We tried last night (5/11/17) the New Marietta Wines:
MARIETTA FamilySeries
1. Marietta Roman Zin NorthCoast (EstateGrown; 84% Zin/11% PetiteSirah/5% Barbera; 14.6%; Vnyds: AlexVlly/
McDowellVlly/YorkvilleHighlands; 12 mo. in neutral oak) Geyserville 2015: Dark color; strong bright blackberry/
Zin/very spicy light toasty/vanilla/oak very perfumed lovely nose; lightly tart very spicy/bright/blackberry/
Zin/raspberry light earthy/peppery flavor w/ some bracing tannins; very long/lingering quite fragrant very
strong blackberry/Zin/quite spicy light toasty/vanilla/oak slight peppery finish w/ modest brisk tannins;
a bright nervous/high-energy w/ the structure to age 10 yrs or so; reminds a lot of the DryCreekVntd Beeson Zins.
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2. Marietta Arme CabSauv NorthCoast (EG; 86% CS/7% Malbec/5% Merlot/2% PetiteVerdot; 14.8%; 20 mo. in neutral
oak) 2014: Dark color; fairly strong blackcurranty/Cab/spicy bit ripe/chocolaty light earthy some Am.oak/toasty
straightforward Cab nose; lightly tart strong blackcurranty/Cab/bit chocolaty/ripe light earthy/loamy flavor w/
some hard tannins; very long strong blackcurranty/Cab/ripe/chocolaty light earthy slight herbal/Cab light toasty/
vanilla/oak finish w/ some hard tannins; a pretty straightforward Cab that's a bit on the simple side; quite
structured bit hard and needs some age to develop; should go out at least 10 yrs.
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3. Marietta Christo NorthCoast (EG; 60% Syrah/22% PetiteSirah/14% Grenache/4% Viognier; 15.2%; Vnyds: mostly
McDowellVlly; 18 mo. in neutral oak) 2014: Very dark color; very strong fragrant blackberry/blueberry/Syrah/
quite spicy light floral/lilacs very lovely nose; lightly tart strong blackberry/Syrah/blueberry quite spicy
slight earthy light toasty/oak flavor w/ modest hard tannins; very long strong blackberry/blueberry/Syrah quite
spicy light toasty/oak finish w/ modest firm/ripe tannins; a rather straightforward Syrah now but has very good
structure and will be much better in a yr and should go out 10 yrs at least.
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MARIETTA EstateSeries
4. Marietta Angeli Zin AngeliRanch/AlevVlly/SonomaCnty (EG; +PetiteSirah/Syrah; 14.8%; 15 mo. in neutral oak)
2015: Very dark color; very strong blackberry/Zin/lightly spicy ripe more earthy complex light toasty/oak nose;
very strong blackberry/Zin/lightly spicy slight earthy rather structured flavor w/ modest hard tannins; very long
strong blackberry/Zin/bit spicy light earthy light toasty/oak toasty/oak finish w/ some hard/ripe tannins;
not the perfume of the Roman and seems a bit tight/closed now but has more tannins & structure; one of the better
Zins to come out of the AlexVlly.
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5. Marietta GameTrail CabSauv YorkvilleHighlands (EG; 14.6%; Clone 6; 20 mo. in neutral oak) 2014: Very dark color;
beautiful very strong blackcurranty/Cab/ripe/very spicy light toasty/oak quite perfumed nose; lightly tart very
strong ripe/blackcurranty/Cab slight herbal/earthy light toasty/smokey/oak very structured flavor w/ some hard/
ripe/rich tannins; very long/lingering very strong ripe/blackcurranty/Cab slight herbal/earthy light toasty/smokey/
oak fairly tart quite structured finish w/ some hard/firm tannins; best Cab from the Yorkville Highlands
I've yet had; needs at least 3 yrs and should go out at least 10 yrs.
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6. Marietta GibsonBlock Syrah McDowellVlly (EG; 15.3%; 18 mo. in neutral oak; + PetiteSirah/Peloursin/
TrousseauNoir/Grenache) 2014: Very dark/near black color; very strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah quite dusty/OV
light toasty/oak rather complex nose; tart huge blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/ripe/spicy light earthy quite dusty/OV
light toasty/oak flavor w/ ample hard tannins; very long/lingering lightly tart very structured very strong
blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/very spicy fairly dusty/OV light toasty/smokey/oak finish w/ ample hard tannins;
a very/very good example of Calif Syrah; needs 4-10 yrs of age; my favorite of these Mariettas.
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7. Marietta Christo NorthCoast (Lot #3; 70% Syrah/17% PetiteSirah/10% Grenache/3% viognier; 15.3%) Geyserville
NV: Very dark color; very strong spicy/blackberry/boysenberry/ripe/Syrah slight peppery/milk of magnesia slight
alcoholic light toasty/oak quite fragrant nose; rather soft strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/spicy/ripe light
peppery bit toasty/vanilla/oak flavor w/ light smooth/ripe tannins; very long strong ripe Syrah/blackberry/boysenberry/
spicy light peppery light toasty/oak finish w/ light ripe tannins; a lovely ripee/lush straightforward bit old-timey
Calif Syrah at a great price. $18.00
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More stuff from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. There have been some changes afoot at MariettaCllrs. Originally, when the Bilbros purchased LimerickLane,
bot Scot & Jake were in charge, w/ Scot the winemaker and Jake the marketing guy. Scot (and Dad Chris) were
still making the wine at Marietta. Late last year, Scot took over the prime responsibility for Marietta,
w/ Jake primarily in charge at LL. With his refocus on Marietta, Scot has refocused the lineup of wines
coming from Marietta.
For many yrs, the Marietta OldVineRed (now at Lot#66) was the tail that wagged the dog at Marietta. It was
one of the most value-priced reds coming out of Calif. Now the Marietta line is broken into three tiers:
OVR/FamilySeries/and EstateSeries. These are described on the MariettaWebSite: (http://mariettacellars.com).
The WebSite is relatively new and still needs a bit of work. And, at this point, they don't have any DTC
sales. And the prices are not yet indicated.
About 3 months ago, Scot sent me a 6-pack of the new Marietta wines to try w/ my group. Since ReneeFox,
the chef at LoyalHound gastropub in SantaFe, is also the GM at FiascoWines, the distributor who handles in NM
the Marietta & LL wines; I thought it might be a good idea to have Renee host a dinner at LoyalHound, focused
on the new Marietta line. These wines are what we tasted Thurs night. Renee also added an IngridGroiss
GemeschterSatz '15 w/ the apps course. The main course was a simple, but very well-prepared, BoefBourgogne,
plus a cheese/fruit plate to go w/ the 6 reds. And I provided a Coutet '76 to go w/ her incredible Butterscotch
Budino for dessert.
Over a yr ago, to compliment their OldVineRed, Marietta created two blended wines. They were a Christo
(named after their Dad, Chris) Syrah blend and an Arme Cabernet blend. When I tasted them on release, I was
blown away by the quality they delivered for the $$'s. The 2'nd Christo was tasted several days later to see
where it was these days.
I've always like the Marietta Angeli Zin. The AlexVlly tends to produce Zins that I find a bit on the soft/
soupy side. The Angeli tends to not be that and show more structure than most AlecVlly Zins. This Angeli seemed
a bit tight & closed now, but I think it will eventually, w/ age, surpass the Roman, which I really liked for
its strong perfume.
Some yrs ago, Marietta purchased property in the YorkvilleHighlands (located in Mendo above the end of the
AndersonVlly. It's an area that I think has great potential and have seen a few wines from there that indicated
that potential for greatness. This GameTrail is, I believe, their first SV wine from that YorkvilleHeights vnyd.
Not a big Cabernet fan, I was quite impressed by it.
The GibsonBlock was the one I was most interested in tasting. This is a very old block blanted back in the
late 1800's, I believe. It has, probably, the oldest planting of Syrah in Calif. Interplanted w/ PetiteSirah/
Grenache, and gawd knows what else. In the late '80's, GeorgeBursick, at McDowellVllyVnyd of BillyCrawford, made
Syrahs that was as good as any being made in Calif. After George left McDVV, the quality slowly declined.
So, GibsonRanch has the potential to produce truly great Calif Syrah. The Bursick GR Syrahs were truly world-
class Syrahs w/ a lot of Rhonish character. I was hoping this GR Syrah (and the Bedrock version of GR) would
return GR to greatness. Alas, such was not the case. But, make no mistake, this Marietta GR is very/very good
Calif Syrah. It will be interesting to see how it evolves. Maybe, though, my memory of the Bursick GR Syrahs
has been embelished by the passage of time. Not outside the realm of possibility.
Over all, I was quite impressed by this new line of Mariettas. It includes a label redesign. I think that's
a good move. The Marietta label is ubiquitous and speaks of inexpensive/value wine. In fact, some of the
Marietta wines have been as good as any in Calif over the yrs. I'm looking forward to trying Scot's new OVR
labels, which happens to include a Riesling I'm dying to try.
Tom