Also tried this Zin last night w/ very low expectations:
CortiBros Zin ShenandoahVlly/AmadorCnty (Original Vines of the Upton Homestead now DowningVnyd; 14.2%) SantinoWines/Plymouth 1979: Med.dark color w/ some bricking; pretty classic Amador/blackberry/briary/Zin very spicy bit smokey/pungent light toasty/vanilla/oak very complex old-timey nose; bit tart slight brett/horsecollar/leathery fairly strong blackberry/Amador/briary/Zin quite spicy some dusty/OV/earthy light toasty/smokey/oak lovely complex oldZin/cedary flavor w/ light/astringent tannins; very long/lingering some blackberry/Zin/briary/Amador slight brett/leathery dusty/OV light toasty/pencilly/cedary/oak finsh w/ light/gentle/bit astringent tannins; this wine is still very much alive and speaks of the ShenandoahVlly but starting to fade a bit & dry out on the palate; this reminds me a lot oof the SutterHome Deaver Zin '68 I had in the early '80’s, some of the CharlieMeyers Zins of the late '60’s.
And a wee BloodyPulpit:
This is, to my knowledge, the first vnyd-designate bttlg of DowningVnyd, now known as GrandPere. Not sure where the grapes went before. I understand that, like KenDeaver, JohnDowning was feeding his grapes to his pigs. Maybe some to home winemakers. I think LeeSobon may have taken these grapes for a few yrs as well.
This wine would have been made by MattSantino, afore ScottHarvey arrived on the scene. Matt died early in life and NancySantino brought in Scott as winemaker.
I was quite surprised how good this wine was…still a pleasure to drink, though on its downside. One more btl left.
Tom
Well, Anton…I’ve been going through a bunch of cases of older (elderly, as you call 'em) Zins. Some of them I take one look
at the color and one sniff…and down the drain they go. I only post notes on the ones a like to some degree. I’ve had a pretty
good run of late.
Tom
One suggestion. When you run across a very old bottle of Zin, that looks and smells dead, consider leaving it out on the counter for an hour or two. Every once in a while,
it may surprise you when it briefly flickers back to life.
Tom, what’s your experience with wines Scott Harvey has worked on and him as a wine maker? Sorry for the thread drift, but I haven’t seen his name mentioned here before.
Well, Kyle…I have followed…well you know the line.
Scott & I go way back to his days at Montevina w/ CaryGott. When MattSantino died early (Matt & Nancy were liquor store owners over in SanJose, got bitten by the
wine bug and started a wnry up in Amador), Scott became Nancy’s winemaker at Santino. Scott eventually bought Nancy out & continued as Santino afore starting
his Renwood label. He was living in the house across the road on the GrandPereVnyd w/ his wife (then), Terri (who still owns/lives on GrandPere). Scott brought into Renwood
as an investor RobertSmerling. Things went to hell in a handbasket pretty soon after that. Scott & Terri parted company. Finally the SITG (Snake In The Grass) Smerling
fired/forced out Scott & he departed Amador. Lawsuits all over the place, it was a mess. SITG Smerling eventually ran Renwood into the ground and it was purchased
some 3-4 yrs ago by a SouthAmerician winery owner, who’s been dumping $$'s into the wnry.
Scott moved to the NapaVlly, partnered w/ DickPeterson (Andre Tchelichov’s successor at BV), and bought out Folie a Deux. They drove that to sucess. Sold it off
to BobTrinchero/SutterHome for big $$'s. He then founded, w/ his wife, Jana (formerly marketing lady w/ RaymondVnyds), ScottHarvey Wines. She also has a label called Jana.
They still live there in the NapaVlly & are still making wines, including Zin from the (true) GrandPere vnyd owned by Terri. SITG Smerling took (actually…stole) cuttings from
GrandPere, trademarked the name “GrandPere”, propagated them into a new vnyd. The Renwood “GrandPere” Zin is a sham…not true GrandPere.
Scott was born & raised up in Amador. His Dad was a high school teacher. Scott was a hell-raiser in his youth. In high school, he was sent to Germany to live (if anyone could
tame a hell-raiser…it would be that German discipline!!) w/ a family (in the Pfalz I believe) who made wine, where he fell in love w/ German Riesling.
Oh…you asked about Scott’s wines, didn’t you, Kyle. His wines at Santino dramatically improved the quality under that label. The Renwood took his winemaking to a whole
nuther level. Classic Amador wines…big/extracted/alcoholic. Some of the best wines ever made up in Amador. Except maybe for some of Cary’s Montevinas…maybe some of
BillEastons. At FaD, Scott went over to the dark side and he started making NapaVlly Cabernet. His wines at FaD were very good/solid wines. He came to dislike the style
of wines he made at Renwood and now focuses on a more balanced/nuanced style. His wines under ScottHarvey/Jana label are probably the best wines he’s ever made. They are
well under the radar. Scott is a terrific winemaker who should be better known. Back to Germany…he has made Rieslings under SH w/ grapes from Calif (PotterVlly??), Michigan,
and FingerLakes. Some of the greatest Rieslings to come out of Calif. He has also made some stunning Ports as well.
Sorry, Kyle…probably more than you wanted to know.
Tom
Not at all, Tom. I’m a big fan of Scott and his lovely wife. I haven’t met them in person but have interacted with Scott a great deal. I’m a big fan of his wines under both the Harvey and Jana labels. As always, thanks for sharing your knowledge. Cheers!
Thanks for the background, Tom. I have some 80s Santino Riesling from the good old days of Cali TBA, something like 42% RS and I think Scott Harvey is listed as the winemaker…never heard of him before.