Wine Musings Vol#59

Wine of Merit: ***++Isola e Olena, Collezione de Marchi, Toscana IGT, cabernet sauvignon, 1998: Wonderful. This wine has aged majestically. I am not sure who the “Marchi” is but I love his collection! Very sauve and sophisticated, this wine is clearly Italian regardless of the varietal. More red fruit driven, with a small amount of aeration this wine adds layers of cigar tobacco, truffle, cocoa powder and vanilla. Perfect integration across the palate, picking up some briar and . Great, fine, velvety texture. Beautiful, sweet tannins to a medium long finish. Really a very stately wine. Beautiful.

***+Dyer, estate vineyard, Diamond Mountain, cabernet sauvignon, 2004: Notes I have read in the past have suggested this was a dynamite wine but also a wine to drink young. I did not find that the case. This is a taught, muscular mountain cabernet. Not reticent at all, though I would not call it open knit, the wine offers wonderful blackberry and dense minerality right from the glass. With time, tar, licorice root and briar add to the mélange. Wonderful depth, integration and laser like definition. Black fruit and more minerals on the palate, which seems almost limitless. Super long, finely detailed finish. Quite the tour de force! The friend that recommended this wine to me suggested it was a “better Harlan Estate”. In my mind it is more like a young 82 Dunn or maybe a 94 Gravelly Meadow Diamond Creek, but more approachable.

**+Saddleback Cellars, Napa Valley, cabernet sauvignon, 1994: I have always been a big Nils Venge fan and this wine was from back when Saddleback was a brand new brand. Well along in the maturation curve, this wine is still expressive and pleasant but many of the signature elements are beginning to devolve. Telltale roasted red fruit, soy and chocolate covered raisin elements dominate, with added nuances of lavender and black licorice. The palate is still jammy and fairly long but showing some heat from the age. A wine that is still drinking but past its prime.

**+Davis Bynum, Le Pinot, Rochioli vineyard, Russian River Valley, pinot noir, 1995: This is a wine that never really came into balance. When young the tannic backbone overwhelmed the flavor profile. Now, the flavors have fallen apart and the tannins are just finally integrating. Too bad. Overly mature plum and cherry flavors with tomato skin, soy and barnyard aromas. Kinda like a very mature Pommard. Very rustic. The palate is still firm adding spice and baking chocolate. Finish is a bit cooked. A wine that has passed its prime.

Wine Musings Vol#24

From notes taken July, 2006:

Wine of Merit: ***++Vare “Bianco”, 2004: Perfetto! This is a lovely wine. It is also very unusual – it is a mixture of Italian white varietals grown in the north of Italy (ribolla gialla, tocai friulano, pinot grigio and sauvignon blanc)…except they are grown and sourced from Napa Valley! Vare is named for George Vare – and long time Napa resident that has run places like Zaca Mesa, Geyser Peak and more recently Luna with John Kongsgaard and others. I believe he planted these grapes and they grow around his estate. Anyway, the wine is delicious, indeed. A deep, golden hue gives way to nutmeg, anis, grilled butternut squash and crème brule aromas, with a creamy palate and a lovely, integrated finish. It is so expressive it does best a little cooler than room temperature and makes a great white wine to serve with cheese and/or a first course. Sold in 500 ml bottles. Yum.

**Roar, Gary’s vineyard, pinot noir, 2004: The cowardly lion. This wine is made from the infamous Gary’s vineyard of Pisoni / Franchesconi fame. In fact, this wine is made by Gary Franchesconi. It has had quite a bit of acclaim and I admittedly bought it on the buzz. Well, in my opinion, I find it to be the poster child for what is increasingly wrong with new world pinot. 14.9% alcohol, this wine is hot and fat, over extracted and over the top. Finish is peppery and rough. More Turley than DRC, this wine has zinfandel / syrah like fruit. Under the heat, you can sense some great pinot fruit, cream and green tea / cola elements which makes the current state of this wine all the more a shame. And age will not help it, either – as the heat and extraction will just make the wine angrier as it ages. Too bad, really. I’ll stick with Rochioli, Kalin, Calera and Saintsbury. Balance and integration win every time.

****++Shafer, Hillside Select, 1993: Wow! An awesome wine. Elegant, deep and stately. Blindfolded, I would have guessed Lafite. Maybe 1988. Paulliac-like depth, with cassis, cedar, lead pencil and wonderful, chalky minerals. Great grip and concentration but always in perfect balance. Sweet, integrated finish with just the right firmness. Great now and great in 10 years. I expected this to be good but not nearly this good. Wow.

***+Viader, 1993: Sexy and warm. A meritage blend of pretty close to 50/50 cab / cab franc. Right now the cab franc is really showing through, with lots of licorice, truffle, porcini mushroom and red, plumy fruit. Much rounder, almost Rubenesque compared to the Hillside. In fact, the wine is starting to turn the corner a bit, showing tomato paste sweetness added to mocha and the jammy plum on the palate. Not at all undesirable, but a warning that it is time to drink up.

****Isole e Olena Vin Santo, 1997: Now that’s Italian! Much more akin to a very fine sauterne, this Vin Santo has beautiful baked pear, lichee and hazelnut notes, with nuances of tobacco and honey. Perfectly integrated and not over the top sweet or, as is typical of vin santo, nutty. Not astringent at all. Really wonderful.