Notes on a few wines I had on the road after HdR:
1. EaglepointRanch Albarino MendocinoCnty (13.9%; http://www.EaglePointRanch.com) 2007: Pale
yellow color; rather fragrant/floral/stoney/minerally slight perfumed talc/StateFair
cotton candy rather classic Albarino nose; tart/rich/lush slight floral/gardenias
rather stoney/minerally flavor; finishes a bit short w/ nice stoney/minerally/floral
character; classic stoney/minerally Albarino w/ a richness not usually found in
Spanish versions. $19.00
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2. alicats Syrah CienegaVlly (14.5%; http://www.alicatsWinery.com) 2005: Very dark color; strong
mocha/espresso/smokey/slight Rhonish spicy/chocolaty/boysenberry/Syrah/plummy perfumed/
exotic nose; soft very ripe/boysenberry/Syrah very Oz-like bit hot slight tannic simple
flavor; med.long bit charred oak/smokey slightly hot/alcoholic ripe/boysenberry/Syrah
Oz-like bit hard/tannic finish. Fairly priced at $14.00
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3. Ch.Honfleur Syrah LosAltosHillsVnyd/SantaCruzMtns (66% FreeRun, 33% Press) 2003: Very
dark color; strong minerally/gunflint plummy/blackberry/Syrah/spicy smokey/pungent
interesting nose; soft lush/plummy/blueberry/Syrah somewhat/minerally/gunflint/earthy
bit tannic flavor; med.long plummy/blueberry/Syrah slight earthy/gunflint finish
w/ some tannins; quite an interesting nose and the mineral/earthy character that
speaks of SantaCruzMtn reds. Interesting/well-made/unusual Syrah...and not just for
being a Ho-Made wine.
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4. Ch.Honfleur Syrah TrificantiVnyd/LosAltosHills/SantaCruzMtns 2007: Very dark color;
rather reduced/sewer gas/mercaptans that didn't blow off w/ an underlying earthy/
minerally/blueberry/Syrah nose; tart somewhat lean/tannic/hard strong plummy/
blueberry/Syrah flavor; hard/tannic plummy/blueberry/Syrah bit earthy/minerally
finish; nose is pretty reduced but flavors are good; badly needs 2-6 yrs and will
probably turn into a pretty good/interesting wine.
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5. Qupe HillsideEstate BienNacidoVnyd/SantaMariaVlly (14.5%) 1997: Med.color w/ slight
bricking; slightly mousey/tired/funky/decayed leaves some Rhonish/smokey/pungent/
toasty/oak very little blackberry/Syrah nose; rather lean/thin/tired/funky/mousey
fairly strong roasted/smokey/pungent/oak very weak Syrah/blackberry rather dried-out
flavor; med.long strong roasted/toasty/smokey/slight Rhonish rather lean/tired/dried
out finish w/ some bitey tannins; seems a bit tired and over the hill; disappointing.
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. alicats: Was interested in trying this as I've never seen a Syrah from the Cienega
Vlly, and area that's made some pretty good Zins yrs ago. I really liked the nose and
found it rather exotic and some Rhonish, but it failed to deliver on the palate what
the nose promised. Guess the jury is still out on CienegaVlly Syrah.
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2. ChateauHonfleur: Now here's a label that is so under-the-radar that it swims with the
fishes. This is a Ho-Made wine by LarryJones of Sunnyvale. I had met Larry in CyberSpace
on eBob because of my LosAlamos connection, where his company (Panassus) provides
the mass storage device for our big iron here. After a few e-mail exchanges, we
agreed on dinner at his home that Sunday. He's got a new smoker/grill (The BigGreenEgg)
that is a big ceramic thing and I gather is quite the "in" thing. Meal was simple,
grilled meat and baked potatoes and a salad. And lots of good conversation.
When I found out Larry was a home winemaker, I very much wanted to try his efforts.
He buys his Syrah grapes from a small home/non-commercial vnyd up in the LosAltosHills.
Oak treatment comes from chips. I thought the two Syrahs were quite competently
made, certainly spoke of Syrah, maybe even of LosAltosHills terrior, and no obvious
winemaking flaws. The '07 was pretty reduced on the nose, but I've had some of KenBurnap's
reds that were even worse, and it bodes well for it's aging, I think. Anyway,
a fun evening.
Tom