I picked up my Enfield and Arnot-Roberts wines over the weekend. John was setting up for pick-up day and tasted me through a few wines before others arrived. Chicken scratch notes but hopefully helpful.
2021 Citrine Chardonnay - Citrussy nose, grapefruit/lemon, pithy, turns green apple, nice balance.
2020 Haynes Vyd Chardonnay - Tart, lean and mean, saline, full ml, turns creamy on the back end
2020 Watson Chardonnay - Fuller and creamier up front than the Haynes. Green apple
2018 XB 06 Sans Ouillage Chardonnay - Experimental Batch. This is a barrel of 2018 Citrine that underwent full ml, was racked and put back into the barrel. John then hard bunged it and set it aside untouched for 3 years before bottling. Darker color, nutty nose, almond, hint of caramel, expansive palate, great acidity, wonderful balance full win! This was exceptional.
2020 Jurassic Park Chenin Blanc - Chamomile on the nose, oily up front, flinty, slightly reductive, vanilla, maybe some sweet coconut, moderate acidity.
2020 Brosseau Grenache - Light color, strawberry, watermelon? blackberry mix, nice tannic structure. Lay it down for a few years.
2021 Pretty Horses Red Blend - Tempranillo, Grenache, Graciano - Blackberry core, heavy tannins, light texture, food friendly/dependant.
2019 Waterhorse Ridge Cab Sauv - Medium bodied, black currant, balckberry, cedar, lean and mean. Give it air.
After Enfield I drove up to Healdsburg to pick-up Arnot-Roberts. It was very crowded despite them breaking the party up into ticketed time slots. Was like a public tasting event where people crowded tables and spent inordinate amounts of time chit chatting with the pourer and not allowing space for others to get a pour or reach the dump bucket. i made it through the whites and one red before bailing. Standing around with a mouthful of wine that you have no place to spit is not my idea of fun. Being popular has its downside I guess.
2021 Dry Creek Falanghina - Slight nose, very light bright tangy citrus, kinda just there, poolside pounder. Was hoping for more out of this. Maybe some air and room temp will help coax something out.
2021 Randall Hill Vyd Sauv Blanc - One word note “Winner!” I loved this wine
2021 Watson Chardonnay - Similar take to the Enfield, good weight up front, creamy, light, bright mid palate, lemon curd, vanilla wafer.
2021 Trout Gulch Chardonay - Another very shy nose, that ends on the palate though, tart lemon lime, mineral streak, bracing acidity very nice crushed stones on the finish
2021 Sanford Benedict Chardonnay - no note, was getting frustrated
Afterwards I went to the Jolie-Laide pick-up where Scott tasted us through Melon de Bourgogne, Sauvignon Gris, Enz Cab Pfeffer, Chalone Grenache and North Coast Syrah Halcon/Hawkes Butte (last dip into Halcon)
These wines all performed very well. I really like Scotts winemaking approach using a bit of carbonic to really magnify the fruit aromas and brightness. I buy multiple cases of his wines each year. Spent the time chatting with Scott, Tom Debiase and another gentleman so I didn’t take any notes.
Overall I thought the Enfield wines were great. Johns wine always impress, especially the Chardonnays which are some of my favorite white wines coming out of California. Many thanks for taking some time before his guests arrived to pour me one-on-one. Arnot-Roberts, the wines are getting leaner and leaner with a couple of the white wines really lacking on the palate. I’ll give them their just due but only the Sauv Blanc and Trout Gulch moved the needle.