Don's Gillette's Weekly Wine Blog
Weekly musings from our store's resident wine guru
Don has over thirty years experience in the wine industry. For the last eighteen years his attention has been focused on the growing local industry. Don has a large following of customers who search out his opinions (never in short supply!) on new releases and on what's currently most distinctive on our shelves. Others seek his insights on wineries and trends that are still under the radar. Check back here each week for Don's latest thoughts on various wine-related topics. Read Don's full bio...
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Pinot Fest! [Part Two]
A Bright Horizon
The Farallon tasting always provides exciting surprises, and the most dramatic for me this year was the 2005 Bonaccorsi Fiddlestix. This brilliant and exotic wine offers further proof (try the 2004 Hitching Post and 2005 Ancien versions) that winemakers are finally learning how to extract the gold from this once enigmatic vineyard. I only hope we get to sell some of this one. Mike Bonaccorsi was a highly admired sommelier before he became a famous winemaker, and wines under his label are frequently designated "restaurant only". With luck, this one will prove an exception.
Also noteworthy from the South Coast, was the 2005 Byron "Bien Nacido Vineyard", a wonderfully creamy and complete Pinot. Brian Talley's 2005 Edna Valley "Stone Corral", is about to be released, so I was anxious to try it. It is a delicious and well-structured wine that is very appealing now, but will clearly reward cellaring (as do Talley's "Rincon" and "Rosemary" bottlings). I was unable to taste Jim Clendennen's full Au Bon Climat lineup, which Denise spoke very highly of, but I found his 2005 Ici/Le Bas very attractive.
The Northern wineries (especially the Sonoma Coast ones) were well represented. In addition to the lovely 2005 and 2006 Peay bottlings, I was impressed by the 2004 Talisman "Red Dog" and enjoyed a re-tasting of their '04 "Thorn Ridge". The 2005 Flowers DZ; the "Reserve" and "Lingenfelder" Pinots from Skewis; Gloria Ferrer's well-evolved 2003 Rust Rock; and the new 2006 Greenwood Ridge Estate were all delightful as well. I was feeling downright "Festive", by the time I left.