We'd been pretty expeditious and on schedule and stuff, so
there was time to stop by the tasting rooms of Mark Ryan and
J. Bookwalter, which are right on the highway.
A festive buzz at Mark Ryan - apparently a fashionable house
that has gotten quite a lot of press recently in the big
name journals. I found the wines worthy but not maybe so
exciting as others have; and the prices are really high.
Long Haul 06 (mostly Merlot with some Petit Verdot and Cab
Franc) - very tannic yet a bit sweet, powerful, a little
green, blackberries prominent on the finish;
Water Witch Bordeaux Blend 06 (Cab S, Merlot) - vanilla,
blackberry, rather like a milkshake; didn't care for it;
Dead Horse 06 (Cab S, Cab F, Merlot, Petit Verdot) acidy
nose, cedar, mint, blueberry, blackberry; a powerful and
interesting wine;
Wild Eyed Syrah 07 - smoke and blueberries; interesting;
Dissident Red 07 (Merlot, Syrah, Cab S, Petit Verdot) -
too sweet; coffee, blackberry, a kick of anise;
Dissident White 08 (Viognier, Chardonnay) - tropical
fruit and apple, a bit too sweet.
Next door the Bookwalter room was uncrowded and relaxed by
comparison, despite a pretty nice product and a very
glamorous young blonde pourer.
Foreshadow 06 (Cab S, Petit Verdot, Malbec) - coffee,
toffee, chocolate yet not overrich; good black currant;
a pretty nice wine;
Columbia Valley Cab 05 - the usual berry-cherry axis, good
oak, more what I expected than the above. Also a good wine,
but the Foreshadow seemed to me to have more character;
Protagonist 06 - acidy bright, which I didn't really
appreciate, but balanced with high tannin. Too unripe
for me - my opinion is atypical, though;
Novella 06 late harvest Sauvignon Blanc - floral nose,
citrus and stone fruit. I thought this one a particularly
terrific bargain and so bought a couple.
-
There were sundry messages on various phones from Fred
Martens inviting people to his place for a pre-party wine
event. So we went. Copious rather mature wines from Spanish-
and Portuguese-speaking countries. I didn't take notes,
having burnt out on that and enjoying the company too much.
-
To Missy's, where we were greeted by her smiling self,
several dozen smiling cohorts, the fanciest port-a-potty
in Christendom, salmon, tri-tip, and turkey. My small
contribution: Almond and Cashew Rocas; Oremus Tokaji late
harvest 05; and the Bookwalter LH SB that I thought so
interesting at the tasting room. The Rocas have a story.
Apparently Fred Haley had the good idea of donating Almond
Roca to be included in the rations of the Pacific Theater
GIs, who, in addition to becoming addicted to the sweet
little things, used them as good-will attracting devices
among the natives. They acquired a reputation among Asians
(Chinese in particular) for being a high-prestige item,
and among Chinese expats climbing the American economic
ladder they became one of the few house gifts that actually
got consumed. Two asides from 1960-ish. My father once
opened a box of chockies that had been given to us as a
hostess gift, and guess what, it was several years old and
quite bizarre in every way; I still tried one; it was nasty.
Another gift on another occasion was a box of Almond Roca,
which was opened avidly and consumed avidly; I asked for
one and was told that these were for adults only: on
persistent inquiry I was granted a one-time exception,
whereupon I discovered that they were for adults only,
and I was an adult. Fast forward 38 years, when at my
reunion a certain lady and I found a mutual attraction, and
we started going out, and guess what? She was a Roca
heiress, and I became reacquainted with the crunchy treats.
Subsequent ladyfriends have forbidden me from Rocas owing
to this association, and as I was relatively unattached at
this Do, I felt free to go to the store and buy about 10 lb,
of which a third went to the party.
Nobody seemed to be familiar with the Oremus
. I suppose
that that's not a big surprise in this era of regional
pride and specialization.
The Bookwalter late harvest SB didn't get opened, but I'm
sure it will be appreciated where it ended up.
I got pretty muzzy and didn't take - or at least keep - any
wine notes.