TN: Three Boheme Reds....(short/boring)

WINE TALK
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We tasted ystrday at Laura’s Pig+Fig some Boheme Reds:

  1. Boheme Zin CraigheadVnyd Laguna de SantaRosa/RRV (14.5%; Ancient vines plntd in 1874; Hrvstd: morning of Oct.22; 4 brls; 20 mo. in Fr.oak brls; 97 cs) 2023: Med.dark color; quite dusty/OV strong blackberry/very spicy/Zin/smokey some earthy quite complex old-timey Zin smokey nose; fairly tart some smokey/oak rather dusty/OV strong blackberry/Zin/spicy bit vanilla/oak bit rustic rather old-timey Zin complex flavor w/ modest rustic tannins; very long quite dusty/OV some blackberry/Zin finish that mimics flavor; quite an interesting old-timey/rustic Zin that needs several yrs yet; resembles a lot the old-timey Zins made by Joe Swan himself; quite an interesting Zin. $nc (KB)
  1. Boheme Syrah OccidentalHills/SonomaCoast (14.1%; 0.21 acre plot in EnglishHillVnyd; Hrvstd: Oct.25-26; 4 brls; 50% w-c; Aged: 22 mo. in Fr.oak brls; 104 cs) 2019: Very dark slight bricking color; quite aromatic c-c/peppery strong blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry some toasty/Fr.oaksome Rhonish complex lovely nose; bit less oak & more pure Syrah nose; fairly tart strong c-c/peppery/blackberry bit toasty/oak complex bit Rhonish very c-c/peppery flavor w/ modest chewey tannins; very long/lingering peppery/blackberry Syrah finish that tracks flavor; more pure Syrah & more c-c/peppery character; a lovely rather Rhonish Syrah that can use more age. $nc (KB)
  1. Boheme Syrah OccidentalHills/SonomaCoast (13.3%; 79% QueSyrah/Clone 1 & 877/ 21% EnglishHill/Clone 877 vnyds; Hrvstd Oct.21; 21 mo. in neutral Fr.oak; 288 cs) 2012: Very dark/near black color; very complex very smokey/toasty/Fr.oak rather Rhonish complex nose; very strong c-c/Syrah/peppery strong blackberry/Syrah quite smokey/Rhonish rather complex/Rhonish rather toasty/oak lots of c-c/peppery Syrah flavor w/ modest rough tannins; shows more of the c-c/peppery character from the QueSyrah grapes in this blend; a beautiful quite Rhonish Syrah. $nc (Norm & Barb)

More milosturt from TheBloodyPulpit:

  1. Boheme is a wnry in Occidental run by Kurt Beitler. A member of the CharlieWagner family of Caymus fame. When the Wagner’s wanted to grown more cold-climate Pinot grapes, Kurt returned from OR to plant their vnyd up on TaylorRidgeRd to the SW of Occidental. Because they were concerned of ripening the Pinot grapes in such a cold climate, Kurt put the vnyd up on a pergola training system, like used in the AltoAdige. One of the very few pergola vnyds in Calif.
    I first met Kurt thru Al Rago, who planted/farmed the famed Que Syrah vnyd at the very end of TaylorRidgeRd. Kurt was, by then, farming Al’s Que Syrah Vnyd. The Syrah grapes were then going to EhrenJordan, who was kinda fussy on how the grapes were to be grown. Just up the TaylorRidgeRd before you drop down into QueSyrah, Al’s son, VincentRago planted his vnyd to Chard & Pinot. This is the source of Kurt’s TaylorRidge wines. Kurt also planted a vnyd to the SE of Occidental that is know as the EnglishHill Vnyd, mostly to Pinot/Chard w/ a small lot of Syrah grapes. Perched high on the hill overlooking the vlly which contains the village of Sebastapol, it is a certifiable cold-climate vnyd.
    When Kurt started making his own wines, he was making them at the Caymus Wnry in the NapaVlly to the East of St.Helena. Al took me there on a visit to meet Kurt, taste his wines, and then off to lunch at the RutherfordGrill. From barrel, I took an instant love for Kurt’s wines & continued to buy them over the yrs. They are varietally-correct Calif wines but speak w/ a strong French accent. Wonderful wines. The Boheme name comes from the famed Bohemian Grove which lies just to the NW of Occidental. This is an organization of very influential political types who get together each Summer to let down their hair. Their ribald parties are legendary. Thus far, I’ve never been invited to attend, since I’m just a nerdy LosAlamos-type & not sufficiently ribald.
    Both of these two Syrahs were outstanding. Both have lots of c-c/peppery character w/ a bit more of a Rhonish character in the '12. Two very beautiful expressions of Calif Syrah that speaks w/ a French accent.
    Tom
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Thanks Tom for your kind words, and excellent notes, as always. :cowboy_hat_face:

BTW, my recollection of the 2012 Syrah:
On the same morning, we picked the marginally-ripe Que Syrah grapes (2 acres low density @ 9 x 6’ spacing) and medium ripe English Hill grapes (.25 acres high density 6 x 3’). The ratio came to 66% QS and 33% EH. The EH grapes, with riper stems, we kept as whole bunches. The QS, a bit greener, was fully destemmed. All fermented in the same open SS tank. It was always a beauty and I’m glad she’s still shining. :blush:

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I recall the following winter Al Rago visiting our winery (American Wine Bldg in Forestville, at the time) to taste bbls with his buddy Jerry McIntire. We got through half of the ~15 bbls.. Jerry chimed in with a paranoid question “is it a bad sign if a wine tastes too good in its youth?”