The Corkdork - Wine and Food Musing

2006 Corkdork ZAP Report

Here's the roundup.

Accademia Dei Racemi,  poured 2003 Zinfandel. Very surprising. Delicious and round. The Italians had really nice suits on too. Could the price really be $5?

Top 7 Acorn Winery/Alegria Vineyards 2003 Heritage Vines, Russian River Valley was finely structured and very complex. Pretty tight.  The 2004 was not showing very well yet, but has potential.

Surprise: Adelaida Cellars  2002 Reserve, Paso Robles -pretty yummy

Alex Sotelo Cellars: 2002 Dalraddy Vineyard, Napa soft and sweet. Not as nice as the Tin Barn Dalraddy treatment, but they are new.

Benesssere Vineyards, St. Helena, Napa 2004 Black Glass was really promising. 2003 is drinking well, but 2004 looks like a more complex year. Black Glass is named for the obsidian in the soil  -it's true. I've see it first hand...shards of obsidian all over the place.

Top 7 Robert Biale Vineyards, Napa Valley  2004 Black Chicken. Smaller and slightly less extracted than some years, this one promises balance and length. A must buy.

Surprise: Bluenose Wines, Healdsburg Sonoma (no site yet) Small (500 cases) output. 2003 Dry Creek Valley: Impressive butterscotch, vanilla (read oak-y) Look for this one.

Disappointing: Brown Estate Vineyards, St. Helena Napa Valley 2003 Napa Valley was crazy over-extracted and syrup-y. Didn't try the 2004. Usually this is one of my top picks. If I tasted this blind, I would say it was a mid-90s Sky late pick Zin.  I actually liked the Macauley Vineyard treatment of their grapes better. See below.

Calistoga Cellars, Napa Valley the 2003 Napa Valley was very gripping even with the addition of 4% Cab (shows how much extra Napa Cab is around some years -they even dump into the zin tanks!) the wine was strident and not very well balanced.

Disappointing: Carlisle Winery, Santa Rosa, Sonoma This is one I've heard a lot of buzz about over the years, but my notes just say "yuck." For the 2003 Russian River and at $38, run away from this one.

Top Pick of the Show Chase Family Cellars, St. Helena, Napa Valley This was a top pick at the 2004 ZAP for me, and I knew them as the grower of the top Turley Zin, the Hayne Vineyard. The 2003 Hayne (got one of these in my cellar!) was lovely and showed nicely, but really needs a couple of years to mellow out. The 2003 Reserve Hayne was my top pick of the show. Killer Zin. Balanced and complex, meaty and juicy. Also $75! Can't wait to try the 2004 when it's showing next year.

One to check out: Cloud 9 winery, Napa Valley I heard good things about the Seity Harvey Vineyard, Amador County but didn't get a  chance to taste it.

Slightly disappointing: Collier Falls Vineyard 2002 Private Reserve, Dry Creek Valley was not holding up very well. Best wait until the 2004s are released.

Shocker: Crushpad, San Francisco  was selling their 2004s for $40. This center for City garagistes, had utterly unpalatable wine last time I tried it. I'm not really sure they know how to make wine, let alone act as consultants.

Top 7: D-Cubed Cellars, St. Helena, Napa Valley 2003 Black Sears was very yummy. Best Black Sears fruit treatment I have ever had, I think.

Top 7: Downing Family Vineyards, Napa,  The 2003 Fly By Night was lovely. The 2004 will be one to look for.

Easton Wines, Plymouth, Sierra Foothills  The 2002 Fiddletown was pretty nice. Not as good as the Sobon.

Eberle Winery, Paso Robles the 2004 Steinbeck was just plain yucky.

Disappointing: Fife Vineyards St. Helena, Napa I poured out the 2003 Redhead without even tasting it. It was off. Moved on.

Frank Family Vineyards, Calistoga, Napa Valley  This was a surprise. The 2003 Napa Valley was very promising. One to look out for.

Gnarly Head Cellars, Calistoga, Napa Valley  The 2004 Lodi had such an off nose I poured it out without tasting it.

Surprise: Graeser Winery, Calistoga, Napa Valley This is a new booth at ZAP, an organic winery and one to look out for.  The 2002 Simba's Sinful Zinfandel, Nova vineyard, Lake County was drinking very nicely. I'll look for more of this one.

Top 7: Hendry, Napa  Everything was great, but for me the standout was the 2002 Block 28. The 2004 Block 7 was light in color and body, but lovely and powerful.

Howell Mountain Vineyards, Angwin, Napa Valley  This was my brother's favorite pick of last year and it was not quite as impressive as I expected. The 2002 Beatty Ranch was soft and elegant, ready to drink, and my favorite of the 3.

Jus Soli Winery, Kenwood, Sonoma  The 2004 Dry Creek Valley was angular and not ready yet, but promising. Not worth $24, but perhaps you can find it cheaper.

Lamborn Family Wine Company, Oakville, Napa Valley  The 2003 papa's Vintage Howell Mt. was very pretty but not worth the $36 list price. Yikes.

Limerick Lane Cellars Healdsburg, Sonoma the 2003 Collins Vineyard, Russian River Valley was showing very nicely. Good example of 2003 RR Zin. I think the 2004 will be something special. Usually pretty pricey.

Surprising: Macauley Vineyard, St. Helena, Napa Valley  the 2003 Brown/Moss Creek, Napa was better than the 2003 Brown Estate. Better balance and not so overly extracted. I wonder if they bought fruit from an earlier pick than Brown used in their own wine.

Louis M. Martini Winery, St. Helena, Napa Tried both the 2001 Monte Rosso, Sonoma which was slightly over the hill, and the 2002 Gnarly Vines Mone Rosso which was pretty yummy -and $40.  Haven't they paid that place off yet? It's been there since 1933...

Napa Cellars Oakville,  The 2003 Napa Valley was OK but not really worth seeking out.

Surprise: Papapietro Perry, Healdsburg, Sonoma  The 2003 Russian River was very serious and a lovely surprise, the 2004 Pauline's Vineyard Dry Creek is definitely worth seeking out.

Oy! Ridge Vineyards Lytton Springs, Healdsburg, Sonoma  Here's a short ZAP rant. This isn't the place to taste Ridge wines. They have too many super-young wines that all show in a similar way and it is hand-to-hand combat to get to one table, let alone to taste at all the different tables. I thought the 2004 Mazzoli was pretty decent, but was disappointed that they had no older vintages to try. It's better to join the ATP program and taste them all when their time has come.

Saucelito Canyon Vineyard, Arroyo Grande, Central Coast  My notes just say "yikes. Nope."

Saxon Brown Wines, Sonoma  Hmmm. This one has usually been a favorite, and this year I only had the 2002 Casa Santinamaria Sonoma which was "just OK -not worth $35." They were pouring a $100 Old Vine that I didn't taste. Hard to believe that one.

Disappointing: Carol Shelton Wines She came in third in worst of show. Ever heard of the Cucamonga Valley as a hot spot for zin? Didn't think so. For good reason. Skip it. I think she has a good press agent.

Sobon Estate, Plymouth, Sierra Foothills  The 2003 Reserve Amador County was definitely the finest Amador wine we had, big but balanced.

Worst of Show: Spenker Winery, Lodi Here's where my theory to check out growers' wineries. I heard they had some big fire and had to replant, but this was really poorly made wine. Still had some fizz to it, too. Yuck. The 2003 Estate was flawed in many ways. My notes say "They Win! Worst of Show!"

Storybook Mountain Vineyards, Calistoga, Napa The 2003 Napa Estate, Mayacamas Range was meaty, big, and bouncy. Get a huge 20 oz. T-Bone to go with this thing, or a bronto-burger.

Surprise: TerraMater, Maipo Valley, Chile Their 2002 Reserve, Millaman Maipo Valley was a really terrific zin, and the guide says it's $15. Hella deal. Already on the hunt for this stuff by the case. Their top reserve, the "Unusual" was good, but not worth the $45 asking price. Seek this out.

Tin Barn Vineyards, Sonoma  The 2003 Glisson Russian River Zin was delicious, nice and round, as was their 2004 but more lively. Inside tip from Tin Barn guys: look for the 2002 Sonoma Cab and Syrahs.

Tofanelli Family Vineyards, Calistoga, Napa Valley  The 2003 Estate, Napa Valley was delicious but hot on the palate at a whopping 15.8% alcohol. The fall release 2004 in barrel was a bit more fruity, but will have the same high alcohol content. You may know this grower from Turley as well.

Trentadue, Geyserville, Sonoma The 2002 Dry Creek was really poor.

Trinitas Cellars, Sonoma I was turned on to this by Premier Cru last year. Out of the 3 tasted, the 2003 Bigalow Vineyard from Contra Costa grapes was the clear standout.

Top 7 Turley Wine Cellars, Templeton, Central Coast  the 2004 Hayne was full of licorice, chocolate, and minty-eucalyptus with a long finish. This is a special zin.

T-Vine Cellars, Calistoga, Napa Valley  The 2003 Brown Vineyard, Chiles Valley was really nice. I'll be looking for this.

Van Ruiten Family Winery, Lodi  The 2002 Old Vine Lodi was a pretty fine wine and this is someone to look out for.

Zoom Vineyards, Kelseyville, Lake County The 2002 San Francisco Bay, Continette, Contra Costa County was 2nd worst of show. Yuck. And $24.

A ZAP Primer: How to survive the City's craziest tasting

1. Don't drive. Take public transportation or a cab. really.
2. Don't swallow anything you wouldn't buy. That means you spit nearly everything. Save your buzz for the great stuff. Carry one of the red plastic spit cups and dump them often so you don't spill.
3. Get in the correct line to start with. What's the one winery you don't want to miss? Turley? Ridge? Biale? Choose wisely as the good stuff goes fast.
4. Start with wines from the region you most admire and work from there. My favorites are usually Napa/Calistoga or Dry Creek, but if you're wild about Amador, Lodi, Sonoma, Paso Robles, etc. Go through the guide while you're in line and make a plan to try new wines from your favorite region.
5. Try something blind. I guarantee you will find something new to crow about. Walk up to your planned table and go next door. It's OK 'cause you're spitting the plonk.
6. Try something not from California. You'll be surprised what other countries can do with our favorite California varietal. (See my ZAP 2006 report for proof.)
7. Think. Why does the wine that you're tasting stand out. Is it because it's complex and layered, or because it's hotter (more alcohol) or sweeter. Linger on the complex ones. Write them down.
8. More narrowing down the search: look for familiar growers. A lot of farmers sell grapes to multiple wineries and sometimes an unfamiliar winery will shine. Some examples: for Turley fans, try Chase and Toffanelli. Look for Black Sears, there are two or three different treatments. Alegria. Howell Mountain. Spenker. (Umm, that last one didn't work out. See my report.)
9. Talk to strangers! Don't listen to your mother. Talk to the people pouring and the other tasters around you. You'll learn something and maybe meet someone new.
10. Buy what you liked. Compare it to your show notes. See if you were right --or tannic acid or alcohol got the best of your palate at the time.

Parker - Right again!

Don't you hate that? He's always right. OK...it's good that he's right, it means you can trust the guy's buds (even if they control worldwide wine prices).

I got so excited that Lunardi's, one of my local supermarkets that has an amazing wine aisle, had 2001 Clos de L'Oratoire Des Papes, marked down from $42 to $19.99. I had to buy a couple to check it out. Longtime readers of my blog know my affinity for Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and this estate has been around since the 18th Century.

While I found no real faults in the wine, I was surprisingly unimpressed. I should have had a clue when the look in the glass was bright, rosy, and uniform that it had been filtered within an inch of its life. The nose was closed, even after being open for an hour, and the mouthfeel was like that of a $4 Pinot from the Central Valley. The flavors were all CNDP, though, with brooding cherry and earthy (mushroomy) undertones. Despite the simplicity, it presented itself as a good tasting wine.

Still stunned that this wine isn't better, I consulted "Wines of the Rhone Valley" where Parker calls this "made in Ultra-modern style" "fruity and pleasant" made to drink within 3-4 years of bottling" "Certainly, the wines are models of risk-free winemaking --one dimentional, soft and overtly commercial, but tasty."

He's spot on...Again.
sigh.

Great Pizza and great wine-by-the-glass...what could be better?

Come early, (like 5:30) but definitely check it out...the new Pizzeria Delfina, Criag and Anne Stoll's entry to the pizza world in San Francisco. It serves amazing pizzas, very beautiful contorni, and some terrific wines-by-the-glass.

I had the Salsiccia pizza, (house-made fennel sausage, bell peppers, onions, fresh mozzerella) and some warmed olives. Yum. And it's a perfect place to bring the kids. Sit at the counter and the kids can watch the pies spinning and learn art of the pizza.

I had 2 glasses of wine:

Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio
(Piedrosso) Mastrobernadino 2003, Campania

This had a very closed Chianti kind of nose at first, but I had the first glass out of the bottle. In a few moments it opened up and was kind of like a perky merlot - almost lemony. It was a little barnyard-y, but had so much bing cherry and wild blueberry fruit that it all was harmonious. Nicest glass of wine I've had in a pizzeria in a long time. OK maybe ever.

Aglianico del Vulture "Il Viola"
Le Queerce 2001, Basilicata

Another winner. This one too had a new-world Merlot richness to it, obviously made to drink young. Juicy and fruity, but leathery like a cab. My notes: Buy some. It couldn't be more than $15 a bottle retail.

Wine bottle scanner

This just in from a friend...a barcode reader/database program for Windows and OSX that inputs data into your computer automatically when you scan the label. The software is supposed to tell you when your wine's  ready to drink -"It's peaking, it's peaking!" Anyone out there tried it yet? I'm pretty dubious...

WBW #17 Red Kiwis Round-up

NZ Reds Round-up

As host of this month's Wine Blog Wednesday, I should explain the reason for the topic. I think the true spirit of WBW is to learn something new and before I picked the topic I really didn't know much at all about what New Zealand had to offer in the way of red wines, but was very fond of the ubiqitous Savignon Blancs that seem to thrive in NZ's southerly clime.

A couple of months ago, (many months after I picked the topic), I was lucky enough to find a great tasting that was organized by Chuck at the Jug Shop and it was co-hosted by Stuart Devine, viticulturist and USA Sales Manager at the huge winery, Villa Maria. He brought lots of Hawke's Bay wines and gave us lots of great information about Hawke's Bay and New Zealand in general. I have put together a PDF of the Download NZ_Infopack.pdf that gave us that I think you will all enjoy.

After all the tastings, though, I must admit that I've yet to be blown away by any of the wines I've tried. I'm still going to keep trying, but after tasting even the upper range of the Hawke's Bay meritage blends, Esk Valley's The Terraces at $100 US, I'm not convinced that they are a good value. If I spend $100 on a bottle of wine, the flavors should come bursting in waves, with layers upon layers of flavors. After reading the comments from my fellow bloggers, I think New Zealand has some growing to do.

 

The Blogs

Benito at Benito's Wine Reviews hails from Memphis, and found simple Pinot pleasure in the 2003 Brancott Vineyards Pinot Noir (Marlborough). He was impressed at the $11.00 US value after being burned by many <$20 Pinots in the past.

The first of many reviews of the 2004 Kim Crawford Pinot Noir (Marlborough) came from Murray at Winetastic. Murray thought its smokey nose shrouded the fruit beneath - in short not a repeat buy. 

Mark from the Daytona Daily News Wine Blog "Uncorked" posted his first WBW entry with the Kim Crawford as well along with some nice links to Pinot-friendly recipes to cook.

While we had lots of reviews of Kim Crawford Pinots, none is as original as this review from Beau at Basic Juice . Check out his clever take on this review.

Emma at The Laughing Gastronome chose Daniel Schuster's Omihi Hills Vineyard Selection 2002 (Waipara) and has a great personal connection to this wine, after what sounded like an amazing afternoon with the winemaker himself. She found this perfect for a lazy afternoon.

Jens at Cincinnati Wine Warehouse found the 2003 Tohu Pinot Noir, Marlborough ($20) and found this very pleasant and would recommend it. He even used the B word - Burgundian!

The Wine Cask Blog found the 2004 Mariners Bay Pinot Noir to have more for the nose than the buds. "Raise a glass but make it a wonderful New Zealand white!" they say...

Dave at Purple Lips Wine Log found this beauty: a 2003 Rowland Pinot Noir, Wild Thyme Vineyard, (Central Otago) and got our first "A" rating of the tasting.

Gary at Winorama gave good marks to the 2003 Peregrine Pinot Noir (Central Otago) despite his comment that it tasted  "Somewhat like a cherry cola with bitter herbs too" which is not what I'm looking for in an ~ $33 US Pinot.

Joanne and Jack at Fork and Bottle found a 2003 Spencer Hill Pinot Noir Coastal Ridge (Nelson) high on the acidity but still fairly appealing, but its simplicity may not justify the $25 US price tag, especially if it had a restaurant mark-up on it.

Andy at Spitoon, one of our UK regular WBW tasters, seems to have been previously a tad gun-shy of Red Kiwis, remarking on the usually high price/value ratio and green underdeveloped flavors. Reviewed in Spitoon this month is the 2004 Dashwood Pinot Noir (Marlborough) which may have turned his head 'round. Just what I was hoping for with this tasting!

Ed at Tomato in Australia had the 2002 Old Weka Pass Road Canterbury Pinot Noir (Waipara) from just north of Central Otago and it sounds like a winner, but again the price is a bit of a shocker, $50 US. By far, the most interesting looking label so far (see the Flickr slideshow).

Sandy at Toronto's Australian Wine Society reviewed the  2002 Matua Valley Matheson Cab/Merlot from Hawkes Bay from memory as she is giving her palate and liver a break after the Holiday indulgences.

Derrick's posting at An Obsession with Food is a must read for the cloaked backgrounder to the 2003 Spy Valley Pinot Noir (Marlborough) --a very nice piece of political wine writing.

David at The Wine Gift Guy had a 2003 Zenith Vineyards Pinot Noir (Marlborough) and had some fun by getting his Christmas guests to participate and his own review had an interesting contrast/comparison to Chardonnay. Check it out.

Steve at De Long Wine Moment gives the first taste of Syrah in The 2003 Stonecroft Syrah (Hawke's Bay) claiming that this is the lightest-colored Syrah he's ever tasted. While not blown away, he seems willing to give another vintage a try from this small-batch, family-run business.

Alder at the wildly-popular Vinography gave high marks to the 2002 Esk Valley Reserve Red (56% Merlot, 24% Malbec(!), 20% Cabernet Sauvignon) (Hawke's Bay). Meritage blends like this really are coming into their own in Hawke's Bay. At the recent Hawke's Bay tasting that I attended in San Francisco, my tasting notes were similar to Alder's where the elegant, flinty tastes of the Gimblett Gravels terroir came through, "fairly sumptuous wine" "prettier rather than brooding." Check out his always thorough postings.

Hailing from Atlanta, Tami from another blog with a great name, Running with Tweezers, was uninspired by the 2004 Brancott Pinot Noir (Marlborough) (OK, she said it was crap...) "Cherry Kool-Aid" --just what I'm looking for in a glass of red wine. I really like her style though, so check out her site. I think I may have a bottle of that around --maybe I should sneak it into a party.

The good Reverend Jennifer at Cookin' in the 'Cuse joined Spitoon in reviewing the 2004 Dashwood --she didn't enjoy it as much as Andy, it seems. Sounds like distribution in the Syracuse area needs to step up a notch because an exhaustive search of her local wine shops gave her only 3 bottles to choose from.

Next comes a new Podcast to WBW (Yipee!! -I'm hooked on podcasting..) from A Guy A Girl and A Bottle aka Joe and Lori. So I don't give away the mystery of their podcast bottle, I would suggest that you subscribe via iTunes or Yahoo and have a listen. It runs about 8 minutes.

Dave from Vinosense is a real insider in the NZ and Australia wine industry recommends the 2001 Pegasus Bay Prima Donna (Waipara). This one really sounds like a winner. Check out his site with tons of NZ and AU reviews --an excellent resource.

Lady Amalthea from Noshes Thoughts Reves even had a hard time finding a great bottle and she's in Manhattan. She came up with another Hawke's Bay Merlot, the 2002 Babich winemaker's Reserve. From her review, it sounds like another victim of the tough weather conditions in the region. Being that she just came back from a year in France, I suspect she was hankering for that Pomerol again!

Serge from Serge the Concierge found another winner in the  2000 Matariki Quintology. The name comes from the usage of 5 grapes, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Syrah. This is another wine from the Gimblet Gravels and he gave it nice marks for now and wants to check it out with a little more age on it. I had the 2000 and it sounds like the 2001 is faring better.

Catherine at Purple Liquid did a little compare and contrast with the 2001 Martinborough Vineyard Pinot Noir (Martinborough) and the 2001 Merryvale Pinot Noir (Carneros, CA).

Kieca at my favorite-named blog, This Heaven Gives Me Migrane (go Gang of Four!) found the 2002 Huia Pinot Noir (Marlborough) at Whole Foods in Palo Alto. His review made the wine sound very tired indeed, a pity at only 3 years in the bottle --perhaps he had a bad bottle. This is pretty easy to find around the Bay Area and I'll give it a try and report back.

Rory at Me Hungry! gave us his first ever wine review for WBW#17. He got some 2002 Black Estate Pinot Noir (Waipara) and gave us a taste of some of the good wine writing we expect to see from him in the future. Perhaps another victim of the Waipara weather in 2002, this one was flawed by a bitter finish.

Wine Blog Wednesday's founder, Lenn at Lenndevours also had a tough time finding a good selection of NZ reds in his area of New York. He did find more cherry-cola flavors in the 2003 Borthwick Vineyard Pinot Noir...again, not what I'm looking for in a Pinot.

Chris at Drink Some Wine had a little oops and got some tasty NZ Sauvignon Blanc. He has an interesting blog, though...

Jathan at Wine Expression found the 2003 Mt. Difficulty Pinot (Central Otago) to be a fine bottle, and I'm glad someone tried this one. I've been planning a trip to the Jug Shop to pick up this one.

Tim from The Winecast is another wine podcast that participates in the WBW phenomenon, but this month still gave us a blog review of the 2002 Unison (Hawke's Bay), another Gimblett Gravels blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah. Sounds like this one has good age potential.

Allan at the Cellerblog also enjoyed the 2001 Matariki Quintology from Hawke's Bay and got lucky on his first try of NZ reds to find this Gimblett Gravels treat.

Whew...that wraps up this month's round-up. I hope everyone enjoyed it. - CD

WBW #17 "Red Kiwis" Corkdork Entry

As host of this month's theme, I've had actually quite a few bottles of NZ red over the past month and a half or so. In order to keep with the general rule of thumb to review one wine, I'll pick the better of the two I had for New Year's Eve dinner. This was suggested by Annalisa at a unique store in Carmel (where I was staying for the weekend) called Southern Latitude Wines. They feature only wines from the southern hemisphere, so I figured they new their stuff.

Amisfield Pinot Noir 2003
Central Otago

First of all, the location of the winery has to be one of the most picturesque I have ever seen (alas, only on their website, as I have not yet been tasting in NZ...) The winery and their bistro are surrounded  by mountains right out of a Peter Jackson movie.

The wine is decidedly New World in style, not unlike some Russian River pinots I have  tasted.

Color: Very purple (I know it's still in its youth) and light in body.
Nose: bright, but pretty clamped-down. Decanting would help
Taste: Bigger and richer than it looks, the flavors are big cherries, licorice, and slightly herbaceous. It has a somewhat cough-syrupy finish. Burgundian it is not.
Repeat buy?: I'm afraid not. At nearly $30 U.S., it's quite simply not a reasonable value for me in the Bay Area with the availability of great Russian River pinots and Burgundies.

 

Wine Blog Wednesday #17 "Red Kiwis"

It's Wine Blog Wednesday and the links are pouring in. If you haven't yet, email me (click on the email me link below my picture) with your link and I'll include you in the round-up.