Girard

TRL/Staff/Wine: 9/7/7

The tasting room is tucked away in the quaint neighborhoods of Yountville, just down the street from Jessup Cellars. It's a very modern tasting room with private tables for four, a room for large tasting, and a bar for the casual tasters. There's seating outside, as well.

The staff knew their script about the wines very well, but it was obvious that it was a script. One thing that was a little off-putting was how they reminded all of their new patrons how close to closing they were.

2007 Sauvignon Blanc Stone Fly Vineyards: $24/$19/$17
Fermented in stainless. Aged in French oak. Semillon 8% 92% Sau Blanc from Mount Veeder.
A very quiet feel, taste, mouthful.
Nice oak structure. The nose has mild apricot, lemon, and other indistinguishable white fruits. This is refreshing smelling wine, served nicely cool.

2007 Mixed Blacks: $50/$40/$52Field blend of zin, petite sirah, syrah, mouvedre, carignane and who knows what else.
The nose is so openly unashamedly black fruit that you can’t help but nearly pour it through your lungs. The nose also is unmistakedly Carnistoga mouvedre.
The palate follows beautifully with rich deep, dark fruits…
The fruit on the nose actually mutes a little as it warms up. The black fruits are integrated and robust, but difficult to discern. The oak on the nose carries the fruit to your nose, but doesn’t overpower them.
This is a wildly accessible wine that has all appearances of complexity, but isn’t. It’s a really good field blend. The black fruits abound, balanced well with the mild oak finish. This’ll impress your friends…

2006 Pritchard Hill Cabernet Sauvignon:$75/$60/$48
100% Cabernet Sauvignon
The nose on this Cab is exactly cab with just the right amount of earth and spice. I struggle to identify the black fruits due to the oak, but the cherry is accessible.
The oak on the nose blankets the fruit.
Nice mouthfeel, that’s soft and silky, but a little lighter-bodied than I would expect. The fruit is well integrated, again, but difficult to distinguish. This is a spicy cab that some of your friends would like, but others would pass on.

2006 Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon: $75/$60/$48
The nose is much softer, with more accessible dark fruit. Cassis, blackberry, black cherry, but there’s a significant amount of oak on the nose. The nose belies the longevity of this wine. The oak on the palate isn’t nearly as oaky, and the cassis really stands out. It’s full-bodied with really great mouthfeel, for a cab.

2007 Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon: $75/$60/$48
Where’s the nose? The oak is almost non-existent on the nose. The bouquet has a peppery nose, tempered with black fruits. This isn’t a wine that gained much from the oak. If they used new oak on the 2006, they used the same barrels for this wine. As Cabernet Sauvignons go, this is an easy drinker, but not impressionable. Both wines, though, were aged in 85% new French oak.

2006 Atlas Peak Cabernet Sauvignon: $75/$60/$60
The nose has a non-threatening softness to it. This is a highly structured wine with all the tannins and earthiness that is expected. The fruit is struggling to compete with the tannins, but does so in a manner that makes the wine better. A wine you could/should pair with meaty/peppery food, but is just barely accessible enough to drink by itself.

Matrix

TRL/Staff/Wine: 8/8/8

It would be unfair to associate this winery with its former occupant, Rabbit Ridge. As the Wilson wineries expand throughout the valley, they've opened the Matrix Winery. With it comes three vineyards that are producing respectable Pinot Noirs.

The tasting room has a nice feel and charm to it, but your sense of smell can be blanketed some of the "charm" that was carried forward from the previous occupants (Rabbit Ridge). It's large enough to comfortably serve 10-12 patrons, served by two pourers. The staff members here were very engaging, suggesting other wineries, and helping patrons find their way to other wine-tasting experiences. They knew the wines and the history of them, providing us with some "off-the-wall" information that was charming and entertaining.

It's notable to mention that if you're a club member of Mazzocco, DeLorimier, or Wilson Winery, your discount it good here, too.

2009 Sauvignon Blanc:$18/-/-
Dry lemon and pink grapefruit on the nose. The palate follows.

2007 Nunes Vineyard Russian River Valley Pinot Noir: $32/$24/$28
Light and simple nose and palate. Somewhat spicy/oaky palate, but the palate has dried black fruits.

2007 Buoncristiani Vineyard Pinot Noir:$35/$26/$30
Spice and red currant on the nose, full and blatant. Palate simply does not follow.

2007 Buoncristiani Vineyard Pinot Noir Reserve: $45/$34/$42
Much better balanced. Earthy palate that is smooth, with black fruits and mild oak. Brand new French oak.

2007 Reserve Zinfandel, Russian River Valley, Alegria Vineyard:$38/$26/$38Similar nose to a dessert wine, it’s so jammy. Palate is good and follows somewhat, but simply does not live up to the nose. It’s a great zin, but I’d be expecting the Mazzocco fruit on the palate, and it’s not quite there…maybe it needs to open a bit. The competing aromas in the tasting room made it difficult to give this wine its due. I walked outside with it and it was a completely different bouquet.

2007 Matrix Zinfandel
Wonderful, full, almost dessert wine nose…very jammy, almost smoky. Palate was not as discernible, but great! Liked the reserve zin better.

2007 Alegria Zinfandel

The Alegria zin (not reserve) needs to wait. It's good and you can tell it’s going to get there, but you have to have patience. Another year would be best. "Wow" to the nose, the palate simply needs to come around.

C. Donatiello

TRL/Staff/Wine: 10/7/7

Formerly Belvedere. The renovations are great! It's a very large tasting room that is very well staffed. This is one of the places I hold up as the purest example of a 10 TRL.
Staff is eager enough with some knowledge of the wines. Nothing that you’ll find “enlightening”. I give them credit for serving their Pinot Noir in the right stemware.

2007 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir: $39/-/$30
This was a pinot with very little to offer on the nose and palate. I've already spent too much time on it...

2008 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir: $38/-/$40
This wine has a much bigger nose. The Russian River Valley had record rainfall that year. The raspberry peeks out of the bouquet like it's tempting you to find it. It's medium-bodied and has better balance. The raspberry also slips over your palate, lightly, but very pleasurably. The spice of the oak carries the fruit throughout the sip. I’d stop back in for this one.

2008 Pinot Noir Maddies Vineyard: $62/-/$35
The nose has balanced fruit and floral bouquet. Red currant and raspberry are subtly prominent. The palate doesn’t follow, however, with a dramatic shift in flavors to herbs, spices, oak, and a touch of alcohol. Any fruit that appears on the palate is dried in nature.

2008 Pinot Noir Floodgate Block 15 Vineyard: $48/-/$40
The nose is predominantly subtle fruit with mild hints of oak. The finish is layered, with a slight sweetness that lightly tickles the sides of your tongue. The palate kicks ass! The oak and red currant carry the raspberry, and mild quince. The disappointment is that the nose isn’t as enticing as the palate provides.

Thomas George Estate

TRL/Staff/Wine: 9/7/7

Based upon the recommendation of a credible source, we ventured into old stomping grounds (Westside Road) to try a new winery. Thomas George Estate is a relatively new winery that exists in what used to be Davis Bynum's facility. They've dramatically renovated the facility and surroundings and elevated it to a real Westside Road attraction. One of the drawbacks to such a large tasting room/bar is that when staffed w/ three pourers, each may end up serving as many has 6-8 people at a time. The intimacy of the experience is lost and your ability to learn about the wine, the winery, or the winemaker is diminished.

The reds are wines good. They are well-valued, but only somewhat compelling.

2008 Dry Creek Valley Sauvignon Musque:$25/-/$17
Crisp, but lushly tart. The nose has a soft citric, like a sweet pear.

2008 Chardonay, Stuhlmuller Vineyard, Alexander Valley: $32/-/$18
No malolactic conversion. Stainless steel barrels.
Light nose, that’s nearly vacuous. I struggle to discern very light lemon and honey on the nose. The palate follows, but this is a chardonnay that has no body, and flavor so subtle that it would never survive a chardonnay blind tasting.

2008 Russian River Valley Chardonnay: $32/-/$18
100% French oak (1/3rd new oak). Another light chardonnay, where the oak is the dominant flavor and even that was hard to discern. The finish runs long, but it’s just more oak.

2007 Allen Vineyard Russian River Valley Pinot Noir : $48/-/$46Slightly floral bouquet, with strawberry on the nose. It lacks a little intensity that might be improved by a better glass. The palate, however, is all Pinot! There’s complex palate to it that includes dark cherry, plum, with some slight boysenberry notes. Almost medium-bodied and very good mouthfeel.

2008 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir:$38/-/$38
Red currant and cherry on the nose. Very stereotypical Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. Silky tannins finish the wine well. A slight sweetness flushes over the palate as the strawberry –rhubarb does its thing. Medium bodied… drink with friends at your happy hour.

2007 Zinfandel, Tre Torrente Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley:$34/-/$35The blackberry and raspberry on the nose, knocks you in the head. Luscious doesn’t begin to describe it. This smells like it might be a fruit-bomb, but the nose isn’t jammy. It surprises me with some un-hinted spice and alcohol on the palate. It might be the oak…

Sheldon Wines

TRL/Staff/Wine: 8/10/10

With this winery, you could examine their approach to wine and reach a couple of conclusions: 1) they really prefer to follow old, traditional techniques of making wine; 2) they're really trying to make a successful business of it, on the cheap; 3) their approach is a little bit of both. For starters, all of their wines are unfiltered, unfined. They are bottled via gravity feed, which puts them in a very exclusive club among California vintners. They hand-label their bottles. While they don't grow their own grapes, they follow a business model that is close to Siduri's, which is to tend to the vineyards from which they are buying their fruit. Since it's only the two of them (Dylan & Tobe) and some remote family members, their product offering is both small, yet impressively large. Case production would never likely hit more than 400 for a wine, but what they do make is strong, marketable product with broad appeal and a great quality-price ratio.

The tasting room is quite cute, constructed in a train caboose that comfortably holds 6-8, but is rated for 11. If you're going to give them a try, you'll want to look for the Gravenstein Station near the Sebastopol Inn for the next few weeks. They are in the process of moving it all to a new wine "ghetto" in Santa Rosa (on or about August 1st).

When it comes to tasting room staff, I don't know how it gets any better than to honored to be served by the winemaker/owner. Tobe, a very charming woman, was full of information about the wine, her winery, and other tidbits that really enhanced the experience. This was one of those quintessential, intimate Sonoma County wine tasting experiences that everyone should have.

2006 Sleep Hollow Chardonnay: $30/$25/$32Only wine of its own rootstock. Not cloned. Santa Lucia Highlands of origin. Nice honey on the nose and palate. Will be really nice when served at the right temp.

2006 Kendric Vineyard Pinot Noir:$45/$38/$35
On Marin/Sonoma County line. Clones115/667/Pommard. Huge strawberry and blueberry on the nose, with a little bit of spice on the back end. Lisa says “mmmm, Strawberry Rhubarb pie”, which indicates the strange small spice on the nose. The palate is much smoother and more subtle than expected. Not sure if it’s not yet developed, or if it will never be, but it’s a nice light little pinot which would not stand up to any food. Drink alone.

2007 Roma Vineyard Pinot Noir. $50/$42.5/$50What a fantastic, complex nose, uncharacteristic of a Pinot Noir. Not that Pinots have simple bouquets, but that this one made us both ask "This is a Pinot?". Single barrel - 24 cases. Not fully integrated yet, but this will be a stellar wine, in time. Full-body on the palate with a slight earthiness on the finish. Low acidity, but very well structured. Get your grubby hands on these while you can!

2006 Santa Ynez Valley Grenache: $25/$21/$30Wild strawberry, with a layer of black fruit over it (might be black currant). This is a really nice Grenache, with a good flavor, medium body, and slight earthiness. I am rarely enthused about Grenaches, but this one had me by the nose.

2005 Vinolocity 18% Syrah, and the rest Grenache:$30/$23/$30
Mild, light strawberry nose, with much more alcohol on the palate. Great full body to match the huge strawberry and zin-like white peppery nose.

2006 Ripken Petite Sirah: $32/$27/$32Lodi AVA. 19 feet below sea level. Long hang time. It's the first to bud and the last to be harvested (Halloween). See what I mean about winemaker tidbits?
Just a little bit of anise on the nose and palate, but other than that this is just a prime example of a petite sirah on the nose, The palate lost a little of the earth/spice I’d expected, but I believe that was due to the tasting glass. This needs a vinum extreme syrah glass for the slightly larger bowl. Easy to drink as is.-Lisa
Robust earth and spice on the palate! I think this will absolutely pair well with a peppery steak, but it’s not so overpowering as you’d expect from a petite sirah. It can be consumed alone, as well. This is one of the best petite sirah for the price I’ve ever had.

Merry Edwards

TRL/Staff/Wine: 7/8/7

The winery is attractive enough, nestled in a little valley off the Gravenstein Highway, in Sebastopol. The tasting room is connected to the offices, but is clearly designated. There are two rooms, one includes a larger table for large groups and the full complement of glasses. This is likely for appointments with large groups. For smaller groups, 2-4 people, you stand at a dining room table where they have laid out the winemaker’s notes. It’s not conducive to taking copious notes, whatsoever. Neither is the pace at which the pourer presents the wines and the information about them. It’s fast paced and we were in and out (having tasted four wines) in twenty minutes. The pourer was knowledgeable, but not engaging. She might have been if we had engaged her.
I was unhappy with the fact that they poured the Sauvignon Blanc after three Pinot Noirs and into a Pinot Noir glass, to boot. It was served at a good temperature, but I believe the glass didn’t do it justice.

2007 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley: $36/-/$30
Great nose, w/ balanced fruit (cranberry, cherry) and herbs (dried).
Palate wasn’t as full as the nose.

2007 Meredith Estate Pinot Noir : $54/-/$40
Much more herbal nose, with a modest degree of spice on the palate. The fruit was a bit subdued, but over time would find it’s way out of the shelter of the spices.

2007 Klopp Ranch Pinot Noir:$57/-/$50
Chewy blueberry, blackberry notes on the nose, but fully integrated with smoky notes. This wine was deeply complex on the palate and was as good as the nose implied.

2009 Sauvignon Blanc:$30/-/$12
Amazing nose! Plush nose, full of stone fruits, peach, pineapple, and lemon. The palate was disappointing with a watery mouthfeel, and an embarrassing lack of acidity. I would imagine that this wine would have tasted much better if it had been served in a more appropriate glass (not a Vinum Extreme Burgundy glass).