Tried these two reds over the weekend with Susan:
1. Steele Zin PaciniVnyd/MendoCnty (15.2%; Plntd: 1940; + PS/Carignane; www.SteeleWines.com) JedediahSteele/Kelseyville 2014: Very dark color; strong vanilla/oak spicy/blackberry/Zin/raspberry somewhat earthy light dusty/OV slight briary nose; very tart/tangy/acid rather lean/austere/hard/angular some spicy/blackberry/raspberry/Zin some vanilla/Am.oak flavor w/ hard/austere tannins; med.long rather austere/austere some raspberry/blackberry/Zin/spicy some vanilla/Am.oak finish w/ modest hard/austere tannins; a rather hard/austere/unforgiving/crunchy Zin that seems overacidified & lacks richness/lushness you'd expect of 15.2% alcohol; disappointing. $19.00 (SFW&S)
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2. Longoria Syrah VinoDolce SBC (19.0%; www.LongoriaWine.com) Lompoc 2012: Very dark color; intense raisened/pruney/overripe light toasty/oak bit blackberry/peppery/Syrah fairly alcoholic/fumey nose; quite sweet pretty hot/fumey/alcoholic very overripe/pruney/raisened fairly porty/hot some blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah light toasty/oak flavor w/ modest ripe tannins; very long hot/fumey/alcoholic/porty quite overripe/pruney/raisened finish w/ light ripe tannins; not speak a lot of Syrah but just overripe/pruney fruit and quite spirity. $24.00/hlf (KK)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. JedSteele: This is a wnry that continues to frustrate me. Many of his wines are quite pleasant and very attractively priced. Especially the ShootingStar lineup. Yet most of Jed's wines seldom rise above the level of "just pleasant", even his high-end Stymie ones.
Disappointing because this is a guy who can (and has) make truly profound wines if he chose to do so. I first met Jed at dinner at DarrellCortis when he was still in school at Davis in the early/mid '70's, and took a real liking to him. The same dinner at which I first met NormRoby.
In the early '70's, two wineries were founded in the AndersonVlly...Husch and Edmeades. They wines were universally dreadful. When we'd come across a really bad wine, we'd spit out the epithet "This is a Husch" or "This is an Edmeades". Jed came along as winemaker at Edmeades about '76 and totally turned the place around. He made Zins, mostly from old MendoRidge vnyds, that were some of the most profound Zins ever made in Calif. His '78 Corti Reserve Cab, made from AndersonVlly Cab vines, still ranks as one of the greatest Calif Cabs that ever crossed my lips. From a region where Cabernet is widely rejected. So the guy knows how to make truly great wine. And he still has access to many of those great grape sources. Pacini is just one such.
When I taste a Steele wine, it always brings to mind the vision of this smart/beautiful/hot-chick cheerleader in high school, now in her 50's and out working the streets of EastColfax. So much unfullfilled potential. I just wish Jed would just make one truly profound wine like he did in his days, routinely, at Edmeades. Is that too much to ask? End of rant.
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2. Longoria: I, as a rule, really like RickLongoria's wines. And I think I'd have liked this port much more if'n I'd paired it w/ a blue cheese, rather than a chocolate dessert.
This was made from Syrah grapes, harvested about 28.5 Brix, then fortified to port levels w/ pure grape spirits. I cannot but think if the grapes would have been harvested earlier, the wine could have avoided the overripe/pruney/raisened character that it showed. As it is, it's a strange hybrid of an Essence Syrah and a port.
Tom