is red fruits, caramel, eucalyptus. Hot, alcoholic finish.

Auriga Wine Cellars
El Dorado
http://www.aurigawines.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

  • 2008 Auriga Cellars Zinfandel Sumu Kaw Vineyard - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, El Dorado
    Rubber/band-aid on the nose. Palate shows purple fruits. (85 pts.)
  • 2007 Auriga Cellars Shiraz - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, El Dorado County
    Producer chooses to call this Syrah-based wine “Shiraz” since it is intended to mimic the Australian style. Difficult to coax any nose from this. Palate is bitter and astringent. Drys the mouth. blech. (70 pts.)

Amador Foothill Winery
Amador
http://www.amadorfoothill.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Really enjoyed chatting with Ben Zeitman about some of the great old vineyards in Amador County.

Dillian Wines
Amador
http://www.dillianwines.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Dillian Zinfandel was probably my favorite zin of the tasting.

C.G. Di Arie Vineyards and Winery
Amador
http://www.cgdiarie.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

  • 2006 C.G. Di Arie Zinfandel Southern Exposure - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Shenandoah Valley
    80% Zinfandel, SV, 11.0% Petite Sirah, Estate Grown, 4% Cabernet Franc, SV, 5% Other Varietals, half this wine comes from the 139 year-old Grandpere vineyard. Typical zin profile plums, crushed cherries, pepper on the finish. One of the best zins at the tasting. (90 pts.)
  • 2007 C.G. Di Arie Petite Sirah Estate Grown - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Shenandoah Valley
    Rhonish/barnyard nose. Intense black currant flavors, peppery finish (90 pts.)

Deaver Vineyards
Amador
http://www.deavervineyards.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

David Girard Vineyards
El Dorado
http://www.davidgirardvineyards.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This producer was a surprise for me and well worth seeking out. Excellent Rhône-style wines.

  • 2008 David Girard Grenache Eldorado Estate Vineyard - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, El Dorado County
    cherry, krisch liqueur, a bit hollow on the mid-palate (84 pts.)
  • 2006 David Girard Coeur du Terroir Rouge Estate Vineyard - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, El Dorado County
    GSM - 28% Grenache, 22% Syrah, 44% Mourvedre, 6% Counoise. Reminiscent of Beaucastel style of CdP, mourvedre funk hits the nose first, palate is leathery, peppery, cherry, slight barnyard. Favorite GSM of the day (91 pts.)
  • 2007 David Girard Syrah - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, El Dorado
    Raspberry, smoked meat, peppery, could be mistaken for a northern Rhone. Best Syrah of the day (92 pts.)
  • 2008 David Girard Syrah Okei-San - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, El Dorado
    This Syrah is exclusive to wine club members. Expressive burnt rubber on the nose, olive tapenade, long peppery finish, very tannic. This one should probably be on the 10-year cellaring plan.

Il Gioiello/Morse Wines
Amador
http://www.morsewines.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

  • 2006 Morse Vineyards Ensemble - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Amador County
    GSM - 60% Grenache, 25% Mourvedre, 16% Syrah. Burnt rubber, earth, strawberries, pepper. Very good. (88 pts.)
  • 2006 Il Gioiello Petite Sirah - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Amador County
    Tannic and uninteresting. Not much on the nose or palate.

Chatom Vineyards
Calaveras
http://www.chatomvineyards.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

  • 2007 Chatom Vineyards Touriga Nacional - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Calaveras County
    Dry red wine from Portuguese grape - light body, faint cigar box aromas, tobacco and cedar follows on the palate. Not sure about this one - I asked why Touriga, expecting to hear something special about the soil or microclimate, instead I was told they lost their source for Touriga so decided to plant some in their estate vineyard. Not scored since I really don’t know what to expect from a dry Touriga.
  • 2005 Chatom Vineyards Syrah - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Calaveras County
    Meaty, dark fruit nose. Smoky plums, black olives, cured meats and pepper. Long lingering finish. (90 pts.)

Cedarville Vineyards
El Dorado
http://www.cedarvillevineyard.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

  • 2007 Cedarville Vineyard Syrah - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, El Dorado
    Slight barnyard, camphor, cedar, red fruits. Tannic finish. Excellent but could use some time to integrate. (90 pts.)
  • 2008 Cedarville Vineyard Grenache - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, El Dorado
    Grown from Beaucastel clones. 15% Syrah. Floral nose, strawberry, mint, plums, short finish. (87 pts.)
  • 2007 Cedarville Vineyard Petite Sirah - USA, California, Sierra Foothills
    Deep purple, dark fruits, intense peppery finish. (88 pts.)
  • 2008 Cedarville Vineyard Zinfandel Estate Bottled - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, El Dorado
    Gamey on the nose. Boysenberry, blackberry, mint & pepper. The animal funk in a zin, after detecting similar in the syrah, makes me wonder if there’s a brett issue here. I wouldn’t call it a flawed bottle, just enough barnyard to add some complexity, but definitely something to be on the lookout for here. (89 pts.)

Story Winery
Amador
http://www.zin.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Some of the oldest Zin vineyards in the state, but I was disappointed here. All the wines were in a jammy/fruity style that was IMO indistinct and could have come from any cheap grocery store wine.

  • 2006 Story Zinfandel Picnic Hill - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Shenandoah Valley
    115 year old vines. Intense, jammy, candied fruit. Think cherry jolly rancher soaked in vodka. If you like this kind of thing, you know who you are… (82 pts.)
  • 2006 Story Zinfandel Estate Creekside - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Shenandoah Valley
    Strawberry jam and turpentine/chemical flavors. Call this one flawed. NR (flawed)

Some really excellent Zinfandels & Rhône varieties are coming out of the Sierra Foothills region. The Syrahs offered a lot of that N. Rhône-ish burnt rubber, tar, and smoked meat that can only be found in the coolest microclimates in California, and at their best the Zins take on a more elegant, spicy profile. My wife and I visited this region last Spring, and found gorgeous scenery, a friendly laid-back atmosphere, little or no tasting fees, and lots of wine being poured by passionate people who loved to talk about their region.

Stars of this event for us were Dillian, C. G. Di Arie, and David Girard. Easton/Terre Rouge did not show well for us here, but they are an old favorite and should be on the list of must-visit wineries when visiting this area.
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