Wine Impressions 7-4-18

Wine Impressions - 7-4-18

Bubbles:
N/V Roederer Estate, Rose Anderson Valley - while this is dry and correct, the flavors are more fruity than is my preference and without nuance; it will do, but not more.
N/V Champalou, Vouvray Brut - with watermelon gazpacho the perfect foil. Without, still a lovely wine that restores ones humor. Delicious.

Whites:
2012 Cowan Cellars, Ribolla Gialla - 100% skin-fermented all the way to dry. Light copper color, no oxidation, some grip with cooked stone fruit flavors and spice but also good cut. 11.7 abv. Unlike anything else and at peak.
2015 Massican, Gaspere - Chardonnay, Ribolla and Friuliano; extremely bright (to the point where I let it warm in glass) with fresh fruit and impressive length. Needs time to come together.
2016 Louis Michel, Chablis Vaillons - more breadth than I anticipated, still plenty of cut and wet stone accents but this is mouth-filling. Perhaps, we are into this in its baby fat years but it’s still better than most Chardonnay from outside Chablis.
2015 Dom. Chantemerle, Chablis Fourchaume - young, stony, bright and broad in the mouth with good length. Holds promise.
2014 Louis Michel, Chablis Montee de Tonnerre - crystal clear, wonderfully scented fabulous across the palate, perfect balance and nice length. Special stuff and showing at a Grand Cru level right now.
2015 Bryan MacRobert Wines, Chenin Blanc Hillside Vineyards - deep gold color, funky, oily nose and a complex palate with just a hint of sweetness. South African wine and I don’t usually play well together and this won’t turn me around.
2016 Cave Dog, Albariño - spicy with good focus and citric-like acidity, quite long. This seems to be closing down a little so I will let my remaining bottles rest. Better on days 2 and 3.
2014 Sandlands, Chenin Blanc Napa - sharp on opening but gained depth and soul over the evening. IMO, the best Chenin Tegan does/did.
2015 Fevre, Chablis Champs Royaux (mag.) - very stony on the nose, even as it approaches room temp., little fruit, good intensity and sustain. Not grand cru but not bad.
2017 Huber, Gruner Veltliner - beautiful with ceviche, adequate on its own.
2016 ESJ, Heart of Gold - as always, delivers well above its weight class.


Rose:
2015 Navarro, Rose of Pinot Noir - it has lost that initial freshness but it’s still a lovely drop.
2014 Idlewild, Grenache Gris - aging this was the right thing to do as the complexity is showing thru now and the tannins are more integrated. Really love this wine but I always have.
2017 Dom. de Marquiliana, Rose - Corsican rose that was dry, very light and tender.

Reds:
2012 Kelly Fox, Pinot Noir Mirabai - softer than expected but lovely flavors and mouth feel; coming together.
2016 Elio Grasso Gavarini, Langhe Nebbiolo - it’s got a little of that insecticide thing on the nose but it’s all supple strength in the mouth. It feels like a little aging is in order here despite its entry level pedigree.
2013 Dirty and Rowdy, Mourvèdre Shake Ridge Ranch - Wow! The next time Hardy tells me to “give it a few years” I’ll understand. All of the whole cluster has been integrated, the palate has deepened and lengthened, and, everyone I poured it for got excited. Sublime expression of the grape and deserving of an “Oh my!”
2015 Cusumano, Nero d’Avola - needs air badly; once it gets it, a fine grained, slightly rustic expression of the grape with a worsted wool mouthfeel and a good finish. $8, SRP.
2016 Birichino, Cinsault Bechthold Vineyard - from vines planted in 1886 in this Lodi vineyard and reportedly the oldest Cinsault on earth. Savory on the nose; lightweight, energetic, sappy and balanced with good length. An expressive, character driven wine that is bright, energetic and may develop with time. I buy my entire allocation of this wine yearly and will continue to do so. 12.5% abv, $25/SRP and closed with screw cap. A light red wine of character and intensity; that’s my wheelhouse.
2012 Sandro Fay, Valtellina Superiore Costa Bassa - entry level but over achieves. Medium weight, some tannic grip, layers of flavor and good sustain. A complete wine that satisfies in many ways. Never profound but not expensive either.
1999 Jadot, Clos St. Jacques (mag.) - slightly closed at first, opened to nuanced fruit, good structure and evident pedigree. Not mind bending but with more than enough to impress.
2014 Navarro, Pinot Noir Anderson Valley - Young and less resolved than the Jadot but not blown off the table by it, either. Quite good.
1984 Laurel Glenn, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma Mountain - corked and reduced
2010 J. Wolf Cellars, Zinfandel - alcoholic nose and palate but otherwise, good aromas and flavors.
2010 Hundred Acre, Cabernet - big, ripe, outsized juice that I wouldn’t bother with except my friend likes it.

Best, jim

Gaspare…interesting that you find it needs to come together. I opened one immediately after release and it was all there for the taking.

Wine is a funny thing. Just when you think you have it, it slips between your fingers.

Thanks for the tasting notes, Jim!!!

I figured that the Idlewild and Dirty & Rowdy wines would need age. I am surprised that the Sandlands was so accessible!!!

Tender is a great descriptor for Marquiliani Rose, love that. Happy 4th to you and Diane.

Thank you, Jim. I enjoy your notes.

Awesome notes as always Jim. Really enjoy reading your impressions.

Totally agree on the 14 Sandlands Napa Chenin. Killer wine and probably my favorite chenin Tegan has made…other than the 13 Amador.

Thanks Jim! I need to check in on a '13 Shake Ridge (I haven’t popped one in about 2yrs). It sounds like it is in a good spot.

I have problems thinking of the longevity of the many D&R mourveds. Is it based on price, or something else? Because I heard that Skinner Ridge is one to drink up early, even though it is expensive (around $60). The labels are no help because they all look the same.

Well, Hardy is in this thread so maybe he can enlighten . . .
For me, these are “light reds” and I usually drink such wines earlier than heavy reds (I also drink more light wine than heavy.) But they also taste pretty good when young so it’s hard not to get into them.
And of course, there is no track record of long term aging, hence little motivation to cellar.
But I am starting to rethink that last factor, particularly after the bottle I noted above.
Best, jim

…

2018 will be our 9th vintage. We have intentions and desires for the vineyard designates to become more beautiful, elegant, and site specific with age, but time is the only way to find out (maybe some are 10 year wines? maybe some are 20-30+?)… Beyond our intents and wishes, the most important factor is that we work with great sites / terroir paired with an appropriate and sturdy grape variety.

We don’t have a Skinner Ridge (though that would be a great Foothills blend) but we do have a Shake Ridge, Skinner White Oak Flats, and Skinner Stoney Creek (along with several other non-foothills vineyards). They often show bright and lively young, but IMHO, even the earliest vintages of these are primary and in need of time.

When found at retail, our vineyard designate Mourvèdre often hit around $60, but when purchased off the list, they currently run $42-$49 (and that pricing includes standard ground shipping on 3 bottles or more). Later this fall, we’ll hit about $60ish off the list on a special St. Helena Petite Sirah that I made for my daughter- That’s some fancy dirt for a fancy kid.

Our Familiar, Unfamiliar, and Especial wines intention is different in regards to age worthiness and price ($23-$30ish). Those are meant for near-term drinking and they are barrel selections of the brighter, more approachable barrels from our vineyard designates.

Thanks for chiming in here, Hardy. It must be the Skinner Stony Creek I have. I’ve had your UNvineyard wines and found them like Beaujolais and the kind you probably wouldn’t want to age that long, so that’s why I was wondering about your vineyard wines and whether you intended to make them in the same image or to give them that extra something which would allow for aging. I hope you are putting some aside for yourself so you can be a resource to ask!