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Vol. 8 No.4. Sept '00
Santa Ynez Valley |
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| Vineyards & Wineries Visited - | |
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photos courtesy of: Michael Poston
Journal and tasting notes from visits to several Santa Ynez Valley wineries.
Tasting Notes / Scores: Brief tasting impressions are included following the winery write-up. An "n/n" indicates that no notes were taken.
Fri, Sept 15, 2000
Having been notified that my Santa Barbara Futures order was ready for pickup was all the excuse I needed to head out for a day of wine tasting in the Santa Ynez/Santa Maria area. Left Irvine about 7:00am for Santa Barbara. After some ugly traffic through LA, finally arrived at the Wine Cask warehouse at 9:45, and after a quick loading, we were off and into the Santa Ynez Valley, stopping about 10:30 at the small market in Los Olivos to pickup some sandwiches for later. Starting at the North end of the valley and working South means that we have to actually drive by wineries to get to our first planned stop. This is a lot harder than it sounds -- wine everywhere, but not a drop to drink.
Arrived at Bedford-Thompson about 10:30. Weekdays are nice around
this valley.
No crowds, and plenty of time to chat about the wines with the proprietors
- assuming they're around. In this case, David Thompson was working the
room. Complimented him on the quality of his vineyard in general and the
Syrah in particular, and passed along that Craig Jaffurs really likes
working with his fruit (I'm sure he already knew). The Thompson Vineyard
started out with 25 acres of grapes, but David added another 17 acres
about 3 years ago. He felt this increase should allow him to boost the
Syrah allocations to both Craig and to Brian Babcock, who uses the Thompson
Syrah in the Babcock Black Label Syrah. While we were tasting, some fellow
passing through was asking David about purchasing some small cooperage
- presumably for his own home winemaking. David was nice enough to jot
down a few references for the fellow. We're not in Napa, Toto. Out about
11:10.
Tasted at Bedford-Thompson:
1999 Gewurztraminer - Santa Barbara Co. $14 Quiet nose, but good mouthfeel, lightly spicy, and very refreshing on the palate. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1998 Chardonnay - Santa Barbara Co. $18. Fairly restrained nose. Nice oaky/grassy qualities to mouthfeel. Not much residual sugar noted. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1997 Syrah - Santa Barbara Co. $ 20. Very extracted. Initially very dense smelling, with a dank, inky quality. This blows off shortly, and the spicy blackberry jam aroma becomes more apparent. Very fleshy mouthfeel, with blackberry and oak flavors. Aroma/Taste: B/B+
1997 Cabernet Franc - Santa Barbara Co. $ 20. Slightly vegetal and earthy, but with obvious rich fruit in the nose. Good fruit across the palate, with lots of tannins and oak. Aroma/Taste: B/B
Arrived at Byron / IO at 11:40. To an empty tasting room.
Our pourer, Debra Garrison, was very 
pleasant
to chat with, as well as quite conversant about the wines. Byron is making
some changes in the labeling of their higher-end "Reserve" wines. Gone
will be the Reserve labels, which will be replaced with "Santa Maria Valley
Estate" labeled bottlings. Chatted a bit about the IO label, Byron's take
on a Rhone-style blend. This label is in it's second vintage, and there
may be talk of spinning-off the brand. Since there's apparently no [current]
intention to bottle some of the varietals independently, I have to wonder
if there's a market for a one-wine label. Sure, one could cite Opus and
Dominus, but these are Bordeaux varietal-based wines -- with big price
tags. At $50 per bottle, IO is no slouch either. But, at 1,000 cases/year
it would seem to me that brand spin-off is a long way down the road for
IO. A few other tasters came and went while we were there, but otherwise
it was a nice quiet visit. Out at 12:15.
Tasted at Byron / IO:
1998 Lineage - Santa Barbara Co. $16. Toasty and fruity nose, with a very fruity, even spicy, citrus-flavored mouthfeel. Blend of Pinot Gris (60%), Pinot Blanc, and Pinot Noir (with little or no skin contact). Aroma/Taste: B/B
1998 Chardonnay - Santa Maria Valley. $22. Nice and fruity, with a sweet-grassy nose, along with some butter notes from the 100% malolactic fermentation. Chewy and substantial mouthfeel. Aroma/Taste: B/B+
1996 Chardonnay Reserve - Santa Maria Valley $26. Nose of oak, toast, pear/apple fruit, caramel, citrus and butter. Smoky, buttery, hazelnut taste to the mouthfeel. Last vintage for the "Reserve" designation. Aroma/Taste: B+/B+
1998 Pinot Noir - Santa Maria Valley. $24. Super nose! Nice concentration of fruit and fleshy aromas. Elegant/delicate on the palate, cola and black cherry flavors, long acid-driven finish. Aroma/Taste: B+/B+
1997 Pinot Noir - Santa Maria Valley Estate. $44. Big candied cherry nose, with huge mouthfeel. Chewy and slightly peppery on the palate, long finish. First vintage for the "Estate" designation. Aroma/Taste: B+/A-
1996 "IO" - Santa Barbara Co. $50. Violet ruby color. Lots of blackberry and earty notes in the nose. Smooth and substantial on the palate with a long fruity finish. 72% Syrah, 8% Mourvedre, 2% Viognier. Aroma/Taste: B+/B+
On to Rancho Sisquoc. Arrived at 12:10 to this bucolic ranch setting. The tasting room had a small party of folks going through the wines, but that didn't seem to slow the two ladies doing the pouring. Even though this winery does a respectable job with its white wines (in fact, the Sylvaner is quite nice), we decided to pass on most of them, and just taste through a few of the necessities, then move along with our tardy itinerary. Out at 1:00.
Tasted at Rancho Sisquoc:
1998 Sauvignon Blanc - Santa Maria Valley. $14 Candied citrus nose. Somewhat light on the palate, with a refreshing grassy and citric mouthfeel. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1997 Merlot - Santa Maria Valley. $20. Slightly maderized fleshy nose. Fleshy and somewhat candied on the palate. Nice and chewy texture, good concentration. 100% Merlot. Aroma/Taste: B/B+
1997 Cabernet Sauvignon - Santa Maria Valley. $ 22. Slightly vegetal nose, with notes of shoe polish and cassis. Nice mouthfeel, and surprisingly flavorful, if a bit steely. Aroma/Taste: B/B
Arrived at 1:15 at Foxen. This is a visit we always look
forward to, because Foxen turns out some of the area's finest wines. Generally
bigger in aromas and concentration, the wines have very nice qualities
right out of the box ...'er, bottle. I've had mixed results at aging some
of their wines. But, I usually can't 
resist
them in their youth anyway. Foxen buys about 65% of its fruit to satisfy
its 12,000 case production level. Their own estate vineyard, Ma-Mere,
is only 1/3 acre of Cab and is right across the two-lane Foxen Cyn Rd
from the tasting room. The 1/3 acre produces a minuscule amount of wine,
which used to get blended into the regular Cab, but now gets a vineyard-designated
bottling. When we arrived, winemaker Bill Wathen was driving a fork lift
around moving some of the newly-arrived Chardonnay and Pinot into position
for crush. Meanwhile, for a $3.50 fee, tasting room manager Kathryn Clark
poured us 11 wines, including the just-released '98 Cab. Being a label
collector, I asked about the various white-on-pink versus pink-on-white
labels. "That's adobe...not pink," Kathryn politely admonished me. "The
white-on-adobe label is for vineyard-designated bottlings." Yeah, I knew
that. We had been the sole visitors in the tasting room for quite awhile,
until the arrival of a large group of 6-9 tasters signaled our need to
move along. Out at 2:35, after another fabulous long visit.
Tasted at Foxen:
1999 Chenin Blanc - Santa Barbara Co. $14. Big perfumy nose, with a spiced floral stemminess to the mouthfeel. Aroma/Taste: B+/B+
1996 Chardonnay - Bien Nacido Vnyd. $25. Rich nose of smoky oak, butter, and fruit. Slightly less rich on the palate, but still quite chewy. Aroma/Taste: B+/B+
1996 Chardonnay - Tinaquaic Vnyd. $ 30. Buttery sweet nose. Crisp mouthfeel, smoky oak and fruit flavors. More structure and less "fat" than the '96 B/N. Aroma/Taste: B+/B+
1998 Chardonnay - Santa Maria Valley. $ 20. Slightly sweet nose and mouthfeel, with a sense of residual sugar. Lots of body and surprisingly rich in taste. A 60/40 blend of Bien Nacido; and Tinaquaic vnyds. Aroma/Taste: B+/B+
1998 Pinot Noir - Santa Maria Valley. $ 24. Huge nose of black cherry, cola and some sweet oak. A bit tart and angular right now, but should straighten up with a year or so in the bottle. A blend of Bien Nacido, Julia's, S.M. Hills, and Gold Coast vnyds. Aroma/Taste: A-/B+
1998 Pinot Noir - Bien Nacido Vnyd. $ 30. Slightly sweet, and heavily extracted - nearly Rhonish! Big and smooth mouthfeel; quite fruity across the palate, with a nice bite at the finish. Aroma/Taste: A-/A-
1998 Syrah - Santa Barbara Co. $ 22. Big nose of blackberry, cinnamon, and shoe polish. Tasty and a bit sinewy and astringent in mouthfeel, with firm bite at finish. A blend of Morehouse, Ambassador, Carhartt, and Alisos Vnyds. Aroma/Taste: A-/B+
1998 Syrah - Morehouse Vnyd. $ 35. Huge complex nose of blackberry, brown spices, and some sweet oak. Lots of chewy substance and very long, if slightly hot finish. Aroma/Taste: A-/A-
1997 Cabernet Franc - Tinaquaic Vnyd. $ 25. Slight green pea quality to the otherwise fruity nose. Huge mouthfeel, with lots of fruit, and a streak of chocolate. Aroma/Taste: B/B+
1997 Merlot - Santa Barbara Co. $ 25. Big nose of fleshy and stemmy fruit, with hints of leaf and shoe polish. Nice fleshy mouthfeel, though the fruit is moderately stemmy. Aroma/Taste: B+/B
1998 Cabernet Sauvignon - Santa Barbara Co. $ 25. Nose of fruit and mocha. Nice smooth mouthfeel, though a little flat at mid-palate, leading to long finish. Aroma/Taste: B+/B
Arrived at Zaca Mesa 2:45 . For a weekday, the parking lot behind
the winery had a rather large number of cars in it, and we were a little
worried that the tasting room would be packed. But, apparently all these
cars must have belonged to people working on the harvest or crush, because
there were only a few people in the room. Recent changes here include
a new winemaker, with Steven Roberto replacing Dan Gehrs, and Benjamin
Silver (previously Asst winemaker to Gehrs, and nominally running the
place while Gehrs moves his own 
brand
into higher production) supposedly becoming "Associate" winemaker to Roberto.
But, I got the distinct impression that Silver has at the least moved
along to other pursuits, if not another winery in the valley. Zaca Mesa
has been transitioning toward a Rhone-only house for some time now, and
currently is carrying Chardonnay as the lone exception. Once again, we
skipped the whites, and tried their rosé and red Rhone varietals.
Unfortunately, many of the bottled Rhone varietals are not available for
taste or for sale, as these are small output wines destined for their
Cellar Club mailing list. Having tried the last two vintages of the Mourvedre
at the Santa Barbara Futures tastings, my intention was to sign up for
the Cellar Club. After being underwhelmed by the selections available
for tasting, I was a bit more dubious. But, I decided try it out for awhile,
and was able pick up a Grenache and Cinsaut for my effort. Out at 3:20.
Tasted at Zaca Mesa:
1999 "Z" Gris - Santa Barbara Co. $9. Somewhat fruity but narrowly focussed nose. Good fruit in the mouth, with an anise and spice quality. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1998 "Z" Cuvee - Santa Barbara Co. $16.50. Nose of warm fruit, chocolate, and Ovaltine. Smooth and easy mouthfeel, with a dried fruits quality. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1998 Syrah - Santa Barbara Co. $20. Slightly cardboard-like quality to the light blackberry aromas. A bit austere on the palate, but with obvious Syrah flavors and finish. Aroma/Taste: B/B
Arrived at Blackjack Ranch about 3:35. First time visiting this winery. Started in 1996 by Roger Wisted, who planted Estate vineyards of Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Petit Verdot and Merlot, and purchases local fruit for the balance of his lineup. Establishing Blackjack's reputation rather quickly, the Wine Cask's "Santa Barbara Futures Program" saw fit to include the winery's '97 Wilkening Vnyd Cab in last year's program, and included both a very impressive '98 Syrah, as well as the '98 harmonie blend among this year's offerings. At this year's Futires tasting, the first-release Estate Syrah sold out almost immediately, signaling the entry of yet another hot Santa Barbara County winery into the quickly growing Syrah market. As we drove up the long approach past vineyards to the tasting room, we could see proprietor Wisted driving the forklift around, moving fruit into the winery. Blackjack opened their tasting room in Spring of '99. Nicely appointed and very spacious, the tasting bar itself has been constructed from the hardwood bowling lanes of a defunct local bowling alley. Staffing the tasting room were Marie and Asta, two charming ladies who could keep absolutely any conversation going. Asta is a recent transplant from Newport Beach, and Marie, maybe not so recently transplanted from Paris, is a next door neighbor to the winery. We were poured 7 wines for a $5 tasting fee, along with a Rhone blend for an additional small fee. Out at 4:10.
Tasted at Blackjack Ranch:
1998 Chardonnay - Central Coast. $18. Nose of semi-sweet tropical fruits with a slight candied-quality. Moderate crisp mouthfeel, with a hint of butter to the tropical fruit flavors. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1997 Chardonnay Reserve - Santa Barbara Co. $26. Buttery and very fruity nose. Smooth mouthfeel, very good balance and acids through long finish. Aroma/Taste: B/B+
1998 Chardonnay Reserve - Santa Barbara Co. $30. Smoky caramelized fruit in the nose. Very chewy, slightly buttery, with spicy oak and crisp long finish. Aroma/Taste: A-/A-
1999 Vin Gris - Santa Barbara Co. $9.50. Sharp warm fruits in the nose. Crisp and fruity, with a sweet/sour tart finish. Made from Mourvedre. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1998 Pinot Noir - Laetitia Vnyd, Santa Barbara Co. $32. Nose of burnished black cherry, pepper, and spice. Young mouthfeel, with off-sweet fruit and long finish. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1998 Harmonie - Santa Barbara Co. $24. Smoked/burnished hardwoods, tar and cassis in the nose. Big mouthfeel, slightly tart finish. Aroma/Taste: B+/B
1997 Harmonie - Santa Barbara Co. $32. Smoked cassis and anise nose. Moderate, very smooth mouthfeel, long finish. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1999 Le Mas Rouge - Santa Barbara Co. $22. Nice black/red fruit nose, with notes of spice and pepper. Smooth mouthfeel with a nice bite at long finish. A 50/29/21 blend of Mourvedre, Estate Syrah, and SLO Syrah. Aroma/Taste: B+/B+
On to Beckmen, and arrived at 4:15. This is the old Houtz property -- although, enough time has passed that most people have forgotten there ever was a previous winery [before 1994]. Taking over a 16 acre vineyard that was planted with Chardonnay along with the usual Bordeaux varietals, Beckmen kept some of the Cab and Merlot, but also struck off in new direction -- Rhone-style wines. In 1996, they acquired an area in the Purisima Hills to the West, and have cultivated 190 acres of the 365-acre property above Ballard Canyon in the Santa Ynez Valley. Using a few different clones, the Purisima Mtn Vnyd is dedicated to Rhone varietals, and Steve Beckmen has already produced some noteworthy wines from this source. Steve's Assistant Winemaker, Joey Tensley, has also produced some fabulous wines from this property.
When we arrived, crush appeared to be taking place, or at least finishing
up.
A crusher was parked on the pad, with Tensley and a winery-hand finishing
off some Chardonnay. Luckily the tasting room was still open, although
that seemed fleeting for a moment as Joey poked his head inside and told
our pourer Mikael that he'd need to clean out some tanks soon. Then, turning
to us said, "I hope you guys are into power tasting." Heck, that's our
specialty! Joey never came back in to grab Mikael, so we tasted through
the lineup. Another gentleman in the tasting room turned out to be a visitor
from Texas who was in the Valley for a day or two and wanted to sample
some of the local wine. He seemed quite interested and didn't want to
miss a thing while he was here. So, we unabashedly gave him pointers and
suggestions about who to visit. Out at 5:00.
Tasted at Beckmen:
1994 Chardonnay - Central Coast. $18. Nose of dried grasses and fading fruit. Still ample mouthfeel, with slightly declining fruit - yet surprisingly tasty.Aroma/Taste: B/B+
1996 Chardonnay Reserve - Santa Barbara Co. $26. Slightly tart and citric nose. Very big mouthfeel, with long crisp finish. Aroma/Taste: B/B+
1998 Merlot, Barrel Select - Santa Barbara Co. $30. Fleshy and slightly herbal nose, with leaf, and some candied fruit aspects. Good mouthfeel and balance,long finish. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1996 Atelier - Santa Barbara Co. $20. Slight leafy herbaceous nose. Fleshy mouthfeel, with good core of fruit and long finish. Blend of Cab Franc and merlot. Aroma/Taste: B/B+
1998 Cuvee Le Bec - Santa Barbara Co. $18. Nose of blackberry, oak, and dried cherries. Good mouthfeel, good core of fruit, long finish. A blend of 58% Grenache, 34% Mourvedre and 8% Syrah (Stolpman) Aroma/Taste: B+/B+
1998 Syrah - Santa Barbara Co. $24. Nose of blackberry, pepper and spice. Smooth mouthfeel, good fruit - could use a little zing. A blend of 50% Estate, 30% Thompson, and 20% Stolpman Vnyds. Aroma/Taste: B+/B
Dan Gehrs. We arrived about 5:05 to a quiet tasting room -- just a couple of people tasting and milling about. Dan Gehrs is the former Zaca Mesa winemaker, and has had his own brand for several years, although he continues to consult with a few local wineries. Along with Longoria and Andrew Murray, this recently occupied tasting room is one more reason to make this block in "downtown" Los Olivos a must-stop for wine tasting. I'm sure it will also increase the kudos for Dan's wines, and they definitely deserve it. Our pourer, Marcia, seemed quite knowledgeable about wine in general and these wines in particular. Very enjoyable visit. Pouring 6 wines for $3.50.
Out at 5:30 and raced to our dinner reservation in Buellton.
Tasted at Dan Gehrs:
1999 Pinot Blanc - Monterey Co. $15. Slightly sweet nose of grasses and toasted nuts. Very nice fruit and mouthfeel, with long tasty finish.Aroma/Taste: B+/B+
1999 Barbara - Santa Barbara Co. $14. Ripe, smoky, dried cherry aromas. Flavors of burnished cherry, and lightly burnt toast. Aroma/Taste: B+/B
1998 Pinot Noir - Lake Marie Vnyd, Santa Barbara Co. $25. Ripe nose of strawberry and cherry - seems nearly maderized. Chewy, spicy and heavy on the palate. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1998 Cabernet Franc - Santa Ynez Valley. $16. Earthy and herbal nose, with hints of celery heart and leaf. Big mouthfeel, good structure, nice fruit and long finish. Aroma/Taste: B/B+
NV Black Muscat. $12 375ml. Very ripe blackberry/boysenberry nose. Smooth and easy on the palate, with a long slightly acidic finish. Aroma/Taste: B/B+
1995 Fireside Port. $25. Sweet nose of very ripe fruits and nuts. Tasty sweet mouthfeel, nice core of fruit, long finish. Aroma/Taste: B+/B+
Wrap up: off to the Hitching Post for steaks. Very satisfactory day. Had originally planned for 10 winery visits - majorly optimistic on my part! On the other hand, we never made up the lost time on the front end trying to get through LA. Totals for the day: 8 wineries, 46 wines. Foxen was another super visit! Everyone was their usual very friendly and attentive selves. And, out of eight wineries, we only got pitched to join 1 cellar club. Of course, I volunteered for one on my own.
Rambling: no major surprises this trip. Had hoped to get to a few new wineries this time, but somehow visiting old friends to see what's been happening is hard to pass up. It's very gratifying to see Beckmen start to make a name for itself. Tom and Steve Beckmen have done a terrific job at planning and executing their vision of Rhone varietals in this valley. And, Blackjack Ranch is for real! Roger Wisted is producing some very tasty and unique wines, and his offerings will be the talk of many future tastings. The Thompson Vnyd is continuing to crank out some fabulous fruit, and it's nice to see that Byron wines are still as dependable as ever. Apparently, corporate ownership hasn't adversely affected them. And, it's too early to tell what lies ahead for Zaca Mesa -- the change in winemaking talent won't be apparent for a year or so.
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All rights reserved No original material may be reproduced without written consent Mail & Comments - Eric Anderson |
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