Sonoma 2007 Wrap Up

We left Santa Rosa early on a foggy morning to catch our flights back east. For my last Sonoma post I thought I'd just summarize my final thoughts on a tremendous trip, with the benefit of a few nights to mull the event.

Highlights

Without a doubt, the highlights were:

1) A tour and tasting at Luna Vineyards with winemaker Mike Drash. The wines were excellent, and we loved having your ear for a few hours. Good luck with this year's harvest, Mike.
2) Dinner at Barndiva with Sam and Scot of Marietta Cellars - thanks for the tips, and I look forward to tasting the Emilia's Cuvee

3) Bella Vineyards, purveyors of fine Ancient Vines Zin at a very modest price for the quality. Entering the tasting room on a rainy day, The Smiths playing in the background (nice touch)...I could have stayed there all day.

4) Tasting at Verite. Verite is French for truth, but I prefer the word perfection. I dare Miles to drink this and say "No f-ing merlot!". Thanks, Leanne.

Lowlights

1) EDK - the service was awful and my wallet was swiped. But the food was sooo great....

2) Santa Rosa - Charles Schultz is from Santa Rosa, but I was on a wine quest not a Snoopy quest. Stay in Healdsburg next time - sorry, Sonadora, I should've listened to you.

3) Martinelli - I've heard of a short pour, but that was ridiculous!

What I bought?

I acquired six bottles of the Bella (2 Lily Hill Zin, 2 Big River Ranch Zin, 2 Lily Hill Syrah), 1 Landmark Pinot, 1 Marietta Emilia's Cuvee, 2 bottles of '02 Verite (Le Desir, La Joie), 2 bottles of Hartford Pinot, and 1 bottle of the Luna Canto. These will be returned to Canada in twos over the coming year.

To Visit Next Time

I definintely think you need to base yourself out of Healdsburg. We originally thought Santa Rosa was central, but it involves driving or expensive cab rides to get to the key restaurants. Stay in Healdsburg and you can probably walk to dinner every night, try something new, and is definitely the best situated for the key vineyards. Many have tasting rooms in town, as do the wine shops.

Wineries? I regret missing Trentadue, and I wish I had been more organized and called ahead for appointments at some others...

Many thanks to...

Sonadora for Sonoma travel tips.

Mike Drash for his time, fresh cab berries and beautiful wine.

Edward for drinking a few Sonoma selections "in support" of my trip (any excuse, eh Edward?)

Andrew for steering us to Harford - too bad I forgot about your Zin recommendation, but I loved their Pinot!

Regrets...

David suggested Bistro Ralph, but time constraints forced a Burrito truck substitution (At Lytton Springs Road/Healdsburg Ave, next to the Hwy 101, go for the truck on the left - he said he was better than the guy on the right. I don't know if that's true, but his shredded pork burrito was totally awesome). Barry suggested Kosta Browne and Mark West, but they are not open to the public. Farley suggested Siduri and Acorn, but we're guys - we're not organized enough to call ahead!

Cheers! Back to my daily tastings...sigh.

Sonoma Pics

(Old Highway 1 - the long way to Santa Rosa...)

(Day 1 - Cab berries go for destemming at Luna)

(Day 2 - The rain stops, and the clouds begin to drift away)

(Day 3 - A quiet back road near Hartford)

Great shots, and more to come. Cheers!

Sonoma Day 3 - The Last Supper

Leaving Verite with a bottle of the 1998 La Muse for dinner, we decided to take a leisurely drive through the valley, stopping for a proper lunch (i.e. no more burrito shacks) at Ravenous (click here for a review) in Healdsburg. Good, fast, service was perfect for a brief luncheon detour from some serious wine country touring. Noisy, chaotic even, this great little bistro was a perfect fit for my style, and the food was absolutely delicious. For once I cannot comment on the wine list - after the stunning flight at Verite I thought a homemade lemonade would be the beverage least likely to disappoint.

Sufficiently nourished we left Healdsburg, taking the Westside road destined for the Hartford Family Winery. Having found Zin Nirvana at Bella and Merlot Nirvana at Verite, I thought one more shot at Pinot Noir was appropriate. Scenic and twisty, the Westside road was perfect for a leisurely drive. We stopped the Winemobile every 200ft in an attempt to capture the seasonal beauty of Sonoma on film (ccd).
Not sure if I found Pinot Nirvana at Hartford, but it was close. We started with the '05 Chardonnays, the Four Hearts and Stone Cote cuvees. The Four Hearts was more New World in style, while the Stone Cote was more Burgundian, but both were varietally true and excellent examples (best whites of the trip). The three '05 Pinot Noirs (Land's Edge, Sevens Bench, Jennifer's) were also very well made, but the Sevens Bench was the tasting room standout in my mind (and made it home with me). While I went here for the Burgundian-styled juice, we tasted the '05 Russian River Zin and I would be remiss if I didn't mention what a standout wine this was, especially at the $30 price point. Perhaps an equal to Bella. In fact it was Andrew at Rouge and Blanc that sent me here, but I mistakenly thought he sent me for the Pinot - I just checked my notes, he sent me for the Zin...sorry Andrew!

Last Supper: A Dinner at John Ash & Co.

The day, and our trip, ended at John Ash & Co., one of Sonoma's top tables. Unlike EDK, John Ash acknowledged our reservation and set us up at the bar for some pre-Verite (I mean pre-dinner) drinks. I loved that the bar served mini-flights of 3 wines - two oz. pours in tasting glasses around a theme. The standout? A Balletto Gewurtztraminer - I must visit Balletto next time.

Seated facing a floodlight vineyard, it would have been romantic if Rob weren't there. The service was exceptional, and surprisingly fast for a Saturday night. Yellow tomato gazpacho with some spicy tuna balls (went nicely with my flight of whites) was followed by a beautiful cut of venison in a blackberry reduction, a perfect interplay with our red wine selection.

The 1998 Verite was a stunning Merlot of subtle complexity. In the glass it was dark cherry in colour, with some orangey brick at the edge. The nose was dominated by leafy tobacco, liquorice, exotic spices and dark currant fruit, constantly shifting, changing, teasing. On the palate the beautiful currant fruit interlaced with velvety tannins, it was dry and slightly minerally/chalky. Absolutely amazing balance: smooth yet complex, subtle and powerful. With a very long finish, this Verite still has a few years ahead of it. What a way to finish this adventure.
cork closure, 14.1% alcohol
Score: 19/20
Price: US$90 (winery)

Sonoma Day 3 - Beauty in a Glass

How could I spend a full day in Sonoma, visit just two wineries, and achieve nirvana? Well, it all depends on what is in the glass...

Day 3 started at 11am with a "by appointment only" tasting at Verite Wines. Vérité is a maker of very expensive Bordeaux-styled wines in Sonoma but I didn't know much about them before our trip. As far as I understand, this winery, like some other boutiques in Napa and Sonoma, is a pet project of Jess Jackson (of Kendall-Jackson fame). These boutiques (Cardinale, Verite, others) are run outside the K-J empire as quasi-indepedent facilities (i.e. Verite uses the equipment at Stonestreet down the road). For Verite, Jackson brought in Pierre Seillan, a vigneron from Bordeaux, to craft Californian Bordeaux-styled (with an emphasis on Merlot) wines.

Away from my tasting group I have never tasted such an amazing flight of wines, and this classy joint served the wines properly - the wines were double decanted hours before we arrived and served in proper Riedel stemware that did not smell of industrial soap. From left to right:

2002 Archipel
2002 Verite "La Muse"
2002 Verite "La Joie"
2002 Verite "Le Desir"
1998 Verite (La Muse)
1998 Verite "La Joie"

The starter was the 2002 Archipel, a cab sauv (49%), merlot (32%), cab franc (18%) and malbec blend. Nice leafy aromas, raspberry fruit, mint and liquorice, with beautiful dry tannins and a nice long finish. This Verite wine uses California oak (the rest use French oak).

The 2002 Verite La Muse (92.5% merlot, 7.2% cab franc, dash of malbec) was a terrific, Pomerol-inspired merlot. Liquorice and truffles, musk, leather, tobacco, smoke, later showing a softer, chocolately/candy aroma. Velvety tannins, beautiful length, poised, elegant. Still very young, stick it away for a decade.

The 2002 Verite La Joie is a cab-dominated blend (64.2% cab sauv, 28.5% merlot, 7% cab franc, dash of malbec) the maker claims is Pauillac-inspired. It was a stunning wine, violet, pepper, cocoa, raspberry with dusty dry tannins and a finish that goes on forever.

The 2002 Verite Le Desir is described as St-Emilion inspired, with a blend of merlot (52.7%), cab franc (41.2%), cab sauv (5.1%) and a dash of malbec. Cofffee grounds, very peppery, leafy tea and tobacco and maraschino cherry. Such beautiful balance, exquisite harmony, a very long finish. Could this be a 20pt wine? Wow! (my favourite)

The 1998s were also served to compare to these new releases. The 1998 Verite (La Muse, but they didn't use that name originally), 90% merlot and 10% cab sauv, is aging beautifully. Flint, floral, leafy, vegetal and pencil shaving on the nose, the wine was silky smooth on the palate with great raspberry flavour and nice acidity. Still showing some length, this could certainly cellar for a few more years, but it is drinking so well now there is no need to wait. We bought a bottle for dinner (more later).

The 1998 Verite La Joie (70% cab sauv, 30% merlot) was brick red, peppery, smokey, and woodsy undergrowth notes, this wine is also aging gracefully, with bright cherry fruit, silky tannins and some nice lenght. Same as the La Muse - it can be cellared longer, but why wait?

Despite the lengthy decant, these wines were so complex and ever evolving. Many thanks to Leanne for the tour through these vines and the overview of the winery. We were even served an Archipel Rose, a terrific little rose for $12 - I recommend picking up a bottle at the winery - this is going to be discontinued.

In summary, I highly recommend to anyone going to Sonoma to call ahead and make an appointment to taste these wines. If you can't afford to drop $150 on wine you will pay a $25 fee, which seems to me a reasonable price to properly taste six truly stunning wines.

This visit was one of those rare "Wow! Unbelievable! Incredible! Super-fantastic! Amazing!" wine moments. Seillan is a genius, and the French inspiration/winemaking style flows through all of these wines - they all resemble good vintage Bordeaux. While I didn't officially score these, the Verite wines would all justify between 18.5 to 20 points out of 20, my highest ever. Despite the obscene price tag I bought the '02 La Joie and Le Desir - if these aren't perfection, then they are so darn close...

Stay tuned for the end of Day 3, cheers!

Sonoma Day 2 - Dinner at EDK

(View from the Bella Cellar...)

This should have been a terrible evening. The El Dorado Kitchen in Sonoma did not honour our 8:30pm reservation, making us wait another 45 minutes to get a table (and were terribly rude and unapologetic). By 12:15am Montreal time I nearly ate my wallet. Actually, I should have - it would have been better knowing that the cash was safely digesting in my empty stomach rather than funding a night of binge drinking for that punk who "lightened up" my wallet. And that cash would have come in handy for the $100 cab ride from Santa Rosa. But I digress...

Arriving on time for our reservation, we cooled our heels in the bar, sipping on a beer while I fondled the 2005 Bella Lily Hill Syrah that would be our dining companion. Fortunately, the food (and the wine) was fantastic.

Once we were seated the service dramatically improved, and the menu was terrific. For a starter I had local yellow tomatoes with shaved fennel and arugula - delicious. The entree, a grilled free range chicken with gnocchi and garlic sauce, was absolutely perfect. Rob went for the pork osso buco, another winner. And the main courses paired very well with the Syrah (tasting notes some other day). A minor gripe - was that a baguette?! Anyway, if the first paragraph were a lie this could have been a perfect evening.

So, was the wait worth it? Not sure if I can let any restaurant get away with that reservation idiocy, and they seemed rather unapologetic that a regular lifted the cash out of my wallet (which wouldn't have happened if my reservation had been honoured).

In the end, the food was really good. The Bella Syrah was really good. And at least the he left my credit cards and ID. I can't wait for Day 3 - a verical tasting of one of the world's greatest wines!

Sonoma Day 2 - Dry Creek Treasures

The morning began with a suggestion from Sam and Scott during last night's evening at Barndiva. On a cool, drizzly morning (that had most winemakers freaking out, by the way…), we set off for Bella Vineyards, a little “hole in the hill” (literally) winery at the end of West Dry Creek Rd. This winery does not sell retail, with all of the wine going to visitors and wine club members. I should add “lucky” in front of that, because this was an amazing flight of wines.

Zin is not frequently at the top of my list, but I may have to make an exception for Bella. The modest $5 tasting fee served up the stunning 2005 Lily Hill Estate Zinfandel and 2005 Big River Ranch Zinfandel. Both wines come from old vines, ranging from 85 to 100+ years old. Both were extremely complex, nicely balanced, with the Big River featuring a very long finish (meant for aging, my favourite Zin ever), while the Lily Hill seemed more accessible. Both tasting notes feature words like "spectacular" and "beautiful". Nuff said, you MUST visit this place - this was our great find of the trip. Even better, they had a very nice Syrah, and the prices were very reasonable for the quality. Rob and I went splits on a case.

We were rather reluctant to leave Bella, but the pourer assured us no amount of groveling would result in free pours, and my claims of media nobility were ignored. So off we went to we went to see Unti Vineyards, which served up a nice Grenache at Barndiva last night (Sam's suggestion). Tastings at this winery are "by appointment only", but the Unti folk were gracious enough to host us in a quick tasting of some of their wares. An unusual winery, focused mainly on Rhone and Italian varietals, it seems to be most associated with its Barbera wine. This was sold out, unfortunately, but we did try their 2004 Syrah, 2005 Segromigno, 2005 Zinfandel and 2005 Petit Frere. Last night Scott recommended the Syrah and I agree - another bottle to lug home. Overall, the quality was very nice, especially given the very modest price point on most of the wines.

After that we drove past the Ridge winery. Unable to contain myself at seeing this veritable Cathedral to wine, I had to stop. Seems like Zin heaven was achieved at Bella, so I was rather unimpressed - high hopes combined with a great Zin earlier in the day made for a tough tasting. But I left with a Montebello, regardless.

After that we stopped at Seghesio - a traditional, crowded tasting room, the wines on offer were nice, but the day was progressing and my taste buds were lacking (perhaps it was the burrito truck for a second day in a row...). Even worse, we tried to catch Martinelli before close. Clearly the length of the pour, while free, was inversely proportional to the proximity to closing time. Lapping at the vapours in my glass, I have no idea if the wine was any good.

Then to dinner - an adventure in itself.

More later...Cheers!

Sonoma Day 1 - Continued

Leaving Luna, we took the Oakville Cross to get back to Sonoma. On the way Rob saw the Silver Oak Vineyard tower, and instinctively drove into another winery. There was a Sonoma connection here - Rob wanted to compare their Napa to the Sonoma Silver Oak bottlings. Fortunately, there were pouring both at the winery, saving us a trip to the Sonoma estate. The 2003 Silver Oak Alexander Valley was classic California Cab, but very dry with dusty, earthy, tannins, rather Bordeaux-esque. Nicely done, needs some time in the bottle. The 2002 Silver Oak Napa Valley was a seriously complex wine with copious tannins and tremendous length. Elegant, balanced, but far too young. Overall, despite the different terroirs, the wines were quite similar. While the Napa was the better, was it $40 better? Not sure about that.

By now we were ready to start our Sonoma trip. Taking the scenic Oakville Grade through the Mayacamas mountains made for an adventure in itself, with over 100 hairpin turns and steep twisties. Made for a Porsche, our Dodge was less prepared for such a drive. If the drive were any longer I may have lost that burrito stand lunch...

We arrived in Sonoma near Kenwood, and decided to finish our winery tour with a stop at Landmark, a winery known for Pinot and Chardonnay. These are rather highly rated wines, but Rob was not terribly impressed - kinda ho-hum. I liked the 2005 Domaris and Lorenzo chardonnays, but the 2005 Kanzler Pinot was the highlight of the visit - spicy, mushroomy, earthy, raspberry jam, coffee - smooth and crisp, great balance, substantial tannins. Nicely done.

Capping off a terrific wine day was dinner in Healdsburg at Barndiva. Hip, trendy, this bistro served up great wine, great food and great service. Sitting at the bar, we conversed with son of the Marietta Cellars owner. Serving up great wine and tips for the next day's tours (their winery is not open to the public), we were soon joined by his brother, a recent UC Davis wine grad. These tips led to our greatest wine find of the trip! Gotta catch a flight - more details on the dinner and the wines soon. Say tuned for Day 2 - Dry Creek Valley Treasures.

Sonoma Day 1 - From Grape to Glass

Curiously enough, my first day in Sonoma began in Napa. In response to some comments I made on his 2004 Luna Sangiovese, Luna Vineyards' winemaker Mike Drash invited me to stop by when I was in the area. Sonoma was close enough, so Rob and I took a slight detour from our original plans.

Busy with the harvest, we jumped into Mike's truck and drove to Coombsville (an area of Napa that has not yet achieved AVA status, but likely to according to Mike) to oversee the harvest. The vineyard was buzzing with activity, with an army of pickers was scurrying through the rows picking the ripe cabernet berries (delicious, by the way). The competition was in the field as well, as the winemaker from Anomaly was overseeing his crew picking their assigned rows.

After that we headed off to Caldwell Vineyard to check on some more cabernet plots, meeting other winemakers hurrying about. Caldwell, in addition to making their own wine, makes their facility available to other winemakers, whom were also busy processing their grapes. There we had a chance to taste some Malbec juice, straight off the press, and meet briefly with the Caldwell winemaker. After that, we grabbed a burrito and returned to Luna to enjoy our lunch and grill Mike for a few more minutes.

Thanking Mike, we headed off to the tasting room to taste some of his wares. Our Trail Blazer flight featured the 2005 Sangiovese, the 2003 Merlot, the 2002 Canto (a super-Tuscan inspired wine), the 2004 Howell Mountain Merlot, and the 2004 Napa Valley Cabernet. An excellent flight of wines, I particularly enjoyed the Canto and the Howell Mountain Merlot. Unfortunately, my real objective was to buy some other vintages (2003 and 2005) of the Sangiovese Rerserve and conduct a vertical, as per Mike's suggestions, but this wine sells out. It looks like I have to scour New York to find those bottles.

Overall, after 4 hours with Mike I have a year's worth of material that will have to wait. Many thanks to Mike for sharing his time and some quality wines with us.

This is not the end of Day One, as Joe finished the day in Healdsburg, enjoying dinner in the company of more winemakers - stay tuned.