From notes taken January, 2005:
Wine of Merit: ****+Galleron Cabernet, 1994: This is it. The bottle you hope for as you drink through all of the other “good not great” stuff. A Catherine Deneuve wine. Wonderful for all of the right reasons, perfect proportions, sophisticated and romantic. At first somewhat reticent, with coaxing this wine unfolds to impress. Lush, velevety black and red fruit, great depth and structure, olive candy, sage, Rutherford dust, eucalyptus, currant. Perfect balance (which I prize above other qualities) and a firm if seamless finish. I have 5 more bottles and have picked out the occasions at which I will serve them over the next 6 months.
***Varner Home Ranch Chardonnay, 2003: I did not think the Varner pinot special. The chard is a MUCH better effort. Elegant if restrained. A lovely baked apple, cinnamon and white peach thing going on, oily meyer lemon on the palate, nice texture, nicely integrated finish. Requires some coaxing which in my book bodes well. A very solid effort. My chardonnay cup currently runneth over (just bought a bunch of Chasseur Lorenzo vineyard – yeah boyeeee!), otherwise I might be tempted to buy a few more.
**+Patz & Hall Durrel Vineyard Chardonnay, 2004: Very nice, if not in a stand-outsih sort of way. I love the Kistler Durrel. White peach, pear, rice pudding. A slight spritz of secondary fermentation. Lots of oak that dies not dominate but is at the forefront. Firm finish with bracing acids suggest that this could benefit from cellar time, though I am not sure the fruit will hold. A prototype for Sonoma chard. Buy more? No.
**+Olson Ogden Unti Vineyard Syrah, 2003: I dig the Unti zins. This wine explodes from the glass. Bright cinnamon, blueberry, and currant flavors. Garrigue and brine olive notes. Unctuous and thick with a cliff like drop off. This wine is a bit awkward and all over the place, finishing hot. A fun wine for wine geeks to taste, not a bottle to have with a meal. My father-in-law, not a wine guy, says, “This wine has a bite to it. It is not smooth”. ‘Nuff said.
****Del Dotto Cabernet, 1993: Wow! Exotic Nap cab. Lavender, deep red fruit, mocha, nutmeg, ripe persimmon (we had a persimmon tree in my back yard growing up in Italy and I could almost see it when sipping this wine). Oak is present but perfectly integrated. Tannins remain firm and furry adding structure but in a seamless way. Age is starting to show a bit in the mid palate but I am polishing the apple here. Really, really nice! This is the first Del Dotto vintage and I am sorry I bought only this and did not follow it more closely. I will make up for lost time.
***+Robert Keenan Mernet, 2001: Patience required. I continue to believe that 2001, much like 1991 and 1995, will end up being a very good, long lived vintage. This is an excellent effort. While 50% merlot (25% cab/25% cab franc), this wine still offers excellent structure and grip. Like a young La Consellainte in an excellent vintage, this wine is deep and somewhat brooding, offering black truffles, mocha, minerals and a licorice root thing along with velvety red and black fruit. Different than Bordeaux, the fruit imprint has a distinctly mountain-like terroir. With more time in the glass the wine reveals a nutmeg, pumpkin pie thing which I really dig. Great structure across the entire palate, this wine will improve with cellaring and reward that patience with increased complexity. Nils Venge makes this wine and I love his stuff (try his Saddleback Cellars, Plumpjack or Venge Family wines…and remember he made the 1985 Groth Reserve). Kudos, Nils!
**+Patz & Hall Durrel Vineyard Chardonnay, 2004: Very nice, if not in a stand-outsih sort of way. I love the Kistler Durrel. White peach, pear, rice pudding. A slight spritz of secondary fermentation. Lots of oak that dies not dominate but is at the forefront. Firm finish with bracing acids suggest that this could benefit from cellar time, though I am not sure the fruit will hold. A prototype for Sonoma chard. Buy more? No.
**+Olson Ogden Unti Vineyard Syrah, 2003: I dig the Unti zins. This wine explodes from the glass. Bright cinnamon, blueberry, and currant flavors. Garrigue and brine olive notes. Unctuous and thick with a cliff like drop off. This wine is a bit awkward and all over the place, finishing hot. A fun wine for wine geeks to taste, not a bottle to have with a meal. My father-in-law, not a wine guy, says, “This wine has a bite to it. It is not smooth”. ‘Nuff said.
****Del Dotto Cabernet, 1993: Wow! Exotic Nap cab. Lavender, deep red fruit, mocha, nutmeg, ripe persimmon (we had a persimmon tree in my back yard growing up in Italy and I could almost see it when sipping this wine). Oak is present but perfectly integrated. Tannins remain firm and furry adding structure but in a seamless way. Age is starting to show a bit in the mid palate but I am polishing the apple here. Really, really nice! This is the first Del Dotto vintage and I am sorry I bought only this and did not follow it more closely. I will make up for lost time.
***+Robert Keenan Mernet, 2001: Patience required. I continue to believe that 2001, much like 1991 and 1995, will end up being a very good, long lived vintage. This is an excellent effort. While 50% merlot (25% cab/25% cab franc), this wine still offers excellent structure and grip. Like a young La Consellainte in an excellent vintage, this wine is deep and somewhat brooding, offering black truffles, mocha, minerals and a licorice root thing along with velvety red and black fruit. Different than Bordeaux, the fruit imprint has a distinctly mountain-like terroir. With more time in the glass the wine reveals a nutmeg, pumpkin pie thing which I really dig. Great structure across the entire palate, this wine will improve with cellaring and reward that patience with increased complexity. Nils Venge makes this wine and I love his stuff (try his Saddleback Cellars, Plumpjack or Venge Family wines…and remember he made the 1985 Groth Reserve). Kudos, Nils!
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