Got last week my new DCV VSP shipment. It included these 4 wines, 2 whites & 2 reds:
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DryCreekVnyd SauvBlanc DCV3/Estate/DryCreekVlly (13.1%; Clones 1 & 21; Vine age: 10 yrs; Hrvstd: Sept.2; 100% SS/no oak aging; SaH: 21.6 Brix, TA: 7.1 gm/l; 810 cs) 2021: Med.light yellow color; very strong herbal/SB/cat pee some floral very perfumed lovely nose; slight prickly/dissolved CO2 very strong herbal/SB/cat pee very NZ-like tart/tangy light chalky/mineral slight Kansas haymow rather intense flavor; very long/lingering intense herbal/SB/slight floral/cat-pee tart/tangy light chalky/mineral pretty intense lovely finish; a dead-ringer for NZ cat-pee on a gooseberry bush style of SB.
$24.00 (VSP)
- DryCreekVnyd Chard DCV Block10/RRV (13.5%; Hrvstd: Oct.3; Whole cluster; 88% brl frmtd/60% Malolactic; SaH: 23.8 Brix, TA: 6.3 gm/l725 cs) Healdsburg 2020: Med.yellow color; very attractive rather floral/melony/Chard/almost R-like light pencilly/oak bit complex nose; lightly tart/tangy ripe/melony/Chard/almondy/floral/slight citric light pencilly/oak rather svelte/elegant very balanced bit lush flavor; very long/lingering quite pretty/balanced lightly tart rather floral/melony/Chard/almondy light mineral light pencilly/oak almost R-like/perfumed bit complex finish; a lovely very pretty/balanced Chard whose balance will probably take it out 10 yrs or so; very well-priced at $32.00 (VSP)
- DryCreekVnyd Merlot DryCreekVlly/SonomaCnty (14.2%; 82% Merlot/8% Malbec/5% CabFranc/5% PetiteVerdot/2% CabSauv; 650 cs) 2019: Very dark color; very strong Merlot/plummy/black cherry slight earthy/herbal fairly toasty/oak quite attractive nose; bit soft very strong plummy/black cherry/Merlot slight earthy/herbal very lush/rich/ripe somewhat structured quite attractive flavor w/ some ripe/slightly tangy tannins; very long/lingering bit soft ripe/lush very strong plummy/Merlot/black cherry bit earthy/herbal strong toasty/oak balanced/bit structured finish w/ modest ripe/bit tangy tannins; a lovely Merlot w/ loads of lush Merlot fruit but has some structure and avoids the soft/soupy side of that grape; will benefit from a few yrs of aging. $32.00 (VS)
- DryCreekVnyd PetiteSirah Spencer’sHill/DCV9 Estate (14.2%; Vine age: 19 yrs; Hrvstd: Oct.7; SaH: 24.4 Brix, 17 mo. in Fr. & Am. oak; 612 cs) 2019: Very dark color; strong PS/blackberry/bit peppery/spicy some toasty/oak very aromatic PS lovely nose; bit soft rather lush strong blackberry/peppery/PS some toasty/oak slight earthy bit complex flavor w/ modest bit bitey tannins; very long/lingering some aromatic blackberry/peppery/PS/bit plummy some toasty/oak fairly balanced slight earthy bit complex finish w/ slightly bitey tannins; a rather high-toned & aromatic expression of PS & avoids the clumsy/oafish side that the grape sometimes shows; very fairly priced at $32.00 (VSP)
A wee BloodyPulpit:
- 2022 marks the 50’th Anniversary of the founding in 1972 by DaveStare of DryCreekVnyds, the first new wnry in the DryCreekVlly in many a year. After graduation from MIT (where his father was a famous nutrition professor, or maybe it was Harvard), Dave spent several yrs in France’s LoireVlly working for the B&O railroad (Dave is a huge train buff), where he developed a fondness for CheninBlanc and SauvBlanc, varietals that DCV excels in. His first wine was a '72 GamayBeaujolais, which was a mighty fine wine & first caught my attention.
I did my first visit w/ Dave in the mid-'70’s, where we tasted a few things from an up-ended barrel near the entrance to the wnry & I developed a great fondness for the guy. As we were tasting, there was this cute little girl drawing with crayons a picture of I don’t remember what. I wish I’d had the foresight to ask her to autograph the picture and gift it to me. Heck, I would have even paid her 50 cents. I would have framed it & returned it to her eventually where it would now hang on display in the DCV reception gallery or the Louvre. I still think that little girl, Kim Stare Wallace, is kinda cute!!
Over the yrs, Dave has had several good winemakers, like Phyllis Zazounis and Bill Knuttle. The current winemaker is Tim Bell, who has been there some 10 yrs or so, and has lifted the DCV wines to their highest level ever.
DCV makes several different SauvBlanc wines. My favorite is usually the Taylor’s (Kim & Don’s daughter) Sauv Musque, which has a perfume that is almost muscatty in character. I believe Dave’s first SB was the '73 from JoeRochioli grapes.
I’ve always had a fondness for the DCV Chards. They are not big/bombastic Cougar Juice but sleek/elegant/restrained very balanced expressions of that grape.
As a rule, I detest Merlot wines; finding them often on the soft/soupy/porky side. This DCV Merlot has some structure to it & is one that I would gladly drink anytime, despite the approbation I would recieve from my friends for drinking a Merlot.
The DCV VSP is one of the few wnry wine clubs that I continue to remain in. They are some of my favorite wines and remain quite reasonably priced. The Zins (several versions) are as good as any being made in SonomaCnty. The Cabs remain equally strong and one of the few Cabs I buy anymore. Because of their production level, DCV doesn’t get the respect & buzz that I feel they truly deserve.
Tom