During our recent CA junket, Jean and I left Andrew with his Granny and
headed up to Sonoma for two days of R&R. (Needless to say,
Two-and-a-half-year-old Andrew spent those two days charming the socks
off his soon-to-be-80 Granny, so much so that she called him "beyond
Angelic" -- is that *really* our son?) Jean expressed one of her
reasons for going up to Sonoma: to find some CA wineries whose wines she
still was interested in buying. To this end, I assembled a list of 7
places to visit, of which we actually got to five.

Our lodgings were in Sonoma itself, at MacArthur Place
(http://www.macarthurplace.com), a very classy small hotel that is close
to the Sonoma square. The day we arrived, Jean just wanted to lay by
the pool and sun herself (Sonoma was unseasonably warm and sunny when we
were there) so I visited two wineries in the Russian River Valley solo:

First stop was Porter Creek, open to the public and charging no tasting
fee. It's located at the lower end of Westside Road near Gary Farrell
and Rochioli. The tasting was conducted by a very knowledgable pourer
in a converted garage. He explained that they were certified organic
and biodynamic and that the winemaker strived to make
non-interventionist wines with character and restraint.

2005 Viognier Timbervine Ranch RRV
color: pale yellow
nose: mostly alcohol (14.8% ABV)
palate: limited flavors, dry, a hint of stone fruit, quite muted

2004 Pinot Noir "Fiona's Vineyard"
n: smoky, earthy
p: medium body, very good acidity, moderately fruity and quite elegant

2005 Carignane Alexander Valley
[The only grapes not grown on their property]
c: purple
n: brambly blackberries
p: medium body, low acidity, generous blackberry fruit

2005 Zinfandel (10% Carignane, 5% Syrah)
c: dark red-purple
n: tart berry fruit, restrained
p: decent acidity, medium body, raspberry and pepper

2003 Syrah Timbervine Ranch (5% Viognier cofermented)
c: dark red-purple
n: juicy, dark berry fruit
p: earthy, berries, pepper, good acidity, moderately tannic

Overall, the standouts to me were the Carignane, which I found to be a
fascinating example of old vine Carignane (80+ years, according to the
pourer) and the Syrah. All the wines were well made, though, and only
the Viognier failed to hold my interest. The reason for the
cofermentation with Viognier, I learned, was that it helps extract
pigment and fix the color of the Syrah. Another interesting factoid
learned: this same principle of using white wine to extract color from
red wine can be used to get rid of red wine stains -- use white wine to
remove them! Who knew?

Second stop was an appointment at Joseph Swan. They are open to the
public on weekends but I was there on a Monday, so they graciously found
time to meet with me. The assistant winemaker/gofer/sole employee
served me the wines on a makeshift bar in the barrel storage shed and
again I wasn't charged a tasting fee. The owner/winemaker/son-in-law of
Joe Swan Rod Berglund was in and out during the tasting and often
pitched in to the conversation. All the wines tasted had been opened
the day before and stored under nitrogen (I think).

2005 Gewurztraminer Saralee's Vyd (14% ABV)
c: very pale
n: tropical fruit and lychee
p: light body(!), slightly alcoholic, dry finish

2004 Pinot Noir "Cuveé du Trois"
{"Trois what?" I asked. Three different vineyard sites was the reply}
n: smoke, soft red fruits
p: velvety, juicy fruit, pure finish

2004 Pinot Noir Great Oak Vyd (13.3% ABV)
n: pencil lead, reticent
p: a bit closed in, fine tannins, good acidity, beef blood, deeply fruity

2002 Syrah Trenton Estate
n: brambly, dark berry fruit
p: rich, med-full body, good acidity, moderately tannic, dark fruit

2000 Zinfandel Lone Redwood
n: herbaceous, tea leaf
p: spicy, briery, berry fruit

2002 Zinfandel Stellwagen
n: pencil lead, berries, baking spices
p: high toned (a touch of VA?), juicy fruit, moderately tannic

They explained that Rod makes 17 different wines, so I was tasting only
what was around at the time (they had just bottled something else that
afternoon). He's also unusual in that he ages his wines for 3 years
after bottling typically before release and can afford to do that
courtesy of Joe Swan, who left the winery in a fairly unique financial
situation (it's been nearly 20 years now since his death, but it feels
like just yesterday that we lost Joe Swan, a true CA winemaking
pioneer). I was very impressed with all of the wines, though the
Gewurztraminer didn't really excite me. The Zins were about as atypical
as I've ever had but very interesting and utterly different from each
other. Both PNs were outstanding. The Cuveé du Trois is their biggest
bottling, designed for wide release and is a great QPR CA PN. The Great
Oak OTOH reminded me of a quality 1er from the Cote de Nuits: it had
real depth and structure and will probably take a decade to come into
its own. The Syrah likewise has a long future ahead of it and will make
a great ringer in a N. Rhone lineup. We also had some great discussions
of local geology: Rod explained that his hilltop vineyards were actually
more fertile and less well drained than his valley floor vineyards,
which he explained was a result of geological uplift, raising younger
soil up and leaving the older soil at the bottom. Fascinating! I
highly recommend a stop here for anyone who is disaffected with CA wines.

After Swan, I picked up Jean at the hotel and headed up to Santa Rosa
for dinner at Willi's Wine Bar. They feature small plates/tapas and
wines by the glass, some of which are arranged into flights. Jean got
the Pinot Noir flight and I got a glass of the Gruet Blanc de Noirs to
start.

NV Gruet Blanc de Noirs
n: apples, toast
p: fine mousse, tart fruit, good acidity

From Jean's flight:

2004 J. Swan Cuveé du Trois Pinot Noir
[yes, the same wine I had at the winery but probably opened more recently]
n: sappy, bright cherry
p: fresh, bright cherry fruit, smoke, earth

2005 Lutea RRV PN
n: butter, sappy
p: medium body, acidity, tart cherries, alcoholic finish

2005 Portalupi RRV PN
n: soft, smoky, red fruit
p: soft and fruity

Of the three RRV Pinots, Jean and I both agreed that the Swan was the
clear standout -- lucky for me since I'd bought it at the winery earlier
that day! I earned several attaboys for the decision to go there and to
buy that wine.

We both then tried the Zinfandel flight:

2004 Bradford Dry Creek Valley Zin
n: tart berry fruit, oak
p: slightly oaky on entry, raspberry milkshake and an oaky finish

2005 Robert Biale Napa Zin
n: tart berries, pencil lead
p: pure berry fruit, moderately acidic

2004 Pappietro Perry RRV Zin
n: closed down
p: moderately tannic, berries, closed down

Jean and I both agreed that none of the Zins did a whole lot for us,
with the Bradford being downright disagreeable and the Biale OK but no
better. The foods that we with the wines were very good and quite
varied. We got a plate of three different salames, each of which was
fascinating, a grilled flatbread topped with cheese and ramps
(outstanding) and a couple of fish dishes that I forget. All in all, a
very satisfying meal and quite reasonably priced.

[To be continued...]

Mark Lipton

--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

Addendum re Willi's Wine Bar:
http://www.williswinebar.net

The menu on their website allowed me to reconstruct the missing dishes
from our meal:

Scallop Dumplings with Crispy Pancetta & Lemongrass Butter
Jones Farm Rabbit Rillettes, Rhubarb & Tart Cherry Moustarda, Toasted
Brioche
Sautéed Broccolini with Green Garlic & Meyer Lemon Confit

The total of five small plates was enough to comfortably feed both of us
and each dish was superb, with the rabbit rillettes and the flatbread as
the two standout dishes from our dinner.

Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

In article >, Mark Lipton >
wrote:

> Addendum re Willi's Wine Bar:
> http://www.williswinebar.net
>
> The menu on their website allowed me to reconstruct the missing dishes
> from our meal:
>
> Scallop Dumplings with Crispy Pancetta & Lemongrass Butter
> Jones Farm Rabbit Rillettes, Rhubarb & Tart Cherry Moustarda, Toasted
> Brioche
> Sautéed Broccolini with Green Garlic & Meyer Lemon Confit
>
> The total of five small plates was enough to comfortably feed both of us
> and each dish was superb, with the rabbit rillettes and the flatbread as
> the two standout dishes from our dinner.
>
> Mark Lipton

Willi's is a great place. Never miss it when I am in Sonoma. If it isn't
in the FAQ it should be.