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Santa Barbara County Wine Futures Tasting 2010

June 23, 2010 in Uncorked Musings, Wine Tasting Adventures | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The second annual Winehound Santa Barbara County Wine Futures Tasting was an enormous success.  The selection of wines was staggering, the food was fabulous (wood fired pizzas from Flatbread) and the venue (the Fess Parker Doubletree) was far superior to last year’s event.   This year there were more than 125 wines from 50 different vintners.  The list is impressive to say the least:  Alma Rosa, Ampelos, Au Bon Climat, Autonom, Babcock, Beckmen, Brander, Ken Brown, Cargasacchi, Carhartt, Carr, Cent’Anni, Cimarone, Clos Pepe Estate, Cold Heaven, Costa de Oro, Demetria, Dragonette, Epiphany, Ethan, Flying Goat, Blair Fox, Happy Canyon Vineyard, Harrison-Clarke, Holus Bolus, Jaffurs, Jelly Roll, Jonata, Jorian Hill, Kaena, Kenneth-Crawford, Paul Lato, Lea, Longoria, Margerum Wine Company, Melville, Native9, Ojai, Fess Parker, Point Concepcio, Qupe, Rey, Samsara, Sanguis, Shai, Stolpman, Tensley, Tercero, The Paring, Tyler, Verdad, VIE, Vogelzang, Whitcraft.    With this many wines, I had to carefully pick and choose my way through the options.   Some of the wines were barrel samples, while many others were bottled, though unreleased.  Though I wasn’t able to taste everything, here is a list of the ones that really, really stood out for me :

Ampelos 2007 Rho Pinot Noir – cola, black cherries, earth, hint of vanilla.  465 cases produced.  Scheduled release late Spring 2011.

Ampelos 2007 Gamma Syrah – pepper, leather, dark berries, bacon.  655 cases produced.  Scheduled release Winter 2010.

Autonom 2007 Rhône Cuvee Central Coast – 55% Grenache, 36% Syrah, 9% Mourvèdre, black pepper, dark berries, meat, clove, mocha. 130 case produced.  Scheduled release Summer 2010.

Beckmen 2008 Syrah Purisima Mountain Vineyard – black fruits, fig, baking spices, bacon, mocha – next to my tasting notes I scribbled “this is a wine the critics will love”, I love it too.   400 cases produced.  Scheduled release Fall 2010

Clos Pepe 2009 Pinot Noir Estate – black cherry, cola, Dr. Pepper, cocoa – a blend of clones 665, 777, 513, Pommard.  1000 cases producedscheduled release Spring 2011.   Clos Pepe’s Wes Hagen was also pouring what he said was the “first ever sparkling wine from the Sta. Rita AVA” – a 2007 Brut Rosé, made by Norm Yost of Flying Goat Cellars.  Unfortunately my palate was blown out after so many fabulous reds…dang.

Ethan 2009 Grenache Blanc – heady nose of apple, melon and florals, good acid and minerality.  I was head over heels for this barrel sample – it was gorgeous – one of the top 5 wines I tasted at the event.  I spoke with winemaker Ethan Lindquist who indicated that this is the first time he made a Grenache Blanc.  With only 150 cases made, get it while you can when it is released.  Scheduled release Fall 2010.

Ethan 2009 Sangiovese – red cherry, garrigue, ripe strawberry, good acid.  Fabulous “food wine”.  150 cases produced.  Scheduled release Fall 2010.

Jaffurs 2008 Grenache – spice, tart cherry, chocolate covered raspberry, 50% Thompson Vineyard, 50% Stolpman (all Alban and Tablas clones).  390 cases produced.  Scheduled release late Summer 2010.

Jaffurs 2008 Syrah Larner Vineyard – heady and beautiful, blackberry, black pepper, mocha, allspice, super long finish.  340 cases produced.  Scheduled release late Summer 2010.

Kaena 2008 Grenache Larner Vineyard – bright and gorgeous with flavors of red raspberry, cranberry, leather, super long finish.  One of the top 5 wines I tasted at the event.  100 cases produced.  Scheduled release Winter 2010.

Kaena 2008 Hapa – 56% Syrah, 22% Grenache, 11% Mourvèdre, 11% Cabernet Sauvignon – blackberry, garrigue, cedar, clove.  Again, one of the top 5 wines I tasted at the event.  200 cases produced.  Scheduled release Winter 2010.

Rey 2007 Syrah – 10 % Grenache and a bit of Cabernet Sauvignon – blackberry, black pepper, mocha.  Wonderful wine for $20.  Available now – but only 100 cases produced so get it while you can!  NOTE:  Rey is a second label – the reserve label is De Su Propia Coshecha – if you see it buy it – your mouth will thank you.

Samsara 2008 Syrah Melville Vineyard – Unexpected nose of florals, black plum, black pepper,  earthy. Only 120 cases produced.   Scheduled release Fall 2010.

Samsara 2008 Syrah Ampelos Vineyard – Very integrated flavors for a 2008, black fruits, black pepper, garrigue and herbs.  Only 75 cases produced.  Scheduled release Fall 2010.  Anyone who reads this blog knows that Ampelos is a big favorite of mine; I love what Samsara’s winemaker Chad Melville has created with the wonderful Ampelos fruit.

Vogelzang 2008 Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyard – Fiddlestix is a fabulous source of fruit in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA, intense flavors of tart cherry, ripe raspberry and caramel, well integrated flavors for such a young wine.   Only 100 cases produced.  Scheduled release Spring 2011.

What a wonderful way to spend the day – I only wish that the event were spread over two days, so that I could taste *all* the wines.  Maybe next year?  Many thanks to Bob Wesley and his team from the Winehound for putting on such a fabulous event!

The witness protection program?

May 6, 2010 in Uncorked Musings | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

So much has happened since I last posted.  Nope, I am not part of the witness protection program – I’ve just been really, really busy.  Let me try to condense the last month into a few words and some photos.  First and foremost I moved from Santa Barbara to a lovely house out in wine country with a view of the edge of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA. Moving is never easy or fun, but in this case the massive effort was worthwhile.  I’m reminded daily about what makes Pinot Noir so good, when I wake up to a view of the Santa Rita Hills.  Often times the hills are shrouded in fog that burns off by mid-morning.  The east-west coastal valleys combined with fog, wind and rocky soil stress the vines and reduce crop yield.  This results in incredibly complex and layered Pinot Noir.  If you want to taste what I am referring to, check out Ampelos Cellars’ 2005 Rho Pinot Noir.  You’ll be happy you did!

Though I’ve only been in my new place about a month and a half, so much has happened!  In the few weeks I:

  1. unpacked a seemingly infinite number of boxes, many of which were full of wine or books…I wonder if I really need all these books?
  2. enjoyed some of my favorite fabulous local wines (De Su Propia Cosecha, Brander, Tre Anelli, Stolpman, McPrice Myers) while unpacking boxes – no wonder it took so long!
  3. poured Consilience wines at an event at Blush in Santa Barbara
  4. ate amazing woodfired pizza at Full of Life Flatbread (and oysters – WOW!) – if you’re into woodfired pizza come to Los Alamos to eat at Flatbread
  5. wrote the tasting notes for a couple of fabulous soon to be released wines from Tre Anelli (2007 Pinot Grigio, 2007 Sangiovese, 2008 Diavolessa)
  6. went wine tasting at Brander (Thank you Fabian and Louise for the tour and barrel tasting!) – I *love* the Purisima Sauvignon Blanc and the reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
  7. encountered all sorts of wildlife out here in the country – deer (see photo below), red tailed hawks, turkey vultures, mice, moles, skunks (unfortunately one of my dogs got too close to the skunk, sigh) a myriad of songbirds, mice, horses and a tree frog (oddly enough the frog was in my shower…go figure)
  8. visited chef Paul Kulik at the Boiler Room restaurant and La Buvette in Omaha – my two favorite places to eat and drink in the Old Market district

So much has happened and so many wonderful things are on the horizon!  First and foremost, there is lots of great news from one of my local favorites, Dragonette Cellars.  Very soon you won’t have to go out to the wine ghetto in Lompoc to visit Dragonette, because they are opening up a tasting room in Los Olivos, right across the street from Stolpman.  Also, any day now, Dragonette will release a wine that consists mostly of the co-fermented Syrah/Viognier that I fell in love with while barrel tasting last year (there are a few photos from this below).  The wine is a reserve release and is called MJM.  John Dragonette, Steve Dragonette and Brandon Sparks-Gillis dedicated this wine to their wives (Mitchi, Jen and Michelle), hence the name MJM.  Smart husbands.  🙂 Recently I visited Dragonette and tasted the 2007 MJM with winemaker Brandon Sparks-Gillis.  He was quite proud (and rightly so) of the almost released blend of 96% Syrah, 3% Grenache and 1% Viognier.   This is a gorgeous wine with layers of flavors – definitely one to save for a special occasion!  It wasn’t officially for sale yet (the bottles had not yet been hand dipped in wax) however I was able to convince him to let me go home with a couple of bottles.  Thanks Brandon!   Last but not least, Dragonette now has a wine club – you can join online too!

On Saturday May 15th, the Wine Hound Santa Barbara County Wine Futures event is happening.  Last year was an amazing opportunity to taste incredibly fabulous local wines.  Check out my post with details from last year’s event. This year I promise to charge my camera battery.   There will be around 130 different wines available for tasting from local producers.  Old favorites, including Au Bon Climat, Jaffurs, Qupé and Stolpman will be there and also some newer producers like Rey, Kaena and Shai.  I am really looking forward to this event!

Last but not least, my wine tasting group is collecting bottles for a special Colson Canyon Vineyard themed tasting.  So far we have collected red wines made from Colson Canyon fruit produced by Cleb, Tensley and Brander.  If you know of any other wineries that make a Colson Canyon vineyard designate wine please drop me an email.

Here are some random snapshots of food, wine and other miscellany.  Cheers!

Dragonette winemaker Brandon Sparks-Gillis

Dragonette winemaker Brandon Sparks-Gillis with a bottle of MJM

De Su Propia Cosecha

De Su Propia Cosecha red (Grenache/Mourvedre/Syrah)

Pouring Consilience wines at Blush in Santa Barbara

Me pouring Consilience wines at Blush in Santa Barbara

lunch at Terravant

Lunch at Terravant (a fun place to taste wine - ask for a tour)

first meal at the new house

This is the first meal at the new house -we hadn't unpacked much yet

Dragonette 2008 Sauvignon Blanc

Dragonette 2008 Sauvignon Blanc - it makes unpacking boxes better

McPrice Myers L'Ange Rouge

McPrice Myers 2007 L'Ange Rouge at Side Street Cafe (we were too tired to cook)

Tre Anelli 2008 Diavolessa

Tre Anelli 2008 Diavolessa - red blend of Dolcetto, Barbera, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel

first course of salad and oysters at Flatbread

First course of salad and oysters at Flatbread

Blissed out at Flatbread

Happiness is eating at Flatbread

deer

What a fun surprise - a deer in my yard

2007 Duckhorn Decoy

2007 Duckhorn Decoy at Urban Wine Company in Omaha's Old Market district

La Buvette

La Buvette - you'll think you're in France, but it is really Omaha's Old Market district

wall of wine at La Buvette

One of the walls of wine at La Buvette

Foggy morning

The view from the patio - cool foggy mornings help make good Pinot Noir

no more fog

Foggy mornings turn into warm, clear days

Barrel tasting at Dragonette
Barrel tasting at Dragonette (photo courtesy of pixillusion.com)
Dragonette with the wine thief

Dragonette extracting wine with a wine thief (photo courtesy of pixillusion.com)

6/13/09 Santa Barbara County Wine Futures

August 18, 2009 in Wine Tasting Adventures | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 comment

I got my hands on the guide book for the 2009 Santa Barbara County Wine Futures Tasting about a week prior to the event and came to the sad realization that there was absolutely no way I could taste all 90 wines.  In light of this, I went over the list again and again, making cuts until I had a list of around 30 wines.   I arrived at the event, armed with my list and trusty  camera (and its dead battery, sigh) and proceeded to taste through the list.   Over the course of the event a few wineries really stood out with some stellar wines  – Ampelos, Beckmen, Jaffurs, Jonata, Kaena, Margerum.

Ampelos
Peter Work was on hand pouring a 2007 Lambda Estate Pinot Noir (tart cherry, and hints of clove) which won’t be released until spring 2010.  The Pinot already tastes wonderful – I would think that a few more years will give it additional complexity.  I was thrilled that Peter was pouring the Dornfelder that I barrel tasted with him back in January.  It is still the inky, glass-staining wine that I enjoyed straight from the barrel – but the past months have given the wine some more time to develop complexity.  This was probably the most unusual wine of the day.  It was also one of my favorites!

Beckmen
I tasted the 2008 Purisima Mountain Vineyard Grenache (strawberry, baking spices and leather) and the 2007 Purisima Mountain Vineyard Syrah (black plum, fig and notes of coffee).   Biodynamic farming combined with winemaker Mikael Sigouin’s talents make for some amazing wines!

Jonata
With a price point of around $75, I probably would only drink the Jonata 2006 Todos Estate on a special occasion.  With that said, it was a real treat to taste this blend of 39% Syrah, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Sangiovese, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Viognier.  Every sip was layer upon layer of flavor (black raspberry, black currant, clove, ginger, vanilla).

Kaena
Kaena winemaker/owner Mikael Sigouin (who is also the winemaker at Beckmen) was pouring his 2007 Grenache (only 75 cases made – bright flavors of cherry, cranberry and red raspberry) and a vineyard designate 2007 Larner Vineyard Grenache (150 cases made – deeply concentrated flavors of dark fruits).  Both were fabulous!  Mikael was also pouring his 2007 Hapa – a red blend of 60% Syrah, 30% Grenache, 10% Mourvédre (cherry, red raspberry, baking spices, anise and white pepper).   These will be released in the late summer – so you won’t have to wait long before you can get your hands on these wines.  Mark my words – this is a winemaker to watch!

Margerum
From what I understand, the 2007 Uber Syrah was an experiment.  Doug Margerum co-fermented 75% of the Syrah that was used in this wine.  This 75% was made by adding one tenth of a ton of each Syrah clone as it came in over the course of harvest.  While I was pretty skeptical this seemingly haphazard method, I have been a fan of Doug’s wines for years, so I tried the Uber with high hopes.  I was not let down – this is a seriously big, complex wine (black raspberry, plum, pepper, smoke) and I cannot wait to try it again after it is released this Fall.

Lastly, I had the good fortune to taste a barrel sample of a wine called Luna Matta  from a very tiny producer called De Su Propia Cosecha.   Only 80 cases of this wine (a blend of 40% Grenache, 35% Syrah, 25% Mourvedre) was made.   Though it is made right here in Santa Barbara county by a husband and wife team (Chris and Deanna King), I’d never heard of this wine…there I go living under a rock again.   This blend had a lush mouth feel and flavors of black plum, black pepper, spices and earth.   What a wonderful surprise to discover a “new” wine (well new to me).

All in all a fabulous event!  My thanks to the Winehound for picking up the torch (sadly dropped by the Wine Cask) and continuing the long tradition of the Santa Barbara Wine Futures event.

5/24/09 Dinner at the Ballard Inn

June 2, 2009 in Uncorked Musings | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Jason and I had a wonderful dining experience at the picturesque Ballard Inn restaurant last night.  We were seated immediately at a romantic two person table near the fireplace.  We took a look at the wine-by-the-glass list and were impressed with the carefully chosen list of fabulous –mostly local- wines.  I ordered a glass of the 2007 Ampelos Rosé of Syrah (gorgeous deep pink color, bright taste –no oak, no malolactic fermentation, nose of citrus, watermelon, florals, mineral qualities, soft tannins).   Ashley, our young but very well informed and professional server, recommended a wine for Jason – the Kaena Hapa (a mouth filling, fruit/spice bonanza of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre – nothing short of WOW).  Kaena (which means “potential for greatness” in Hawaiian) is the personal label made by Mikael Sigouin whose day job is head winemaker at Beckmen. This talented and hardworking young winemaker is officially on my radar as one to watch!  Potential for greatness, indeed!  But, I digress.  Getting back to the food, we started off with two beautifully presented appetizers.  First, room temperature short rib meat with truffle oil served on a bed of watercress, garnished with small dollops of aioli and four purple potato crisps.  I’ve never thought of making a salad out of short rib meat, but this was amazing – moist, flavorful and rich, but not too heavy to eat in the summertime.  And who knew potato chips could be so decorative – and pretty?  Our second appetizer was crispy sweetbreads served with mizuna salad and arugula with macadamia nut pesto.  All the different textures and tastes in this dish blended harmoniously together.  Wow!  Ashley surprised us with a hamachi sashimi appetizer with soy-yuzu vinaigrette which paired beautifully with the Ampelos rosé.  Our entrées arrived soon after we finished the hamachi.  Jason’s entrée was the crispy skin barramundi with chive risotto and soy mushroom broth.  Barramundi is a white fish, though not as delicate in taste or texture as halibut.  Its firm texture and rich taste was complemented well by the chive risotto.  Jason ordered the 2007 Kaena Hapa Blanc (a white Rhone-style blend of  Grenache Blanc and Roussanne – well balanced, elegant, tropical fruit notes, luscious mouth feel and a long finish- only 170 cases made) to go with his fish.

Duck at the Ballard Inn

Duck entree at the Ballard Inn

I ordered the pan seared duck breast with sweet potato purée and balsamic reduction.  I decided that the Kaena Hapa (red) that we had with our appetizers would be wonderful with the duck – and it was!  Dessert was almond panna cotta with strawberries and coconut tuile, and a bottle of 2005 Cold Heaven Late Harvest Viognier (wonderful florals on the nose, rich on the palate with peach, apricot and honey).   Chef Budi Kazali, who was recently won the 2009 Ultimate Chef competition, came out of the kitchen for a few moments to greet diners.   Jason and I were happy to thank Chef Kazali in person for all the amazing food we enjoyed tonight!