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Vintage 2001

ZAP Saturday Tasting
George Heritier's
Tasting Notes

Henry Harris'
Tasting Notes

To put my impressions in perspective: They are limited to wines from the three dozen or so wineries listed below. Given the multiple pourings going on at many tables, I tasted well over 100 wines (some got no notes). Despite not swallowing during the 3+ hours I tasted, palate fatigue set in at a hundred or so and I stopped. My comments were tape-recorded and very brief, my only goal being to "find some zins I'll like" (marching orders from my wife!) and to visit with a few friends I would bump into at the tasting.

My top picks (listed after the impressions) are purely arbitrary and to be taken with a grain of salt, as attempting accurate assessments at a tasting of this magnitude is beyond my abilities. I'm using my notes to purchase single bottles for more objective evaluation and future purchases.

With those preliminaries out of the way, here're the impressions:

Acorn Winery: '00 Heritage Vines, Alegria Vyd, RRV -- Black raspberry, red cherry, strawberry, spice, pepper. Very enjoyable, good balance and judiciously oaked.

Amphora Wines: '01 La Loma Block -- I think this is a section of his Mts. Vyd (next door to Rafanelli). Blackberry, pepper, kirsch, vanilla. I like a lot of what Rick Hutchinson makes, including this; would have preferred a bit less oak. He also had a Petite under the counter that was quite wonderful (better than the zins he had); not sure of vintage, but '01 I think.

Brown Estate: '01 Estate -- As good a Napa zin as I've had, with blackberry, black cherry, black raspberry, pepper, vanilla flavors. Big, complex, delicious.

Burgess Cellars: '00 RRV and Napa -- the RRV gets the nod, but both are great QPR, with moderate black fruit and good balance.

Carlisle: '01 Carlisle Vyd, '01 Tom Feeney, '01 Gum Tree, all Russian River Valley -- my notes did not make it to the tape recorder as I was too busy visiting with Mike and Kendall. All were well made; my favorite was the Carlisle Vyd, which was an interesting contrast to Novy's effort with the same fruit. The TF had distinctive eucalyptus flavors... is Mike carrying his love for all things Aussie too far? ;-)

Cedarville Vineyard: '01 Sierra Foothills -- very nice; a definite step up from the '00 (also tasted), with very forward fruit, blackberry, cherry, strawberry, vanilla. Great to visit a bit with Jonathan and Susan before things got too hectic.

Dashe Cellars: '01 Dry Creek Vly, '01 Todd Brothers -- got to visiting with the great folks from the winery (Mike Dashe, left) and neglected to mumble anything into my recorder. I remember the Todd being outstanding, but descriptors are MIA other than it was rich, complex, and in need of some time in the cellar.

Easton Wines: '00 - some tannins, but lots of upfront Mendocino black/red cherry fruit.

Eberle Winery: '00 Sauret -- lots of pepper and fruit, distinctive Central Coast (lighter, red cherry/berry flavors), quite nice, but a wee bit too oaky-tasting for me... from a winery that deserves more accolades than they get.

Folie a Deux: '00 Wild Bunch Vyd Old Vine -- 80-year-old vines with Amador fruit and a lots of it, very forward tasting brambly, black raspberry. Somewhat one-dimensional.

Fritz Winery: '99 Old Vine -- Some excellent black fruit flavors, but too much vanilla milkshake.

Lolonis Winery: '00 Estate -- wimpy, simple, red fruit flavors, little body, one-dimensional.

Limerick Lane Cellars: '00 and '01 Collins Vyd -- the '01 was much better, with great spice, pepper, raspberry flavors. The best Limerick I've had in many years. Need to investigate this vintage a bit more.

Nalle Winery: '99 and '00 Dry Creek -- the '99 showed much better; excellent fruit, spice, pepper, well balanced. Great producers, year in and year out. As Bree says, more of a claret style.

Norman Vineyards: '00 The Monster -- lots of forward raisiny fruit and little else, a poster child for why I don't care for many Paso zins.

Novy Family Wines: '01 Carlisle -- Adam and Dianna really did a great job with this wonderful fruit. A massive, complex, multi-layered effort that needs some cellar time (at least a year) to begin showing its stuffing. Deep blackberry, black cherry fruit, road tar, hint of vanilla, significant tannins, really stands out in a crowd of mono-dimensional zins.

Pezzi King Vineyards: '99 Old Vine -- frankly, this one was a pleasant surprise. The fruit PK uses I always liked, but the heavy-handed oak treatment and inflated prices has kept this winery off my purchase list for several years. This one, only 30% new oak (French), was quite wonderful, red/black fruit, spice, pepper, all the things I love about Dry Creek wines when they are not overpowered by the wood.

Rancho Zabaco: '01 Chiotti Vyd -- moderate black fruit, marred by a funky, almost cardboard-like flavor. Maybe a hint of TCA, but maybe just a funky wine.

Ravenswood: '01 Teldeschi (barrel sample) -- good dose of blackberry, raspberry fruit, big tannins, needs time. I love this vineyard, yet this offering didn't show as well as I would have thought.

Ridge Vineyards: All were '01 barrel samples or pre-releases of wines coming out in Spring/Fall. Four of the five I tasted (Lytton Springs, Geyserville, Pagani, Mazzoni Home Ranch) were all terrific. The biggest, by far, was the Pagani, with gobs of raspberry, blackberry, and, as my buddy geo is fond of saying, a mega dose of "Draper perfume" (perhaps too over the top for some palates). The Geyserville was more subdued, more pepper, less fruit, but nicely balanced. The Lytton was, as last year, a home run, moderate fruit, good structure, an awesome wine for this year's bbq's, etc. The Mazzoni is an ATP due out in the Spring sometime, and I was glad to sample this from a vineyard I've always liked; this was one of the best ATP's I've tasted in a while and will be looking forward to exploring it in more detail.

Robert Biale Vineyards: '01 Pato -- Rather one dimensional and unimpressive; not sure if this is a phase or the real deal. I lean toward the former.
'01 Aldo's -- A big mouthful of wine, chewy tannins in need of resolution, complex, multi-layered flavors of black cherry and blackberry with a hint of vanilla, briary, kinda dusty. A standout at this tasting. Give it some time in the cellar. Excellent wine, even if it is out of my zin-spend budget.

Robert Craig Wine Cellars: '00 Amador -- tried this at the tasting room last year and wasn't very impressed. A decent wine with typical Amador fruit flavors (though not nearly as upfront as many), this one tasted better than I had remembered it. One to revisit.

Saddleback Cellars: '00 Old Vine -- another winery I veered away from a few years back, this was a pleasant surprise. Black raspberry and vanilla, good body. Still too oaky for my palate, but not nearly the level of “clobberation” I remember.

Sapphire Hill Vineyards: '01 Wimberie Vyd -- 96 year-old-vines, huge, over-ripe fruit that was waaay too sweet for my palate. Tasted like a late harvest.

Saxon Brown Winery: '99 Santinamaria -- I have a soft spot for this +100 old dry farmed vineyard, and thought the zins Wellington produced from it years ago before the vineyard owners started SB were some of the greatest values anywhere. The wine is still great (albeit pricier) with intense blackberry, black raspberry flavors with more than a hint of vanilla. Mmmmmmmmm... love the old vine stuff.

Seghesio Vineyards & Winery: '01 Sonoma -- I love the creativity and variety of this winery. Some hits, some misses, but always interesting. This particular effort (one of the low-end zins at $15 or so) is pretty mediocre, washed-out red fruit, simple.

St. Francis Winery & Vineyard: '00 Reserve Pagani Vyd -- yet another winery I have avoided for several years, as they are in serious contention for most heavy-handed use of oak award. This effort (at a silly price of $45) was typical. Great fruit from a wonderful vineyard clobbered by chocolate and vanilla milkshake flavors. Oh well.

Tres Sabores: '00 Karen Culler, '00 Ken Bernards, '00 Rudy Zuidema -- fascinating to taste 3 wines made by 3 winemakers from the same vineyard. Each got to oversee the wine from the vineyard to the bottle, and while all were quite good, they were also quite distinctive. One thing they had in common was the rich black fruit flavors and good body. My favorite was the KB, but several of my companions
preferred the KC, an excellent wine as well, a bit more forward acidity, which would be a plus with food; the KB being one good for just sipping by itself.

Trinitas Cellars: '00 RRV -- new winery from a familiar family name (Cline) and the zin is outstanding: black pepper, black raspberry, black cherry, blackberry, spice, some tannins that need resolution, complex and multi-dimensional. A true standout in the quality department. One of the very best I tasted at ZAP.

Turley Wine Cellars: '01 Hayne Vyd -- I'm not as big a supporter of this wine (which often touted as the flagship of the line), primarily because of the over-the-top characteristics I picked up in years past. This one was definitely toned down and not over-the-top in anyway, but nothing, IMO, to get excited about. It definitely needs some time to come around, and may prove to be quite wonderful. I would like to try it in a year or two.

Williams Selyem Winery: '01 RRV -- still another winery I've bailed on, but more for the Pinot than the zin. This was a great zin, very soft, feminine, red fruit, (geo made the accurate observation that it is very "pinot-like"), moderate oak.

Random observations:

The trade portion of the tasting was crowded, but not unbearably so.

I thought the coordinators/volunteers/etc. did an outstanding job. Excellent olive bread, cheese, and munchies.

Talking with and overhearing a number of winemakers, there is a general consensus that, especially in the Sonapanoma region, the '01's are clearly superior, not just to the '00, but the past many vintages, one rating it just behind the '91 and ahead of anything since. High praise, but my notes invariably lean toward the vintage as well, and I'm looking forward to exploring it some more!

Henry Harris' Top Picks of wines tasted at ZAP 2003:
Brown Estate Vineyard, '01 Estate
Carlisle Winery, '01 Carlisle Vyd
Cedarville Vineyard, '01
Limerick Lane Cellars, '01 Collins Vyd
Nalle Winery, '99
Novy Family Wines, '01 Carlisle
Ridge Vineyards, Lytton Springs, Geyserville, Pagani, Masoni Home Ranch ATP.
Robert Biale Vineyards, '01 Aldo's
Saxon Brown Winery, '99 Santinamaria
Tres Sabores, '00 Karen Culler, '00 Ken Bernards
Trinitas Cellars, '00 RRV
Williams Selyem Winery, '01 RRV

Henry Harris is a nondenominational Christian minister in Hollister, CA. He is also a longtime wine lover, percussionist, sportsman, husband and father.

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