Tasting Notes From Hospice du Rhone, May 2004
Note that some of the photos on this page were taken by Mel Hill, of Mel Hill Photography, and also HDR's 2004 Person of the Year. Mel also organized the BBQ at the Blackoak and is an all-around fun guy. I hope we won't mind that I've borrowed some of his work.
Dinner at Villa Creek
Alban
2002 Viognier
Central Coast
Flavors seemed sensitive to temperature. Initially it had a pleasant, slightly minerally nose of apricots. The palate came across as leaner and with more minerality that one often sees in Viognier. As this warms I detected a hint of bitterness and soap that changed the wine for the negative for me. Overall pleasant though.
Saxum
2001 Syrah
Broken Stones Paso Robles
15.9% alcohol. WOW! Outstanding wine. Seductive nose of blackberry liqueur, vanilla cream, pepper. Sweet, rich, and thick in the mouth with a suggestion of Australian sensibilities. This is an amazing example of Paso Robles Syrah.
After dinner the group that had been touring Santa Rita Hills kindly invited us to join them and partake of their leftovers. I didn’t take notes, but there were several labels that were new to me, as well as some known stars. Mona really liked a 1999 Williams Selyem Weir Vineyard Pinot. Towards the end of the evening, Fabrizzio showed up with a 1983 d’Yquem, which we happily imbibed. The nose was slightly funky with some glue and cardboard aromas I suppose masquerading as botrytis, the sweet flavors on the palate with gently caramelized sugar and crème brulee were nice.
Pre-Hospice du Rhone Wine Touring
We started at Turley…
Turley
2001 White Coat
California
60% Roussanne, 30% Viognier, 10% Marsanne. Sweet nose of light apricots and breakfast cereal. The Palate is more mineral and oily lemon driven. A bit too lean and ultimately just okay. $38
Turley
2002 Zinfandel
Juvenile
Spicy nose of clove, peppery dry earth. Medium-bodied grapey raspberry fruit. Okay, good even, but not exciting by Turley standards. $24
Turley
2002 Zinfandel
Pesenti Vineyard Paso Robles
Big, spicy clove nose. Sweet attack with pretty linear raspberry and Zinberry red fruit. Lemony acidity. Good length with some unresolved tannin in the finish. $36
Turley
2002 Zinfandel
Dusi Ranch Paso Robles
16.5% alcohol. Even more cloves and anise, mint, and pepper on the nose. Less refined on the palate with raspberry fruit and coffee on the finish. Not bad. A bit rustic.
After absconding with a few bottles, we made our way over to Wildhorse to see the current state of their wines. The most interesting and disappointing aspect of this visit was to learn that after being acquired, the new parent had limited the number of nationally distributed wines. Now some of my favorite values like the Malvasia will be winery only. We also got the chance to taste some unusual grape varieties.
Wildhorse
2003 Viognier
Lemony, soapy nose with some floral minerality. Okay.
Wildhorse
2002 Roussanne
Smoky almonds and white fruit nose. Clean, white fruit flavors. Not bad.
Wildhorse
1999 Trousseau
Peppery, sort of Cotes du Rhone like but with a dry dusty quality. Bit of olive. White pepper, cherry, dusty palate. Tannins in the finish. Interesting grape. $14
Wildhorse
2000 Lover
The name is Hungarian for Horse Blood. A blend of Blaufrankish, Merlot, Syrah, and Grenache. Sweet nose of medium red berry fruit. Sweet attack with good fruit. Nice value. $16
Wildhorse
1999 Negrette
Sweet blackberry nose with toasty vanilla oak. The palate is disjointed with with more fruit. A new one on me.
Equus
2000 Mourvedre
Former Wildhorse second label. Dry earth, dust, pepper. Jammy fruit with a gravelly finish. Okay. Might be better with some food. $18
Equus
2000 Grenache
James Berry Vineyard Paso Robles
Rich nose of red liqueur, dried fruit, a touch of dry earth. Smells serious. Full-bodied, concentrated blackberry fruit. I like this. $18
Wildhorse
2000 Valentina
Sweet-tart nondescript red fruit nose. Kool-aid. Not bad, but not exciting at this price. 86% Sangiovese - 24% Merlot. $24
Wildhorse
2001 Pinot Noir
Central Coast
Slightly metallic nose, but the the fruit is red with pleasant ripeness. Good value in Pinot. $21
One note when relying on the verbiage in the 2004 Paso Robles winery guide. The L’Aventure/Stephan Vineyards description seems to indicate the winery is open on Thursday to Sunday. It should read that the winery is open by appointment on these days. Regardless, Michael Young, the marketing director for the winery was kind enough to accommodate us, and by the time we left, no fewer than 10 more people showed up, having made the same mistake.
L'Aventure
2001 Optimus
Paso Robles
Strange nose. Slightly floral, pepper, minerals, dry earth, touch of olive complexity. Rather dry by California standards with with pleasant black currant fruit. 47% Cabernet, 45% Syrah, 3% Zinfandel, 5% Petite Sirah. Half the fruit in this is purchased.
L'Aventure
2001 Syrah
Paso Robles
From Rim Rock and Arroyo Grande Vineyards. Floral, liqueur nose with deep red berry fruit and a touch of pepper. Concentrated, extracted berry fruit. Talc. Somewhat austere, but nice.
L'Aventure
2001 Syrah
Estate Paso Robles
Rich and concentrated black berry fruit. Excellent length. This should develop nuance I would think.
L'Aventure
2002 Estate Cuvee
Paso Robles
45% Cabernet, 50% Syrah, 5% Petite Verdot. Liqueur, rich concentrated red and black berry fruit. Tight finish. Interesting retronasal lift, presumably from the Petite Verdot. Nice meaty, inky quality.
L'Aventure
2002 Cabernet Sauvignon
Estate Paso Robles
Subdued nose - mocha, black currant. This is the winery's first bottling of a single variety. Mostly for marketing purposes. Okay, but not interesting.
L'Aventure
2001 Zinfandel
Paso Robles
Sweet nose of blackberry and zinberry fruit. Bramble. Rather tight finish. Mona liked this quite a lot so we have a couple bottles to try later.
L'Aventure
2003 Mourvedre
Paso Robles
Barrel Sample - Interesting nose - tons of roasted, meaty coffee aromas. The impression of a heavily toasted barrel. Medium-bodied on the palate with sweet lush fruit. The palate on this is nice. Of Course Mona loves it and is imploring Michael to bottle it on its own. He refused, unfortunately. She cursed him all afternoon…maybe he and Stephan will reconsider….I thought the imagined blend was better to the Mourvedre on its own.
L'Aventure
2003 Grenache
Paso Robles
Barrel Sample - Less distinctive nose - pepper, kirsch?, rich red berry fruit. Okay.
L'Aventure
2003 Syrah
Paso Robles
Barrel Sample - Inky, roasted black fruit, pepper, a touch of brine and cereal. Rich black fruit. Rather tight and coating in the back of the mouth. Could be very nice.
We finished up at L’Aventure and went looking for a late lunch at Bistro Laurent. Coincidentally, Mat Garretson was their, along with Daniel Ravier of Domaine Tempier and a couple other HDR organizers and participants. Perhaps inspired by Mat’s presence, we headed over to his winery to taste the current line up.
Garretson
2002 Roussanne
Paso Robles
Sweet smelling nose. I don't have a description of the fruit in my nose.
Garretson
2003 Viognier
Central Coast The Chambra
15.2% alcohol. Nose of honey. Rich, but hot. Eh
Garretson
2003 Viognier
Rozet Vineyard Paso Robles
Nose of sweet lime and lemon along with cereal and carrots. Okay.
Garretson
2003 Rose
Paso Robles
From Syrah, Mourvedre, Grenache, and Roussanne. Smells earthy and a bit like roses. Bit funky, skunky but with rich sweet attack and pretty strawberry fruit. Like this.
Garretson
2002 Syrah
Central Coast The Craic
Includes 6% Viognier. Smoke, rubber, touch of nuttiness and flowers. Suspect eh rubbery quality is the Viognier. Okay.
Garretson
2001 Syrah
Rozet Vineyard
Rich, sweet black fruit. Bit monolithic with a slightly high-toned palate. Not bad, though a bit pricey.
Garretson
2002 Grenache
Paso Robles
16.3% alcohol. Mat described this as sort of Amarone-style, but admited it had been a bit of a mistake using a new American oak barrel. Smoky nose, a bit like sweet cigars and tobacco. Rich palate that finishes like the nose. Kind of nasty.
Augie Hug, who (with Raquel) had hosted us so graciously the night before at Villa Creek makes his wine at Garretson, and he happened to be expecting some other tasters, so he invited us to taste his wines. While we were tasting, Paul Wilkins, the GM of Alban, and his wife came in for a taste, as did a group of 20 or so WCWN people – a very congenial group of people. The Garretson tasting room was chaos for about an hour as all this was going on. I should mention that I was very impressed with all of Augie’s wines. Nicely made.
Hug Cellars
2002 Chardonnay
Dos Cruces Vineyard San Luis Obispo County
This vineyard is near Cambria. Crisp nose of light French oak. 50% New. Crisp pear fruit. Nicely made. Honey, a suggestion of botritys?. Nice Chardonnay.
Hug Cellars
2002 Pinot Noir
Central Coast
This is 70% Dos Cruces and 30% Laetitia fruit. I may have the appellation wrong. Smoke, clearly Pinot from the tomato-copper-funk on the nose. Rich fruit that comes across as concentrated, if a bit lean.
Hug Cellars
2002 Syrah
Bassetti Vineyard
100% Syrah. Beautiful nose of black cherry liqueur, black berry. Really a gorgeous nose. Luscious, rich fruit. 60% new French oak. This really made an impression, sorry my notes are incomplete. $35
Hug Cellars
2003 Syrah
Bassetti Vineyard
Barrel Sample - one-time filled barrel - Smoky aromas. Black fruit. Needs time to resolve.
Hug Cellars
2003 Syrah
Bassetti Vineyard
Barrel Sample - Hungarian oak - refined nose - minerals, light smoke, rich sweet fruit with a light caramel finish. This was showing the best of the samples in my opinion. Very nice.
Hug Cellars
2003 Syrah
Bassetti Vineyard
Barrel Sample - New French barrel - More in the style of the Hungarian oak barrel, but the fruit seems submerged behind the oak and the wine became a bit sour late.
And a few more wines from Garretson -
Garretson
2002 Syrah
Hoage Vineyard
High-toned nose. Apricots. Rich black fruit but framed in a lean style at this point. Nice.
Garretson
2001 Reliquary
Central Coast
67% Syrah. Rich, masculine meaty wine. Meaty smelling on the nose. I didn't get much else into my notes.
Thursday night Offline at Alloro
For dinner that night we had scheduled to dine at Alloro with the Mannings, the Shiffmans, Christine Huang, and the Leones. The chosen theme was older Italian wines. Not something I had much of, so I contributed younger wines…then we started passing bottles back and forth with the other tables.
JM Boillot
1996 Puligny Montrachet
Crisp smelling nose. Fairly balanced with rich fruit. Nice, but I'm not in the mood for Chardonnay.
Pipestone
Syrah
Paso Robles
Served as a mystery wine - Youthfully colored. Full-bodied but a bit closed. Probably Syrah. Missed the vintage.
Conterno
1973 Barolo
Earthy, mature nose. Touch of lavender and violets. Medium-bodied with some dark strawberry fruit fading into vinosity and earthiness. Acidity late. Seemed to gain earthy character with time.
Val du Suga
1986 Brunello di Montalcino
Vigna del Lago
Uniform fading tawny appearance. Mature pepper and violets with sweet port-like properties. Bottle sweet with a bit of cinnamon and meat. Balanced. Not bad.
Altesino
1988 Brunello di Montalcino
Vigna Altesion Riserva
Somewhat more youthful nose than the Val di Suga with rich black cherry flavors. Wasn't this a pretty good vintage?
Ruffino
1990 Chianti Classico
Ducale
Healthy color. Peppery dusty nose that smells mostly mature. This was gone on the palate though.
San Leonardo
1991 Vino de tavola di Vallagarina
Alto Adige
Rich, mode youthful appearance than anything yet. Concentrated Cabernet and Merlot blend. Slightly tannic still with peppery flavors. Okay.
Prunotto
1990 Barolo
Cannubi
Wax and violets on the nose. Rich, still fruity on the palate with black cherry fruit framed in a medium-bodied package. Nice.
Tommasi
1988 Amarone della Valpolicella
15% alcohol. Classic nose of burlap, wax. Dense. A bit dry but still nice. Nice sense of sweetness from the elevated alcohol. Probably at or beyond its peak I would think.
Penfolds
1989 Grange
Gorgeous nose of eucalyptus, black fruit, slightly high-toned with rich sweet black fruit. Great length. Nice wine! Delicious.
Castello di Rampolla
1990 Sammarco
Nice nose - new oak, black currant fruit. Medium bodied with rich flavors.
Dal Forno
1997 Valpolicella
Rich, very ripe nose with bitter chocolate, cocoa, creosote, cereal. Wow-rich palate with a sweet attack, black fruit, creosote. Great length. A big wine. Caramel. Nice. 14.5% alcohol.
Arano
1997 Amarone dell Valpolicella
Caramel, burlap nose. Blueberry fruit. Nose is monolithic. Full-bodied on the palate with more caramel amd blue fruit. Just okay. Seems to be missing the wow! Factor.
Montevertine
1991
Soft, mature nose. Vinegar and dust. Cherry fruit. Deceptively sweet and sexy. Fruit is still present. Sweet cherry fruit. Floral. Really nice. Grippy finish.
Radio Coteau
2002 Pinot Noir
Lar Noblina
Rich nose that clearly speaks of Pinot. Touch zesty with black cherry tin can aromas. Rich black cherry palate. Nicely made Pinot - like it.
Sassicaia
1988
Rich black fruit - Bordeaux varieties? Medium-bodied, black cherry fruit.
Clarendon Hills
1995 Astralis
Australia
Rich smelling with eucalyptus aromatics. Black fruits. Concentrated and lengthy, but seems lacking in secondary nuance for a wine in this price range.
Margerum
2002 M5
Santa Ynez Valley
All my notes say are "cool climate but delicious." Apparently this is a blend of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, and Counoise.
Alain Paret
1997 Condrieu
Prestige
From 500ml. Restrained nose with peachy, leechy fruit. Rich palate of peachy fruit and vanilla.
Tomasso Bussola
1997 Recioto della Amarone
Intense raisined fruit nose with cardboard and elmer's glue. Rich, sweet raisin fruit. Wish the nose was better.
Sadly, my notes from the two Hospice du Rhone seminars on Friday morning were lost in the course of travel. The Tempier tasting was fairly informative, though it took some time to get moving. The Arrowood-Lewis tasting was more informative and it was treat to have two would-be icons present to compare and contrast. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the Arrowood Syrahs, especially the Saralee’s. The other bottling I was not as enamored of. The Lewis wines are usually tasty crowd pleasers and the Alec’s Blend and Syrah didn’t disappoint.
 Steve Edmunds and Daniel Ravier |
|
 Pink Picnic |
 |
That night we joined Mel Hill’s BBQ at the Black Oak and tasted a bunch of interesting wines. A couple that stood out for me were a Noon Eclipse 2000, and a tasty Alvear PX that Bruce L. contributed. Carole Meredith stopped by and it was a pleasure to meet her, but she also brought along Ashley Heisey who’s resume includes making wine for Far Niente (and Dolce), as well as Long Meadow Ranch and a couple others. She now has her own label of Syrah called Marelle. She poured the 2001 and I enjoyed chatting with her about her winemaking goals. Ashley found an interesting Syrah vineyard in a sub-appellation of Napa (the name escapes me) just north east of Carneros. It’s slightly warmer than Carneros and it seemed well-suited to Syrah. Anyway, her inaugural commercial release of this is 2001 and she made 80-cases. To few to really contribute to HDR as she was trying to get restaurant placement. Anyway, I enjoyed the wine and the conversation.
Much ado about Mourvedre, with Rolf Binder
Veritas
2002 Mataro
Clement Vineyard
Barrel sample. Black fruit, lanolin, liqueur with a touch of yeast and balsa wood and fruit seeds. Rich black fruit on the palate with a tight finish - small grained but persistent tannins. These are 80+ year old vines planted in sandy soil.
Veritas
2002 Mataro
Long Rows
Barrel Sample - new oak, cedar, bit of anise, brown sugar, liqueur, black fruit. Rich sweet attack. Somewhat tight in the finish. Nice.This saw about 10% new oak and came from vines planted in 1972.
Veritas
2002 Shiraz
Heinrich
40% Shiraz, 40% Mataro, 20% Grenache. Pepper, vanilla, black fruit liqueur. A stronger suggestion of liqueur than the previous wines. Bit of olive and clove. Rich, delicious wine with black fruit, great balance and length. Blackberry juice. Complex finish - sage? Delicious stuff. I liked it initially, but felt satisfied when Rolf Binder said this was his favorite in the portfolio currently. 25% new oak for 10-months. Lightly fined.
Justin Smith of Saxum and Rolf Binder of Veritas
Veritas
2001 Shiraz-Mataro
Pressing
Cedar nose - balsa wood, new oak. Black fruit with a bit of liqueur and vanilla. Rich, lush blackberry fruit. A bit high-toned. Mostly Clement fruit as shown in the barrel sample. 50% new American oak. Nice. $35
Garretson
2002 Mourvedre
Hastings Ranch Paso Robles
Smells a bit of elmer's glue. Rich but a bit unbalanced. Okay. A big wine.
Magpie Estate
2002 Grenache-Mourvedre
Subdued nose. With coaxing, some peppery strawberry aromas, a touch of watermelon rind. Bit tight and grenachey. Not a strong first impression. Bit hot in the finish. Okay. 55% Grenache, 45% Mourvedre. $24
D'Arenberg
2000 Mourvedre
McLaren Vale
Effusive nose - clove, tar, cedar, bit of iodine. Rich, lush black fruit. Full-bodied, concentrated, long. More tar in the finish. Pretty good with decent complexity. I liked this wine okay, but re-reading my tasting notes, I'm surprised I didn't like it more. 80% French oak, 10% new oak. $35
Christa Rolf
2002 Shiraz-Grenache
Big, rich nose of juicy blackberry fruit with a touch of new oak and liqueur. Sweet, lush palate with juicy fruit. Nice for current consumption. Intended for earlier drinking. Why was this included in this tasting? 60% Shiraz, 40% Grenache.
Garretson
2002 Mourvedre
Hastings Ranch Paso Robles The Graosta
Rubbery, reductive nose. Black flavors. Coffee. Cooked fruit. Pass.
Chateau St. Martin de la Garrigue
2001 Cuvee St. Martin
Languedoc
This, according to Binder, is an old-world wine, made in an old-world style. "French" smelling nose with earth, fur, wax, olive, dry dust. Rich red and black fruit with some retronasal mourvedre funk. Pretty nice little wine. I wouldn't say this screamed of old-world winemaking. Marshall and Christine in particular liked this one.
Chateau la Roque
2001 Cupa Numismae
Languedoc
Binder describes this as old-world wine made in an new-world style. Minty-soapy nose. Red-berry fruit. Cherries. Medium-bodied, balanced. Nice. Not very intense.
McCrea Cellars
2002 Counoise
Ciel du Cheval Vineyard, Red Mountain
Sappy nose. Bing cherries, sweet, intense cherry and cranberry fruit with a long sappy finish. I think blending this might help fill it out, but it is certainly successful as a standalone wine. High, but appropriate acidity. Good. This was produced from three-year old vines.
McCrea Cellars
2002 Mourvedre
Ciel du Cheval Vineyard, Red Mountain
Vinous nose initially. Old wood, tannin. Then rich black fruit. Tree bark. Black cherries. This has nice length. Impressive richness on the palate with sneaky length that stays with you. Also produced from "third leaf" vines.
McCrea Cellars
2002 Sirocco
Washington State
A Southern Rhone styled blend. Black cherries, and creosote initially with some aromas that made me think more of Northern Rhone than Southern. This passed however when the peppery grenachey aromas and flavors came out. Rich sweet attack with clean, smooth red fruit flavors. Building tannins. Nicely made! Mostly Syrah and Grenache with 5% Counoise and 20% Mourvedre.
McCrea Cellars
2001 Syrah
Boushey "Grand Cote" Vineyard, Yakima Valley
Subdued black cherry with some olive, meaty, gamey aromas and a bit of coffee. Rich sweet meaty black fruit. Interesting wine. Sappy finish. This I later learned is a cooler site than the next Syrah.
McCrea Cellars
2001 Syrah
Ciel du Cheval Vineyard, Red Mountain
Riper nose than the previous wine. Black cherries, a bit of iodine. Subdued in some ways. Rich attack with black cherries, iodine. Bit more masculine and harder in the finish. Nice.
McCrea Cellars
2002 Syrah
Cuvee Orleans, Yakima Valley
Meaty nose. Rather Northern Rhone with creosote and tar. Sweet rich attack of black fruit. Olive nuance adds complexity. More black cherries in the finish. Good length. Has a creamy feeling in the mouth. Nice. This was cofermented with 6-8% Viognier.
Cayuse Vineyards
2000 Syrah
Cailloux Vineyard, Walla Walla Valley
High-toned nose with powdered sugar, red fruit. More masculine on the palate with concentrated black fruit. Well-made, but for some reason doesn't thrill me. The fruit for this was cropped at 1.5-2 tons per acre and the wine was cofermented with 4% Viognier. Cayuse practices biodynamism in the vineyards, uses indigenous yeasts, and uses minimal new oak, usually 10-25%.
Cayuse Vineyards
2001 Syrah
Cailloux Vineyard, Walla Walla Valley
High-toned nose with a touch of apricoty funkiness. Rich attack with perception of sweeter, more lush fruit than the 2000. Black cherry. Good concentration. Nicely made with nice length.
Cayuse Vineyards
2002 Syrah
Cailloux Vineyard, Walla Walla Valley
Barrel Sample - High-toned, more distinctive honey-floral nose. I can perceive a progression in the style of this wine through the vintages. Rich, concetrated Syrah with roasted coffee retronasal qualities. This should finish as a nice wine.
Cayuse Vineyards
2003 Syrah
Cailloux Vineyard, Walla Walla Valley
Roasted coffee is the main feature of the mostly subdued nose. Black fruit. Sappy. Soft green pepper and olive flavors. Good complexity.
Cayuse Vineyards
2000 Syrah
Bionic Frog, Walla Walla Valley
Smells open-knit. Minerals, black fruit. Sweet, lush open palate. Concetrated flavors. Nicely made, though less complex and serious than the Cailloux Syrahs.
Cayuse Vineyards
2001 Syrah
En Cerise Vineyard, Walla Walla Valley
Cedar, an aroma I had trouble placing, which Mona called "mushrooms." Black cherry fruit with a bit of funk and roasted coffee. Sweet attack with rich, long black fruit flavors.
Cayuse Vineyards
2003 Syrah
Armada Vineyard, Walla Walla Valley
Barrel Sample - this is the auction lot for Hospice du Rhone. Toasty, roasted coffee nose. A sense of heavily toasted oak barrels. Rich, masculine wine with non-distinct black fruit. Sneaky minerality in the finish. The roasted coffee qualities need to fade for this to appeal to me.
I gave up taking notes for the Grand Tasting. Too much trouble to carry a notebook, a spit cup, and a stem, not to mention too many wines to make much headway. Some wines that made impressions for quality, value, novelty or all three, were Jaffurs’s wines, especially the 2002 Viognier, Torbreck’s lineup, Amphora’s Petite Sirah, Ecluse’s Syrahs, Cedarville Vineyards and Sierra Vista from El Dorado, Renard, and Carlisle.
We tasted a few more wines at the BBQ that evening. I’m going to make a point of bringing wine next year. I thought there would be more leftovers from the grand tasting than there were, and my palate had made a small recovery, so I was looking forward to tasting some that I missed. Thanks to those who did contribute. I appreciated your generosity.
Marshall and Carolyn Manning with Steve Edmunds of Edmunds St. John
Whew….what a weekend. It was great to meet everyone, and I’m already looking forward to next year.
Cheers!
James (and Mona)
Cheers!
James
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