BLIND UNOAKED CHARDONNAY AND PETIT SIRAHS - Fratello’s, Laguna Niguel, CA (5/30/2009)
Another huge Frank Murray extravaganza. Lots of cool OC folk and more cruised into Fratello’s for another rip 'em and tear fest. The theme was Unoaked Chardonnay and Petit Sirah. All wines were bagged with reveals coming after all of each kind was done.
The Chardonnay’s were more of a mixed bag than I thought. The lack of oak treatment probably helped a good amount of them be crisper and less clumsy but it could not disguise the evident ripeness across many of these. There were a few stand outs and I snuck in a Chablis for good measure.
The Petits were mostly ho hum with a couple stand outs. The Montelena really stood out as a classically styled wine showing lot’s of complexity without showing the ripeness oak dressing of many of it’s counterparts. An easy tops of the lineup for me.
For the Chards I voted #1 - 16, #2 - 13 and #3 - 7. Group winners were:
#1 - 16 - 2007 Huber Estate
#2 - 11 - 2007 Diatom Clos Pepe
#3 - 1 - 2005 Daniel Gehrs
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#1 - 2005 Daniel Gehrs Chardonnay Unoaked Santa Barbara County - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
Served blind. Fat ripe baked fruit nose. Ripe and sweet palate. -
#2 - 2004 Melville Chardonnay Clone 76 Inox Estate - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills - Sta. Rita Hills
Served blind. Nose shows ripeness in the way of baked fruits. Very ripe yet flat palate. -
#3 - 2008 Diatom Chardonnay Huber - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills - Sta. Rita Hills
Served blind. Spicy nose unlike a Chardonnay. Clean balanced palate. -
#4 - 2007 Melville Chardonnay Clone 76 Inox Estate - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills - Sta. Rita Hills
Served blind. Mineral and pineapple nose. Clean and light palate that is refreshing. One of my favs on the day. -
#5 - 2008 Diatom Chardonnay Babcock Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills - Sta. Rita Hills
Served blind. Cinnamon and banana nose. Sweet yet lean with good acids. Interesting mix but not off putting. -
#6 - 2008 Diatom Chardonnay Babcock Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills - Sta. Rita Hills
Served blind. Nose is tight giving up little. Rich and sweet. -
#7 - 2007 Melville Chardonnay Clone 76 Inox Estate - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills - Sta. Rita Hills
Served blind. Nose doesn’t give up much. Palate is crunchy, clean and balanced with strong lemon qualities. Picks up a bit of cat pee later on. -
#8 - 2004 Melville Chardonnay Clone 76 Inox Estate - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills - Sta. Rita Hills
Served blind. Ripe nose of papaya and banana. Fat palate shows some spritz with an ugly finish. I imagine this has seen better days. -
#9 - 2008 Diatom Chardonnay Huber - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills - Sta. Rita Hills
Served blind. Spicy aromatic fruity nose like a Rhone. Tastes of golden apples. -
#10 - 2007 Diatom Chardonnay Huber - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills - Sta. Rita Hills
Served blind. Smokey nose with a touch of gun flint. Crunchy concentrated palate only marred with some heat. Nice and unique in the line up. Probably best in another year or more. -
#11 - 2007 Diatom Chardonnay Clos Pepe Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills - Sta. Rita Hills
Served blind. Showing a lot baked fruits and bitterness on the finish. By far not the best effort for the winery or vineyard. -
#12 - 2007 Morgan Chardonnay Metallico - USA, California, Central Coast, Monterey County
Served blind. Ripe with lots of bake fruit notes. Fat and sweet. -
#13 - 2007 Jean-Marc Brocard Chablis Domaine Sainte Claire Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Chablis
Plenty of minerals and ample fruit. This was a bit weightier than previous go around. -
#14 - 2005 Diatom Chardonnay Clos Pepe Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills - Sta. Rita Hills
Served blind. Strong, powerful and concentrated. -
#15 - 2008 Melville Chardonnay Clone 76 Inox Estate - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills - Sta. Rita Hills
Served blind. Very spicy and floral nose. Funky palate. Made me think of a Rhone white blend. -
#16 - 2007 Huber Cellars Chardonnay Non-Oaked - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills - Sta. Rita Hills
Served blind. Steely nose of pretty lemon and straw. Very concentrated expressive palate making me think this could get even better and it was damn nice. Surprisingly won our blind tasting quite easily. -
#21 - 2006 Mer Soleil Chardonnay Silver Unoaked - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
Served blind. Flat showing ripe fruits. Sweet ripe palate with some heat.
For the Petits I voted #1 - 21, #2 - 7 and #3 - 15. Group winners were:
#1 - 8 - 2005 Switchback
#2 - 6 - 2006 Turley Rattlesnake Ridge
#3 - 15 - 2006 Switchback
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#1 - 2003 Corté Riva Petite Sirah - USA, California, North Coast
Served blind. Ripe nose of caramel and cocoa. Sweet cocoa on the palate showing some signs of oak and heat. From a magnum. -
#2 - 2006 Erna Schein Petite Sirah - USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
Served blind. Nose shows chocolate raspberries and spiced oak with some heat. Lean palate that is tart and hot on a rough finish. -
#3 - 2005 Erna Schein Petite Sirah - USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
Served blind. Espresso and heat on the nose. Palate is tight but thick and a bit hot. Something nice lurking in there though. -
#4 - 2003 Pride Mountain Vineyards Petite Sirah - USA, California, Napa Valley
Served blind. Somewhat of an aged quality but still seems young. Sweet palate with sort of a mineral quality. Stood out from the pack a bit. -
#5 - 2005 Turley Petite Sirah Rattlesnake Ridge - USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain
Served blind. Tart nose showing plenty of pepper and heat. Juicy, lean and grapey palate. -
#6 - 2006 Turley Petite Sirah Rattlesnake Ridge - USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain
Served blind. Nose is a bit tight but shows some toasty oak. Ripe with a weak midpalate. Inexpressive. -
#7 - 2006 Stags’ Leap Winery Petite Sirah - USA, California, Napa Valley
Decanted about 3 hours prior to consumption and served blind. Some rocky notes and a bit of heat on the nose with signs up oak showing up later on. Balanced and a bit juicy with good acids. Stood out from the pack for it’s balanced style. -
#8 - 2005 Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley
Bogarted -
#9 - 2005 Alcina Cellars Petite Sirah The Sorceress - USA, California, North Coast, Lake County
Served blind. Hot nose showing toast and caramel. More caramel on a hot thick palate. -
#10 - 2005 Jeff Runquist Petite Sirah “R” Enver Salman Vineyard - USA, California, Central Valley, Clarksburg
Served blind. Nose is stewed and raisiny. Thick, sweet, ripe and juicy. -
#11 - 2007 Almond Hill Petite Sirah - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Served blind. Tons of oak on the nose. Palate is soft, soapy, smooth and innocuous. And some vanilla. -
#12 - 1994 Stags’ Leap Winery Petite Sirah - USA, California, Napa Valley
Served blind. An aged quality to the nose with a touch of brett. Light and juicy palate. -
#13 - 2006 Unti Vineyards Petite Sirah - USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley
Served blind. Very fruity nose showing a good dose of oak. Concentrated berry palate that lacks a finish. -
#14 - 2001 Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley
Served blind. Very ripe nose showing a ton of heat and nail polish along with a chemical note. Big and chocolaty showing overripe berries with lots of tannin. Bit of a mess. -
#15 - 2006 Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley
Served blind. Nose of toast, coffee and cocoa. Soft with thick sweet fruits and a decent grip. Very modern in style but it showed enough complexity and interest for me to vote for it. -
#16 - 2001 Domaine Becquet Signature Collection - USA, California, Sierra Foothills
Served blind. Funky nose showing some stewed and maybe aged qualities. Juicy with sweet baked fruits. Somehow I found this interesting. -
#17 - 2004 Caliban Petite Sirah “Noble Savage” - USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena
Served blind. VA on a ripe nose with some mocha. Juicy and balanced with heat on the very end. -
#18 - 2001 Penman Springs Vineyard Petite Sirah - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Served blind. Nose seems older. Balanced with good acidity but lacks some expression. Sweet on the finish. -
#19 - 2004 David Fulton Petite Sirah - USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena
Served blind. Very ripe nose with lots of VA and heat. Raisiny and tannic. -
#20 - 2006 Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley
Served blind. Jammy with plenty of espresso and dark chocolate. Tight, tart and soft palate. Napa Cab bomb? -
#21 - 2002 Chateau Montelena Petite Sirah - USA, California, Napa Valley
Served blind. Nose shows some age but is reminiscent of a Bordeaux which was the big surprise. Shows complexity and very good acidity on a very youthful palate. Terrific and stands way out in this pack. Easy winner for me. -
#22 - 2002 Varozza Vineyards Petite Sirah - USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena
Served blind. Nose doesn’t show much more than heat. Juicy and on the lean side with good acids. Lots of caramel. -
#23- 2006 Carlisle Petite Sirah - USA, California, North Coast, Yorkville Highlands
Served blind. Huge oak bomb with lots of vanilla and coffee.