Browse Tag

california

TN: A Ridge too far

[lytton springs tasting room]Ridge 2005 Lytton Springs (Dry Creek Valley) – Highly-perfumed coconut, spicy dark red fruit and an impenetrable wall of embryonic formlessness. This is way, way, way too young. There’s the vague sense that things are in balance and thus ageability is suggested, but it’s honestly just too early to tell. (4/07)

TN: Little pink Untis for you & me

[barrels & vineyard]Unti 2006 Rosé (Dry Creek Valley) – Big, forward and juicy-fruity, with the mild sheen of heat steaming to the top of Pixie Stik strawberry and raspberry syrup. This description makes it sound more candied than it actually is; aside from the minor alcohol issues, it’s a fine example of California rosé, with much more fruit to stand up to the alcohol than can be found in similarly-formed Mediterranean pinksters. In fact, its goofy drinkability is quite engaging. (4/07)

TN: Stone Tablas

[bottle]Tablas Creek 2005 “Côtes de Tablas” Blanc (Paso Robles) – Soft peach and apricot up front, more lively tangerine acidity out back, and a lovely, floral overlay completes the picture. A tight ball of nutty complexity lies poised to emerge, but this is as yet some years off. Right now, it’s very primary. (4/07)

TN: How dry is my valley?

[animated wine glass]Nalle 2004 Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley) – Coconut-spiced cherries with a gravelly texture and juicy acidity. This is still very young, but while it’s balanced enough to age, I can’t imagine anyone being able to keep from opening it. It’s just too much fun. (4/07)

TN: Drunk Monk

[bottle & glass]North Coast Brewing “Brother Thelonious” Abbey Ale (California) – Strong and insistent, with caramelized apples and nuts, but the insistence eventually becomes harassment, and then everything just leaves. Someone forgot to finish this. (4/07)

TN: Nalle in the family

Nalle 2003 Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley) – Bright red fruit struggling to get out of a weirdly soupy, difficult set of restraints. There’s a hint of cooked fruit as well. This is very likely heat-damaged, because the performance of the wine certainly isn’t typical for Nalle. Source: New Hampshire state liquor store, Nashua. (3/07)

TN: Only ESJ knows

[label]Edmunds St. John 2002 Syrah “The Shadow” (California) – Earthen mushrooms, mixed nuts, smoke and dark, dark fruit with bracing acidity. Really good, but it will really reward some cellar time. (12/06)

TN: Bumming me out

[label]Carlisle 2001 Zinfandel (Sonoma County) – Served as a mystery wine. It’s thick blueberry syrup, dense and sticky, with a powdery finish that flattens quickly to nothingness. The alcoholic heat is searing and actively unpleasant. This is a monstrosity, a wine to get skid row bums loaded when Mad Dog 20/20 isn’t upscale enough. I guess Turley, then realize there’s not quite enough VA (though there is some), so switch my guess to Carlisle with about five years of age. Bingo! I’m also asked to guess the alcohol. “Just shy of 16%?” 15.9% it is. (3/07)

TN: Dry Geyser

Ridge 1993 Geyserville (Sonoma County) – Coconut, blackberry, black cherry and boysenberry. Very silky but high-toned, and it gives indications of being past its prime, with old spice box and dead earth emerging on the finish. Eventually, all that’s left is a wan shell of white chocolate. (3/07)

TN: The camel’s behind the pyramid

[label]Domaine de la Terre Rouge 1999 Syrah Sentinel Oak Pyramid Block (Shenandoah Valley) – Very oak-dominated, and while it’s so massive it doesn’t appear closed, I suspect that it might be. There certainly used to be more fruit here. What remains is dark and scowly, like sandpaper-bruised blueberry residue and sweat-soaked leather, and there’s a feral (not bretty, just wild) element lurking in the background…a snarling wolf hidden in a dark grove of evergreens. There’s structure, though a good deal of it seems to be coming from the wood at the moment, and though I have confidence that it will meet its maker’s expectations for a long life, I think it will always be fairly woody. I guess we’ll see. (3/07)