2007 Fess Parker American Tradition Reserve Pinot Noir (91 Points)

DATE CONSUMED

Friday, September 30, 2011

VINTAGE

2007

WINERY/PRODUCER

Fess Parker

WINE NAME

N/A

TYPE OF WINE

Red

COMPOSITION

100% Pinot Noir

SUBNAME/NICKNAME

American Tradition Reserve

VINEYARD DESIGNATION

N/A

REGION/A.V.A.

Santa Barbara County

ALCOHOL CONTENT

14.5%

PRICE PAID

On sale from the winery’s wine club for $25 (normally $35) ($29.34 including sales tax and shipping)

WHERE/WHEN BOUGHT AND HOW PROCURED

September 2011 from the winery’s wine club

BOUQUET

The bouquet on this wine has a very nice, floral, fruity, spicy, earthy essence, just like any other self-respecting Pinot. 

TASTING NOTES

Oh yeah, this is definitely a Santa Barbara County Pinot!  This wine has that classic herbaceous, Santa Maria-area terrior, exhibiting beautifully-balanced red fruit (raspberries, cherries, and suggestions of strawberries and plums), a Farmer’s Market quantity of herbaceous herbs (oregano, thyme, rosemary, sage, along with a bit of white pepper (basically, practically an entire spice cabinet)), with significant amounts of earth/terrior (this wine truly exhibits Santa Barbara County terrior), the perfect amount of oak, a bit of cream and richness, and finishing with a smoothly tannic, acidic finish. 

My first impression upon first sip was that the fruit(s) used for this wine came from the Santa Rita Hills, which also has a very unique/signature terrior.  But once the wine opened-up, it became clear that most, if not all, of the fruit came from Santa Maria and/or other parts of Santa Barbara County.  Whereas some Pinots have mostly a red fruit flavor profile (a strawberry-inflected Burgundy or a Pinot from others parts of California), and while others exhibit all spices and earth (Russian River Valley, New Zealand, etc.), this Pinot is beautifully well-balanced with fruit, spice, earth, oak, and that certain “je ne sais quoi” that screams “This Pinot is from Santa Barbara County!!!!!” For a sub-$30 bottle, this is a fantastic bargain.

PAIRING SUGGESTIONS

We paired this wine with a Mario Batali appetizer of crostini covered with a schmear of a paste consisting of olives, garlic, pine nuts, and olive oil, accompanied with a mushroommy ragu.  The wine only went “ok” with this appetizer, thanks mostly to the acidic nature of the tomatoes in the mushroom ragu.  This wine would pair much better with salmon smothered in sea salt, freshly-cracked black pepper, and Herbs de Provence, along with most pork, chicken, scallop, and red meat dishes, as well as duck, foie gras, and other savory French meat dishes.

AGING POTENTIAL

This wine is drinking beautifully right now and should continue to drink well for another five years or so.

SCORE

91 Points

Q.P.R. (QUALITY-TO-PRICE RATIO) (POOR, FAIR, GOOD, EXCELLENT)

Regular price:  GOOD

Sale price:  GOOD-EXCELLENT

2007 Lynmar Estate Quail Hill Vineyard (Bliss Block) Pinot Noir (94 Points)

DATE CONSUMED

Sunday, September 25, 2011

VINTAGE

2007

WINERY/PRODUCER

Lynmar Estate

VARIETAL

Pinot Noir

TYPE OF WINE

Red

COMPOSITION

100% Pinot Noir

SUBNAME/NICKNAME

N/A

VINEYARD DESIGNATION

Quail Hill Vineyard (Bliss Block)

REGION/A.V.A.

Russian River Valley

ALCOHOL CONTENT

14.4%

PRICE PAID

$63

WHERE BOUGHT/HOW PROCURED

Winery’s wine club

BOUQUET

Very earthy nose (especially chalk!), hinting/suggesting at fantastic terrior, along with white pepper, black and red fruit (blackberries and cherries), with delicate floral and smoke/tobacco fragrances thrown into the mix.

TASTING NOTES

Up front, the wine’s red and black fruit are most pronounced, especially black cherries, plums, raspberries, and blackberries, along with spices like white and/or black pepper and herbaceous herbs like sage/rosemary.  Midway through, a hint of creamy oak and the wine’s FANTASTIC terrior shine brightly; you can really smell and taste the chalky soils of Lynmar’s estate in this bottle!  This gorgeous wine has an incredibly soft, supple, silky finish with a PERFECT balance of acidity and tannins on the follow-through.

This is one of the smoothest, most elegant Pinots we’ve had all year.  Like any good, quality Pinot, the tasting profile goes miles deep and is as complex, interesting, and intriguing as one of the Coen Brother’s better movies.

We joined Lynmar’s wine club because when we first visited their tasting room, we were very impressed at how they sit you down at a table and bring over glasses of their current offerings, versus how most tasting rooms operate (belly-up to the bar).  Every single glass of wine we tatsed was out-of-this-world; that is when one should join a wine club!

PAIRING SUGGESTIONS

We took this bottle to Marche Moderne in South Coast Plaza, our favorite restaurant in Orange County.  I had a grilled Spanish octopus salad with potatoes and chorizo (it was every bit as good as this wine!) and the wine paired wonderfully with my appetizer.  This wine would also go well with all of the typical Pinot pairings, like salmon, duck, prime rib, as well as lamb shanks, grilled beef, and a spiced pork loin.

AGING POTENTIAL

I would imagine this wine would continue to age well for another 5 to 10 years but is drinking beautifully right now.

SCORE

94

Q.P.R. (QUALITY-TO-PRICE RATIO) (POOR, FAIR, GOOD, EXCELLENT)

GOOD

2007 Lynmar Estate Zephyr Farms Pinot Noir (94 Points)

VINTAGE

2007

WINERY/PRODUCER

Lynmar Estate

VARIETAL

Pinot Noir

TYPE OF WINE

Red

COMPOSITION

100% Pinot Noir

SUBNAME/NICKNAME

N/A

VINEYARD DESIGNATION

Zephyr Farms

REGION/A.V.A.

Russian River Valley/Sonoma Coast

ALCOHOL CONTENT

14.1%

PRICE PAID

$63

WHERE BOUGHT/HOW PROCURED

Winery’s wine club

BOUQUET

The bouquet on this wine is absolutely gorgeous, revealing fantastic floral characteristics, red and black fruit, spice, suggestions of oak, and, of course, earth.

TASTING NOTES

Flavor-wise, the first things to demand attention are the red and black fruits (tart black cherries, plums, raspberries, and blackberries), along with a truck load of terrior with earth, oak, and herbaceous herbs (Simon & Garfunkel said it best: “(not exactly) Parsley, (but exactly) Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme”) and black pepper sprinkled into the mix. The finish is perfectly well-balanced, with easy-going tannins and acids with a smooth, too-good-to-be-true follow-through. This wine possesses every positive aspect of what a great Central/North Coast Pinot can/should be. There’s the beautiful nose, the deep, complex, sophisticated Pinot Noir flavor profile, along with an elegant structure and a smooth, well-balanced finish.

This is an elegant, yet powerfully delicious, Central Coast Pinot. Before we even took one sip, we knew we were in for a real treat on first whiff. This wine has a beautiful nose, with CLASSIC Central California Pinot Noir traits. Zephyr Farms grows their fruit solely  for Lynmar; Hugh, Lynn, and Paul obviously know a quality vineyard when they’ve found one. If I wanted to bottle a quality Pinot, starting with Zephyr Farms Pinot grapes would be an EXCELLENT place to begin. This is easily one of the best Pinots we’ve had all year. Can’t wait to try Lynmar’s Quail Hill/Bliss Block Pinot at Orange County’s Marche Moderne next week!!!

PAIRING SUGGESTIONS

Grilled ribeyes (USDA prime) smothered in Kosher salt and freshly-cracked black pepper, along with Wolfgang Puck’s Carrot Cake (which was fabulous).  Since this is a dense, rich, dark, creamy Pinot, this wine would also pair well with prime rib, just about any other steak, as well as curried lamb shanks.

AGING POTENTIAL

Drink now and over the next 5 to 10 years.

SCORE

94

Q.P.R. (QUALITY-TO-PRICE RATIO) (POOR, FAIR, GOOD, EXCELLENT)

GOOD

2007 Venteux Vineyards Mourvedre (90 points)

Got this bottle at the winery's tasting room a couple of years ago for $29 and drank with individual rack-of-lamb chops seasoned with freshly cracked black pepper, Kosher salt, and ground cumin.

This is the second Venteux wine we've tried within the last couple of weeks. We visited their tasting room in Paso in September of 2009 and bought three bottles (this bottle, a 2007 Grenache, and a 2007 Petite Sirah). I gave the Grenache 91 points a couple of weeks ago and absolutely loved it. I really like this wine also and CANNOT wait to try the 2007 P.S. later this year (I made a note on my wine inventory to "sit on this for a couple of years; it'll be FANTASTIC in 2011 to 2015"). If I had an ounce of self restraint, we would open the Petite Sirah in 2012 to 2015, but we all know how that's going to play-out...........

Complete, honest, up-front disclosure: this is the first 100% Mourvedre we've ever had. We have a 2006 Tablas Creek Mourvedre that we cannot wait to try, but according to TC's vintage chart, it's not quite at peak maturity (meaning: we'll sit on it for another one or two or three years until it's at (or near) peak maturity). I've had at least two or three dozen red blends that contained Mourvedre, but this is our first 100% Mourvedre bottle. It was worth the wait!

The bouquet on this wine is really interesting; there's plenty of red fruit (especially tart cherries), along with a chalky, oaky, minerally essence. This wine almost smells like a Barolo or Sangiovese!

This is a fabulous, rich, creamy, delicious Southern Rhone red. Up front, there's an abundance of red and black fruit (plums, black cherries, and blackberries), the PERFECT amount of oak (along with its contribution of vanilla), a truck-load of cream, barrels of spices (especially black pepper and savory herbs like sage and rosemary), and a mountain of terrior (the soils at Venteux's 10-acre estate are evidently very chalky). Based on how rich and fruity the wine is, I guessed that the wine was rather high in alcohol, and I was correct (15.3 %). However, this is not your typical Paso Fruit Bomb; despite the rather high alcohol level, because the wine is so well-made, the wine's depth, complexity, and structure carry its alcohol level VERY, VERY well.

We wanted to visit Venteux a couple of years ago because they're in the southern-most region of Paso Robles and we wanted to try a winery that we had never visited before. Boy-oh-boy, are we lucky we gave them a try! We were so impressed that we bought three bottles (see above). Based on the two wines that we've opened and THOROUGHLY enjoyed, we will absolutely re-visit them again soon. Heck, we might even become wine club members if their 2007 Grenache and 2007 Mourvedre are any indication of just how good their wines are!!!!

2010 Lynmar Pinot Noir Rosé (90 points)

Got this bottle from the winery's wine club for $22.50 and drank with a HUGE Scottish salmon steak with freshly cracked sea salt and black pepper, along with Herbs de Provence.

The bouquet is beautifully creamy, floral, minerally, and fruity (especially vanilla, cream, and strawberry).

This is the best rose we've had all year! It is wonderfully well-balanced and delicious despite clocking-in at 14.3% alcohol.

Up front, the red fruit is most pronounced, especially strawberries and raspberries. There is a very French essence to this rose (perhaps the Herbs de Provence on the salmon swayed my palate?), meaning the mid-palate is earthy, herbally/spicy (especially white pepper and savory herbs), and minerally. There is such a stony, granite-like quality to this wine that I'm going to have to do some research on the soils of the Russian River Valley. When I think of stones and minerals, I think of Chateauneuf de Pape and Syrahs/Grenaches, not Pinots from Champagne. This also just might be the creamiest rose I've ever had. The finish is very smooth (as silk) and very elegant.

We REALLY enjoyed this rose. It went PERFECTLY with the salmon and although our summer in Southern California has been untypically much-cooler-than-usual (other than Psychos, who could complain about a nice, cool, mild summer?!?!), this would be a fantastic wine to enjoy on a hot, muggy summer evening. Don't know how Lynmar did it, but if you're looking for a French rose made in California, I cannot imagine any winery doing a better job of putting the essence of France in a bottle any better than Lynmar did with this rose. Highly recommended!