Eve's Wine 101

Rusty Sly: The GOTN Finds of 2011

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What a night at Valencia Wine Company for our January 2012 Grape of the Night.  One of the largest showings that we have had in a while.  Included in our gathering was none other than Gary Stewart of Four Brix Winery tantalizing us with some of his latest and greatest wines.  Those of you that have not sampled his creations I highly recommend you do, they are spectacular.

The theme for the evening was to bring a bottle of wine that influenced you during the 2011 GOTN year and new participants were asked to bring their favorite.  Then each were asked to explain their discovery, or love, for the wine they had brought.  Chairing this monthly event I’ve always wondered if people are truly discovering new wines as we venture through various varietals and regions of the world.  This GOTN meeting provided me the answer to this question and  I am proud to be a part of this group that takes wines as seriously as I do.  Yes, even I found a new region that produces a wine that I really like.  I hope as we continue through 2012 that we maintain the GOTN goal of discovering more wines and continue the adventure.

Normally, I list the wines that were shared but somehow my list was removed and yes, I drilled the family members.  I remembered many and asked everyone on FB GOTN to provide what they had brought.  So below is a summary of the wines and reasons they were brought.  I hope that you don’t want to vote me out of office because of this incident.

During the evening I listened to each member of the group talk about their wine they had discovered or if they were new to the group why it was their favorite.   Larry McClement , whom I find well versed in wines and a person that practices what I preach about trying new wines, said he had discovered white wines.  It was interesting to see that it wasn’t a given varietal but that even being red or white could be a discovery.   Last year we had two white wines (Semillion and Roussanne) and to my surprise the group has requested to try more this year.

Rich and Mindy discovered Rioja’s from Spain and brought a ‎2005 Monteciego Rioja Reserva.  Rioja’s are beautiful wines made with the Tempranillo grape varietal.  Tempranillo’s are smooth, delicious and very approachable by a wide range of palates.  Even for those that don’t care for old world wines generally will enjoy this wine.

Vic picked a single vineyard Turley Zinfandel from the Pesenti Winery because it brought back memories of his first trip through Paso Robles in the early 1980’s.  One of the places he stopped was Pesenti Winery. He said that he didn’t much like Paso wines back then, but he does now.

Don and Cheryl Delphanies  brought a 2009 Delas Freres Cotes-du-Rhone.  Cheryl stated that the reason for bringing this specific varietal was, “Aside from our discovery of old world wines (guided by the intrepid Rusty Sly), we are also going on a Rhone River cruise in April.” All I can say is that I am glad this door has opened and given way to an adventure through the Rhone.  These wines display some of the old world characteristics without requiring years of cellaring to enjoy.  I know I am looking forward to our meeting in May to hear all about it.

Chuck and Heidi brought a 2009 Catena Malbec which they have come to enjoy.  Great tasting smooth wine that is very inexpensive for what you are getting.   Catena was pretty much the founder of Malbecs in Argentina.  It is true that many Malbecs from this region, though inexpensive, continuously score above 90 points and this one is no exception.

Gary Stewart (Vintner and owner) of Four Brix Winery brought a real treat.  It was the last bottle of his 2008 Golden Hawk Petite Sirah.  The grapes are from the Sonoma Russian River area.  Such a beautiful wine and the last one at that.   All I can say is thank you Gary for sharing with the group, it was a great wine.

Eve Bushman  brought a 2009 Four Brix  “Rhondevous”.  The grapes for this wine were from Paso Robles.  The blend is made up of 41% Grenache, 36% Syrah, 14% Mourvedre and 9% Counoise in true Rhone style fashion.  This is another great blended wine from Four Brix.   Gary helped her by bringing this wine for her as she is extremely busy with her involvement in the community.  However, my guess is for Eve as well as the rest of us is that the “find” is Four Brix Winery itself.  Thanks both to Eve and Gary for sharing this.

Lucas and BJ brought a 2006 Mi Sueno Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa.  I have known Lucas for quite a while and I know his passion for Cabernet Sauvignon wines.  Since he is new to the group he explained his love for this varietal.  I hope they both continue to come to GOTN and come to love the other varietals as much as the Cabernets.

For myself, I found a region of France that I did not know about.
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  This was the Cahors region in Southwest France.  This is the primary region where the Malbec grape varietals are grown.  However, what is unique for the wines coming from this region is that they are blended with another grape varietal known as Tannat which I love.  So for me, this is a perfect match which is why I brought was a 2007 Chateau St. Didier-Parnac Cahors.

All-in-all I think that 2011 provided everyone with a broad range of knowledge about wines.   As always, I want to thank everyone for attending and especially Guy, Geno and Mike of Valencia Wine Company for their hospitality and services that they provide us with.  I look forward to seeing everyone through 2012 and let’s see if we can continue our adventure though the vineyards, wherever they may take us.

Cheers,
Rusty Sly

Mike Perlis Picks: Mike Officer’s Carlisle Winery

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Carlisle Winery
www.carlislewinery.com

Carlisle's Mike Officer

Our time in Napa was coming to a close, and I was jonesing for some Zinfandel. We had arrived in Napa on Wednesday and spent some time with Christina Turley tasting some Turley Zins and Petites. But now it was Friday, and we had gone an entire day without any Zinfandel.

Clearly, I jest. And there are some fine Zinfandels coming from Napa, such as from Robert Biale and Outpost, if I had really felt the need. But we had an appointment about an hour away in Santa Rosa at Carlisle. And it seemed quite fitting that we were ending our trip in Northern California before heading to the Paso Garagiste festival by visiting with the man who I consider to be the ultimate garagiste success story – Mike Officer.

After graduating college, Mike spent 20 years in software development. But, the wine bug had bitten him years earlier, and he started making Zinfandel at home. Eventually, he took this endeavor commercial, launching Carlisle Winery, using wife Kendall’s maiden name [one of many examples of Mike’s humility]. Their first vintage was 1998, and they have always focused on Zinfandel and red Rhone varietals. [I used to think that I bought from Carlisle from their first vintage, but I think now it was actually their second, as I distinctly remember Mondeuse being included, which was from the 1999 vintage.]

As I mentioned above, Mike’s focus has been on Zinfandel and Rhone varietals, and has actually been responsible for saving some of these old vineyards. Even though any given bottling is a couple hundred cases at most, growth happened quickly due to the demand for his wine as well as his ability to obtain grapes from a long list of the best Zin and Rhone vineyards around California. [For example, Carlisle is one of the only wineries I know of able to obtain grapes from the great James Berry Vineyard in Paso Robles.] Mike’s friend Jay Maddox joined the team in 2001 and in 2004 Mike quit his day-job and committed to Carlisle full-time.

The critics found Carlisle too, and demand soon far exceeded supply. A few years ago, Mike had to implement an allocation system. If you sign up on the Carlisle website, you should be able to get an allocation of wine in about eight [!] years. But, you might as well do it, as the eight years will go by anyway. In the meantime, Mike continues to support those retailers who supported him early on, and even though he sells out of his wines every year, you can occasionally find them on certain store shelves if you are paying attention.

As we were making the drive to the Copain Custom Crush facility in Santa Rosa where Mike makes his wines, I was reflecting how I’ve often considered Carlisle the closest example to a perfect winery I know. Outstanding Zinfandels, Syrahs, and other Rhones at reasonable prices with great customer service. I just wished they made some white wines, because, yeah, sometimes I do drink whites.

Well, starting with the 2010 vintage, there will be two white wines, one called “Derivative”, a blend of Semillon and Muscadelle, and the other called “Compagni Portis”, a white field blend. We tasted these in barrel, along with several reds, also from the 2010 vintage:
Two Acres [mostly Mourvedre red Rhone blend]
Three Birds [mostly Grenache red Rhone blend]
Zinfandel [Old Vines, a blend of the Carlisle and Montafi vineyards]
Zinfandel [Martinelli Road vineyard]
Zinfandel [Bedrock vineyard]
Zinfandel [Monte Rosso vineyard]
Zinfandel [Pagani Vineyard]
Syrah [Papa’s Block]
Petite Sirah [Palisades Vineyard]

As usual, a lot of great wines, not a lot of notes. All I can say is, I am really looking forward to the first release next Spring of the 2010s!

Michael Perlis provides outsourced controller services to businesses that do not need a full-time controller. He balances this with his interest in wine: reading and writing about it and, of course, drinking it. He is still trying to figure out how to combine these two pursuits. Feel free to contact him about either at mcpfinancial@aol.com or michaelthezinfan@aol.com.

Michael Perlis Picks: Hill Family Estate Syrah (Again!) and other Wows

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Tasting Room Ambassador, Robin Williams

Hill Family Estate
www.hillfamilyestate.com

When my wife Karen and I attended the Learn About Wine Rising Stars of California event several months ago, my favorite wine that day was the Hill Family Estate Syrah. So I knew when I was planning our Napa itinerary that the Hill Family tasting room in Yountville was a “must” visit.

When we arrived at the Hill Family tasting room, Tasting Room Ambassador Robin Williams ushered us into a side room where she had already set up some wines and several Riedel glasses to match up to the appropriate wines.

We tasted through several wines, and, while we were tasting, Robin told us about of the winery.

Doug Hill has managed vineyards in Napa Valley for over two decades. While Hill Family Estate owns 15 vineyards totaling 100 acres, Doug actually manages a total of 54 vineyards, which should tell you something about his expertise. [In fact, he is currently President of the Atlas Peak Growers Association.] And his expertise in the vineyard is matched by winemaker Alison Doran, whose family founded Simi Winery and was mentored by the great Andre Tchelistcheff (who I think of as the father of modern American winemaking).

Hill Family keeps about 20% of the wines they grow from their own vineyards, with 80% going to other quality wineries.

Production is fairly low, between 5,000 and 7,000 cases annually. In addition, they grow organic produce that finds its way onto the tables of the finest restaurants in the area, such as the French Laundry.

We tasted several wines that day with Robin…

2010 “Tiara” Sauvignon Blanc – 88% Sauvignon Blanc, 12% Semillon
2009 Carly’s Cuvee Chardonnay
2009 Pinot Noir – Stewart Ranch
2008 “Beau Terre” Merlot – 80% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Syrah
2008 “Atlas Peak” Cabernet
2009 Syrah – Clarke Vineyard – 96% Syrah, 4% Viognier
2008 Origin – 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 2% Malbec, 2% Syrah, 2% Petit Verdot

My favorites of the above were the Atlas Peak Cabernet [complex and very long finish], that Syrah [again!] and the Origin, which is their proprietary blend.

Ordinarily, I don’t spend much time talking about pricing. Just not something I choose to write about. But, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at the prices at Hill.

All of the above wines, except the Atlas Peak Cab are under $50, most under $40. Great wines at reasonable prices! Not what I expected in Napa but what I was able to find during my carefully selected visits.

This brings me to the final wine we tasted that day – the 2007 “Double Barrel” Cabernet. At $150, I am not going to try to talk you into believing that this is an inexpensive wine. But, it sure was amazing. My note next to it was “Wow!” And if you buy three, they come in a wooden box that Ryan Hill (Vice President and Director of Sales for Hill Family Estate) shot up with a Double Barrel shotgun. Per Robin; “(Ryan) takes the boxes out to Stewart Ranch where we grow our Pinot Noir and shoots up the boxes with Ryan’s Grandfather’s antique 20-gauge double barrel side by side Shotgun”. Very limited release, only two barrels made, hence the double entendre of the name.

Michael Perlis provides outsourced controller services to businesses that do not need a full-time controller. He balances this with his interest in wine: reading and writing about it and, of course, drinking it. He is still trying to figure out how to combine these two pursuits. Feel free to contact him about either at mcpfinancial@aol.com or michaelthezinfan@aol.com.