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And some profundities from the Bloody Pulpit:
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EaglePoint Grenache: Casey snagged me out of the crowd at RhoneRangers
in March and wanted me to try his new Grenache. I was mightly impressed
with the loads of effusive fruit the barrel sample showed. Tried it again
at HdR w/ much the same result. I'm glad to see it went to btl whilst it
still had all that lush fruit. Not a style that'll appeal to those looking
for "serious" Grenache a la Alban or Clarendon or d'Arenberg; but it's
going to make for some fun drinking this Spring & Summer. A Mary Carey
Grenache w/ lots of bounce and pizzazz. He has a new/larger block of Grenache
coming on line w/ this yr's harvest. So more Eaglepoint Grenache down the
road. Some will be going to Wells Guthrie at Copain, so it'll be interesting
to see how Wells interprets that fruit.
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Eaglepoint Ranch: I did a visit to Eaglepoint & Casey Hartlip a month
ago when I was out there in Calif; partly because I've been impressed w/
some of the wines from his grapes I've tried, partly to see what's doing
up in Mendocino County. It's a vnyd way up in the mountains, overlooking
the UkiahVlly. Obviously much cooler than down below. With his contract
with K-J going away after this year, I'm hoping these terrific grapes find
their way into the hands of more small winemakers like Wells and Kent Rosenblum.
Would love to see what Mike Officer could do with Casey's PS and Syrah
and Zin. And Steve Edmunds as well.
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MendocinoReds: Back in the '70's, there were some first-rate reds being
made up in Mendocino by Jed Steele at Edmeades, Greg Graziano and Jim Milone
at Milano, and Barney Fetzer and RidgeVnyds; Zins/PSs/Cabs/Carignanes as
good as anywhere in Calif. And then things sorta went to hell in a handbasket,
with Fetzer and Parducci sort of being the county's flagbearer. It became
sort of a vinous backwash in Calif, except for the Pinot grown up in the
Anderson Vlly. Those things need to change. There are a few glimmerings
of a rennasiance up there, but hardly the resurgence that is possible.
Mendocino has some great growing conditions and some terrific vnyds. It
behooves winemakers outside the area to recognize that; that some pretty
extraordinary grapes can be had at reasonable prices. I, for one, hopes
it happens. In some Mendocino reds, I find a kind of a tomatoey/spicy tomato
sauce character. This tasting had far more Mendocino wines than I usually
have and I found it in several of these. It's something I kind of like
in those wines. Must be that terroir thing again.
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Garretson Reliquary Red: Had this wine at HdR as I recall and don't remember
being particularly impressed with it. But this bottle was absolutely amazing;
one of the best Rhone-blends from Calif I've had. Reminded me a bit of
Manfred's SQN reds but w/ more richness and lushness to it. A stunning
wine.
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From ClassicWines/Seattle Web Site on Quinta da Carvalhosa: As if his superlative
Rieslings were not privilege enough for us to represent, we are now the
lucky recipients of Bernhard Breuer's latest estate project in Portugal's
Alto Douro region. Together with the three Duero estates of Alejandro Fernández,
Campo Ardosa completes our representation of this great wine river's range
of world-class red wines. The twenty-acre hillside estate is planted to
Portugese varieties Tinta Roriz, Touriga Francese, Touriga Nacional and
Tinta Barocca. The biodynamic style is opulent, structured and concentrated,
with malolactic and two years' aging in French barriques, bottled without
filtration. Among the most important new wine releases in 2003. Guess I'd
quibble w/ that last statement a bit.
TomHill
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