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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 for sale, 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 March 6, 1998  

California (mostly) Reds

Tasted some New (mostly) Calif (mostly) Red Wines last night:
 
 
  1. Montevina Amador County Zinfandel (14.7%%) '76: Med.dark color w/ slight browning; strong  briary/licorice/smokey/charred/dusty slight oaked nose; tart rather dried out alcoholic/hot licorice pungent charred oak slight briary flavor; med.long alcoholic/ hot charred oak licorice dusty briary finish w/ light tannins; some interesting things therein but drying out & the alcohol really shows.
  2. Titus Napa Valley Zinfandel (14.1%%) '96: Dark color; med.strong bright blackberry/raspberry light toasted oak nose; soft ripe blackberry/raspberry some pungent/oaked bit lean/ astringent flavor; med.long bit hard/astringent some blackberry/raspberry finish w/ some tannins; pleasant enough Zin but not very distinctive. Not worth $18.
  3. Rosenblum Cellars Contra Costa County Zinfandel (13.5%%) ;96: Med.color; strong lush plummy/ blackberry/CCCnty dusty light oaked nose; soft lush plummy/ CCZin/ dusty/ light black- berry light buttery oaked flavor; med.long lush dusty/plummy/ blackberry light oaked finish w/ light tannins; a very nice drinking CC Zin w/ the characteristic Rosenblum lushness.
  4. RosenblumCllrs PasoRobles SauretVnyd Zin (13.6%%) '96: Med.dark color; very strong ripe jammy/raspberry/blackberry very spicy nose; soft very spicy very lush ripe jammy/ raspberry/ blackberry/dusty old vine/ light buttery/oaked flavor; very long jammy/ blackberry/raspberry very spicy dustyOV very ripe finish w/ light tannins; not a lot of structure or tannins or acids but a really bright spicy very lush Zin for great drinking; seems the best Rosenblum Sauret ever made.
  5. Joseph Swan Russian River Valley Zeigler Vineyard Zinfandel (14.9%%) '95: Med.dark color; strong minty/oaked strong blackberry/ dustyOV/ earthy ripe bit pungent nose; tart spicy dusty blackberry/ earthy dustyOV menthol oaked bit astringent/hard flavor; long tart dustyOV strong blackberry/earthy pungent/smokey finish w/ ample tannins; needs 2-5 yrs; best Zeigler yet from Rod.
  6. Joseph Swan Russian River Valley Frati Ranch Zinfandel (15.6%%) '95: Black color; very intense pungent blackberry/ dustyOV/ licorice/smokey nose; very tart very spicy pungent/blackberry/ dustyOV/extracted smokey/charred/oak complex flavor; very long extracted smokey/pungent dustyOV/very blackberry/Framboise charred/oak finish w/ ample tannins; a huge extracted Zin that'll last 10 yrs easy.
  7. Apricots The Ojai Vineyard Hall Ranch Zinfandel (13%%) '95: Black color; very strong blackberry/ meaty/smokey/ sauvage/dusty/ oaked very Syrah-like complex nose; huge tart rich powerful extracted dusty/ earthy meaty/ gamey very intense blackberry/plummy pungent/smokey/oak very Syrah-like complex flavor; very long intense/extracted very pungent intense blackberry meaty/sauvage complex dusty oaked finish w/ fair tannins; needs 5-15 yrs; absolutely incredible stuff. A steal at $15.50.
  8. Pervini Primitivo di Manduria Red Wine (14%%) '92: The Italian wine of the night, Zin from Apulia; Med. slight brown color; very overripe dusty raisened unclean/goat pen little fruit nose; very strong dusty/earthy very overripe unclean/goaty/wet dog fur flavor; long bit oxidized very raisened/ unclean/ goaty finish; seem very overripe and certainly hot climate in character; reminds me a bit of some of the Mastantuono Zins I've had (remember them.... hard to believe they made good Zin once upon a  time); way overpriced at $10.
  9. Swanson Napa Valley Sangiovese (13.5%%) '94: Dark color; very fragrant cherry/black cherry pungent/ licorice smokey pencilly/ vanilla oaked spicy/complex nose; rich big tart ripe black cherry/cherry/Sangiovese spicy vanilla/oaked/pencilly pungent/smokey flavor; very long rich ripe black cherry/cherry dusty/smokey lush vanilla/oaked finish w/ some  tannins; needs 2-5 yrs; a lovely lovely Sangiovese.
  10. Chappellet Napa Valley Pritchard Hill Vineyard Sangiovese (14.6%%) '95: Very dark color; strong dusty/earthy smokey some menthol/oaked bright cherry nose; tart lean astringent very spicy/cherry bright dusty some oaked flavor; long tart lean astringent vibrant/bright cherry spicy finish w/ fair tannins; needs 3-6 yrs but could use more lushness; a very nicely done Sangiovese that shows all the problems w/ Sangiovese in Calif.
  11. Dry Creek Vineyards Dry Creek Valley Vintner's Selection Beeson Ranch '95: Dark color; strong herbal/green olive almost Washington State-like some pencilly/oaked nose; soft rich lush ripe rather herbal/green olive almost Bordeaux/ earthy buttery/ pencilly/oaked flavor; soft short herbal/green olive/dusty/ earthy vanilla/ toasted oak finish w/ some tannins; lots of herbal character almost like Washington State Cabernet w/o the structure; a bit lacking on the mid-palate but another beautiful Dry Creek Vineyards Cab.
  12. Rosenblum Cellars Napa Valley Reserve HendryVineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (13.8%%) '95: Very dark near black color; very strong blackcurranty dusty fragrant pencilly/Fr.oaked classic Napa Cab nose; hard dusty blackcurranty/ Cab pencilly/ fragrant/Fr.oaked spicy flavor; very long  pencilly/ Fr.oaked/ smokey hard/tannic ripe blackcurranty finish w/ ample tannins; atypical Rosenblum but verrrry serious Napa Cab; too bad about the price of $40.
  13. Arches Vineyards Syrah (24%% Utah, 76%% Colorado) '95: Med.color; some stinky/pungent/ burnt rubber earthy/dusty low fruit nose; tart dusty/earthy some plastic/ hybrid grape little fruit flavor; short tart/ dusty/ earthy plastic/ hybridy finish; very little fruit and no Syrah character.
  14. Qupe Santa Barbara County Bien Nacido Reserve Syrah (13.8%) '96: Very dark color; lots of pencilly/ French oaked rather blackberry/Syrah some meaty/gamey some complex nose; hard somewhat lean strong pencilly/Fr.oaked spicy blackberry bit herbal flavor; fairly tannic rather pencilly/Fr.oaked ripe blackberry/Syrah bit gamey/herbal long finish; needs 2-5 yrs; not as big & extracted & intense as the '94 & '95 (less HillSide Block?) but still a lovely Syrah.
  15. Harbor Winery Amador County Dry Berry Zinfandel (8.4%%) '85: Brown murky/cloudy color; rather oxidized/volatile some botrytis sherry pretty sweet flavor; long bit oxidized/botrytis sherry-like finish; weird stuff; like a light Oloroso sherry w/ botrytis.
 
  And the usual pompous pontifications from the bloody pulpit:
  1. Apricots/Ojai Zin..... boy did I screw up on this one BIG time. Only got 6 btls. This is an absolute incredible Zin and I would have to say it's the BEST Zin of the '95 vintage I've had. Bought it directly from Adam&Helen on their pre-release program. Alas, only 30 cases were made.... so don't even THINK of tracking any down. We probably have more, per capita, in Los Alamos than anywhere outside the bustling burg of Oak View.


    2. The Hall Ranch is in Ojai right next to the Roll Ranch, where their Viognier/Syrah come from. Quite cool and not a good area to ripen Zin. The Ojai Zins in the past have been nice... lots of toasty Fr.oak, bit on the light side, more like a Pinot or light Cotes Du Rhone than anything. This '95 stuff is dyn-o-mite; very much like their '95 Bien Nacido Syrah but w/ a bit more high-toned Zin character to it; but very much in Adam&Helen's style. If you have any of this.... you are very lucky. How to use my remaining 3 btls is going to be a very tough decision!! After the tasting, I went back & drank the remains, some 3-4 ozs worth; something I've never done before. Forgive me, Bacchus, for I have Zinned!! Not a good day at work today!!

  2. Rosenblum: The '96 Sauret Zin is probably the best Kent's ever done w/ those grapes. Much more of the jammy/PasoRobles character than in the past. Not a lot of tannins or structure for aging but marvelous drinking over the next few yrs. I've always liked the Rosenblum Cabernets in the past; but they've also had that classic Rosenblum lushness that almost gave them a Zin-like character (the ultimate accolade for any Cabernet). This '95 Hendry Reserve is an outlyer for Kent, rather  atypical of his style of Cab. This wine, at 100% CS, is serious NapaVlly Cab; not out of line at $40/btl, and should age for quite a long time.

  3. Sangiovese: I've always liked the Swanson Sangiovese from the very first one. This '94 is one of the two best (the Luna '96 being the other) Sangiovese I've yet had from Calif.... and starting to approach world-class status. Much better than most Chianti Classicos at that price. 

    4. The Chappellet is also a lovely Sangiovese, but demonstrates all what's wrong w/ Calif Sangiovese. A beautiful fragrant cherry nose; but too hard & lean & astringent on the palate for attractive drinking, at least when they're young. It seems to be a variety that definitely needs blending or co-fermenting w/ another/other varieties to give it the lushness on the palate I think it lacks. But that can be a bit tricky because you don't want to obliterate that lovely Sangiovese bright cherry character. But they're figuring it out now in Calif and a few yrs down the road I have little  doubt that there'll be a bunch of world-class Sangiovese coming from there that will make the Tuscans ebvious. Stay tuned.

  4. The Qupe Bien Nacido Reserve Syrah '96: Liked the wine a lot. But it's not a big & extracted has it's been the last two yrs ('94 & '95 vintages), probably because it has less HillSide Estate in it I would guess. More in the style of that wine from the early '90's. Because it's not as big/extracted as before, it's probably gonna be dumped on on the boards. Don't believe it; it is fine Syrah and will age 5-10 yrs I would guess.
TomHill (still a bit two sheets to the wind!!)

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