 |
And the usual profound stuff from the Bloody Pulpit:
-
BoxCar Syrah: This is the 2'nd label for the folks of Red Car Syrah, which
I've not yet had. The winemaker is Tim Spear of the Clos Mimi operation.
I would presume that these grapes come from his same source, namely the
ShellCreek Vineyard on Eastside Paso. The wine is almost a Beaujolais or
Lambrusco in style because of its grapiness. Would guess it may be made
by whole-berry fermentation, if not carbonic maceration. Not a particularly
classic style of Syrah, it is quite a pleasant wine at a fair price.
-
Curran Syrah: This is a wine made by Cris Curran at Bruno d'Alfonso Cllrs
in Buelton. She is of Sea Smoke fame and now has her wnry in the wine ghetto
in Lompoc. I was a bit disappointed in this wine; expecting a bit more
intensity and punch. The ones I tasted from barrel were much better.
-
Rancho ArroyoGrande: This is a new Vineyard planted up above Lake Lopez
near SaucelitoCnyn Vineyard. It comes thru in the wine as a fairly warm
area vis a vis the EdnaVlly. Bot Bob and Ethan Lindquist made Syrah from
this Vineyard that I liked a bit better than this one.
-
HermanStory: Is the grandfather of Russell From. Russell is the cellarmaster
at the Central Coast Wine Coop in Santa Maria, the Miller's facility where
a lot of small winemakers do their special thing.
-
Topanga Vineyard: This is a SoCal couple, Sandy Garber and Ralph Meyer,
who apparently grow grapes on their TopangaCnyn property. They also buy
grapes and make wine under their label. I had two previous versions, both
from FrenchCamp Syrah grapes and was rather underwhelmed. The version,
from much better EdnaVlly grapes, is a far/far better Syrah. I seem to
recall something about Steve Dooley being the winemaker. Nicely done wine.
-
Drew: This be Jason Drew (info@drewfamilycellars.com), former winemaker
at Babcock and now out on his own. I've had a number of his wines and have
been fairly impressed with them. A winemaker to keep your eyes on.
-
VillaCreek Avenger: Tasted this at the wnry the Sunday morning after HdR
and at the winemaker's luncheon and was pretty impressed with the wine.
My group liked it enough to order two cases worth. Great red wine for the
price.
-
Melville Vineyard: We've had three Melville Syrahs 2001 thus far; the Melville
Estate, the Jaffurs, and the AndrewMurray. Plus the Ojai Melville 2000.
Of these, my clear favorite was the Ojai. Of the 2001, I think I preferred
the Melville Estate slightly over the AM, closely followed by the Jaffurs.
All 3 of the 2001's come from their CatCanyon property (wish they'd make
that distinction on the label) w/ only Adam getting Syrah from their SantaRitaHills
estate; as I understand it. The AM is one of his best Syrahs I've had in
sometime; seems relatively forward and drinkable. Larry Archibald thinks
the AM is easily the best of the three. I prefer the Melville Estate slightly
for its better structure and potential. The Jaffurs I've had twice, typically
in the leaner/tighter Jaffurs style. The first had been opened for three
days and had an incredible cracked black pepper character. The 2'nd at
the wnry was just opened for us and seemed a bit closed & tight. But
it, too, seems to have great potential. At any rate, it's a great (two)
Vineyards making some very impressive Syrahs.
-
Guigal CdP'00: The Guigal CdP'99 was the WS WotY. BFD (Kansas colloquialism).
After it immediately vanished from the shelves (those folks got what they
deserved), the '00 made its immediate debut, with the hype that it was
even better than the '99 (doh.... guess which one they had to sell!!).
Most of the prices I've seen have been in the low $30's. This btl, Larry's
mystery wine, was only $22. Even at that price... singularly unimpressed;
the Avenger blows it away.
TomHill
Return to the Tom Hill Archive Index |
