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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 sold, 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 9/23/98:

Older California & French Rhones

Tasted a few (mostly) older Calif & French Rhones last night:
  1. Phelps Napa Valley Viognier (13.0%) '92: Med.gold color; some minerally/floral/ Viognier perfumed talc bit caramalized/oxidized/oaked slight WhiteBurg nose; tart lean metallic/steely slight minerally bit caramalized/oxidized flavor; med.long lean/steely/metallic some oaked/caramelized/oxidized toasty finish; interesting nose but pretty lean & hard on the palate; some old WhiteBurg character.
  2. Georges Vernay Condrieu Viognier '83: Med.dark gold color; strong pungent bit stinky/oxidized tobaccoy/smokey some old WhiteBurg nose; soft somewhat piney tobaccoy/pungent/oxidized very minerally some stoney flavor; long bit steely/stoney some oxidized/pungent/tobaccoy/smokey complex/minerally finish; lost that effusive Viognier fruit but still some Condrieu/mineral character; much like an old WhiteBurg.
  3. Joseph Swan Russain River Valley Mourvedre (12.5%) '96: Med.dark color; strong plummy/dusty/tobaccoy light oaked nose; tart astringent plummy/dusty pungent/ earthy/licorice flavor; long dusty lean/astringent/acid tobaccoy/pungent/ plummy/Mourvedre finish w/ ample tannins; a very attractive nose but a bit hurtey on the palate; needs some time; a bit of greenness to this wine.
  4. Ridge Calif Mataro Pagani Vineyard (75% Mataro, 25% Zin; 13.8%) '96: Med.dark color; very strong buttery/buttered popcorn/oaked some plummy/Mourvedre/ bit pungent nose; soft buttery/Am.oaked rather dusty/old vine/pungent some Pagani/funky/complex flavor; long lots of buttery/Am.oaked pungent/dusty/ mushroomy/Mourvedre complex finish w/ light tannins; doesn't have the structure & tannins of cool-climate Mourvedre but a very interesting wine w/ some of that characteristic Pagani funkiness.
  5. Bonny Doon Clos de Gilroy Calif Grenache '87: Med.light color; some dusty/ tobaccoy old Zin pungent nose; light thin washed-out bit strawberry/Grenache some dusty/pungent flavor; short tart thin bit pungent/dusty finish w/ no tannins; a survivor but just that.
  6. Bonny Doon Le Cigar Volant Calif RW (77% Grenache, 18% Syrah, 5% Mourvedre; 14.2%) '85: Med.dark color; beautiful lovely complex cloves/cinammon fragrant complex gamey perfumed nose; rich plummy/tobaccoy aromatic/cinammon/cloves smokey light strawberry/Syrah complex bit dried out flavor; very long complex cinammon/cloves/spicy pungent/gamey light strawberry/Syrah bit bretty finish w/ light tannins; drying out a bit on the palate but a beautiful complex aromatic nose; definitely NOT ChatneufDuPape but a lovely Calif red wine.
  7. Eberle Paso Robles Syrah (12.6%) '91: Dark color; lovely licorice some black- berry/Syrah/strawberry dusty/gamey spicy/cloves complex nose; attractive spicy/strawberry/cinammon/cloves/light oak dusty/licorice flavor; very long cloves/spicy/cinammon complex gamey/strawberry/Syrah finish w/ light tannins; much like Gary's older EstrellaRiver Syrah but more extract & bigger; a  really beautiful complex Syrah.
  8. Duxoup Sonoma County Syrah (12.6%) '82: Very dark color; interesting licorice/ dusty smokey/complex black cherry nose; tart thin old Zin pungent/dusty/ licorice black cherry rather astringent & dried out flavor; med.long  astringent/dried out licorice/black cherry/chocolate finish; a rather  interesting nose but dried out & astringent on the palate. $9.00
  9. Domaine de Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneu Du Pape '82: Med.light some browning color; bit strawberry/old Rhone dusty some roasted/complex nose; tart thin dried out dusty/roasted/old Rhone earthy flavor; med.long dried out/thin dusty/roasted/earthy astringent finish; an interesting old Rhone nose but pretty dead on the palate.
  10. Auguste Clape Cornas '80: Dark color; lovely fragrant dusty/walnutty/herbal some strawberry/Syrah complex nose; tart astringent walnutty/herbal pungent/ dusty bit strawberry/Syrah flavors; long astringent/tart/tannic complex walnutty/herbal/dusty finish; a beautiful complex nose but dried out on the palate; fades pretty fast in the glass.
  11. Paul Jaboulet Cote-Rotie Les Jumelles '83: Med.dark color; some smokey/ old Rhone bit roasted/coffee some strawberry/Syrah nose; tart lean strong roasted/ espresso smokey/complex/dusty some dried out flavor; long dried out/astringent some roasted/espresso complex finish; still nice Cote Rotie character & a very attractive nose but drying out on the palate.
  12. Guigal Cote-Rotie (Brune et Blonde) '83: Med.dark w/ slight browning; strong unpleasant musty/mousey slight corked some pungent/roasted nose; soft pungent toasty smokey/hot dog light roasted/espresso flavor; med.long soft round pungent/smokey bit roasted/espresso finish w/ light tannins; needs to breathe; bit corked on the palate but much better on the palate.
  13. Emile Champet Cote-Rotie '78: Med.dark color; beautiful bacon fat/roasted/ espresso smokey/pungent/dusty very complex aromatic nose; smooth bit dried out lovely bacon fat/roasted/espresso/pungent toasty/smokey spicy complex flavor; very long lingering elegant/complex roasted/espresso/bacon fat complex/dusty finish w/ light tannins; a beautiful lovely complex old lady; this is what mature CoteRotie is all about.
  14. Henschke Keyneton Estate Barossa Valley (65% Shiraz, 25% CabSauvignon, 10% Malbec) '85: Med.dark color; strong pencilly/toasty/Fr.oaked earthy/pungent complex/dusty nose; tart pungent/funky/earthy licorice toasty/oaked/smokey dusty flavor; long bit dried out pungent/dusty/earthy some toasty/oaked finish w/ some tannins; more like a Southern Rhone than Oz; a very interesting complex red that needs another 3-6 yrs yet.
  15. Elderton Barossa Valley Command Shiraz (14.5%) '92: Very dark near black color; very strong Am.oaked/dill/milky pungent/licorice/toasted coconut strong blackberry/Syrah nose; soft ripe rich intense milky/vanilla/Am.oaked/dill toasted coconut licorice/blackberry/Syrah/chocolaty flavor; very long tannic intense vanilla/milky/Am.oaked slight hot/volatile intense pungent/licorice blackberry Syrah finish w/ ample tannins; needs 6-10 yrs; a huge rich extracted oaked Shiraz w/ the stuffing to last.
  16. Ravenswood Icon Sonoma County (92% Syrah, 8% Grenache; 13.9%) '96: Very dark  color; strong toasty/pencilly/Fr.oaked bit menthol rather berry/Zin/Syrah nose; tart rich very toasty/pencilly/Fr.oaked berry/blackberry some tannic flavor; long astringent strong toasty/pencilly/oaked menthol/minty berry/ blackberry ripe finish w/ fair tannins; needs 3-6 yrs; speaks more of Ravenswood than of Syrah; much like OldHill Zin; should be a good wine w/ age. 
  17. The Monterey Vineyard San Luis Obispo Cnty Botrytis Sauvignon Blanc Dessert Wine Special Selection (15.5%; SaH: 29%; RS: 7.6%) '78: Very dark some browning  color; bit herbal slight pickle juice strong botrytis/peachy rather pencilly/ oaked some earthy nose; sweet tobacco/vanilla/pencilly/oaked some herbal/dusty complex peachy/botrytis flavor; very long bit herbal/pickle juice strong toasty/tobaccoy/pencilly/oaked peachy/botrytis earthy bit bretty finish;  a very interesting complex dessert wine; more like Monbazillac than Sauternes.
  18. Joseph Phelps Delice du Semillon Napa Valley (13.0%; RS: 10.3%; 96% Semillon,  4% sauvignonBlanc) '85: Med.dark gold color; bit volatile/aromatic beautiful complex vanilla/oaked/pencilly strong peachy/botrytis ripe/figgy bit earthy very Sauternes nose; sweet very rich vanilla/oaked/toasty rather ripe/figgy strong peachy/botrytis complex aromatic/perfumed flavor; very long lingering figgy/Semillon/ripe rather vanilla/oaked/creamy complex finish; a beautiful complex Sauternes much like Rayne-Vigneau or Rieussec; Calif can make great Sauternes; will last another 10 yrs.
Say, what.... not ANOTHER bloody pulpit:
  1. The two Aussie Shiraz, compliments of Howard & Rhoda Sherry, were terrific. With age, the Henschke, according to Howard, has lost most of the overwhelming oak that those wines tend to display. The Elderton..... dynamite stuff; and still very young.
  2. Do Viogniers age??? Stupid question, though the authorities, whoever they are ('tain't I!) all seem to believe they do not. Depends upon, I think, what you expect of an older Viognier. If you expect that effusive floral fruitiness of young Viognier/Condrieu; then you'll be disappointed. I find in some older Viognier a very interesting caramelized/nutty/slightly oxidized character much like what you find in old WhiteBurgundy.... a wine the authorities DO know can age well. Perhaps they should be a bit more opened-minded when it comes to older Viogniers. The Phelps was not very attractive on the palate, but it was by no means a dead wine.... a bit Chablis/Loire-like in character. The Vernay was awfully interesting old white wine.
  3. The Duxoup Syrah: This winery started in 1981, making Gamay, Syrah, and Zin. The seem to do a lot of whole-berry fermentations & produce very grapey/fruity types of wines; their winemaking pretty much obliterates their varietal character of teir wines, I find. When this wine came out (mid-'80's), we had had glimpses of future  greatness in Syrah from the '77-'78 EstrellaRiver Syrahs by Gary Eberle, but not yet seen a really great Calif Syrahs (the first Qupe was coming out then, also). So I was excited to try this Duxoup when I stumbled across it. Major disappointment.... loads of grapey Beaujolais character & not much Syrah. So I had very low expectations going into this tasting for this Duxoup. It had held up much better than I expected, but still nothing great.
  4. Some pretty incredible complex mature Rhones here in this tasting. The Eberle, the Cigar Volant, the Clape Cornas, the Champet Cote-Rotie, the two Aussies.... all pretty amazing juice. You'all shoulda been there.
TomHill (heading off to Santa Fe Chile & Wine Festival for MORE wine!!)

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