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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 January 13, 1999:

Older Zinfandel

Tasted a few Zins from the Archives this week:
  1. d'Arenberg The Peppermint Paddock McLarenVale Chambourcin (13.5%) '94: Dark color; somewhat funky/bretty/oaked rather dusty/earthy low fruit nose; tart dusty/earthy/metallic rather funky/bretty/unclean/horsecollar some Am.oaked low fruit flavor; med.long very tart metallic/horsey/bretty low fruit rather oaked finish w/ some tannins; rather typical dusty/earthy hybrid wine w/ bit too much brett.
  2. Il Podere dell'Olivos Santa Barbara Cnty Barbera Riserva Buon Natale Bien NacidoVnyd (13%) '93: Med.dark color; lush BN/black cherry spicy/Barbera some oaked/plummy/dusty Fr.oaked nose; tart/acid/lean ripe black cherry/BN plummy light pungent/oak flavor; long black cherry rather spicy/Barbera tart/acid plummy/dusty finish w/ fair tannins; lots of BN character & good Barbera fruit; pretty tart & needs food; quite good Calif Barbera.
  3. Renwood Amador Cnty Barbera (14.5%) '93: Med.dark color; some bretty/horse- collar strong spicy/Barbera spicy/cloves/aromatic/floral nose; tart bit bretty/funky very spicy/Barbera spicy Italian sausage floral/aromatic flavor; med.long tart rather spicy/Barbera floral some bretty/funky finish w/ light tannins; a bit bretty/unclean rather Italian-style Barbera; ready to drink.
  4. Renwood Amador Cnty Barbera Reserve Select (14.5%) '93: Very dark color;  deep smokey/pungent/toasty/oaked very floral/spicy/Barbera chocolaty  almost Syrah-like nose; rich some tart lush spicy/Barbera/Italian sausage chocolaty/licorice/pungent floral/aromatic some toasty/oak flavor; very long pungent/smokey/oaked tart ripe/lush/very spicy/Barbera chocolaty/ Syrah-like finish w/ some tannins; needs 2-5 yrs; a beautiful Barbera w/ a rich lush texture but the classic Barbera tartness; seems something besides Barbera in this; this is how Angelo Gaja would make Barbera if he could.
  5. Norman Vnyd Paso Robles Zin The Classic (13.2%) '94: Med.dark color; some plummy/jammy light blackberry dusty nose; tart med. jammy/plummy light raspberry bit dusty/spicy flavor; med.short bit spicy/dusty light raspberry blackberry light oak finish w/ light tannins; pleasant Zin that's just holding on; drink up.
  6. Hartley-Ostini Hitching Post Paso Robles Zin Obermeyer Vnyd (13.5%) '94: Med.color; very strong dusty/earthy/wet concrete playground after a rain shower slight herbal/chocolaty little fruit very weird nose; very strange dusty/attic-like rained-on concrete bit herbal/vegetal slight chocolaty flavor; med.short bit thin very strange/dusty/wet concrete herbal finish w/ little tannins; bizarre smell to this wine like the Noble Prentis  Grade School playground just after a light rainshower. 
  7. Eberle Paso Robles Zin Sauret Vnyd (13.8%) '94: Med.dark color; strange charred/smokey/bit sulfer/wet Army blanket some blackberry/jammy bit funky/musty nose; tart lean dusty/charred/burnt funky some blackberry/ jammy flavor; med.short strange/funky/bit musty/cellar light blackberry finish w/ light tannins; rather strange Zin; can this be dying already?
  8. Marietta Sonoma Cnty Zin (14.4%) '96: Dark color; strong Am.oaked ripe blackberry/spicy bit dusty/earthy nose; soft strong Am.oaked spicy  raspberry/blackberry earthy bit simple flavor; med.long soft very Am.oaked some raspberry/blackberry finish w/ light tannins; a decent Zin for a fair price but a bit simple & boring.
  9. Blockheadia Ringnosii Napa Vlly Zin (14.2%) '94: Very dark color; fragrant very spicy Fr.oaked bit minty/menthol lush blackberry some complex/dusty old vine nose; tart bit lean & dried out spicy/Fr.oaked/minty/menthol some ripe blackberry flavor; long very spicy/menthol/Fr.oaked light blackberry/ dusty/old vine finish w/ some tannins; terrific nose but dried out a bit on the palate; very interesting Zin.
  10. Titus Napa Valley Zin (13.9%; 15% PetiteSirah) '94: Very dark color; strong charred/smokey/pungent/oaked some eucalyptus/blackberry/spicy/dusty/ complex nose; tart bit dried out/lean pungent/smokey light buttery/black- berry flavor; med.long dried out/lean pungent/smokey/oaked/charred light blackberry/dusty finish w/ some tannins; great nose but a bit too dried out on the palate; drink up.
  11. D-Cubed NapaVlly Howell Mtn Zin (14.3%) '94: Dark color; slight musty/ earthy light blackberry some pungent/smokey/peppery/Syrah-like complex nose; lush very peppery/spicy/pungent some blackberry/ pungent/oaked flavor; long soft lush very black peppery/toasty/pungent/dusty some blackberry/ oaked finish w/ some tannins; a very lush Zin w/ good HowellMtn and very peppery character; terrific & ready to drink.
  12. Ridge Calif Zin Geyserville (13.7%) '87: Med.dark color; rather corked/ mustyslight volatile/black cherry/blackberry nose; slight musty/corked  soft smooth spicy light black cherry/blackberry bit menthol/oaked very elegant flavor; med.long smooth elegant some menthol light black cherry finish  w/ light tannins; very smooth/polished/elegant on the palate; starting downhill & not much intensity but not dried out any yet.
  13. De Loach Russian River Valley Zin Barbieri (15.0%) '95: Med.color; beautiful lush black- berry/dusty/licorice/pungent slight burnt rubber nose; tart bit dried out  bit hot/alcoholic some blackberry/dusty flavor; med.long some dried out/ hot light blackberry tart finish some tannic finish; really nice nose bit drying out on the palate. $15.30
  14. De Loach Russian River Valley Zin Gambogi Ranch (15.0%) '95: Dark color; deeper richer ripe blackberry/boysenberry rather dusty/old vine lush beautiful nose; rich lush ripe blackberry/boysenberry bit tart licorice/pungent flavor; very long lush ripe boysenberry/blackberry finish w/ some tannins; can still use a yr or two; drinking really beautiful; a classic DeLoach.
  15. De Loach Russian River Valley Zin Papera Ranch (16.5%) '95: Dark color; bit alcoholic strong blackberry/boysenberry/spicy/eucalyptus/oaked nose; some hot/alcoholic/ dried out strong blackberry/boysenberry/dusty flavor; long rather hot/ alcoholic some blackberry/boysenberry/pungent/licorice bit dried out/harsh finish w/ fair tannins; seems a bit too hot/alcoholic & not maturing well.
  16. De Loach Russian River Valley Zin Saitone Ranch (16.5%) '95: Dark color; intense blueberry/ blackberry/pungent/licorice very dusty/old vines complex nose; tart rich lush ripe blackberry/boysenberry/pungent/licorice very dusty/old vines flavor w/ slight heat; very long lush tart ripe boysenberry/blackberry/ licorice/pungent/smokey very dusty/old vines bit hot finish w/ some tannins; drinking very well & carries the alcohol well; developing very nicely.
And all the usual prattle from the bloody pulpit:
  1. Tooling up for ZAP99 so going thru some old friends from the archives to calibrate my palate. Next week is Ridge Zins from the Archives.
  2. The DeLoach Zins: I've faulted the DeLoach single vnyd Zins in the past for not being sufficiently distinctive to justify separate bottlings. These wines were all much more distinctive than they were at release; two were not doing well, two were terrific. If you can't tell 'em apart in their youth, how do you know which ones to buy for cellaring?? You don't, so you gotta buy them all.... which is probably exactly what ol' Cecil has in mind!! These were pretty typical of moderately aged Zins; some are doing quite well, thank you, and some are doing great. It's not that Zins don't age well, it's just that they seem much more variable in the way they age, as compared, say, to Cabernet. The Eberle & Hitching Post, both very good in  their youth, were quite disappointing. The D**3 and two of the DeLoachs were outstanding. You pays your monies & you's take your chances... what's a guy to do?? Wisht I could figure out Zins & aging!!
  3. Amador Barbera: The two Renwoods were terrific. Zin & Syrah really seem to reflect their ShenandoahVlly upbringing w/ a strong blackberry/briary/jammy character. Barbera seems to be able to keep the same varietal character it shows in other areas and shows less of its Amador/Shenandoah back- ground. I've had some terrific Barberas from this area, Barberas that would be the envy of Italian winemakers.
TomHill 

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