Florida Jim
Florida Jim
Wine impressions 6-10-22
2017 Cowan Cellars, Syrah Bennett Valley - essentially, a barrel sample; no development whatever and pretty simple. If it develops at all I suspect it will be at a glacial pace.
2018 Harrington, Sagrantino Calleri Vineyard - wonderful wine; for a grape with fierce tannins, their management here is just short of miraculous - elegant, complex and a touch of rusticity make for a soulful wine. Bravo!
2010 Cowan Cellars, Isa - skin-fermented Sauvignon Blanc. I had thought it past it’s prime but I was mistaken. Very gentle and delicate for an “orange wine” with plenty of room for further development.
2011 Cowan Cellars, Syrah Bennett Valley - deep, complex and with the dusty red and black fruit combination that is, I think, the terroir of Syrah in Bennett Valley. No rush.
2015 Cowan Cellars, Syrah Bennett Valley - not as developed as the 2011 but more genteel and mannered. Lovely balance.
2009 Westerhold, Syrah Bennett Valley - way too much sour oak overwhelms solid, albeit rather straightforward fruit.
2018 Dirty & Rowdy, Mourvèdre Evangelho Vineyard - a shining light of a wine with both the touch of the vineyard and the maker. I will never tire of drinking this . . . but alas, one day, I will run out. A masterpiece!
2020 Louis Michel, Chablis - a touch of reduction but otherwise a lovely Chardonnay that could come from no other place.
2020 Clos Cibonne, Rose Tradition - pale but flavorful, delicate in delivery but long; another one of those wines which seems to be whatever is wanted at any given moment. Quite something.
2012 Chateau Latour a Pomerol - too green for my taste; well made and balanced but not a flavor profile I enjoy.
2011 Alain Verset, Cornas - a candidate for wine of the year for me; quintessential Cornas, beautiful textures, complex, balanced and of a piece. Rivals many of the recent wines I’ve had from Allemand.
(However, this producer is no where as consistent as Allemand with other vintages of this same wine being not near as fine.)
Unfortunately, my last bottle. Ah . . . but what a bottle!
2018 Sandlands, Syrah Santa Lucia Highlands - simple but good in a slightly ponderous way.
2019 Vincent, Pinot Noir Ribbon Ridge - decanted one hour before service; utterly charming with juicy fruit, good structure and the texture of silk. One of those wines where you wish you’d bought only magnums because one bottle just isn’t enough.
2019 Extradimensional Wine Co., Hold me Tight - mostly Mourvèdre; big, tight, closed and powerful, needs a long nap. Reminds me a little of Hardy’s Enz Vineyard Mourvèdre - and I have yet to have one of those that was ready.
2013 Valentini, Trebbiano d’Abruzzo - slight cloudiness; off-puttingly sour/bitter at first which does not dissipate quickly, lots of volume, little complexity and frankly not something I’d take a second glass of; on day one, disappointing.
Day two moderates the sour/bitter aspects and mellows the wine. At this point, I’d say it is acceptable but no more.
Day three heralds the return of the sour/bitter notes and the rest of the wine is innocuous.
Conclusion: bad wine. This is my second bottle of this and neither gives me any hope. And at the price point, this is a joke.
2019 Pieropan, Calvarino - a thousand times better than the Valentini noted above; fresh but resinous nose, clear focused flavors with length and an overall sort of savory, peppery, sappiness that is both long and complex. Glorious wine; for the moments when you have to have a stunning white wine with cut and character. Finest kind.
2012 Cowan Cellars, Isa - skin-fermented Sauvignon aged in old barrels for 28 months; burnished copper color, a light warm orange zest aroma with less phenolics than most orange wines, a complex spice streak and very much a fine wine texture (many orange wines have a very unusual texture); integrated, layered and long in the mouth. A wine of real character and it’s delicious.
2012 Cowan Cellars, Ribolla Gialla - skin-fermented for this vintage; tangerine zest, brown spice, nice fruit and the grip stays thru the finish. Showing at peak or very close, IMO.
2019 Tenute delle Terre Nere, Etna Rosso - disjointed on opening but morphs quickly into a grippy but mineral driven red of Italy - lightweight but full of intensity and flavor. Yum!
Best, Jim
2017 Cowan Cellars, Syrah Bennett Valley - essentially, a barrel sample; no development whatever and pretty simple. If it develops at all I suspect it will be at a glacial pace.
2018 Harrington, Sagrantino Calleri Vineyard - wonderful wine; for a grape with fierce tannins, their management here is just short of miraculous - elegant, complex and a touch of rusticity make for a soulful wine. Bravo!
2010 Cowan Cellars, Isa - skin-fermented Sauvignon Blanc. I had thought it past it’s prime but I was mistaken. Very gentle and delicate for an “orange wine” with plenty of room for further development.
2011 Cowan Cellars, Syrah Bennett Valley - deep, complex and with the dusty red and black fruit combination that is, I think, the terroir of Syrah in Bennett Valley. No rush.
2015 Cowan Cellars, Syrah Bennett Valley - not as developed as the 2011 but more genteel and mannered. Lovely balance.
2009 Westerhold, Syrah Bennett Valley - way too much sour oak overwhelms solid, albeit rather straightforward fruit.
2018 Dirty & Rowdy, Mourvèdre Evangelho Vineyard - a shining light of a wine with both the touch of the vineyard and the maker. I will never tire of drinking this . . . but alas, one day, I will run out. A masterpiece!
2020 Louis Michel, Chablis - a touch of reduction but otherwise a lovely Chardonnay that could come from no other place.
2020 Clos Cibonne, Rose Tradition - pale but flavorful, delicate in delivery but long; another one of those wines which seems to be whatever is wanted at any given moment. Quite something.
2012 Chateau Latour a Pomerol - too green for my taste; well made and balanced but not a flavor profile I enjoy.
2011 Alain Verset, Cornas - a candidate for wine of the year for me; quintessential Cornas, beautiful textures, complex, balanced and of a piece. Rivals many of the recent wines I’ve had from Allemand.
(However, this producer is no where as consistent as Allemand with other vintages of this same wine being not near as fine.)
Unfortunately, my last bottle. Ah . . . but what a bottle!
2018 Sandlands, Syrah Santa Lucia Highlands - simple but good in a slightly ponderous way.
2019 Vincent, Pinot Noir Ribbon Ridge - decanted one hour before service; utterly charming with juicy fruit, good structure and the texture of silk. One of those wines where you wish you’d bought only magnums because one bottle just isn’t enough.
2019 Extradimensional Wine Co., Hold me Tight - mostly Mourvèdre; big, tight, closed and powerful, needs a long nap. Reminds me a little of Hardy’s Enz Vineyard Mourvèdre - and I have yet to have one of those that was ready.
2013 Valentini, Trebbiano d’Abruzzo - slight cloudiness; off-puttingly sour/bitter at first which does not dissipate quickly, lots of volume, little complexity and frankly not something I’d take a second glass of; on day one, disappointing.
Day two moderates the sour/bitter aspects and mellows the wine. At this point, I’d say it is acceptable but no more.
Day three heralds the return of the sour/bitter notes and the rest of the wine is innocuous.
Conclusion: bad wine. This is my second bottle of this and neither gives me any hope. And at the price point, this is a joke.
2019 Pieropan, Calvarino - a thousand times better than the Valentini noted above; fresh but resinous nose, clear focused flavors with length and an overall sort of savory, peppery, sappiness that is both long and complex. Glorious wine; for the moments when you have to have a stunning white wine with cut and character. Finest kind.
2012 Cowan Cellars, Isa - skin-fermented Sauvignon aged in old barrels for 28 months; burnished copper color, a light warm orange zest aroma with less phenolics than most orange wines, a complex spice streak and very much a fine wine texture (many orange wines have a very unusual texture); integrated, layered and long in the mouth. A wine of real character and it’s delicious.
2012 Cowan Cellars, Ribolla Gialla - skin-fermented for this vintage; tangerine zest, brown spice, nice fruit and the grip stays thru the finish. Showing at peak or very close, IMO.
2019 Tenute delle Terre Nere, Etna Rosso - disjointed on opening but morphs quickly into a grippy but mineral driven red of Italy - lightweight but full of intensity and flavor. Yum!
Best, Jim
