Gang of Pour - Alan Kerr's Tasting Notes, Reporting From The Valley


Front Page \| Robert Biale Vineyards \| Tandem Winery \| Carlisle Winery Ridge Vineyards \| David Coffaro Winery \| Elyse Winery Unti Vineyards \| Ravenswood Winery Quaint Watering Hole Called Pancha’s
	\| Dry Creek Valley is really a breeze to navigate. If one drives north on Dry Creek Valley Road and south on West Dry Creek Road, one will hit maybe eighty percent of the wineries in the area. Crossing from one route to the other is simple as the two trails are maybe five hundred meters apart at the most and there are several cross roads one can take to change direction. Quivira is half way down the winding West Dry Creek Rd and I turned into the driveway moments before the tasting room was due to close. Fortunately no one was in a hurry to leave as the bottling line was in full production churning out bottle after bottle of last years Sauvignon Blanc. Quivira Sauvignon Blanc Fig Tree Vineyard 2004 $16.00 The 2004 rendition of Quivira’s Sauvignon is bright , lively and full of citrus, Red River grapefruit peel, fig and mineral. Well worth the asking price and simply delightful. Find this wine
Quivira Zinfandel Dry Creek 2004 $20.00 A ripe Zinfandel full of jam, white pepper, spice and tar. It is blended with 17% Petit Syrah. Find this wine Quivira Zinfandel Wine Creek Ranch 2001 $30.00/ on sale for $22.50 This is an estate bottled Zinfandel from old head-pruned vines, on a hillside just north of the winery. The average age of the vines is around forty years. It is just coming into its prime right now by exhibiting lovely berry fruit flavours with white pepper and lavender. It has decent backbone and the tannin is subtle. Find this wine Quivira Zinfandel Anderson Ranch 2002 $30.00 The Anderson Ranch is a 13-acre vineyard on Lytton Springs Road in the Dry Creek Valley, just a few miles from the winery and right across the street from Ridge’s famed Lytton Springs Vineyard. It is by far the best Zin in the tasting room. Again it is with white pepper, clove, a strong core of black berry and creamy milk chocolate with a lip smacking finish that doesn’t want to give up. Find this wine Quivira Zinfandel Tambellini Vineyard 2002 Tambellini is an 11-acre vineyard that sits on an eastern facing hillside on West Dry Creek Road. Some of Tambellini’s vines date from pre-Prohibition, and are estimated to be between 70-90 years old. The 2002 vintage will be the last Quivira will produce from this vineyard, as the vision of this winery is to switch to 100 percent biodynamic farming. This wine has tons of rich black fruit, hints of eucalyptus and sage. It is really full on the palate, has fine acidity and balance. Only 235 cases made and if you want some, the winery is the only place to find it. Find this wine Quivira Zinfandel Wine Creek Ranch 2003 $30.00 Tighter than the 2001, this rendition shows a good concentration of raspberry, blackberry, underbrush and currant. It is an elegant wine that should show well in a year or so. Find this wine Reporting from the valley, CZ Front Page \| Robert Biale Vineyards \| Tandem Winery \| Carlisle Winery Ridge Vineyards \| David Coffaro Winery \| Elyse Winery Unti Vineyards \| Ravenswood Winery Quaint Watering Hole Called Pancha’s BACK TO THE TOP Alan Kerr's Home Page and Main Index

Link to Gang of Pour Home Page
Link to Alan Kerr's Home Page
Link to Gang of Pour Site Index (Table of Contents)