May 4, 2012

I was gently reminded today that I have neglected the Wine Blog for the last month.  It’s not a bad sign since the Inn has done some great business.  But during this past month we have had The Wooster Wine Festival and I have had the chance to try quite a number of wines that have been added to our collection.

In April 2012, Wine and Spirits Magazine gave Kathy Joseph’s Fiddlehead 728 Pinot Noir 2008 the award of Best California Pinot Noir this year.  It rated it at 93 points out of 100 and named it as a “Best Buy,” which is a pretty bold statement as the wine retails for $42.99!

7.28 is the mile marker on Santa Rosa Road bordering Fiddlehead’s primary vineyard in the Santa Rosa Hills.  Kathy Joseph is a true friend of mine and of The Wooster Inn and makes some of the best pinot noirs I have ever tasted.  Without doubt high end wines like these have had a tough time during the past couple years.  In fact, one of my most favorite wines Lollapalooza, a name which means “best of the best” won’t even have a 2008 vintage.   (But do know that I am buying up what little remains of the 2007 vintage even though it retails for $75 a bottle)

Kathy produces the wines that I share with guests most frequently.  Unlike some pinot noirs, Kathy’s wines are complex with so many layers of flavor. Orange zest, chocolate, dark black cherries, plums, and spiciness are all part of the experience.  Just amazing!

So maybe $42.99 is for special occasions, well during the Wine Festival I spent some time talking with a new distributor, Luke Taylor who owns Traderman Distributors.  While we were talking I was enjoying Lucas & Lewellen Pinot Noir 2008.  This wine actually comes from the same region as 728 and reflects some of the same big characteristics, but for $21.99 a bottle.

I had the chance to taste Matchbook Chardonnay in the 2009 vintage.  I have to be honest and say that chardonnay has been my least favorite for the last 15 or 20 years but time is a changing!  What I did not like is the overly oaky treatment of chardonnay that overtook the entire experience.  Wine should taste like fruit and not two by fours!  The 2007 vintage of Matchbook was pretty woody. The 2009 version has a much lighter oak treatment that lets the juicy, fruit quality of the chardonnay grape to shine through.    You have to love the great label on Matchbook wines; looking lightly charred, the labels reminds the winemaker of his youth when his fascination with matches cost the family their home.  You know parenting:  One proud moment after another!  In any case, Matchbook Chardonnay 2009 is $19.99.