Browse Tag

potter valley

Gates

[mcfadden]McFadden 2013 Gewürztraminer (Potter Valley) — Acrid, sweaty, mean. Only a little bit of snappish apricot rind gives any indication that this is gewürztraminer. Poor. (11/16)

Caille win

[blue quail]McFadden Family Estate “Blue Quail” 2014 Pinot Noir (Potter Valley) — Strong, but not dense. A wallop of dark fruit, followed by a few more wallops, with a finishing whap. (5/16)

Stewart

Kalin 1997 Sauvignon Blanc “Reserve” (Potter Valley) – The opposite of fresh, and I mean that as a compliment. The entire metals section of the periodic table might be in evidence here. Such concentration, force, and presence…and yet, edging just up to the border of what the wine’s balance will tolerate, and no more. Dissipates into a liquid dust as it finishes. The only negative is a butterscotched character that lingers as a bagpipe drone through the breadth of the experience. But there’s so much else to like that it’s easy to accept, though not ignore. (7/10)

Kalin me softly

Kalin 1997 Sauvignon Blanc “Reserve” (Potter Valley) – Malic, then buttery, then thick with well-salted tan soil and lush apricot cream. More anonymous than these wines usually are, but it must be said that among the whites I generally prefer chardonnay and semillon from this house. Here, not everything on the structural side is entirely where it should be. (12/09)

Gates

[vineyard]Dashe 2007 Zinfandel “l’Enfant Terrible” McFadden Farms (Potter Valley) – 13.8%, native yeast, etc. Served blind. Guesses range from Beaujolais to Clos Roche Blanche’s famous Côt/Malbec blend, but it’s been served because one of the blind tasters has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the wine. Here, he likes it…until the reveal, at which point he turns on it. Since this is just about the only useful thing one can learn via non-contextual blind tasting, I consider the experiment a success (he says with a self-satisfied smirk). As for the wine? Tastes carbonic – and yes, I know winemakers insist such a thing can’t be tasted, but the carbonated pop and zing is what I mean – with soft earth, gentle red fruit, lima bean, asparagus, and a fair structure despite the wine’s lightness. There’s a fade to the wine that it didn’t have last year, and the tannin’s a little more prominent, so I’d guess that wherever the wine’s going, it’s headed there. I like it, though I’m not enraptured by it, but I think it’s time to leave it alone for a while. (3/09)

TN: Hairy Potter

Kalin 1996 Semillon (Livermore Valley) – Lightly oxidized, but in a good way, with waxy Rainier cherry, preserved citrus rind, gravel and honeysuckle slashed by cider. The density is striking, as is the acidity, but if there’s a flaw it’s that the wine is a bit hot for the form. It won’t be for everyone, but I like it. I think. (5/07)

Kalin 1990 Sauvignon Blanc “Reserve” (Potter Valley) – Flop sweat and sweet, metal-encased apples and pine. There’s a strongly insistent note of old Sherry wood as well. This draws raves from everyone but me; I think it’s very good, but that it has reached that asymptotic old wine stage where everything tastes the same. It’s not bad because it’s at that point, but it’s not declarative either. (5/07)