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WTN: Some New Calif Rhones...(long/boring)

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TomHill

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WTN: Some New Calif Rhones...(long/boring)

by TomHill » Thu May 03, 2018 12:47 pm

We tasted tonight (4/25/18) Some New Calif Rhones:
1. Arnot-Roberts OldVine WW HeinsteinVnyd/SonomaVlly (13%; 7 brls; 64 yr old vnyd; Sylvaner/R + others)
Healdsburg 2016
: Light gold color; quite fragrant fairly floral/R/slight mango light earthy/OV fairly
attractive nose; quite tart/tangy/lean bit steely/stony very light R/floral somewhat eviscerated/pinched
flavor; med.long very tart/tangy/lean/austere some stony/metallic light floral/mango/R some earthy finish;
a somewhat old-timey Calif white; pleasant enough but on the lean/eviscerated side; provides some
intellectual interest but not a lot of sensual pleasure. $35.00
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2. Turley TheWhiteCoat Calif WW (13.8%; Roussanne from RattlesnakeRidgeVnyd/GrenacheBlanc from
PesentiVnyd + Vermentino) StHelena 2015
: Light gold color; low-key pear/GB/earthy slight Rouss/floral/
honeysuckle rather quiet nose; fairly tart light pear/GB slight floral/Rouss rather lean/tight flavor;
very long quite tart/tangy pear/GB/floral/Rouss/honeysuckle finish; a rather quiet/low-key Rouss way
far from DollyParton territory; a pleasant enough lean/wiry/nervy white but just that. $35.00
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3. FoldedHill FH August RW SantaYnezVlly (13.90%; www.FoldedHills.com; Winemaker: AngelaOsborne; 36% Syrah/
64% Grenache; Vnyds Farmed: Ruben Solorzano; Vnyds: 16% Rancho Boa Vista Syrah/20% Stolpman Syrah/
32% Jack McGinley Grenache/32% Kimsey Vineyard Grenache; 29% whole cluster) Kim&AndrewBusch/Orcutt
2015
: Med.color; very strong strawberry/Grenache/rather spicy light garrigue/herbal quite fragrant rather
attractive nose; fairlt tart bright/spicy/Grenache/strawberry light earthy/garrigue some complex flavor w/
light brittle tannins; very long bright/strawberry/Grenache slight garrigue/herbal/earthy finish w/ light
brisk tannins; quite a perfumed/fragrant/interesting Grenache that avoids the tutti-fruiti character of
many. $29.00 (Cured)
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4. Arnot-Roberts Syrah QueSyrahVnyd/Occidental/SonomaCoast (12.2%; 4 brls; 24 yr old vines) 2016: Dark color;
very dusty/root cellar bit loamy/earthy some herbal/bit Cornas-like very slight black pepper/graphite rather
interesting/complex nose; very tart/lean/austere quite dusty/bit earthy/loamy/root cellar slight peppery/
c-c Syrah/bit Rhonish flavor w/ some hard/rough/gritty tannins; long earthy/dusty/loamy some herbal/
Cornas-like very slight black pepper/c-c Syrah quite lean/austere finish w/ ample hard/gritty tannins;
lots of Rhonish/Cornas-like w-c character but not very expressive of QueSyrah; badly needs age but not
sure where it will go. $70.00
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5. Arnot-Roberts Syrah ClaryRanch/PetalumaGap/SonomaCoast (11.8%; 17 yr old vines; 100% whole-cluster; 6 brls;
10 brls) 2013
: Dark color w/ slight bricking; fairly fragrant spicy/peppery/black pepper somewhat Rhonish/
smokey slight funky/wet wool some complex nose; very tart/lean/austere bit peppery/w-c/Rhonish/smokey bit
earthy/dusty little fruit flavor w/ some hard/brisk/bitey tannins; very long strong w-c/peppery/Rhonish
finish w/ modest bitey/brittle tannins; not showing much evolution or development nor softening of tannins;
interesting but not very pleasurable to drink. $50.00
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6. Arnot-Roberts Syrah ClaryRanch/SonomaCoast (10 brls; 12%) 2014: Very dark color; rather metallic bit Rhonish/
smokey very slight blackberry/Syrah some w-c/peppery bit complex nose; very tart/tangy/lean/austere some
Rhonish/smokey/w-c/peppery very slight blackberry/Syrah flavor w/ some hard/crunchy tannins; very long tart/
austere strong w-c/peppery/Rhonish/smokey bit earthy/dusty very little fruit finish w/ ample hard tannins;
interesting w-c/Rhonish nose but a bit brutal on the palate. $50.00
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7. Arnot-Roberts Syrah ClaryRanch/PetalumaWindGap/SonomaCoast (12%; 10 brls; 20 yr old vines) 2015: Med.dark color;
about the same character as the '14 w/ a bit more blackberry/Syrah fruit and strong w-c character;
interesting Rhonish nose but painful on the palate. $50.00
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8. Arnot-Roberts Syrah ClaryRanch/PetalumaWindGap/SonomaCoast (12%; 10 brls; 21 yr old vines; 100% w-c;
neutal Fr.oak for 10 mo) 2016
: Dark color; stronger blackberry/Syrah some w-c/peppery/Rhonish/smokey bit
complex nose; very acid/screechy/brutal some w-c/peppery/Rhonish some blackberry/Syrah slight earthy/dusty
bit complex flavor w/ ample crunchy/brutal tannins; very long some blckberry/Syrah strong w-c/peppery/Rhonish
very acid/screechy/austere finish w/ ample hard/crunchy tannins; again an interesting nose but quite brutal
on the palate. $50.00
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9. Bedrock Syrah AlderSpringsVnyd MendoCnty (14.4%; StuBewley) 2013: Dark color; somewhat herbal/forest floor/
woodsy very strong c-c/blackberry/Syrah/bit peppery light Fr.oak some pungent fairly complex nose; somewhat
tart some rich/lush c-c/blackberry/peppery/Syrah slight herbal/woodsy rich light toasty/oak rather complex
flavor w/ light graceful tannins; very long/lingering c-c Syrah/peppery/blackberry light toasty/oak bit
herbal/woodsy complex finish w/ modest smooth tannins; quite an interesting woodsy/foest floor strong c-c
Syrah; terrific unique Calif Syrah w/ still more yrs to go. $38.00
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10. Bedrock Syrah AlderSpringsVnyd/MendoCnty (14.4%; EmeraldPool&SpiritRock blocks; Farmed: StuBewley)
2015
: Dark color; strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/very spicy bit Rhonish/peppery/minty slight herbal/
woodsy fairly complex beautiful nose; rather tart some herbal/woodsy strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/
spicy bit Rhonish/peppery fairly rich/lush some complex flavor w/ modest ripe/smooth tannins; very long/
lingering strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/spicy bit Rhonish/peppery some herbal/forest floor light
toasty/oak bit complex finish w/ modest smooth tannins; a beautiful Syrah w/ yrs ahead of it. $42.00
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11. Bedrock Syrah Griffin'sLairVnyd/PetalumaGap/SonomaCoast/SonomaCnty (14.2%; Farmed: Joan & Jim Griffin;
80% whole-cluster; 10% Viog co-frmtd) 2016
: Dark color; fairly strong c-c/peppery/blackberry/Syrah/very
spicy bit Rhonish light oak beautiful complex nose; some tart/tangy rather c-c/peppery/blackberry/Syrah
slight Rhonish/w-c/raosted/peppery fairly complex flavor w/ some smooth/round tannins; very long/lingering
classic c-c Syrah/peppery/blackberry/Syrah some Rhonish/roasted/w-c peppery finish w/ some ripe tannins;
a pretty classic expression of c-c Syrah w/ lots of w-c/Rhonish character; beautiful Syrah. $42.00
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12. Bedrock GibsonRanch Heritage McDowellVlly/MendoCnty RW (Plntd: 1880's; 14.3%; Tended by Jake&Scott
Bilbro; Syrah/PetiteSirah/Peloursin/TrousseauNoir/Grenache) 2015
: Very dark color; loads of dusty/OV very
strong blackberry/Syrah some earthy rather complex nose; lightly tart dusty/OV rather blackberry/Syrah/bit
peppery slight oak fairly complex flavor w/ light gentle tannins; very long/lingering quite dusty/OV
somewhat blackberry/boysenberry/blueberry/Syrah finish w/ light smooth tannins; not as much Syrah character
as I expected but loads of dusty/OV character; a beautiful Bedrock Heritage. $39.00
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More snarftwit from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Arnot-Roberts: This is a wnry that frustrates the hell out of me and I continue to be perplexed by their
wines. They use a lot of w-c fermentation, which gives them a rather interesting Rhonish character. Harvested at
low sugars, they usually are quite tart, even screechy, and austere on the palate w/ a paucity of Syrah fruit.
The wines have an interesting nose but can be quite brutal/austere on the palate. Certainly wines that
need some age but if they will ever come around to be a enjoyable wine to drink is a legitimate question.
Certainly, these Claryanch Syrahs didn't show much in the way of evolution. Are these IPoB wines...don't think
so at all. Still, I'll probably keep trying.
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2. Turley WhiteCoat: Followed this wine from the very first one that EhrenJordan made. Was not a big fan of
them as the were on the fat/porky/low-acid side. I'd not had a WC for several yrs, but this one was vastly
different in style from those old one. Pretty high in acid and almost eviscerated in character..
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3. FoldedHill: This was a new wnry for me. Winemaker is AngelaOsborne, who has developed quite a reputation
for her SV Grenache under the Tribute to Grace label.
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4. GibsonRanch: This is the vnyd up in the McDowellVlly AVA planted mostly in the late 1800's. In the late '70's,
McDowellVllyVnyds, owned by BillyCrawford, wines made by JohnBuchenstein, released a PetiteSirah that was terrific.
They later found the much of that vnyd was Syrah, not PS, and started labeling it as Syrah. Some of those Syrahs
in the early-mid '80's were as fine as any ever produced in Calif. When John left McDVV, the quality of the
Syrahs never achieved the levels of John's. I've long hoped for the return of great Syrahs from McDVV, under the
Bilbros, but have not yet seen that. This Bedrock GibsonRanch is great OV Heritage red, but not yet great McDVV
Syrah. But make no mistake, GibsonRanch is one of Calif's great OV vnyds.
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5. AlderSprings: This is a very interesting vnyd run by Stu Bewley. Located way the hell & gone in Northern MendoCnty,
near the town of Laytonville. CaseyHartlip & I did a visit w/ Stu several yrs ago. Fascinating guy. The vnyd mostly
hillsides nesteled in heavily wooded forests. Grows Chard and Pinot to pay the bills, but also grows all sorts
of interesting varieties, most of them Italian. Makes a little bit of wine under his own label. I find that many
of his Syrahs display a somewhat herbal/woodsy/forest floor character. Maybe the AlderSprings garrigue?
Both of the Bedrocks showed that distinctive character.
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6. Bedrock Syrah: Though they're best known for their Heritage red blends, I think Morgan is killing it these
days w/ his Syrahs. As good as any being made these days in Calif.
Tom

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