The unbearable ripeness of being

[Christian Miller (CMM)]

This hangtime thing is beginning to get me down. At a pizza parlor, the most tempting by-glass red is a Syrah from Rex Goliath. For a variety of reasons, Syrah is normally a safer bet at low price levels in California than Cab or Merlot. But the wine is pitch black, raisined and devoid of Syrah or any other character. While waiting for take-out at our local upscale Chinese (which has a rather adventurous and interesting wine list for the genre), I order a Jade Mountain Syrah. Jade Mountain has produced some excellent Rhone varietals and blends in the past, but this thing is a massive stewed mess of alcoholic muddy prunes without a hint of acidity. A Trimbach Riesling and Benziger Sauvignon Blanc mock me from the safety of the fridge behind the bar. Last week I had the latest release of Gnarly Head Zin, which has been one of my go-to value wines for the past couple of years...dark and flabby, it tasted like it had been blended with 10% PX.

A vast ripe wing conspiracy? I'm beginning to wonder, but a couple of wines this week help me cling to hope. Line 39 2007 is killer Sauvignon Blanc from Lake County, ultra-zesty and limey and fragrant. Veramonte's Reserve SB from Casablanca Valley in Chile is finely balanced and lively with lemon zest and grassy notes, for under $10. And St. Amant's latest vintage (2007) of Zin from the Mohr-Fry vineyard shows that big and ripe does not have to mean flabby, with decent acidity, dry earthy tannins and a full head of complex old vine spice.

 

[Bill Averett]

Jade Mountain is part of the Chalone Wine Group, right? I know Acacia and chalone have started producing watered down versions of years past. Have you noticed the same with Jade Mountain. I have written the other guys off.

 

[Christian Miller (CMM)]

originally posted by Bill Averett:
Jade Mountain is part of the Chalone Wine Group, right? I know Acacia and chalone have started producing watered down versions of years past. Have you noticed the same with Jade Mountain. I have written the other guys off.

The Chalone wine group was acquired by Diageo corporation a while back. I'm not sure about the top-of-the-line wines, but there does seem to be a standard corporate strategy there of always issuing a cheaper by-the-glass line for each winery they acquire. Hence A by Acacia, Chalone Monterey appellation, Sterling "Vintners" and so on.

Actually, "watered down" wasn't the problem with some of the wines I posted about. It's overripeness, which IMHO leads to loss of complexity and/or varietal character and/or terroir.

 

[mark meyer]

A vast ripe wing conspiracy?

My left wing cousin told me on Fri that he had just found a great wine and he had made it his house wine for the holidays-the Gnarly Head Zin-which I was not familiar with-so thanks for your explanation. He said the bottle can last from Sat to Thur-I guess it is high in alcohol. Their house white is NZ SB. I opened a 05 Hureau for him needless to say he was quite flummoxed by it.

 

[Christian Miller (CMM)]

originally posted by mark meyer:

A vast ripe wing conspiracy?

My left wing cousin told me on Fri that he had just found a great wine and he had made it his house wine for the holidays-the Gnarly Head Zin-which I was not familiar with-so thanks for your explanation. He said the bottle can last from Sat to Thur-I guess it is high in alcohol. Their house white is NZ SB. I opened a 05 Hureau for him needless to say he was quite flummoxed by it.

Re: Gnarly Head, I'm hoping it was just a problem getting the grapes in on time that vintage and they'll return to the hearty-but-not-sloppy style of before.