Wine of Merit: ***++J. Rochioli, Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, 2004. Serious point. Wonderful depth of fruit, cinnamon, nutmeg and cola. Great expression of RRV terroir. Easy to pick out of a crowd. Creamy mouth feel. Nice.
Our first stop? Roshambo…if not for the wine, then for the whole crazy, winemaking meets Adam Ant sensibility the winery has. Who are these people? Amazingly the wines turn out to be pretty good too.
2003 Roshambo Chardonnay: Really very nice! Well integrated typical varietal flavors, sparing use of oak, nice length. Very worthy.
2002 Syrah, The Justice: Equally compelling. Strong, purity of fruit, herbs, black cherry and smoke. Hmmmm!
2002 Zinfandel The Reverend: The best of the bunch. Real RRV zinfandel! Palate coating, red fruit, Malabar pepper, flowers and rose hip. Excellent structure and grip. Long , mineral finish. Nice!
Roshambo Jug Wine, NV: That’s right…a non vintage jug wine made from carignane and zin, I think. 2001, 2002 and 2004 fruit. $35 a pop, for a 3.5 liter bottle. Delicious and fresh. Comes in a big ole jug wit a screw cap! Buy it if you dare! I would have if I could have shipped it.
Great first stop and a winery to watch. I love the vibe…and the wines are delish.
Next the exact opposite…Rochioli. Old school RRV.
2004 Sauvignon Blanc. Intense grapefruit, The body is not quite as full as typical and thus I find it a bit too bright and acidic. Amy loves the crispness and fresh, fruit intensity.
2004 RRV Pinot Noir. Serious point. Wonderful depth of fruit, cinnamon, nutmeg and cola. Great expression of RRV terroir. Easy to pick out of a crowd. Creamy mouth feel. Nice.
A quick stop at Davis Bynum, which in my opinion has lost more than a step since Gary Farrell stopped making wine there. I will not comment on the wines specifically other than to say that they are at best average across the board. The Shone Farm Sauvignon Blanc used to be a great QPR wine. Shame really. They are still making pinot noir from the Allen, Moshin and Rochioli vineyards but are not offering those for tasting, so perhaps those wines offer better quality. On the menu these wines go for $40 to $50 a pop. Certainly the Le Pinot wines made by Gary back in the early 90s are worth seeking out, and today the 1999 is being sold from the winery library at $100 a pop! I bought it from them at pre-release for $25. And ice cream cost a nickel too!
Our next stop is the newly minted Gary Farrell winery. It is a temple to wine. Good for Gary! He is pouring 5 wines. One is a 2001 cab that is just OK – a touch of bell pepper and too much zingy red fruit for me. The zin is much nicer, but I am candidly a bit zinned out at this point. Here are the wines I noted:
2005 Redwood Ranch Sauvignon Blanc: This is really very nice, not as bracing or bright as many, sees some wood right at the end which adds some creaminess and texture. Like the Gainey Sauv Blancs I happen to dig.
2004 RRV No Oak chard: Steel fermented - no wood at all. Bright green apple – I am guessing no malo either. Many love this style. I am a fan of complementary oak for RRV chard and thus appreciate but do not warm to this style of wine.
2004 RRV Chardonnay – I like this much better. The wood adds a softness to the mouth feel, complemented with the creaminess of the malolactic. Pear and fig notes are added to candied citrus elements. A classy chard.
Next Stop? Dutton Goldfield!
I admire these wines. I find them well balanced. Plus the Dutton chard and pinot fruit is great and Dan Goldfield is a Jew from Northeast Philly, so he has that going for him! Today they are pouring barrel tastings of 2004 Sanchietti pinot noir, which is amazingly polished and deep, with minerals and dark berries and 2005 Devils Gulch pinot, which has almost a unique, mountain fruit element to it that is interesting but not my cup o tea, and a 2005 Cherry Ridge syrah, which is inky and robust showing amazing purity of blueberry fruit and violets. They are also pouring a 2005 Morelli lane zinfandel, which is big, bright and fantastic for short term, hedonistic slurping…and I am beyond zinned out at this pin!
Lastly, I tasted the 2005 Rued Chardonnay, which was just about to be bottled. Wow! Buy this wine. Wonderful, white peach flavors, great minerality, honeysuckle and hazelnut. Really wonderful. And Dan says he is not a chard guy! I bought the last few bottles of 2004 in the tasting room. Yum!
I drank beer with dinner Sunday (Thai food). The though of another glass of wine made me a bit queasy! Quite the trip. I look forward to next year.
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