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Allan Bree,
friend, local Napa boy and budding chef had a catering to take care of. Once I heard the
catering was for
Greg La Follette
owner and winemaker at
Tandem Winery, I
was happy to lend a hand.
Greg was entertaining a group of fourteen people who were the highest bidders at
a charity event that Greg was sponsoring. These generous folks were soon to
taste a flight of Greg La Follette’s wines before sampling the wonders of Bree’s
West Coast cuisine.
Greg La Follette gained his notoriety while
making wines at Flowers Winery.
Originally from Europe (after all, it is one country now), he studied ancient Burgundian wine techniques at UC
Davis before working with wine master, André
Tchelistcheff at Beaulieu Vineyard.
Listening to Greg talk about his passion is mind-boggling. He has Pinot and
Chardonnay flowing through his veins. His wines amaze me; the emphasis on
terroir is given top priority. I was bowled over at how different each of the
vineyard designated wines tasted.
All Tandem’s wines are created using
natural/feral yeasts and malolactic fermentations.
Greg proclaims not to
practice safe winemaking techniques. All his wines are unfiltered and
un-fined.
Tandem Sangiacomo Vineyard Chardonnay 2003
A Montrachet styled wine that releases wild and skanky aromas of earth, fresh
sourdough bread, baked apple, mineral, tangerine peel, lime leaf and peach. The
palate is stellar, full of tree fruits and mineral. The balance is right on.
This is not a wine for everyone. It really has that funky wild Euro thing going
on, but I love it.
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Tandem Porter Bass Vineyard Chardonnay 2003
This has a nose of spring flowers, white peach, mandarin, hay, mineral and
limestone. It really reminds of a drinking a first rate Chablis. It offers a full
viscous palate of ripe pear and Seville orange, concluding with a streak of
harmonious lime acidity. While making wines at Flowers, Greg’s juice from Porter
Bass was acclaimed as the top-rated Chardonnay in Wine & Spirits magazine for
both the 97 & 98 Vintages.
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 Tandem Sangiacomo Vineyard Pinot Noir 2003
Again I really see the French connection in this wine. It is full of cherry,
milk chocolate, blackberry, strawberry and smoke. It tastes like a rustic
Pommard, a wine style that I happen to be very fond of. The palate has a bushel
of red fruit, bright plumy acids and one hell of a finish.
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Tandem Peleton Red Wine 2004
A wine with lots of fresh red berry, tobacco/cigar leaf, cinnamon and wet forest
floor on the nose. The plum, rhubarb and red cherry acids hit the tongue with
vigor. It is quite tannic; the finish is mostly red fruit and cranberry.
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Tandem Auction Block Pinot Noir 2003
Auction Block is primarily bottled for auction at charity events and is a
blending of Greg’s favourite barrels from the vintage. This is a wonderfully
concentrated wine, rich with aromas of thyme, black cherry, black raspberry
porcini mushroom powder and cola. It is full bodied, dark and again, beautifully
balanced. Although a second glass shows more earthy notes of forest floor and
morels, the fruit still packs a punch.
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Tandem Silver Pines Vineyard Pinot Noir 2004
A Sonoma Mountain wine that delivers aromas of forest floor, dark cherry, coffee
candy bar, chocolate/cocoa powder and cured meat. The mouth just bursts with
fruit flavours. It is rich, creamy and viscous. Man this is good wine. It’s
tough to pinpoint my favourite, but this could well be it.
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Tandem Sangiovese Gabrielli Vineyard 2003
A strong and intoxicating heady aroma of blueberry, mulberry, clay, red brick,
red fruit preserve, cedar, and coffee grounds. It is tight; in fact backward
might better fit the description. The palate shows some cranberry, red currant
and blackberry fruit with plenty of acids on the finish.
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Greg decided it would be a good idea to do a vertical of one of his wines and he
chose to pour a flight of Vandercamp Pinot. I thought it was actually a very
good idea too!
Vandercamp Vineyard has some of the oldest Pinot Noir vines in Sonoma County and
its location is one of the highest on the Sonoma Coast resulting in wines with
high levels of tannin and incredible depth.
Tandem Vandercamp Vineyard Pinot Noir 2001
This shows notes of cedar, mushroom, wet moss, some toasty oak, cherry and
vanilla. It has a strong backbone and plenty of dark ripe fruit on the palate. I
taste secondary flavours of Moroccan spice and dried porcini mushroom. The fruit
is at its peak and the tannins are mellow. Classic.
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Tandem Vandercamp Vineyard Pinot Noir 2002
More wild and rustic flavours of cedar, smoky bacon, a touch of pig poo, and a
nice layer of strawberry, cherry and chocolate. The chocolaty tannin is chewy
and still noticeable on the finish.
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Tandem Vandercamp Vineyard Pinot Noir 2003
A perfumed and fragrant wine with an aroma of dark cherry, plum and couveture.
It appears more elegant and delicate on the palate, but the finish does have
super length. It is a silky, velvety wine that has a really interesting texture.
This was the last Vandercamp wine made with old vine Pinot.
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Tandem Vandercamp Vineyard Pinot Noir 2004
A total turn around in wine making style here as this exudes an aromatic nose
full of glycerin, raspberry, plum and milk chocolate. It is juicy and fleshy,
slightly spicy and has plenty of refreshing black fruit acid on the rich and
chewy finish.
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Tandem Vandercamp Vineyard Pinot Noir 2005
This sample was only bottled one week prior to tasting so it is rather difficult
to assess. However, it is full of vanilla, smoke and layers of black and red
fruits. So tight, so closed.
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Greg La Follette makes the type of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that I like. They
are gutsy, eccentric, powerful, rich, silky textured and elegant. These are not
the sweet oak laden wines that so many Californian producers churn out. Believe
me, these wines are worth seeking.
Reporting from the valley,
CZ
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