The Tom Hill Archives
Here are Tom's notes from July 29, 1998:
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The Tom Hill ArchivesHere are Tom's notes from July 29, 1998: California Rhones |
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And the usual pompous pronouncements from the bloody pulpit:
1. An absolutely killer tasting; maybe the best one I've had all year. It used to be I had trouble rounding up enough people to taste Calif Syrah/Rhones. No more; the word's getting out that Rhones is where it's at in Calif. In a few yrs, WS & RP will figure it out, too. 2. The whites: I served them all at usual white wine temperatures, not particularly cold. They all seemed hard & lean & austere on the palate & not particularly aromatic. Once they warmed up to cool room temperature/red wine temperature; they were all beautiful aromatic/perfumey wines like I expected. These should best be served at a red wine temperature, in the low 60's. I've already preached the glories of Viognier & Roussanne in Calif. I also think Marsanne is a real sleeper. Not particularly exciting when young, with 4-5-6-10 yrs of age, they can take on the lovely nutty/hazelnutty/slightly oxidized character & become very complex beautiful wines. 3. Alsatian GWT is one of the real glories of the vinous world. I've only had one Calif GWT that every held a candle to Alsatian stuff, a Davif Bruce '79 (yeah, yeah.... I know.... Novarro, Storrs, Claibourne&Churchill make good GWT... but just that.... barely) and have long wondered why they can't/won't make great DRY Alsatian GWT in Calif, a la Zind-Humbrecht/Schoffit/Weinbach/etc. The winemakers always seem to leave so much residual sugar in them (even the "dry" ones) that they are very tiring to drink at meal. When questioned, they always mumble the same old song about how GWT won't sell. Of course it won't... not the way they make it. So, anymore, I don't really give a r*ts a$$ if they don't make great GWT. I've got Viognier & Roussanne for an aromatic/perfumey white wine to drink. I find more and more, when I would normally have an Alsatian GWT or Tokay/PG, I reach for a Calif Roussanne or Viognier. And, of course, when I want a really GREAT white, it'll be Condrieu!! 4. Grenache: I've already sung the praises before of John Alban's Grenache. It's a variety that makes world class red wine. John's now is in that class. People seem to snort "$28 for a Calif Grenace??". But it is worth it, I feel. Even though you can still get world-class Aussie Grenache for less than that. 5. By now, the word's been out about what great Syrah (and other varieties) Adam & Helen Tolmach are making at Ojai Vnyds. Here's hoping RP naver makes it down to OakView from the Cabo-centric NapaVlly. These prices are all pre-release prices direct from the wnry. Some of these Syrahs have not yet been released to retail, so will become available there this Fall. This is the first time I've tasted all his Syrahs side-by-side, under good conditions, since the Wine Cask Futures tasting. And what a stunning set they are. The Calif Syrah is just getting better & better; a real steal in a wine. At the Futures tasting, I thought the Stolpman was a bit on the lighter side. Visiting w/ Adam afore Raisin'Rhones, he pulled out a bottle to convince me otherwise. He was, of course, right. It's a huge wine. The Stolpman Syrah is not that old. With a few more yrs, we're going to be seeing some stunning Syrah (and other Rhones) from Stolpman. So Adam has 3 great sources of Syrah. The Stolpman seems to give a bit harder and leaner & less fruit-driven Syrah. The RollRanch seems to give more pure Syrah/blackberry more monochromatic Syrah. And the Bien Nacido Syrah, from the same Hillside block that the Qupe Hillside comes from, seems to be more polychromatic (sounds sorta like Randall Graham now!!), more pungent/roasted more complex character. Truly one of the world's great Syrah vnyds. 6. The Dehlinger Syrah: In the past, their Syrahs have tasted like.... well... Syrah made by a PinotNoir producer. A bit heavy on the pencilly/toasty oak & not that big & extracted. With this '95 Estate Syrah, Dehlinger has moved into the top tier of Calif Syrah producers. It's stunning Syrah. Too bad it's so scarce. 7. Santa Cruz Mountain Syrah: The David Bruce is terrific Syrah. The first crop off his estate after replanting due to a bad Pierce's disease infection; only 2 barrels were made. Marty Mathis' Kathyrn Kennedy Syrah '96 is also a killer Syrah. Clearly, like Carneros, Santa Barbara, Edna Vlly; the SantaCruz Mtns has the capability to produce great, world-class Syrah. They need MORE plantings of Syrah up there.... lots more!! 8. The early Alban Syrahs were not that impressive, but showed potential. They were pretty hard, lean, tannic, bit heavy on the toasty/Fr. oak. With the '95 vintage, John Alban really had it all figured out and became one of the top Syrah makers in Calif. The '96 only adds to that reputation; first class Syrah. Actually, those first ones are turning into pretty attractie wines. John knew more back then about winemaking than I gave him credit for!! He makes 2 different Syrahs... the Reva (named after his mom) and the Lorraine (named after his recent wife). The first Lorraine was made in '95 in a very small amount & most of it was consumed, apparently, at his wedding party & little got out into retail channels. The Lorraine comes primarily from a southern-most block on his property, and the Reva from an adjacent block just to the north. Since, presumably, John will not be having another wedding this year; there should be more of the '96 Lorraine to go around, when it's released. There is a third Syrah block, as yet unnamed, that originally was a root-stock block of the vnyd, that has been slowely grafted over to Syrah. This has gone to Augie Hug and (I believe) a few others. With a little one on the way for the Albans, one can probably guess the name of this block. And then there is the Seymour block (named for his father) way up on the top of the hill of his property, directly under the power lines (which causes problems, government-wise, for the workers due to EMF emissions), planted mostly to Grenache, not yet producing. And he even has a vnyd planted down the road to..... Chardonnay... but doesn't seem particularly proud of that fact; so mum's the word!! Lots of exciting things going on at Alban vnyds and lots more great wines to come. 9. The Wild Horse Syrah was about the second most impressive Paso Robles Syrah I've had..... his '94 James Berry being the most impressive. The James Berry vnyd, located up on Willow Creek Rd on the WestSide, just off Hwy 46, is a vnyd to keep your eyes on. It's going to be producing some great wines down the road, I feel. They have other Rhone varieties planted there, in addition to the Syrah. TomHill |
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