Wine Musings Vol#13

From notes taken March, 2006:

Wine of Merit: ***Bisou, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2001: Your kiss is on my lips (that’s right! Hall & Oats!) Perfect for Valentine’s Day! This is a new cabernet from Napa Valley. Bisou (which means “kiss” in French) is farmed out of 3 estate vineyards in St. Helena by James Johnson vineyards. The individual vineyards are named for the families’ children. To the wine itself: Wow! It is nothing short of explosive right from the bottle. Aromas of red fruit, truffle, dark chocolate, olive candy, rosemary, sage and grilled peaches just jump from the glass. Huge! While the bottle suggests cabernet sauvignon, the nose suggests something softer and more complex (cab franc?). Viader like. Spectacular. The palate, on the other hand, doesn’t quite match up. More berry fruit and plum, minerals and mocha, it thins more than a bit on the mid palate. Finish is lovely and integrated. It is nothing short of a great drink in the short term, but I worry about laying it down in the longer term. Perhaps the vines themselves need a bit more aging? One to watch. Delicious.

**++Ridge Dusi Ranch Zinfandel ATP, 1995: The Ridge ATP (Advanced Tasting Program) used to be a cool thing. But it ended up being a bit of “The Island of the Misfit Toys” as Paul Draper experimented with new varietals and new vineyards, so I dropped out. This wine is one of the success stories. The Dusi ranch is down in Paso Robles, near St. Louis Obispo. In 1995, they tried to pull off a late picked, 40 brix zin and realized half way through it wasn’t going to work. So they picked it at 26 brix and assumed it would be a berry driven, forward early drinker. As it turns out, this wine has aged gracefully. Boysenberry and cranberry fruit, cedar, creamy chai and church incense are offered up in lovely integration from this 10 year old zin. The palate has no drop off, continuing with the red fruit theme, with white pepper and rosehip. Finish is firm but not pronounced with more spice and vanilla. I am guessing American oak here. Not a wine that is out there for sale, so buying more is a moot point. Lovely and elegant. Amy likes it very much, so it is a winner.

**++A. Rafanelli Cabernet Sauvignon, 1994: I don’t cellar many Sonoma cabernets. The best ones, however, have a St. Julien like quality that I dig. Tonight, this particular cab is drinking well. Elegant, red and black berry aromas, picholine olives, sage and rose petal belie the Dry Creek provenance. The palate shows more mature berry and stone fruit with oaky, espresso bean and vanilla notes. It is for the most part resolved, though very even and not thinning. Again, a very elegant glass of wine, great with food. I look forward to tasting their 2004 from barrel next week!

**+Dashe Cellars Zinfandel, 1997: I like Mike Dashe. I met him many years ago while he was at Ridge helping to make the zins there. He is passionate about making small batch, handcrafted wines. AND his label has a monkey riding a whale like fish on it. I want to party with him! This wine, the 1997, represents his second vintage with the new label – by 1998 he was out of Ridge and doing his own thing as his day job. I believe he sources his fruit mostly from the RRV / Dry Creek and it shows. Bright, raspberry, red fruit and bramble, this wine also offers black pepper on the nose. The palate is a bit racy, showing more fruit, asian spice, minerals and a some greenness from the oak it sat in. The finish is a touch hot, with lavender, green tea notes and firm tannins. A good effort. It clearly has aspirations of being Nalle-like, if a bit more full blown, and I love Dry Creek zins.