NOTES FROM THE COAST

EXCEPTIONAL ZIN TIME

We aren’t ready to make some sweeping statement about some sort of Zinfandel rennaissence. There are a number of econiomic things working against that. So we’ll just chalk it up to random chance that we have come across a surprising number of really outstanins over the last few weeks. A number of them have a really limited audiences at the $50 and up pricing that seems to baseline for many of the top producers. But we have run across that have given us hope that California’s historic varietal has a future.

Jeff Gaffner has been around the industry a long time ( for you old timers, since he started with Richard Arrowood when he was at Chateau St. Jean). He created his own label, Saxon Brown, pulling name inspiration from the Jack London novel ‘Valley of the Moon’. As the notes reporterd, “Jeff always thought that if he had a daughter, he would name her Saxon Brown after the willful heroine of Jack London’s iconic novel… In 1997, after having two sons, Jeff decided to re-purpose the name he loved for his new wine label.”

We have known Jeff for a while. He is the definition of the ‘independent winemaker’. He has very specific ideas about how things should and the talent to make very stylish wines. He has a number of side gigs as well including Stephanie by Hestan, Black Kite, and Modicum (the in house label for French Laundry).

His style is a bit more ‘old school’ and bold, but the results are usually pretty tasty. Within the context of our recent spate of memorable Zinfandels we were presented this classic, Saxon Brown Zinfandel Fighting Brothers 2018. Named tongue in cheek after his two sons, this is what the varietal can be. It’s mouthfilling with a broad presentation of brambly, dark berry fruit, spice, and a healthy but well mesh dose of sweet wood notes. ‘Big Zin’ but balanced, pure and very expressive. In other words, a Zin lover’s Zin without the rough edges.

The Wine Spectator review does it justice, “Supple and jammy, with rich and multilayered berry cobbler and toasty spice flavors that expand and flesh out on the zesty finish. Drink now through 2029…93 Points.”

The price on that Wine Spectator review was $48, an acceptable tab in the current marketplace given the performance. We’d have bought a little at that price but, $29.98, we were a lot more interested. Delicious, classic Zin.

TASTY CABERNET BUY HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT

One of the important things a wine merchant can do is show the way. A number of folks are constantly looking for delicious deals on Cabernet. But where do they have to look? At some chain operation that’s going to tell you that whatever they have is the best deal anywhere? At the wine media where by the time you get by all of the 92-point $200 boutique Cabernets your eyes are tired? It’s tough, we know. So it’s our due diligence to mention things that should be on every Cab drinkers radar so you can’t say we didn’t tell you. The Katherine Goldschmidt Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley Stonemason Hill 2021, while a little long, is definitely a must.

Kiwi Nick Golgschmidt has been around for a long time and we have sent out a few email offers on some of his exceptional value bottlings. Starting back in 1991 as the assistant winemaker at then ‘big deal’ Simi winery, he has been and still is involved in projects all over the place (California, New Zealand, Argentina, Australia, and Spain). His own family brand is also a priority.

As the winery explains about this site, “Made in tandem by Nick and his middle daughter, Katherine, this very popular Cabernet Sauvignon has become a close family tradition over the years. The 2018 vintage marked a transition to an incredible new vineyard called Stonemason Hill. Located in Alexander Valley, this aptly-named site has large rocks leading up to a stone-walled terrace… This vineyard’s beautiful gravel loam soil with mature vines—many over thirty years old (rather rare in California thanks to phylloxera)—is ideally suited for the discerning tasters looking for an elegant drop with loads of personality and style.”

This has all of that personality with a pleasing core of black cherry, other dark fruits, and notes of spice, toffee, and a little underlying, balancing savory. It’s a straight forward, delicious mouthful of Cab with round, broad, honest fruit and pure Cabernet flavors. This is the wine all Cabernet fans should be looking for as it is everything you could ask and $21.98. How much delicious, honest Cabernet is out there for that kind of fare? Not much.

The Katherine Goldschmidt Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley Stonemason Hill 202 is the answer to a lot of Cabernet questions. Yet if we don’t mention stuff like this, who will? Most of the high profile writers aren’t going to even bother with a wine like this, even though it is a personality filled, single-vineyard bottling. It’s not a ‘hot’ producer (though it’s an accomplished one), and Alexander Valley isn’t a glamor locale (except for maybe Silver Oak). If they do review it, it is upper 80s or low 90s at best because you have to save the big scores for the big boys. Now if you spend your time with a bunch of folks that have oil wells or tech companies, this might not have the cache for you. But if you like a really good bottle of Cabernet that doesn’t cost a fortune, this is that!

Here are a couple of reviews that tell the story. From James Suckling, “Coffee candies, black cherries, olives and blackberries. Quite rich and obvious, with a degree of sweetness in the full-bodied palate. Chewy, fine-grained structure. Flattering and easy to understand. Drink in 2023…90 points.”

And from Wne Enthusaist, “Tasty cocoa, blueberry and maple flavors ride a velvety texture of smooth tannins in this full-bodied, rich and lavishly oaked wine. Cedar, vanilla, clove and slight wood-char accents give it a spicy, soft allure…91 points.”

You don’t drink ‘cache’ or ‘numbers’ and this very likeable Cab, from an excellent vintage, hits all the notes for not a lot of money. That is the point.

‘LUCKY’ FIND IN THE VALUE PINOT DEPARTMENT

Having had enough experience in the wine biz to understand the broad picture, it is almost amusing to us how much of the industry spends its time trying to bamboozle the public with ‘smoke and mirrors’ or, worse yet, proceed without any clue what the market really needs. There are also, in truth, many glaring deficiencies in the marketplace that are easily identifiable to anyone who takes the time to look. Unfortunately, many of the efforts to fill those needs are, shall we say, not really solutions. Take for example value priced Pinot Noir. There are countless dull, overmanipulated, or just plain crummy ‘candidates’ that offer themselves to bargain buyers. Finding something actually viable is cause for celebration.

We can’t say we’ve ever heard of Lucky Rock before. In truth, the label picturing a snake coiled around a pickax and the fact that they also produced wine in cans gave us cause to pause. But in the end, the juice was plush, generous and, most importantly, honest, and the price was right. That’s what made it a worthwhile addition.

A look at how they talk about themselves gives a good clue about where these folks are coming from, “Some blather about “terroir” 🙄 but we’re essentially talking about micro-regions. Yeah there is a lot more science-y stuff to it, but this is the essence of what is important. Too many wineries get all hung up on The Vineyard as the be-all/end-all, forgetting that where it is from is only important if it’s making what’s in the bottle good.”

“At Lucky Rock Wine Co., the name of the vineyard or the valley isn’t important, it’s whether it makes a better wine – solo or blended. We find incredible Pinot Noir vineyards that almost magically blend together in the bottle to create a seamless, harmonious, delicious whole…Each vineyard is chosen for some specific quality in the grapes – a certain flavor, some pop of acid, a select smell. We mix when it serves the taste buds, and don’t when it rhymes on its own.

“The vineyards are in the service of our Lucky Rock County Cuvée Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. That’s why our labels list the counties with the best damn vineyards we’ve found, whether it be one or several. Our wines aren’t pretending to be some swanky, expensive French Grand Cru Burgundy or Bordeaux Blanc, but those vineyards, with a bit of our help in the winery, make wines that are just as worthy (and a whole lot less pricey) for throwing down with Beethoven or bumping Kendrick.”

Within that context, this particular version, the Lucky Rock Pinot Noir County Cuvee 2021, is a mix of 70% Sonoma fruit with the other 30% coming from Monterey County. The fruit is dark red sporting flavors of black cherry, pomegranate, and red berries, with some surprising weight, and notes of spice, subtle savory herbs and a touch of tea. Plump, juicy, and ample, this is distinctly varietal but also with the kind of substance that might appeal to a broader audience as it is no shrinking violet at 14.1% ABV.

The label states ‘family owned and operated’ (brothers Aaron and Jesse Inman) and everything about their presentation makes the point that the intent is to make enjoyable, fruit driven Pinot at a great price, without any particular concern about if it was going to be served to the British royalty (“Wines made with intension not pretension” is prominently on their website). It also has a screw cap so you don’t have to worry about it being corked, or even having a corkscrew on hand. This is definitely ‘Pinot for the people’ done right and, like they say, that’s the important part.

By the way, as it turned out, this wasn’t a complete shot in the dark. Our research later found that prior releases from these folks were given nice words by James Suckling on a couple of wines and their 2019 Pinot Noir was included in a Wine Spectator article entitled “10 Stellar West Coast Pinot Noirs Under $30”. Guess this time we were a little late to the party which doesn’t happen very often. In any case a good new source for value Pinot is always welcome.

NEW ‘FRENCH’ BUBBLY IN AMERICA

It has been a very long time since the first invasion of California by a French Champagne house, Chandon, way back in the 70s. Many more have come since. But over time a lot of the prices have edged up to the point where one can find actual French Champagne for the same kind of prices. This new offering from Pommery serves as an exciting new and well priced option for the genre.

We have sold the French Pommery Champagne off and on for years. But we saw the Louis Pommery Reserve Brut NV California bottling for the first time just recently, and it fills a niche that, at present, isn’t really being addressed…a good California sparkler under $20. As we know with the French, that value factor could change tomorrow. But for the time being this is a find and is definitely made to be a fruit forward, crowd pleasing, easy style.

Maybe we are picky but, while the French Pommery announces their founding in 1857, there is no specific statement on when this program began (there is also an English version in the UK) or where the grapes come from. One can presume that ‘grapes carefully selected across California vineyards’ is about as much info as they are going to provide. They did make the point that this cuvee is 100% Chardonnay and that the production was overseen by Clement Pierlot, the current chef de caves at Champagne Pommery. But, you know us, in the end it’s about the juice and this French inspired domestic sparkler is pretty appealing on that score.

The bubbles are refined and the mousse is creamy. The nose offers bright scent of green apples and citrus tones with a whiff of minerality. The palate is fairly generous while still bright and lifted and it finishes with notes of yellow stone fruits. You wouldn’t necessarily guess domestic at first and, once you get into it, you likely won’t care. It fills the bill nicely for a good price ($19.98).

A FRESH TAKE ON PASO WHITE: FAVORITE NEIGHBOR CHARDONNAY

The back story here is worth knowing. The property was assembled by two orphaned brothers, Dick and Claude Booker, back in the ‘20s. Over the decades their property grew to nearly 1200 acres of land which they ultimately left to charity on their passing. They were exceptional farmers and humanitarians. Eric and Lisa Jensen acquired a 100 acre parcel of the estate in 2001. Eric learned the ropes working with Justin Smith (Saxum) and Stephan Asseo (L’Aventure). In 2005 Jensen launched his own winery which he named for the brothers, Booker. This producer has been pretty much a juggernaut since its inception. Booker Syrahs and Rhone Blends moved into the spotlight almost from the outset.

Their own words define the ongoing vision of the estate, “Booker is dedicated to the pursuit of farming perfection, constantly striving to find the perfect balance in the vineyard through certified organic farming practices as well as methods that draw inspiration from biodynamics. The westside of Paso Robles terroir is unique, boasting extreme vertical slopes and calcareous soils. Limestone beds with very little water make it hard to believe that anything could grow, yet the Booker estate produces some of the greatest wine grapes on earth.”.

They eventually they decided to add to the portfolio by creating an adjunct label which was originally marketed un the Booker banner, using their relationships, particularly that with Asseo as the inspiration for the new name, My Favorite Neighbor. It didn’t stop there as Jensen went on to create another label in honor of his parents who, in his words, “loved wine, but in today’s world, couldn’t have afforded a quality bottle.” Harvey and Harriet is the brand.

The reach for quality grapes has spread beyond the confines of Jensen’s estate to include other like-minded growers for additional fruit, organics and biodynamics being the words of the day every day. Everything is made at the solar powered winery at Booker. Even the purchase by mega corporation Constellation hasn’t changed the mantra…yet. What they have done is give each of the labels more or less their own stage and, while you can get info on each of them from the same website, they don’t use the Booker name on the other wines any more. They also probably had a hand in creating a white wine program though, clearly from the results, Jensen’s philosophy inspired the tasty, unique new lineup of whites.

Some might think California doesn’t need another Chardonnay, but the My Favorite Neighbor Blanc Chardonnay 2021 is expansive, palate coating efforts that has its own unique personality. Sure it’s ripe and layered. But it also boasts elements that one might associate with a something white from the northern Rhone. There’s spice, tropical notes, baked apple, and a richness to the fruit that some might confuse with sweetness. In any case this is a very likeable, maybe even a little exotic wine that lovers of big, bold domestic Chardonnay should embrace.

Erin Brook of robertparker.com liked it too, “The 2021 MFN Blanc Chardonnay is very ripe in style with scents of banana chip, apple pie, jasmine, allspice and brown sugar. The full-bodied palate is packed with ripe, spicy fruits and plenty of refreshing acidity, and it finishes long with a satiny, mouth-coating texture. It’s an old-school style reminiscent of Napa that fans of ripe, oaked Chardonnays will enjoy…97 points.”

A PLAYFUL VALUE NAPA CAB FROM A MULTI-100 PT. WINEMAKER

Our intent here is to talk about an excellent value with respect to Napa Cabernet. Bear in mind that, given the typical price of Napa Cab, you can make a pretty good case for the $60-70 range as a legitimate value given that most Cabernets of this quality start above $90 and go up from there. The Teeter Totter label has behind it winemaker/owner Benoit Touquette who worked alongside Andy Erickson on iconic labels like Arietta, Favia, Hartwell, Ovid, and Screaming Eagle, as well as Chateau La Louviere and Chateau Couhins-Lurton in his native Bordeaux, and is currently the winemaker for Napa super-boutique Realm. The guy knows what good wine is supposed to taste like (he has made, thus far, 28 wines that have received 100 point scores) and that is an important perspective with any project. His name gives Teeter Totter gravitas and credibility, even though the label is quite playful.

Teeter-Totter is Benoit’s affordable Cabernet (again, by Napa standards…most of what Benoit makes has three-digit prices) but clearly the grape sourcing and winemaking speak of a higher plane. The blend for the Teeter Totter Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2021 is a little quirky, in this case 85% Cabernet Sauvignon blended with 5% Zinfandel, 5% Charbono and 5% Petite Sirah. You get the power and elegance of classic Napa Cab but with a somewhat boisterous fruit note courtesy of the ‘other’ varietals in this blend.

Suave, chocolaty, with abundant creamy cassis and plum fruit with notes of tobacco and cedar, this has been a 92-and-up consistently itself (94 for the 2019) through the 2019 vintage from Jeb Dunnuck, The 2021 (like many Napa producers, they didn’t make a 2020 version) reflects another excellent vintage in Napa that is more elegant but still with abundant sleek fruit. Put this in your ‘white tablecloth’ scenario and no one would guess you paid a mere $64.98.

NEWS FLASH: WINEX RECOMMENDS AN OREGON PINOT BLANC

A little perspective should precede what we have to say about this Oregon Pinot Blanc. For the most part, Oregon Pinot Blanc has only been slightly more successful than Chardonnay from a historical perspective. We have seen a tremendous improvement in Oregon Chards over the last few years. It has been attributed to more knowledgeable viticulture, arguably new practitioners with better ideas, and a number of votes for finding better clones for that environment.

Pinot Blanc seemed to do better out of the gate, but we haven’t seen the kind of improvement for the genre we have for Chardonnay. While we taste a number of examples on a regular basis, it is rare for any to exceed our typical view of ‘functional and forgettable’. They are largely crisp, clean, and without much character. While we usually keep a couple on hand for the sake of selection, we are much more likely to reach for something from Alsace or Alto Adige, or perhaps German producer Rebholz, when the mood strikes.

That’s why this Iris Vineyards Pinot Blanc 2022 was a surprise. In their own words, “At Iris Vineyards we look to showcase the potential of Pinot Gris when planted in the proper place and crafted by the hands of our dedicated growers and cellar staff.”

We knew nothing about the vineyard until we tasted with the winemaker Aaron Lieberberg. We went through a few different things but came back to the Pinot Blanc that admirably filled a niche that has been typically just a hole we kept filled for the sake of selection.

Hey, we are as picky about Oregon Pinot Blanc as we are about everything else. Yes, it is crisp, bright, and fresh, as they are expected to be. The surprise here was that there was fruit (apple, pear, citrus), texture, and some character as well. It is a small thing that makes a huge difference within the category. It’s typically not a genre that moves us. Suffice it to say it’s a big deal for us to actually talk about it. Can’t remember the last time that happened. As a bonus, it’s also priced as an everyday go-to ($16.98).

DID SOMEBODY SAY MERLOT?

Yeah we know that, largely thanks to the scathing ridicule of the varietal in the movie Sideways, the great sea of Merlot that was the trend previously has dried up. Nobody talks about Merlot any more and, while we have seen all manner of trends going south (see also Australian wine), we know its easier to follow the crowd for most folks. Some of us can still remember back to a time when bottling a varietal Merlot was pretty avant garde and wineries like Keenan and Duckhorn created a whole new awareness in the marketplace. For all you naysayers out there, we also like to mention that some of the world’s most sought after wines (Chateau Petrus, Chateau Trotanoy for example) are made from the stuff.

Some wineries never gave up the ghost and, frankly, Merlot can be a rather delicious alternative in the right hands. Getting back to history, the Merlot craze was so strong that producers were growing it in places that it shouldn’t have been grown and slapping together very ordinary bottlings that barely qualified varietally so they could capitalize on the trend. The same thing is happening today with pink wine. The point is that a lot of wines were made that sullied the grape’s reputation, but shame on the industry for that.

In any case, one of the wineries that was in early in the game and still doing very good work is Saint Francis. We hadn’t seen the wines in some time but a rep trotted in with a series of new releases from this old guard Sonoma producer, including reserve bottlings, and the most impressive, as well as the most remarkable value was the Saint Francis Merlot Sonoma County 2019.

Yes we are recommending a Merlot because it was an ample, plush, very solid red at a really good price. Deep color, inviting nose of blackberry, black cherry, spice, briar, and a little vanilla, the fruit appears unmanipulated and it’s pretty juicy. The juice comes from two sustainably farmed vineyards in the Sonoma Valley, Behler and Wild Oak, and saw 16 months in French oak, 25% new. The winery notes said it got a 91 point score from someone but didn’t say who. Not really the point though.

Our whole trip is that one shouldn’t be ashamed to drink Merlot when it’s this tasty and only $15.98. This is the kind of solid citizen that helped make the varietal popular in the first place. Just sayin…

THE RIGHT WINE, THE RIGHT PRICE

Sarah’s Winery has a long history at Winex dating back to our earliest days when it was a quirky but well respected boutique source. The ownership changed a few years ago, and along with it maybe some of the flair (original owner Marilyn Otteman had a distinctive personal style that got the winery media attention). Since the winery was purchased in 2001 by ‘mad scientist’ Tim Slater, former DJ, musician, and inventor, it has it has remained a valuable source for what the market needs but what consumers themselves don’t necessarily realize that they need, solid, tasty, honest, well-priced wines.

The problem with the new incarnation of Sarah’s is not the wine side, but the image side. They make really good, honest wines, however they typically don’t get the breakout media attention that tends to elevate the label in the minds of the public, nor make them easy fodder for your typical ‘cut and paste’ merchant. Granted we’ve seen plenty of ‘just okay’ wines (including many that we passed on) creatively verbalized by merchants to sound like they are the next big thing. That is part of the problem as well. With all of the internet merchants out there shamelessly testing the limits of hyperbole, the honest story about a wine like this gets lost in all of the noise.

So what is the honest story? This is a delicious, character-filled, tender and engaging bottle of Pinot Noir. Tim’s way of putting it is ‘capturing the music of the vineyard’. That is the story here. ‘Dwarf oak’ refers to certain blocks on this Santa Clara estate (along with a small amount of purchased fruit from neighboring vineyards). The fruit came from mainly familiar clones along with one entitled “Samsonite Chambertin” suggesting a ‘suitcase cutting’ from Burgundy. The juice saw 11 months in neutral oak.

The wine is a pure reflection of the terroir here, a basketful of red fruits (cherry, red currant, pomegranate, strawberry) laced with a little clove, sage, savory spice, and dried flowers. It has up front fruit, supple texture, and perfectly tempered acidity. It’s round and juicy yet retains a slightly cooler edge. Simply put, it’s an engaging and delicious bottle of Pinot Noir at a great price given the fare reduction from the purveyor. It would have been a great ‘deal’ a decade ago. You can imagine where it sits on the value scale now.

In short, it excels at exactly what it is supposed to be, a fine drink and something that can be enjoyed with gusto at your table. There aren’t crazy scores from some obscure source or overblown hyperbolic descriptors on our part (we try and ‘keep it real’ around here). It’s just a really good Pinot at a great price for what it delivers. That should be exciting enough.

PATRICIA GREEN

The recent lineup from Patti Green’s label crosse our table recently and both made a great impression and gave us a bit of more a feel for the 2021 vintage in Oregon, which is looking good. Founded back in 2000, this has been an insider’s winery for the most part as Patti, who passed in 2017, was always more focused on the natural synergy between vineyard and wine than the politics of the wine business. We tasted her stuff early on and liked this winery’s focus on purity and honesty of terroir.

These days a lot of folks talk terroir and geology in Oregon but, as partner Jim Anderson who now runs the show described, Patti was one of the first to really focus on those aspects 15-20 years ago before it became the anthem it is today. In his words, she didn’t always know the terminology, much of which hadn’t even been created yet, but she had an innate feel for what that meant in practice. The goal was to make wines naturally, which is not to say they were making ‘natural wine’ as that is defined today. One interesting quote from Anderson’s tribute to Patti is this, “If you go in with the idea that you know how to ‘make’ the wine or even really have a conception of what you want that wine to be like stylistically then you aren’t going about things the correct way to begin with.” It adheres to the philosophy of many great Burgundy domaines.

From three choices presented we picked this one as the best representative of the spirit of the vineyard, though they all delivered what a lot of winemakers don’t seem be as concerned with as we would like…joy. This is a bright, gushing, expressive show of spicy red cherries with subtle undercurrents of forest floor and savory as nuance. Medium weight with tender, delicate but juicy fruit, the Patricia Green Cellars Pinot Noir Chehalem Mountain Vineyard 2021 seduces one with the style that Pinot drinkers will respond to. It’s sort of an ‘essence of Pinot’ feel to this bottling.

The vineyard itself has a story of its own. The first planting of the vineyard was 1968, ancient history in Oregon. This bottling comes from the second planting in 1978, which is still very old vine material around these parts. Originally planted by Oregon pioneer/nurseryman Dick Erath, and located on the border between the now delineated Ribbon Ridge and Chahalem AVAs, it has been referred to as the ‘Erath clone’ block but the cuttings for this parcel are believed to have come from Clos Vougeot in the mid-70s. A delightful, pure expression of Pinot.