We are happy that Bernard, who has sampled so many wines, has shared his notes with us. We do have, or have had for sale a few of the wines Bernard writes about, and we include a link to our stock page whenever it is a producer we carry (but since the stock page is kept up-to-date and the wines are sold, don't expect any but the newest of wines to show up in our stock!). Mostly though, since we specialize in County of Santa Barbara Wine and Central Coast Wine, we don't carry a lot of the wines Bernard writes about. But we think it is important that you be able to have an idea what they're like in case you are planning to buy some somewhere, or have them in your own collection. Enjoy.

Here are Bernard's notes from December 1, 1998:

94 Landmark Chardonnay (Damaris)--Darkening to medium gold in color. Very forward nose, bit leesy and grassy. Palate is medium density. Flavors are dominated by oakiness, orange and peach with some minerality. Could use bit brighter acidity. Probably on the decline as oak is too pronounced.  I'd rate it 90-.

93 Chateau Fuisse Pouilly-Fuisse Vielles Vignes--Light straw color. Lovely mineral nose, hay, matchheads. Good viscosity, fine attack. Structured with fine acidity. Very long finish of minerals, flint, bitter lime zest. 91 This wine was being moved by the distributor for an insane price. Normally price above $30, I got it for $10. Damned good wine!

93 Santa Barbara Winery Late Harvest Zin--Nose of huckelberry jam. Creamy smooth, sweet blackberry, cassis. Luscious. Finish is impeccably balanced.  94 points.

The following wines were tasted at an "Anything But Chardonnay" tasting arranged by Bob Senn. Everyone else tasted double blind. I organized the wines into a sensible order, so knew what was poured. In order:

96 Foris Pinot Blanc--Good flinty minerality. Dry, long, bitter grapefruit finish. Very good value for about $10. 88 points.

96 Treana Family Viognier/Marsanne (Central Coast)--Woody nose. Petrol, rubber. Rich texture, minerals, stones. Very long. Butterscotch. 90

96 Doug Coleman Muscat (Home Winemaker)--Alsacien nose. Deep minerality, good acidity, structured. Bit simple flavor profile. I thought it was riesling (no label, one of 2 wines I didn't know ahead of time). 86

96 Tablas Hills Viognier/Roussanne--Slight woody nose. Dry, fruity, woody.  Finishes fine, long. 87

92 Arrowood Viognier "Saralee' Vyd"--Bit closed bouquet. Floral, stoney.  Perky fruit. Balanced. Limey acidity. Long finish. 91

97 Alban Viognier Edna Valley--Coconut, butterscotch nose. Almost GW-like aromas. Rich, barrel aged, butterscotch, woody flavors. Lots of flavor, but lacking delicacy. Long finish. 89

96 Foley Sauvignon Blanc (Santa Barbara County)--Hay, grassy nose. Good buttery flavor, good acidity, balance with fine complexity. 89

94 Cloudy Bay SB (NZ)--Melon, floral nose. Bell pepper. Perky acidity.  Gooseberry. A bit disjointed, maybe showing its age. 88

96 Bonny Doon Roussanne--Flinty, herbal nose. Perky, spritzy acidity.  Grapefruit. Sweet fruit in mid-palate. Long finish with bitter end. 90

97 Whitcraft Chardonnay (ringer in unlabeled bottle)--Close nose. Tastes like roussanne. Great flavors of minerals, flint, citrus zest. Perfect balance. Very long. (I thought this to be Alban Roussanne.) 94

96 Wildhorse Malvasia Bianca--Very exuberent nose. Spice, vanilla bouquet.  Very spicy, mandarin, cinnamon. Great acidity. Long. 88

92 Delesvaux Coteau du Layon "Clos du Papillon"--Waxy, adhesive tape nose.  Toasty, smoky, burned rubber. Slightly sweet. Defective wine. No rating.

 A minor sermon from the bloody pulpit:

1. The 94 Landmark Damaris had been rated pretty highly by the various gurus. I was disappointed by the overly oaked wine. Probably just a stylistic thing, but it just didn't click with me.
2. No one does better LH Zin dessert wine than Bruce McGwire at Santa Barbara Winery. The 91 vintage was phenomenal and, sadly, in very short supply (I drank my only half bottle soon after release). The 93 could have used a touch more acidity. I think there is a 95 vintage. It is only produced in years that the weather cooperates to permit extended hangtime withoout rot.
3. The whites were a pretty mixed bag. A few surprises. The Foley SB was the real winner in my mind. They are a new winery in the Santa Ynez Valley and I'd never had their wines before. I took home the reamining third of a bottle and drank it gradually over the next week. It hung together real nicely over that time, showing crisp acidity, fine grassy complexity, and long complex finish. Not a bad showing for young vine wine.
4. Trean Family (who are they???) Rhone blend was really superb.
5. Arrowood Viognier was not liked much by most of the tasters, but it is the closest I've found to a Condrieu-style viognier among the US producers I've tried. Perhaps the age gave it a less fruity, more austere focus, but I really liked it. By contrast, most liked the Alban viognier a lot. I thought it was too woody, more chardonnay-like.
6. Whitcraft Chardonnay...hmmm. Pretty yummy, pretty pricey. But like I always warn people, drink your Whitcraft young. His wines have a tendacy to go awry pretty quickly. The 97 has not yet been released. It will be outstanding at release, though a bit atypical of most CA chards. That's a good thing, but only buy enough to consume within the first year.