We tasted last week (1/25/17) some More New Red Wines:
1. PelletiereEstate Tievoli WillowCreekDist/PasoRobles (72% Sangiovese/28% Syrah; 14.5%) 2014: Very dark color;
bit milk of magnesia/dusty/earthy black cherry/Sangio/spicy quite Chianti-like bit rustic/bretty nose; some
black cherry/Sangio/slight blackberry lightly tart bit bretty/leathery/rustic flavor w/ light rough tannins;
very long slight leathery/bretty rather Sangio/black cherry/cherry lightly tart/wirey bit rustic finish w/ light
bit rough tannins; not the purity of fruit of an Italian Chianti but resembles some a good VinNobile di Montepulcino;
quite an Italianate type of red. $46.00
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2. Harrington l'Avventura 50% Sangiovese/Montepulciano Calif (81 cs; Mourv: GianelliVnyd/TuolumneCnty;
Sangio: SilettoVnyd/SanBenitoCnty; 14.1%) 2014
: Med.dark color; very bright cherry/Sangio/black cherry/spicy
quite perfumed clean/bright/zippy nose; lightly tart bright/Sangio/cherry slight earthy/dusty almost Pinotish
flavor w/ light tangy tannins; very long light/bright/cherry/Sangio slight earthy/dusty very light toasty/oak
finish w/ light sharp tannins; a very bright elegant expression of Sangio; almost like a Sangio made by a Pinot
producer; can use several yrs of age; a very pretty/attractive Sangio. $25.00
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3. PelletiereEstate Zin WillowCreekDist/PasoRobles (14.9%) 2014: Dark color; strong plummy/blackberry/boysenberry/
quite spicy/fragrant slight alcoholic light vanilla/oak quite attractive nose; bit soft rich/lush/strong
blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/very spicy slight licorice slight earthy/dusty balanced flavor w/ light smooth tannis;
very long strong blackberry/boysenberry/ripe/Zin/quite spicy slight earthy/dusty light vanilla/oak balanced/
rich/lush finish w/ light silky tannins; a balanced/smooth Paso Zin that avoids straying into the overripe/jammy
Paso Zin territory; reminds me a lot of the early Eberle SauretVnyd Zins w/o the strong oak signature;
very good Paso Zin. $42.00
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4. Harrington Zin OldVine/MixedBlacks ZeniRanch/MendoCnty (13.8%) 2015: Med.color; strong very spicy/Zin/raspberry
bright/zippy quite dusty/OV light toasty/oak some complex/OV nose; bit tart bright/raspberry/Zin/very spicy quite
dusty/OV light toasty/oak flavor w/ light gentle tannins; very long very spicy/raspberry/Zin bright/vibrant light
toasty/oak very dusty/OV finish w/ light smooth/graceful tannins; a lovely bright elegant OV Zin; reminds a lot
of the early Fetzers from Zeni but w/o Barney's heavy-handed Am.oak. $nc (BH)
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5. PelletiereEstate Lagrein WillowCreekDist/PasoRobles (14.8%) 2014: Very dark/near black color; very strong licorice/
plummy/boysenberry/ripe bit alcoholic almost chocolaty quite perfumed nose; strong ripe/plummy/blackberry/
boysenberry/licorice/bit pungent fairly extracted slight earthy/dusty flavor w/ modest rough tannins; very long
rich/ripe strong boysenberry/blackberry/licorice/chocolaty light earthy/loamy finish w/ some rough tannins;
quite structured and needs 4-8 yrs of age; lots of ripeness but not straying into the overripe/jammy Paso red
territory; speaks strongly of Lagrein but not the earthy/loamy character of those fromthe AltoAdige; a bit on
the pricey side at $56.00
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6. DavidCoffaro Lagrein DryCreekVlly/SonomaCnty (U/U; EB; 15.8%; 125 cs; BarrelAged: 16 mo.; www.Coffaro.com)
Geyserville 2014
: Very dark/near black color; very strong vanilla/toasty/oak very strong chocolaty/very ripe/
plummy/boysenberry somewhat alcoholic/fumey nose; soft rather fumey/alcoholic very strong vanilla/oak strong
chocolaty/plummy/boysenberry slight earthy flavor w/ modest bitey tannins; long very strong toasty/vanilla/oak
very ripe/chocolaty/plummy/boysenberry finish w/ modest hard tannins; resembles Dave's PetiteSirah more than
Lagrein; still a good example of what Calif Lagrein can be. $35.00
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7. Jolie-Laide Song of the Sunset (Grenache/Syrah/Viognier/Muscat of Alexandria; RossiRanchVnyd/SonomaCnty;
13.4%) Forestville 2014
: Dark color; strong strawberry/blackberry/plummy/bit boysenberry some dusty/OV light
earthy/garrige/herbal light toasty/oak nose; rather tart blackberry/strawberry/fairly plummy some Rhonish/garrigue
light toasty/oak flavor w/ light rough tannins; long rather strawberry/Grenache/plummy light toasty/charred/oak
bit earthy some Rhonish/garrigue finish w/ light gritty tannins; a quite attractive somewhat Rhonish GSM blend
but a bit overpriced. $41.50 (Cured)
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8. BedrockWineCo Heritage GibsonRanch/McDowellVlly/MendoCnty RW (Planted in 1880's; 14.3%; Syrah/PS/Peloursin/
TrousseauNoir/Grenache) 2013
: Dark color; beautiful peppery/spicy/blackberry/Syrah slight black olive/roasted/
smoked meats some dusty/OV complex nose; bit soft strong blackberry/Syrah/bit peppery light black olive/smoked
meats quite dusty/OV flavor w/ modest smooth tannins; very long rather dusty/OV strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy
slight black olive/smoked meats/bit Rhonish flavor w/ modest ripe/smooth tannins; a beautiful wine that only
hints at what GibsonRanch can deliver. $38.00
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9. Once&Future Zin BedrockVnyd/SonomaVlly/SonomaCnty (126 yr old vines; Picked: 9/2/2014; 100% Fr.oak,
30% new brls; 200 cs; pH: 3.51, TA: 0.58 gm/100ml; Bttld: Nov 2015; www.OnceAndFutureWine.com; 13.77%)
JoelPeterson/Sonoma 2014
: Dark color; beautiful dusty/OV very spicy/blackberry/Zin/peppery very light toasty/oak
quite complex nose; lightly tart very spicy/blackberry/Zin/bit peppery light toasty/oak rather dusty/OV balanced/
rich flavor w/ modest ripe/smooth tannins; very long/lingering quite dusty/OV very strong blackberry/peppery/very
spicy/Zin very light toasty/oak slight earthy very complex finish w/ some smooth/ripe tannins; not a huge amount
of fruit but very spicy and much like Joel's Ravenswoods of yore; the balance should carry this out at least 10 yrs.
$42.00
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10. Carlisle Zin BedrockVnyd/SonomaVlly/SonomaCnty (15.3%; Plntd: 1888; +Mourv/PS/AlicanteBouschet; 355 cs) 2014:
Dark color; more fragrant/perfumed very spicy/blackberry/Zin/licorice/slight peppery slightly alcoholic quite
fruity/juicy/lush lovely intense nose; soft very spicy quite dusty/OV intense blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/ripe
structured light toasty/oak flavor w/ modest hard tannins; very long/lingering quite dusty/OV intense blackberry/
boysenberry/Zin/very spicy light toasty/oak ripe/lush/rich structured bit complex finish w/ ample ripe/hard
tannins; clearly riper and more intense fruit but nowhere near being over the top or overripe; a classic
Carlisle Zin that should age very well. $44.70
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11. Once&Future PetiteSirah PalisadesVnyd/Calistoga/NapaVlly (37 yr old vines; Picked: 9/8/2014; 100% Fr.oak,
30% new; 270 cs; pH: 3.61, TA: 0.58; Bttld: Nov 2015; 14.01%) 2014
: Very dark/black color; strong boysenberry/
huge fruit/blackberry/PS some spicy light toasty/oak rather intense nose; soft ripe/blackberry/boysenberry/PS/big
fruit light toasty/oak slight earthy/peppery quite structured some spicy flavor w/ modest hard/ripe tannins;
very long ripe/blackberry/PS/bit spicy light toasty/oak finish w/ modest angular tannins; quite structured &
needs age; loads of fruit and not your usual PS clunky oafishness; an outstanding PS. $55.00
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12. Carlisle PetiteSirah PalisadesVnyd/NapaVlly (15.4%; 570 cs; U/U) 2013: Very black color; very ripe bit alcoholic
deep/chocolaty/boysenberry/licorice/PS some earthy/dusty light toasty/oak rather big nose; slight hot/alcoholic
softer huge/chocolaty/blackberry/PS/licorice/boysenberry light toasty/oak bit earthy/dusty flavor w/ ample hard
tannins; very long softer huge fruit/blackberry/chocolaty/PS/licorice bit pungentlight toasty/oak bit earthy
finish w/ ample firm tannins; shows more of the clunky side of PS but loads of fruit; cleary a bit riper but
not at all overripe or raisened; very structured and needs age. $47.20
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0. PelletiereEstate Viognier WillowCreekDist/PasoRobles (14.2%; www.Pelletiere.com) 2015: Light gold color; quite
fragrant perfumed talc/peach/pear/Viog/bit spicy light vanilla/oak quite attractive nose; lightly tart/tangy
bright/spicy ripe pear/Viog/peach/floral perfumed talc nutmeg/spicy light vanilla/oak flavor; very long tart/
tangy/metallic ripe pear/Viog/peach/rather spicy finish; a bright elegant spicy Viog far from DollyParton
territory; lots of ripe pear character w/ spicy/nutmeg; doesn't seem as ripe as the 14.2% would suggest. $32.00
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1. PelletiereEstate Syrah WillowCreekDist/PasoRobles (15.2%) 2014: Rather dark color; strong blackberry/Syrah/
boysenberry/ripe slight jammy/PR some toasty/smokey/oak bit plummy/licorice/peppery rather fragrant nose;
soft ripe/blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry bit PR/jammy light toasty/smokey/oak balanced flavor w/ modest smooth/ripe
tannins; long ripe/blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry/plummy/licorice bit soft light smokey/oak finish w/ modest soft/
ripe tannins; lots of ripe PR/Syrah fruit w/o being overripe; alcohol does not show at all; a bit along the style
of the Eberle Syrahs. $46.00
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More stuff from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. PelletiereEstate: This is the PasoRobles wnry of JanisDenner. I had a Harrington Lagrein from her vnyd over a
month ago that blew me away, so I wanted to try her Lagrein and decided to order a few others of hers to try.
I was rather impressed by these five wines I tried. They had a fair amount of alcohol but carried it well, I thought.
Though on the ripe side, they didn't have that jammy/overripe character that many Paso reds tend to show. Good
wines and good winemaking from Paso.
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2. Lagrein: A variety that descendes from Teroldego, making it related to Syrah. Grown almost entirely in the
SudTirol of Italy, where it produces reds w/ a distinct earthy/loamy character that are often on the soft
side. It was first produced in Calif by ChrisWhitcraft some yrs from the Miller's vnyd on Eastside Paso. It
was a wine that spoke more of Chris' Pinots, dominated by toasty Fr.oak. The Harrington & Pelletiere Lagreins are
world-class expressions of this grape and evidence there should be more Lagrein planted in Calif...as in all
up & down the Coast. For folks who believe that an intensely black wine is a hallmark of quality...Lagrein is
your grape.
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3. BedrockGibson: Back in the mid-late '80's, the McDowellVllyVnyds made a PS from GibsonRanch that was outstanding.
The wines were made by GeorgeBursick. They eventually found that much of the PS in GibsonRanch was acttually
Syrah and started making McDVV Syrah. It was world-class Syrah...as good as anything made in Calif. Alas, the
McDVV Syrahs went downhill over the yrs. When the Bilbros bought GibsonRanch, I was very excited that, once
again, GibsonRanch would be delivering world-class Syrah. Alas, this Bedrock is not that wine. It is good...
nay...very good GibsonRanch red. But it only hints, I think, of the glories that GibsonRanch will eventually
deliver.
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4. O&F: I had tasted these two wines overlooking the beautiful/scenic scum pond at BedrockVnyd last June when
Susan & I had lunch w/ Joel. I liked them quite a lot then. In this tasting, I liked them even more. Reminded
me a lot of those old Ravenswoods Joel used to make. I'm looking forward to trying the latest O&F's.
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5. PS: I'm not a huge fan of PetiteSirah. I find that many renditions of the grape are on the oafish/clunky/
stupid side and lacking in fruit. Both of these were loaded w/ rather Zin-like blackberry fruit. The Carlisle
showed a bit more alcohol but was nowhere near being over the top. Both outstanding expressions of a grape that
often doesn't deliver.
Tom


Edited by TomHill (02-23-2017 09:45:39)