California Dreaming Winery Tour
This tour covers 4 wine regions of California: Santa Rita Hills, Paso Robles, Napa Valley, and Sonoma. Only selected vineyards were visited in each region. This post covers the first two regions.
Stop 1: Santa Rita Hills just north of Santa Barbara
Clos Pepe Estate Winery-Wes Hagen, Reservation required.
After a tour of the vineyards that included a fascinating botanical history of Vitis vinifera, a geological history of Santa Rita Hills, and soil characteristics the Clos Pepe vineyard we had a wine tasting. Wes’s tour is great because of his extensive knowledge. Even the most knowledgeable wine lover will learn something on this tour.
2008 Rose 11.5% abv 0.5% residual sugar, pinot noir
Light coppery pink. A delightful strawberry/peach nose. Bright acidity on the midpalate with nice fruit that taste likes red licorice – twizzler wine. Medium long finish. Nice rose. $18 Made as a rose.
2007 Clos Pepe Pinot Noir (open 48 hrs before tasting) $49
Garnet red. Expressive nose of earthy cherries. Excellent balance on the midpalate with acidic red fruit, earthiness, and a medium to long finish of acidic fruit. Good food wine. This wine was oaked in 1/3 new, 1/3 1-3 year old, and 1/3 4+ year old french oak. Wes says the growing season was long but cooler than normal. Definitely burgundian in style for a California pinot.
2006 Clos Pepe Pinot Noir $49
Garnet red. A nose of earthy red raspberries. Nice tart cherries, silky tannins, and great balance on the midpalate. A long luxurious finish of tart fruit. Oaked in the same fashion as the 2007 but had a warmer growing season.
2002 Chardonnay Clos Pepe (open 48 hrs before tasting) $40
Golden yellow. Nutty oloroso sherry nose. Beautiful balance on the midpalate with creamy fruit and nice acidity. Medium finish that dies a bit at the end.
2007 Clos Pepe ‘Vigneron Select’ This blend of 3 clones (667,115, and 777) was selected by a family and friends tasting group that included an independent sommelier. 100% new french oak. 13.9% abv $54
Deep garnet (dark for a pinot). Oak, spice, and earth on the nose. Great midpalate feel of smooth tannins, acidity, and shy cherry fruit. Finish starts off fruity but shuts down relatively quickly. Too young to drink! Great aging potential of 5 to 10 years.
Clos pepe extra virgin olive oil. $20 for 375 ml. Tuscan style. I did not taste it but my wife liked it and bought 3 bottles.
This tasting was free and included bread, 3 types of cheese (including a great English white cheddar) and water. Wes does it right!
Final decision: I bought 2 bottles each of the 2006 pinot and the 2007 vigneron select pinot. Plus Wes gave us a bottle of his 2008 rose.
Loring Wine Company, Lompoc, CA, Reservation Required
Due to a business trip, Brian and Kimberly Loring were not available. The new winemaker, Michael Padrick met me at the winery.
There was no tasting room at this winery and the wines were lined up on top of an oak barrel. We tasted through most of the 2007 Lorings (but no Aubaine or Clos Pepe, which were probably the best two wines from 2007) and Michael’s wine P2 (made from the Aubaine vineyard) No notes on the Loring wines because of a lack of a place to take notes. Best wine in the Loring lineup that I tasted was Russell’s vineyard. All were very good to excellent. However, my favorite was Michael’s P2. I purchased two bottles at $40 each.
Abbreviated tasting note based on memory only:
2007 P2 Aubaine vineyard. 14.5% abv.
Garnet red. Cherry nose. Midpalate has great fruit and acidity with enough tannins to nicely balance. Medium-long finish of juicy fruit.
Stop 2: Paso Robles
Tablas Creek Winery
Sister winery to Chateau de Beaucastel, using the same clones that were imported from the Rhone. I chose to visit this winery because I love Rhone wines and particularly like Beaucastel.
Cotes de Tablas blanc 2007, 385 viognier, 25% marsanne, 20% roussanne, 17% Grenache blanc. $25
Light straw. Peachy nose with some strawberry. Nice midpalate with smooth tannins, bright acidity and lemon fruit. Long fruit-acid finish.
Espirit de Beaucastel blanc 2007, 68% rousanne, 22% Grenache blanc, 10% picpoul blanc. $40
Clear straw. Rich pineapple nose with hints of peach. Smooth midpalate with rich ripe fruit, mostly peach. Medium-long finish of good acidity. Strikes me as a good food wine.
Rose 2007, 57% mourvedre, 31% Grenache noir, 12% counoise $27
Dark pink. Spicy nose with earthiness and a hint of strawberry. Tasty midpalate of spicy white pepper, and strawberries. Long finish of spicy fruit.
Rose 2008, 58% mourvedre, 32% Grenache noir, and 10% counoise, $27.00 if you can get it, supposedly just to the club, but living in Canada, I convinced them to sell to me since I cannot join their club. Club members get a 20% discount on each wine.
Deep pink. Classic rose nose of strawberries with red raspberry undertones. Great red fruit on the midpalate that is nicely balanced with acidity and tannins. Medium-long juicy fruit finish. Really nice rose that impresses me as a good food wine.
Cotes de Tablas 2006, 72% Grenache noir, 11% syrah, 9% mourvedre, 8% counoise $25
Garnet red. Nutty, earthy nose with an undertone of plum. Smooth tannins on the midpalate that balance well with purple plum and blackberry fruit and refreshing acidity. Medium-long finish of spicy brambly dark fruit.
Syrah 2006, 90% syrah and 10% Grenache noir $35
Medium garnet. Oak and plums on the nose. Midpalate of good acidity, tingly tannins, and dark fruit. Long finish of slightly bitter tannins and acidity. May need some time.
Espirit de Beaucastel 2006, 43% mourvedre, 28% Grenache noir, 22% syrah, 5% counoise $45
Garnet red. Earthy plum nose. Nice midpalate of well-balanced plum and blackberry fruit, smooth tannins and spritzy acidity. Medium long finish of fruit. 2006 year had a hot spring and a cool summer.
Espirit de Beaucastel 2005, 44% mourvedre, 26% Grenache noir, 25% syrah, 5% counoise $45
Dark garnet. Classic CdP nose of earth and bramble fruit. Really tasty midpalate of red fruits (red raspberry especially) nicely integrated tannins and balancing acidity. Long finish of red fruit. Tastes like a good food wine to me. Better one of the two.
2006 Mourvedre, 90% mourvedre, 10% syrah $29.75
Garnet red. Earthy, oaky, and plumy nose. Nice juicy fruit, silky tannins and acidity on the well-balanced midpalate. Medium-long finish of plums and loganberries. This wine is a sensuous tango of flavors that I really liked.
Grenache 2006, 100% Grenache $28
Ruby red. Excellent earthy nose with blackberries. Fruity midpalate with silky tannins and refreshing acidity. Medium finish of dark fruit.
Tannat 2006, 88% tannat, 12% cabernet sauvignon $35
Deep garnet red. An expressive nose of cassis and black raspberries. Big red with lots of grippy but integrated tannins on the midpalate balanced with sweet dark brambly fruit and refreshing acidity. Medium long finish of dark fruit. The cab was mixed with the tannat to smooth it out a bit. Nice wine that seems to have good food potential. Lots of structure.
Final decision: I bought 2-2008 roses, 2-Mourvedres, and 2-tannats.
Note: The original tasting menu 7 wines kept getting expanded by my server as she could see I was getting into the experience. She kept saying you need to try this wine and compare it to that one. I tasted more wines at Tablas Creek than any other winery I visited and I had such a nice server. I love rhone varieties and this winery had an excellent selection. This was a very enjoyable tasting experience and I spent over an hour at the winery tasting these wines and taking notes. I would recommend visiting this winery.
Turley Winery
2006 ‘Juvenile’ California Zin 15.0% abv $22
Garnet red. Oaky nose with a hint of fruit underneath. Nice bing cherries, smooth tannins, and balancing acidity on the midpalate. Spicy red fruit finish that was medium length.
2006 ‘Old Vines’ California Zin 15.4% abv $28
Ruby red. Oaky nose underlain with sweet cherries. Sweet dark red fruit (mostly sweet cherries) silky tannins and somewhat grippy tannins. Medium-long finish of fruit and tingly tannins. 50+ year old vines from sourced from the Central Coast and Napa.
2006 ‘Pesenti’ Paso Robles Old Vines Zin 15.9% abv $40
Ruby red. Oaky nose with jammy black raspberry fruit. Really juicy rich fruit with smooth but powerful tannins. Long finish of sweet fruit and tannin tingles. 87 year old vines. Dry farmed at Turley.
2006 ‘Dusi’ Paso Robles Old Vines Zin 16.4% abv $48
Ruby red. Fruity nose of oaky cherries. Great sweet fruit that tastes like chocolate covered cherries, nice tannins, and just enough acidity to balance. Medium-long fruity finish with a bit of alcohol heat at the end. 65 year old vines.
Final decision: I bought 3 bottle of the old vines California Zin. I thought the Pesenti was the best wine but the Cali old vines Zin was nearly as good and a much better value. Note: I included alcohol values on these wines because of the reputation of zins for high alcohol content.
Part 2 (to posted in a few days): Napa and Sonoma