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And can't get by w/o the BloodyPulpit:
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Swan Mendocino '77: A month or so ago I tasted a bunch of my old Swan Zins,
including this '77. I lamented the fact that I was shorted a btl of this
wine when I picked up my order at Joe's back in 1979, and speculated that
Joe's teenage daughters had had a btl of this at the expense of TomHill's
stash sitting there. Shortly after I posted those notes, what should show
up on my doorstop but my missing btl, direct from the wnry. Although there
was no mea culpa or confession on Lynn (Swan) Bergland's part, I sure she
was more that happy to finally put to rest all those guilt feelings she
had harbored all these many yrs!! Typical of the kind of service you get
from SwanVnyds, even if it takes 20+ yrs to make things right. Mucho thanks
to Rod & Lynn. Although this btl was still very healthy and alive,
I thought it was a little further along than the btl we had a month ago,
which was taken from my cellar, which runs on the very cold side during
the Winter (low 30's).
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CarlisleVnyd: This is Mike Officer's vnyd, formerly known as the PelettiVnyd
on the DeLoach btlgs. Quintessential RRV/old vine Zin vnyd. Most goes to
the Mike's Carlisle label, some to Adam & Diana. Very different style
of Zins, based on the 2001 tasting. The Novy tastes like a RRV Zin made
by a Pinot producer; the Carlisle like a Zin made by a Syrah producer.
Both terrific wines from an exceptional vnyd.
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2002 Zin Vintage: Thus far that I've tasted, my take on the 2002 Zin vintage
is that it resembles a bit the 2000 vintage, but a bit bigger and richer.
Lots of glorious Zin fruit, but not the structure for aging of the 2001
vintage. So probably midway betwixt the 2000 and 2001 in terms of greatness
in Zins. Of course, YMMV, depending upon the producer. PonzoVnyd: This
is a new single-vnyd Zin btlg for Ridge. It formerly went into their Sonoma
blends. This one data point doesn't convince me that the vnyd is of the
stature of Geyserville or LS or even Nervo. We'll have to see what future
vintages bring, the jury's still out on Ponzo. But you have to trust Draper's
judgement that this has something different to offer. Jeez...I wish
Ridge would go back to making Fiddletown (Eschen), Shenandoah (Esola),
Occidental (vonWeidlich), and Mendocino Zins... those were a MAN'S Zin!!
I miss them terribly. Jeez...I even miss their CoastRange PinotNoir for
that matter. Heck (tame Kansas colloquialism), I'd even drink their WhiteZin
again. ResidualSugar: I get pee-o'd (tame Kansas colloquialism refering
to a bodily function) when they put the RS on the label in Brix. The %
RS is what you taste on the palate, not the Brix RS. It's easy to measure
the Brix RS (with a hydrometer), so that's why the do it, rather than %
RS, a more complicated measurement. There is a nomogram that, given the
Brix RS and the % alc, allows you to read off the % RS; but I hate having
to go into my (vast) archives to retrieve it. Surely there must be some
software out there that allows you to make that conversion???
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AlderSpringsVnyd: This is a relatively new vnyd up North of the primary
vnyds of the UkiahValley of Mendocino, up in a heavily-forested area (as
I understand). The wines I've had thus far from this vnyd by Adam &
Diana Lee have been mightly impressive. I'm dying to try a Syrah from there
(Pax or Copain?). It's a vnyd I think we'll be seeing great thing from
in the future. FratiRanch: Always my favorite of the Swan Zins, this is
a classic RRV Zin vnyd. They typically are one of the best Zins made in
Calif every year. I was a bit surprised about how far along the '91 was,
as I had assumed it was going to be one of those 20+ yr Zins. Maybe it'll
make it, though.
TomHill
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