Tasting in Calaveras County: (Last of 4 posts) Twisted Oak

Well, I'm back home now, but need to tell you all about the wine-highlight of my vacation in the Sierra Foothills. Thanks to Jeff at the Good Grape, word got around that I was in the area, (every blogger's dream) and I got an email invitation to taste at Twisted Oak, near Murphys. Owner, Jeff Stai, aka El Jefe, is also an avid blogger, and obviously very clued in to the Calaveras/Tuolumne scene.

I have to admit, I had seen Twisted Oak wines all around the various markets in the area, and because of the irreverent naming of his wines, and the relative obscurity of the grapes he likes to play with, I had my doubts. Also, his wines carried the highest prices, so I didn't just drop a few in my shopping basket. Oops. I should have recognized that someone who is clearly deviating from the pack has something profound to say. There's a good reason for the pricing (besides the fact it's pretty new and extremely well equipped), and it's because the wines deserve it. I hope it pays off to be a stand-out in such a small market.

Oh, and he has a rubber chicken fetish. As anyone who visits the land of the frog-jumping-freaks --Angel's Camp  knows,  the place is frog-wild. Everywhere you look there are goofy frog pictures and sculptures. So what does Jeff do? He commissions a big frog sculpture, with chicken skin, feet, and waddle --dubbed, of course, the Frickin'. With wines with names like: Murgatryod, !@#$ (White - Blend of Marsanne and Rousanne), '%#&@! (Red Blend) --both are to be paired with duck, The Spaniard, and varietals like Tempranillo and Verdelho, you know the guy is trying to break the mold. He's shown above with his thief-lapping dog 'nacha (short for Grenacha).

I spent about an hour and a half with Jeff and we tasted through his regular tasting room bottles, then retreated to the 300+ foot-long cave underneath the fermenters to do some barrel tasting. Here are my favorites:

2006 Silvaspoons Vineyard Verdelho from Lodi - round and grapefruity with great body and nice bit of tartness.

2005 Rosado- Mostly Grenache rosé, again more full-bodied than your average grenache rosé and extremely clean tasting.

2005 *%#&@! (aka Pottymouth red, or the more boring "signature red") --Big meaty Rhone-ish blend that I couldn't leave without. Grapes are mostly from Calaveras, including Mourvedre from the Dalton and Fodhli vineyards, Estate-grown Grenache, and Syrah from the Tanner Vineyard in Vallecito.

2005 Grenache Calaveras County - smokey and fruity

2004 Tanner Vineyard Syrah - gripping tannins but huge black fruit, clean nose, and lots of age potential. Wines from this vineyard really have a distinct sense of soil, unique to the area.

In the barrel:

2006  *%#&@! - nicely balanced already, though it won't be bottled until spring. This should be pretty killer.

2006 The Spaniard - This ripe Tempranillo-based blend is delicious and even keeled. This in another one to look for next spring.

2006 Tanner Vineyard Petite Syrah - inky, tannic, and wild, with the same terroir as the Syrah. They bottle some of their own wine (made at Twisted Oak) and I bought a bottle at Alchemy on the way out of town.

So, a big thanks to el Jefe for showing me around and taking the time to show me around. This is certainly one winery to look out for in the coming years.

Comments

[farley]

Whew, that's a relief. I would have hated for you to miss the Twisted goodness...

[el jefe]

hi - I want you to know I really enjoyed your visit here! I'm glad we were able to catch each other at the last minute. Hope to see you again! - j

[braingirl]

Out here in Indy, we love Twisted Oak! So glad you had a good time and even more glad you liked the wines.

[The Corkdork]

If it weren't for Jeff at the Good Grape, I might have left town without tasting or buying any Twisted Oak. I don't usually buy a lot of wine when I travel, but I ended up with a case and a half of various things that I tasted and knew I couldn't get in the Bay Area. Thanks for reading. - Corkdork

[Dr. Debs]

Totally jealous! Thanks for the great post and for the picture of the Frickin.