Robert Young

This was at least our third barrel tasting at Robert Young. As you'll note in the prefacing blog, it was at the end of the day, so note-taking was virtually non-existent. My recollection of this winery is that they were, uncharacteristically, tasting some young wines. Usually, they wouldn't taste a wine so young as a year old, but we were seeing it.

Now, understand that Robert Young (Alexander Valley) is probably the best bordeaux blend winemaker in Sonoma County. Their Scion rivals any other in the valley (including Marlstone from Clos du Bois) and their Red Winery Road is a wonderfully fruit forward, complex red wine that can real versatility. This year, though, a couple of the wines weren't tasting well. I might argue that they went overboard with the cheese pairing and did the wines a disservice. Nonetheless, we absconded with three bottles of one of their best vintages (2003). It was no simple task, either; it took more than my charms to ply the wine from their library stores. Lo, I owe our booty to the wiles of my blond, busty, beautiful companion and the feminine charm that oozes from her pores. To her I say, Cheers!

Mauritson

Of all the zinfandel producers in Dry Creek Valley, Mauritson has some of the best balanced. I've never been able to put my finger on why I haven't joined the club here, because I do enjoy their wines. Their Rockpile Winery label has taken off since the early vintages, which were merely vineyard designated wines under the Mauritson label.

As I've said, I do enjoy their wines, but for some reason I've not found them altogether compelling. You know, as strange as it may sound, sometimes it's just a vibe. The tasting room is nice enough, the staff is perfectly pleasant and engaging, and the wines are priced fairly. I just can't figure it. Well, the nice thing about a mystery such as this is that empirical data collection is quite rewarding!

Siduri

TRL/Staff/Wine: 6/10/10

For new people, walking into the warehouse where Siduri makes their wines and seeing a dozen people at a dozen tables ready to to pour 2-3 wines might be quite intimidating. We've been at it for so long, and have tasted at Siduri so many times, we're often a tad crestfallen when they're only tasting 7-8 wines (see October 2007). For you rookies, hold on to your glass...this will be a long and bumpy ride.

Note that Siduri doesn't have a wine club (they don't need one), so the second-of-three prices will be the "event" price, discounted for barrel tasting, for select wines.

2008 Russian River Valley Viognier: 22/17/-

2008 Chardonnay Rosellas Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands: 24/19.5/20
Lemon is the predominant note, with a little toast. No real buttery feel. Easy to drink.

2008 Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir: 30/33
East to drink; nice nose. Simple fruit.

2008 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir: 30/40
Smoky and well-balanced. More complex.

2007 Sonatera Pinot Noir: 29/44Multi-layered. Great spice/fruit balance!!

2007 Keefer Ranch Vineyard Pinot Noir: 50/29/39
Makes me think of rain. No real spice but rounded; needs to settle down. Open for 4-5 hours prior to serving.

2007 Rosella’s Vineyard Pinot Noir: 50/34/34
Sharp nose, but so smooth all the way down. Very nice. Green nose, but unmatched palate.

2007 Clos Pepe Vineyard Pinot Noir: 50/29/38
Soft palate, good nose but doesn’t draw you in.

2008 Gary’s Vineyard Pinot Noir: 50/38
Mild-to-bland palate/nose. The finish had merit.

2008 Cargasacchi Vineyard: 50/39/43
Spicy/smoky nose with bright fruit on the palate.

2008 Pisoni Vineyard Pinot Noir: 55/39
Bright fruit; very accessible. Full mouthfeel, fruity, but too expensive.

2006 Stolpman Vineyard Nebbiolo: 19.50/29
Strawberry!

2009 Lewis Vineyard Pinot Noir (Futures): 39/-
Developing fast for something harvested 6 months ago. Has good fruit potential but little hints of spice/smoke. Still a little effervescent (for which I would usually cry foul) and tangy, but you can feel/taste the fullness of the fruit. A bit smoky.

2009 Sierra Mar Vineyard Clone 943 Pinot Noir (Futures): 45/-
Bright fruit on the nose. Palate falls short; needs more time in the barrel to develop. Has some potential.

2008 Simpson Vineyard Grenache (Futures)
Driest Grenache I’ve ever tasted. Makes your cheeks pucker.

2008 Carlisle Vineyard Zinfandel (Futures)
No notes, but worthy of splitting a half-case.

2006 Page Nord Syrah
Lackluster

2006 Sapphire Hill Vineyard Syrah
Great fruity nose, but the palate bombs.

2006 Judge Family Vineyard Syrah
Great, full nose with strong notes of truffle. The acidity on the palate hides the fruit, however.

2007 Christiansen Vineyard Syrah: 19.5/25-36 (opinions differ)
Nice fruit, uncharacteristic of a syrah. Not earthiness, but some spice.

2007 Santa Lucia Highlands Syrah: 27/32
Nice, accessible fruit with mild tannins. Late spice on the finish. The nose really is appealing.

2007 Rosella’s Vineyard Syrah, Santa Lucia Highlands: 33/33
Meaty nose; classical earthy syrah. Fruit is not as accessible as other syrahs, but good, nonetheless.

2007 Gary’s Vineyard Syrah: 33/30
A “light” version of Rosella’s Vineyard syrah. Consistently lighter, smoother, and less bold.

2006 Pinot deals
Oddly labeled, I know, but the long and short of this is that one of Siduri’s distributors returned a batch of their 2006 vintage pinot noirs. Nearly all of them were well priced at $40/bottle; these were selling for $15/bottle! The most notable pinots included the 2006 Sonatera Vineyard and the 2006 Amber Ridge Vineyard.

2009 Hirsch Pinot Noir
Great nose! Good smoky flavor. Keep an eye out for this – it’s going to be great!

So this is the point of the story where I get to brag a little and substantiate why I keep returning to Siduri. Lisa and I were poring over our notes in an attempt to build a modest, two-case order when Jody (whom we met the very first time, years ago) recognized us and came up to greet us. After pleasantries were exchanged, Jody finds Adam (co-owner and winemaker) and sends him our way. Naturally, this wasn’t the first time we’ve enjoyed his company and his free reign in the winery. After a brief conversation, he directed us back into the barrel room. Now, we had been taking notes on all of the aforementioned wines, which bored the three friends we’d brought with us to the extent that they had been waiting out by the car for a bit. After conferring with Adam, however, I ran out and passed along the command, “grab your glasses, Adam is taking us into the back.” Two of the three friends knew exactly what this meant (having been with us during previous events) and grabbed their glasses without question and chased after me, dragging the questioning “rookie” behind them. Meanwhile, Adam is setting up in the barrel room to offer us a couple of recent formulations. I must confess, at this point, that the Gewurstraminer that he poured us, while interesting didn’t compel me to take notes. Honestly, I was still a bit wrapped up in the special experience. After another wine, he led us to the purpose of my mission… Behold, as he thiefed from the barrel, I heard the angels sing!

2008 Simpson Vineyard Syrah (5o cases)
WONDERFUL! OMG! Mere weeks from being released, it happens to be my favorite vineyard-designated syrah from Novy (Siduri is Pinot Noir; Novy is the label they use for everything else).
2008 Susan’s Hill Syrah
Big fruit, mild spice. Needs more integration. The spice is awaiting its turn, but it’s still very accessible.

2007 Susan’s Hill Syrah
Well integrated, nice spice, great nose – not as full fruit, but the fruit does show.

2007 Simpson Vineyard Syrah
Smoky, like a pinot, but earthy like a syrah. Smooth – not so fruity.
The 2008’s are going to be the better wines, in my opinion.

2009 Oley (dessert wine)
Muscat nose. So sweet! Caramel, honey, orange, peach. Delicious without making you sleep or stop. So GOOD! Also to be bottled in April. Adam says that this will be the best wine in his library, and I have to agree. On its merits, it is the best of their wines. Fun note about this tasting: Adam thiefed from the stainless steel barrel and then from the oak barrel that he was aging the wine in. It gave you the experience of what the two components were like before he blends and integrates them before bottling. Fascinating!

Unti

TRL/Staff/Wine: 6/9/9

We weren't sure Unti would be tasting this year, as they kind of prefer to stay a little lower-keyed. Fortunately, they were open for business...

2007 Grenache

Full grenache! Good, but the finish is really short.

2007 Zinfandel

Nice spice, but fruit is understated. No acidity to ruin the search for fruit... Just no excuse for the lack of fruit. Oh...wait...yeah, this is what's considered an Italian style zinfandel. Not my taste.

2008 Barbera

Not to be released until May (280 cases), but it'll be worth the return trip. Of all the barberas I've had, I enjoy this one the most.

2005 Benchland Syrah

Smoky nose and full of flavor. Quite honestly, the Unti syrahs are the standard by which I measure most other syrahs.

2005 Syrah Reserve Dry Creek Valley

Fantastic nose with a wonderfully balanced palate. The amazing thing about this syrah was the whole cluster fermentation, which often leaves the syrah tasting a little green; nothing could be further from the truth, here.

Michel Slumberger

The most notable thing about this winery is the layout of the grounds. The main building encircles a long courtyard with fountains. The tasting rooms are small and intimate, with outdoor patios surrounded by sweet-smelling flora. The surroundings belie the character of the wines, which over very delicate and minerally, in the typical style of a French Bordeaux. Moreover, the clownish atmosphere of the staff and the patrons (of which there were scores) may have tainted our following opinions. The quality wines were being tasted in the reserve tasting, but they weren't worth anywhere near the price they were listed at. I won't bother to embarrass them by listing them, here.

This was our second outing to Michel Slumberger; the first was five years before. My impression hasn't changed...

2007 Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah blend

Very tannic. Would not purchase. Has to lay down for 10 years.

2007 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

Notes of blueberry pie, but a confusing cab; still tannic (2 -year lay down)

2006 Dry Creek Valley Pinot Noir

Great nose, but lacked flavor with a flat palate; barely simple.

2006 Dry Creek Valley Merlot "Le Sage"

Very tannic - hid the fruit. Might be good in 3-4 years.

1992 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Dry Creek Valley

Smooth with a good backbone. Tobacco, dried black fruits with a nose reminiscent of a merlot.

1993 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Dry Cree Valley

More dried fruit with good tannic balance; so integrated that it's hard to distinguish fruits.

1996 Reserve Cab Dry Creek Valley

No nose, but nice palate. A little stringent and green; won't likely improve to strong fruit. Very minerally.

2000 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Dry Creek Valley

Balanced and accessible.

Tres Hermanas

TRL/Staff/Wine: 7/7/6

The wines are serving cold on the nose.

2007 Barbera: $24/$19/$27
Nice nose, fruit forward. Velvet palate and finish. Pleasant – not over the top like most Barberas. Fruit is less accessible on the palate.

2007 Syrah
Spice on the nose is strong w/ earthy, almost truffle aroma (white pepper).

2006 Syrah: $25/$20/$31
Nose is plush. Red cherry, fig, raspberry palate follows. Hints of liquid smoke.

2005 Syrah: $25/$20/$33
More smoke on nose, fruit is brighter fig and cherry. Palate doesn’t follow. Finish needs structure.

2005 Syrah/Sangiovese (70/30): $30/$24/$-
Nice blend – makes me think of an Italian wine, but has more fruit than earth. Very peppery on the palate. The nose has a bright fruit that doesn’t appear as prominently on the palate. The nose is sangio; the palate is syrah.

2007 Refosco: $38/$30/$22
Italian varietal grown in Paso Robles. Nice fruit, full. No structure; the fruit doesn’t follow. It’s a good social wine and a good blending wine.

Fess Parker

TRL/Staff/Wine: 10/?/?

The tasting room bars have accommodations for two dozen people. There were four dozen when we stopped in. Edging into the room, to try to reach the bar wasn’t an option. The TRL is a 10, but we’ll have to find out about the wine another day.