Nomadic Wines

Trip to Sonoma

I took a relaxing trip to Sonoma with my wife and my parents. We didn't pack the schedule with appointments, but we did visit a few wineries and we drank some nice wine with dinners. By the end of the trip, I realized that I almost always visit Pinot producers, in Sonoma, who make wine in warehouses. I am going to concentrate some effort on visiting more traditional wineries (still small) in Napa, just to explore more diverse wineries.

December 27, 2006
Inman Family Wines with Kathleen Inman

• 2005 Inman Family Pinot Grigio – strong acidity, pear, pear skins, and citrus peel. Nice finish. The pear is strongest on the finish, with a nice variation between fleshy fruit and acidity.


• 2004 Inman Family OGV Pinot Noir – nose of deep cherry and spicebox flavors. Tart cherry and cranberry on the palate.


• 2005 Inman Family OGV Late Harvest Pinot Grigio – very light with low alcohol (tasted like 8-10%). I tasted lemon peel and fresh pear – it is very fresh overall, not cloying at all. Some light nuttiness on the finish add another dimension. The finish has a little acidity, but there is a little flabbiness… the rest of the wine is so nice; the finish is just a notch below.


• 2003 Inman Family Olivet Grange Pinot – purer fruit, more earth, grainier tannins, less spice, and strawberry.


• 2005 Inman Family OGV Pinot Noir (from 375 mL) – little bit of cola, clove, deep dark cherry. It has high acidity and it is more floral than the other vintages… the vines are clearly maturing and yielding darker fruit flavors.

Kathleen was an extremely gracious host. She spent the entire afternoon with us, drinking wine and talking about her winery. She planted her estate winery in 2000 so the vines are still young. She is learning a lot quickly, so I only expect the wines to get better. We talked about yields in her winery as well as the Klopp vineyard (she got fruit from them in 2006), mentorship from fellow winemakers, and how she runs the business. A wonderful visit and I am looking forward to when she has a tasting room on her property.


Dinner at the girl & the fig

• 2003 Château de la Gardine Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (12/27/2006)
  ($60 off the list)
  Raspberry, bing cherry, tar, anise… smooth wine but grainy tannins. There was a little heat/spice on the finish which reminds me of peppercorn. The tannins were in balance, drying the mouth slightly, and lingering on the mouth.


• 2005 Mark Ryan Chardonnay - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Red Mountain (12/27/2006)
  (brought with us)
  Coconut, lemon, creamy, vanilla… there is a touch of butter and oak with a finish that was like the oils from lemon peel. Nice wine (though less powerful Ramey from the next day) and a good match with my scallops/butternut squash entrée.

This turned out to be the best meal of the trip. The food wasn't "wow" kind of food, but I thought it was good value and well-executed. The balley-hooed fig salad wasn't exciting; maybe it would be more exciting when fresh figs are in-season.

December 28, 2006
Carlisle Winery with Mike Officer
We arrived 20 minutes late for our appointment with Mike. If you go to visit them, I recommend getting directions from Mike... because the last little bit is tricky. Since we were late and Mike had to pick up his son at practice, we just tasted about five wines from barrel.

• 2005 Carlisle Dry Creek Zinfandel (Teldeschi, Goldmine, and ?) – an elegant Zin… i.e. not truly elegant, but well-structured and feminine. Nice wine – I’ll be looking for this one.


• 2005 Carlisle Goldmine Zinfandel – harder with more heat and fruit… this just lacked any of the elegance that the blend had.


• 2005 Carlisle Pietro’s Vineyard – blend of everything from vineyard, in 2005 all picked at the same time. We talked about Alicante as a varietal – it provides a lot of dark color and depth. I’m not even sure how much Alicante was in this vineyard but it was interesting to learn about it.


• 2005 Carlisle Bennett Valley Syrah – the most northern Rhone of the Syrahs and I think Mike said it is the lowest alcohol. Nice cool climate Syrah.


• 2005 Carlisle Papa’s Block Syrah – this had fruit up-front, but green olive on the finish. This wasn’t my favorite that day.


• 2005 Carlisle Russian River Valley Syrah (Parsons Vineyard) – dominated by blackberry and other black fruit, though the alcohol and tannins seemed to be well-knit. Pleasure wine.


• 2005 Carlisle Knights Valley Syrah – soft tannins, black fruit, vanilla… this was the new modern California style that many winemakers are focused on.

Mike answered a lot of questions. When asking Mike which Syrah was his favorite, he gave a very tactful (and intelligent) response – it was nice in 2005 to be able to make a range of wines.
I was also interested to hear his take on vineyard designation – he thinks the practice is abused and he prefers to use it when he has to or when he thinks it actually adds value.
Mike has a great grasp of winemaking, so it is easy for him to answer questions. It was nice to visit right before I get the mailer, so that now I know which wines I want to purchase.


Siduri with Kate Noble

• 2005 Novy Chardonnay – fruity with a small bit of oak


• 2005 Siduri Sonatera Vineyard Pinot Noir – earthy spices, lush cherry, great balance already, pure red fruit. Stunning at a young age.


• 2005 Siduri Sapphire Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir – mushroom, bigger wine (less elegant than the Sonatera), dark cherry, and a low fruit tone finish (not ideal).


• 2005 Siduri Garys’ Vineyard Pinot Noir – high acidity, tart, and seems to be coming together slowly. This is definitely an awkward stage, even though I am always more of a Garys’ Syrah fan.


• 2005 Siduri Rosella’s Vineyard Pinot Noir – strange effervescence is accompanied by creaminess. Lots of red fruit… maybe even more awkward than the Garys’ at this point.


• 2005 Siduri Cargasacchi Vineyard Pinot Noir – fruit forward and more fruit on the finish. A little simple but definitely a fun wine and a great example of SRH Pinot.


• 2004 Novy Amber Ridge Vineyard Syrah – crushed berries and chocolate, with a very clean finish. I enjoyed this wine and I bought a bottle because it is an Amber Ridge.

(from tank)

• 2005 Novy Sonoma County Syrah – pretty color, fruit forward, long finish = recipe for a great $20 California Syrah.


• 2005 Novy Rosella’s Vineyard Syrah – smokey, ashen, licorice… looking forward to seeing where this goes.


• 2005 Novy Christensen Vineyard Syrah – white pepper, green pepper, and maybe some black pepper… seriously, not as pepper-y as the 2004 but this isn’t my cup of tea. I think other people really like this because it is well-made and consistent from vintage to vintage.

Dinner at Café La Haye

• 2004 Ramey Chardonnay Russian River Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (12/28/2006)
  ($33 for 375 mL on list)
  Delicious Chardonnay with nuttiness, lemon, subtle oak, peach, saltiness, and slight tinge of smokiness. There was nice oily acidity on the finish.


• 2004 Walter Hansel Winery Pinot Noir Cahill Lane - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (12/28/2006)
  ($60 on list)
  Feminine, sexy cherry, with very soft tannins. The finish lingers for a long time. Along with the Sonatera, best Pinot of the trip. As it opens, sweet mushrooms come out and it becomes silkier. Interesting color – deep, deep red color.

The food was a little busy, but the good overall. The wine list is impressive. It would be nice to have a dinner there where we opened a few bottles off their list - they had great prices of SQN, Shafer Hillside Select, and a few other hard-to-find wines.

December 29, 2006
Merry Edwards Winery with Jackie
We started by talking about Merry and her history, which has been well-documented. I think PinotFile did a great job discussing the history. They have an artist’s rendering of their new facility at the Coopersmith Vineyard. (Coopersmith is the last name of Merry’s husband.) Looks like a nice, modern facility but integrated nicely into the landscape.

• 2004 Merry Edwards Russian River Valley Pinot Noir – cinnamon, cherry, pure in a simple sense. After tasting the Klopp, we could taste the difference especially on the finish (even though this was 50% Klopp fruit).


• 2004 Merry Edwards Klopp Ranch Pinot Noir – plum, black cherry, sweet fruit, and a long finish. Not my style, but extremely well-made.


• 2004 Merry Edwards Meredith Estate Pinot Noir – the label says Sonoma Coast but it is more like Russian River Valley – it is a masculine wine. Compared to the Klopp, it is silkier, less tannins (though grainy), and lighter bodied. I tasted red berries and cherry, though the wine seemed a little dumb and continued to close while in the glass.


• 2005 Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc – tart peach on the nose with fleshy fruit upfront; I got grapefruit on the finish with a little brown sugar.

Dinner at Redd

• 2004 Peay Vineyards Syrah La Bruma - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (12/29/2006)
  ($78 on list)
  Darker purple than I remember… pretty much opaque. This is my type of Cali Syrah… meaty, blueberry, smokey on the nose. The palate is filled with iodine and bacon fat. This is a complex wine that maintained its strength over the next two hours. My dad found it to be thin, but I think it just lacked the jammy fruit he was looking out for.


• 2005 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc La Crau - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (12/29/2006)
  ($76 on list)
  Translucent with a yellow tint, it started with a ripe nose of citrus and pears; it evolved into caramel, honey, and candied peach. After about 1.5 hours, I tasted fresh fig and melon. By the end of the bottle, it was back to citrus.

December 30, 2006
Lynmar Winery tasting
There was an interesting article today about Lynmar. I had hoped to meet a winemaker or taste more wines, but I guess we arrived early. Next time I will call ahead because even though tasting room is beautiful, the people in the room didn't seem to want us there.

• 2005 Lynmar Russian River Valley Chardonnay – more citrusy with a touch of spice on the palate. Tasted pear and a slight touch of butter, but not as much oak.


• 2004 Lynmar Quail Hill Chardonnay – estate grown fruit is masked a little by toasty new oak. The wine still showed peach on the nose and creaminess.


• 2004 Lynmar Pinot Noir – Russian River Valley blend is bright red cherry all-around with some candied notes. Smelled a little raspberry on the nose and it is floral. An average Pinot for the price.


• 2004 Lynmar Syrah – another blend from RRV fruit, it was ashy and smoky on the nose with some gaminess. The palate had relatively strong acidity, green olive, and chalky tannins. I am interested to see how this develops because it needs a little more time.

Labels: Chardonnay, family, Pinot Noir, restaurants, Sonoma, wine

posted by nomadfromcincy @ 9:43 AM