Tried these two older Calif Rhones the other night:
- OjaiVnyd Roussanne BienNacidoVnyd/SantaMariaVlly (13.5%) 2013: Med.gold color; very strong aromatic honeyed/honey graham very floral/Rouss/honeysuckle/melony/ripe some pencilly/oak rather complex beautiful perfumed nose; fairly tart somewhat pencilly/oak quite honeyed/honeysuckle/ripe/melony/Rouss very floral/honeysuckle quite complex beautiful rich/ripe/balanced flavor; very long/lingering beautiful finish that mirrors flavor; an absolutely beautiful example of a mature/evolved Rouss that should go another 3-8 yrs; no signs of oxidation or going round the bend; one of the best mature Calif Rouss I can recall; lots of pencilly/toasty Fr.oak but still loads of ripe Rouss fruit.
- Bedrock Grenache GibsonRanch/McDowellVlly/MendoCnty (14.0%) 2013: Med.color w/ some bricking; strong strawberry/Grenache/spicy fairly dusty/OV some cedary/pencilly/oldRed bit old CdP/Rhonish rather complex very interesting nose; bit soft quite smooth/round/graceful bit toasty/oak/pencilly some Grenache/strawberry/spicy slight cedary/pencilly fairly complex flavor w/ light smooth tannins; very long/lingering smooth/gentle finish that mimics flavor; has lost some of its Grenache fruit but very smooth/gentle fully mature red; no signs of oxidation not metallic signs indicative of a dying wine but just fading a bit & should be drunk up.
More bergerstatz from TheBloodyPulpit:
- The Ojai Rouss was about as good a Calif Rouss as I can recall and pretty much the equal of the Qupe Hillside SElect Rouss.
Tom