ALL we sell, with tasting notes for mostSearch our web site by keyword. Includes the Usenet Wine FAQALL we sell, with tasting notes for mostSome of our favorite linksHow to get here from there. Highway condition links.An archive of the Santa Barbara Independent's own GRAPEVINE local wine columnWining, dining, touring, weather and more. The Definitive Guide to Tasting Wine in Santa Barbara County. Complete list of wineriesOur own great Emporium events as well as links to local area wine eventsOur line-up of spirits, definition of word related to spirits, information on producers and more Wines, wine tastings, history, neat info on wineries and winemakers and more The Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium. Experts in County of Santa Barbara Wine and Central Coast Wine
 
 Clickable Image   

The Tom Hill Archives

The Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium presents the musings and reflections of Tom Hill. We think it's great that Tom, who has sampled so many wines, has shared his tasting notes with us. We do have, or have had for sale a few of the wines Tom 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 Tom 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 Tom's notes from August 25, 1997: 

Zinfandel

Tasted some new Zins this week:
 
 
  1. Hidden Cellars Mendocino Heritage Sorcery Mendocino RW (75% Zin, 10% Syrah, 10% PS, 5% Carignane; Alc:15.0%) '95: Dusty tomatoey earthy meaty black- berry classic Mendocino Zin nose; soft lots of Am.oak dusty/meaty/ tomatoey buttery oaked flavor; med.long spicy complex dusty/tomatoey some blackberry Mendocino Zin finish w/ light tannins; a very nicely done  interesting classic Mendocino Zin but a bit on light side; best Hidden Cllrs wine I've ever had. 
  2. La Crema Sonoma Coast Zinfandel (Reserve; 14.2%) '95: Attractive raspberry dusty bit pencilly oaked nose; soft lush raspberry spicy bit dusty/pencilly oaked flavor; long lingering buttery oaked spicy raspberry light dusty finish w/ light tannins; a well-made  interesting medium weight Zin. Pricey at $16.00.
  3. Richardson Sonoma Valley Zinfandel (13%) '95: Dusty rather unclean bretty Italian bit tired/aged light blackberry nose; sour rather unclean/bretty some pickle juice/dill slight oxidized some blackberry/earthy flavor; med.long bretty bit oxidized pickle juice/dill finish. Woof! Rather ineptly made Zin from a usually reliable producer. Overpriced at $12.00.
  4. Villa Mt.Eden Sonoma Valley Zinfandel Grand Reserve MonteRosso Vineyard (15.6%) '95: Very strong fragrant cranberry/raspberry dusty light oaked nose; smooth ripe lush Am.oaked very spicy bright vibrant raspberry/cranberry lush textured flavor; long buttery/Am.oaked very spicy bright raspberry/Zinberry lush vibrant finish w/ light tannins; carries the alcohol well; a really lovely bright Zin in the Nalle style. Good value at $15.00.
  5. Gallo Sonoma Dry CreekValley Zinfandel Chiotti Vineyard (14.4%) '95: Slight funky lush blackberry dusty smokey/pungent nose; soft pungent bit funky blackberry/ earthy slight horsecollar flavor; med.long pungent slight horsecollar/funky some dusty/blackberry finish w/ light tannins; surprisingly unclean for a Gallo but interesting character. Good value at $12.00.
  6. Gary Farell Sonoma County Russian River Valley Zinfandel (TW) '95: Beautiful lush blackberry/ raspberry aromatic pencilly Fr.oaked nose; tart bright vibrant very spicy raspberry/cranberry pencilly oaked deep lush dusty flavor; very long lush  very spicy bright raspberry/cranberry some dusty/old vines finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; best Farell Zin yet; made more like a Zin than Pinot like he's done in the past. Good value at $17.00.
  7. August Briggs Napa Valley Zinfandel (13.5%) '95: Attractive peppery very spicy smokey oaked fragrant raspberry nose; light bit lean hot spicy raspberry bright flavor; long lean bright raspberry fragrant some buttery oaked finish w/ light tannins; a really lovely nose but not a lot of punch on the palate; a pleasant Zin but just that.
  8. Howell Mountain Vineyards Howell Mountain Napa Valley Zinfandel Black-Sears Vineyard (15.5%) '95: Rather stinky pungent cracked black pepper dusty slight H2S/fecal nose; soft very black pepper dusty HM/earthy some blackberry flavor; very long hard licorice cracked black pepper dusty/HM/earthy light blackberry finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; lots of that rustic HM character & actually a rather interesting Zin.
  9. Fife Mendocino Redwood Valley Zinfandel Red Head Vineyard (14.6%) '95: Dusty blackberry/ tomatoey Mendocino Zin some spicy/oaked nose; tart clean spicy bit lean simple raspberry dusty flavor; med.long lean dusty simple raspberry dusty finish w/ light tannins; bit simple & lean but nice Zin.
  10. Wellington Vineyards Sonoma Valley Casa Santinamaria Vineyard Zinfandel (13.0%) '95: Deep dusty smokey funky complex dark blackberry/plummy nose; soft pungent smokey dusty blackberry/plummy complex pencilly/oaked flavor; soft lush ripe complex dusty blackberry/plummy peppery some toasty oaked finish w/ light tannins; this vnyd supposedly has lots of weird stuff (varieties) in it and the complexity/deep character much like Geyserville shows it; very  interesting Zin at a great price.
  11. Renwood Zinfandel Old Vine Amador County (14.7%) '95: Attractive herbal Amador blackberry some pencilly oaked slight wet-dog-fur nose; soft bit herbal dusty/Amador blackberry slight bretty/funky flavor; med.short soft light blackberry some herbal funky dusty finish w/ little tannins; a pleasant simple slightly strange Amador Zin. Too expensive at $17.00.
  12. Renwood Jack Rabbit Flat Zinfandel Amador County Fox Creek Vineyard (15.8%) '95: Deep ripe blackberry Amador briary dusty bit subdued nose; tarter attractive ripe raspberry/blackberry clean spicy bit dusty Amador/briary flavor; long spicy blackberry/raspberry clean very spicy bright finish w/ light tannins; needs yr or two; a bright spicy Zin w/ only light Amador character; much like the early Montevinas Cary Gott made from these grapes.
  13. Renwood Grand Mere Zinfandel Amador County (15.5%) '95: Slight volatile some wet dog furbit oxidized ripe blackberry Amador/Zin briary dusty nose; soft bit oxidized old style Amador Zin funky some blackberry flavor; med.long bit oxidized/tired/wet dog fur light blackberry finish w/ light tannins; a rather funky/old style Amador Zin that goes clunk.
  14. Renwood Grand Pere Zinfandel Amador County (15.7%) '95: Very dark color; intense classic Amador blackberry briary dusty old vines cassis licorice very ripe nose; rich intense blackberry briary Amador dusty old vines lush very spicy flavor; very long lush very spicy dusty old vines briary Amador Zin complex finish w/ fair tannins; needs 2-6 yrs; a terrific GrandPere w/ more structure than previous ones. 
  15. St. Francis Sonoma County Zinfandel Old Vines (14.2%) '95: Black color; very intense dill/Am.oaked/milky lush blackberry fruit nose; soft very intense dill/milky/ Am.oaked ripe blackberry simple flavor; long intense milky/Am.oaked/dill rather blackberry finish w/ light tannins; this (and the Gundlach-Bundschu) that is loaded w/ Am.oak so that it has a spoiled milk character is not a style I like, but it does have its fans.
  16. Ridge Lytton Springs Zinfandel '90: Rather funky/wet dog fur charred/aged low  fruit nose; soft aged port-like bit oxidized/aged Zin/wet dog fur mushroomy complex flavor; med.long funky/dried out bit oxidized mushroomy complex finish w/ little tannins; a lot of old port character; seems much more aged and lacking fruit than I would have expected. Try again. 
 
   And from the bloody pulpit: 
  1. Two Mendocino Zins that, at last, showed lots of Mendocino character; a kind of dusty/spicy/earthy/tomatoey/tomatoe sauce character that I like. Lots of good vnyds up there but no really GREAT Zins from them since Jed Steele made some in the late '70's. 
  2. The Renwood Zins: The first Renwood wines really from Gordon Binz. And  they're sort of a mixed bag. The Amador OldVines was pretty ordinary, not up to the '94; the GrandMere was a real clunker w/ lots of the Amateur Cnty character; the JackRabbit Flat was a very nicely done Zin. And the GrandPere was a killer, better than Scott Harvey's last two in that they had some structure to them. Gordon is a very competent winemaker so I expect to continue to see good wines from Renwood, perhaps not as big & ripe as Scott used to do.
TomHill 

Return to the Tom Hill Archive Index