Gang of Pour - Left Coast Correspondent

Who? A few new producers at the Family Winemakers' Tasting

Grey Fox Vineyards is a joint venture of two couples who purchased 11 acres not far from Oroville. About 4-5 acres is now planted to Sangiovese, Barbera, Syrah and Zinfandel. They do make some wine from purchase grapes, but I chose to taste the estate wines only.

Grey Fox 1999 Sangiovese – medium ruby color – shy nose – pretty sweet attack with very nicely balanced fruit and lively acidity – a food, rather than a sipping wine, but cleanly made with a very pleasant mouthfeel and finish.

Grey Fox Barbera – a blend of 1999 and 2000 vintages – slightly deeper color – again, pleasant and forward sweet fruit attack without the acidity that sometimes renders this varietal undrinkable for me. High toned fruit and zippy acids make this another pleasant and delicious food wine.

Grey Fox 1999 Syrah – muted nose with hints of dark Syrah fruit that peek through with vigorous swirling – bright purple fruit flavors in the mouth – clearly California in style – not likely to be mistaken for French or Australian – like the other wines, bright and zippy – approachable and lovely fruit – balanced and clean.

Grey Fox 2000 Zinfandel – has been in bottle all of two days – dense purple color – well, no bottle shock aromatically – lush and rich Zinberry aromas that leap from the glass – brighter on the palate than in the nose with rich young Zinfandel flavors – hints of oak and vanillin – very well balanced, and will be quite appealing with a little time to settle down.

A surprisingly strong lineup of wines from Grey Fox, and nothing is priced above $20 – some QPR winners here for you to look for!

530.589.3920
GreyFox.net

Then another quick stop with some friends – John and Shawn Guilliams who produce Cabernet Sauvignon from their home vineyard on Spring Mountain. I was happy to see that they were pouring their 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon, which is absolutely delicious. Reflective of the vintage, the wine is forward and lush, balanced and understated, in a style that I am very fond of, but is not what you might ordinarily consider to be the "Spring Mountain Style". It is accessible, beautifully balanced, and a pleasure to drink. Priced around $30.

I also stopped by to say hello to Michael and Anne Dashe, among our favorite people, and producing some of our favorite Zinfandels. Their 1999 Dry Creek Zinfandel has opened up considerably since ZAP last January, and is now showing bright and delicious forward fruit, and great balance (which is the hallmark of this producer.) The 1999 Todd Brothers Zinfandel is from the Alexander Valley, and shows slightly darker and deeper flavor profile, but has also opened up nicely since I last tasted it. Now rich and mouthfilling, all in good balance, and a pleasure to drink by itself, but has the structure to carry hearty foods. The 1999 Sangiovese is still restrained in the nose, but bright and pretty on the palate – still needs time to come around and show it’s best – definitely showing good potential.

Dashe Cellars, LLC
510.865.0267
DasheCellars.com

I did visit some other producers but chose not to include them because either the wines or the people were unpalatable. Eventually, palate fatigue got the best of me and I had to pack it in.

Conclusions

The tasting – It worked well enough for the first hour or two of the trade portion, but after that, the sheer number of attendees along with all the room taken up by the wineries made things terribly cluttered and frustrating. I understand the desire to add wineries to the event, but the organizers need to look at whether bigger is better. They also had another meltdown at the trade will-call desk that generated a great deal of ill will.

The wines – generally better than what I tasted at Cal-Italia, but I’m sure it was a statistically insignificant sampling. I wound up tasting more moderately priced wines, but I heard grumblings that there was little relationship between price and value with many of the producers.

Wines of the Day – several excellent wines for near and under $20. These wines renewed my hope that the discouraging wave of arrogance that seems to have swept over the California wine industry has not dragged everybody along with it. We need to support these folks, and help the new wineries that offer good value to develop a strong customer base. I urge you to seek them out and vote with your bucks.

califusa
Left Coast Correspondent to the Gang of Pour
Napa