Fritz

We started our odyssey at Fritz on Friday, this year, but was surprised to see that the tasting was from bottled samples, through no fault of the winery, however. The Wine Road event organizers bungled and ignored Fritz's communiques that they wouldn't be participating on Friday's. Being the professionals that they are, Fritz accommodated those who were signed up to start there, anyway, and poured from barrel samples that had been bottled (as a contingency).

Now, on to the wine!

This is really a place where you need to inquire/coax/cajole/seduce your way into their reserve offerings. As much as I have enjoyed their estate grown wines over the years, their reserve wines are...well...reserve quality.

2010 Vino Valpredo Bianca Mia $14/$11/$12
Chardonnay/Sau Blanc Blend: bright melon on the nose. Light-bodied palate, with mild, crisp lemon and cumquat. If you don’t care for Sau Blanc, but would like a light, crisp, palate-cleanser, then this is a good buy.

2009 Vino Valpredo Squeezebox Red $20/$16/$17Zinfandel/Syrah/Cabernet Sauvignon Blend: The nose is very enticing with delicious, sexy flavors. The palate is light-bodied, implying a mild summer blend. I would positively LOVE this wine if it had just a bit more body...but then again, I'm partial to full bodies (wink).

2008 Estate Zinfandel $25/$20/$20The nose on this has changed ethnicity; this wine has historically been full of anise on the nose, but this has a new breed in it. The anise is gone and in its place is black currant, rhubarb pie, and brambles…yes, brambles. As it rolls over the palate, this zin demonstrates an identity crisis. Light-to-medium bodied, typical of their wines, but this is a zin wanting to be a syrah… which explains the nose. Don’t mistake me, it’s a nice zin, but you should definitely set the appropriate expectations for yourself.
“I don’t know…I’m too confused.”-Lisa

2007 Dry Creek Valley Syrah $30/$24/-You can get a sense of the body on the nose, but the flavors are muted. It could be that it simply needs to warm up, a bit.

“Ahhh! There it is!”-Lisa

The tannins on the edge of the nose find their way into the open on the palate. The nose of modest earth, dark, slightly bitter fruits, greets you more assertively on the palate. As syrahs go, it’s not bad and you’d find it quite suitable for a relaxing day alone, but if you’re looking for a syrah to plant your petunias in, this isn’t it.

2010 Estate Malbec (futures) $40/$28/-Fully engaging nose with a bit of tobacco, wood, then it settles down quickly and loses that nose leaving just the earthy skin. The mouth feels more fruit than the nose did, but I struggle to name them. -Lisa

This one is still young and woody for me, hiding the fruit inside. I’d be curious to see what it’s like in a couple of years, but not curious enough to buy it on futures. As a club member, I’ll get a bottle in June. If you're not a club member, sign up. If you're not going to sign up, get a half case of futures and lay it down for a year or two.

2011 Reserve Zinfandel (futures) $50/$32.5/$24Aha! Now this is the Fritz zin, I know! The nose has the appeal of old, with bright fruits and a splash of red currant. The woodines on the palate leaves me with “holy oak, batman”, but it gives me the sense that it’ll mature w/ time. The palate does follow with appropriate hints of red currant, a watered-down plum and very mild pepper. This’ll be another club bottle, and I have no qualms about waiting for that.

So, this is one of the things I love about Fritz... After sampling their wines for the day, Brad Longton (the winemaker) passed through the tasting room, recognized us, and took time to stop and chat about his wines. (My best attempt at name-dropping...) In the course of our conversation, Lisa solicited his personal recommendations, that we might use to augment our purchase. The following is the fruits of her efforts (that pun was for you, honey).

2010 Jenner $25/$18/ $29

This has a lot more cherry, and frankly, alcohol on the palate. The nose is a clean, crisp pinot with all the right red fruits, and I’m drinking it cold. As this warms up, the rich spices begin to show on the nose and palate. This is a fantastic pinot that is completely drink now! -Lisa

The more it warms up, the more the body and fruit reveals itself. So smooth and delicious, this is an everyday pinot with a green closure that means “GO”!

2009 Lost Canyon Pinot Noir Morelli Lane Vineyard $45/$34 /$39The mouth feel on this wine is perfect! This is how all wines (at least all pinot’s) should feel. The nose is all about green leaves (winemaker says tea). The palate is a little puzzle, because the nose says green, but the palate says red dark current…just light. -Lisa

Slightly herbaceous and slightly sweet flower on the nose. I agree with green tea aroma suggestion. The mouth feel is soft and cleansing. I prefer a less acidic pinot, but this has a place on every table.

2009 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel Reserve $50/$40/$44Smelled a wonderful rich, dark strawberry and deep red fruit with full earth and body. I have no idea how to aptly describe this zinfandel when it is such a full fruit palate without loss of body. Wonderful. -Lisa

Blackcurrant (but no anise) dominates the flavors on the palate in such an appealing way that you don’t want to set down the glass to eat anything! (or take notes!) The nose sucks you in with the complex blend of dark black fruits. The body is heavier than any zin they’ve produced in recent memory and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!

Fritz

Predictably, our first stop of the year was at Fritz. It was the Friday of the second weekend and my wires were crossed...they weren't tasting from the barrel that day, "but if I came back tomorrow..."

I was characteristically noncommittal because I knew that, as a club member, I'd have my chance at a good deal on their new wines. (Not as good as the futures price, but you win some and you lose some...)

We had to stop, if for no other reason, to pick up our futures from last year. It had been a good selection last year, with a purchase of a half case of each of their offerings. Unfortunately, they chose to barrel age the Zinfandel just a little longer. No worries, though, the Cab was good to go without a word to say! Ahhh, but if that were the end of the story, there'd be little reason to go on, now would there!

2009 Sauvignon Blanc
I've been a big fan of these Sau Blancs over the years and this one doesn't disappoint as much as it surprises. It has intense flavor on the nose, fully integrated, indistinguishable, but undiluted. Having said that, the huge acidity over the palate almost took me aback. As Sau Blancs go, I prefer a creamier mouthfeel, but I'm not averse to a crisp finish. This one, however, was so crisp it could have shaved your tongue off! All kidding aside, the shortcoming of this wine is that the acidity completely masks the flavors on the nose. If you buy this wine, lay it down for a while and if you do serve it, pair it with some oily/buttery fish or chicken.

2009 Jenner Chardonnay Sonoma Coast
So, Jenner is a new label of Fritz's and I was curious how it would stand up to their estate chardonnays. This wine lures you in with hints of lime on the nose... and then it EATS YOUR FACE with explosive tartness (lemon lime) on the palate! I can't remember anything like this in recent memory. If you really enjoy Italian Pinot Gris, then this will be your chalice of choice. For half the price, though, buy a Pinot Gris.

2009 Russian River Valley Chardonnay
Now, on to their estate grown chardonnay... This wine had mild citrus on the nose, and with trepidation, I sipped it anyway (still re-arranging my face from the last wine). The palate followed with more intensity than the nose, but not so much that it frightened you off Chards for good. It was fresh and crisp; it's a nice wine, but not what I want in a chardonnay, these days (I miss the buttery chards of old). I wouldn't tell you to not buy this wine; it certainly satisfies a demographic.

2009 Jenner Pinot Noir: $25/$20/$28Back to Jenner, the new label... This wine has a mild red fruit on the nose, with slight hints of herbs. It was a very appealing nose, if I'm honest. The fruit and herbs are spicy on the palate with quite a bit of acidity. It could settle (be laid down) for another year.
Lisa's notes: Huge herbs (say that three times real fast), but does not overpower the fruits on the nose. The palate is easy and drink now, but will improve in the next year. My guiltless price is $38.

2008 Lost Canyon Pinot Noir Saralee’s VineyardThis wine has rich, red fruits on the nose. A dried red fruit flavor appears on the palate with modest spice and acidity. We still have a few bottles of this from our futures purchase last year. It’s showing better here than when I served it with salmon last weekend. What did I do wrong? Well, for one, I served it with salmon. You really want something biased toward herbaceous than fruit when pairing with salmon.

2007 Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley: $25/$20/$22This was mild and muted on the nose. It’s light-bodied with spicy, fruit flavors.

2008 Zinfandel Dry Creek ValleyMedium-to-light-bodied Zin with much more flavor. More than modest amount of anise, red currant, and a flavor I can’t identify. If you subscribe to the "wine has an ethnicity" philosophy, then this one has the Nose of Dry Creek Valley (much like the Italian noses of New Jersey).

2008 VinoValpredo Squeezebox Red: $20/$16/$3050% Zinfandel/35% Cabernet Sauvignon/15% Syrah
This wine exudes a lightly flowery nose with hints of a dark red fruit. It's medium-bodied with subtle tannins from the cabernet. A splash of petite sirah would really liven it up. It's a perfectly enjoyable wine that I classify as an over-achiever at its market price.

2007 Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: $35/$28/$35What a full-bodied cab, with great flavor! The mild anise confuses the tannins a little, but that's the ethnicity of a Dry Creek Valley wine, even the cabs.
Lisa's Notes: I'm not sure this will mature to anything more complex or full. The last of the glass demonstrated a little light for a cab, but it is a great drink now for an inexpensive cabernet that would nicely complement a regular sirloin (no real spice). This could not stand up to a spicy or well smoked steak.

2007 Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve: $50/$40/$45This is what I call my "big dog" of Fritz's cabs. It's an extremely smooth, very drinkable Cab with lots of big red fruits. It has very little tannins, or acidity so it won’t hold up to much red meat, but for a cab out of northern California at this price, it's a good deal.

Fritz

As I've likely mentioned in the past, Fritz is a regular stop when we're in Sonoma County. In earnest, we really like the wines here, the people are very personable, and the value of the wines are just right (not too cheap, not too expensive). When you return to a place year after year (albeit once or twice in that span) and the winemaker and tasting room staff recognizes you, why wouldn't you make a point to return every time? Of course, it's a lot easier to plan the stop when you have to pick up the futures from the year before (Lost Canyon Pinot, this year).

2009 Estate Reserve Zinfandel (Futures) : $192/$186/-

Very green but rich in color, texture. I'm almost always up for a half-case of Fritz Zinfandels (as evidenced by the verticals in my cellar), but it was hard to make the leap past the youth of this wine in the barrel. We're talking about 6 months in the barrel... I have faith that they'll produce a good wine. (half case purchased)

2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Grown (Futures): $240/$210

Blended with 6% Malbec. Good tannins; medium bodied with notes of black currant and a tart prune (as if there was such a thing). (half case purchased)

2007 Lost Canyon Pinot Noir Russian River Valley Saralee's Vineyard

You'll want to let this sit in the glass a bit, but opens to a nice fruit (subtle) and a lot of spice.

2007 Vino Valpredo Squeezebox Red

After everything we'd just had, this had a nice nose, but a bland palate.

2006 Estate Zinfandel

Truffles on the nose (unusual for their zinfandel) like you'd find on a petite verdot with just a touch of anise (very characteristic).

2007 Estate Reserve Zinfandel : $37/$30/-

Good zinfandel. It's nice to see them building distinctions in their offerings (adding Reserves for the more discriminating tastes/wallets). (half case)

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon: $35/$28/$30

Light to medium bodied. Bland palate.

2007 Late Harvest Zinfandel: $35/$28/$22

Good flavor with a rich body and strong fruit. The only aggravation I have with dessert wines is that, over the last five years, their price points have climbed faster than other wines. That's not an indictment on this wine, but just late harvest/port wines, in general.

2006 Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

Weak, nice nose, but not all there. I suspect that tasting this after the late harvest zinfandel didn't do it justice. This is usually one of my favored cabs in Sonoma County.

Fritz

A trip to Northern California wine country would be empty without a stop at Fritz. We rarely, if ever, leave without any wine, and this stop was no different (6 bottles, as I recall).

2006 Sauvignon Blanc Estate (Dry Creek Valley): $20/$18/$25
There’s something about their Sau Blanc that enthuses us every time. It’s my second favorite sau blanc, but the one I buy more than all others combined.

2006 Rose’:$16/$14/-

2006 Ruxton Chardonnay:$35/$32/$35
If I'm going to pay $30+ for a Chardonnay, it's going to be from Ruxton Vineyards. The balance of fruit is complemented by the modestly creamy mouthfeel, perfect at this price.

2005 Reserve Chardonnay (Russian River Valley): $45/$40/$30

2005 Barrel Select Zinfandel: $40/$36/-

Normally a favorite, this wasn't tasting well at the time.

2005 Dry Creek Valley Syrah:$28/$25/-

2004 Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: $35/$31/-

2005 Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Reserve: $50/-/$50

Opinions vary on this Cab, but I firmly believe it has the structure and quality to be a wonderful cab in a few years.

Barrel Tasting

Where it all began… Well, that’s not entirely accurate. We had been wine enthusiasts to some degree for quite a few years. I can still remember the first wine that thrilled me. I was in college, poor, and thought that the $18 I spent on a 1990 Cuvaison Napa Valley Merlot was extravagant. When I opened the bottle and let it wash over my palate, though, all I could think was “Wow! I never knew…”

My first taste of a quality wine impressed me with the three distinct flavors that enlightened my palate. This was the beginning of my quest for complex wines, and for that Cuvaison will always have a special place in my heart. Before this trip in March, I can honestly say that I can name each wine that had left a favorable impression on me since my first love ten years prior. (All under $20, by the way)

1990 Cuvaison Napa Valley Merlot
1997 St. Francis Old Vines Zinfandel
1999 Hess Collection Cabernet Sauvignon

My honest impression was that red wine was synonymous with complexity; an impression that held with me for quite a few years. It shouldn’t be a surprise, then, that the preponderance of wines we returned with were Cabernet Sauvignons. Bear with me, there’s a perpetual evolution to this and I’m still youthful.
While I’m at it, cut me a little slack on my note-taking skills at this point. Discipline was never a strong suit of mine.

A quick summary of Barrel Tasting 2006 included 23 wineries in 3 days (not bad for rookies) and about 8 cases of wine on the trip home. Here’s what I could find of my notes…
I have a fairly good memory, even when I don’t take notes, so I’ll do my best to recall the wineries of that trip (with broad brushes).

1. Russian Hill Estate Winery
2. Harvest Moon
3. Martinelli
4. Fritz
5. Clos du Bois
6. Canyon Road
7. Geyser Peak
8. Rodney Strong
9. J Vineyard
10. Kendall Jackson
11. Christopher Creek – Purchased Futures, joined the club.
12. Bella
13. Michel Slumberge
14. David Caffaro – Purchased Futures. 17 barrels to taste from
15. Nalle
16. Wilson – Their 2005 Syrah was still effervescent from the yeast. Bad protocol.
17. Passalacqua
18. Simi
19. Stonestreet
20. Kendall Jackson

So, I’m missing a few…shoot me.

Russian Hill Estate Winery
I’ll start by confessing that this was our first stop on our first day and we were quickly enamored by the wines, but trying to curb our enthusiasm, we refrained from purchasing futures here. It was a decision we regretted and have since made up for in spades.

2003 Gail Ann’s Vineyard Chardonnay: $28
No oak flavor, sweet, slightly tangy, light

2004 Tara Vineyard Pinot Noir: $210/6 pack (futures)
Smooth, light to medium cherry, with a good, full bouquet

The Top Block Syrah is good. Not worthy of getting a 6 pack @$150 but a couple of bottles if we can find it. (A decision we later regretted)

Harvest Moon
2003 Russian River Valley Zinfandel: $20
Smooth flavors; gentle zin, worthy of a half-case

Martinelli
2004 Guiseppi & Luisa Russian River Valley Zinfandel: $42
Smooth, vanilla or some sweet undertones; creamy
Aromas of coffee & cinnamon undertones but very alive w/ fruit

2005 Guiseppi & Luisa Russian River Valley Zinfandel
Not futures purchase; good for a couple of bottles

2005 Bondi Home Ranch Pinot Noir
Good flavor; balanced. Good for a couple of bottles.

Geyser Peak
2004 Walking Stick Cabernet: $47

Canyon Road
2004 Zapponi (Zin, Carignane, Alicante Boucher): $25

Clos du Bois
2004 North Coast Sauvignon: $15
Crisp, lemon, fresh. Great Sau Blanc, available at grocery store.

2004 Alexander Valley Petit Sirah: $25-$30 (they hadn’t decided, yet)
Note to self: Call to order case when wine is available.

Fritz
This was the beginning of an annual May-December romance with this winery. By that I mean, we return every year, and almost consistently purchase futures, in spite of the fact that this isn’t the “top-end” winery in the valley. They have a demographic (price point) and they do extremely well in it.

2005 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel (Futures purchased)
This wine has a very unique character that I can discern blindly every time it’s opened. I recall a “zinful night” with friends where we consumed 9 bottles. This was number 7 and I recognized it immediately as soon as my nose hit the rim of my glass. There’s a blackberry and anise aroma and flavor that is unique to Fritz.