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November 3 2009
In the second year of the single vineyard designate program from Rodney Strong I’ve learned something very important: these wines (two released so far, with a third on the way), while provocative with a come-hither look, are far too young to drink now and are much better on the second day; they’re kind of like, you know, if Nabokov made a batch of Chili.
In fact, the ’06 Rockaway, as beguiling as the ‘05, if not slightly more pensive, is smartly being released to market in February ‘10, allowing for some bottle age and integration. Upon my opening, it was hot, uncoordinated, and awkward – like a first kiss at a Prom after-party. After sufficient time in the decanter (forget about an hour – the Rockaway needs at least two hours of vigorous oxygen to start to show), it rounds into form and turns into a delicious, massive wine that belies its 15.4% alcohol.
The Brothers Ridge, for its part, a new release to market with the release of the ‘06 vintage, is also an Alexander Valley Cabernet at the same price point as the Rockaway—$75. However, the Brothers Ridge comes from vineyards east of Cloverdale, a northerly vineyard to Rockaway and the warmest spot in Sonoma County. Both wines were provided to me by the winery.
Now, while some will decry the “bigness” of these wines as a source of polarization, I’m not one of them. The alcohol can partially be explained by a quote attributed to Rodney Strong wine consultant David Ramey in the October 31st issue of Wine Spectator, he notes (not necessarily in regards to Rodney Strong specifically), “This issue of alcohol is overblown. That’s where our grapes our ripe. It’s California’s birthright.”
Who am I to disagree especially when the Rockaway, and its little brother, Brothers Ridge, straddle the line so well between ripe and “Californian” without crossing over into “hedonistic” territory, a connotation, to me, that has come to mean, “Australian cough syrup.”
Ironically, the Brothers Ridge, a straight varietal offering in contrast to the splash of Malbec and Petit Verdot (2% and 1% respectively) that made their way into the Rockaway blend, is more classically refined than its big brother. Both are a part of a triumvirate that will be complete when an offering called “Alexander’s Crown” is released in the future.
It should be noted that 2009 is a big year for Rodney Strong. Under the stewardship of owner Tom Klein, Rodney Strong continues to act as a pacesetter for the California wine industry, celebrating not just their 50th anniversary in 2009, but also celebrating, notably, the fact that they have become the first winery in Sonoma County to become carbon neutral.
While I vacillate on how I feel about the merits of being carbon neutral when it can be viewed in the same vein as checkbook philanthropy, I have to give credit to people and organizations that take the step forward instead of sitting on their hands. And, significantly, Rodney Strong has demonstrated a commitment to sustainability over a period of years, dating to 2003 when they first installed solar panels.
Likewise, Rodney Strong the winery earns my admiration when 20 years after the purchase of the winery from Rod Strong the man, they still honor his legacy by making a sizable donation to the Wells Fargo Center in Santa Rosa based on a desire to support the arts and pay homage to the Rod who was a dancer and dance teacher, having danced internationally and on Broadway.
Critics, always ready to take potshots at PR efforts, will dub me a rube for buying into the perception of the largesse, but as a student of marketing, sustainability and good business, I have to note that Rodney Strong, with a multiplicity of efforts at greening, quality AND telling their story are hitting their stride.
2006 Rodney Strong Rockaway Cabernet Sauvignon
Not quite as lip-smackingly good as the ’05, this is still a very good effort that needs time in the bottle. A nose of dark fruits – blackberry, black cherry, blueberry and cassis with hints of bay leaf, black olive juice and menthol gives way to plenty of stuffing on the palate with more dark fruit, menthol and black tea with a deep core of dark chocolate. The finish isn’t as impressive as the ’05 and the tannins are a little chewier, but this a very nice wine with pedigree that will round into shape over the years to come. 90 points.
2006 Rodney Strong Brothers Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon
Big, bold black cherry juice with an earthier quality than the Rockaway. There’s plenty of fruit on the nose with pleasing and complementary floral and earthy aromatics with hints of green bean. The palate offers velvety blackberry, blueberry, menthol, and beet juice. More classically refined and less decadent than the Rockaway, the finish lingers with the fruit and leather to go along with fine grained tannins. 91 points.
October 14 2009
I find myself doing wine reviews once every three weeks or so. It’s not that I don’t drink more wine, I do. It’s not that I don’t like writing tasting notes, I do. It’s not that I like to torture myself with 700 - 1000 word blog posts everyday, I don’t (actually I am sort of masochistic like that, but I digress). It’s, just, well, I kind of like to do wine reviews the same way I would give a personal recommendation for somebody—only selectively and only when I can really vouch for him or her.
Both the Macari and the Four Bears were received as trade samples and despite that peccadillo I can vouch for them.
N/V Macari Vineyards Sette 7
2007 Sean Minor Four Bears Carneros Pinot Noir
September 28 2009
You won’t find Clary Ranch listed in many winery guides and it’s definitely not in the romantic and quaintly charming Back Lane Wineries of Sonoma book.
Without a tasting room proper, the Clary Ranch vineyard is in Petaluma separated from the winemaking operation in Sebastopol. Neither of these locations happens to kick-up much Sonoma county wine mindshare, at least not compared to Healdsburg and the city of Sonoma where the tourists roam. However, if there was a book called, “Off the Beaten Path in Between Here and There” Clary Ranch would surely be the crown jewel listing.
In addition to the duplicity of place, I’ve never seen the Clary Ranch vineyards, and I don’t know the owner and winemaker, Paul Clary. In fact, I’ve never even talked with him.
Despite this disconnect in the most basic of wine functions in fandom – the place and the people, I know Paul Clary and I would get along famously because his work product very obviously indicates he makes wine for people like me and that alone puts our unspoken and unknown relationship on common ground, the most stable terra firma there is between producer and consumer.
The nature of our consumer affinity for things like wine, seemingly inconsequential, is an interesting sociological and cultural anthropological study. Often times, as consumers, we turn into stark raving fans based on something very visceral. Other times, we find a linkage based on a human connection or even happenstance. The basis for my growing affinity for Clary Ranch is definitely happenstance, but, regardless, it exists.
I’ve been thinking about this connection to wine after having read an interview with comedian Patton Oswalt in the music and culture magazine Paste. He said (in the context of comedians using displeasure as a comedic foil):
“Pointing out that stuff sucks is not edgy or dangerous anymore. Everyone knows what sucks. What’s better is to find something that’s amazing and hold it up.”
The nature of my indescribable connection to Clary Ranch starts off with, perhaps, the very homespun nature of the winery, if not the wine. Paul Clary acts as the vineyard manager and winemaker with just a shade over 400 cases of total production for a Pinot Noir and a Syrah. He doesn’t make a whole lot of wine and the bottles I have enjoyed seem (and taste) like a personal endeavor. Because he doesn’t have a tasting room, there is very much the proverbial, “out of the trunk of the car” sensibility—a labor of love. In addition, the wine isn’t expensive, at least not by commonly held standards dictated by miniscule production volumes and this level of quality. Their Pinot is $39.50 and their Syrah is $28. Another connection between Clary Ranch and I might be the charming and hackneyed logo and the poor wine label design that shouts “low-key,” if not “low-budget.” Or, better yet, our simpatico communion might be based on the absolute expressiveness and purity of fruit represented in his two wines (with just three vintages under the belt).
Whatever “it” is – that unmistakable connection that binds you to something immediately—Clary Ranch and Paul Clary has “it” to me. This winery is a remarkable addition to my list of wine faves.
Having received the Pinot and Syrah as winery provided samples makes me want to become a brand advocate for Clary Ranch, buying the wine in quantities to share just to ensure that Clary keeps at it under difficult circumstances in the wine business. I’m sensing that Clary Ranch won’t need my help, though … and, as Patton Oswalt indicates, there’s nothing wrong with finding something that’s amazing and holding it up … amazing this wine is … perhaps my most enthusiastic recommendation ever … the Syrah is very good, but for the purposes of this post, I’m focusing on the Pinot.
2006 Clary Ranch Pinot Noir
Price: $39.50
My rating: 93/100
Tasting Note: Drinking this wine is like describing a marshmallow to somebody who’s never had one.
Utterly fruit forward, but earthy, this wine is very elegant and restrained. It’s almost ethereal given its body, but rubenesque in the mouth—a farm daughter who dances ballet. Crystalline and translucent ruby in the glass, the nose gives bright cherry juice, mushroom and rose petals with slight, fresh beet juice.
The palate offers dusty Dr. Pepper, beet juice, fresh rhubarb and tinges of blackberry with a lively acidity.
The finish gives cherry, plum, dark chocolate and hints of sage with a lingering finish that begs for food.
It’s a stunning wine with amazing purity; it will surprise and delight wine lovers who think California Pinot is on the road to “big and extracted” hell. Hell, it will surprise and delight any wine lover, Old or New World. Highly recommended.
August 8 2009
Having celebrated their 40th anniversary in 2008, Trefethen Family Vineyards continues to be a family-owned shining beacon for Napa Valley.
Coming off their anniversary year and placed in the “no rest for the weary” file is the fact that the Trefethen family, Janet and John, son Loren, with a strong assist from daughter Hailey, chaired the 29th edition of Auction Napa Valley in June of this year.
While 2009 was an “off” year for giving, the auction still garnered $5.7M and earned a 4.4 rating out of 5 stars from attendees, according to Janet Trefethen.
Notable amongst the fundraising was the $130,000 earned from the auction lot put up by the Trefethen family. Rick Jones from Jones Family Vineyard won the behind-the-scenes tour of the 2010 Indianapolis 500, the 94th running of the world-renowned race, called “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” which takes place right here in my backyard in Indianapolis.
Truly a once in a lifetime experience, the centerpiece of the winning lot is riding in the pace car at the front of the field before the start of the race. Many have described their pace car ride, in front of 300,000 spectators, as one of the most exciting moments of their life. Other aspects of the winning lot include a private tour of the Chip Ganassi headquarters and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, VIP pit passes for the race and a private dinner for four with racer Scott Pruett, known for a long list of wins in numerous racing series, including open wheel racing; if it has four wheels and a steering wheel, Pruett has driven it.
Given my dual interests in the Indianapolis 500 and wine, I caught up with Janet Trefethen to discuss the origination of the auction lot.
She noted that husband John has long been an adventurous sort, driving a motorcycle, flying airplanes and generally keeping himself young in spirit, as well as physical make-up.
John got into racing in the 60’s, while in college in North Carolina. He rekindled his love of racing in the 90’s when he began racing BMWs and Porsches competitively.
Janet said, “(John) won the Porsche GT3 Cup series for North America a few years ago. Scott Pruett has become one of his mentors … Scott helped us in working with the Indy 500 people and Chip Ganassi to come up with special perks during the winning bidders’ trip to the Indy 500 in 2010.”
Janet noted that racing keeps John young, and offers a small bit of thrill as he speeds around the track to the whispers of, “watch out for the gray hair” from driver’s decades younger.
While some race car drivers, notable among them being Mario Andretti, one of the most successful drivers of all time, retire to the slower wine lifestyle and move to Napa Valley, John Trefethen is going in the opposite direction—driving quality at the winery while offsetting the pace of the winery lifestyle with a need for speed.
Congrats to the Trefethen family for a banner 18 months – their 40th anniversary, a successful chair of the Auction Napa Valley, and continued quality and family stewardship in Napa. And, of course, an advance welcome to Indianapolis to them and Rick Jones for next years Indianapolis 500.
Wine Review:
2004 Trefethen Family Vineyards Oak Knoll District Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
August 4 2009
It’s appropriate that New Zealand was the site for the film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. Set in an earthly, but fantastical and fictitious place called “Middle-earth,” the movie brought New Zealand to life as a stunning backdrop for Frodo Baggins. And, to my palate, that’s precisely where NZ Pinot Noir fits – another world entirely; a middle ground that exists somewhere between the Old World and New World, reflecting both, both mirroring neither.
While many (most?) pedigreed California Pinot’s mine that fruit-forward, full-bodied territory with omnipresent oak acting as a plush counterpoint to the sometimes thin Burgundian style, New Zealand seems to consistently strike a nice middle ground with a quixotic, well-knit whole – not entirely of the earth, nor too fruit-laden. Oak and brix level at harvest act as an equilibrating calibrator not a style definition.
Whereas Oregon and Michigan sometimes strive for a Burgundian character that too often and unwittingly pays homage to thin bodied wines with currant fruit notes and an herbaceousness that I don’t particularly care for, New Zealand brings a richer depth of fruit with cherry, berry and plum coupled with a striking “of the earth” quality.
It’s that fresh macerated fruit co-mingling with the “after the rain” dirt and mushroom balanced by a lingering acidity that I find particularly beguiling. And, to boot, New Zealand Pinot is mostly affordable, as well.
For an interesting exercise, try picking up a Hartley Ostini Hitching Post Pinot from the Central Coast, a Brooks Winery Pinot from Oregon, a Burgundy (whatever you can find—village level or better) and a New Zealand Pinot (from the Marlborough region where “value” is their middle name) to see the stylistic differences. All of them will be good, but that’s not the point. The New Zealand Pinot will likely stand out like the hot redhead at a cocktail party—different, interesting, confident; the kind of woman that drops science fiction movie bon mots with a disarming laugh that dazzles, but rarely dominates.
The tasting notes below (2006 Brancott Reserve Pinot Noir and the 2007 Stoneleigh Pinot Noir), are two good examples of the “Middle-earth” (and affordable) concept that I’m talking about.
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