Tasting at JC Cellars: Viognier, Marsanne, Syrah & Zinfandel

WINE TALK
1

Sunday afternoon I went to JC Cellars tasting room in Oakland, CA to check up on the new releases. Angela was unfortunately not there but Megan was a more than capable replacement.

2006 Boules Viognier (Vin de pays des Collines Rhodaniennes) $40
This was very nice and from what others have told me, much better than it was during the summer. Crisp, minerally with honeysuckle, vanilla and peach fruits. Not oily like some Viogniers can be and without any of the bitterness in the finish. 91/100

2006 Stagecoach Vineyard Marsanne ($3Cool
Nose comes across as much sweeter (fruit not RS) than the Viognier. Notes of orange blossom, bitter almond skin, some crushed rock and honeysuckle. A little too much bitterness for me but this should settle down in a couple of months. 88/100

2004 Ventana Vineyard Syrah $30
I’ll just use Jeff Cohn (the JC in JC Cellars) notes on this one: “aromatics of lavendar, violets, black & red fruits, fresh cracked white pepper. Beautifully concentrated, this opaque purple colored wine is loaded with flavors of red raspberries, black cherries, smoke and olives.” I’ll add there is liqueurish quality to the wine and texturally it is very silky on the palate. 92/100 and at $30, I bought some!

2006 Rockpile Vineyard Haley’s $60
Again using Jeff’s notes b/c he nailed the description of this one too. “Boasting an opaque purple.black color alluding to its intensity, delivering aromatics of blackberry liqueur intermixed with licorice and smoked meats.” Very dense, grippy finish. This is packed and stacked with what seems like a little more new oak. I really enjoyed it and would call it 94/100, but at $60 it was just above what I would pay for it, especially with the Ventana at 1/2 the price.

2005 Arrowhead Mountain Zinfandel $35
This is a pretty interesting wine in that some of the aromatics are a little more Rhoneish in nature…anise, herbs but then a wallop of black licorice and earthy notes hit. Finally some red fruits and a little pepper hit at the end. It’s really very good but a distinct/earthy/gamey/savory kind of Zin. 90/100

2

Thanks for the notes Tony.

I said it before I’ll say it again. This winery has impressed me in the few tastes I have had. Showing the abundance of California fruit with out being fleshly or huge. Nicely balanced yet expressive wines. Even the whites which I rarely like from Rhone varieties.

3

Hey Tony!

Is that Rockpile cuvee FROM Rockpile? I have never had a bad wine from that whole AVA. Gotta go check it out, as long as I can avoid being shot by the owners of the primary crop of the area.

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Cris - I agree. We head over every couple of months to see what is going on. Funny thing…Jeff Cohn was college classmate with Ed Kurtzman and Mike Sullivan (Benovia, and formerly Hartford). All seem to stradle that line very well.

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Hey Roy!

It is. The wine used to be designated Haley’s Reserve…but it looks like they dropped the word “reserved”, unfortunately the price did not drop too.

6

Isn’t this the guy who used to be the cellarmaster or some such at Rosenblum?

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These wines seem rather reasonably priced. Still, I’d like to see CA wineries in the $20-30 range more, and I think the consumer demand might force it.

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Bob - he was. With Rosenblum for quite a while IIRC.

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Jeff was definitely the winemaker at Rosenblum. He started making Zinfandel (Rhodes) in the '96 vintage under his own label and I remember totally loving it. Have been a big fan since, although I confess this is one of those producers that I always wonder why I don’t buy more. I also confess I haven’t seen Jeff and Alexandra for about 9 years, although the last time we hung out at the winery it was a lot of fun :slight_smile:

Mark

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fun guy, good wines, reasonable prices . . . what’s not to like?!?!?!?