Napa - Spring Mountain District AVA

This past weekend we were up visiting family in the Bay Area and were able to sneak away on Monday to Napa to taste some vino. We decided to stick to one specific area rather than try to cover too much ground ... the particular area was the Spring Mountain District AVA, just outside of St. Helena. The first stop was Barnett Vineyards...


2007 Barnett Vineyards Chardonnay, Savoy Vineyard
2008 Barnett Vineyards Pinot Noir, Viento Valle
2007 Barnett Vineyards Merlot
2006 Barnett Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon
2007 Barnett Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, “Rattlesnake Hill”

We were met at the winery by Hal Barnett and he poured us through the open wines. Got a brief tour/walkthrough of the caves that just were finished about a year ago, and an overview of their property atop Spring Mountain. The vineyards were absolutely beautiful with a view overlooking the valley. The wines definitely matched the the environs. Everything was great and we ended up buying bottles of the Merlot and the standard Cab. Would've loved to buy the "Rattlesnake Hill" but a little pricey at around $125/each. After the tasting we enjoyed a picnic on their deck above the caves and it was beautiful. Hal was kind enough to give us a bottle of his Merlot to enjoy with lunch! Amazing, amazing place. Up next was Pride Mountain Vineyards, which I had been looking forward to the most.

2008 Pride Mountain Vineyards Chardonnnay
2008 Pride Mountain Vineyards Syrah (from 'barrel')
2006 Pride Mountain Vineyards Merlot
2007 Pride Mountain Vineyards Merlot
2008 Pride Mountain Vineyards Merlot, “G Block” (from neutral oak barrel)
2008 Pride Mountain Vineyards Merlot, “G Block” (from new oak barrel)
2007 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon

Wow, what a different place than Barnett, so "commercial" looking. They obviously are putting large amounts of money into their tasting room and facilities. Interesting placement atop Spring Mountain, the county line actually runs through their property so they have vineyards in Napa County and Sonoma County. The Syrah that was poured was from a stainless steel holding tank as they were in the middle of bottling their Viognier and the Syrah. It was definitely off, and needed to mellow out, was not showing well. We tasted the Merlots in their caves and it was very interesting tasting the two different 2008 Merlots where the only difference was the oak. I thought the new oak barrel version tasted like a more complete version of the wine (all the different blocks/barrels/etc of Merlot will get blended together for their final version that goes into bottle). We bought the Cab, but I really would've like to have bought some of the Merlot as well, but everything was a little pricey. The next winery we stopped at was Schweiger (we had about 30 minutes to kill before our appointment at Paloma)...

2008 Schweiger Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc, Uboldi Vineyards
2007 Schweiger Vineyards Chardonnay
2005 Schweiger Vineyards Merlot
2005 Schweiger Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon
2005 Schweiger Vineyards “Dedication”
NV Schweiger Vineyards “Port VIII”

We rushed through this tasting since we had another appointment to get through and I don't think I really gave the wines their due. We tasted the whites upstairs in their driveway/patio and then went into the barrel room for the reds. I really enjoyed the Cab here and bought a bottle. The port was actually quite good as well, but I passed on the $50 per .375. Off to Paloma...

2007 Paloma Vineyards Merlot

This place is run/managed/etc by Barbara Richards out of her house on Spring Mountain. She is about 75 years old and still spends her winter days going through the vineyard pruning all of the shoots. She welcomed us into her home to taste the wine, after she gave us a brief history of her property from her patio overlooking it. They make just one wine from their 15 acres, a Merlot which has a small percentage (10%?) of Cab blended into it. She also purchases some Syrah fruit and bottles that as well, but she was not pouring it. It was very good and we purchased a couple bottles. I heard that she doesn't take appointments very often and we were lucky to get in with her.

Bouchon Beverly Hills

Another dining experience at one of Thomas Keller's establishments. This time it is the recently opened Bouchon Beverly Hills in, you guessed it, Beverly Hills. The space was beautiful, the service was great, and the food and wine were at the top as well.

We started with a 1/2 dozen oysters (Hama Hama from Washington and Shiny Sea from Maine) and the Soupe a l'Oignon (French Onion soup). Delicious. The onions in the soup were so finely sliced that they practically dissolved in your mouth. Wonderful stuff. For the main course, I had the Gigot d'Agneau (roasted leg of lamb) and Lauren had the Thon Confit a la Nicoise (tuna confit). The lamb was cooked perfectly and was probably the best lamb dish I've ever had. The tuna was also really good, but I only had one or two bites so hard to judge. Although the pickled radishes on the side were pretty damn tasty.

We had a bottle of 2007 Failla Syrah, Phoenix Ranch throughout the meal and it was great. I had heard of the winery before, but never had any of their wine, or knew anything about them besides the name. It was very fruit forward and needed a bit of time in the glass to really come into balance with its tannins, but when it did it was great. I believe it was $98 on the list, so I'd be curious to see what it retails for. All in all, a great meal, and I definitely look forward to our next Keller experience.

Almost forgot about the Profiteroles we had for dessert. Wonderful. Rich chocolate sauce, great pastry, and tasty vanilla ice cream in the middle. Can not go wrong w/ this dessert.

Santa Ynez, quickly

First trip to Santa Ynez with the new baby, Amelia. Overall she was great and didn't cause any interruptions. However, it is much slower-going and gone are the days of cramming in 5 or 6 tastings! Probably for the better though. This trip was just to pick up our club shipments that had been adding up since our last trip up. Up first was Alma Rosa...


2008 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, Clone 115, La Encantada Vineyard
2008 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, Clone 667, La Encantada Vineyard
2007 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills
2007 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, La Encantada Vineyard
2006 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, La Encantada Vineyard
2007 Alma Rosa Pinto Blanc, La Encantada Vineyard

Favorites were the 115 and the two La Encantada pinot releases. I think I would have to choose the 07 if forced to make up my mind, but the 06 was fantastic as well. Also enjoyed the Pinot Blanc at the end, very nice dry wine. Up next was the drive to Foxen, and their new tasting room :(

2007 Foxen Chenin Blanc, Ernesto Wickenden Vineyard
2008 Foxen Chardonnay, Tinaquaic Vineyard
2008 Foxen Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley
2007 Foxen "Cuvee Jeanne Marie"
2006 Foxen Syrah, Tinaquaic Vineyard
2007 Foxen Chenin Blanc "Late Harvest", Ernesto Wickenden Vineyard

At the top was clearly the 06 Syrah Tinaquaic. I just love everything that comes out of this vineyard (including the Chardonnay that I almost purchased), but this Syrah is outstanding. Big and bold but not too overwhelming, great balance. Also love the late harvest Chenin Blanc. Up next was D'Alfonso-Curran, but they were closed so we drove back up into Los Olivos to go to Stolpman before heading back home.

2008 Stolpman Sauvignon Blanc
2006 Stolpman "L'Avion"
2007 Stolpman "La Coppa Blanc"
2006 Stolpman Sangiovese
2007 Stolpman Syrah, Estate
2006 Stolpman Syrah "Hilltops"
2007 Stolpman "La Croce"
2006 Stolpman "La Croce"
2005 Stolpman Syrah "La Coppa"

The "L'Avion" wasn't showing particularly well today, but I know it's fantastic. I liked the 06 La Croce much better than the 07 version, but it was probably just the effects of letting it age an additional year in bottle, so I'm sure the 07 will be even better in a year. We bought bottles of the La Coppa Syrah and a 2000 Sangiovese that they weren't pouring. Should be fun to drink in the coming weeks.

A final picture in the vineyards just off Alisos Canyon Road on our way to Foxen....

Campanile

Went to dinner at Campanile last night. Very good. I had the Roasted Baby Lamb with squash puree and cavolo nero. Very good. They mistakenly brought me out the Grilled Pork Chop at first and I had a bite of that before realizing that it was wrong. It was also good, but a little salty for me. Also had a side of the mashed potatoes with creme fraiche, and Angel Food Cake w/ creme fraiche ice cream for dessert. Both were spectacular. But the wine was the real star of the show...

2008 Domaine Tempier Bandol Rose
2006 Copain Syrah, "Alder Springs, Spirit Rock"
2005 Mr K. Chardonnay "The Noble Man" Alban Vineyard

I started the dinner off w/ the Domaine Tempier. It was my first time having it, and I was impressed. I've never been able to pull the trigger and buy a $45-50 bottle of Rose, and not sure if I will in the future, but it was tasty. Can only imagine that it would be great in the midst of summer. The Copain Syrah was fantastic with the lamb. Plenty of bite but was definitely balanced. And to top it all off the Mr. K for dessert. Wonderful stuff, wish I could afford to buy bottles of these every year. Although I guess that's not possible anymore since Alois Kracher died in 2007 (He co-made the wine w/ Manfred Krankl of Sine Que Non fame).

Last trip to Santa Ynez for a while

This past weekend we went up to Santa Ynez to pick up the most recent batch of shipments and to taste a little wine. Most notably, we were going to the pick-up party at the new Foxen tasting room. Still a little conflicted on this new place, I love the shack, I don't like the rebranding of their Bordeaux varietals under the "Foxen 7200" moniker, don't like the design of these new labels, and especially don't like the rumor that they'll only be pouring these "Foxen 7200" wines at the shack from now on (meaning all of my favorites will be at the new commercial tasting room).

This will probably be our last trip up until the new year. Up first was a stop in Santa Barbara at Jaffurs.

2007 Jaffurs Viognier
2007 Jaffurs Grenache
2007 Jaffurs Mourvedre
2007 Jaffurs Syrah, Larner Vineyard
2007 Jaffurs Petite Sirah, Thompson Vineyard

Everything was great. In the driveway out front they were sorting Pinot Noir fruit that had jsut been brought in. A little curious to see what Jaffurs does with Pinot fruit. Got bottles of the Larner Syrah and the Mourvedre which were both wonderful. Now for the drive up in the mountains and the first pitstop at Alma Rosa.

2006 Alma Rosa Chardonnay, El Jabali Vineyard
2007 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills
2007 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, La Encantada Vineyard
2008 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, Clone 115, La Encantada Vineyard
2008 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, Clone 667, La Encantada Vineyard
2006 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, La Encantada Vineyard

Was my first time tasting the 08 clones and the 115 (which they didn't bottle last year) was delicious. Will definitely be looking forward to that arriving in my shipment. We ended up not having anything to pick up here and didn't buy anything extra. So it was off to the next place, D'Alfonso-Curran (think this is one of the worst names for a winery, but great juice).

2008 Di Bruno Pinot Grigio
2007 Curran Grenache Blanc
2006 Badge Chardonnay
2006 Badge Pinot Noir
2005 Di Bruno Sangiovese
2005 Curran Sangiovese
2006 Badge Merlot
2005 Curran Syrah, Reeves' Ranch Reserve
2006 Curran Sryah, Black Oak Vineyard

One thing I definitely like about this tasting room is the vastness of the wines they pour. They have everything open and it is so much fun to work your way through the list. Definitely worth being a member here so you can taste everything. I think you get a choice of 4 or 5 wines when you're not a member. Picked up four bottles of the Badge Pinot, can't get enough of it. Up next was Beckmen.

2007 Beckmen "Cuvee Le Bec"
2007 Beckmen Grenache, "Estate"
2006 Beckmen Grenache, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2007 Beckmen Syrah, "Estate"
2006 Beckmen Syrah, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2007 Beckmen Syrah, Clone #1, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2007 Beckmen Syrah, "Barrel Select", Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2006 Beckmen Marsanne, Purisima Mountain Vineyard

Well, this was definitely my worst experience at Beckmen in the last 5 or 6 years I've been a member. Neither of the two people pouring seemed to know anything. Maybe they were just having off days, but I came really close to saying something to Steve when I left but he seemed a little busy while guys were cleaning equipment from the days harvest. It started on a bad note of being told my wine had been shipped to me the previous week. Not only have I never had wine shipped to me, I definitely do not want it shipped when its 100 degrees in LA. And why hadn't it arrived in 5 days. Argh. They ended up finding it in their warehouse. But it never recovered from there, they weren't busy, and we just got zero attention at all. Weird. I only hope it was an off-day and not a sign of things to come. After this we went off to Foxen for their pick-up party in the new building.

2008 Foxen Sauvignon Blanc, Vogelzang Vineyard
2008 Foxen Mourvedre Rose
2008 Foxen Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley
2007 Foxen Pinot Noir, Seas Smoke Vineyard
2007 Foxen Grenache, Williamson-Dore Vineyard
2006 Foxen "Cuvee Jeanne Marie"
2006 Foxen Merlot, Vogelzang Vineyard
2006 Foxen Cabernet Franc, Tinaquaic Vineyard
2007 Foxen Chenin Blanc, Late Harvest, Ernesto Wickenden Vineyard

The Sea Smoke Pinot was great, but so was the 08 Santa Maria Valley. I picked up bottles of the Sea Smoke, Grenache, and Cab Franc. Definitely looking forward to popping these open over the next year or so. Regarding the room, it's beautiful. We got a little tour of the winemaking facilities and cold storage as well. I never saw the old facilities but I can imagine how this is going to be an upgrade. Hopefully the quality of wine increases as well. Most interesting was a mis-stacked pile of case boxes in the corner of the storage room ... Bill said it contained at least one bottle of every wine that they had ever made. Pretty cool! They are eventually going to constuct a "library" that will allow all the bottles to be displayed. Still hope I will be able to taste all the wines down at the shack instead of going here. They should do it like Justin in Paso Robles, and have a separate tasting room (the shack) for members only.

Wine in Arizona?

We recently spent a week in Sedona for vacation and spent one of the days at a few different tasting rooms in the area. I must say my expectations were pretty nil going in, but it ended up not being terrible.

The first stop was Caduceus Cellars in Jerome, AZ. The biggest reason we hit this place is that it is owned by Maynard James Keenan of Tool/ A Perfect Circle/ Puscifer fame. This was actually the only Arizona wine I heard of beforehand, more specifically I had only heard of Arizona Stronghold which is his other label. Caduceus is a new label I guess.

2008 Caduceus Cellars "Dos Ladrones" (Chardonnay, Malvasia Bianca)
2007 Caduceus Cellars "Primer Paso" (Syrah, Malviasa Bianca)
2007 Caduceus Cellars "Anubis" (Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah)
2006 Merkin Vineyards "Chupacabra" (Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, Zinfandel.......)
2008 Arizona Stronghold "Dayden Rose" (Zinfandel, Sangiovese, Grenache)

As it turned out most of these wines were either all California fruit or blended CA/AZ fruit. The only 100% AZ wines I tasted were the Dayden Rose and the Dos Ladrones ... I guess you still need CA fruit to make a good AZ wine? I actually liked most of the wines here and purchased bottles the Chupacabra (which I think is a blend of 13 different grapes), the Dayden Rose, and the Anubis. Maynard was in the tasting room with a group of people. Didn't want to bother him, but thought it was cool that he was there. Up next was 3 places in Cornville which were actually located on vineyard land as opposed to just tasting rooms. First up was Javalina Leap.

2007 Javelina Leap Barbera
2007 Javelina Leap Zinfandel
2007 Javelina Leap Zinfandel Reserve
2007 Javelina Leap Petite Sirah

The Barbera was $75. Ridiculous. It was good, but I can't see paying that for an AZ wine. I guess I'm just biased. I believe that all of the other wines were from CA, I know both Zinfandels were from Paso fruit. We didn't buy anything because nothing stood out. I did find it interesting that the only label that had a vintage date on it was the regular Zinfandel. Guess it makes buying labels cheaper? And just next door was Oak Creek Vineyards.

2007 Oak Creek Chardonnay
2006 Oak Creek Zinfandel Reserve
2005 Oak Creek Syrah
2007 Oak Creek Merlot
2006 Oak Creek "Arizona Port Wine"

Don't go here. It was all terrible. Got back on the road to go to our final stop Page Springs Cellars.

2008 Page Springs "Vino de la Familia Blanca" (100% Malvasia Bianca)
2008 Page Springs Chardonnay, Arizona Stronghold Vineyard
2007 Page Springs Syrah, Lakeview Vineyard
2007 Page Springs Mourvedre, Enz Vineyard
2007 Page Springs Petite Sirah, Shell Creek Vineyard

I think all the wines were 100% AZ fruit, and they were all very good. I would definitely put this place #1 on the list, and a pretty good distance above #2 Caduceus. We purchased bottles of the Familia Blanca and the Syrah. That was it for our adventure in AZ wine. It was definitely hit or miss, but when done correctly it was great. I don't think I'd be able to tell the difference between a good AZ and a CA wine. I'd say that's a sign of success right? Or maybe it's just that I really like Rhone varietals ...

Beckmen Futures Tasting

On Saturday we went up to Santa Ynez for the annual Beckmen Futures tasting at their winery. This year it was held in the barrel room at the winery, as opposed to previous years at the vineyard off Ballard Canyon. Think they learned from it being around 95 degrees the last year. The tasting wasn't until 5:30pm so we were able to stop at a few places beforehand. Up first was Foxen to pick up our shipment and taste.

2007 Foxen Chenin Blanc, Ernesto Wickenden Vineyard
2007 Foxen Chardonnay, Bien Nacido Vineyard, Block UU
2008 Foxen Rose of Mourvedre
2006 Foxen Pinot Noir, Bien Nacido Vineyard, Block 8
2007 Foxen Pinot Noir, Julia's Vineyard
2007 Foxen Chenin Blanc "Late Harvest", Ernesto Wickenden Vineyard

Really liked the Bien Nacido Pinot as well as the Chardonnay and the Rose. The Chardonnay was aged in neutral oak and had partial malolactic fermenation, so it was not overwhelmingly oaky or buttery, seemed just right.

After lunch at Patrick's in Los Olivos we ventured into Stolpman to taste their lineup.

2006 Stolpman "L'Avion"
? Stoplman "La Coppa Blanc"
2005 Stolpman Sangiovese, Estate
2006 Stolpman Grenache
2006 Stolpman Syrah, Estate
2006 Stolpman Syrah, "Hilltops"
2006 Stolpman "La Croce"

This will definitely be the next wine club that we join. I think it has officially moved ahead of Tablas Creek, everything is just so damn good. Bought a bottle of the "L'Avion" and a bottle of the Estate Syrah. Really wanted to love the Grenache, but it was just missing something for me. Hard to compete with Beckmen I guess. Our last stop before heading off to Beckmen was D'Alfonso-Curran in Solvang.

2007 Curran Grenache Blanc
2007 Curran Grenache Rose
2007 Di Bruno Pinot Grigio
2006 Badge Chardonnay, Santa Rita Hills, Rancho Santa Rosa
2006 Badge Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills
2006 Di Bruno Merlot, Grassini Vineyard
2004 Di Bruno Sangiovese, Stolpman Vineyards
2005 Curran Sangiovese
2005 Curran Sangiovese, Bruce Vandale Reserve
2005 Curran Syrah, Black Oak Reserve

All great stuff here as well. The new Badge Pinot was good and will only get better over the next year I am sure. And finally to Beckmen...

2008 Beckmen Grenache, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2008 Beckmen Grenache "Block Eight" Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2007 Beckmen Syrah, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2008 Beckmen Syrah, "Clone #1" Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2007 Beckmen Syrah, "Block Six" Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2008 Beckmen "TLB Estate Cuvee"

This marks the end of Beckmen's 3-4 year experiment with Whole Cluster Grenache. While I definitely enjoyed it, I hope to like the Block Eight Grenache even more. I purchased bottles of the Syrah Block Six, Grenache Block Eight, and Syrah Clone #1. I really enjoyed the experience in the barrel room as each pour was taken from the barrel via a wine thief, just made for a better experience (and probably better wine) than the carafe's that were transported the vineyard in years past. Also missed the tractor ride up to the Block Six Syrah with Tom Beckmen.

Santa Barbara Wine Futures

This past Saturaday we went to the 1st annual (hopefully) Santa Barbara Wine Futures event hosted by The Wine House at the Century Plaza hotel. I had really been looking forward to it since so many wineries were going to be pouring. Since it was so many, I am just going to list what I tasted alphabetically...

2008 Native 9 Pinot Noir, Rancho Ontiveros Vineyard
2007 Ampelos Pinot Noir, "Lambda"
2007 Ampelos Dornfelder, Huber Vineyard
2007 Au Bon Climat Chardonnay, Estate
2007 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir, Knox Alexander Bien Nacido Vineyard
2007 Au Bon Climat Pinor Noir, "Isabelle"
2008 Brander Sauvignon Blanc, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2008 Brander Syrah, Clover Creek
2008 Dierberg Chardonnay, "Steel Estate"
2007 Flying Goat Pinot Noir, Dierberg Vineyard
2007 Flying Goat Pinot Noir, Clone 2A, Rio Vista Vineyard
2008 Foxen Chardonnay, "Steel Cut" Bien Nacido Vineyard
2007 Foxen Cabernet Franc, Tinaquaic Vineyard
2006 Foxen Cabernet Sauvignon, Grassini Vineyard
? Hitching Post Valdiguie Rose
2007 Hitching Post Pinot Noir, Cargassacchi Vineyard
2007 Hitching Post Pinot Noir, "Highliner"
2007 Hitching Post Pinot Noir, "Perfect Set"
2008 Jaffurs Grenache Blanc, Thompson Vineyard
2007 Jaffurs Grenache
2007 Jaffurs Syrah, Bien Nacido Vineyard
2007 Jaffurs Syrah, Verna's Vineyard
2007 Jonata "La Poesia de Jonata"
2006 Jonata "Todos Estate"
2006 Jonata "El Desafio Estate"
2007 Kaena Grenache
2007 Kaena Grenache, Larner Vineyard
2008 Kunin Viognier, Stolpman Vineyard
2006 Kunin Syrah, Alisos Vineyard
2007 Longoria Pinot Noir, "Fe Ciega"
2007 Longoria Tempranillo, Clover Creek Vineyard
2007 Margerum Grenache
2008 Melville Chardonnay, "Donna's"
2008 Melville Pinot Noir, Clone 828
2006 Ojai Syrah, Roll Ranch Vineyard
2005 Ojai Syrah, Bien Nacido Vineyard
2005 Ojai Syrah, Presidio Vineyard
2008 Ojai Viognier, Roll Ranch Vineyard
2007 Paige 23 "Tinto Tarantula"
2006 Paige 23 Syrah, Larner Vineyard, Hermitage Clone
2007 Paige 23 Syrah Noir
2005 Palmina Nebbiolo
2006 Palmina Sangiovese, "Undici"
2006 Palmina "Savoia"
2007 Stolpman "L'Avion"
2007 Stolpman Syrah, Estate
2007 Stolpman "La Croce"
2008 Tensley Syrah, Colson Canyon
2008 Tensley Syrah, Tierra Alta
2008 Tercero Grenache Blanc, Camp Four Vineyard
2008 Tercero Gewurtztraminer, "Outlier"
? Tercero Rose
2007 Tercero Grenache, Camp Four Vineyard
2007 Tercero Syrah, Thompson Vineyard
2007 Tercero Syrah, "Cuvee Christie"

Now that is a lot of wine for one day! My palate was essentially gone after about halfway through. Ended up purchasing bottles of the Stolpman "L'Avion", Kaena Grenache Larner, Paige 23 Tinto Tarantula, and the Tercero Cuvee Christie. This was my first experience with a lot of these wines, but the Paige 23 lineup really impressed me. I will have to search them out in the future. Great to taste the Jonata lineup as I probably won't be dropping $100+ on a bottle anytime soon. Good stuff, but I just can't justify that money on one bottle at retail. Unless it's special occasion or something. Really hope they do this again next year, as it was $65 well spent.

Santa Ynez

A quick trip to Santa Ynez to pick up wine from two of our wine clubs. Up first was Beckmen...

2008 Beckmen Rose, Grenache
2007 Beckmen Syrah, Estate
2006 Beckmen Syrah, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2006 Beckmen Syrah, Block Six

Wasn't really feeling the rose, so I'll have to try it again next time we are up because I usually like it every year. I just tried the syrahs after that and everything was really good. The Block Six is inky black and has some alcohol on it. After that we went to Alma Rosa and tried their line of Pinots.

2006 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir-Vin Gris, El Jabali Vineyard
2007 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills
2006 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, La Encantada Vineyard
2007 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, La Encantada Vineyard
2007 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, Clone 667, La Encantada Vineyard
2007 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, Mt. Eden Clone, El Jabali Vineyard

All fantastic. Really like the 2007 La Encantada, and thought this rose was MUCH better than the Beckmen grenache one I had earlier, which is strange for me, but oh well. The Mt. Eden clone was pretty tannic and hopefully mellows out with a couple years of bottle age. I guess for the 2008's they are going to bottle a clone 115, 667, and Mt. Eden (they are not going to bottle the 777 like they did in 2007). Probably my favorite pinots year after year in the area.

Santa Ynez, Spring 09

A quick trip up to Santa Ynez to pick up some club shipments...

First stop was a new winery for us, Riverbench. It’s on Foxen Canyon a mile or two north of Rancho Sisquoc.

2008 Riverbench Pinot Noir Rose
2007 Riverbench Chardonnay
2006 Riverbench Chardonnay Estate
2006 Riverbench Chardonnay Reserve
2006 Riverbench Pinot Noir Estate
2007 Riverbench Pinot Noir “Mesa”

Overall I thought the plain Chardonnay was only so-so, it’s a stainless only incarnation which I tend to like, but not this one. The Reserve had the most oak and was actually the most appealing to me, but not enough to buy any. I liked the two Pinots and bought a bottle of the estate. I enjoyed the Mesa one but at it’s price of $48 there’s much better Pinot out there. Speak of better Pinot, up next was Foxen.

2007 Foxen Viognier, Vogelzang Vineyard
2007 Foxen Chardonnay, Tinaquaic Vineyard
2007 Foxen Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley
2006 Foxen Pinot Noir, Block 8 Bien Nacido Vineyard
2006 Foxen Zinfandel, Lockshaw Vineyard
2006 Foxen Syrah, Williamson-Dore Vineyard
2007 Foxen Chenin Blanc, Late Harvest, Ernesto Wickenden Vineyard

Really like the 07 Pinot and the 06 Block 8 ... Bought a bottle of the Block 8 to enjoy in a year or so. The Zinfandel turned me off this time for some reason. The Syrah is inky black and drinking pretty well. Really liked the Late Harvest Chenin Blanc and bought a 375. Yummy. Up next was lunch at Grappolo. Terrible service but great food. Then onto D’Alfonso-Curran to pick up our club shipment and taste of course.

2007 Curran Grenache Blanc, Santa Ynez Valley
2007 Curran Grenache Rose, Santa Ynez Valley
2006 Badge Chardonnay, Santa Rita Hills
2005 Badge Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills
2006 Di Bruno Merlot, Grassini Vineyard
2005 Curran Syrah, Reeve’s Ranch, Los Alamos and Santa Ynez Valley
2005 Curran Syrah, Reeve’s Ranch Reserve, Santa Ynez Valley
2005 Curran Syrah, Black Oak Reserve, Santa Barbara County
2004 Curran Sangiovese, Santa Ynez Valley

All great wines. Got news that they are going to be release vineyard designate Pinot Noirs for the 06’s in the coming months. Really excited for that. The Merlot apparently was named by the Wall Street Journal recently as the best Merlot in CA. Pretty good remarks, also a pretty good wine. Don’t know if it’s some sort of bias, but I lean towards Bruno’s winemaking style with these wines over Kris’.