Stone Edge Farm, set in the verdant foothills of Sonoma Mountain, is a collaboration between Mac McQuown, who helped finance Chalone Winery in what seems like a whole different era, and perennial winemaker Jeff Baker. The two were partners in the old Carmenet Winery, launched in 1980. (The Chalone Wine Group sold the Carmenet brand in 2002 to what was then Beringer Blass Wine Estates; it’s now a cheap label for Fred Franzia’s Bronco Wine Co. What a fall was there.) Stone Edge produces two limited edition cabernet sauvignon-based wines — Stone Edge and Surround — from the five-acre Stone Edge vineyard, planted in 1996, and the higher-elevation two-acre Mt. Pisgah vineyard planted in 1998, seen in the accompanying image. Both vineyards are certified organic by the nonprofit CCOF and are managed by well-known organic viticulturist (and winemaker) Phil Coturri. These are, frankly, splendid cabernets that while receiving considerable aging in new French oak barrels manage to achieve enviable harmony and balance between the forces of power and elegance. They’re definitely Worth a Search.

These were samples for review. Image of Mt. Pisgah Vineyard from stoneedgefarm.com.
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The Stone Edge Farm Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Sonoma Valley, blends 81 percent cabernet sauvignon with 19 percent merlot. The wine aged 26 months in all-new French oak barrels. Boy, this is a wild, smoldering, unfettered wine that seethes with notes of ripe, spicy black currants, plums and mulberries drenched in cedar and black olives, lavender and graphite. The wine is dense with dusty fine-grained tannins and firmly bolstered by oak that feels sanded and burnished to a gleam, ever-present, assuredly, yet suave and understated; black and blue fruit flavors are permeated by these elements, as well vibrant acidity and a relentless yet somehow effortless cast of graphite and iron-like minerality. The finish is long, packed with woody spice and scintillating minerals and intriguing notes of caraway, dried thyme and dill seed. 14.3 percent alcohol. Production was 600 cases. Drink now through 2017 to ’19. Excellent. About $60.
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The combination of grapes in the Surround Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Sonoma Valley, is 86 percent cabernet sauvignon and 14 percent merlot; aged, like its cousin, for 26 months, it take 70 percent new French oak barrels rather than all-new. And rather than the grapes being all from Stone Edge and Mt. Pisgah, there are contributions from two other vineyards managed by Phil Coturri, one high in the Mayacamas range. Surround ’07 is a remarkably ripe, fleshy, spicy, earthy and minerally wine; its aromas and flavors of black currants and black cherries unfold to notes of mint and blueberries, a hint of red currants, elements of leather and moss and a fascinating smoky-eucalyptus-caraway edge. Dusty tannins, polished oak and resonant acidity provide enveloping structure, while the texture is more spare than opulent. 14.4 percent alcohol. Production was 780 cases. Drink now through 2016 to ’18. Were I supervising a restaurant wine list, I would try to snag a couple of cases if this wine to offer at a fairly reasonable price with steaks and chops. Excellent. About $30.
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Highway 29 around St. Helena so long ago turned into a carnival of showcase wineries, tasting-rooms and traffic jams that it’s difficult to imagine what the Napa Valley was like in 1934 when Italian immigrant Louis M. Martini moved from the Central Valley and founded his eponymous winery. What else was there? Beringer, Beaulieu, Inglenook, Charles Krug, Greystone, Larkmead, Lombarda (now Freemark Abbey). Wheat fields, walnut and plum orchards, cattle. During Prohibition, wineries either made sacramental wine or sent grapes by railroad to home winemakers in the Eastern United States, but Repeal brought renewed interest and activity and more acreage planted to grapes — mainly zinfandel, alicante bouschet and petite sirah — and while most wine was shipped in bulk, Louis Martini, along with producers such as Beaulieu and Inglenook, became dedicated to better quality and varietal bottling. One of Martini’s wisest moves was acquiring a 240-acre vineyard in the hills above Sonoma Valley in 1936; renamed Monte Rosso, this replanted vineyard, after 1946, became the backbone for many of the producer’s finest cabernet sauvignon wines.

Louis M. Martini was a master blender, and his preference was to blend fruit from several vineyards, using Monte Rosso as the core. He had no use for the small French oak barrels (barriques) that were coming into wider use in California. In fact, Martini didn’t even like American oak; he chose, instead, to ferment and age his red wines in 1,500-gallon redwood vats, a practice the winery continued until 1989, when the tanks were dismantled. This old-fashioned sensibility produced some of the best cabernet sauvignon in California in the 1940s and ’50s; the hallmarks of these surprisingly long-lived wines were elegance, balance, integrity and concentrated flavors. Louis M.’s son Louis P. became winemaker in 1954 and took charge of production in 1968, continuing to make wines in his father’s tradition. Fashion changed however. Temperature-controlled stainless steel fermentation and new French oak barrels were introduced, primarily by Louis P.’s son Michael, who became winemaker in 1977. For whatever complicated reasons, though, after the superb 1970, Martini ceased to be an important player in the increasingly competitive arena of Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon, actually failing to produce excellent wines in the exceptional years of 1974 and 1978.

The 1980s and ’90s saw the winery slide into the middle ranks of California’s old-line producers at the same time as it was outclassed by many newcomers. The winery and its vineyards, including Monte Rosso, were acquired by E&J Gallo in 2002; Mike Martini stayed on as winemaker. The last time I reviewed a range of cabernet-based wines from Louis M. Martini was in December 2009 (here); those wines were from 2006 and 2007 and mainly rated Excellent. That’s not the case for the four wines under consideration in this post, one from 2009, three from 2008; I found these present cabernets to be burdened, even smothered, with toasty, spicy, vanilla-laced new oak. No disrespect intended, but I wonder what Louis M. and Louis P. Martini would make of these modern, hyper-stylish, technologically-correct cabernets. The Gallo company and the Martinis obviously intend for the winery’s ambitious cabernet sauvignons to be competitive with the best that Napa and Sonoma offer, but as far as this quartet is concerned, it’s not happening. The winery may be venerable, but the wines are not “old-school.”

These were samples for review. The image is from my first label notebook, dated Feb. 8 & 9, 1983. I am indebted to Charles L. Sullivan’s A Companion to California Wine (University of California Press, 1998) and to James Laube’s California’s Great Cabernets (Wine Spectator Press, 1989), the latter the most complete and knowledgeable survey of the history of wine and winemaking at Louis M. Martini.
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Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, Sonoma County. This is Martini’s basic cabernet sauvignon; the fruit derives from various sites in several of the county’s sub-appellations. No information is offered about the barrel-aging regimen, but you can definitely feel the oak. The color is rich, dark ruby; classic aromas of cassis and black cherry are bolstered by whiffs of dried thyme and cedar, black olive and lead pencil, with plummy, spicy undercurrents that expand to smoke and toast. The wine is even smokier and toastier in the mouth, burgeoning with scintillating graphite-like mineral elements that part the waves for an armada of smoky, toasty wood that submerges whatever fruit might linger in the background; it’s hard for the flavors to seep through. 13.8 percent alcohol. The company produced 266,200 cases of this wine, so in its wide availability and its focus, it represents Martini’s intent and philosophy. Good+. About $18.
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Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, Napa Valley. Here’s a blend of 87 percent cabernet sauvignon, 4 percent cabernet franc, 3 percent petite sirah and 4 percent “other,” the most intriguing word in winedom. I’ll quote the winemaker’s notes: “The wine was oak aged in a mix of French, American and Hungarian oak barrels with a medium to heavy toast levels to add flavor and complexity.” I’m sorry to say that instead of supplementing the wine’s flavors and complexity, this aging routine dampened and dumbed down any flavors the wine could have displayed. The color, again, is radiant dark ruby; there’s a great deal of smoke and toast in the bouquet, wrapped around tight and focused cassis, black cherry and plum aromas. Both in nose and mouth the wine features intense, even penetrating graphite and shale-like minerality and a sharp smoky, ash-edged field of tobacco, walnut shell and creamy, spicy oak; the whole package is like oak candy sans fruit. 14.2 percent alcohol. Production here was 16,203 cases, so we’re moving up the scale of consideration. Try from 2012 or ’14 to 2018 or ’20. Good+. About $25.
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Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, Alexander Valley, Sonoma County. Despite the powerful oak presence in this wine — a blend of 94 percent cabernet sauvignon with 6 percent petit verdot — I found it the most accessible of this quartet. Let me quote again from the material I was sent: “The wine was aged for 18 months in new and used French, American and Hungarian oak barrels with a mixture of heavy, medium and medium plus toasting levels to add flavor and complexity.” Yeah, well, it’s the heavy toast that kills the wine, and this one did not escape totally unscathed — there’s a lot of oak influence here! — but it also manages to deliver bright and vivid notes of cassis and black cherry, licorice and lavender and, in the mouth, plenty of unrestrained spicy, plummy macerated and almost jammy black fruit flavors, with overtones of iodine and mint. The wine is dense and chewy, creamy with oak, grainy with dusty tannins, and the finish works out its length through mineral-laced austerity. 14.8 percent alcohol. You have to like the style, otherwise, you’ll find this wine fairly exaggerated. Drink now, with steak or braised short ribs, through 2018 or ’20. Production was 1,919 cases. Very Good+. About $35.
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Louis M. Martini Lot No. 1 Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, Napa Valley. The Big Gun of this group — there’s 3 percent petit sirah in the blend — aged 22 months in all new French oak barrels. That factor and the alcohol content push the spicy/ripe/sweetish qualities pretty high, though there are elements here that are not just attractive but compelling, as in the brilliant and vivid bouquet, a heady weaving of jammy black currants, black cherries and plums imbued with mocha and cloves, sandalwood, lavender and graphite. Lot No. 1 is monumental in structure, deeply dimensioned, tightly focused, intense and concentrated; the oak is, indeed, “toasty sweet,” and tannins are mountainside dusty and granite-flecked, enormous in scope; the result is a wine that delivers tremendous muscle power but misses the heart of elegance that would make it complete and balanced rather than ultimately blunt and obvious. This simply lacks the character to compete with other Napa Valley cabernets at its rather hefty price; still, try from 2014 pr ’15 through 2018 to ’20 to see how it develops. 15 percent alcohol. Production was 716 six-pack cases. Very Good+. About $120.
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Today’s “Friday Wine Sips” offers four whites and four reds and that adds up to eight wines if what my high school math teacher Miss Bridger said still holds true. The geographical range includes California, Washington state, New Zealand, Sicily and Austria; the price range is $14 to $20, with a couple of products representing real value. No technical or historical data or philosophical ruminations; just snappy comments taken directly from my notes to give you the essence. These were all samples for review.
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Murphy-Goode Sauvignon Blanc “The Fume” 2010, North Coast, California. 13.5% alc. Clean, fresh, buoyant; roasted lemon, tangerine, lime peel; bright and leafy; dried thyme and tarragon; a crisp arrow of grapefruit through the limestone bullseye. Quite tasty. Very Good. About $14, a Bargain.
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Airfield Riesling 2010, Yakima Valley, Washington. 13.6% alc. Apple blossom and grapefruit skin; burgeoning and penetrating limestone and flint-like minerality; pungent, resonant, scintillating with crystalline acidity and high-toned touches of quince and ginger, ripe stone-fruit permeated by smoke and cloves; deftly balances a soft, almost talc-like effect with crisp bone and sinew and river rocks. Lovely and delicious. Excellent. About $16, Great Value.
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Craggy Range Te Muna Road Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2011, Martinborough, New Zealand. 13.5% alc. Suave and savory, with an air of blitheness and frank appeal; lemon, lime peel and gooseberry with notes of cloves and ginger, fresh-mown hay and lemongrass; crisp, very dry, a long, sprightly limestone-flint-and-grapefruit laden finish. Excellent. About $20.
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Matanzas Creek Sauvignon Blanc 2010, Sonoma County. 14.1% alc. (Owned by Jackson Family Wines) Pale straw color; very fresh, clean, exhilarating; grapefruit, lime peel, lemongrass, touches of caraway, tarragon and thyme, hint of honeysuckle; the old hay-foot, straw-foot motif in its deft earthiness; sleek and polished; pear, melon and citrus flavors, slightly herbal, crisp acidity and a touch of flint in the background. Excellent. About $20.
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Zantho St. Laurent 2008, Burgenland, Austria. 13% alc. Inky ruby-purple color; smoke, cigar box and tobacco leaf; the slightly resinous quality of cedar and rosemary; spiced, macerated and roasted black and red currants and plums with touches of black olive and tar; but for all this “darkness,” a clean, fresh and lively red, suited to barbecue ribs and braised short ribs. Highly individual wine from an unusual grape. Very Good+. About $14, representing Great Value.
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Buena Vista Zinfandel 2010, Sonoma County. 13.5% alc. A fresh, tasty, agreeable zinfandel, quite spicy, bursting with bright black and red cherry flavors infused with hints of blueberry and boysenberry; mannerly elements of tannin and oak, clean brisk acidity. Sports the new “old-timey” Buena Vista Viticultural Society label. For burgers and pizzas. Very Good. About $15.
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Tasca d’Almerita Lamùri Nero d’Avola 2009, Sicily. 14% alc. Refreshing and vibrant, this wine avoids the rusticity displayed by many nero d’Avolas; delicious red and black currant flavors, very spicy, a little briery and brambly; grows darker, more intense as the moments pass, conjuring notes of bittersweet chocolate and lavender, tar and graphite. Direct and satisfying. Very Good+. About $20.
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Craggy Range Te Kahu Gimblett Gravels Vineyard 2010, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. 13.5% alc. 80% merlot, 8% each cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon, 4% malbec. Very harmonious initially but with an edge of briers and brambles, forest floor and graphite and an undercurrent of bittersweet chocolate; black cherry and red and black currants with a touch of blueberry; gets quite dry, packs some tannic, minerally austerity into the finish. Try with a steak or barbecue brisket. Very Good+. About $20.
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Yes, I know that it’s Saturday, but I was severely under the weather yesterday — but aren’t we always under some kind of weather? — suffering from the insult of a sinus infection added to the injury of bronchitis; my chest is wheezing like a broken concertina. Duty calls, however, so, for this entry of Friday Wine Sips, eight varied red wines from various places (because it’s cold today), arranged in order of ascending price (as good as any other order) and eschewing the details of history, geography, personality and winemaking techniques for the sake of brevity and immediacy. These were all samples for review.
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Santa Carolina Reserva Pinot Noir 2010, Maule Valley, Chile. 14.5% alc. Weedy, briery, sinewy, tannic. Upon what evidence does this astringent wine claim to be pinot noir or anything drinkable? Not recommended. About $10.
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Roth Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, Alexander Valley, Sonoma County. 14.4% alc. 83% cabernet sauvignon, 16% cabernet franc, 1% merlot. Dense, intense, concentrated; grainy tannins and sleek oak; cedar, sandalwood, bay leaf and vanilla, black currants and cherries; briery, foresty finish; nothing offensive, but feels as if it were designed by a committee from a check-list. Very Good. About $28.
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Pombal do Vesuvio 2008, Douro, Portugal. 13% alc. A table wine made from the Port grapes. Dust, graphite, stewed blueberries and plums, cloves; roasted and fleshy but with a distinct mineral edge; bright, clean acidity; real backbone and structure; earthy, robust, a little wild and rustic. Quite a mouthful for hearty braised meat dishes. Very Good+. About $28.
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V. Sattui Henry Ranch Pinot Noir 2009, Los Carneros, Napa Valley. 14.3% alc. Lovely pinot but with grip and grit; black cherry, woody spice, rose petal and lavender, cloves and sassafras; mulberry, graphite; acidity that cuts a swath on the palate through black and blue fruit; beetroot, moss, briers, deep satiny texture. Lavish yet elegant. Excellent. About $39.
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V, Sattui Black Sears Vineyard Zinfandel 2009, Howell Mountain, Napa Valley. 14.5% alc. Deep and rich but fleet and light on its feet initially; black currants, mulberries, plums; macerated and slightly stewed black and blue fruit hedged by burgeoning tannins; earth, leather, brambles, Platonic dark cherries; dense and succulent but not plush or opulent; plenty of stuffing and grit. Excellent. About $42.
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V. Sattui Quaglia Vineyard Old Vine Zinfandel 2009, Napa Valley. 15% alc. Deep, spicy, very rich; plummy and jammy blackberry and black currant; radiantly floral; but very dry, very austere, ultimately unbalanced, tons of tannin; too dense, too thick, too cloying. Not recommended. About $39.
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Tenuta Sant’Antonio “Selezione Antonio Castagnedi” Amarone della Valpolicella 2007, Veneto, Italy. 15.5% alc. 70% corvina, 20% rondinella, 5% each croatina and oseleta. Generous, expansive, rich, warm and spicy; deeply imbued with roasted and slightly macerated black currant, blackberry and plum aromas and flavors permeated by cloves and sandalwood; deep-down earthy and tinged with graphite-like minerality; brooding yet manageable tannins; exotic, savory. A modern Amarone perfect for venison and game birds, for the trappings of black truffles and blood sausages. Excellent. About $42-$45.
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Antiyal 2009, Maipo Valley, Chile. 14.5% alc. 41% carmenère, 35% cabernet sauvignon, 24% syrah. Ambitious, a bit showy; smoky, syrah-carmenère wildness and funkiness; black olive, cedar, thyme, black currants and blueberries; lip-smacking acidity, dry gritty tannins; lots of power and sheen. Bring on the dry-aged ribeye steak, hot and crusty from the grill. Very Good+. About $65.
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There was a time when consumers who loved the zinfandel grape could follow the “R” rule, that is, they could buy zinfandel wines produced by Ravenswood, Renwood, Ridge or Rosenblum and have no qualms about quality or integrity. The truth, of course, is that many wineries in California make fine examples of zinfandel, and the labels are not confined to one letter of the alphabet, but Joel Peterson, the founder (with partner Reed Foster) of and still the winemaker for Ravenswood, was a leader in using French oak barrels to age zinfandel wines and in making zinfandels from single-designated vineyards.

Peterson, a clinical microbiologist, grew up in a household devoted to food and wine, though both of his parents were scientists. He made his first zinfandel wines — from single vineyards in Sonoma County — in 1976, and in the next five years the wandering winery moved five times. While making wine and trying to build a winery, Peterson worked nights and weekends in the laboratory at Sonoma Valley Hospital, a job he kept until 1992, when the success of the Ravenswood Vintners Reserve brand finally enabled him to become a full-time winemaker and winery owner. Industry giant Constellation Wines acquired Ravenswood for $148 million in 2001; Peterson remains as the winemaker and is a senior vice president at Constellation Wines US.

There are six single-vineyard zinfandels in the Ravenswood line-up. I recently tasted two of them from 2008, the Dickerson, from Napa Valley, and the Belloni, from Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley. One is high-toned, elegant, distinctly fueled by tannin and minerals; the other is more approachable, definitely more spicy and fruit-driven, though not decadent or over-done. You’ll see which is which. Ravenswood also makes a “County” line of zinfandels from Lodi, Sonoma and Napa, the expanded Vintners Reserve label, and several limited edition wines.

These wines were samples for review.

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The Ravenswood Dickerson Zinfandel 2008, Napa Valley, feels balanced and harmonious from start to finish, though after 30 or 40 minutes, you feel the well-knit oak and tannin begin to assert their spicy, slightly woody and grainy influence. The wine, 100 percent varietal, aged 20 months in French oak, 30 percent new barrels, 28 percent one-year-old, the rest older. This is a zinfandel that feels warm with ripe fruit and spice and cool with graphite-like minerality. Notes of lavender, licorice and cloves highlight black currant, black cherry and plum jam scents and flavors in a package that’s sleek, polished and elegant, though tugged by the persistent gravity of those earthy, briery-brambly tannins; a few minutes in the glass bring in hints of bittersweet chocolate and black tea. 14.8 percent alcohol. Production was 755 cases. Drink now through 2016 to ’18. Excellent. About $35.
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The oak regimen for the Ravenswood Belloni Vineyard Zinfandel 2008, Russian River Valley, is close to the process for its cousin mentioned above; 20 months but with 32 percent new barrels and 32 percent one-year-old. The more important difference is in the make-up of the wine. While the Dickerson 08 is completely zinfandel, the Belloni 08 is a blend of 78 percent zinfandel with the balance of petite sirah, carignane and alicante bouschet grapes. For whatever reason — geography, climate, composition — the Ravenswood Belloni 08 make an immediate impression of size, ripeness and succulence, though it avoids anything sweet, jammy or over-ripe. Still, the tannins here, though certainly an influence on the wine’s dimension and structure, are softer, leaning a bit more toward the sanded graphite-in-velveteen camp. The wine is rich and warm and generously endowed with black currant, black plum and blueberry flavors dredged in cloves and allspice (with a touch of the latter’s faint astringency to lend complexity) and a strain of fruitcake that lingers provocatively through the finish. 15 percent alcohol. Production was 535 cases. Now through 2015 to ’16. Excellent. About $35.
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A dozen chardonnays from California, some of which exhibit the too-common stylistic pitfall of heavy reliance on French oak barrels to shape a wine and malolactic fermentation to give it a rich “character.” A few others are excellent models of purity and intensity and fidelity to the grape, a concept that must rule paramount above all other considerations in making wine. As usual in these “Friday Wine Sips,” I eschew most technical and historical information for direct, fairly spontaneous jottings adapted from my original notes.
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Rodney Strong Chardonnay 2010, Sonoma County. 13.5% alc. Disappointing from this generally consistent producer (and a chardonnay ubiquitous in restaurants). Big flush of vanilla that dominates, lots of cloves, buttery and emphatic, over-oaked finish; the balance is way off. Que pasa? Not recommended. About $13.50.
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Butternut Chardonnay 2010, California. 13.9% alc. Though this chardonnay ages in 100% new French oak and undergoes complete malolactic fermentation (aka, the kiss of death), it’s surprisingly well-balanced and integrated; pineapple and grapefruit, spiced peach; bright acidity, keen limestone element; dense and chewy without being viscous or heavy; actually very attractive, though not quite in the style I favor. Still … Very Good+. About $18.
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MacMurray Ranch Chardonnay 2009, Sonoma Coast. 13.9% alc. Pretty standard but picks up lots of oak and woody spice on the finish; a bit over the top but not too bad if you like the style, I mean at least it’s not super-tropical or wallowing in cloying dessert notes. Very Good. About $20.
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St. Supery Oak Free Chardonnay 2010, Napa Valley. 13.6% alc. Who needs oak? Not this incredibly attractive chardonnay. Fresh and zesty, slightly floral (honeysuckle); lemon and pear, lime peel and quince with a hint of a tropical melon element; leafy and a bit herbal, a sort of greengage quality; quite lively but with a lovely silken texture and a grapefruit-tinged finish. Excellent. About $20, Good Value.
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Heller Estate Chardonnay 2009, Carmel Valley, 13.5% alc. Medium gold color; a brash, bright, bold chardonnay; dry, quite vibrant, flashy, fleshy stone-fruit and pineapple; rather too spicy for my palate. Very Good. About $22.
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Hess Collection Chardonnay 2009, Napa Valley. 14.4% alc. Clean, pure and intense; smoke, roasted lemons, touch of honeysuckle; tasty pineapple-grapefruit flavors; transparent structure, pleasing lightness of being; very nicely balanced. Very Good+. About $22.
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Roth Estate Chardonnay 2009, Sonoma Coast. 14.5% alc. Way too much oak here and possibly malolactic; burnt match, the brûlée of crème brûlée, brown sugar, butterscotch, pineapple upside-down cake; sweet and strident at the same time. Not Recommended. About $22.
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Mount Eden Chardonnay 2009, Edna Valley. 13.4% alc. & Mount Eden Saratoga Cuvée Chardonnay 2008, Santa Cruz Mountains. 14% alc. Beyond the pale; both are determinedly oaky, woody, flagrantly spicy; the “Saratoga” particularly too big, too dry, unbalanced, parched with wood. I have seen the “Saratoga” compared favorably to Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru; let’s hope these comments were made in jest, because Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru would never be made like this. Not recommended. The first is $20, the second $26, but neither represents good value.
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Jordan Chardonnay 2009, Russian River Valley. 13.5% alc. Practically a lesson in deftness and lovely balance; pale but radiant straw-gold color; lemon balm and pineapple, ginger and quince; rich and flavorful but pared to elegance, vivid acidity and a resonant limestone element. Classic shape, structure and poise. Drink through 2015 or ’16. Excellent. About $29.
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Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars “Karia” Chardonnay 2009, Napa Valley. 13.5% alc. Graceful, indeed, and elegant, sleek and suave, with a deceptive inner simplicity; this is crystalline, plangent, buoyant with spiced stone-fruit and green apple and its peel, ginger and cloves and a back-note of pear, a hint of smoke, a touch of limestone; all understated, fresh, appealing. An exemplar of Napa Valley chardonnay. Excellent. About $35.
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Oakville Ranch Chardonnay 2009, Napa Valley. 14.5% alc. Major disappointment from a producer I greatly admire; very very spicy, very dense, I mean obtrusively so; very dry yet imbued with the dessert-like effects of roasted lemons, baked pears and apples, spiced quince, brown sugar and toffee; the palate is overwhelmed and wearied. Que pasa? Not recommended. 178 cases. About $45.
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La Follette Wines grew out of Greg La Follette’s Tandem label that he founded in 2001. He met Pete and Terri Kight in 2008, and the couple bought Tandem, folding it into a new winery and label that generously carried the winemaker’s name. I tried three of the winery’s five pinot noirs; La Follette also makes a roster of chardonnays. Many of these wines are made from high-altitude vineyards that seem to lend power and individuality to the product, while not straying too far from the pinot noir grape’s inherent elegance. Well, not too far.

The engraving that decorates the labels of La Follette wines is derived from a rare 19th Century French winemaking manual, though for this purpose the implement the vigneron was holding has been supplanted by a magic wand.

These wines were samples for review.
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The Van Der Kamp Vineyard, farmed on organic principles, lies at 1,400 feet elevation on Sonoma Mountain. My first note on La Follette Van Der Kamp Vineyard Pinot Noir 2009, Sonoma Mountain, is “This has it all.” The color is dark ruby with a violet-magenta rim; aromas of smoky black cherry, beet-root, cola and cloves, cranberry and rhubarb are layered over new leather and dusty graphite — a bouquet one does not easily forget. In the mouth, this pinot noir is seductively supple and satiny, supporting ripe and spicy (but not overly luscious) black cherry, mulberry and plum flavors in balance with a definitive smack of acidity for liveliness along with subtle, gentling shaping oak from 10 months in French barrels; through the finish, slightly dense tannins stir something earthy and almost tarry. 14.6 percent alcohol. 429 cases. Drink now through 2014 or ’15. Excellent. About $40.
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The Mendocino Ridge AVA — American Viticultural Area — established in 1997, is not contiguous, rather it encompasses three similar but disconnected mountain slopes along the coastal range in Mendocino County. It’s a huge region, but fewer than 100 acres are planted to vines, all above 1,200 feet, higher than the fog line. From one of these peaks, located at 2,000 feet, comes La Follette Manchester Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir 2009, Mendocino Ridge. One senses the mountain-side origin of the grapes in the wine’s distinct briery, brambly and leather qualities, in the foresty presence that inhabits the finish, in what I have to call tremendous tannin. Fruit is red with a black undertone — red currants and red cherry, rhubarb and mulberry, a hint of black plum — all deeply spiced and macerated, all permeated by cola and cloves and a hint of fruitcake. (It spends 10 months in French oak.) This is, by my lights, frankly large for pinot noir, densely structured, chewy, not exactly syrah-like but pushing the grape to the extreme; still, what can I say? It’s pinot noir; I pretty much like it. 14.7 percent alcohol. 494 cases. Drink now through 2014 to ’16. Excellent. About $50.
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La Follette Sangiacomo Vineyard Pinot Noir 2009, Sonoma Coast, is characterized initially by striking freshness and purity, followed by waves of smoke and exotic spices that imbue aromas of ripe black cherry and blueberry, mulberry and rhubarb. At 15.5 percent alcohol, there’s a lot of power here, and as the wine spends time in the glass it begins to yield evidence of the alcohol and the oak to the detriment of its other virtues, and the first impression of freshness and purity is subsumed by heat and a general sense of imbalance. Perhaps a few years aging, say, through 2013 or ’14, will smooth this wine out and bring integration, but my money would be on the two previous wines. Very Good (for potential). About $40.
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You know me. I like to write extensive reviews of individual wines or groups of wines that include notes on history, geography, climate and terroir, the techniques and methods of winemaking and evaluations of the wines that weigh them in terms of detail and dimension, philosophy and spirit. I don’t, unfortunately, have either time or space to perform that educational and critical function for all the wines I taste, and so this week, in the spirit of the still fairly new New Year, I am launching “Friday Wine Sips,” a new feature on BTYH that will present quick reviews of wines that otherwise might not make it onto the blog. In these “Sips,” I forgo the usual attention to personalities and family history, weather conditions, oak aging, malolactic fermentation and such in favor of stealth missions that present the brief essence of each wine, along with a rating. I’m not giving up my preferred treatment; it’s simply the case that I receive too many wines to give the full FK treatment. Unless otherwise indicated, these were samples for review. Today: nine white wines. (Hmmm, a couple of these are longer than I meant them to be: I have to get used to brevity.)
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Jean-Luc Colombo Les Abeilles 2010, Côtes du Rhônes blanc. Clairette 80%, roussanne 20%. Palm Bay International. Fresh and clean and snappy, lanolin and bee’s-wax, camellia and honeysuckle, roasted lemon; spicy and taut with bracing acidity but moderately soft texture, peachs and pears, celery seed and thyme. Very Good+. About $12, Good Value.
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Michel Dutor La Roche Pouilly-Fuissé 2009. 13% alcohol. Stacole Fine Wines. Lean and minerally, limestone, jasmine and honeysuckle, quince and ginger, roasted lemon; very dry but a lovely, almost talc-like texture encompassing lithe, scintillating acidity and profound limestone with a hint of chalk. Classic. Very Good+. About $20. Not a sample.
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Michael Torino Estate Cuma Torrontés 2010, Cafayate Valley, Argentina. 13.5% alcohol. Frederick Wildman & Sons. Organic grapes. Melon, lemon drop and lemon balm, pea shoots, thyme and tarragon, jasmine and camellia; very dry, very crisp, a spare, slightly astringent sense of almond skin, peach pit and bracing grapefruit bitterness. A terrific torrontes. Very Good+. About $15.
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Veramonte Reserva Sauvignon Blanc 2010, Casablanca Valley, Chile. 13.5% alcohol. Huneeus Vintners. Fresh, clean, crisp and snappy, pea shoot, grapefruit and lime peel, tangerine; brings in celery seed and green grapes, touch of earthiness; taut with acidity and limestone, stand-up grapefruit bitterness on the finish. Screw-cap. Very Good+. About $12, Good Value.
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Roth Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2010, Alexander Valley. 13.2% alcohol. 2% viognier grapes. Very clean, fresh, pure and intense; distinctive without being exaggerated; lime and limestone, tangerine, peach and pear, slightly floral, very spicy, vibrant acidity, grapefruit on the finish. Lots of personality. Very Good+. About $16.
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Cadaretta SBS 2010, Columbia Valley, Washington. 14.1% alcohol. 75% sauvignon blanc, 25 % semillon. Sleek and suave, beautifully balanced, no edges except for a crisp line of vibrant acidity; lime and lime peel, camellia, dried thyme and tarragon, pent with energy and vitality; very dry, heaps of limestone and chalk. Lovely wine. Excellent. About $23.
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J. Moreau & Fils Le Croix Saint-Joseph Chablis 2009. 12.5% alcohol. Boisset America. Radiant medium gold color; slightly green, flint, pears, roasted lemon, jasmine and verbena; touch of slightly earthy mushroom element; “wow” (in my notes) “what a structure, what a texture”; heaps of powdery limestone and shale and talc but riven by chiming acidity, bracing salt-marsh-like breeziness, all enrobing pert citrus and stone-fruit flavors. Classic Chablis, cries out for a platter of just-shucked oysters. Excellent. About $20. Not a sample.
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Leitz Rüdesheimer Berg Rottland Riesling Spätlese 2009, Rheingau. 8.5% alcohol. Michael Skurnick. Pale straw color, hint of spritz; subtle and nuanced, peach and pear, damp hay, jasmine, baked goods; quite spicy, lip-smacking acidity, almost lush texture but with real “cut,” a bit sweet initially but finishes quite dry, even austere, like sheaves of limestone and quartz; superb balance and intensity. Try with trout or skate sauteed in brown butter. Excellent. About $33.
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At the end of October, I reviewed three pinot noir wines from 2009 from Sequana, a small winery that specializes in that grape derived from vineyards in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley and Monterey County’s Santa Lucia Highlands. Lo and behold, a fourth showed up at my door a few weeks later. This is the Sequana Sundawg Vineyard Pinot Noir 2009, Green Valley of Russian River Valley.

Green Valley lies in the southwestern portion of Russian River Valley. The AVA (American Viticultural Area) was approved in 1993 as Green Valley-Sonoma County — there’s also a Green Valley AVA in Solano County — and modified in 2007 to Green Valley of Russian River Valley. It’s a small appellation, whose proximity to the Pacific Ocean 10 miles to the west and its frequent foggy conditions make it appropriate for cool-climate grapes like chardonnay, pinot noir and gewurztraminer.

The Sequana Sundawg Vineyard Pinot Noir 2009, Green Valley of Russian River Valley, is a radiant medium-ruby color with a slight blue tint around the rim; it offers sweet red cherry and smoky black cherry aromas with hints of plum, cola and cloves — the intensity, the loveliness rated a Wow! in my notes. And wait, there quickly follows a backwash of mulberry and cranberry. The texture is super-satiny but not plush or velvety, actually almost spare, delicate and elegant; a few moments bring in the earthy element of briers and brambles, a touch of graphite and shale to sustain the black and red fruit flavors, all of this utterly smooth, balanced and integrated. And yet a few more minutes deepen the wine’s spicy nature, and the whole package gets denser and more chewy, earthier, in the grip of rounded yet slightly grainy tannins, powered from within by polished oak and vibrant acidity. Pretty much a masterpiece; the winemaker is James MacPhail. 13.9 percent alcohol. Drink through 2014 to ’15. Production was 523 cases. Excellent. About $50.

A sample for review.

I say “some of” because there are more pinot noirs in Merry Edwards’ roster than are under review on this page.

One of California’s most respected winemakers, Merry Edwards began her career in 1974 at Mount Eden Vineyards. She was the founding winemaker at Matanzas Creek in 1977 and stayed there until 1984. A subsequent venture, Merry Vintners, was not successful, but with investments from family and friends in 1997, she launched Merry Edwards Winery, which focuses on pinot noir from Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley, primarily from single-vineyards. The latter wines are designated Méthode à l’Ancienne, meaning that whole cluster fermentation occurs with grapes that have not been destemmed, a factor that contributes to the tannic character of the wines. These are ambitious pinots that accentuate size, substance and heft, but not at the expense of the unmistakeable and seductive qualities that make pinot noir what it is.

These wines were tasted at a wholesaler’s trade event.
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The Merry Edwards Pinot Noir 2008, Sonoma Coast, is so damned pretty and balanced and integrated that you want to eat it with a spoon. The color is radiant cerise with a magenta glow; aromas of black cherries and rose petals, cola and cranberry waft from the glass, while in the mouth the wine offers delicious and moderately spicy flavors of ripe black cherries and red currants in a texture that feels transparent and lacy; the satiny finish brings in touches of briers and graphite. 13.9 percent alcohol. Absolutely lovely. Drink through 2012 or ’13. Excellent. About $36.
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The Merry Edwards Pinot Noir 2008, Russian River Valley — notice the narrower focus from Sonoma Coast — is spicier and a bit fleshier than the previous wine; it features scents and flavors of slightly roasted black cherries, currants and plums with a hint of blueberry and smoke. Wonderful presence and tone here, great lift from vibrant acidity, intriguing aspects of fruitcake and cloves; you feel the gravitational pull of sanded tannins through the finish. A deeply gratifying specimen (and completely to Russian River type) of the pinor noir grape. 14.3 percent alcohol. Drink now through 2013 or ’14. Excellent. About $42.
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Merry Edwards first made wine from Phil and Toby Flax’s vineyard, in the upper reaches of the Russian River Valley, in 2005. Those who follow pinot noir production in the region will remember that Williams-Selyem makes a pinot noir from Flax, but from an older block. The Merry Edwards Flax Vineyard Pinot Noir 2008, Russian River Valley, is an earthy, loamy wine that bursts with notes of black cherry and rhubarb, cranberry and cloves, briers and underbrush; this is substantial stuff, dark, fully-fleshed out, full-bodied, quite dry, with an inviting texture like fold upon fold of satin sheets warmed by a sleeping body; it feels etched with graphite, violets, dried red currants; the finish is long and smoky. 14.4 percent alcohol. Drink through 2013 to ’15. Excellent. About $54.
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Ted Klopp owns this vineyard, which was planted with pinot noir vines in the 1980s. The Merry Edwards Klopp Ranch Pinot Noir 2008, Russian River Valley, is a frankly gorgeous pinot though of strapping proportions; it plays upon the broad panoply of baking spices, potpourri, fresh and ripe black and blue fruit with undertones of rhubarb and cranberry and dried fruit, all set within a package that deftly, almost riskily, balances delicacy of outline with tannic and mineral foundations. Of these four examples from 2008, the Klopp Ranch is the one that most exemplifies the principle of power and elegance, the one in which you perceive the influence of oak barrels, especially in the long, slightly austere finish. 14.4 percent alcohol. Drink through 2014 to ’16. Excellent. About $57.
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This wine marks the first release from Merry Edwards of a pinot noir made from Georganne and Bob Proctor’s vineyard in the northern zone of Russian River; chardonnay vines were torn out in 2006 to make way for pinot noir, so this is a very young vineyard in terms of the grape. The Merry Edwards Georganne Pinot Noir 2009, Russian River Valley, is a large-framed, full-bodied, slightly bruising pinot that emphasizes structure over fruit and substance over finesse. It’s earthy, loamy and leathery, briery and brambly, and while none of these attributes would be out of place is a pinot that felt more integrated, at this point the wine seems a bit out of focus. 14.4 percent alcohol. Try from 2013 to 2015 or ’16. Very Good+. About $54.
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Merry Edwards has been making pinor noir from Bob Pelligrini’s Olivet Lane vineyard for 25 years; the advantages of this long relationship and old vines are revealed in the wine’s generosity and complexity. The Merry Edwards Olivet Lane Pinot Noir 2009, Russian River Valley, is rich, smoky, meaty and fleshy, with an edge of aged game bird and scintillating graphite, but there’s a core of delicacy and elegance that keeps the wine lively and elevated; this feels as if chiseled from slate but with feline grace and litheness; in fact, the wine is downright muscular in texture, but not at the expense of a super-smooth, satiny skin. Black and blue fruit flavors are slightly roasted and stewed, though fresh, clean and attractive, and through the finish one feels the burgeoning effect of dry tannins and polished oak. 13.9 percent alcohol. Quite an achievement. Best from 2012 through 2015 or ’16. Excellent. About $60.
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Planted in 2001, the vineyard is named for Merry Edwards’ husband Ken Coopersmith. My first note on the Merry Edwards Coopersmith Pinot Noir 2009, Russian River Valley, was “whoa, so much presence!” This is, indeed, a pinot that makes itself immediately known in every respect, from its smoky, fleshy, briery, graphite-tinged bouquet to its background of clean, mossy earth and loam to its dimensional layering of tannin, oak and vibrant acidity. It doesn’t take the grape to the Dark Side, exactly — some of the details of fruit, flowers and spice are actually winsome and beguiling — but it’s certainly a reflection of a vineyard that’s beginning to reach maturity. 14.4 percent alcohol. Try from 2012 or ’13 through 2015 or ’17. Excellent. About $60.
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