We tasted tonight (10/15/14) some New White Rhones:
-
TablasCreekVnyd Vermentino Estate/PasoRobles (12.7%; Rolle; SS fermentation; 900cs) 2013: Light gold color;
very fragrant/perfumed celery/floral/appley/honeysuckle/spicy some stony/chalky lovely nose; tart floral/
apple blossom/celery some stony/chalky/earthy bit lean/tight attractive flavor; very long tart/lean some
stony/chalky appley/apple blossom finish; quite a pleasant Calif rendition of Vermentino but not the stony
minerality of a Ligurian one; very fairly priced. $27.00/$21.60 (VIN)
-
Donkey&Goat SluiceBox ElDorado WW (13.2%; U; 48% Vermentino/31% Marsanne/13% GrenacheBlanc/9% Picpoul;
50% skin-frmtd for 7 days; 311 cs) 2013: Med.gold color; slight phenolic/resiny/cider bit earthy/stony/
ElDorado terroir appley/floral/peach/spicy somewhat complex nose; fairly tart appley/apple blossom/pear/
floral/pineapple/ripe light phenolic/resiny bit earthy/stony flavor; rather long tart/stony/earthy strong
pear/peach/floral/apple finish w/ very slight tannic bite; a very nice balance between skin-contact phenolics
and fresh/ripe fruit. $24.00
-
Donkey&Goat Coupe d’Or 50% Roussanne/Marsanne ElDorado (13%; U) 2010: Med.gold color; rather earthy/dusty/appley/
stewed apples light phenolic/resiny fairly interesting if strange nose; soft bit fat appley/stewed apples light
phenolic/resiny/cidery somewhat earthy/chalky flavor w/ light tannic bite; med.long bit soft/overripe stewed
apples/appley/earthy/chalky light phenolic/cidery finish w/ some tannic bite; clearly a modest amount of skin-
contact; not much fruit but a somewhat interesting if strange wine; needs food. $24.80
-
Donkey&Goat Coupe d’Or 50% Roussanne/Marsanne ElDorado (14.1%; U) 2009: Med.dark gold color; rather appley/
stewed apples/overripe fairly earthy/dusty slight phenolic/cider nose; soft/fat slight resiny/phenolic strong
appley/stewed apples/overripe bit honeyed/tangy some earthy/chalky/stony slightly tannic flavor; fairly long
honeyed/overripe/stewed apples some earthy/stony finish w/ slight tannins; seems a bit less phenolic but more
overripe than the '10; strange wine. $24.00
-
TablasCreekVnyd EspritBlanc de Tablas Estate/PasoRobles (13.5%; 75% Rouss/20% GrenacheBlanc/5% Picpoul;
2465 cs) 2012: Med.gold color; lovely honeyed/honeysuckle/Rouss/floral slight chalky/mineray quite perfumed/
fragrant some complex nose; fairly tart very perfumed/honeyed/honeysuckle/pineapple/ripe peach balanced/rich/
glycerined flavor; very long/lingering ripe peach/honeyed/honeysuckle/pineapple light chalky/stony fairly tart
rather rich/balanced/structured; a terrific Esprit. $45.00/$36.00 (VIN)
-
JCCllrs TheFirstDate Calif WW (15.0%; 60% Roussanne/AltaColinaVnyd/PasoRobles, 40% Marsanne/StagecoachVnyd/
NapaVlly; Aged in cement egg; 208 cs; Drk: 2014-2018: JC) 2011: Med.dark gold color; some toasty/oak intense
honeyed/very ripe/honeysuckle/Rouss bit alcoholic nose; soft/fat/rich/lush bit alcoholic very strong ripe/
honeysuckle/honeyed/pineapple/Rouss some toasty/oak flavor; very short honeyed/honeysuckle/ripe/pineapple
finish and then a lovely very long/lingering floral/honeysuckle/delicate aftertaste that goes on & on; a wine
w/ a hole in the middle that hits the palate and then disappears until this aftertaste comes lingering along;
a bit on the ripe side but quite a nice/rich/lush wine at a good price. $28.00
-
Donkey&Goat Roussanne StoneCrusher ElDorado (12.1%; U; 365 cs; EllenRidgeVnyd; 16 days of skin-contact) 2013:
Dark gold/bronze rather murky/cloudy color; quite interesting intense appley/rotted apple/spoiled apple cider
rather phenolic/resiny/cidery some spicy/nutmeg/mulled cider nose; pretty tart/hard strong spoiled apple
cider/rotted apples/stewed fruit rather phenolic/metallic/resiny/cidery flavor w/ strong tannic bite; fairly
long strong phenolic/resiny strong rotted apples/stewed fruit some earthy/chalky/dusty fairly tart/tangy
finish w/ strong/hard/tannic bite; not any Roussanne fruit there that I could find and very phenolic in
character; a difficult wine to like. $30.00
-
Drew Viognier ValentiVnyd/GreenwoodRidge/MendocinoRidge (12.8%; 22 cs) 2010: Med.gold color; slight metallic
low-key/restrained/peach/pear/Viog/spicy/nutmeg slight mineral/stony lovely fragrant nose; rather tart very
spicy/peach/pear/Viog/nutmeg bit mineral/steely fragrant flavor; med.long tart pear/peach/Viog strong spicy/
nutmeg some mineral/steely finish; a lithe/restrained/racy Viog but not seemingly eviscerated or green. $30.00
-
Drew Viognier ValentiVnyd/MendoRidge (13%; 23 cs) Elk 2012: Light gold color; very fragrant pear/Viog/peach/
perfumed talc/spicy slight menthol restrained/ethereal nose; slightly tart very perfumed/peach/pear slight
stony/mineral restrained flavor; long restrained/peach/pear/Viog/spicy/nutmeg/perfumed talc slight stony/mineral
finish; a lithe/subtle quite spicy rendition of Viog. $34.00
-
2Guys/2Barrels Viognier StagecoachVnyd/NapaVlly (14.7%; 81 cs; Drk: 2014-2017: JC) JeffCohn/YvesGangloff
2012: Med.gold color; very strong/fragrant peach/pear/Viog/pineapple/mango slight Condrieu/mineral very
perfumed/aromatic lovely nose; soft/rich/very lush glycerined/mouthfilling slightly bitter very strong peach/
pear/Viog fairly restrained flavor w/ no obvious alcohol; very long/lingering ripe peach/pear/Viog slight
Condrieu/mineral beautiful finish that goes on & on w/ a slight touch of bitterness; a lovely perfumed
Viog that stops just short of DollyParton territory; one of the best JeffCohn whites I’ve had. $58.00
-
Dom. GeorgesVernay LesChaillees de l’Infer AC: Condrieu (MeBalP; 13.5%; T Elenteny Imports) 2012: Med.gold color;
beautiful/fragrant Viog/peach/pear strong classic Condrieu/mineral powerfully perfumed complex nose; somewhat
tart/citric beautiful pear/peach/Viog rather mineral balanced complex classic Condrieu flavor; very long/
lingering slightly tart some mineral/stony lovely/ripe/peach/pear/Viog complex/balanced finish that just keeps
on going; a classic mind-boggling Condrieu & world-class expression of Viog; bit pricey at $165.00 (AV)
The usual stuff from TheBloodyPulpit:
- Donkey&Goat: I thought all four of these were quite “interesting”, but they were not well-liked by the group.
They all seemed to have varying degrees of skin-contact & phenolic character. All four suffered from a real paucity
of varietal fruit. Not surprising given as skin-contact ferments tends to destroy varietal character. Of the
the four, I liked the SluiceBox the most as it seemed the most “normal”. The Stonecrusher was just downright
weird and a difficult wine to like. I’d had the '10 several weeks before and found it much better, showing more
honeyed character but still plenty of tannic/phenolic bite. These are wines that I feel show much better with
food to take off the tannic bite. Interesting, though not hedonistic, wines.
- DrewViognier: I have, of course, followed Jason&Molly Drew’s wines from the very start, down in SantaBarbara.
When they moved up to the MendoHighlands, they left behind the powerful/extracted wines they were noted for and
went to a more restrained/balanced style. They’re smack/dab in the center of the IPoB movement.
They make about only a barrel a year of the Viognier. It’s much different than most Calif Viogs. It shows much
more restraint than most of them, w/o stepping over the line into lean/eviscerated/green rendition of Viog
that you often get in Pays d’Oc Viogs. And they usually have a lithe/ethereal kind of perfume to them. Very nice
Viogs that I think should age well.
- JCCllrsViognier: Early this summer, I got this breathless phone call at home from JeffCohn. He was about to release
this Viognier he did w/ YvesGangloff and insisted I must try it. Jeff can be pretty persuasive when he wants. So
ordered a mixed case, including this Viognier.
Jeff’s wines are on the big side and frequently show their alcohol. I was expecting this to be an over-the-top/
DollyParton style of Viog. It was not. It showed more restraint & balance than I was expecting. I am not
particularly impressed by the Rhone varietals that come off StagecoachVnyd. This was probably the best Stagecoach
wine I’ve ever had. It even showed a bit of Condrieu-like minerality that you don’t often find in Calif. Not sure
what role Gangloff played in its making, but he was obviously a good influence on Jeff.
- Tablas: Another two strong ones from TablasCreek. The Vermentino (TTB doesn’t recognize the Rhone name of
Rolle as a variety) is a rather pretty wine, but just that. May put on some weight w/ age. The EspritBlanc was
pretty terrific in it’s perfume & intensity…almost Alsatian in style…maybe even Parkerized. It didn’t have
the intensity of stony/chalky/mineral character it sometimes shows when this young; but I see no reason it won’t
age into something pretty special. The TablasCreek wines seem to keep going from strength to strength.
Most people won’t notice but the EspritTablas wines now come in a special btl w/ a TC embossed on the
shoulder a la Chateauneuf.
- Vernay: The Vernay’s showed up at ArroyoVino several weeks ago. Not seen a Vernay in the wilds in yrs & yrs.
Especially the Vernon. But I gulped when I saw the price on it…$199. The l’Infer was sitting beside it and
seemed more reasonably priced (vis a vis Condrieu) at $65. When I got to the desk to check out, Brian asked me
if I saw the price. I had not seen the 1 squeezed in there and it was $165, not $65. Awwww…what the heck. It’s
grossly overpriced but we’ll try it. It’s been yrs since I’ve had a world-class Condrieu of this stature. Since
some of the seminars at HdR. It’s a wine that brought tears to my eyes it was so good.
We’ll splurge & try the CoteauVernon this week.
Tom