Melville, Koehler and Roblar tasting

Since we were in Santa Ynez for the Beckmen shindig we also went to a couple other wineries to pick up wine that we had purchased.

First stop was Melville. We picked up a couple bottles I had purchased a while back ... two of the 2005 Melville Pinot Noir, High Density, and two bottles of 2006 Melville Chardonnay, Clone 76 Inox. We tasted these wines:

2006 Melville Chardonnay, Clone 76 Inox
2005 Melville Syrah, Verna's Vineyard
2004 Melville Syrah, Donna's Vineyard

The 05 Verna's Syrah was really young. Definitely could use a lot more time in the bottle. Especially compared to the 04 Donna's Syrah. I got a couple bottle for a friend of mine and am going to tell him to let them sit for close to a year. Or at least open it a few hours before you want to drink it.

We also went to Koehler Winery, one of our wine clubs, to pick up our wine. Lauren has been a little down on this place the last couple times we've gone. We may drop this club to pick up another one, hopefully one that has good events. The wines are good, I just don't think the feeling is right. We tasted these wines:

2005 Koehler Sauvignon Blanc, Estate
2005 Koehler Chardonnay, Estate
2005 Koehler Chardonnay, Reserve Estate
2005 Koehler Viognier, Estate
2005 Koehler Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara County
2005 Koehler Syrah, Estate
2004 Koehler Magia Nera, Estate
2005 Koehler Grenache, Estate
2005 Koehler Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills
2006 Koehler Riesling, Estate

The tasting room had just been "remodeled" to allow more people to taste, and they were busy. The wines were all good, but the one that stood out was the 06 Riesling and we bought a bottle of it which we actually drank last night. Should've bought another one :)

After that we were done and going to dinner in Santa Barbara, but on our way out of town we saw a new tasting room. It was huge and gorgeous so we decided to stop in and try in out. We walked in without any idea what winery it was ... it turned out to be Roblar Winery & Vineyards. The tasting was $10 for these wines:

2005 Roblar Sauvignon Blanc, Reserve Estate
2005 Roblar Semillon
2004 Roblar Syrah, Santa Ynez Valley
2004 Roblar Syrah, Great Oaks
2001 Roblar Cabernet Franc

Overall the wines were pretty good. The tasting room and grounds were amazing ... you can tell this place had some serious financial backing. Especially for being a new place. The girl who was pouring our wines didn't really know much about the owners except that it was a company or group of people that also own another winery or two. It seemed like the $10 for five wines was a little steep and the price of the wines was $16, 22, 28, 40, and 60. Ouch. Average of over $30. We'll see how this place grows ... maybe go back if I hear good things about it.

From a little research just now, it seems they're owned by Adams Wine Group ... they own another winery in Santa Ynez (Royal Oaks) that I've never heard of and one in Sonoma (Adler Fels) that I've never heard of. Oh well.