Cold Heaven tasting with Scott Manlin

Scott Manlin has become partners with Morgan Clendenden in the red wine part of Cold Heaven. I knew about the great viogniers but had no idea they also did red wines. Scott met with me last week and poured several wines. I forgot about at least one, the 2009 Le Bon Climat viognier. The rest of the wines mostly ranged from good to excellent.My two favorites were the the 2007 Saints and Sinners viognier and the 2005 Two Sins syrah.

Scott also pulled barrel samples for wines he is involved in making. One is blend of a couple of vineyards for pinot noir for the 2009 vintage. The other is 2010 juice that already tastes like pinot noir.

Here are my notes of the wines I remember:
2009 Cold Heaven Viognier - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley (10/28/2010)
This was bottled only a few months prior to tasting, but it’s showing really well. I liked it enough to buy a bottle. Really nice acidity but balanced. Some flowers and citrus on the nose, and citrus and white fruit on the palate. Good balance and good finish. For a wine they put under screw cap because they don’t think it’s as serious as some of their other viognier it was showing very well. Quite food friendly, too.

2008 Cold Heaven Viognier Vogelzang Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley (10/27/2010)
In contrast to the 2009 Santa Ynez, this seemed to be the wine that was bottle shocked. Unyielding on the nose. Nothing that smelled like viognier. Fairly generic on the palate. Some zinginess but not a lot beyond the citrus acidity. I don’t know if it’s closed down or if it just needed more air. Probably my least favorite wine of the tasting.

2008 Cold Heaven Viognier Sanford & Benedict - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills - Sta. Rita Hills (10/28/2010)
A nice wine but it had a little heat showing. This seemed more apples and white fruit on the nose than citrus. Okay finish.

2008 Cold Heaven Viognier Le Bon Climat Santa Barbara County - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County (10/28/2010)
This was the driest Viognier in the line up. Not quite austere but lots of zip to let you know it’s a dry wine. Pretty much requires food. More citrus on the nose and palate. I liked it, but not as much as the other wines.

2007 Domaine des 2 Mondes Viognier Saints and Sinners Sanford & Benedict - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills - Sta. Rita Hills (10/28/2010)
Great stuff. One of the better California viogniers I’ve tasted. The saying is all viognier is either Julia Roberts or Dolly Parton and this is definitely at the Dolly Parton end of the spectrum. Nice fullness and richness. But it’s not flabby. Good acidity as well. An unusual amount of depth. It seems you usually have to blend viognier with rousanne or marsanne to get much complexity. Flowers and a streak of honey on the nose. Not much citrus on the nose but that shows u in the palate. Also, white fruits on the palate. Very well balanced. Excellent finish. I get the sense this will improve for at least three or four more years. I bought some of this.

2007 Cold Heaven Viognier Le Bon Climat Santa Barbara County - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County (10/28/2010)
Yum. Good stuff. More Dolly Partionish than Julia Roberts, but lots of nice acidity to it. Citrus and peaches on the nose. A good viognier nose. More citrus on the palate. Good finish. I liked this quite a bit. (91 pts.)

2005 Cold Heaven Syrah Second Sin Santa Barbara County - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County (10/28/2010)
This is showing great, especially with some air. I didn’t even know Cold Heaven made red wines and this was a fantastic introduction. 13.6 percent alcohol but nice, pure flavors. Hardly thin and insipid. Darker fruits on the nose and palate and also some floral notes. Maybe a touch of black pepper and other spice. This had an elegance I think a lot of Santa Babara area pinot makers would envy. Everything is om balance and it flows nicely from the attack through the mid palate and into the finish. This is still young and can go another five years easily. I’m guessing it’s still improving.

2003 Cold Heaven Syrah Second Sin Santa Barbara County - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County (10/28/2010)
Nice enough, but really paled in comparison to the 2005, which is stellar. Darker fruits but it seems fairly simple. It’s also too soft and doesn’t seem like it will be a long-term ager. No significant flaws and it tends to be more elegant than other California syrahs. I liked it but it didn’t knock my socks off.

Thanks for the notes, Steve. Morgan is making some great wines, and it will be interesting to see what Scott brings to the table - other than some great food!!! In all honesty, he really seems to be a ‘student’ of the process and has certainly networked with enough folks both here and overseas that make me believe he will produce some interesting things . . .

Cheers!

I like the Cold Heaven wines a lot… need to make sure I get to Los Alamos the next time I’m up there…

+3 on Cold Heaven; I’m a HUGE fan of Morgan’s viogniers, but haven’t tried any of the reds.

Damn, Manlin really is a doppelganger for Churchill!

Hi Steve

Thanks for coming by… I think you may have the names mixed up a wee bit…

You tasted, if I recall correctly:

09 Santa Ynez Valley (Under screw cap, Curtis Vineyard, R-Clone Fruit) - Curtis is a warmer climate than our other sites and therefore is botted earlier and under screw cap to preserve freshness. Glad you liked it.

08 - Vogelzang Vineyard Viognier - the above wine replaced this in our lineup after 09. As an aside, Curtis was grafted from Vogezang.

08 - Le Bon Climat Vineyard Viognier - planted in 1998

09 - Le Bon Climat Vineyard Viognier - Sisquoc Valley Viognier - this is the one that was bottled on 10/19 and had muted aromatics but the palate was there. It is not ready to be released.

08 - Sanford & Benedict Viognier - Santa Rita Hills, older vine Viognier (avg age 20 years)

07 - Domaine des Deux Mondes - Saints & Sinners Viognier - Collaboration with Yves Cuilleron, usin S & B fruit…more new oak, longer aging, more “his” style than “her” style

Of course the 03 and 05 Second Sin Syrah which is a blend of 3 cool climate sites, unfortunately I could not show you the 08 Domaine des Deux Mondes Syrah which is all from a Los Alamos Vineyard which we just bottled.

The barrel samples you tasted were our 09 NeverTell Pinot Noir, which is a theoretical blend of 667 and 2A from 2 Santa Rita Hills vineyards. The final blend will be decided as we get closer to bottling to decide what goes into the MakePeace and NeverTell blends. The second was the '10 “Secret Vineyard” pinot… it was pressed off and barreled down the week before. In '10 we made pinot from three differen vineyards and used 4 different clone 667, 2A, 115 and P5. You tasted a 115 out of a new FF barrel.

Thanks again for coming by…

No shipping to NJ - poop.

I tasted here earlier this year and liked the range of wines…however I didn’t taste Manlin’s red wines…maybe next time.


Glad you had a good tasting Steve.

I am preparing a barrel samples of the '09 for a tasting in Chicago next week. We’ll bottle them in March or so… you’ll taste them I sure.

The '10’s which is closer to 1000 cases (900 Pinot/100 Syrah) will be a long time off, but will be happy to let you taste in barrel if you are back out here.

Yeah, I checked, no can do

I guess I have a completely different opinion on this wine, especially in the context of its age. Good structure and amazingly fresh. Definitely elegant, and flat out one of the best Syrahs I’ve had. If the 2005 makes this look weak in comparison, then I must try it . . . .

• 2003 Cold Heaven Syrah Second Sin Santa Barbara County - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County (10/10/2010)
  Probably the best Syrah I’ve tasted. Showing no negative signs of its age–none of the typical porty/rum raisin notes CA wines get at all. Complex cool climate Syrah aromas of lavender, smoke, blackberry, coffee, though definitely had a bouquet at this juncture. The wine is fairly dark and dense, but not jammy or over-extracted. Fresh acidity and firm tannins that reflect a bit of age. Dark fruit on the attack with a creamy mid-palate, then coffee on the finish, nicely layered. No heat at 13.5% ABV. Floral aromas linger on the long finish–it just doesn’t end!

Given the structure and lack of advancement, I suspect this can go for another 5 years easily and even improve as the tannins recede. A hidden treasure, one of those small miracles of nature, though I think Clendenen/Cold Heaven know what they have and are in no hurry to push this out the door. The '04 is Bretty and not nearly as good (93 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

I would never have guessed Manlin was doing something so creative and interesting. Very cool. Good for you, Scott.

HELL YES! We should plan that before everyone’s calendar fills.

Steve tasted with Manlin and not Morgan? Dude, you got robbed! Morgan is a beautiful blonde, and Scott… well, Scott looks like Winston Churchill.

Coming from Sasquatch, I take that as a compliment.

I like the Le Bon Climat Viognier best of all.

Scott,
Are the “Sir Winston” reds at the tasting room yet? I’m going up this Fri/Sat.

John. We are racking the 09’s today, so they will not be in a good place to taste for awhile.

I will be back in Buellton after the 7th of December… we are having an event at the winery on 12/11, if you come for that, or around that time, will be happy to pull barrel samples for you from our 09’s and '10’s if you want to taste them

If you can wait until next fall…I’ll bring in a few big wind machines.

Black only, please…

Anyone have an opinion on the 2006 Cold Heaven Viognier Le Bon Climat Santa Barbara County. Drink? Hold? Ask Posner for additional bottles?