The Robert Foley Band: Wine and Rock & Roll in the Green Mountains.

Three hours behind schedule and road wary from the trip from Boston, the Robert Foley Band pulled into my driveway around 7:00 PM Friday. After thoroughly re-hydrating the group with lots of Diebolt Vallois and some garden-fresh chow we got down to the serious business of drinking great wines. With Bob were bassist, Dave McCullough, from the 70’s Bay Area band Stoneground, drummer, Michael Greene who had flown in that morning on the “red eye” and Bob’s wife/manager/partner. Kelly Kehoe. It was also my wife's birthday. Several old time friends of Bob's were also on hand.

• 1991 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 92 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  (7/21/2006)

  The Robert Foley Band (Bob, Dave McCullough, Michael Greene) and Bob's wife, Kelly were at my house for dinner last night and it was also my wife's birthday. So I thought it would be appropriate to drink the bottle Bob had given us as a wedding present. Bob was still at Markham when these grapes were crushed but he said that he did "tweak and finish" the wine.
  
  - From magnum. Dark spice, cedar and mossy loam--a very Bordeaux-like nose that sweetened up significantly with time.
  - Sweet and soft on entry with very well integrated tannins, mellow, ripe currant and plum flavors with great texture and length.
  - This continued to grow and impress in the glass. Perfectly mature but showing no signs of decline. Drink now - 2010.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2002 Engel Family Vineyards Merlot Rock Mountain Vineyard 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  (7/21/2006)

  Drunk with the winemaker, Bob Foley.
  - Following the '91 Pride Cab we dove into a couple of Bob's new releases. This one has a sappy, high-toned herbaceous nose with meat, cocoa and elderberry liqueur. Very impressive arromatics!
  - Great ripe texture with explosive elderberry, plum and chocolate flavors. Quite full bodied with powdery, sweet fruit. Really huge and delicious.
  - I would like to try this side by side with the '02 Pride. I suspect the Engel would come across in more burly manor but I doubt if it would be outclassed.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2003 Hourglass Cabernet Sauvignon 95 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  (7/21/2006)

  - Drunk with the winemaker, Bob Foley. Wow! This is quite the black hole! Ripe black cherry with touches of menthol/camphor.
  - The intense black cherry syrup character is well carried by the powerful, tannic structure. This is monolithic and primary like a young Latour. Huge but perfectly balanced and not at all "over the top".
  - Certainly an exciting future for this beauty. Hands off until at least 2012

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 1989 Domaine Huet Vouvray Cuvée Constance

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

  (7/21/2006)

  Nightcap to the Robert Foley Band reception. My '89 Huets were not stored well before I got them and are clearly much more advanced than better kept bottles.
  - Quite dark orange/gold. Mature aromas of exotic honey, dried fruits, roasted nuts.
  - Viscous, powerful and very sweet flavors are lifted by mouthwatering acidity but oxidation is fighting it out with the fresh fruit (and winning).
  - Even though this is showing premature age it is still an impressive sticky.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

On Saturday, we all headed over to Bistro Sauce in Shelburne, Vt., where Dave McHees and his crew had graciously allowed us to take over the restaurant for a second seating wine dinner featuring an embarrassing range of wines Bob had shipped in and fantastic al a carte chow showcasing locally grown and foraged Vermont summer goodies. The joint was packed as dinner wound down and the band took to the stage.

• 2004 Robert Foley Charbono 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  (7/22/2006)

  Day 2 with the Robert Foley Band. Dinner/concert at Bistro Sauce. Bob says that his first three vintages of this wine were "experimental" but now he's got it dailed in. No Cab blended in and no new wood.
  - Juicy, grapey aromas with game and lavender. Not as sauvage as previous vintages. New World polish.
  - Soft purple fruit flavors with just a touch of rusticity. Great flavors of baker's chocolate. Ripe tannins.
  - Finishes dry and long. Much more sophisticated than previous effort that used to remind me of Puglian reds No quess on a drinking window here.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2001 Paloma Merlot 91 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District

  (7/22/2006)

  With Bob Foley, from magnum. Opened and poured.
  - Firm, high-toned nose with fresh berries, savory herbs. Very pretty and not at all heavy.
  - The palate surprises with layers of ripe black fruit, graphite and plum flavors followed by a rush of black cherries.
  - Pure, focused, light on its feet and very long. Knowing that this was the Wine Spectator's WOTY a few year ago I put aside some until the end of the meal but it did not really open up much more. Bob said that from magnum it should have been decanted "6-7 hours" earlier. Not a religious experience but very fine none the less.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2003 Hourglass Cabernet Sauvignon 95 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  (7/22/2006)

  With Bob Foley. Opened a couple of hours and not decanted.
  - 2nd bottle in two days, I noticed on posting notes on the first one that this was a somewhat controversial wine. Last night was my first expecience with and had not tried previous vintages. I really thought it was a Napa classic last night but I put a little more attention to it tonight. First off, I found the oak component to be very well integrated and not at all out of whack. Bob said something about moving the wine to his place and putting into wood later than usual but the dense black fruit was what was doing the talking this weekend.
  - If anything, this was a bit more forward than last night but still monolithic and classic. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it! Try it again and let me know what you think.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2003 Robert Foley Petite Sirah 89 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  (7/22/2006)

  With Bob Foley, opened and poured. This is tonight's last note regardless of whatever else Bob pulls out! Bob says "85% from York Creek"
  - Purlple, inky "black hole" of a wine with huge plum, meat and leather on the nose.
  - Chunky and monolithic on the palate but show a bit of heat tonight. coming across a bit Port-like tonigh but it could just be that I am fairly well fried.
  - NTS, try again when sober.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

Many wine geeks don’t know that Bob Foley is a fantastic musician and many of his music fans (including Ringo Starr) don’t know he is a great winemaker. Bob writes most of the material but does include some fun covers. His clever and fresh lyrics are driven by classic rock progressions well framed by the enthusiastic and theatrical bass work of Dave McCullough and driven by the precision percussion of drummer Michael Greene.

Our deepest gratitude to the Sauce gang for flawlessly pulling off a Herculean effort and to the unbelievable generosity of Bob and Kelly for providing all of the wines.
While he could happily pursue a great career in the music business, we wine geeks hope Bob does not give up his day job any time soon.