2013 Family Winemakers of CA, San Diego Tasting
Tasted Saturday, March 9, 2013 by yeti575rider with 715 views
Introduction
My plan was to focus on the Pinots and then throw a few cabs in there at the end. I was excited to try some Santa Rita Hills producers I missed on my last Santa Barbara trip as well as some producers like Sojourn and Martinelli which I'd heard good things about.
Flight 1 (19 Notes)
Overalll the wines were quite good. Hilliard Bruce was my favorite and Kessler-Haak was the new discovery. I seem to becoming partial to the SRH area. Also nice showings from Roar and Martinelli. Less impressed with the cabs so I didn't take too many notes. The Mt Brave and Sojourn cabs were pretty nice though.
2010 Hilliard Bruce Pinot Noir Moon 92 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills
From Magnum. Excellent Pinot carrying many of my favorite SRH signatures. Cherry and red fruits. Big but nicely balanced making it very enjoyable. Has just a bit more density and oomph than the Sun so like it slightly better. Should get even better. 92+
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2010 Hilliard Bruce Pinot Noir Sun 91 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills
From Magnum. Excellent wine. Red fruit/cherry with touch of spice. Lots of fruit but nicely balanced. Nicely done. Think this can improve as well. 91+.
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2010 Kessler-Haak Pinot Noir Clone 2a Kessler-Haak Vineyard 91 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills
Favorite of the Kessler-Haak's at the tasting. Most interesting nose with some interesting herbal notes to the cherry/strawberry. Really liked the balance of this one. It's got higher acidity but has enough fruit to be hold up.
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2009 Kessler-Haak Pinot Noir Kessler-Haak Vineyard 89 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills
Cherry, tart. Bit thinner than the others Kessler-Haak's and to my preference. Still pretty good though.
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2007 Mayacamas Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 87 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder
Sort or a medicinal cherry undercurrent that I did not care for.
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2011 Roar Pinot Noir Garys' Vineyard 91 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
Nose initially rather closed but after a lot of swirling starting to pick up some nice herbal notes with red fruit. Palate cherry with baking spice. This really grew on me the more time I gave it. Should improve. Very nice 91+
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2011 Roar Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands 89 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
Decent appelation Pinot. Tasty but nothing standing out.
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2010 Martinelli Pinot Noir Grace Nicole Zio Tony Ranch 91 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
Really nice fruit. Enjoyed this.
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2011 Siduri Pinot Noir Parsons' Vineyard 89 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
cherry / raspberry but a bit of a bitter note on finish mars this for me. Decent.
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2011 Siduri Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills 90 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills
Really nice appelation blend. SRH seems to be my favorites of the tasting. Cherry/ strawberry. Reasonably big for non- single vineyard.
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2010 Dominion Tantara Pinot Noir Old Vine Bien Nacido Vineyard 90 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley
dark red fruit, intersting nose, nicely balanced.
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2010 Dominion Tantara Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard 89 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
Didn't like as much as Bien Nacido. Nose a little more non-descript, closed. Still good amount of fruit up front.
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2009 Mt. Brave Cabernet Sauvignon 91 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder
Tasted alonside 2 Anakota's and a La Jota. Best of the bunch. Nice currant, not overoaked, long finish.
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2010 Sojourn Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard 91 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford
Nice balanced cab, not overoaked, good dark fruits, currant. My kind of cab.
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2011 Sojourn Pinot Noir Sangiacomo Vineyard 90 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Don't see the PR 96 score here. In the nice category but missing something for me. Cherry, strawberry, somewhat restrained. Very similar in style to Gap's Crown imho. Guessing this will improve and develop more complexity.
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2010 Bailiwick Wines Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 88 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Bit thin to my preference. Acid dominated. They seem to be going in this direction which some may really like. Not totally my thing though.
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2009 Saxon-Brown Pinot Noir Hayfield Block Durell Vineyard 90 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
Better of the 2 Saxon Brown pinots. Really nice balance on this one without getting too thin.
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2008 Saxon-Brown Pinot Noir Parmelee-Hill 86 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley
Didn't realize Saxon Brown did pinots. This came across too thin and lacking fruit, perhaps suffered in comparison too some other bigger SRH and Sonoma pinots.
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2008 Saxon-Brown Zinfandel Stonewall Block Parmelee-Hill 90 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley
Not usually a Zin drinker but decided to give his a taste. Peppery, licorice, cassis, lots of stuff going on here. Almost too much but makes it very interesting. Pretty big but not over the top.
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