Background: Saw that renowned winery had ordered 1 single bottle of Mission, which raised my spidey-senses and told me it was probably an evaluation of the variety of some sort. Threw in an extra bottle from the newer vintage and sent it off. Sure enough, turns out the Scribe Winery planted 2 acres of Mission a few years back in Sonoma. They did their first harvest last year and are now experimenting with expressions. As far as I know, beside a few Bedrock replacement plantings, this must be the first larger scale planting of Mission in the state for many years. Very exciting. And very excited to try Scribe’s upcoming Mission releases!
Don’t know whether this wine has been mentioned here before, or whether it’s even been released yet. Tegan was kind enough to open it at the end of a dinner I had with him and a couple of other people in Lodi recently. Fruit sourced from the 150+ year-old Mission vines at Deaver Ranch in Shenandoah Valley.
Had Rosa del Peru from Stirm. Really dialed into that Mission charm.
2021 Stirm Los Chuchaquis Rosa Del Peru - USA, California, Central Coast, Cienega Valley (8/17/2022)
Lovely País/Misson/etc. Limpid red. Nose is a bit floral and fresh plowed clay. Bright red fruits with light acids and a complementary structure. A little Cherry cola and a slight leafiness. Good balance and a really cheerful mien. Very enjoyable. (90 pts.)
2021 Passionate Wine Criolla Grande Via Revolucionaria - Argentina, Mendoza (8/24/2022)
This is a really dialed in and brilliant for Pais/Criolla Grande. Great red fruits, light body and a soupçon of funkiness. Expands nicely on the mid palate with dried strawberry and fleshiness. Clean finish with a good precision. A really nice version of the grape especially at 15$. (92 points)
“No one has planted mission in California since Prohibition, that we know of,” Adam said.
Well, that’s an unintentionally humorous quote from the WaPo article. Guess he’s not up on the many recent small Mission plantings up and down California, not to mention the sizable Somers Vineyard in Lodi that was probably planted in the early 1970s.
Tried Deaver Mission Port today. 1854 vineyard that I know Raj Parr has used. Really nice - light and good balance. Better tasting note when I open a bottle.
Turley also has a Deaver Zin that has a soupçon of Mission in it. I think they haven’t figured out the vineyard though as it was a bit basic.
I did send Scribe both my ´18 and ´19 as they had been doing a lot of trials for their own release. They said they really enjoyed them
Think they’re doing a sparkling Mission (sorry, maybe that was mentioned in article). He said he was gonna send me his two to try, but might have to remind him…
Will some some vine and grape porn later. Stomped around Deaver and Story Vineyards today with Randy Caparoso who is an absolute amazing dude. I just love these old Mission vineyards. The Deaver Vineyard is pretty feral like a vineyard of that era should be (in my head.)
As Adam reported a spell ago, Story Vineyard is now owned by some Georgians. (Their import wines are quite good.) Drinking the '19 Mission now and will post a note later. (I want Adam to taste w/o a bias.) Their Zin/Mission blend was OK. I am slightly bummed as La Onda made a really beautiful Pais from here, but I think that is off the table now.
Miraflores has two Angelica. One of which is a single vintage from some vineyard in Calaveras. It was really interesting - more spiritous than their Angelica solera, but also really spicy and bright. Has the '20 1853 which was lovely.
Visited Somers on Monday. What a bonkers vineyard. Harvest is Friday and I will hopefully drop in a bit.
Tonight we had the Miraflores Mission from the Deaver vineyard (oldest in US), the Story Mission (next oldest), the 2020 Monte Rio Mission and my yet to be released 2020 Hernan. All wonderful wines, with all but the Miraflores showing great typicity (spice, strawberry, pepper, Campari). The Miraflores is the only one I’d get confounded by - it didn’t have a lot of the classic markers.
To end it all, an Angelica from Miraflores that was delicious.
Fun time last night! We will make Mission Fest happen.
The Hernan is a bruiser. Really good. Suspect it need a little time to relax and find itself.
Story '19 Mission is nice. I think the new owners will take some time to understand the grape, but this was a good start.
'20 Monte Rio >>>> '21 (see above) Dynamite stuff.
'20 Miraflores 1853 is a lovely wine. Really sang last night. I find it closer to Bichi or Chilean than Cali, so I’d quibble about it being harder to pin. But it is more polished.
They call this particular ‘angelica’ by the name Gabriel. It is Angelica style, but not solera like their usual. Calaveras County origin, single vineyard, 2012 vintage. It is spicier and has more angularity than their regular Angelica, but I do dig its edges.
Super cool seeing harvest this morning in Somers! Looking forward to having some '22 Mission with you.
The market has recently gotten flooded with Pais/LP/Mission/etc. Which is good, but I honestly have to say that the quality isn’t quite there. These were all on the market in Ohio and Michigan (minus the Malinche.)
2020 Lomas de Llahuen Pipeño - Chile, Itata Valley (10/21/2022)
Good stuff. Good bead on nose and palate between polish and rustic essence. Slightly tired at edges but good fruits with a dark cherry element and a good herbal thymey element on finish. (99 points)
2021 Lomas de Llahuen Pipeño - Chile, Itata Valley (10/21/2022)
Better than the '20 but also a bit too young with a softness and a lack of focus. Solid plum and slight curaçao notes. Good body and broadness. A bit of funk and leafiness round this out.
2021 Louis-Antoine Luyt País Pipeño Coronel de Maule - Chile, Maule Valley (10/21/2022)
Solid albeit somewhat dull Pais. The 14% ... wtf? ... is obvious on the nose and would be the next day since the fruit density hides it well. Has some Pais vibe with slight lacquer and stemmy notes. Is fine, I guess. (99 points)
2020 Chodin Param País Búscame adentro - Chile, Itata Valley (10/21/2022)
Nose is mulberry and Pais rawness with a bit of alcohol and end cuts on it. Good sappy fruit with a slight zatar jag. Light body. Ok acids. Solid in its type.
2020 Tanica País Catalina Ugarte - Chile, Secano Interior (10/21/2022)
Rustic fruit Mashup nose - ugly apples, black currant and pulpy plum. A little saline and nice cut on the palate. Rounded in the edge forms with more of a wine profile and taste than the other Pais today. Solid and has varietal tones.
2021 Las Fermentadas País Sangrada - Chile, Itata Valley (10/21/2022)
Reductive stink on the top. Cool murky dank but glowing colour like a forgotten sin. Slightly spritzy on tongue. Tight and tart Pom. Light body and a dank vibe carries over. Has a dynamism to it though the Pais character is subdued.
2021 Leoncio País - Chile, Itata Valley (10/21/2022)
Mild nose. Light fruit and slight distiller cuts. Raw and heavy on those cuts on the palate to a flawed level. Straight up Jake leg shit. Will let it air and revisit.
2019 Sabelli-Frisch Mission La Malinche - USA, California, Central Valley, Lodi Mokelumne River (10/21/2022)
Sick good. Pale color tells you that you are going some place very different and this ends up as a sum better Mashup of aged dry white port and Mission fruit. Fig and oolong. This is just amazing for how much is going on at a barely liminal level. Maybe better note later after I process.
With air, it dials back a bit on the mystery but is still a beautiful wine. (94 points)
One wildcard here. I posted this above and I am pretty sure it is Mission, but the Rosa del Peru name seems to be applied to Moscatel Negro, Mission and a cross between the two. The RdP = Moscatel vines seemed fundamentally different when I was visiting but I am pretty confused on this one.
2021 Stirm Rosa del Perú Los Chuchaquis - USA, California, Central Coast, Cienega Valley (10/21/2022)
Consistent with previous. Scroll up to see that. Solid wine.
Man, I’ve not updated here in a spell. I was in EU Dec-Mar and zero Mission had. I will post some recent notes like Abe’s and Raj’s later.
I did have the '22 Monte Rio a couple weeks ago. Just bottled. I was in Somers w/ Patrick (and Adam) when they were harvesting it! Good stuff - well above the '21. Need some time in the bottle to relax.
Back in the fall, I received my shipments from Phelan Farm and Raj Parr. I accidentally opened my 2nd bottle of Phelan Farm Lone Wolf instead of letting it age more. Also included is a fun Grenache/Pais blend from PF.
2021 Phelan Farm (Rajat Parr) País Lone Wolf - USA, California, South Coast, Temecula Valley (12/9/2022)
Gonna tick this up a notch from the prior a few weeks ago. The balance is more precise and the fruit elements really picked up with pom and quince paste. Bright and a nice intensity. Solid. (90 points)
2021 Los Angeles River Wine Company Mission Lone Wolf Bob Munoa Ranch - USA, California, South Coast, Temecula Valley (11/24/2022)
Started off feral as fuck - VA, funky and a deep sweaty note. In about an hour, this really backed off and integrated into really gorgeous Pais character with Pom fruit, umami. Just enough of the funky and volatile elements to give it a real interest. (90 points)
2021 Phelan Farm (Rajat Parr) País Lone Wolf - USA, California, South Coast, Temecula Valley (11/24/2022)
A very classically styled and overly vinous Pais. Lovely red fruits and a nice structure that highlighted delicate acids. Pom and slight cherry cough drop notes on the finish. Nice wine, but a bit too not-Pais for it to really ring off for me. (89 points)
2021 Phelan Farm (Rajat Parr) País Lone Wolf - USA, California, South Coast, Temecula Valley (12/9/2022)
Gonna tick this up a notch from the prior a few weeks ago. The balance is more precise and the fruit elements really picked up with pom and quince paste. Bright and a nice intensity. Solid. (90 points)
2021 Phelan Farm (Rajat Parr) Scythians - USA, California, South Coast, Cucamonga Valley (11/30/2022)
Nice combo of Grenache and Mission. The two play off well with dark fruits and structure from G and a savory, slightly animal element from Pais. Good stuff. (90 points)
2021 Phelan Farm (Rajat Parr) Scythians - USA, California, South Coast, Cucamonga Valley (11/30/2022)
Nice combo of Grenache and Mission. The two play off well with dark fruits and structure from G and a savory, slightly animal element from Pais. Good stuff. (90 points)
Last thing from the cellar that was delivered while I gone. The Llaurador portfolio has a bunch a Chilean from producers I don’t really know which I cool, though the band width of quality is narrow from ok to good.
2020 Chekura País Mingaco - Chile, Itata Valley (4/18/2023)
Good rustic style Pais with acidity on the higher side and nice chewy edges. Light on the palate, sour cherry and green leaves. Picks up slight blood and then a little sweetness on the finish. Nice. (89 points)
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