Estancia, 2004 Syrah, Stonewall Vineyard, Santa Lucia $25

Clos Saron, 2005, Home Vineyard, Yuba County $45

Vineyard Designated

Limited Production

 

This was a wine with that opened with a delicate hint of rose petals that moved quickly to great red cherry and strawberry. As the wine progressed, it moved to an earthy quality followed by sweet cedar, vanilla, cinamon and finally, a wonderfully smokiness. On the palate the fruit was more black and lush in nature, the earthiness followed through as did the oak spice.

The wine had a beautiful pink ruby color with just a slight effervescence that did not carry into the palate. The nose had great red cherry and blueberry, oak, molasses, a faint grass or moss quality and a nicely developed smokiness. The palate was big and mouthfilling. The attack started with lush blackberries, a bit of bitter chocolate, and a nice spicy character.

The Schlumberger Wine had a bit of the Animale quality of a Burgundian Pinot, and didn't open to allow the fruit through until it had a chance to open. The fruit, once it opened, was mostly black and ripe followed by a bit of cloves and allspice. The wine finished with a some mushroom, forest floor and a bit of cedar and smoke.

The tannins were nice and soft, perfect for a Pinot.

This wine had fairly decent tannins that added a wonderful structure.

The wine quite a pretty big tannin sturcture for Pinot, but not harsh.

14.5%

13.3%

13.8%

The wine exhibited a nice mix of red fruit on the palate, but lusher, more ripe black fruit on the palate. The more complex forest floor and leathr quality on the nose was less evident on the palate, but it was still an excellent wine with a good balance and nice long finish of fruit and a dusty earthiness.

This was an extremely complex wine, from the fruit quality, to great spice, a slight earthiness, and finally that great lovely smokiness. The extremely long finish evolved continually as the wine lingered on the palate, with something new appearing each time the taster returned to the glass.

The complexity of the wine was somewhat masked by the rustic mushroom nature it started with. After opening up it offered a great depth of character that ran the gamut from riper fruit to an herbaceous quality and then to sweet oak spices and smoke.

The wine had a bit of alcohol on the palate, but was not out of balance with the acid and fruit. The acidity was good, but not high, the body medium, on the bigger side of Pinot. The finish was on the long side, lasting in excess of 30 seconds, changing nicely as it progressed.

A beautifully crafted wine, this is done in an old world style with just a bit riper fruit. Not only was the acid, fruit and tannin in beautiful harmony, so were the intertwined flavors that lasted long on the palate. Surprising was the beautiful tannin structure that, along with the still good acidity level, makes this a candidate to place in the cellar for several years.