Phenomenal tasting on Friday – the best winemaker tasting we’ve had so far. Greg LaFollette, owner/winemaker of Tandem Winery and one of California’s most renowned Pinot Noir / Chardonnay specialists (also makes very nice Zin, Gewurz, and more), made a special trip to Milwaukee just for us. He was in Chicago to meet with his distributor there and drove up to MKE just to do a Thief Wine tasting, then drove back right after the tasting for an early-morning flight on Saturday. How generous and cool is that!?!?! We got to know Greg well while we were in Sonoma, and are continually blown away by how caring, thoughtful, and giving he is; we’re incredibly lucky to have him as a friend.
Great turnout for the tasting, with about 45 people enjoying 7 delicous wines and conversation with Greg.
First wine was the 2005 Ritchie Vineyard Russian River Valley Chardonnay, which we’re currently pouring by the glass. Greg’s one of the few California winemakers who can produce a big, full, rich style of wine that still retains elegance, balance and minerality. 14.9% alcohol, but doesn’t taste hot at all. Creamy, with lots of lees influence, ripe pear, golden delicious apple, lemon curd, and spicy oak undertones.
Next was a special winery-only treat that Greg brought in just for the tasting, the 2006 Manchester Ridge Chardonnay from tne Mendocino Ridge appellation. Very different from the Ritchie, being made primarily from the new Dijon 809 clone. This clone give a very floral component to the wine, with more tropical and pineapple notes. Exotic, with nice acidity to complement the fruit. Lighter on the palate initially than the Ritchie, but grows in intensity and with a long, long finish. Not distributed in WI, alas, since only 150 cases were made, but Greg offered to make sure I got some if I had interested customers. (Did I mention he’s really nice?)
Moving on to the reds, we started with another treat that’s not for sale (not only is it not distributed in WI, it’s also sold out at the winery, with a whopping 65 cases produced) that Greg brought just because it’d be fun to taste; the 2006 Van der Kamp Vineyard Sonoma Mountain Pinot Meunier. Pinot Meunier is widely grown in Champagne as a part of the blend there, but very little is planted elsewhere and you don’t often see it as a stand-alone varietal. The Van der Kamp Vineyard has the old Pinot Meunier in the country, originally planted in the early 1960s (and alas, just ripped out last year, a victim of phylloxera). It’s a fairly light-bodied grape, and flavorwise is like a spicier, more floral Pinot Noir. The Van der Kamp is a great example, with excellent concentration and intensity and lots of spicy red berry fruit.
Random fact: The grape got its name because the underside of its downy leaves can look as though they have been dusted with flour (Meunier is French for miller).
Next up was the Van der Kamp ‘06 Pinot Noir. Greg describes this as a very feral wine, and I can see why. Spicy, earthy, musky, mushroomy notes complement dark cherry fruit. Full for a Pinot, yet still elegant and balanced. A serious, structured, complex wine – very nice now; will benefit from a couple of years in the cellar.
The second Pinot Noir was the 2006 Auction Block, so named because Greg creates this blend specifically to donate to charity auctions; unlike his other Pinots that are made from single vineyards, this wine is a blend of the best blocks from the best vineyards; it’s his top-of-the-line cuvee. Only five cases came into WI, and I snapped up two of them (with only a few bottles remaining). I’d had this wine about 6 months ago but not since then, and the evolution is impressive; it’s really starting to hit its stride now. Much lusher and more open than it was previously, and very Burgundian in its combination of fruit and spicy forest floor flavors. Great texture and mouthfeel, with strucutred tannins and acidity. Another candidate for a few years to reach full maturity.
The penultimate wine was the 2006 Peloton, a unique blend of 58% Pinot Noir, 30% Zinfandel, 2.5% Carignane, 2.5% Sangiovese, 2% Syrah, 2% Chardonnay, 2% Gewurztraminer, 1% Pinot Meunier. Got all that?!? This wine was a favorite of many; I don’t have it on the shelves yet, but I will. Surprisingly, the Zin doesn’t overwhelm the Pinot as I thought it might; the wine still has a lightness about it and bright cherry and strawberry fruit, with the midpalate juiced up by the Zin. Distinctive and delicious.
Finally was the 2005 Aldine Vineyard Zinfandel from Mendocino. Big, juicy, and jammy, with brambly red fruit, spicy pepper, and soft tannins. A crowd-pleasing way to end the night (Though Zinfandel’s about my least favorite varietal, while Pinot is my favorite, so I gave myself another helping of the Auction Block to end it.)
All in all, a great night – thanks Greg!
Thanks, Phil! It was so great to see your and Aimee’s shop – I was thrilled to see how well you have set things up and catch the vibes of how you are not only bringing Tandem wine to WI, but also doing wine education in a real and meaningful way. Thanks for hosting me, and thanks from all of us hose-draggers here in Sonoma County for all that you are doing to bring forward the stories of wine! Best, Greg