Lots of terrific wines were poured last year, and this year many of these gracious winemakers are returning for the event.  Among them Bonny Doon Vineyard, Fess Parker Winery and Cline Cellars.  Newcomers include Stolpman Vineyards, Veritas, and Justin Winery, to name a few.  Look for a recap and a review of the wines in this column after the event.

I was especially impressed with the 2007 Plummer Vineyard Petite Sirah.  One word best describes it:  Viscosity.  This wine is pitch black; seemingly impenetrable.  I anticipated major intensity from this wine, but was pleasantly surprised by suppleness and elegance.  Weighty but not meaty, the wine offered ample flavors of wild blueberry and currant.  Plummer Vineyard is owned by Bianchi Winery’s neighboor.  Bianchi’s winemaker, Tom Lane, buys fruit for his “Signature Selection” wines from them and other reputable growers.  All of the fruit that goes into the winery’s “Heritage Selection” wines is grown on their property in Paso Robles.  Depending onthe vintage, the wine will always be close to 100% Petite Sirah will spend between 19-30 months in oak.

Despite it being the start of the busiest time of year in wine country, Tom Lane spent half an hour with me on the phone enlightening me about the people and process behind the wines.  Bianchi grows Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah on 28 acres surrounding the winery.  They buy fruit from growers they have strong relationships with to craft white and additional  red wines from varietals such as Refosco and Sangiovese.  Asked to briefly summarize his winemaking philosophy, Tom said he endeavors to “accentuate the grape first, then layer in other qualities.”  This statement rang true in the wines I sampled.  Tom aims to yeild 3.5-4 tons of fruit per acre, thinning heavily before veraison (the onset of ripening).  This, combined with the use of soil moisture monitors and vertical shoot positioning trellis systems to increase air flow around the fruit, ensure each berry gets the royal treatment.

Participating Wineries include Bonny Doon Vineyard, Cline Cellars, Clos Saron, D.H. Gustafson Family Vineyards, Fess Parker Winery & Vineyards, Folin Cellars, Guy Riedel Wines, Katin, Rocca Family Vineyards, Sawtooth Winery, Stage Left Cellars, Stark Wine, Tablas Creek Vineyard, Tarara Winery, Tercero Wines, Terry Hoage Vineyards, and Vina Robles.

Winemaker Rob Folin

The Rhone Rangers held a press tasting at Zola Kitchen yesterday featuring outstanding white wines made from Viognier, Roussanne and Grenache Blanc, and reds made from Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre.  My favorites were:  Folin Cellars 2008 “Misceo” red blend from Oregon, which was lush and velvety with layers of dark berry and a hint of cocoa; Tablas Creek 2008 “Cotes de Tablas Blanc”, which offered hints of tropical fruit, melon and citrus with great acidity; and Terry Hoage’s (the Redskins Superbowl Champ) “Skins” Grenache which was peppery with plums and very refined.

If you can’t catch them while they are in town tonight at the Smithsonian, their wines are definitely worth seeking out.

Tablas Creek winery is a partnership between the owners–Pierre and Jacques Perrin–of the France’s Rhone Valley-based Château de Beaucastel–and U.S. wine importer and founder of Vineyard Brands, Robert Haas.

Many great wines made in new-world regions are the products of similar partnerships between renowned winemakers from the old world and new. The result is many fine, new world wines that have the advantage of tradition, history, and knowledge of some of the world’s greatest wine houses.

Among the most famous of these in the U.S. is Opus One, which is a partnership between California’s Robert Mondavi and Baroness Philippine de Rothschild from Bordeaux, France. The Examiner also reviewed wines from Artesa Winery, which is a division of Codorníu, another old-world wine company. Located in Spain, Codorníu is responsible for coining the name of “cava,” which refers to Spanish sparking wine made using “méthode Champenoise.”

Image complements of Tablas Creek

Their signature white wine blend is the Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc, a white wine made with Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, and Picpoul Blanc grapes. It has earned high ratings from wine experts–Robert Parker (91 points) and Stephen Tanzer (92-94). It is also recommended by Charlie Palmer Steakhouse’s Sommelier Nadine Brown, who is featured in the July issue of the Sommelier Journal. You can enjoy a bottle of this wine for $51 here in DC with your meal at Charlie Palmer’s.

Tablas’s signature red wine is the Tablas Creek Vineyard Esprit de Beaucastel. The 2006 vintage is made with 45 percent Mourvedre; 28 percent Grenache; 22 percent Syrah; 5 percent Counoise. It rates 93 points by the Wine Spectator, 91-93 points by Robert Parker, and 93 points by Stephen Tanzer.  The 2006 Tablas Creek Vineyard Mourvedre is made with 90 percent Mourvedre and 10 percent Syrah, it rates 90 with the Wine Spectator. Also, keep your eye out for the 2007, which Tablas Creek owners say it the best vintage for this wine yet. Also delicious is Tablas Creek Vineyard Syrah, made with 90 percent Syrah and ten percent Grenache. It retails there for $35-$40.

This wine is one of the several wines that Deborah Brenner decided to market after the successful release of her book.   She had escaped a career in high tech to write Women of the Vine, which highlights the careers of successful women in the wine industry.  The Wine Spectator dubbed it one of the “best new books” of the year (published 2007).  After profiling other impressive women in the wine industry, Brenner herself became one of them by launching Women of the Vine wine label.  Under this label, her company markets limited production wines made by successful female winemakers, including some of the women in her book.