Martinelli fans?

Our small group from the east will be pinballing around Sonoma late next week and into the wknd and have a few hours Friday afternoon for a stop or two. Anyway, I keep coming back to Martinelli as a possibility for some reason - never tried a bottle, never had a passionate recommendation, yet associate the name with quality. Can’t shake the sense that I should dig deeper, but time is a little tight so would love to get some first-hand impressions. Are there any big fans out there? Does their entire lineup shine or do they work best with a specific varietal?

Some of their higher end wines are interesting, but the tasting room on River Road doesn’t pour them. We went once, but don’t see a need to return. If you are near old town Sonoma, the Ravenswood tasting is a better experience. There are also a number of smaller makers of old vine Zin and heritage wines, but not that many have tasting rooms.

Joseph Swan, Porter Creek, Rochioli, and many others are in the same neighborhood and better options, even accounting for palate diversity.

Do you like very big wines? That’s the threshold question, I think, because they’re over at one end of the style scale.

Almost every Martinelli wine is a riper, high octane style. If you like that, it’s a nice, easy visit, right off of River Road. I am not a fan of the wines, and would recommend a different stop. If you do have a few hours, and want a nice tasting in a great environment, I would recommend Copain. They are charging for tastings now, and it needs an appointment, but you can do it on the web, and it’s well worth it.

Yeah, think 16%+ alcohol in a Pinot and you can “feel the burn” big :wink:

To my palate, this winery is the poster child for ripeness, extraction and alcohol gone wild, but the wines aren’t cheap, so if “go big or go home” is your preferred style of drinking, you may find that these wines are in your wheelhouse.

I have to be in the right mood to drink a Martinelli wine. They are full throttle in your face wines. Lush, ripe and intoxicating.

The tasting room is an easy stop and a typical tasting room experience. It might be a good stop if you’re curious about the style but don’t have much time. You can get in and out of there within a half an hour easy.

They are generally big, ripe and lush, though I think some of their different pinot bottlings are relatively more or less so. They will certainly have their fans, though not as many here on WB, and those that are probably keep it to themselves.

I would say this, though - if you’ve always been curious about them, and you’re going to be there anyway, you might as well pop in for short visit. Sometimes, it’s worthwhile just to have the experience of different notable producers, the frame of reference, and the experience of trying something for yourself. I visited once, and it was a perfectly pleasant walk-in tasting experience.

That’s at least assuming you don’t already know from the general description that you’ll hate the wines, in which case there’s no need to torment yourself.

As a comparative, if you like Helen Turley-styled wines like Marcassin, then you might also like Martinelli.

I am going to put myself out there and say that I have enjoyed several Martinelli Zinfandels, namely Jackass Vineyard, G&L, and Vigneto do Evo. I realize that I am in the minority, but I find pleasure all over the wine flavor spectrum.

The Jackass Hill Vineyard is pretty cool to consider as well. I have only seen pictures and videos of it, and it’s a marvel in California.

Thanks for replies and straightforward opinions so far. I don’t necessarily have a style preference. I’ll chew up a Herman Story syrah like it’s the last drink on earth yet would drink spinach juice if it had a Mathiasson label on it.

I suppose it’s more about the quality of balance for me which is sort of just the quality of quality - regardless of style, you know it when you taste it and the more good wine you drink the less easily you’re fooled.

So, not necessarily repelled or attracted by the size of the wine. Since I’m travelling with friends who have never been in the area and are somewhat less invested it may actually be worthwhile to check out some accessible, entry-level wines in a casual room. Just kidding!

But I may pop in. Copain suggestion is right on, but I’m fairly familiar with the wines and it’s closer in style to some visits we’ve already scheduled. Swan is a good call, I’ve considered that before and may finally just do it. RAvenswood also, but we won’t be in that neighborhood too long.

They make some of the better Pinots in the high-ripeness style. The Moonshine Ranch is a favorite. They don’t age.

I did like Moonshine Ranch, though it was a long time ago. I liked the Martinelli Vineyard pinot as well.

When I visited, I bought one bottle of Blue Slide Ridge pinot (2007, I think). It wasn’t available to taste, but I figured it was worth trying a bottle of it for the experience. 15.1% alcohol.

It was one of those wines that was fairly enjoyable in a decadent way for a little while, but as my wife and I got farther into the bottle and the bottle warmed up (we took it to dinner at Roy’s), it got kind of tiresome. We left the last glass or two behind. But I think BSR and a very ripe vintage like 2007 was probably the most extreme their pinots get - other bottlings from other vintages are probably less extreme.

This is good advice. It is literally right on River Road (to the point where you may fly past it doing the 50mph speed limit). You can be in and out of there in 10 minutes if you want to. It’s unlikely they will have any of the more “prestige” bottles open for tasting, however (I use the word “prestige” to reflect the more famous, higher scoring wines).

I like them. Not something I want to drink every day but I find them very tasty on occasion.

Like others have said Martinelli = high octane wines (at least the zins are). I like their Zio Tony Ranch and Blue Slide Ridge pinots but have not had time to taste current releases. If you can fit a visit in, suggest going to Patz & Hall (in Sonoma) - not a bad wine in the line-up they are pouring.

Just stop at a gas station and fill a bottle from the pump. It will give you a good sense of the style and save some money.

Ouch! I haven’t tried any made during this decade so I’m loathe to comment. Yes, they were over the top (sometimes mindbogglingly), but times change and I’d be curious enough to taste a couple.

RT

I’ll keep that in mind, Rich - maybe I’ll slip a bottle into the line-up the next time we check up on the latest vintage of Shafer Relentless [stirthepothal.gif] .

Except one will kill you and the other will just give you a headache the next day.