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Sonoma-Napa Trip Day 2 and 3
Sonoma
Tasted June 27, 2009 - June 28, 2009 by OneLastSyrah with 827 views
Flight 1 - Grey Stack Cellars (4 notes)
We met Peter at the Grey Stack vineyard in Bennett Valley first thing. These are exciting wines.
White
2008 Grey Stack Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Rosemary's Block Dry Stack Vineyard
Tasted at the vineyard with Peter Young. High toned lime and sweet lemon nose initially that became more tropical with some time. Rich lemon meringue passion fruit. With time some saline and herbs on the nose. This is really, really delicious Sauv Blanc. I've tasted it on three occasions now with consistent notes.
Red
2007 Grey Stack Cellars The Folly Greywacke Vineyard
13.9% ABV. 60% Syrah and 40% Grenache. Touch of rubber on the nose. Rich. Some umami meaty qualities. Rich with a savory finish. This is a bit rustic/rough and tumble. Okay.
Red
2006 Dry Stack Cellars Syrah Marie's Block
15.5% ABV. Inky - all but opaque. Touch stinky nose. Meaty rich minerals. Concentrated. Somewhat tannic and chunky. Little coffee. Tooth staining. Pretty good.
Red
2006 Grey Stack Cellars Syrah The Narcissist Dry Stack Vineyard
15.8% ABV. This is basically the same wine as the Marie's block, but with additional new oak. Peter describes it as a "cocktail wine" since it stands well on its own. Rich, more polished. Some vanilla on the nose. On the palate this seems more linear and the oak may have smoothed out some of the rustic character of the Marie's block. Pretty good.
Flight 2 - Inman Family (5 notes)
Kathleen met us at her facility in Windsor to taste the Inman lineup. We really enjoyed the entire lineup. I opened a RRV Pinot shortly after we got home and enjoyed it quite a bit.
White
2007 Inman Family Pinot Gris
13.1% ABV. Pale appearance. Crisp pear and citrus fruit. Medium bodied. Stoney minerals. Pretty good.
Rosé
2008 Inman Family Pinot Noir Endless Crush Rosé
Very pale salmon color in the glass. Minerals and chalk on the nose. The palate is richer than I expected with crisp fruit tending toward underripe cherries? Touch of sweet tannin. Pretty tasty.
Red
2006 Inman Family Pinot Noir
Translucent dark garnet in appearance. Rich smelling. Wet earth, some caramel oak. Cherry fruit. Late clove spices. 14.1% ABV. Pretty nice.
Red
2006 Inman Family Pinot Noir Thorn Road Ranch
13.7% ABV. Reticent. Rich savory tea with some spice. Fruit less evident. Some reticent dark berry. Well made, but not my favorite.
Red
2006 Inman Family Pinot Noir OGV Estate
Garnet amber translucent. Higher toned nose than the other Inman Pinots. Spices like coriander and/or cardamom. Savory, high-toned red fruit. Dried roses.
Flight 3 - Scherrer (12 notes)
I had been trying to get by and taste at Scherrer for a couple years now, and finally managed to get our schedules aligned. Fred was opening all kinds of library stuff for us and the rest of the Saturday afternoon crowd, which included a great mix of people from the wine industry and us consumers. Shout out to Lydia at Ramey - sorry we weren't able to meet up - next trip hopefully.
White
2007 Scherrer Winery Chardonnay Scherrer Vineyard
14.5% ABV. Light colored tinged with a little green. Touch of cereal on the nose. Apple and pear fruit. Concentrated. Late butterscotch and acidity. Pretty good.
White
2001 Scherrer Winery Chardonnay Scherrer Vineyard
Light colored. More complex nose than the 2007 tasted along side. Toasty oak, minerals. More subdued pear and apple fruit. Nice. Still fresh and light.
Red
2004 Scherrer Winery Zinfandel Old and Mature Vines Scherrer Vineyard Alexander Valley
14.5% ABV. Deeply colored somewhat translucent. Zippy acidity medium-bodied sweet spicy raspberry fruit. Not my typical style of Zin but very tasty.
Red
2005 Scherrer Winery Zinfandel Old and Mature Vines Scherrer Vineyard Alexander Valley
14.5% ABV. Very similar in nose to the 2004. Zippy, spicy raspberry fruit. Some loam. Briar. Acid structure. Tasty.
Red
2006 Scherrer Winery Pinot Noir Sonoma County
Transparent, slightly amber. Dark fruit. Tangy cherry. Tasty. ready to drink.
Red
2006 Scherrer Winery Pinot Noir Russian River Valley
Bright raspberry aromatics. Mulberry. Touch of spices. Translucent appearance. I like this slightly better than the Sonoma County bottling from the same vintage.
Red
2006 Scherrer Winery Pinot Noir 'Big Brother'
Sweet cherry fruit. Moderate acidity. Rich and tasty. Nice.
Red
2007 Scherrer Winery Pinot Noir Platt Vineyard Sonoma Coast
At the winery from an as-yet unlabeled bottle. Fred will age this about 1 1/2 years in bottle before releasing it. Deep dark fruit. Rich tangy black cherry fruit. Bit closed I think. Nice potential.
Red
2006 Scherrer Winery Syrah
Touch gamey on the nose. Rich black fruit. More light-handed style of Syrah to my palate. From Calypso and Timbervine vineyards.
Red
2001 Scherrer Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Scherrer Vineyard
Bottle sweet nose of cedar and currant. Rich caramel. Tasty. Harmonized. Somewhat difficult to tease out all the nuances. Bottle evidences a lot of sediment. This has age nicely.
Red
2005 Scherrer Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Scherrer Vineyard
More reticent nose than the 2001. A little inky with graphite, cedar aromas. Deep color. Rich fruit. Nice but chewy tannins. Good.
Flight 4 - Lynmar (10 notes)
Lynmar has a nice tasting arrangement with seated tasting service. I didn't like that our pourer ran through all the wines as he was pouring them, rather than as we were tasting each, but what can you do? I found all the Lynmar wines be high quality, but a few were a little too expensive.
Rosé
White
2006 Lynmar Estate Chardonnay
This includes 7% Viognier. It was done in 40% stainless the balance in French oak, a low percentage of which was new. Light cereal on the nose. The Viognier was not detectable to me Medium-full bodied with rich buttered pear flavors. Pretty good. $30.
White
2007 Lynmar Estate Chardonnay Old Wente
Light cereal nose. Bright apple fruit. This seems riper than the 2006 RRV bottling. Open for business. Something of a crowd pleaser. Good. $40.
White
2006 Lynmar Estate Chardonnay La Sereinite
Named for the river that runs through Chablis, I'm told. Bright, somewhat steely nose. Lean fruit. Pleasant, but I don't get it at $70 per.
White
2004 Lynmar Estate Chardonnay Quail Hill Vineyard
Somewhat deeper color than the other Lynmar Chards we tasted (06 and 07 vintage). Touch woody nose. Suggestion of herbs. Tangy apple fruit. Pretty good. $40.
Red
2006 Lynmar Estate Pinot Noir Russian River Valley
This shows some metallic, tin can aromas on the nose. Pomegranate. Tangy. not great. Bit too acidic and unbalanced for me.
Red
2006 Lynmar Estate Pinot Noir Hawk Hill Vineyard
Richer smelling than the RRV bottling. Dark fruit. Medium-full bodied with fruit that tends toward raspberry. Rather expensive at $70.
Red
2006 Lynmar Estate Pinot Noir Zephyr Farms
Mineral and graphite nose. Saturated translucent appearance. Rich. Medium-full bodied. Slightly metallic cherry fruit. Pretty good. Expensive. $70.
Red
2006 Lynmar Estate Pinot Noir Quail Hill Vineyard
Bit reticent nose. Aromas of earth, black cherry. Medium-bodied with a bit of late acid turning lean. $60.okay.
Red
2006 Lynmar Estate Syrah Sonoma County
Deeply colored, dark black fruit. Touch gamey. High toned cool climate fruit. Little black olive. $36.
Flight 5 - Merry Edwards (4 notes)
Red
2007 Merry Edwards Pinot Noir Russian River Valley
Translucent dark garnet. Cherry cola nose. Served a bit too warm at the tasting room. Earth. Pretty good.
Red
2006 Merry Edwards Pinot Noir Flax Vineyard
This is apparently all Pommard clone fruit. Light violet(?) nose. Touch of black cherry. Bright black cherry fruit turning tangy cranberry late. Quite tangy in the finish.
Red
2006 Merry Edwards Pinot Noir Tobias Glen
Darker appearance then than the '06 Flax. Dark fruit. Cherry and plum. More black fruit. Slightly fuller bodied with late acidity. Pretty good.
White
2008 Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc
From the musque clone of SB. Tangy nose that seems a little more New Zealand in style than most CA SBs. Sweet lemon fruit. More open and lush than the nose suggests. Quite good. I enjoyed this much better than an earlier vintage I tasted some years ago ('06 maybe).
Flight 6 - Copain (8 notes)
It's a small world in wine country - special thanks to our host at Copain - Karen M., wife of Jay M. of Carlisle fame. The Copain wines are coming on strong. I've tasted a few courtesy of friends over the years, but never gotten to taste the entire gamut. I came away impressed.
White
2008 Copain Viognier Tous Ensemble
Ripe apricot nose. Very pale appearance. Rich sweet apricot with a touch of mandarin orange. Great QPR at $20. 13.7% ABV.
Red
2007 Copain Pinot Noir Tous Ensemble
Rich smelling. Earth and dark cherry. Brighter red fruit on the palate. Tangy finish. Maybe a little too tangy on the finish for me. Reasonably priced. $30.
Red
2007 Copain Pinot Noir Hacienda Secoya
Rich smelling with riper more forward fruit than the Tous Ensemble Pinot. Sweet tart cherry fruit. Tangy. Nice aromatics.
Red
2007 Copain Pinot Noir Baker Ranch
Citrus cherry. High toned nose. Bright. Underripe raspberry. I prefer the Hacienda Secoya to this. $47.
Red
2005 Copain Les Copains James Berry Vineyard
Apparently a GSM blend that is something like 15% Syrah, 43% Grenache, 42% Mourvedre, if my notes from the tasting room are correct. Pretty nose of dark fruit. Rather elegant for Paso and other JBV wines I've tasted. Tastes a lot like a GSM made by a Pinot producer to me. Pretty good. $40.
Red
2007 Copain Syrah Tous Ensemble
Gamey meaty nose. Touch of smoke. Deeply colored. Balanced, somewhat linear but seamless. Touch of late tanginess. Nice QPR.
Red
2006 Copain Syrah Les Voisins McDowell Valley
Elegant black fruit. Seamless. Nice texture. Nice at $35.
Red
2005 Copain Syrah James Berry Vineyard
Smells a bit more tannic than the other Copain wines tasted alongside. Bit reticent on the nose. Bright on the palate - drinking pretty well now. I didn't get lots of complexity, but that could well be palate fatigue setting in.
Flight 7 - Arista (5 notes)
Arista has some interesting gardens around their winery and some of the whites were pretty tasty. The reds didn't make a bid impression on me.
White
2008 Arista Winery Gewürztraminer
Dry. Pretty nose of floral spices and lychee fruit. Rich concentrated pear and lychee fruit. Finishes a bit quick, but this is fairly tasty. $26.
Red
2007 Arista Winery Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
Earthy Pinot tart cherry nose. Smells high toned. Tangy. Acidic palate. Don't much care for this. $36.
Red
2007 Arista Winery Pinot Noir Russian River Valley
Richer, darker fruit quality to the sonoma coast. Tangy black cherry fruit. Bit one dimensional. Eh.
Red
2007 Arista Winery Pinot Noir Longbow
Earthy, touch of mushroom nose. Dark cherry fruit. Pretty tasty. Late cola. $46.
White
2008 Arista Winery Pinot Gris Mononi Vineyard
Pleasant, medium bodied. Mostly white fruit. Good balance. $26.