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and photos by califusa, |
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Well, we're here in the Herbst Pavilion at Fort Mason for the year 2000 Rhone Ranger tasting, and I'm very excited to be tasting these wines again. My palate has evolved a bit over the years, and I find myself drawn to the interesting aromatics of the Rhone varietals, as well as to the unique and different flavor profiles. These wines pair very well with food, and often present a more interesting match than the Cab-Chard-Zins I've been accustomed to. The tables are arranged in alphabetical order, but being a firm believer in the Corvallis effect, I'm starting at Zaca Mesa. My first wine today is the 1998 Viognier from the Misty Ridge Vineyard - pleasant light floral and peach notes in the aromas - richer on the palate than the aromas might suggest - lovely white stone fruits with some nice crisp acidity that bodes well for food pairing - a nice shellfish wine. 1998 Rousanne - the aromatics of this wine sometimes have a "fat" quality to them that I have difficulty otherwise describing and this wine shows just that - somewhat restrained fruit aromas and spice in the nose - perhaps I'm mixing my sensory metaphors, but this wine has "fat aromatics." Relatively lightweight fruit flavors that quickly fade - there is no mid-palate or finish to this wine. 1997 Syrah - very pretty dense dark purple color - pleasing smoky and mysterious black fruit aromatics - the aromas follow through on the palate with moderate weight medium bodied dark flavors with hints of loam and perhaps a touch of bacon fat - a pretty nice tasting wine, and not a bad value at $18. I next stopped to say hello to Peter Wellington at his table, and tasted his 1998 Sonoma County Syrah which is sourced from the three vineyards - shows nice medium weight varietal aromatics - in the mouth it's just a little bit young, but I think when it comes together it will be a very nicely balanced wine - no doubt another good value red wine from Wellington. 1995 Syrah from the Allegria Vineyard in the Russian River Valley. We have written about the owners of this vineyard, the Nachbauers, and its nice to taste one of Peter's Syrahs from this vineyard with a little bottle age on it. Interesting aromas of tar and licorice - still showing some bright acid structure - the fruit has softened and may just be starting to fade a tad - but nevertheless would be just terrific with a braised beast of some sort. Next was Voss Vineyards - I stopped by to say hello to Al Perry, their wine maker, who I know from his work with Robert Biale Vineyards. Unfortunately, he had not arrived when I visited the table, nevertheless I tasted the 1996 Shiraz from the Napa Valley - the aromatics just roar up out of the glass - sweet oak and black cherries predominate - very pretty wine on the palate with sweet cherry flavors and well integrated oak - nicely balanced and an absolutely delicious wine. Not a bad value at 30 dollars.
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