Danny's Solvang Trip

Dan was in San Jose for a client meeting and jumped a plane on Thursday to visit for the weekend. He has heard stories of our wine tasting adventures and was interested creating his own. We began our trip Friday at 1:30pm heading north to Santa Barbara County thinking we’d get a jump on the LA traffic. Wrong, LA, Oxnard, and Santa Barbara gridlock made for a punishing 4 plus hour drive to Solvang.

We stayed at the Wine Valley Inn which is a Dutch/Swiss style chalet. We had a two bedroom suite and although a bit funky looking was very spacious for the three of us despite the “scary room” Dan slept in.

Because of traffic we missed our dinner reservation at the Hitching Post and based on every hotel being full I was concerned about finding a place to eat. Chris had heard good things about Café Angelica so we wonder over to check it out plus it was right around the corner from Tastes of the Valleys where we planned to finish the evening.
Surprisingly, the town wasn’t that busy including the wineries and restaurants. Dinner was good.

• 2009 Zaca Mesa Viognier 87 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (9/27/2010)

  We saw these grapes being crush the year before at the winery, fun to watch and the wine maker let Chris jump right in and take pictures. So we were pleasantly surprised when this wine was on the list at dinner the first night in solvang. Honeysuckle, pear, and apple are present. Nice good quaffer at a decent price.

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Tastes of the Valleys is a great spot, the atmosphere is great and they have some nice wines. I wanted to hit the Pinots and they offered to create an Au Bon Climat Pinot only flight which sounded great.

• 2006 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir Los Alamos Vineyard 87 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

  (9/25/2010)

  N: Smokey fruit and heat
  P: smoked meat and way too much heat
  F: Dominated by alcohol but was long.

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• 2007 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir Sanford & Benedict Vineyard 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (9/25/2010)

  N: Strong oak
  P: Cherry and oak
  F: very smooth tannins, not much structure. Medium finish

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• 2007 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir Knox Alexander 90 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley

  (9/25/2010)

  N: funk and cherry
  P: well intergrated
  F: good complexity and med+ finish

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• 2007 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir Isabelle 88 Points

  USA, California

  (9/25/2010)

  This should probably be scored higher for the complexity but I put it down for 88 at the time.
  
  Funk, cherry, and cinnamon. Very interesting with cinnamon, first time I've tasted it in such a destinct manner.
  
  Finish is very smooth but medium/short.

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• 2007 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir Nielson Vineyard 87 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley

  (9/25/2010)

  Have to disagree with Tanzer on this one. Nose is candied fruit and a whiff of funk. Really nice.
  
  Plenty of oak palate and not much fruit on the palate.
  
  Medium finish with heat and a "greenish" linger.

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• 2007 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyard 89 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley

  (9/25/2010)

  Nice dark pinot
  
  there is great complexity of fruit and smoke with a long finish.

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• 2007 Arcadian Pinot Noir Sleepy Hollow Vineyard 91 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands

  (9/25/2010)

  N: fruit with that central coast funk that says "HELLO!"
  P: great balance and complexity
  F: medium+

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• 2007 Sierra Madre Vineyard Pinot Noir 89 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley

  (9/25/2010)

  Fruit forward on the palate and a decent finish. Good quaffer.

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• 2006 Barrack Family Estate Brand Happy Canyon Vineyard 91 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (9/25/2010)

  Excellent wine. tasted blind and guessed Cab Franc and Cab Sauv blend.
  
  Just missed!!! It also contains merlot. But 2 out of 3 is not bad and the guy pouring the wine, his jaw dropped when the first words out of my mouth was Cab Franc. I was equally stunned. LOL

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• 2007 Margerum M5 90 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

  (9/25/2010)

  Debated whether to score in the 90's. But the wife really enjoyed this so I gave it the extra bump.
  
  N: Heat, not much fruit present
  P: Fruit and cherry with a big black licorice
  F: medium

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My first time at Kenneth Volk and the wines were OK but I really like the format. For $10 you pick six wines from a list of about 20 they are pouring. Since we purchased two tasting for the three of us we ended up with 12 different wines.

• 2007 Kenneth Volk Viognier Live Oak Vineyard 83 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  (9/28/2010)

  I don't think this was corked since it was served by the tasting room but there was a chemical taste that is not appealing.

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• 2009 Kenneth Volk Chardonnay Jaybird 87 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley

  (9/28/2010)

  C: very lilght as expected with no oak
  N: pear and floral notes
  P: light apple and good acidity

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• 2005 Kenneth Volk Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyard 86 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley

  (9/28/2010)

  Dark color and smoke on the palate but the fruit is not showing through.

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• 2005 Kenneth Volk Syrah/Grenache Noir Camp Four Vineyard 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (9/28/2010)

  Smooth palate with a nice complexity. Decent quaffer.

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• 2007 Kenneth Volk Zinfandel Enz Vineyard 86 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Lime Kiln Valley

  (9/28/2010)

  Plum and prune with spice on nose/palate. It's a nice wine I'm just not a fan of prune notes in my wine.

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• 2007 Kenneth Volk Mourvèdre Enz Vineyard 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Lime Kiln Valley

  (9/28/2010)

  Charcoal, earth tones, and dusty whiff. Touch of pepper on a medium finish. Not bad effort on a pure Mourvedre.

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• 2006 Kenneth Volk Cabernet Pfeffer Siletto Ranch Vineyard

  USA, California, Central Coast, San Benito County

  (9/28/2010)

  First time with this variety, Pffeffer is german for pepper. And there is definitely white and black pepper all over the place, nose, palate, and finish. Light fruit present.

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• 2005 Kenneth Volk Syrah Santa Barbara County 90 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

  (9/28/2010)

  Probably the best wine of the line up.
  N: Earth and oak
  P: Great smoke and fruit intergrated
  F: long finish
  
  Pretty good QPR

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• 2007 Kenneth Volk Touriga Nacional Pomar Junction Vineyard

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  (9/28/2010)

  First time with the Touriga variety, told this is what port is made from.
  
  N: Perfume and floral but no fruit
  P: No tannins, very smooth
  F: short
  
  I find it interesting when tasting a new variety just to expand my horizon.

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• 2005 Kenneth Volk Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles 83 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  (9/28/2010)

  Not for me, too much prune.

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• 2004 Kenneth Volk Claret Carmody McKnight Vineyard

  USA, California, Central Coast, San Luis Obispo County

  (9/28/2010)

  Super dark wine with leather, earth nose and palate Good struture and a palate cleaner on the finish. It definitely represents the bordeaux style.

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• 2005 Kenneth Volk Cabernet Franc Paso Robles 87 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  (9/28/2010)

  Good dark fruit and lots of tannins. this is cellar worthy.

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The shack at Foxen was very crowded and it was 112 degrees but nobody seemed to mind. We ran into the assistant wine maker later that night in town and he said they actually closed the shack at 2pm because of the heat and everyone was in the new tasting room which is air conditioned. We ended up purchasing a t-shirt each, a couple of bottle for Danny, and free Foxen anchor tattoos made for interesting conversation pieces.

• 2009 Foxen Old Vines Chenin Blanc Ernesto Wickenden Vineyard 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley

  (9/27/2010)

  Very clear and light. freshing on a hot day.

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• 2008 Foxen Chardonnay Steel Cut Bien Nacido 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley

  (9/27/2010)

  Very light color because the lack of oak. Great pear flavor and a touch sweet.

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• 2008 Foxen Chardonnay Block UU Bien Nacido 90 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley

  (9/27/2010)

  Tasted at the winery on a blistering hot day. very solid chard. same a previous

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• 2009 Foxen Mourvèdre Rosé of Mourvèdre "The Watermelon" 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (9/27/2010)

  C: Peach
  N: hint of earth
  P: big and sweet fruit
  F: medium

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• 2008 Foxen Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley 90 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley

  (9/27/2010)

  Big dark fruit and oak on front palate. tons of structure yet the tannins are smooth.

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• 2008 Foxen Syrah Tinaquaic Vineyard 90 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley

  (9/27/2010)

  Great intensity, super dark. Smoke meat palate but needs time, too tight now. Great potential in a few years.

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• 2009 Foxen Sauvignon Blanc 7200 Vogelzang Vineyard 86 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

  (9/27/2010)

  nice clean pear and sour apple with a bit of toast nose.

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• 2006 Foxen 7200 Volpino 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (9/27/2010)

  Tasted at the winery, I like this wine but it needs to cellar.

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• 2006 Foxen Cabernet Sauvignon 7200 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (9/27/2010)

  It's ok but not a blockbuster. plenty of oak and fruit but just didn't get me moving.

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• 2007 Foxen Cabernet Sauvignon 7200 Grassini Family Vineyard 90 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (9/27/2010)

  good smokey oak nose and dark fruit and oak intergrated on the palate. nice finish as well.
  
  Good wine.

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• 2007 Foxen Cabernet Sauvignon 7200 Vogelzang Vineyard

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (9/27/2010)

  Very tight, dry, and tannic and nearly lacking all fruit. hopefully a lot of time will help this wine but at $50 now, I'd pass.

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Dementria is a very cool place to eat lunch, it’s on Foxen Canyon road and then you need to get though two gates with codes (a pourer shared the code with us) and wind a couple of miles through the vineyards on golf cart path that doubles as a road. Chris had the usual amazing lunch of fruit, olives, meats, and cheeses with an assortment of bread and crackers. Although the location is great, a Tuscan style garden overlooking the vineyards on the hillside, the tasting at $15 was steep and the wine was average at best.

• 2007 Demetria North Slope 84 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (9/28/2010)

  Big pepper bomb and tart. Not my style.

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• 2007 Demetria Cuvée Constantine 86 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (9/28/2010)

  Fruitier than their other wines and plenty of tannins. Probably will improve with cellar time.

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• 2008 Demetria Chardonnay Santa Barbara County 87 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

  (9/28/2010)

  Pears and interestingly Honey showing. there is good balance and acidity. Nice pairing with spicy food.

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• 2008 Demetria Viognier Estate 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (9/28/2010)

  Solid viognier, good showing.
  N: faint fruit and flower
  P: smooth palate and finish.

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• 2007 Demetria Cuvée Papou 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (9/28/2010)

  White Rhone blend with excellent freshness, good acidity, complexity. There is a tartness throughout the palate and finish.

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• 2007 Demetria Pinot Noir Cuvée Sandra

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (9/28/2010)

  there is a metallic taste in the wine, not sure what's going on here.

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• 2007 Demetria Pantheon 85 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (9/28/2010)

  Respectable nose but not much follow through to the palate. And very tannic.

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Sunstone has a really cool tasting room with a faux cave in the back. The wine cellar, which is supposedly even better, was closed for a wedding. Because were burned out on tasting whites for the day they offered to substitute the “reserve” tasting list. That was an easy decision.

• 2006 Sunstone Vineyards and Winery Merlot Reserve Santa Ynez Valley 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (9/27/2010)

  nice coffee and fruit palate.

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• 2005 Sunstone Vineyards and Winery Syrah Reserve Santa Ynez Valley 89 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (9/27/2010)

  Best of the wines I tasted from them. Could have scored higher but too much heat.
  
  Fruit and lots of stucture.

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• 2003 Sunstone Vineyards and Winery Eros 89 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (9/27/2010)

  Seriously? $75 retail at the winery, please...
  
  There is nice cocoa, blackberry with tannins beginning to mellow yet still cellar worthy for a number of years.

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• 2006 Sunstone Vineyards and Winery Merlot Estate 85 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (9/28/2010)

  OK but prune tones turn me off. there is decent tannins/structure.

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• 2005 Sunstone Vineyards and Winery Rapsodie du Soleil 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (9/28/2010)

  good red rhone with moderate fruit and great structure. this can cellar.
  
  Problem I have with Sunstone, in general, they're are a horrible QPR. OK wine but charging way too much.

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• 2006 Sunstone Vineyards and Winery Eros 89 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (9/28/2010)

  Nice wine, big chocolate, oak, and coffee nicely intergrate. Medium finish.

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Chris was the winemaker at SeaSmoke and now does it for lots of people. She has a tasting room in Solvang and I wanted to see what else she as making under her own lable. Nice place, a bit on the modern side so a little dry atmosphere but nice wines. And it was 200 feet from the hotel, easily reachable by me after a long day.

• 2006 D'Alfonso - Curran Pinot Noir Rancho la Viña Vineyard 93 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (9/25/2010)

  Good funk and great structure. superbly integrated palate with a long finish.

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• 2008 Curran Grenache Blanc 91 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (9/25/2010)

  BIG tropical fruit and floral nose and palate. It's a sweet like a resling. excellent.

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• 2009 Badge Chardonnay Blue Steel Sierra Madre Vineyard

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (9/25/2010)

  Never tasted a chardonnay like this before. there is a nose and palate of green peas. Seriously. I'm not scoring because it wasn't bad or really good, just green peas.

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• 2006 Curran Tempranillo 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (9/25/2010)

  Very light nose, not much there. Palate of cigar, dark fruit, and leather tones. Good structure with lots of tannins and medium/+ finish.

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• 2005 Di Bruno Sangiovese Stolpman Vineyard 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  (9/25/2010)

  great nose of licorice and leather. very dry finish.

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• 2005 Curran Syrah Reeves' Ranches 90 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

  (9/25/2010)

  Very good wine. More fruit forward with well integrated oak.

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Up early on Sunday and we are heading west for my favor part of the area, pinot county. Arguably, the 15 mile stretch up Santa Rosa Road grows some of the best pinot in California and it’s a beautiful drive without the hustle and bustle of the east side. Our first stop is Lafond which makes great pinot and chardonnay which we discovered from a kid working in Pavilions who recommended it. He was correct, good juice. We were to the first customers of the morning so the servers were tasting the mornings wine with us which was fun.

• 2007 Lafond Syrah Grenache Lafond Vineyard 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (9/26/2010)

  Very dark color. Palate of tart cherry, tannis, earth, and oak/vanilla. Dry finish.

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• 2007 Lafond Chardonnay SRH 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (9/26/2010)

  N: crisp and clean
  P: tart/sour apple
  F: medium with plenty of acidity

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• 2007 Lafond Chardonnay Lafond Vineyard 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (9/26/2010)

  C: light straw for being oaked
  N: Floral notes
  P: more structure and pear than the SRH w/structure
  F: big for a chard

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• 2008 Lafond Syrah SRH 89 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (9/26/2010)

  C: very dark glass stainer
  N: Pepper, spice, and dark fruit
  P: Dark fruit and lots of tannins, needs cellar time to intergrate
  F: medium

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• 2006 Lafond Pinot Noir Clone 115 Lafond Vineyard 90 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (9/26/2010)

  C: dark SRH style color
  N: Candied dark fruit and spice
  P: Acidity and tannis with medium tart fruit/cherry
  F: medium/+

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• 2009 Lafond Pinot Noir SRH 92 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (9/26/2010)

  C: super dark pinot like a syrah
  N: HUGE nose
  P: Big cherry and dark fruit
  F: smooth tannins and touch of oak
  
  Very nice wine and great QPR

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• 2006 Lafond Pinot Noir Arita Hills Vineyard 89 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (9/26/2010)

  N: Heat present and big legs with prune/plum
  P: Cherry syrup
  F: medium

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• 2009 Santa Barbara Winery Syrah Rosé 87 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (9/26/2010)

  C: amazing violet, beautiful color
  N: floral hints
  P: Cherry Jolly Rancher candy and watermelon
  F: crisp

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Next stop was Sanford, my first time there and was I impressed. Not only were the wines really good but the location and winery are incredible, really beautiful property. Chris jumped out of the car to take pictures of the pinot grapes and grabbed a few to taste; they are very close to beginning the journey into wine.

• 2007 Sanford Chardonnay La Rinconada Vineyard 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (9/27/2010)

  very light nose wiht neutral oak and minerality intergrated with green melon. Plenty of acidity and a crisp finish.

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• 2008 Sanford Pinot Noir La Rinconada Vineyard 92 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (9/27/2010)

  C: Dark yet brillant garnet
  Nose and palate of raspberry and spice. Good acidity
  F: very long finish
  
  excellent wine.

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• 2008 Sanford Pinot Noir Sanford & Benedict Vineyard 90 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (9/27/2010)

  C: Dark cherry
  P: smooth tannins with cherry/raspberry cola
  F: medium

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• 2007 Sanford Pinot Noir Dominio Del Falcon 91 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (9/27/2010)

  Super dark plum color. nose is light. palate of cherry with very smooth and intergrated tannins. elegant wine, refined and restrained.
  
  In the french style more than the over the top cali which I like.

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• 2008 Sanford Pinot Noir Vin Gris 86 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (9/27/2010)

  C: very light ruby
  Nose and palate of cranberry and rhubarb
  F: short and sweet

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• 2008 Sanford Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills 90 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (9/27/2010)

  N: a touch of earth, sage, and tart cherry
  F: medium/+
  
  Nice wine.

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• 2007 Sanford Chardonnay Botrytis Bien Nacido Vineyard 90 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley

  (9/26/2010)

  Big honey nose and palate, like honeycomb candy. Pear and touch of apricot with a medium finish. didn't know they could actually do a botrytis wine in Cali, good for them.

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Then we continued heading west to the end of Santa Rosa and looped back on 246 heading east (after stopping to grab a bucket full of walnuts off the ground in a huge grove of trees) to Melville. We really like Melville, they have one of the best places to picnic and the wines are good too. Well, unfortunately the wines were not good this year but the location is great anyways; amongst the vines while we dined.

• 2009 Melville Chardonnay Estate Clone 76 - Inox 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (9/28/2010)

  N: honey and pear
  P: big showing of lemon/citrus
  F: medium/+

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• 2008 Melville Chardonnay Estate 85 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (9/28/2010)

  Maybe I'm missing the boat on this one but I can't give it a big score.
  
  C: very light straw
  N: Lemon/Pear
  P: LOTS of acidity, too much
  F: acid punishing the throat

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• 2009 Melville Pinot Noir Estate Verna's 84 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

  (9/28/2010)

  Just average for this wine, I have had previous vintages which I really liked and were great QPR, fantastic actually.
  
  But this year didn't do it for me. The fruit which was such a strong point of previous years, is washed out.

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• 2009 Melville Pinot Noir Estate 84 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (9/28/2010)

  Great nose of spice and dark fruit. but again, acid dominates this wine.

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• 2009 Melville Syrah Estate Verna's 86 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

  (9/28/2010)

  Plenty of white pepper with sour/tart black fruit. medium finish.

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Another great trip had by all and Danny’s first excursion into “power tasting”. It might have been too hot, over 110 degrees, and too crowded in a few places but September is a perfect time to appreciate the wine world in all its splendid commotion.