Weekend in the Santa Ynez Valley

The weekend started out strong with a private tasting at Arcadian with Assistant Winemaker Ryan Roarke who was kind enough to take a couple hours out of his day to sit, pour, and chat with us about Arcadian wines and winemaking in general. When that wrapped up, we stopped in to Alma Rosa, where I neglected to take notes. The wines were all nice and very quaffable, but none really stood out to me as being must buys. I particularly enjoyed their single clone bottlings of pinot as a interesting survey of what each clone adds to a final blend. We then had a tour and tasting of Sea Smoke, which was amazing of course, and ended up hitting Foley on our way back to the hotel. Couldn't have been a nicer day!

• 2005 Arcadian Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard 92 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands

  (3/27/2009)

  tasted at the winery. Popped and poured, but tasted several times over the course of 2 hours. Nose is well rounded and full of soft strawberry and flowers, with undertones of dusty earth. The taste even from the initial pop and pour made me write, "Wow!" in my tasting notes. The soft strawberry follows the nose with dark cherries and some dirty leather. As I transcribe my notes into CT I am now noticing how many times I wrote "soft" in my notes. This wine is nothing if not elegant. Mild acidity carries you through to an absolutely endless finish of smokey red fruits. This wine is beautiful , but needs time for all the flavors to really develop and mature. I'd say check back in 3-5 years.

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• 2005 Arcadian Pinot Noir Dierberg Vineyard 90 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley

  (3/27/2009)

  Popped and poured at the winery, but tasted several times over about 2 hours. Much darker color and overall character than the Pisoni we tasted this next to. Deep dark cherry, smoke and a bit of underlying clove on the nose which carries over into the rich and more medium bodied mouthfeel versus the Pisoni. Flavors of blackberry and dark cherries evolve into a lighter strawberry out of the finish. Excellent balance and structure with mild acidity and tannins that build as the wine takes air. This wine, as with most of Joe's wines, needs more time to really come together. Excellent now, but will be blockbuster with a few more years in the bottle.

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• 2001 Arcadian Pinot Noir Garys' Vineyard 92 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands

  (3/27/2009)

  Popped and poured at the winery, but tasted several times over the course of 2 hours. I was chit chatting with the Assistant Winemaker when he popped this one, so I lost track of which one he was pouring. I took a taste and wrote 05 in my notes, then realized I didn't yet look at the bottle to be sure. When I realized that this was the 01, I was then blown away by the youthfull zest this wine still shows. Dark, yet sweet cherry, cinnamon and strawberries on the nose. More in line with the Pisoni than the Dierberg in styling, it has a lighter mouthfeel, but still displays rich, mouthcoating flavors of strawberries, cherries and a leathery earthiness from start to finish. Excellently balanced, and as i said before, this wine still showed youthful acidity that will help this wine to continue to develop for years to come.

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• 2005 Arcadian Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow Vineyard 94 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands

  (3/27/2009)

  First tasted this at the winery, but then consumed this bottle the same night. Popped and poured. The nose is full of roasted nuts, apples, and soft, yet spicy vanilla. It coats the mouth with absolutely lovely lemon oil, creamy apple flavors, well balanced with vanilla and a touch of oak, and mild acidity. Not to sound like a broken record here, but this stuff is incredible. Drinking this at the winery with Assistant Winemaker Ryan Roarke, I just wanted to get up and give them a standing ovation. But I am left only with this space to verbally applaud them. Unfortunately it seems that previous tasters have already said it all. grafstrb stole my thoughts on my surprise at how much I liked this wine despite not being a big chardonnay drinker. WetRock already talked about how I never would have thought when drinking this wine next to Joe's top flight Pinot and Syrah's that I would be wanting more of this over the others. So I think I am left only to say that this is without a doubt THE best bottle of chardonnay that I have ever had. Damn...RoundersRob already said that too. Oh well. Bravo!

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• 2005 Arcadian Syrah Purisima Mountain Vineyard 90 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (3/27/2009)

  Poppped and poured at the winery, but tasted several times over the course of about 2 hours. Ripe red berries, black pepper and an underlying dark cherry nose. The taste is a little more tart with blackberries carrying the load of the flavors into the more herbascious and peppery finish. If we had tasted this blind (and not sitting there at Arcadian), I would have immediately guessed that this was from the Northern Rhone with its soft minerality ripe fruit, and herby pepperiness. This is really one of the best Syrah's that I have had out of the new world. I have always preferred the more terrior driven wines of France, and I feel that Joe is one of the few out here that are able to reflect this styling without being caught up in all the over extracted, big fruit, big oak flavors. This is subtle, complex and should improve with more time in the bottle.

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• 2007 Sea Smoke Chardonnay Gratis

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (3/27/2009)

  Barrel sample at the winery. Spicy oak penetrates the nose and the palate with the round pears and lemon zest taking a back seat. This is actually the first time that I have tasted anything from the barrel, so I am not sure how to translate what we had here into a perception of what is to come. Obviously this is lacking the balance and subtlety that will come once it gets to rest in the bottle, but I really quite enjoyed what this is showing here, and, however unlikely that I will actually get a taste of this after it's bottled, I am curious to see how it turns out. (90-92)

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• 2008 Foley Estates Chardonnay Steel

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (3/27/2009)

  Tasted at the winery. Stone, apples, lemon and pineapple on the nose. The taste is very acidic with zesty lemon and lime, and a touch of honeysuckle on the finish. Bright and fun little wine, but it was served a bit too warm for my preference. Good, but not exciting.

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• 2006 Foley Estates Chardonnay Barrel Select Rancho Santa Rosa

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (3/27/2009)

  Tasted at the winery. Floral, toasty and nutty nose with hints of lemon oil. Creamy apricots, lemons and roasted nut flavors. This is your pretty stereotypical CA butter bomb chardonnay. I felt it had a little more complexity than the "Steel," but definitely not my style of Chard.

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• 2007 Foley Estates Pinot Noir Rancho Santa Rosa

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (3/27/2009)

  Tasted at the winery. Smokey strawberry, and dark cherry nose. Tastes of dark cherries flow through a pretty hot mid palate in to a sweet strawberry and toasty smoke finish. A bit too much oak on this one for my palate, which showed heavily on the finish. There are nice flavors here, but it definitely needs time to settle down and come together.

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• 2006 Foley Estates Pinot Noir Barrel Select Rancho Santa Rosa

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (3/27/2009)

  Tasted at the winery. Big strawberries, bright red cherry and some underlying clove on the nose. Soft strawberry and cherry fruit flavors transitions into a smokey and damp earth-like finish. Still detecting a bit of heat on this, hard to tell if it is a serious problem with balance, or if more bottle age will work it out, but there are some nice flavors and some complexity here.

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• 2006 Foley Estates Syrah Rancho Santa Rosa

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (3/27/2009)

  Tasted at the winery. Big pepper, herb, and black cherry & raspberry nose. Taste follows the nose with soft and delicate raspberry and blackberry flavors and underlying pepperiness. This was the best of the flight in my opinion.

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• 2007 Kutch Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 90 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  (3/27/2009)

  Popped and poured, but drank over about 4 hours. Strawberry, cherry, and a slight bit of smoke on the nose. Solid tannin and acid structure with flavors of blackberry, cherry, strawberry and dirty leather. Despite the thicker tannins, it is still very light and delicate in styling. The beautiful fruit takes the front billing in this wine, and while this is a really well made and enjoyable bottle, I am coming to understand that this style of pinot is just not what gets me really excited.

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• 2007 August West Pinot Noir Graham Family Vineyard 91 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  (3/27/2009)

  Popped and poured, but drank over several hours. Lovely nose of clove, strawberry, dark cherry and ripe plum. Soft flavors of strawberries and dark berries open up to a long finish full of spicy plums. We drank the Rosella's the next night and I have to say that I found this one to be more balanced and elegant.

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Started out at Fiddlehead and made our way back down highway 246 having a picnic lunch at Melville, stopping in at Babcock, and then jumping over to Beckmen near Los Olivos before going home to relax. No notes taken at Babcock and Beckmen. All of their wines were drinkable and there were a couple that stood out among the others on the list, but again there really weren't any I got excited over. Beckmen had their Purisima CdP styled blend that was enjoyable, however for the price I would simple buy CdP before Beckmen's version. We then headed back to Los Olivos and The Brother's Restaurant for dinner. We brought a bottle of 2003 Pontet Canet and 2003 Troplong Mondot, which had been open in the bottle for about 3 hours prior to dinner, for a fun little comparison during our meals.

• 2006 Fiddlehead Cellars Sauvignon Blanc

  USA, California, Central Coast, Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara

  (3/28/2009)

  Tasted at the winery. This is interesting Sauv Blanc in that it sees some oak and shows more like a lot of the White Bordeauxs that I have had. Nose of creamy minerality and lemon grass. Silky mouthfeel with soft honey and lemon cream pie, and some zesty acidity on the finish. Really nice stuff that would be awesome at a sunny summer day BBQ.

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• 2003 Fiddlehead Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Hunnysuckle

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (3/28/2009)

  Tasted at the winery. For its age, this was still very vibrant and youthful. Big floral nose with sweet tropical melon aromas as well. Taste is pretty floral with a soft mouthfeel and tropical fruit flavors and grapefruits on the finish. Superbly delicate and elegant. This was a close second to the Happy Canyon Sauv Blanc from Fiddlehead.

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• 2007 Fiddlehead Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Goosebury

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (3/28/2009)

  Tasted at the winery. Almost entirely clear in color with some slight gold. Nose is pretty thin, but there is some grass and tropical fruits. Crisp and clean with tastes of lemon and lime with a grass minerality on the mid palate into a very long floral and tropical fruit filled finish. Overall a bit thin, but still quite enjoyable.

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• 2003 Fiddlehead Cellars Pinot Noir Oldsville Reserve

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  (3/28/2009)

  Tasted at the winery. Dark cherry and oak on the nose with undertones of spiced strawberries. Lush strawberry, cherry, and clove. This is lighter on the palate than the dark crimson black color makes you think going in. Very good.

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• 2007 Fiddlehead Cellars Pinot Noir 20th Anniversary Cuvée

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (3/28/2009)

  Tasted at the winery. Very tight nose. Not giving up much even with quite a bit of swirling. There were some blackberry and smoke notes. Tastes of dark cherry, spice and some blackberry. This is WAY to young at this point. Very interesting and complex flavors, but it really needs time to develop and integrate.

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• 2006 Fiddlehead Cellars Pinot Noir Oldsville Reserve

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  (3/28/2009)

  Tasted at the winery. Taste this blind and I defy you to guess that it is a pinot. Big rhone-like syrah nose of pepper and blackberries. Flavors follow the nose with some lighter cherry flavors coming through on the long and spicy finish. Despite being a bigger style pinot, I really enjoyed this wine. Reminiscent of Sea Smoke.

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• 2005 Fiddlehead Cellars Pinot Noir Seven Twenty Eight Fiddlestix Vineyard

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (3/28/2009)

  Tasted at the winery. Round nose of cherries, prunes and damp earth. Mouth coating with spicy oak, dark cherry, plum, and raisin into the brief finish. Overall a very nice wine, but I think it needs some time to really come together and integrate all those flavors.

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• 2007 Melville Chardonnay Estate Verna's

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

  (3/28/2009)

  Tasted at the winery. Toasty oak and spicy apple nose. Big oak and butter flavors with carmelized apples peaking through underneath. A bit too much oak on this one for me, but I think if that can soften with some bottle age, this is a fairly complex wine.

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• 2007 Melville Chardonnay Estate

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (3/28/2009)

  Tasted at the winery. This is more my speed of Chardonnay over the Verna's. Nose of apples, lemons, and limes. Softer mouthfeel than the Verna's with flavors of lemon infused oil, pear and lime. Picked up a bottle of this and enjoyed with sandwiches in the sun out front of the tasting room. Yum!

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• 2007 Melville Pinot Noir Estate

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (3/28/2009)

  Tasted at the winery. Strawberry, cherry and some black pepper on the nose. Heavier styled pinot (as I found all of Melville's pinots to be after this tasting), with flavors of blackberry, clove and damp earth. I found this to be the most balanced of Melville's pinots, and my favorite of theirs.

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• 2007 Melville Pinot Noir Clone 115 Indigène

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (3/28/2009)

  Tasted at the winery. Softer nose than the Estate with strawberry and watermelon. Cedar and blackberry flavors with chewy tannins coming on into the finish along with some heat. Not quite as ready to go as the Estate. This one needs time to settle down.

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• 2007 Melville Pinot Noir Terraces

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (3/28/2009)

  Tasted at the winery. Nose of strawberries chocolate, and some underlying earth tones. Spicy cherry flavors throughout with some white pepper coming on in the finish. This one was more like a Syrah than it was a pinot. That said, it is still pretty tasty stuff.

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• 2007 Melville Pinot Noir Carrie's

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (3/28/2009)

  Tasted at the winery. Stoney minerals and cherry on the nose. The nose reminded me of a ripe bourgogne or cotes du rhone. Very closed off on the tongue with oak overwhelming most of the fruits except for some strawberry poking through on the finish. Like the other single vineyard designate bottles, this needs some time in the bottle to develop.

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• 2007 Melville Syrah Estate Verna's

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

  (3/28/2009)

  Tasted at the winery. Nose is full of pepper and blackberries. Rich and dense black fruit and pepper fruit flavors. Really excellent syrah. I think that their pinots are so syrah like because they REALLY know how to do syrah right. Yum!

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• 2007 Melville Syrah Estate Donna's

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (3/28/2009)

  Tasted at the winery. Spicy white pepper and dark berry nose. Lighter mouthfeel than the Verna's with black and blueberry flavors into the hot and spicy finish. Still a little out of balance, but give this a year or so in the bottle and it should be pretty tasty stuff.

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• 2003 Château Troplong Mondot 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  (3/28/2009)

  Brought to The Brother's Restaurant in Los Olivos, CA. Opened 3 hours prior to dinner, but left in bottle. This showed very chocolate and spicy vanilla on the nose at first, but opened to show more floral and damp earth notes mingled with plums and blackberries. It was a bit of a rollercoaster once it really got into the air as it showed ripe fruits at first, then the tannins took over for about 45 minutes, but then the tannins integrated into a very structured wine. Very feminine in styling with lovely blackberry, plum, spice, and leather flavors. This is still a baby and not quite ready to go yet. Give this 5+ years or a nice looooong decant and you won't be disappointed.

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• 2003 Château Pontet-Canet 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  (3/28/2009)

  Brought to The Brother's Restaurant in Los Olivos, CA. Opened 3 hours prior to dinner, but left in bottle. Wow! This was rocking right from the pop. Big blackberry, plum and roasted coco beans on the nose. Classic PC nose. More structured and well rounded than the Troplong Mondot we tasted this next to. Rich fruit flavors with leather and forest floor into an espresso-like finish. Taking age out of the equation, this is the best PC that I have had. Be interesting to see how it develops over the next 10 years or so.

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• 1985 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage 92 Points

  Portugal, Douro, Porto

  (3/28/2009)

  Had a glass at The Brother's Restaurant in Los Olivos, CA. This is my first vintage porto that I have had. I am typically more of a tawny drinker. Nose is still pretty ripe with plums, smoke and underlying prune and spice. Taste was a bit hot at first, but this blew off in no time to show rich plums, raisins and smokey figs. This is really excellent stuff, and although I miss some of the more caramel and nutty flavors of the tawny's, I really enjoyed the structure and complex fruit flavors that sometimes get drowned in those sweeter characteristics.

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Decided to stay in Solvang proper to hit up the local shops and tasting bars on this day. Most notable (as you will see below) are the Trio Wine bar which houses the Curran, Badge, and D' Alfonso, and the Tastes of the Valleys Wine bar, which is the primary wine tasting rooms for Arcadian, Au Bon Climat, and Margerum. The owner of Tastes of the Valleys, Ash, and his staff operate one of the BEST wine bars I have ever been too, and we really appreciated everything they had to offer as well as their top notch service. Other places we hit throughout the day, that, again, were not bad, but just not noteworthy were Royal Oaks, Presidio, and Addamo. Ended the night eating Carne Asada with an assortment of white wines.

• 2007 Curran Gewürztraminer

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (3/29/2009)

  lemon and stoned grapefruits on the nose. The taste is full of zesty citrus and a stoney minerality, that I love in this dry styled wine. It has light mouthfeel and oily texture with a surprising burst of acid on the back end. The woman behind the bar pouring for us said that Kris Curran decided to make this wine for personal consumption to go with Thai food and other spicy fare, but it was so good they decided to release it. I couldn't agree more!

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• 2007 Curran Grenache Blanc

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (3/29/2009)

  nose has a lemon grass type green-ness to it, along with citrus oil and underlying tropical fruits. Taste is very delicate with fresh pear and lemon zest flavors, medium acid and a soft finish. While very enjoyable, this wine wa a bit simple on its own. I think it would be fantastic with some spicy foods though.

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• 2007 Curran Grenache Rosé

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (3/29/2009)

  While technically, this is a Grenache Gris, the tasting room people told us that they have not gotten approval to bottle it as such yet, so it becomes a rose. The nose is like sticking your nose in a bushel of tropical flowers. Very aromatic for a rose. Rich, yet it maintains a light bodied mouthfeel with tastes of watermelon, a bit of strawberry and flowers. Interesting salmon coloring is quite entrancing. Really wonderful stuff.

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• 2006 Badge Chardonnay Rancho Santa Rosa Vineyard

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (3/29/2009)

  This was fermented 50% in oak and 50% in steel and went through 50% malo-lactic fermentation, giving it a more tropical and feminine styling rather than the big oak bombs one would expect from CA chard. Tropical fruits and flowers throughout the nose and on the palate and it has a buttery finish. Unique and enjoyable, but also a bit simple and one dimensional.

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• 2005 Badge Pinot Noir

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (3/29/2009)

  Nose shows dark cherries, blackberries, and smoked cloves. Tastes of big round, ripe cherries and all spice with just a touch of heat on the mid-palate into the smoky, almost beef jerky-like finish. It is a nice pinot at a decent price point, but it didn't really wow me.

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• 2005 Curran Tempranillo

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (3/29/2009)

  I found this to be a bit closed off at first. It took some coaxing to get only some slight blackberry and smokey spices. Once in the mouth however, this showed a lot of sweet fruits and a lighter mouthfeel than I am used to in your typical Spanish tempranillo. Nice, but it seemed a little reticent from start to finish. I am not sure if that will resolve with time or if it is simply an indication of stylistic differences.

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• 2005 Curran Sangiovese

  USA, California, Central Coast

  (3/29/2009)

  Very aromatic nose of cherries, strawberries and earthy herbs and mushrooms. Tastes of stewed red fruits and smoke that hold on in the long finish. This stuff will hold up to any good Chianti in my book, and was my favorite of Curran's line-up.

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• 2005 Curran Syrah Reserve Black Oak Vineyard

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (3/29/2009)

  Soft black pepper, black licorice and ripe red berries on the nose. The red fruits carry over into the taste mixed with black licorice and herbs out of the finish. This, like many of Curran's wines, surprised me at how old world in style it was. I would have had trouble picking this out of a line-up of young CdP. Excellent.

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• 2005 Curran Sangiovese Bruce Vandale Reserve

  USA, California, Central Coast

  (3/29/2009)

  My notes say, "distinctly Italian nose" of ripe fruits and dusty earth. very lush red fruit flavors aong with secondary flavors of spice earth and leather. Much more age worthy than the regular sangiovese, but still very approachable now.

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• 2004 Au Bon Climat Hildegard

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley

  (3/29/2009)

  Pale straw color. Nose shows lemon oil, apricot, and wet stones. It has an oily texture with toasty minerality, lemon zest and apple flavors. The finish is LONG with spicy and toasty oak flavors. Very unique wine in my book.

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• 2007 Margerum Sauvignon Blanc Sybarite

  USA, California, Central Coast, Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara

  (3/29/2009)

  if ever there was a crisp, bright, and fun sauv blanc, this is it! Nose shows lemon grass, and crisp pears. Taste is very lemon/lime, with just a touch of grass, some soft pear and pineapple. The finish lasts at least 20 seconds and shows some yummy stoned pears. Really excellent stuff at a great price.

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• 2006 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir Los Alamos Vineyard

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

  (3/29/2009)

  Toasty almond, sweet black cherries and smoke on the nose. Taste shows blackberries, cherries, damp earth with a nutty and tasty blackberry finish. There was a touch of heat on the finish and the oak stood out to me, obviously with all the "toasty" references, but I think with time this could be a really nice bottle.

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• 2006 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley

  (3/29/2009)

  Big ripe blackberry nose with some underlying clove and spices. Taste follows with a little more of those spicy flavors coming through all the ripe fruit flavors. Espceially on the finish where clove, smoke, and anise dominate. Good, but not as memorable as others we had in this flight.

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• 2006 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir Isabelle

  USA, California

  (3/29/2009)

  This is a much more feminine and delicate pinot compared to the other ABC pinots we had in this flight. The nose is floral and smoky with cherry and dry earth underneath. the flowers carry over to the flavor with soft blackberry and dirty leather flavors transitioning to a more anise filled finish. Very subtle and elegant stuff and my favorite of the ABC pinots.

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• 2005 Margerum M5

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

  (3/29/2009)

  Although there are 5 known varietals in this wine (Grenahce, syrah, mourvedre, cinsault, and Counoise), and several 'others' thrown in for good measure, it is so perfect in its simplicity, and never really tries to be more than an enjoyable table wine. I have been drinking a lot of 07 rhone wines lately and I feel that this could rival any of the Cotes duRhones I have had. Sweet round fruit, rhubarb, and white pepper on the nose. Dark fruit flavors with underlying herbs and black pepper. Very well balanced with a smooth mouthfeel. Very good.

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• 2005 Margerum Syrah Uber

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

  (3/29/2009)

  This is the M5's big brother, but I didn't find it to be all that much more "Uber" to be honest. Shows similar sweet red cherry and white pepper on the nose. The mouthfeel is quite a bit denser than the M5 with more blackberry and smoked clove into the stewed berry finish. Of the two, i preferred the M5. As I said on my note for that wine, I felt that it wasn't trying to be more than just an enjoyable table wine, this I feel is trying to be too much and falls short.

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• 2004 Arcadian Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyard

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (3/29/2009)

  Sweet strawberry and cherry nose with underlying smoke and sweet spices. Perfectly ripe and flavorful cherry and clove spice flavors with just the slightest touch of heat on the finish. My notes say, "soft, soft, soft...just elegant!" and I think that just about sums it up! This was probably tied for my second favorite Arcadian pinot along with the 01 Gary's vineyard.

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• 2005 La Vie Vineyards Syrah Paradise Reserve

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

  (3/29/2009)

  The nose shows what I can only describe as 'pure' balckberry fruit notes with underlying black pepper and earth. Taste shows flavors of anise, black fruits, and pepper. This wine was a bit clumsy and out of balance with the heat from the alcohol coming through a bit much for my liking, especially on the finish. This is La Vie's first vintage of syrah, and this is a very promising start.

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• 2004 Arcadian Syrah Garys' Vineyard

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands

  (3/29/2009)

  much of the same characteristics as the Purisima syrah, but shows much more velvety and soft compared to the Purisima's more structured edges. The fruit is a bit more lush and forward without some of the more earthy flavors. Both excellent syrah, but I still have to give the edge to the Purisima.

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• 2007 August West Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard 90 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands

  (3/29/2009)

  This note is from day two of this wine. Pine, blackberries and cherries on the nose with an underlying menthol aroma. Taste is soft and coating in the mouth with a heavier black pepper, anise, and dark cherry flavors. This reminded me of the Melville pinots we had the previous day. Bigger, heavier styling, that while intersting and flavorful, isn't really my cup of tea when it comes to pinot.

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• 2007 George Wine Company Pinot Noir Ceremonial Vineyard Russian River Valley 91 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  (3/29/2009)

  This was the first time that I hae been had the opportunity to drink more than just a couple ounces of George's wines. Finally I have a better idea about what these guys have to offer. Nose is full of blackberry, anise, clove and some dark cherries underneath. Taste follows the nose with spicy ripe fruits and nice acid structure. This style of pinot has what I percieve as too much residual sugars that, while never off putting, just makes me want to go to other, more terroir driven, pinots. Really superbly made wine, and of the producers that make this style of pinot (i.e., Kutch, AP Vin, August West), I would put this at the top of the list.

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