Rhone Rangers 2011

A couple of quick observations:
First, there were some specific standout wines at this tasting.
1) Pride mountains syrah
2) Ridge's wines (I love all their wines, and they are all well priced.)
3) Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel
4) Thread (a collaboration of four winemakers)
5) Rose from Tablas creek is one of the best I've ever tried.

My goal for the day was to also explore the various Rhone varietals:
Whites: I think a lot of these were very enjoyable, but none blew me away. I would definitely find a good ~$20-25 bottle and buy those for daily drinkers as needed.
Rose: The rose from tablas creek is hands down the best rose I've ever tried. Amazing.
Reds: Overall I really loved the funk in Mourvedre and the intensity of Syrah made in an old world (ie not just fruit) style. I could definitely see myself spending a lot of money on that. Grenache was really nice at times, but somehow always fell short on the palate for me. I still think it would be a great food wine, but it falls a bit behind the other varietals for me. Petite Sirah never hit the spot for me. Perhaps it's just too tannic at such a young age.
Sweets: Only three at the tasting, none were exceptional. One or two were possibly worth their (reasonable) asking price though. Enjoyable, especially since a lot of the white rhone varietals are very aromatic.

My favorite producers from today:
Ridge
Tablas Creek

• 2008 Bonny Doon Vineyard Vinferno Beeswax Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Arroyo Seco
  Lovely nose of fresh peaches. Palate is sweet, simple, but has good fruit and a nice finish. A bit low on acidity. Ready to drink now. Excellent well balanced drinker. (88 pts.)
• 2007 Lone Madrone Viognier Sweet Cheeks - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
  Floral, full bodied, sweet but lacks intensity. Pleasant, drink now. (87 pts.)
• 2009 Wind Gap Wines Orra - USA, California, North Coast
  Fresh, floral, crushed petals, but somewhat decreased flavor on the palate. (85 pts.)
• 2008 Wind Gap Wines Rana - USA, California
  Complex nose, but less interesting on the palate. (88 pts.)
• 2008 Wind Gap Wines Syrah Sonoma Coast - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
  Nice nose with red fruit and spice. Very balanced. (86 pts.)
• 2009 Wind Gap Wines Syrah Griffin's Lair - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
  Not showing much on the nose today. Palate has big tannins. (85 pts.)
• 2009 Pride Mountain Vineyards Viognier - USA, California, Sonoma County
  floral, ripe fruits on the nose. Palate is ick, too oaky. I've never liked a viognier that I've tried. (70 pts.)
• 2008 Pride Mountain Vineyards Syrah - USA, California, Sonoma County
  Lovely intense nose with big fruits, huge spice, smoky. Palate has great fruit, tannins on the finish. 91-92 (92 pts.)
• 2010 Qupé Roussanne Hillside Estate Bien Nacido Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley
  Creamy, oily, but nothing distinctive. (85 pts.)
• 2009 Qupé Syrah - USA, California, Central Coast
  Sweet, red fruits, spice. Lots of complexity, bit of earth. (88 pts.)
• 2008 Qupé Syrah Sawyer Lindquist Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley
  Less complex than the sonnie's bottling, but nice. (86 pts.)
• 2008 Qupé Syrah Sonnie's Sawyer Lindquist Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley
  Spice, smoky, red ripe fruit but still pretty traditional style. 89-90 (90 pts.)
• 2009 Ridge Carignane Buchignani Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County
  Lovely spicy nose, medium bodied. Well integrated. Nice, but not spectacular. 87-88 (87 pts.)
• 2006 Ridge Syrah Lytton Estate - USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley
  Big deep nose, dark black fruits, young and fruity on the palate. Good spice. Excellent! 90+ (90 pts.)
• 2006 Ridge Syrah/Grenache Lytton Estate - USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley
  Deep fruit, dense, good fruit and funkiness. Palate is flavorful, if a bit young. 92 (92 pts.)
• 2005 Ridge Grenache Lytton Estate - USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley
  Intense nose, nice sweetness/ripeness, complex. Palate needs time. Good structure and fruit. 92-93 (93 pts.)
• 2009 Ridge Petite Sirah Lytton Estate - USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley
  Good nose. Hard to judge because it's tannic... too overwhelming to drink right now. 89+ (89 pts.)
• 2010 Tablas Creek Patelin de Tablas Blanc - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
  Absolutely love. Nice oily, fruity nose. Intense and fresh, palate is balanced, medium-full bodied. One of the best QPR at the tasting. (89 pts.)
• 2009 Tablas Creek Côtes de Tablas Blanc - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
  Not quite as good as the 2010 patelin blanc. Less intense and more expensive. (85 pts.)
• 2009 Tablas Creek Grenache Blanc - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
  Very floral, crisp acidic palate. Refreshing medium bodied wine. (88 pts.)
• 2009 Tablas Creek Roussanne - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
  Good yellow color; nose is sweet, sugary, chenin-blanc-like; medium bodied palate. (88 pts.)
• 2009 Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
  Simple, restrained, not showing well. (83 pts.)
• 2010 Tablas Creek Rosé - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
  Amazing, intense. The best rose that I've tried to date. Purest strawberry on the nose, almost candied, refreshing balanced palate. A serious rose. 92-93 (92 pts.)
• 2009 Tablas Creek Côtes de Tablas - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
  Balanced, intense nose, a bargain for the price. Could use a few years of rest. 87+ (87 pts.)
• 2008 Tablas Creek Mourvèdre - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
  Smoky, gamey, lovely, earthy. Worth trying. (89 pts.)
• 2008 Tablas Creek Grenache - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
  Restrained, medium/light with good sweetness. A bit simple. (84 pts.)
• 2008 Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
  Dusty, wood, cigar. Young, tannic, fruity, lovely. Quite an amazing wine. 93+ with potential to improve with time. (93 pts.)
• 2009 Tablas Creek En Gobelet - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
  Sweet ripe red fruit; good, balanced, simple. 83-84 (84 pts.)
• 2008 Tablas Creek Syrah - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
  Old world northern rhone. Sweet/spicy red fruits, palate is full bodied. Excellent. (90 pts.)
• 2009 Tercero Grenache Blanc Camp 4 Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
  Lovely sweeter nose, balanced palate, great daily drinker. (87 pts.)
• 2009 Tercero Grenache/Mourvedre Rosé - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
  Really nice nose, sweet and fruity palate, but palate doesn't really live up to the nose. (85 pts.)
• 2007 Tercero Grenache Camp 4 Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
  Stunning nose, spicy, full bodied, flavorful. Palate is a bit rough in texture. (89 pts.)
• 2007 Tercero Grenache Watch Hill Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
  Classic sweet nose, spicy, but palate falls a bit flat in comparison. Still very good. (88 pts.)
• 2008 Tercero Grenache Larner Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
  Balanced, nice nose, palate falls a bit short again. (88 pts.)
• 2007 Tercero Syrah Thompson Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
  Lovely northern rhone nose of fruits, violet. Full bodied. 89-90 (90 pts.)
• 2008 Tercero Mourvèdre Camp 4 Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
  Funky, earth, hint of sweetness on the palate. Excellent. (90 pts.)
• 2007 Tercero Petite Sirah - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
  Nice nose, closed palate. Too tannic now to enjoy. (87 pts.)
• 2007 Tercero Cuvée Christie - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
  Not too flavorful. 81-82 (81 pts.)
• 2008 Tercero Cuvée Christie - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
  Lovely floral nose, nice fruit on the palate. Great! Drinking well now. (90 pts.)
• 2008 Tercero Cuvée Loco Larner Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
  Good fruit. Balanced, nice finish (very nice). 89+ (89 pts.)
• 2008 Thread - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
  A very unique blend, some rhone varietals and some cabernet sauvignon as well. I loved this. Red and black fruits, complex, intense. Drinking well now with juicy fruit, medium-bodied palate (lighter than cab). (93 pts.)
• 2008 Domaine de la Terre Rouge Muscat à Petits Grains Vin Doux Naturel - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, California Shenandoah Valley
  Fortified with a muscat distillate. Honestly, this didn't really have much flavor or nose. Maybe the vaguest hint of floral. Not offensive, but not flavorful. (70 pts.)
• 2008 Valley of the Moon Syrah - USA, California, Sonoma County
  A bit thin, tart. (80 pts.)
• 2008 Wrath Syrah Doctor's - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
  Dense black fruits. Decent in a new world style, but I prefer a bit more complexity and rusticity. This lacks complexity for me. (84 pts.)