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A plethora of Colson Canyon Syrah
My husband is tenacious and extremely focused. If he gets sparked by something, he follows the rabbit hole until he has thoroughly exhausted the subject. For example, he was on a chipotle kick last year, where *everything* he made included chipotle – even cocktails…chipotle raspberry martini anyone? Earlier this year some fabulous friends gave us a smoker as a housewarming present…everything was smoked for months. Ribs, fish, pork shoulder, hard boiled eggs, chicken, turkey, garlic, tomatillos, tomatoes, tomatoes, onions, peppers – it all went into the smoker. This kick hasn’t stopped, though thankfully it did slow down a bit. There are only so many rib recipes you can smoke and eat in one weekend. Whew!
One of his latest obsessions started while tasting the 2008 Brander Colson Canyon Syrah at the Brander tasting room a few months ago. Even though it is relatively young, this is a complex, full-bodied wine with flavors of black cherry, white pepper, anise and hints of cigar box. Jason and I loved the wine and asked Louise (the knowledgeable, personable and all-around wonderful tasting room manager) about the Colson Canyon Vineyard. From her we learned that Colson Canyon Vineyard is a small vineyard, relatively isolated in the hills of Santa Maria. She told us that Colson sells fruit to only a handful of wineries. That was all it took – Jason was on the hunt to taste every wine made with Colson Canyon fruit. Over the next few months, through various purchases made in person, online and over the phone, Jason collected about 2.5 cases of Colson Canyon vineyard designate wines from a bunch of different wineries. Our friends collected still more Colson Syrah. Naturally, the next step was to taste these wines and try to glean a sense of place, the terroir of Colson Canyon. This was the perfect excuse for a dinner party, so we invited some friends from the wine and food business over to help us with the plethora of Colson Syrah. With 2.5 cases of wine to choose from, we sorted and re-sorted the bottles. After much deliberation we settled upon which bottles to open (and found that we have enough wine for a second Colson Canyon dinner – tba).
Here is the lineup of wines we chose:
2001 Tensley Colson Canyon Syrah
2002 Duo (Duo is now called Costo de Oro) Colson Canyon Syrah
2003 Tensley Colson Canyon Syrah
2004 Margerum Colson Canyon Syrah
2005 Barbieri Colson Canyon Syrah Colson Canyon Syrah
2005 McPrice Myers Colson Canyon Syrah (not pictured, oops)
2006 Cleb Colson Canyon Syrah (sadly, this wine was corked)
2006 Alchemy Colson Canyon Syrah
2006 Wades Wines Colson Canyon Syrah
2007 Brander Colson Canyon Syrah
As this was more of a social, fun evening, I did not take detailed notes but our group did draw a few conclusions from this tasting. It may sound odd, but the younger Colsons seemed to have more complexity than the older vintages. I can also tell you that the group consistently gave top marks to the Brander and Margerum Syrahs. The McPrice Myers was a very close second for me (and my husband). All in all, a wonderful evening of wine, food and friends. I am already looking forward to the next Colson Canyon Syrah dinner! A very special thank you to everyone who helped make this evening so much fun. You know who you are!
Three winemakers to have on your radar - McPrice Myers, Edgar Torres, Russell From
Recently, a few wine geek friends and I organized a wine tasting trip to Paso Robles. We all met up and then our driver whisked us off to our first stop Barrel 27‘s tasting room at 2323 Tuley Ct. Suite 110, in Paso Robles. I’d made an appointment for us to taste the wines from Barrel 27, McPrice Myers, Herman Story and Bodega de Edgar. Barrel 27 is made by two young winemakers, McPrice Myers and Russell From. Their cellar master is Edgar Torres. Essentially, Barrel 27 is a collaborative effort while each winemaker has his own personal label as well. We walked into the tasting room (located in an industrial area just off the highway), grabbed a spot at the bar and proceeded to work our way down the list.
*2009 Barrel 27 “Sittin’ Pretty” Viognier – heady floral nose, honeysuckle, tangerine, orange marmalade. 100% Viognier. Most of the wine was done in stainless steel except for one neutral oak barrel. Retail price: $18
2008 Barrel 27 “High on the Hog” – blend of 39% Grenache Blanc, 36% Viognier, 20% Roussanne, 5% Marsanne. Florals on the nose with peach, honey and melon on the palate. Done half in oak and the rest in stainless steel. Wine Spectator 88 points. (Points, smoints, I drink wine, not points.) Retail price: $15
2005 Barrel 27 Central Coast Rosé of Syrah – 80% Syrah, 20% Grenache. Flavors of raspberry, cherry and smoky orange. This is a fabulous barbecue wine. Some of the Syrah was bled off soon after it came into contact with the skins. (This method of making rosé is called saignée -a French winemaking term). This results in a pink wine because there isn’t enough contact with the grape skins to make the wine red. Retail price: $13
2007 Barrel 27 “Rock and a Hard Place” Grenache – Nose of black and red raspberries, blueberries and dried cranberries. On the palate, flavors of the aforementioned berries plus hints of black tea and spice. Drinking this wine reminded me of wine tasting in France’s Châteauneuf-du-Pape region, where Grenache is often the primary grape. Retail price: $18
2006 Barrel 27 “Right Hand Man” Syrah – Aromas of black cherries, black pepper, anise and plum with flavors of black raspberry, pepper and hints of smoke. Retail price: $18
2007 Barrel 27 “Head Honcho” Syrah – Nose of ripe black fruit, sage and smoke. Palate of blackberries, cranberries, cola, pepper, clove, anise and dark chocolate. Retail price: $28
2007 Barrel 27 “Hand Over Fist” – Rhône style blend of 52% Syrah, 29% Grenache, 19% Mourvedre. Aromas of black plum, blueberry, rhubarb and violets. Palate of black cherry, blackberry, currants and spice. Retail price: $30
2006 Barrel 27 “Bull by the Horns” – Blend of 50% Petite Verdot, 25% Syrah, 25% Tempranillo. Aromas of blackberry, cocoa, clove, anise, pepper dominate the nose. The palate is fruit forward (blueberry, black plum, blood orange) and backed up clove, cinnamon, tea and vanilla.
Herman Story wines just waiting to be tasted in the barrel room
After tasting through the Barrel 27 list we were ushered through a doorway behind the bar and into the back of the warehouse where barrels and were stacked to the ceiling. We were surprised and delighted to be greeted by Russell From, McPrice Myers and Edgar Torres. They let us know that they would be leading us through a combined tasting of wines from all three of their personal labels. What an unexpected and exciting surprise! After all the introductions, we got down to tasting. Each winemaker stood by a makeshift table (made an upended barrel) ready to pour his wine. Here are the notes I managed to scribble down during this little adventure. The wines marked with an * are the ones that made it into the trunk of my car:
*2009 Bodega de Edgar Albariño – lively acidity, ginger, lychee – one of the best Albariños I’ve tasted.
*2009 McPrice Myers Larner Viognier – gorgeous floral nose, lychee, tropical fruits, creamy mouthfeel. 177 cases produced. Retail price: $28
2008 Herman Story “Tomboy” – blend of 80% Viognier, 10% Marsanne, 10% Roussanne. The Viognier is from Whitehawk Vineyard and the Marsanne and Roussanne grapes are from Bien Nacido Vineyard. Florals, honey, apricot and nectarine. My scribbled notes say “Tomboy will get your friends to stop drinking crappy white wine”. 228 cases produced. Retail price: $36
2009 McPrice Myers Roussanne – This was a barrel sample. Jasmine, honey. Fruit sourced from the James Berry Vineyard (Paso’s premier source of Rhône varietals).
*2008 Bodega de Edgar Garnacha – A dear friend brought me a bottle of this a few months back – it knocked my socks off! Some whole clusters were used to make this wine. Blackberry, raspberry with anise and baking spices on the finish.
*2007 McPrice Myers “L’Ange Rouge” Grenache – 92% Grenache, 4% Syrah, 4% Mourvedre. Fruit from Alta Mesa and Larner Vineyards. Big but still elegant with flavors of red raspberry, cranberry, bittersweet chocolate, tobacco leaf. 575 cases produced. Retail price: $36
*2008 Herman Story “On the Road” Grenache – Fruit from Larner, Santa Barbara Highlands and Derby Vineyards. Cranberry, black raspberry, clove, anise, nutmeg, coffee and leather. 398 cases produced. Retail price: $36
*2008 Bodega de Edgar Tempranillo – Fruit sourced from French Camp Vineyard. Boysenberry, with vanilla and dusty earth on finish (reminded me of Sangiovese)
*2008 McPrice Myers “Altas Vinas” – 47% Mourvedre, 34% Grenache, 19% Syrah. The fruit is sourced from the Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyard located high in the Southern Santa Barbara Mountains. 243 cases produced. Retail price: $36
*2008 Herman Story “Casual Encounters” – 40% Syrah, 30% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre. This is the first vintage of this SGM blend. The Grenache was whole cluster and was sourced from Thompson. The Syrah is from Laetitia. The wines were 100% co-fermented. Earth, leather, pepper, black plum and chocolate. 154 cases produced. Retail price: $36
*2008 Bodega de Edgar “Mis Pasos” – 42% Syrah, 41% Merlot, 17% Tempranillo. Gorgeous, black fruit, coffee, leather, spice and earthy notes. 25 cases produced. Retail price: $45.
*2007 McPrice Myers Larner Vineyard Syrah – 3% Viognier was co-fermented with the Syrah. Flavors of black plum, dried blueberry, raspberry, hints of violets. 142 cases produced. Retail price: $36
*2008 McPrice Myers Larner Vineyard Syrah – the ’07 and the ’08 are deeply colored and dense with flavor. Also, both vintages have long finishes. Retail price: $36
*2007 Herman Story “Nuts and Bolts” Syrah – This is the second vintage of “Nuts and Bolts”. Deep dark color, black cherry, baking spices, white pepper, earth, bacon – super long finish. 522 cases produced. Retail price: $36
*2008 McPrice Myers “Beautiful Earth” – 79% Syrah, 16% Grenache, 5% Mourvedre. Flavors of black plum, blueberry, blackberry, baking spices and coffee. 650 cases produced. Retail price: $36
*2007 McPrice Myers Les Galets Vineyard Syrah – 100% Syrah – gorgeous deep ruby color. Blackberry, white pepper, anise, bittersweet chocolate, clove and hints of mint and tobacco leaf. 194 cases produced. Retail price: $36
These beautifully-crafted, small production wines are really, really, really worth getting your hands on. A huge thank you goes out to Russell From, McPrice Myers and Edgar Torres for personally introducing us to their fabulous wines. Thanks guys!
* – this marks wines I was compelled to bring home
A selection of Herman Story wines
Herman Story wines - the backs of the labels
Edgar risking life and limb to find us a couple bottles of his La Guerra white wine
Was it something McPrice said?
My friend Louise hosts a wonderful brown bag tasting every time she and friends feel like they need to cull their wine collections. She calls it a Winemergency. She specifies a type of wine or a few types as the unifying theme. Then attendees bring appetizers to share and a bottle or two. All the bottles are bagged, tasted and then everyone compares notes at the end just before the bottles are removed from the bags. This evening we tasted no fewer than twenty nine wines: seven Chardonnays, six Grenaches, nine Syrahs and seven blends. Needless to say we weren’t drinking the wine, we were tasting, spitting and then scribbling a few notes. I know some people feel like it is a waste to spit out wine – and I wholeheartedly agree with them. With that said, these events present an opportunity to taste many wines side by side, which is one of the best ways to train your palate. After every wine was swirled, tasted, compared and contrasted, there were a few bottles that really stood out from the crowd: 2006 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay, 2008 Brewer Clifton Chardonnay, 2007 Tre Anelli Grenache, 2004 Beckmen Estate Grenache and 2006 Rey Grenache (Note: priced around $20, the Rey is a great buy though it can be hard to find – try the Wine Hound in Santa Barbara or the Bounty Hunter in Napa if you’re trying to find Rey wines), 2005 Ampelos Epsilon Syrah, 2004 Beckmen Estate Syrah, 2006 Clos Saint Michel Châteauneuf-du-Pape (blend of 40% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 30% Mourvedre), 2006 Ampelos Syrache (blend of 73% Syrah, 27% Grenache), 2008 Delas Saint-Esprit Côtes du Rhône (blend of 70% Syrah, 20% Grenache, 5% Mourvedre, 5% Carignan and a with a price of $15 a great buy). In between tasting, spitting and scribbling notes, I managed to take a few snapshots.
The brown bagged lineup of wines
After the reveal - the Chardonnays
After the reveal - the Grenaches
2006 Rey Grenache - Lots of taste for very little money
After the reveal, the Syrahs
After the reveal, the red blends
My wine tasting group got together tonight for a special Sangiovese tasting dinner! We heard a rumor that Stolpman wasn’t going to be selling as much of their Sangiovese grape harvest in the future. Inspired by this rumor, we decided to dig through our wine cellars to come up with bottles of Sangiovese made from Stolpman grapes. Tonight’s Sangioveses are 2007 Scott Cellars, 2005 Stolpman, 2005 Santa Barbara Winery, 2002 Di Bruno, 2002 Vita Nova. We opened up all the reds while we had a glass of the 2007 Brander Au Naturel Sauvignon Blanc (crisp with flavors of white grapefruit and stonefruit) that Louise brought. We started tasting the reds and decided that the youngest wine 2007 Scott Cellars Sangiovese was the perfect pizza wine – easy drinking, fruit forward and balanced. The 2005 Stolpman Sangiovese opened up beautifully and paired well with our Italian style dinner (hearty homemade pasta sauce with meat, cheesy garlic bread and a big green salad with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing). The 2005 Santa Barbara Winery had flavors of bright red fruit and nice aromatics. Next up were the 2002’s. The 2002 Vita Nova was a bit past its prime – as most of the fruit flavors had been lost over the years. At the far opposite end of the spectrum, the 2002 Di Bruno with its balance of cherry fruit, smoke, spice and oak was unanimously voted the best Sangiovese of the evening. A big thank you to winemaker Bruno D’Alfonso for this beautiful wine!
Tonight we hosted a vertical wine tasting with friends and fellow wine appreciators Louise (Brander Vineyards), Janeen (Tre Anelli and Consilience), Jim (Tre Anelli and Consilience) and Jennifer (wine lover by marriage). A vertical tasting is one where different years of the same wine, from the same producer are compared. Our vertical consisted of vintages 2001 – 2005 of Eros, a Bordeaux-style blend made by Sunstone. We also had a bonus wine to compare (thank you Louise), a 2002 Brander Bouchet, which is also a Bordeaux-style blend. The vertical format draws attention to differences between vintages, which can be quite dramatic. These can be attributed to many things – including differences in weather, to a change in the levels of fruit thinning, to barrel toast modifications and everything in between. It is helpful to have the winemaker’s release notes for each vintage during the tasting because they’ll often shed light on the factors which helped shaped a particular vintage. Often winemakers will mention the weather, how the grapes fared during the season, conditions of the harvest, the ripeness of the grapes and much more. It is best to start tasting with the youngest wine and end with the oldest wine, that way your palate is more likely to be able to pick up on the complexities in the older vintages. It is also important to give the wines plenty of time to breathe. We found that the 2001 Eros tasted best three hours after it was decanted. After all the Sunstone wine was evaluated, there were two Eros vintages that the tasters preferred over the others, 2001 and 2005. The 2001 was appreciated for its balance of fruit, spice and oak whereas the 2005 stood out with its intense dark berry flavors. The 2005 went especially well with the cheesecake and brownies we had for dessert. When we voted on our favorite single wine of the evening, it was unanimous – the Bordeaux blend from Brander, the 2002 Bouchet won.
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