Woodside Vineyards barrel tasting 12/13/09

Woodside Vineyards source exclusively from the 26 vineyards they manage within the town of Woodside. Most of their acreage would be considered old vines. Some are quite old.

Their La Questa Vineyard dates back to 1886, the current vines being planted between 1895 and 1905 using cuttings from Chateau Margaux. Emmet Rixford won international acclaim with his La Questa Cabernet. To give an idea of the quality and prestige, in 1915 he charges $2 a bottle, when the typical bottle of wine went for 5 cents. That translates roughly to $200 in today's money. Martin Ray restored the vineyard in the '40s, using cuttings to plant his Mount Eden Vineyard, and using the grapes for the early Martin Ray Cabernets. Around 1960, Bob Mullen and some friends again restored the vineyard and founded Woodside Vineyards. There's only 1 acre left, on three properties, of what was once a much larger vineyard. Occasionally, this wine is deemed distinct enough to bottle separately, otherwise it is blended into their Estate Cabernet.

We were treated to a couple wines before the tour of the barrel room:

'07 Chardonnay Estate (SCM)
Nose - shy, round, spicy.
Heavy brown oak, lemony, some really nice notes, but overpowered by woody oak. Ashamed, but I guess they're throwing a bone to the popular style. 80 pts

'06 Pinot Noir Estate (SCM)
Nose - intense, brambly, foresty, spicy. Wow!
Allspice, zesty, complex, dusty-smooth, pith, sandalwood, lower-key black fruit medley. Needs a year. 91 pts

In the barrel room, these are being offered as futures at a 25% discount:

'08 Pinot Noir Estate (SCM) barrel sample
Nose - round, sweetish, zesty boysenberry, some pink peppercorn and pith, smoky, smooth tannin. (91)

'07 Zinfandel Estate (SCM) barrel sample
These vines were planted in 1897 and yield 1 ton per acre.
Nose - ethereal, smooth, rich, lovely spiced black and blue fruit.
Lovely spiced blackberry, smoke, dark mineral, good acidity, citron, nutmeg, a bit grippy, zesty, some pith, a touch of persimmon. Some zestiness, dusty tannin and vanillin on the finish. (93)

'07 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate (SCM) barrel sample
This includes 20% La Questa Vineyard.
Nose - Rich, dusty, black currant and blackberry, hint of peppercorn.
Grippy. Nice classic black currant and cedar. This is a flawless epitome of classic SCM Cab. Tight structure and not showing a great deal of complexity at the moment, this is a wine that will reward 20 years in the cellar. (93-95)

We then finished up with their just released Zinfandel port, made from those same 1897 vines.

'05 Woodside Port (SCM)
Nose - smooth, warm, marachino and boysenberry, clove, allspice, sandalwood, pecan.
Sweet, marachino liqueur, blueberry and boysenberry jams, nutmeg, clove, some heat. Sweeter and simpler than the '04. 91 pts

'09 Cab Harvest 9/26/09

For this year, I rounded up some friends to join us, so we were able to pick enough to do a barrel. Paul Romero of Stefania Wine gave me a neutral barrel, and we've bought some extra equipment, so quality and quality control should both step up.

Six of us met at my place at 7am and drove down to San Martin. The vineyard was so immaculate last year that we opted against taking a half day to drive down there and check it out. What we found was a surprise. The owner had turned off the water 2 weeks earlier than normal, and there were a lot of raisins. Also, the canopy was too thick in areas, and the inner clusters in those vines had mildew. Burt and I had coached our crew on the importance of sorting while picking, with an emphasis of keeping leaves out of the picking bins. To that, we had to stress no mildew and minimize the raisins. If anything, our crew were over-vigilant, so I was feeling a little bad about how much we were leaving, but we got good fruit. After a few rows of a lot of effort for little reward, we found the deeper in rows were just fine. So basically, the harm was us having to toil a couple extra hours, those being in the midday sun.

We picked about 965 lbs., which crushed to about 95.75 gallons. My calculation based on last year with this vineyard is that we'll get 69 gallons after the fermented wine is pressed. The barrel is 60 gallons, but we need extra for topping - you lose maybe a gallon a month to evaporation, and need to replace it or the wine will oxidize. So, 9 gallons is probably fine. The worry is there may be more solids this year, which would necessitate using something else to top with.

We measured the sugar level to be 25.6 brix. Correcting for how warm it was, that could really be as high as 26.35 brix. So the alcohol should be 14.1-14.5%.
pH 3.48
Total acidity .81
That works out to what should be a balanced wine.

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Sunday I helped harvest a couple tons of Chardonnay for Stefania at the Chaine d'Or Vyd.

Monday I helped sort and crush a couple tons of Pinot Noir at Harrington Winery in San Francisco.

SCM tasting @Vino100 Los Altos 8/28/09

Equinox '97 Chardonnay Blanc de Blanc Sparkling Wine (SCM)
Nose - earthy, lemony, leesy/toasty, an herbal and musty wood character.
Fine bubbles, lemon, lime zest, toasty with a touch of bitterness and green herbs. Good complexity. Very zesty finish. Quite nice, but needs food. 90 pts

Silver Mountain '07 Chardonnay Estate (SCM)
Nose - bright, light on its feet, lemony, deft vanillin spice. Nice!
Round mouthfeel, mushroom, brown woody mustiness, heavy, dull, lemon, lanolin. Tingly mouthfeel develops. 86 pts
Huge disparity between the nose and palate. Without the lovely nose this wouldn't be enjoyable at all.
What I mean by mustiness in these two is like when you over-steep tea, especially notable with a used tea bag. Like putting your tongue on wet long saturated wood.

McHenry '06 Pinot Noir Estate (SCM)
Nose - Wow! Sweet ripe fruit. Super complex, with rhubarb, black cherry, graphite, summer savory and much more. Some red fruit (which I didn't quite grasp what) and a subtle spiciness.
Tingly, round, more restrained than the nose, with darker spice, more rhubarb, a touch of bitter char. Enjoyable now, but not really ready. Drink '11-'21. 91+ pts

Bartolo '07 "Minerva" (Santa Clara Valley)
(47% Grenache, 33% Syrah and 20% Mourvèdre)
Nose - rich, jujubee, toasty spice and tamarind in the foreground, supported by nutmeg, black plum and cranberry.
Complex, with plum, exotic spice, tamarind, cardamon, candied lemon zest, marachino liqueur, jujubee, smooth dusty tannin and a hint of tar. Very different. In a good way. 88 pts

Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyards '06 Durif Sheperd Vyd. (SCM)
Nose - dark, almost tarry purple fruit, soft white wood spice, tobacco, rich, smoky. Black fruit emerges, with sandalwood and a more elegant and distinctive oak spiciness.
Surprisingly perky - boysenberry jam, Himalayan blackberry, a bit of a (good) stinky character, char, nice supporting spice, subtle tobacco. Finishes with a medley of citrus zest and a bit of grip. Drink now-'17. 91 pts

Lack of followthrough

Recently there's been some discussion again on on of the wineboards about restaurants' online winelists being woefully out of date. It seems to me if you're going to commit to putting up a list, you are obligating yourself to keep it reasonably current. A lot of restaurants show lists that are many months out of date, entirely different than what they have. That reflects very poorly on the business. It should be easy, just a couple extra clicks as part of the process updating the inhouse printed list.

June of last year, during the Vintners' Festival, I made a point of swinging by VinoCruz in Santa Cruz to pick up some wines they listed. They still had some '02 and '03 McHenry Pinots (among other interesting stuff), long sold out elsewhere. Long sold out there too, as it turned out. As was everything else on my list. Ended up not buying anything, when I was prepared to buy a case.

I sent an email and got no response.

I'd checked their site a few times since - no change. Inspired by the thread, I checked again. Knowing some of the release dates, the list now appears to be just shy of 3 years out of date! I sent another email a week ago, with some suggestions, and once again got no response. Pathetic! I guess no one is in charge.

Oh well. I like that they carry local wines, but I don't like that they don't seem to want my business.

Orchard update 7/25/09

Have about 110 lbs. of black plums harvested so far. But had poor fruit set on the cherry plum tree, so that'll be a negligible contribution this year. (Usually 3-5% and quite significant.) Anyway, looks like there's probably another 40 lbs. on the tree, which would be right in line with last year.

I'm harvesting blue elderberries with making wine in mind. They have a long season and ripen quickly, so I'm harvesting twice a week. Have about 3 gallons so far, but it's early.

Burt had some questions about the '08 plum and apricot wines, thinking maybe they should be sweetened. So, I went over there yesterday. Turns out the plum got about 30% less water added at crush time than previous years. I'd gotten a taste, in passing, a few weeks ago and noticed the intensity and weight it had put on.

After taking notes, I tried adding incremental amounts of sugar. It mellowed the wine out and made it seem simpler. Not better. Then, since it was more concentrated, we tried adding a little water. Water helped the sweetened version, making it more like previous vintages. Just then, Ruth came home and we had her try it. After a disclaimer about how she doesn't know much about wine, she nailed it: Diluted. Not as good as the original.

My conclusion is it's the best yet. If it's too intense for someone, it can take a small ice cube without tasting watery. The only issue is the acidity is a bit high. That comes from the red ripe fruit - something I work to minimize, but feel does contribute to the complexity. This year is, I think, the best yet at maximizing ripeness. As harvest winds down, the temptation to shake the tree to get the last fruit increases. That gets less ripe fruit to drop. I'll try to get some feedback tomorrow about the acidity.

Here's my notes:

'08 Plum Estate
Very dark.
Nose - intense chocolatey plum, bright, SweeTarts, hint of raspberry.
Dark, dusty, SweeTart, intense black plum, lime, grapefruit, dark chocolate, hints of blackberry and raspberry, orange bitters, marachino, cardamon.

'08 Apricot Hesterman Orchard (Los Altos Hills)
Golden hue.
Perfumed dried apricot, peach, hint of white wood resin.
Nutmeg/allspice/treacle/dried apricot, peach, smooth and moderately intense, some golden raisins, passion fruit, grapefruit, slight bitterness on the finish.

Rhys Vineyards tour 6/27/09

Paul Galli kindly invited a bunch of us to join his annual Rhys tour. Ken Zinns wrote up a very extensive report on his blog. Check it out: http://www.grape-nutz.com/kenz/09_June27.html
Also, Paul's notes: http://dat.erobertparker.com/bboard/showthread.php?t=205144&highlight=rhys+tour
My pics: http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/573331892ZyBVHr

After touring 4 vineyards and checking out the cave, we sat down for a flight of 12 wines.

Rhys '07 Chardonnay Alpine Vyd. (SCM)
Nose - chalky, intense lemon, saline, lemon verbena.
Intense, lemony, zesty, rich, garden herbs, tight, chalky. Excellent. Drink '11-'21. 95 pts

Alesia '07 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
Nose - bursting with purple fruit and bay, smoky, roasted plum, exotic wood spice, white flowers.
Intense roasted plum, smoky, with a good mineral structure, nice herbal stemminess. Drink '13-'23. 93 pts

Alesia '07 Pinot Noir Green Valley
Nose - mace, roasted plum, anise, herbs, green peppercorn.
A lot of green peppercorn, peppery, plummy fruit, hints of clove, nutmeg and mace. Peppery mouthfeel. Drink '12-'18. 92 pts

Alesia '07 Pinot Noir Falstaff Road Vyd. (Sonoma Coast)
Nose - shy,a touch of rustic stink, raosted plum and berry pie, minty spice, white wood.
Biting tannin, pert, roasted plum, some green stemminess, glyceriny feel. Drink '13-'20. 91 pts

Rhys '07 Pinot Noir Family Farm (San Francisco Bay)
Nose - light resin, roasted plum, tight.
Earthy, smoky, roasted plum, resin. Just packing, with zest and earth. Needs time to open up. Drink '15-'30. 94 pts

Rhys '07 Pinot Noir Home Vineyard (San Francisco Bay)
Nose - Very shy, black cherry, light oak, hint of blackberry.
Zesty, smoky, raosted plum, tarragon, intense black cherry, some char, white flowers, very firm, smooth/dusty tannin. Nothing like the neighboring Family Farm. Drink '17-'32. 96 pts

Rhys '07 Pinot Noir Skyline Vyd. (SCM)
Nose - intense, savory, iron, white flowers, light resin, shy minty red currants.
Savory, resiny, roasted plum, white floralness. Needs time. Drink '15-'25. 93 pts

Rhys '07 Pinot Noir Horseshoe Vyd. (SCM)
Nose - floral - white flowers, touch of resin, roasted plum.
Forward green tannin, green apple and black plum, grippy tannin, smoky, hints of char, raspberry and blue elderberry. Drink '16-'26. 93 pts

Rhys '07 Pinot Noir Alpine Vyd. (SCM)
Nose - heady, with wood spice, savory, tight, light resin, plum.
Smoky, irony, char and roasted plum, rosemary, strawberry, herbal stemminess, nasturtium. Lots going on. Drink '16-'32. 95 pts

Rhys '06 Pinot Noir Alpine Vyd. (SCM)
Nose - nice smooth fruit, some rustic stinkiness, red and black fruit, plum, graphite and iron, sweet pipe tobacco.
Aggressive and intense, smoky, resiny, red plum, green herbs, graphite. Drink '15-'30. 96 pts

Alesia '06 Syrah Fairview Ranch (Santa Lucia Highlands)
Nose - meaty, with white pepper, tar, sandalwood, red plum, sweet basil, mace.
Peppery saturated black fruit, smoky/roasty resin, a bit tart, very dense. Drink '14-'26. 94 pts

Rhys '07 Syrah Skyline Vyd. (SCM)
Nose - very dense and complex! Black plum, fig, mango, touch of boysenberry, frambois, sweet herbs, hint of creme de menthe.
Blackberry, blueberry freezer jam, nutmeg, resin, clove. Very complex. Spicy frambois on the finish. Drink '14-34. 95 pts

Stefania/Chaine d'Or Open House 6/13/09

Stefania '07 Pinot Noir (Santa Cruz Mountains)
Nose - restrained, minty, some resin and cut grass.
Piney, dark fruit, oak spice and caramel, black currant, black cherry, sandalwood, yerba buena, tarragon, a bit grippy, good acid. Nice spice on the finish. 91 pts

Stefania '06 Syrah Eaglepoint Ranch (Mendocino County)
Nose - intense, with blackberry, yerba buena, litchi, raspberry, sandalwood.
Pert, round, spicy red fruit, blackberry, oak spice, vanillin. Vibrant fruit and resin finish. 91 pts

Stefania '07 Syrah Eaglepoint Ranch (Mendocino County)
Nose - meaty, creamy, red plum, raspberry, jujube.
Smooth, dusty, spicy, tart, full mid-palate, spiced berries, allspice and herbs. 92 pts

Stefania '07 Haut Tubee (California)
Nose - intense, with black currant, some creme de menthe and bay.
Minty, spicy, red and black berries, piney, nutmeg, mahogany. Bright red fruit finish. 92 pts

Stefania '06 Cabernet Sauvignon Uvas Creek Vineyard (Santa Clara Valley)
Nose - Sandalwood, black currant, cedar, touch of resin and mint, blue elderberry.
Cedary, cassis, integrated spice, nutmeg, blue elderberry. 93 pts

Stefania '06 Cabernet Sauvignon Santa Cruz Mountains
Nose - sultry, resin, black fruit and spice.
Intense black fruit, resin, nutmeg and clove, hint of smoked meat, mucho cassis, cedar, oak spice. 93 pts

Chaine d'Or '05 Cabernet Sauvignon (Santa Cruz Mountains)
Nose - mucho tobacco, dark, rustic, black fruit.
Cedar, tobacco, cassis, red plum, lead pencil. 91 pts

Later in the day, I had the recently bottled:

Stefania '08 Chardonnay Chaine d'Or Vineyard (Santa Cruz Mountains)
Nose - shy, with lime, chalk, stone fruit, a bit savory, hint of mango.
Waxy, firm, pithy, stone fruit and lime, touch of roast meat. Tight.
(When I had this in barrel early this year, it was very expressive of stone fruits, with a nice minerality. Very impressive - maybe 94-95 pts. This time the opulence was gone. The bottle shock was expected, but it was quite enjoyable and I kept going back for more - I'd say 91 pts. Not fair to stick that rating on it, though, as it may already be showing better. By its fall release I'm hoping this will again have that opulence.)