We 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 October 19 2002:

01 Marquis-Philips Merlot—Balsa wood nose. Light black fruit, heavy oak. Pass. 82

01 Marquis-Philips Cabernet Sauvignon—Pretty dark. Slight eucalyptus bouquet. Lush fruit, good density. Tarry, wood extract finish. 85

01 Marquis-Philips Sarah’s Blend—Better aromatics than previous wines. Some shiraz fruit, vanilla. OK fruit, but heavy oak. Bitter, tarry finish. 85

01 Marquis-Philips Shiraz—Not much bouquet. Very good flavor, rich, tannic. Almost enough fruit to handle the oak. Good length, but woody. 87(+?)

99 Henry’s Drive Sparkling Shiraz—Interesting. Dry, parching finish. I just don’t get the genre. N/R

99 Henry’s Drive Cabernet Sauvignon—Sweet cherry, vanilla cola nose. First bottle is off, probably secondary fermentation due to spritziness. Second bottle better. Just slight spritz, good oak integration. Young, acidic. May age well. Mulberry. Oaky finish. 88(+?)

00 Parson’s Flat Shiraz-Cab Blend—Bit closed. Some nice plumy bouquet. Deep, rich, supple, good acid, integrated tannins. Inky, complex. Good finish. 91+

99 Cape d’Estaing Cabernet Sauvignon —Dark. Nice nose, warm scents. Bit austere. Not bad, needs time. 88(+?)

99 Cape d’Estaing Shiraz—Dark. Lovely, stinky Rhonish nose. Bit light textured, highish acidity, supple, black fruit. Very good. 89

99 Cape d’Estaing Admiral’s Reserve Shiraz—Very dark. Rhonish, plumy nose. Lush, rich, velvety. Excellent. Oaky finish, needs 2-3 years. 90(+?)

98 Scarpantoni School Block (Shiraz-Cab-Merlot)—Sulfur problem. N/R

98 Scarpantoni Estate Reserve (Shiraz-Cab)—Dark. Slight Rhonish nose, sulfury. Rich, extracted. Almost like old CA cab. Some stewed tomato. Pretty good. Give it 4-6 years. 88+

98 Lengs & Cooter Riesling—Good acid, Alsace-like. Lemony, lime, clean, crisp. ~88

98 Lengs & Cooter Swinton (Shiraz-Cab)—High acid. Balanced cherry oak, cranberry, complex, long finish. Interesting. 90(?)

98 Lengs & Cooter The Victor (Shiraz-Grenache)—Sweet fruity nose. Slight fecal character, good fruit, medium light weight. Light oak finish. Drink now. 86

98 Lengs & Cooter Lashmar (Shiraz-Cab)—Slight Rhonish nose. Slight orange juice, red cherry flavor. Bit tart finish. 84

01 Paringa Merlot—Musty nose. Harsh, awful. 60

01 Paringa Cabernet—Slight musty, eucalyptus nose. Thin, acidic, cherry. Decent length. Medicinal finish. 78

01 Paringa Shiraz—Minty, menthol nose. Very oaky, medicinal. Tart finish. 77

99 Lillypilly Noble Harvest (botrytis Riesling), 375 ml—Great nose. Very floral, lot of botrytis. Utterly luscious. Thick, rich, silky, nice acid. ~92-93.

Bloody damn pulpit:

By and large, I did not care much for this batch of GP offerings. 

The 2001 Marquis Phillips are not as good as the 2000s I bought last year (shiraz, Sarah’s). In fact, it appears that the marketing department decided that Americans like oak, so they went overboard when the fruit wasn’t up to the prior vintage.

I had a good conversation with Alan Byers of Cape d’Estaing (Kangaroo Island). Surprisingly, he had never heard of Hospice du Rhone. He’d be a good fit. Hopefully, Mat and John can rectify the situation in the future. Apparently, he was not too thrilled with the 99 vintage (characterized as light), but has higher regard for the 2000s. The 99s are overpriced for what they deliver. The Magnum price is a crime. Bob Wesley ought to severely discount it just to make way for the next vintage and not disappoint any of his regular customers with a lesser vintage at such a price. I look forward to trying the 2000s when they arrive, as these are well-made wines. 

Colin Cooter represented his winery. He must have been in a foul mood, coming across as abrasive. His wines faired better. The screw top riesling is the only one I’d be interested in trying again, assuming the price was in the low teens.

David Hickinbotham represented Paringa. I did not talk to him. The wines were so awful there was no point in embarrassing him. The 2000 shiraz was, at least, drinkable.