Jayaram, Julie and I met up at the vineyard in the sky to try the inaugural releases of their estate wines. It's been decades since grapes were grown at this historic estate, so it was great to hear they had replanted. David House is the Mountain Winery partner who's guiding the wine program. He's the type of guy that doesn't go half way. He hired none other than Mount Eden's Jeffrey Patterson to make the wines! Turns out both Jay and Julie did stints working for him at Intel.
'06 Chardonnay "Estate" (SCM)
Nose - warm, light, exotic spices, sandalwood.
Bursting with white peach, tangerine, nutmeg. Exotic, tart, subtle dusty tannin, lingering spice. Great now to 15 years. (94 pts)
'06 Pinot Noir "Estate" (SCM)
Nose - deep, rich, warm, intense red fruit, hint of resin, sandalwood, green peppercorn.
Tart, smoky, exuberant red fruit, well integrated green tannin, mandarin zest, green grape tomato, roasted red plum, cranberry. Needs time. (92+ pts)
It is reminiscent of Musigny. There was a consensus that the fruit isn't as complex as what the vines will yield with more age, but they certainly made the best wine they could with what they had. It's framed so well, and I love it. I also think there's some possibility it will show more with time, but I'm not confident, so 92 for now.
More pics: http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2658353700102270864LaVGML
1 comment:
Yes, it's very impressive estate with all the vines. I went to see The Fixx and The English Beat this last summer. It is a fantastic concert venue and we had a great time.
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