We tried last night (7/15/09) Some '07 Rhones and SanLiege Rhones:
1. SansLiege Cotes du Coast DerbyWestside/PasoRobles (28% Roussanne, 26% Marsanne,
46% Viognier; curt@SansLiege.com; 9 brls; 14.7%; 206 cs) 2007: Med.gold color; lovely honeysuckle/
floral/perfumed/pear very lush nose; soft rich/lush slight metallic very floral/honeysuckle/peachy/
ripe textured flavor; very long lush/rich peach/floral/honeysuckle ripe finish; a big rich/lush
floral lovely RhoneBlanc blend w/ heaps of fruit. Great price at $22.00
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2. SansLiege Sancha "my other white wine" DerbyWestside/PasoRobles (100% Marsanne; 51 cs;
14.5%) 2007: Med.dark gold color; some vanilla/oak appley/melony/minerally/slight floral perfumed
nose; tart rich/lush some vanilla/toasty/oak appley/melony/minerally/floral slight bitter flavor;
very long ripe/lush bit floral rather appley/minerally finish; needs a few yrs; lots of perfume
for a young Marsanne; fairly priced at $25.00
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3. Jaffurs Rose SB County 2007: Pale salmon color; attractive cranberry/watermelon/fruity light
cinammon/spicy nose; tart bright cranberry/watermelon slight earthy/spicy/cinammon bit tannic
flavor; med.long light cranberry/watermelon slight tannic spicy/cinammon finish; a very
attractive/quaffable rose w/ a slight tannic edge that gives some brightness & interest.
About $16.00, if available.
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4. Domaine Grand Nicolet Cotes du Rhone (80%Grenache/10% Syrah/10% Carignan; Average age of
vines/45 yrs; 14%) 2007: Very dark color; strong GrenCurt Schalchlinache/earthy bit garrigue/spicy not
particularly fruity some CdP-like nose; tart rather tannic earthy/Grenache slight strawberry bit
spicy/garrigue flavor; med.long quite tannic/extracted earthy/dusty/RhoneGrenache finish; needs
2-5 yrs; more like a Jr.CdP than a CdR; great price at $15.35
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5. Domaine Alary Cairanne "La Brunote" Cotes du Rhone Villages (70% Grenache/30% Mourvedre,
14.5%; NonFiltre) Denis Alary Vigneron-Recoltant 2007: Dark color; more fragrant Grenache/strawberry
light earthy/garrigue nose; rich spicy very fruity/strawberry/Grenache/perfumed off-dry bit alcoholic
soft flavor; very long lush/strawberry/Grenache slight earthy/garrigue finish w/ light tannins;
lots of lush Grenache fruit but a bit off-dry on the palate. $20.85
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6. Domaine Alary Cairanne "La Font d'Estevenas" CoRe: Siduri/Novytes du Rhone Villages (60% Grenache/
40% Syrah; 14.5%; Non Filtre) 2007: Dark color; less Grenache fruit somewhat earthy/dusty more
Rhonish nose; soft fairly lush some Grenache/strawberry bit earthy/garrigue light tannic flavor; long
lush Grenache/strawberry bit earthy/dusty finish w/ light tannins; more earthy/SouthernRhone
character. $26.35
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7. Domaine Les Grands Bois Cairanne "Cuvee Maximilien" Cotes du Rhone Villages (50% Grenache/
35%Mourvedre/10%Syrah/5%Carignan; 14.5%; Non Filtre) Farjon Besnardeau 2007: Very dark color; strong
Grenache/Rhonish/garrigue some strawberry/boysenberry/fragrant nose; very rich/lush/ripe Grenache/
Rhonish some strawberry/boysenberry light tannic flavor; long/lush/soft/ripe strawberry/boysenberry/
Grenache slight garrigue/Rhonish finish w/ light tannins; bit of Rhone character but rather Calif
in style. Great price at $18.65
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8. Domaine Les Grands Bois Rasteau "Cuvee Marc" Cotes du Rhone Villages (50%Grenache/
25%Mourvedre/25%Syrah, Non Filtre; 14.5%) Farjon Besnardeau 2007: Very dark color; strong Grenache/
strawberry/blackberry slight Rhonish/earthy very ripe nose; soft slight tannic very ripe Grenache/
strawberry/boysenberry/SmuckersJam lush/rich flavor; very long slight tannic ripe/lush/strawberry/
Grenache/boysenberry finish; bit more ripe & lush & Calif in style; still a good price at $24.15
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9. SansLiege Grenache AltaMesa/DerbyWestside/Pipestone/CentralCoast (250 cs; 15.7%; 12 brls) 2006:
Med.color; lovely Grenache/strawberry/spicy light toasty/oak very perfumed/fragrant nose; tart very
spicy/strawberry/Grenache light toasty/oak bit alcoholic lovely flavor; med.long light tannic bright/
strawberry/Grenache/spicy finish; a very pretty/spicy Grenache for current drinking. $30.00
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10. SansLiege TheOffering DerbyWestside/Pipestone/SBHighlands/TierraAlta/Zotovich (41% Grenache;
36% Syrah, 21% Mourvedre, 2% Viognier/SantaBarbaraCnty; 15.4%; 33 brls; 765 cs) 2006: Med.color;
very attractive strawberry/blackberry/Grenache slighht alcoholic light oak/smokey nose; soft bright/
strawberry/Grenache/blackberry/spicy light smokey/oak bit alcoholic finish w/ light tannins;
alcohol shows thru a bit but a very pretty/spicy Rhone blend at a good price. $24.00
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11. SansLiege 63%Syrah/37%Mourvedre "TheProphetess" SantaBarbaraHighlands/TierraAlta/Zotovich/
SantaBarbara (45 cs; 15.4%) NV: Dark color; strong blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry light licorice/plummy
somewhat spicy/peppery bit alcoholic nose; soft ripe/blackberry/Syrah light plummy/licorice very
light toasty/oak very attractive flavor; long strong blackberry/Syrah/DrPepper/spicy/cola light
toasty/oak bit mocha/peppery finish w/ light tannins; a pretty/bright/spicy Syrah blend. $32.00
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12. Domaines Bunan Mourvedre Vin de Pays du MontCaume (MeBaD; http://www.Bunan.com; 13%)
Cadiere d'Azur/Bandol/Var 2006: Dark color; earthy/funky bit LateHarvesty/very ripe some plummy/
licorice interesting nose; soft/fat earthy/dusty/old vines plummy/licorice bit funky/earthy/
barnyardy flavor; med.long very ripe/plummy/licorice bit funky/earthy finish w/ light tannins;
somewhat interesting but a bit overripe. $16.00
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13. Jaffurs Mourvedre Thompson Vnyd/SB County (13.5%) 2007: Very dark color; some toasty/smokey/oak
strong plummy/licorice perfumed bit peppery/perfumed talc very fragrant nose; strong plummy/licorice/
Mourv lush/ripe/spicy light smokey/oak flavor; very long lush/ripe strong plummy/licorice/Mourv/
black cherry bit smokey/pungent/oak finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs yet; lots of Mourv
fruiit but good structure & balance. $34.00
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And the usual pompous panderings from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. JaffursRose: This was not the typical CalifRose. Most Rhone-style roses are made using saignee
juice from the regular Syrah or Grenache production. This was not a saignee rose. The grapes, from
Verna's vnyd, were from a "green drop" that was done before the regular Syrah harvest; so from
less-than-ripe Syrah grapes. These were specifically targeted to make this rose. Only one barrel
was made, so it's not for regular sale on the Jaffurs Site. But a little whining & pleading at
Dave or Craig could probably score you a btl or two. Quite a nice rose in a more leaner/restrained
style.
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2. SansLiege: I first tried Curt Schalchlin's wines, just one white, at RhoneRangers '09. Liked it a lot,
but didn't make it back to his table to try his reds. MeBad. I was, like many others, attracted to
his wine by their very exotic labels. From woodcuts by artist Lynd Ward in the '20's. But the wine
speaks for itself. So I order a mixed case to try w/ my group. I then had a bit more time to talk
with Curt at HdR'09 and try some of his reds.
Sourcing grapes from a number of SantaBarbara & Paso vnyds, all familar friends, he makes his wines
in the CentralCoastWineCoop in SantaMaria. I was particularly impressed by his Whites. The reds showed
a bit of alcoholic heat, but were hardly what you would term over-the-top. They are bright/zippy/spicy/
lively reds, maybe a bit in the style of BobLindquist's, with a bit less oak and less depth of fruit.
More trebble notes and less base notes than Bob's. A winery I've followed from the very start and
plan to continue following into the future.
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3. FrenchStuff: The CdR's were provided by Larry, from the WineHouse in LA. The '07 CdR's and
SouthernRhones we've had thus far have all been pretty impressive...and well-priced.
Tom
