TERCERO
My day started with a long visit with my long-time friend Larry. As always, there were discussions about wine, philosophy, life—current Canada-US politics not the least–and friendship. I thank you as always for taking time with me.
I asked Larry my 2-part question. If he took a TARDIS and went back to Larry of 20 years ago, what one thing would he tell that Larry? “pick less ripe”. He has leaned into varietal character being measured by ripeness. This doesn’t tilt to overripe, just to pick less ripe. Then, if Larry from 20 years from now jumps in a TARDIS and comes back to see him today, what one thing would he like to hear from that Larry? He responded “that the wines have aged like I hoped”. He is in a really happy place right now on all fronts.
2023 Tercero Picpoul
Nose of apple blossom and orange blossom, peach maybe. Crisp, with nice tingle and actually a dash of pineapple. Fun, fun wine,
2022 Tercero Clairette Blanc
Light vanilla bean joins pear and floral scents. Good base acidity, tingly and tangy with very light green notes on top
2022 Tercero Chenin Blanc
From the Jurassic vineyard. Went through malo and 14 months in oak. Edges of oak and vanilla around citrus, with an interesting bit of white grape. Structure is there on the palate, needs time for the fruit and texture to catch up.
2023 Tercero Chenin Blanc
Barrel sample of this. It smells more of the stuff I think about in chenin–beeswax, hint of honey. To taste, definite beeswax component to lemon and a dash of potpourri. Maybe its youth, but find a bit more presence on this wine, promising.
2024 Tercero Cabernet Franc Rose
Tank sample? Larry, you’ll correct me—didn’t note! Larry’s first try for CF, 20 year vines. Direct press to stainless steel. There’s a neat not-quite-olive scent to pomegranate fruit and a bit of rhubarb. I like this plenty–it has brace and frame, raspberries sing here. Rhubarb at the end.
2020 Tercero Spear Grenache
Larry pulled this specifically with me in mind and a style of grenache he thought I might like. I think i did! And the reason, or part of it, may be that this was 100% whole cluster. fairly pure strawberry nose, this does entice my tongue with good freshness and shape. Still strawberry base but a little spice component too. Good wine.
2023 Tercero Counoise
Fruit is from Camp 4 vineyard and Nolan vineyard in Los Alamos. Vinified separately then 12 months in puncheon. Berries, cherry and a slice or two of plum in the nuzzie. A nice and subtly savoury palate. This is quietly awesome for me. Multiple cherry types, cranberry, tiny edge of mint and perfectly carrying acid. I think this is one of the best reds Larry has made and can only imagine some improvement with time.
2022 Tercero Mourvedre Curtis Vineyard
Larry calls this a Mourvedre made in Beaujolais. I see that. Rather bright aroma, sweeter red fruit, raspberry and boysenberry for me. This still has textural quality of mourvedre, but fruit is more at the front. 12 months in puncheons
2023 Tercero Nolan Petite Sirah
barrel sample. Nose is darker fruit but fairly shy. Lines are there, but this has a lot of growing up to do still. Would like to assess at some future point in bottle.
2022 Tercero Kessler-Haak PN
Pommard is main grape, with 114, 115 and 777. So pretty on the cinnamon, nutmeg, mocha, sweet raspberry and pomegranate. Kinetic still, has some way to go. I get boysenberry, raspberry and even some cinnamon bark.
2016 Tercero Thompson Syrah
48 months with no racking. Dark garnet colour still. Remarkable fresh-filling nose. Really alluring sweetmeats and plum. 14.2% and doesn’t taste like it at all. Light charcoal is a fine, fine framing for meats, dark precise sense of identity. This is still young
2022 Mason Vineyards Wild Ferment Viognier
I brought this from one of my favourite Ontario winemakers specifically for Larry to try. I am very much off Viognier as a grape I want to drink. Except for hers. Her signature beautiful lift, aromatic complexity and almost chablis-like acidity (chablis viognier is what the server at Liquid Farm identified it as), this wine already sings such a haunting song.
2015 Tercero Viognier
Larry kindly opened one of these to compare. Didn’t take full notes here, I did get some florals still—honeysuckle in particular—a little wet wool perhaps. Tasted balanced though somewhat quiet.
I do always appreciate time with you, my friend. Thank you.
DRAGONETTE CELLARS
2023 Dragonette Rose
Whole cluster press, mostly grenache with a bit of graciano and mourvedre. 4 months in oak. Fruit is from Vogelzgang and Two Wolves vineyards. Pretty aromatics of watermelon and strawberry. Good, basic tang, a perhaps small lactic side to the raspberry fruit.
2023 Dragonette Happy Canyon SB
This fruit is from Vogelzgang, Grassiani and Grimm’s Bluff. 7 months in new oak, peachy and nectarine bouquet with underlying perfume. Grabs your cheeks a bit ,some green beans to help the stone fruit along. Defined structure is mostly at the back end. Peach pit on 2nd taste. Not bad.
2022 Dragonette Black Label Chard
Their top-end chard. 150 cases from Radian and Bentrock vineyards, two I love for this grape. 20 months in 75% new oak–Damy and Seguin-Moreau for the barrels. Fine near-smoky quality sits around unripe pear and some more peach. A very faint truffle accent. This is pretty special dans la bouche, very pure. Just super balance between feel and expressiveness. Curled grapefruit, pit fruits, this is not far from high 1er Cru in quality.
2022 Dragonette SRH PN
15 months in oak. Destemmed. Cloves a bit, with maraschino cherry and hint of plum jam. Still pretty tight, a bit lashy but substance with raspberry and even currant. Oddly, tastes a bit rooty as well.
2023 Dragonette Collaboration PN
This is a cuvee that the employee team gets to pick. Mainly Radian and Bentrock fruit. 15 monrhs in neutral oak, 114, 115 and 667. There’s a heightened exotic perfume that these vineyards throw off. It’s a sophisticate nose. This is somewhat primary on the tongue, but the fruit is bursting at the seams–raspberry, cranberry and pomegranate. There are pieces for a really good pinot here. Spices are here too, just buried for now…
2021 Dragonette Seven Syrah
Fruit is mainly Stoplman and Spear vineyards. 18 months in neutral oak and co-fermented with Viognier, 3% I believe. Fully destemmed. Still a little shy to sniff at. Black cherry and a li’l dark chocolate. Good concentration and carry. Plum jam melds with more chocolate. Nice syrah, it has that bit of lift from the Viognier. This feels like it might e a little early-maturing. Maybe 3-4 years?
STOLPMAN VINEYARDS
I have only had a couple of their wines in the past, so this was a chance to do a concentrated tasting.
2023 Stoplman Uni White
Very unusual 60% early-picked chard and 40% Roussanne. 9 months in oak. Origination was a high-end sushi restaurant who loved their Roussanne but it didn’t work on its own with the food. Aromatics are still tucked away. There are pineapple-leaning tropical notes with enough swirling, actually some apricot. I think this works, though it’s not my normal gravitational pull. I do see this as purpose-driven by the food. Tropical presentation with guava but also a splash of lime.
2021 Stolpman Ballard Canyon Sangiovese
Estate fruit, oldest vines are 40 years, 19 months in barrel, picked mid to end September. Settled bouquet of red plum, cocoa and some saddle leather inklings. Fresh entry but quite polished after that with bright red plum and cherry fruit. There’s a teensy bit of red licorice and a teensy bit of chestnut. Plenty of interest here.
2021 Stolpman Hilltop Syrah
north/south facing vines, 18 months in oak. Lots of things in the sniffer–potpourri a bit, black forest cake. Boysenberry, nicks of spices. Solid on the palate, expresses the black forest cake clearly. A little foursquare.
2023 Stolpman La Cuadrilla Red
Means “crew” in Spanish, the wine crew picked this one. GSM blend with some Sangiovese. Majority is Syrah. All the profits from sales are given to the 37-person wine crew. Blackberry is the top note. Glances of dark strawberry. Dashes of cracked pepper. Big and jammy on the palate. A lean towards some motor oil and tar/torrefaction. Blackberry is back with plum accompaniment. Missing some harmony for me but expressive.
2022 Stolpman La Croce
50% Syrah and 50% Sangiovese. Picked on the same day and co-fermented. Enjoyable herbaceous quality to the nose, savroy and thyme, the fruit leans towards blackberry and cassis. This is yummylicious. Rich but in propotion. Lots of boysenberry jam and cassis. In its style, excellent.
LIQUID FARM
i haven’t been back in some years now, so good to revisit.
2022 Liquid Farm Mourvedre Rose
all Vogelzgang, 90 mins skin contact. A blast of spiced raspberry with a type of aromatic thrust that I don’t see often. Good tingle here, grapefruit with tastes of watermelon. In contrast to the nose, might want a bit more zip and drive here, but savoury enough.
2023 Liquid Farm White Hill Chard
75 and 112 clones. 10 months in neutral oak, 1 month in stainless and cold destabilization. 22.6 brix, this is from 5 different vineyards. Yellow fruit is the aromatic lead here. Very light graham cracker and vanilla. The expected excellent drive and thrust here. Needs a little time, the fruit is sharply defined and wants to integrate into the whole. Sweet peas and some sweet corn both make an appearance. Plenty of conversation pieces.
2023 Liquid Farm Golden Slope Chard
A little more exotic nose, gingerbread and even a slash of nougat. Pear and a bit of orange. This is the wine for me of the two in this year (didn’t get to taste the Four), silky and seductive with lovely melange of tropical and citrus fruits.
2023 Liquid Farm SBC PN
667, 777 and Pommard for the clones. Mostly Radian, with some Fiddlestix, La Rincanada, Kessler-Haak and Spear. Still putting itself together aromatically. Raspberry and some sweet currant fruit. Very light baking spices and for-sure rhubarb. Tight and grippy right now. Very present acid base. All red fruit, it should definitely level out, there’s a lot of “colour”
2023 Liquid Farm Spear PN
667 almost exclusively. 3-5% stems. Checks in at 13.5%. Sniff of cherry here, with pomegranate. This is a little more unknit. Good components of berry, cherry and cocoa with a tiny bit of chickoree. Cedar at the back
2023 Liquid Farm Fiddlestix PN
667 and some Pommard, this is a very pure strawberry jam and crabapple for sure, with some rose petals. Really really good. Everything I’d want in Central Coast Pinot, it’s here. Needs time, but a hell of a wine. It seduces on a bunch of levels. Superstar pinot.
Maluhia
Mike