Christmas is a wonderful time for getting together with family and friends - and for Wine Camp. I've written about this before, and about Dave Johnson, my brother-in-law's brother-in-law, more or less. We do this exercise in wine geekdom twice a year now, at Christmas and Memorial Day.
I lost count of how many wines we tested each other on, and some of the bottles have already been tossed. My notes, as usual, became less extensive and more ambiguous as the afternoon wore on. But two wines stole the show.
Bramare Malbec 2004 from Marchiori Vineyard in Argentina's Mendoza district, was stunning - rich and intense, with flavors of cocoa that seemed to transport Dave back a few years to his childhood; he described it as "Nestle's Quik on steroids." It had more blackberry fruit than the blueberry flavor I usually attribute to Malbec, which threw me off track at first as I tried to guess its grape and provenance. So I kept asking for another sip. Bramare is made by California wine great Paul Hobbs.
Another California legend was responsible for the second stunner of the day. Rosenblum Petite Sirah 2004 from Rockpile Road Vineyard in Sonoma County's Rockpile AVA was ripe nearly but not quite to the point of pruny, with notes of leather, cocoa (hey - Christmas is a time for memories, after all!), plums and cherries. It was long, deep and gorgeous with tight, stony tannins befitting the vineyard's name.
I had the pleasure of visiting Rockpile Road Vineyard a few years back and walking among the vine rows with Jack Florence, Jr., and his father, Jack Sr. They produce Zinfandel and Petite Sirah that epitomize mountain fruit, from steeply sloped vineyards overlooking Lake Sonoma at the far western end of Dry Creek Valley. They sell their grapes mostly to Rosenblum but also to Carol Shelton and perhaps one or two other winemakers. Rockpile wines are hard to find - the AVA is small and only a few wineries make wines from there, and only in small quantities. But if you can find them they are worth a splurge.
I hope you had a joyful and delicious holiday, too! Please tell me in the Comments about the wines you enjoyed.
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