Sonoma Coast wines

IMG_20160215_213040.jpg
The Sonoma Coast continued (with a bit of Sierra Foothills thrown in) last night at Racines NY, with a return only in body, but not in palate.

2013 Ceritas Hellenthal Vineyard "Old Shop Block" Pinot Noir
2012 Clos Saron Home Vineyard "Old Block" Pinot Noir

Two very different expressions of California pinot noir. Both were light in alcohol (12.5% and 12.6% respectively), but there was great difference in texture and weight. The Ceritas was wearing its pale red Saint-Romain dress, with a cherry pinned to its shoulder sash, and the Clos Saron might not have washed its hands after taking off its nail polish (though its black damask robe was to die for). Both blossomed into something intriguing and provided "fun for the whole family"; i.e. divergent and convergent palates.
 
Flowers was bought by the Huneeus family a few years ago and the wines have indeed improved -- more care in the vineyard, less winemaker intervention, better wines all around with the vineyard and winemaking teams having the resources needed to do a good job (and little negative interference on the part of the owners). I've been impressed by the recent Quintessa wines too --

Chris Pittenger's winemaking at Gros Ventre continues to be impressive. I wish he'd do a north coast Syrah though....I think his talents with PN would transfer quite well.

As regards El Niño, something weird is happening but other than a few days last month, the promised water has yet to pour from the sky here in the south coast. 80˚ will be the high for today, but tomorrow it's supposed to drop by 20˚ and rain too. The grapevines are way confused again this year...

-Eden (Claypool Cellars gets my Grammy vote in the category of "Best Wine Made By A Bass Player FOR A Bass Player")
 
originally posted by Eden Mylunsch:

-Eden (Claypool Cellars gets my Grammy vote in the category of "Best Wine Made By A Bass Player FOR A Bass Player")
Click to expand...

Les is making wine??? This is far more exciting to me than Maynard James Keenan's foray into winemaking (he's a Tool, after all). Les is my peeps, having grown up a stone's throw away from me and written any number of songs about my old haunts. I'm shocked to see that he's making Pinot Noir (though the location makes that the logical choice). I'd have expected something more like a Petite Sirah vin de paille or an orange wine of some sort.

Mark Lipton
 
Les is not the winemaker, but he is enabling wine to be made. Ross Cobb (IIRC a bassist at one point in his career) and Katy Wilson are behind the actual production. Who knows, maybe there's some weird stuff lurking n the cellar, but not so's you'd know it from the website.

originally posted by Kay Bixler:
Or possibly best wine made by a bass player for a bass fishermen.
Click to expand...

-Eden (always appreciated of off-bass comments)
 
originally posted by MLipton:
originally posted by Eden Mylunsch:

-Eden (Claypool Cellars gets my Grammy vote in the category of "Best Wine Made By A Bass Player FOR A Bass Player")
Click to expand...

Les is making wine??? This is far more exciting to me than Maynard James Keenan's foray into winemaking (he's a Tool, after all). Les is my peeps, having grown up a stone's throw away from me and written any number of songs about my old haunts. I'm shocked to see that he's making Pinot Noir (though the location makes that the logical choice). I'd have expected something more like a Petite Sirah vin de paille or an orange wine of some sort.

Mark Lipton
Click to expand...

Is this what a Petite Sirah orange wine would sound like?
thela hut ginjeet
 
2014 Ceritas Hellenthal Vineyard "Old Shop Block" Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 12,.5%
Sniffing suggests cherry and powdered sugar. Tastes fresh and bright, with ideal balance and weight, given lift by the fine granularity of its light tannins. Went down ever so easy, but with a nagging sense of expert seamlessness. As they say in my home country (perhaps there is something analogous here), "when the alms are excessive, the beggar becomes suspicious". As if years of drinking mostly naturally-oriented libs created an unconscious expectation of at least one wee thing out of kilter to signal integrity. All in all, it was perhaps a bit like looking at the Venus de Milo with all her limbs, or reading a fairy tale abridged to avoid fear. But it was perfect.
 
originally posted by Eden Mylunsch: Ross Cobb
Click to expand...

E, Speaking of Ross Cobb.

After touring Sonoma and tasting countless wines, mostly Pinot Noirs, I came away designating Ross's as the best I tasted -- Cobb Emmaline Ann Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir '13 -- very classic in style, fully seamless, notably delicious and food friendly.

. . . . Pete
 
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
2014 Ceritas Hellenthal Vineyard "Old Shop Block" Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 12,.5%
Sniffing suggest cherry and powdered sugar. Tastes fresh and bright, with ideal balance and weight, given lift by the fine granularity of its light tannins. Went down ever so easy, but with a nagging sense of expert seamlessness. As they say in my home country (perhaps there is something analogous here), "when the alms are excessive, the beggar becomes suspicious". As if years of drinking mostly naturally-oriented libs created an unconscious expectation of at least one wee thing out of kilter to signal integrity. All in all, it was perhaps a bit like looking at the Venus de Milo with all her limbs, or reading a fairy tale abridged to avoid fear. But it was perfect.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I could articulate this feeling any better.
Too perfect is, in fact, occasionally true.
(Never having had this particular wine, I am only speaking in the general sense.)
Best, Jim
 
Back in Braga, we opened three bottles of 2014 Domaine de Montrieux Chenin, all corked (so much for consistency). Next in line was a Godello from Ribeira Sacra and, yesterday, in honor of my American baby’s 17th birthday, a lovely, angst-free Arnot-Roberts pinot.

2014 Fedellos do Couto Conas Brancas Ribeira Sacra 12.5%
85% Godello with Dona Branca and Treixadura from vineyards 60+ years old, from the Valley of Bibei, on soils of slate, schist and granite. Fermented with stems and macerated 35 days. Six month Crianza in 600 liter barrels. A bit closed, showing thyme-like herb and a bit of anise. Good weight, with a mid-envelope dip and a relatively short finish. Elegant, but could use a little more tartness.

2012 Arnot-Roberts Sonoma Coast Coastal Pinot Noir 13.0%
Six barrels (great adventure). Gorgeous aroma, dominated by vast swaths of precisely synthesized pitanga (Eugenia Uniflora; Surinam cherry). Excellent weight & balance; finish is pleasantly savory. To paraphrase Che, impressive how these cooler climate American pinots can deliver tenderness without ever hardening.
 
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
... three bottles of 2014 Domaine de Montrieux Chenin, all corked (so much for consistency)...
Click to expand...

Ouch. You certainly fulfilled your duty to the random TCA Gods.

They visited me tonight in a bottle of 2014 Louis Boillot Les Brouillards, but I did not have the heart to open another of the same and went for something else.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top