Rhone Rangers 2011
San Francisco
Tasted Sunday, March 27, 2011 by aagrawal with 836 views
Introduction
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 88 Points
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.
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2007 Lone Madrone Viognier Sweet Cheeks 87 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Floral, full bodied, sweet but lacks intensity. Pleasant, drink now.
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2009 Wind Gap Wines Orra 85 Points
USA, California, North Coast
Fresh, floral, crushed petals, but somewhat decreased flavor on the palate.
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2008 Wind Gap Wines Rana 88 Points
USA, California
Complex nose, but less interesting on the palate.
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2008 Wind Gap Wines Syrah Sonoma Coast 86 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Nice nose with red fruit and spice. Very balanced.
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2009 Wind Gap Wines Syrah Griffin's Lair 85 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Not showing much on the nose today. Palate has big tannins.
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2009 Pride Mountain Vineyards Viognier 70 Points
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.
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2008 Pride Mountain Vineyards Syrah 92 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County
Lovely intense nose with big fruits, huge spice, smoky. Palate has great fruit, tannins on the finish. 91-92
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2010 Qupé Roussanne Hillside Estate Bien Nacido Vineyard 85 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley
Creamy, oily, but nothing distinctive.
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2009 Qupé Syrah 88 Points
USA, California, Central Coast
Sweet, red fruits, spice. Lots of complexity, bit of earth.
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2008 Qupé Syrah Sawyer Lindquist Vineyard 86 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley
Less complex than the sonnie's bottling, but nice.
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2008 Qupé Syrah Sonnie's Sawyer Lindquist Vineyard 90 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley
Spice, smoky, red ripe fruit but still pretty traditional style. 89-90
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2009 Ridge Carignane Buchignani Ranch 87 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County
Lovely spicy nose, medium bodied. Well integrated. Nice, but not spectacular. 87-88
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2006 Ridge Syrah Lytton Estate 90 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley
Big deep nose, dark black fruits, young and fruity on the palate. Good spice. Excellent! 90+
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2006 Ridge Syrah/Grenache Lytton Estate 92 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley
Deep fruit, dense, good fruit and funkiness. Palate is flavorful, if a bit young. 92
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2005 Ridge Grenache Lytton Estate 93 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley
Intense nose, nice sweetness/ripeness, complex. Palate needs time. Good structure and fruit. 92-93
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2009 Ridge Petite Sirah Lytton Estate 89 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley
Good nose. Hard to judge because it's tannic... too overwhelming to drink right now. 89+
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2010 Tablas Creek Patelin de Tablas Blanc 89 Points
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.
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2009 Tablas Creek Côtes de Tablas Blanc 85 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Not quite as good as the 2010 patelin blanc. Less intense and more expensive.
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2009 Tablas Creek Grenache Blanc 88 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Very floral, crisp acidic palate. Refreshing medium bodied wine.
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2009 Tablas Creek Roussanne 88 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Good yellow color; nose is sweet, sugary, chenin-blanc-like; medium bodied palate.
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2009 Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc 83 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Simple, restrained, not showing well.
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2010 Tablas Creek Rosé 92 Points
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
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2009 Tablas Creek Côtes de Tablas 87 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Balanced, intense nose, a bargain for the price. Could use a few years of rest. 87+
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2008 Tablas Creek Mourvèdre 89 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Smoky, gamey, lovely, earthy. Worth trying.
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2008 Tablas Creek Grenache 84 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Restrained, medium/light with good sweetness. A bit simple.
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2008 Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel 93 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Dusty, wood, cigar. Young, tannic, fruity, lovely. Quite an amazing wine. 93+ with potential to improve with time.
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2009 Tablas Creek En Gobelet 84 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Sweet ripe red fruit; good, balanced, simple. 83-84
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2008 Tablas Creek Syrah 90 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Old world northern rhone. Sweet/spicy red fruits, palate is full bodied. Excellent.
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2009 Tercero Grenache Blanc Camp 4 Vineyard 87 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
Lovely sweeter nose, balanced palate, great daily drinker.
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2009 Tercero Grenache/Mourvedre Rosé 85 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
Really nice nose, sweet and fruity palate, but palate doesn't really live up to the nose.
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2007 Tercero Grenache Camp 4 Vineyard 89 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
Stunning nose, spicy, full bodied, flavorful. Palate is a bit rough in texture.
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2007 Tercero Grenache Watch Hill Vineyard 88 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
Classic sweet nose, spicy, but palate falls a bit flat in comparison. Still very good.
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2008 Tercero Grenache Larner Vineyard 88 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
Balanced, nice nose, palate falls a bit short again.
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2007 Tercero Syrah Thompson Vineyard 90 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
Lovely northern rhone nose of fruits, violet. Full bodied. 89-90
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2008 Tercero Mourvèdre Camp 4 Vineyard 90 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
Funky, earth, hint of sweetness on the palate. Excellent.
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2007 Tercero Petite Sirah 87 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
Nice nose, closed palate. Too tannic now to enjoy.
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2007 Tercero Cuvée Christie 81 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
Not too flavorful. 81-82
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2008 Tercero Cuvée Christie 90 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
Lovely floral nose, nice fruit on the palate. Great! Drinking well now.
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2008 Tercero Cuvée Loco Larner Vineyard 89 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
Good fruit. Balanced, nice finish (very nice). 89+
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2008 Thread 93 Points
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).
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2008 Domaine de la Terre Rouge Muscat à Petits Grains Vin Doux Naturel 70 Points
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.
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2008 Valley of the Moon Syrah 80 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County
A bit thin, tart.
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2008 Wrath Syrah Doctor's 84 Points
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.
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