On our trip out for FriuliFest, we had dinner w/ the Rasmussen’s at Bistro Liaison in Berkeley w/ some older wines, some I brought, some Kent brought:
- Ramsay Calif Aglianico (13%) 1995: Med.light color w/ slight bricking; rather earthy/dusty slight black cherry bit cedary/pencilly slight metallic/old wine nose; tart bit lean/dried out/tannic earthy/dusty slight black cherry/bing cherry/dried fruits rather hard some Italian/rustic flavor; med. tannic/dried out/astringent slight black cherry/dried fruits/rose petal fairly earthy/dusty/rustic finish; some interesting things in the nose but just clinging to life.
- Ramsay Carignane SuisunVlly/NorthCoast OldVines 1991: Med.dark color w/ slight bricking; rather earthy/dusty/loamy some black cherry/boysenberry bit rustic/bretty complex nose; tart some black cherry/Carignane/floral fairly earthy/dusty/rustic rather smooth flavor w/ light tannins; med.long earthy/dusty slight black cherry/Carignane fairly smooth finish; a rather coarse/rustic red that’s still a pleasure to drink.
- Ramsay Syrah NapaVlly Reserve (AntinoriVnyd) 1994: Dark somewhat cloudy/murky/browning color; some fnky nose that clears to cedary/pencilly/earthy/old red some blackberry/Syrah bit old Rhonish/smokey/coffee fairly complex nose; bit tannic/hard/dried out cedary/pencilly/old red slight Syrah/blackberry earthy/dusty bit musty/funky flavor; med.short some cedary/pencilly slight blackberry/Syrah fairly tannic/hard/dried out bit funky/musty finish; something slightly off and Kent thought it slightly corked.
- KentRasmussen PetiteSirah NapaVlly (Chavez & Leeds vnyds) 2001: Totally musty/cardboardy/corked wine.
- KentRasmussen PinotNoir Carneros Estate 2009: Fairly dark color; strong black cherry/cherry/Pinot light toasty/charred/oak light earthy/Burgundian/dusty/loamy quite attractive nose; lightly tart fairly rich black cherry/cherry/Pinot light charred/toasty/oak rather smooth/balanced light earthy/Burgundian flavor w/ modest tannins; rather long strong black cherry/cherry/Pinot/earthy light toasty/smokey/oak finish w/ modest tannins; well-made/balanced Pinot that should go out another 4-8 yrs
- KentRasmussen SauvBlanc NapaVlly LateHrvst (SaH: 39.9%; RS: 18%) 1992: Med.dark gold color; very aromatic very intense botrytis/apricotty/peachy light caramel/creme brulee light cedary/oak beautiful complex nose; quite sweet intense botrytis/apricotty/peachy light cedary/toasty/oak some caramel/creme brulee fairly tart flavor; very long/lingering quite sweet intense botrytis/apricotty/peachy/butterscotch/creme brulee light cedary/oak complex finish; loads of intense botrytis and a beautiful example of an old Calif Sauternes.
A wee BloodyPulpit:
- I have, of course, followed KentRasmussen from the very start. His estate is down in the lower Carneros, where he grows PinotNoir & Chard. The Ramsay (named after his wife, CeliaRamsay) is mostly for wines he makes from purchased grapes. He also has another label, Esoterica, which he uses for his more unusual varietals.
I first met Kent in the early '80’s when he was making wine on his Estate, in a little garage converted to a wnry. He soon outgrew that facility and purchased an old meat packing plant up on SilveradoTrail that he converted to his wnry facility. Thru the '90’s, his production, primarily driven by the Ramsay, grew to such a size that Kent was spending a lot of time marketing…no fun. Over the last few yrs, he’s been scaling back his production. They have recently moved down to Berkeley where they can enjoy civilization and the music scene a bit more. They are in the process of constructing a new wnry on the Carneros Estate. The packing plant facility and their home there has been leased to Jeff Hill:
HillWineCompany
a wnry with which I’m unfamiliar…but you gotta admit that the name has a nice ring to it.
His wife, Celia, is quite a talented vocalist and song writer. More info at:
CeliaRamsay
Anyway, the wines were, by and large, interesting; the food quite good, and the company extraordinary. A wonderful evening it was to kick off our trip.
Tom