The Spoken Grape

Silver Oak And a Whole Bunch of Roses

There's a bit of a heat wave covering much of Na pa at the moment, with temps that must be swinging around the 100 point. Those sugar levels will be steaming upwards after this weekend bringing the start of Harvest forward. So, when it's sweltering outside there's only one thing for it, a chilled glass of pale rose, refreshing places other wines don't reach. Sounds like an advertising strap line, still, it is possibly the best style of wine on a hot day. So turning up randomly to the St.Helena Wine Centre, I was told about their rose tasting. Here's a few notes...........

But before , a quick cab tasting note.

Silver Oak 2003 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. On the nose this wine pours out of the glass flipping oaky. From the glass it's like sticking your nose into a just unwrapped new french oak barrel. Obviously expensive barrels. The colour was deep red, thick and doppling. Not quite clear, slight haze. There was a distinct definition between the rim and the core. On the palate it took a while to open up, to find a path past the obvious oak, vanilla and coconut flavours. After about 40 minutes the wine started to open up into Briar, blackberry leaf and mocha. The tannin structure was extremely well balanced, so apparent yet so palatable and lasting. Good power with a nice drying experience around the gums. A very stylish, expensive and carefully produced wine, with a lot of work and attention put into this wine. This wines kinda like a playboy bunny, it's all there and in  large quantities, but after a while it could become a bit boring.

NV Gruet Rose Methode Champenoise Brut, the first wine F've tasted from New Mexico, with french connections and fairly smart packaging this bottle could be mistaken for a Californian sparkler. Unfortunately on the palate it's mediocre at best. A heavy persistent mousse shrouds a barbie pink coloured wine. On the nose its a touch floral, with strawberries, bit of yeastyness. On the palate it bubbles up and fills the whole mouth with a fluffy expansion of mousse. Fun but not serious.

2008 Domaine Sorin Cotes de Provence Terra Amata. Pale onion colour, a little more colour than the typical Provencal rose. Floral, fresh with good acidity.Good persistence.  Easy and fun,perfect for the pre-BBQ chill out, extra bargain when you consider its only $11.

2008 Saxon Brown Flora Ranch Syrah Rose. Subtle nose. Over-ripe on the palate, super ripe melon and a bit of red fruits. A heavy style carrying more tannins, which for the style of rose I enjoy, was a little too weighty. Also, there was a snifter of alcohol taste on the palate.

2008 Lorenza California Rose. Supposedly made in a Bandol style, by which i think they mean they use a similar composition of grape varieties. Not bad, sligth whiff  to begin with which seemed to blow off Rich on the palate , but ended up with a hollow follow through.

2008 Etude Carneros Rose of Pinot Noir. A dark coloured rose, saturated with a ruby tone, nose slight, with a bit of a whiff. Some funkyness on the palate, some fartyness that suggests there are mercaptanes locked up in the wine. Disappointing.

2008 Blackbird Vineyards Arriviste Rose. A cabernet sauvignon/ Cabernet franc blend. Candy-stick red, full bodied but with good balance between the tannin and acidity. Great persistence on the follow through. Only criticism is that its a touch on the warm side, a little too much alcohol to the fruit.

2008 Azur California Rose of Syrah. Made by a frenchman who spent plenty of time perfecting his knowledge of rose production. Very much in the guise of some of the best provenical roses, this wine is pale salmon. With melon notes, slightly leafy and creamy, the wine balances the crunchy phenolics and bright acidity. Good wine, but you have to pay for it $24. 

Outpost Zinfandel and Two Hands Friends

In a strange coincidence I happened to walk up the drive at the very same time a girl I worked with out in the Barossa  at Two Hands Wines, drove past. So having caught up with her we went and met another ex-Two hander for a couple of beers. In some ways the Napa Valley winemaking community seems to be an extremely close knit bunch with the six degrees of freedom that occur else where don't obviously apply here. Every one will know everyone through at least friends of friends.

Anyway, I'm still on the hunt for accommodation and a car, fingers crossed something will come along soon or else it'l be camping in the backyard for me. Had a couple of good wines yesterday, Firstly Outpost's Howell Mountain  zinfandel 2007. A lovely ripe nose of white pepper, briar and plums. Totally a Zinfandel you can drink without out becoming overwhelmed and staggering away from the table burbling something about Primitivo. The alcohol is high, but then it's a Zin, and in all honesty you wouldn't believe it from the palate. Very good concentration, with some ripe Zin sweetness. Made from three different parcels of fruit in the swale.

Altagracia 2005, not bad, had plenty of body and a real definitive tannins structure. I got to it half way through the night and it was just beginning to open up, not too abrasive though. The fruit were more high toned red fruits, a little more freshness than the zin, some nice lengh, but , If I have to be critical, a bit boring.

Napa Cabernet and Burgundian Chardonnay

One of the perks of the job is that you get to try some seriously great wines without ever having to pay for them. Don't get me wrong, I'm not adverse to spending money on wines, but when the wines are $300 a pop I don't tend to drink them frequently, especially not on a Monday evening at a casual  BBQ. For this group of wines it is a pity, as the smokey BBQ flavors that accopmany the meaty taste of a chard steak forms a quality food match with expensive Napa Cab.

First up was Schrader T6 To Kalon Vineyard 2006. This wine piqued the 99 points mark from Wine Spectator, being labled a masterpeice from James Laube. Having drank it I can see why, its lovely velvet textrue, ripe chocoalte, mocha and berry flavours all off-set a well structured wine. Great tannic force and some nice stabalising acidity save it from being over blown and flabby. It opitimises Napa Cabernet with its broad shoulders and bombastic amount of flavour.

The second wine was a 2006 Materium from Maybach. Oakville fruit lifts this wine with a slighty less texture and delivery compared to the Schrader. The tannins seemed a little more on edge. The wine was complimmented with large amount of rich dark tones, again, mocha, chocolat a touch of spice and some blackcurrent. Not a bad wine, definately worth while decanting.

Preceedeing both of these wines, thankfully as the Cabernets here are pretty palate domineering, was a Domaine Leflaive Macon-Verze 2006. Lovely little maconnais, with good textural charddonay fruit, some of that oxidative character Leflaive is famous for, hazlenuts, bread a little melon, a little more fruit and  bouancy that most of Leflaives wines, a little riper but sound for this region.

Leflaive In Napa Valley

Well after a long and dis-interesting flight across the Atlantic and much of North America i've finally touched down in California. The jet-lag gave me a pretty broken up sleep, but the 2004 Chevelier-Montrachet from Domaine Leflaive ensured my dreams were at least restful. Very good wine,delivering all the hazelnut, brioche and mineral notes that this terroir is famous for. It was definitely more of a delicate vintage in comparison to the 2005's, elegance and finesse being the order of the day.

Now as the jet-lag comes and goes like downy pillows under my head, my thoughts become stuck in the cotton wool of my mind. For my body it feels like half three in the morning, even if the sun is still hanging in the light blue sky.

Gemtree Vineyards White Lees Shiraz 2006

After being away from Aussie wines for so long following a shiraz drenched vintage out in the Barossa, I'm back on it. Gotta say, it's good to be back. I've missed the intensity and punchyness of these types of wines.

The Gemtree Vineyards White Lees Shiraz 2006 from the Maclaren Vale is a definate killer wine. Its got an immense nose, blasting Butterscotch, dark olives, crème of cassis, violets, blueberries, plums and liquorice.the colour is typically australian, deep deep red, with a touch of violet, purple. It inks the glass, leaving long legs and a lovely pink stain down the glass. On the palate the this wine is rich, probably with a bit of added tartaric acid, super concentrated. there's not a huge hearth of alcohol roaring through, rather a staedy delivery of warmth, like waking up on a summers day. This wines pretty good, it's a touch expensive, but then only 300 case were made.

Here's the interesting part,

"The story: Winemaker, Mike Brown was emptying some freshly fermented white wine out of new French oak barrels. Left behind in the barrels were the remnants of yeast called 'lees'. Normally the lees are emptied out before the next wine is added. Whilst rolling the first barrels to empty them, Mike tasted the lees in a tub and found they had extraordinary flavour. They were fluffy, crunchy, and looked very "alive" and healthy. He decided to transfer top grade Shiraz into the French oak barrels on top of the white lees. Over the next 28 months the experiment began to take shape, and what has evolved is a unique beast!! The white lees have acted as a preserving agent, protecting this wine from normal ageing characteristics, hence with the extraordinary quality of the 2006 vintage combined with the natural preserving abilities of the lees, we have a wine that is truly remarkable".