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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 May 26, 1998: 

Zinfandel

Tasted Mike Officer's and some new Zins last night:
 
 
  1. Carlisle Cellars Russian River Valley Zinfandel (70yr old Montafi Vineyard; 85%Zinfandel, 10%PS, 5% Alicante; 14.7% alc) '96: Med.dark color; fragrant very spicy Zinfandel/rasp- berry bit dusty/cloves/oaked aromatic nose; tart bit licorice very spicy perfumed raspberry lean aromatic cloves/oaked flavor; tart lean bit pungent/ charred bright raspberry very spicy/dusty finish w/ some tannins; needs 1-4 yrs yet; a very perfumed/spicy Zinfandel some like the DeLoachs  $nc 
  2. Carlisle Cellars Sonoma Valley Zinfandel Rossi Ranch (15.4%) '96: Med.dark color; deeper rich blackberry/Zinfandel dusty/old vines perfumy very spicy light charred/oak nose; softer fairly lush ripe/rich/blackberry/Zinfandel very spicy/perfumed bit pungent/ smokey flavor; very long pungent/smokey/charred rich licorice/blackberry very spicy/cinammon apple/fragrant finish w/ some tannins; needs 2-6 yrs; the biggest/richest/most complex of his Zins; very very well made Zinfandel far better than what Topolous does w/ these grapes. 
  3. Carlisle Cellars Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel 60-100+ yr old vnyds (15.4%) '96: Med.dark color; pungent/smokey dusty/old vines some blackberry/Zinfandel bit charred somewhat closed nose; tart lean hard light blackberry/raspberry dusty/pungent/smokey rather closed flavor; med.short tart lean hard pungent/charred oak light blackberry/dusty rather closed finish w/ fair tannins; needs 2-6 yrs; some high-toned DCV Zinfandel in the nose but hard & lean & closed on the palate; should develop into a much better Zinfandel w/ age. 
  4. Carlisle Cellars Dry Creek Valley Petite Sirah (100+ yr old vines; 15.0%) '96: Black color; deep licorice closed some pungent/roasted/dusty old vines/perfumed talc deep dark fruit/PS nose; soft very rich big tannic deep dark fruit some dusty/old vines roasted/toasty/oak flavor; long hard tannic deep dusty/old vines pencilly/toasty/oak/pungent dark fruit finish w/ ample tannins; needs 4-8 yrs; an impressive old Calif style PS like the Ridges & freemark Abbeys of the early '70's; some like last week Turley's but not as alcoholic & tannic. 
  5. Rosenblum Alexander Valley Zinfandel Harris-Kratka Vineyard (14.6%; 75% Z, 25% Carignane) '96: Med.color; fragrant bright raspberry lush spicy nose; soft very lush spicy bright raspberry/Zinberry classic Rosenblum flavor; long lush bright raspberry/Zinberry spicy finish w/ light tannins; a bright perky classic Rosenblum Zinfandel. 
  6. Domaine du Bone Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel (14.5%) '95: Med.color; rather dusty light raspberry/blackberry bit simple light oaked nose; soft light raspberry/fruit bit dusty spicy/ripe flavor; med.short light raspberry/blackberry some dusty bit alcoholic finish w/ light tannins; not a lot of DCV fruit but an  interesting dusty/earthy character. Worth the $15.00 
  7. Storybook Mountain Vineyards NapaEstate Mayacamas Range Zinfandel (14.3%) '96: Med.color; attractive raspberry bit earthy/dusty bit simple nose; tart simple raspberry lean bit dusty flavor; med.short tart/lean/simple raspberry dusty/earthy light oaked finish w/ light tannins; a light simple tart Zinfandel; overpriced at $19.00 
  8. Crane Canyon Cellars Russian River Valley Zinfandel (14.1%) '96: Dark color; deep rich very intense blackberry lush dusty/old vines aromatic/perfumed bit smokey/pungent nose; soft big rich lush very strong blackberry/framboise/blueberry classic dusty/old vines spicy bit pungent flavor; very long soft big rich lush blackberry dusty/old vines some pungent/oaked finish w/ some tannins; needs yr or two but great drinking now; a big rich very lush blackberry Zinfandel; some like the DeLoachs but softer & smoother. 
  9. Sparrow Lane Beatty Ranch Howell Mountain Napa Valley Zinfandel Reserve (15.5%) '96: Dark color; fairly strong blackberry/meaty/complex some volatile/aromatic some toasty/oaked nose; tart bit hot/alcoholic some blackberry/earthy/dusty spicy complex/meaty mtn Zinfandel flavor; med.long bit alcoholic/hot rather dusty/earthy some blackberry finish w/ some tannins; a rather interesting Howell Mtn Zinfandel but a bit on the volatile side. 
  10. Howell Mountain Vineyards Howell Mountain Zinfandel Old Vines (15.5%) '96: Very dark color; deep dusty/earthy/mushroomy/meaty/sausage complex/oaked bit tanky nose; soft strong old-Calif-style Zinfandel/blackberry charred/oak low fruit bit tanky/rustic flavor; med.long some blackberry/Zinfandel dusty/earthy/mushroomy some charred/oaked finish w/ fair tannins; lots of old Am.oak rather rustic/old-style Calif Zinfandel. 
  11. Rosenblum Cellars Contra Costa Cnty Zinfandel (120 yr old Continente Vineyard; 15.4%; Old  Old Vine) '96: Med.dark color; deep blackberry/plummy CC Zinfandel dusty/old vine fragrant/perfumed/pencilly lush nose; soft rich lush blackberry/CC plummy some spicy/pencilly/oak flavor; very long plummy/blackberry lush dusty/old vine finish w/ light tannins; a soft lush plummy CC Zinfandel. 
  12. Neyers Contra Costa Cnty Pato Vineyard Zinfandel (15.1%) '96: Med.color; rather volatile/ aromatic very spicy/perfumed/oaked light plummy some complex nose; soft bright blackberry/plummy/CC spicy cinammon&cloves/oaked complex flavor; med.long elegant very spicy perfumed complex light blackberry/plummy aromatic finish w/ light tannins; an elegant aromatic/perfumy spicy/cinammon/cloves Zinfandel w/ light CC character. Not worth $23.00 
  13. Tobin James Paso Robles Ballistic Zinfandel (13.8%) '96: Med.light color; pleasant dusty/jammy/PR Zinfandel spicy/blackberry light nose; soft light spicy very ripe/ jammy/blackberry bit dusty flavor; short ripe/blackberry/jammy bit dusty  finish w/ light tannins; a nice attractive light PR Zinfandel at a good price. $12.60 
  14. Ridge Calif Zinfandel Alegria Late Picked (75% Zinfandel, 22% PS, 3% Alicante; 15.6% alc; 0.1% r.s.) '96: Med.dark color; very strong raspberry/spicy toasty/toasted coconut very oaked nose; soft very toasty/coconutty/oaked lots of bright raspberry fruit very spicy vibrant flavor; med.long soft bit alcoholic/hot bright forward vibrant raspberry/juicy quite oaked/toasted coconut dusty finish w/ light tannins; lots of oak & lots of bright raspberry fruit; a  bright & zippy Zinfandel. 
  15. Robert Biale Aldo's Vineyard Zinfandel (14.0%) '91: Dark color; strong aromatic  perfumed spicy very Fr.oaked ripe blackberry/Zinfandel bit bretty/horsecollar nose; soft spicy/blackberry/Zinfandel dusty complex taosty/Fr.oaked very spicy flavor; very long toasty/Fr.oaked ripe blackberry/spicy bit horsecollar/complex finish w/ light tannins; lots of spicy/raspberry Fr.oaked character; the first Biale Zinfandel & it's holding quite nicely. 
  16. Terrarossa Primitivo di Manduria (14%) Vinicola Savese Gaetano Pichierri  '95: Med.dark coler; strong burnt rubber earthy very ripe bit fecal/goat pen earthy slight rosemary/spicy nose; soft earthy/dusty slight blackberry bit stinky/pungent/unclean slight bretty flavor; med.long dusty/earthy slight blackberry/fruity some unclean/bretty finish w/ light tannins; first Primitivo I've had that resembles Zinfandel (a Topolos, if anything). Not worth the $19.00
 
  And the usual ramblings from the bloody pulpit: 
  1. Mike Officer (Carlisle Cllrs; his wife Kendall's maiden name) posts  occasionally to the 'Net on wine & has been a home winemaker for a number of yrs. Last Jan afore ZAP, Mike & Kendall invited me to their home in Santa Rosa for dinner & to taste from the barrels at his modest wnry in his garage. Didn't take detailed notes (not ALWAYS the wine geek!!) but the wines then struck me as very spicy/perfumed lean & angular and very well-made. I was particularly impressed w/ the access Mike has to very good very old vnyds for his grape source. At the home winemaker's table at ZAP; I thought his was the best and, frankly, a lot better than a bunch I was tasting out on the floor. Well, w/ the '98 vintage, Mike is going commercial & wanted my group to taste thru his home-made wines as sort of a reality check. It must be a bit frightening to put your winemaking talents out on public display in the marketplace. As far as I'm concerned, assuming he can make the scale up to a larger production, he has nothing to worry about. We can look forward to some very good, very exciting Carlisle Cllr wines in yr 2000!! These 4 wines were pretty consistent w/ my previous impressions; nay, even better. They have a leanness & a structure to them that belies their healthy alcohol levels; making them quite ageable. They have a very nicely done, judicious use of oak (old Dehlinger barrels as I recall). The dusty old vines character really shows thru. I was particularly struck by the armoticity & fragrant spiciness of the Zins. The PS is a killer Petite; lots of that deep/dark/ sorta clunky PS fruit, good acidity & structure, tannins well in control. One of the best old-style Petites I've had in a long while. In style; his wines struck me as sort of a combination Nalle/Dehlinger & a bit of DeLoach..... very good company indeed. Definitely a wnry to watch. A neat guy w/ a special wife & two of the cutest kids you'd ever want to see! 
  2. Kent Rosenblum is probably, consistently, making the best Contra Costa Zins around these days. They show lots of that plummy/earthy CC character but w/ lots of blackberry fruit to them. He ferments his CC Zins different from his other Zins. Instead of his usual small bin fermentations w/ frequent punching down of the cap; he now does a 24-48 hr cold soak in large fermentating tanks and then does a tank fermentation w/ pumping over. It seems to work. He's  taking more & more CC grapes and making some of the best CC Zins around; yet still retaining that classic Rosenblum lushness. 
  3. So..... the alleged "lightness" of the '96 vintage, as proclaimed by Laube & Parker. Not in the Carlisle, not in the Rosenblum, certainly NOT in the Crane Canyon; perhaps in the Sparrow Lane, definitely in the Neyers. 
TomHill 

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