Posts tagged as:

Hahn

Monterey Finds Gold At 2012 S.F. Chronicle Competition

by Laura Ness - HerVineNess on January 24, 2012

Monterey wineries had an impressive showing at the recently completed 2012 SF Chronicle competition, once confirming that this AVA has “Pinot Power” in spades. And let’s not forget all the gorgeous Chardonnay that flows like golden sunshine from the vine-threaded hillsides.

WrathSign It was Double Gold for Wrath for their 2009 “Fermata” chardonnay, $34.99, Double Gold for Paraiso’s 2009 SLH estate pinot, $24.99, Double Gold for Scheid’s 2009 Estate pinot noir ($32), and Double Gold for Hahn SLH Estate 2010 pinot noir ($34.99).

Proving Winemaker Sabrine Rodems has the golden touch when it comes to pinot, Wrath took Gold for both the 2009 Pommard 4/667 and 115/667 pinots, $34.99. sabrine&chrisWrath

CRU scored Gold for their Vineyard Montage pinot, $23. Mendelson Vineyard (Napa) took their 2008 Doctor’s vineyard pinot to Double Gold, and the 2009 version to Gold in the $35 to $40 category.

Bernardus took Silver for their SLH pinot in this category, as did Wrath for their 2009 “Ex Vite” pinot, Monterey appellation. This is a fabulously bright wine, overflowing with strawberry and rhubarb pie, with no wood to get in the way. It was fermented in neutral barrels. Wrath ExVitePinot

Truckee River Wine Company, a humble little spot I’ve enjoyed visiting up by the Truckee airport, turned their 2007 Garys’ Vineyard pinot into Double Gold, and the 2008 into Gold, both in the $40 to $49 category. Vision Cellars pulled off a Gold for their 2008 Rosella’s pinot, and Silvers for both their 2009 Los Alturas and Garys’ pinots ($48). Sonnet Cellars scored a Double Gold for their awesome 2009 Tondre pinot ($34.99).

Hahn SLH Estate scored Gold for their 2010 Santa Lucia Highlands chardonnay, $24.99, and Ventana pulled in a Gold for their sauvignon blanc ($19). Mercy Vineyards scored Silver for their Griva vineyard chardonnay ($30), as did Paraiso for their 2009 Estate chardonnay ($19). Scheid scored a slew of Silvers, including one for their 2008 Reserve Isabella sparkling ($45), their Estate pinot blanc ($24), their Napa Valley petit Verdot reserve ($65), and for their Monterey Reserve Tannat ($35). Well done! All the more reason to visit the new Scheid tasting room in Carmel.

Hahn also scored Gold for that yummy 2010 Central Coast GSM blend, priced at $12, and Gold for their Central Coast Meritage, $18, along with Silver for their Monterey pinot, central coast merlot and cabernet sauvignon. Winemaker Paul Clifton definitely still has that magic touch. paulCHahn

Mark Calendars for River Road Wine Trail Sweethearts Passport Event, Feb 11

It sure is nice to get rain at long last, but I would not mind if lovely weather would reappear for the annual Sweethearts Passport tasting event on River Road, Saturday, February 11. It’s a great time to visit all the sweet tasting rooms along one of America’s most scenic and charming wine trails. Tickets are $20 prior to Feb 1, and $30 thereafter, so you know what to do.

Laura&CHefBRianO Chef Brian Overhauser of Hahn Estates will be serving up some delicious appetizers focused on Pinot Noir, so be sure to make Hahn a stop on your River Road journey. A couple of the dishes he plans to serve are:

Pork Confit sliders and Royal Rose radicchio slaw with 2006 Lucienne Lone Oak Pinot Noir and Wagyu Short Ribs with Andy Boy Cauliflower and Horseradish Chantilly, paired with 2010 Hahn Winery GSM. Yum!! Can’t wait. HahnFood4Passport

Winemaker Dave Coventry of Franscioni and Manzoni wineries, invites you to come taste the difference he’s making at both these wineries. Recent tastings of the newly released 2009 Manzoni Estate Syrah and 2010 Manzoni Estate Pinot Noir confirm this brand is on a new track to greatness. DaveCoventryBarrels

Tagged as: 2008 Scheid pinot noir, Brian Overhauser, Dave Coventry, Franscioni, Garys' Vineyard, Hahn, Manzoni, Sabrine Rodems, Santa Lucia Highlands, Tondre, Truckee River Wine Company, Wrath

{ 0 comments }

Santa Lucia Highlands Has Its Act Together

by Laura Ness - HerVineNess on September 25, 2011

Did you know the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA has some of the largest plantings of pinot in the state of California? And more is going in at a constant pace. It’s heaven for Burgundian varietals.
A whopping 2,800 acres of pinot noir and 2,100 acres of chardonnay are planted here, and right now, they all have something in common: They’re taking forever to ripen. At least we had some serious heat this week, and speaking with growers at the SLH trade tasting in Walnut Creek this past Tuesday, where it was hotter than blazes, it appears some vineyards, such as McIntyre, might actually begin picking next week, as sugars were getting up toward 24.
Two things were evident from this trade tasting, which was well-attended by a throng of drippy-sweaty buyers, who eagerly sampled the delicious, well-chilled (and if they were not, they should have been) offerings of primarily the 2009 vintage, poured by a great lineup of SLH wineries.
1). The 2009 vintage is consistently stellar, across the board, with bright, effusive fruit and good balance.
2). The 2010 examples show even brighter promise.
Oh, and 3.) It was too bloody hot to [...]

Tagged as: chardonnay, Hahn, La Rochelle, Mcintyre, Morgan, Paraiso, Pellerin, Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands, Sarmento, Scheid, Sequana, Talbott, Tondre, wine; Santa Lucia Highlands; Pinot; Calera; Central Coast, Wrath

{ 0 comments }

“Que Syrah” Sizzles Despite Sleet: Proceeds Donated to Japan Relief Fund

by Laura Ness - HerVineNess on March 26, 2011

Fittingly, the First Annual “Que Syrah” event, a celebration of cool climate Syrahs from the Santa Lucia Highlands, was blessed with plenty of cool weather. Snow, sleet, hail, rain and chilly winds greeted the 200 some attendees at the sold out tasting held at Wrath Winery in Soledad.
Not only did they have some of the finest cool climate Syrahs California has to offer, but they were treated to some truly fine food. Let’s just say that Chef Brian Overhauser of Hahn Estates knows his way around a bottle of Syrah as well as he knows his way around a kitchen.
The beef cheek sliders with the frisee and radicchio salad (provided by Emily Lyons of Royal Rose Radicchio), was dressed to the nines, and was dead on with the richer styles of Syrah, like Novvy, Paraiso and Antiqus, while the five-spice roast pork belly crostini showed off the peppery prowess of wines like Boekenoogen, Manzoni (Dave Coventry and Mark Manzoni, below left), Big Basin Vineyards and Pelerin (Chris Weideman of Pelerin, below. right).

The sea bass with Syrah reduction and broccoli beurre blanc (insanely good, but a lot of work), was nicely suited to Hahn, Wrath and Morgan’s renderings.
The three rave faves [...]

Tagged as: Big Basin Vineyards, Brian Overhauser, Dave Coventry, Hahn, Japan disaster fund, Manzoni, Michael Thomas, Morgan, Novvy, Paraiso, Pelerin, Que Syrah, Royal Rose radicchio, Sabrine Rodems, Santa Lucia Highlands, syrah, Wrath

{ 0 comments }

Sink Your Teeth Into SLH Syrah: “Que Syrah,” March 19th

by Laura Ness - HerVineNess on March 11, 2011

Que Syrah? How Do I Love Thee? March 19th at Wrath in Soledad The wine press is abuzz with Syrah of late: some want to nail the coffin shut, and let Grenache run away with the Rhône crown. Others are investing in its future, like Bob Lundquist of Qupé, or, more locally, in Monterey County, there’s Michael Thomas, whose steady hand has the good ship Wrath on a solid path. Or, in sailing parlance, on an even keel. I for one, love Syrah, and there’s nothing as rewarding as a swig of well-crafted, tar and ink, salt and pepper and meaty leather: Syrah, I love your heart of darkness.
If you, too, love Syrah, get your booty over to Wrath next Saturday, March 19, for the first ever focused tasting of cool-climate Syrahs from the Santa Lucia Highlands (SLH). From noon til 4:30, you can plumb its depths and climb its heights, from producers including Big Basin Vineyards, Boekenoogen, Hahn, Manzoni, Miura, Morgan, Novy, Paraiso, Pelerin, Pessagno and Wrath.\
One of the most distinctive vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands is Fairview Road Ranch, a source of super-spicy syrah for Big Basin Vineyards, a Santa Cruz Mountains producer of [...]

Tagged as: Big Basin Vineyards, Boekenoogen, Hahn, Monterey, Morgan, Paraiso, Que Syrah, Rhone, Santa Lucia Highlands, syrah, Wrath

{ 0 comments }

Pinot Noir: Precocious Paramecium Juice

by Laura Ness - HerVineNess on January 17, 2011

Pinot Noir is like a paramecium: it evolves constantly. In a matter of moments, it can change personality like single-celled creatures under a microscope, becoming a bipolar calamity, even turning into Cerberus, dog of the underworld. Hey, wait!! I liked you better before you grew two heads! That’s Pinot for you. Don’t turn your back on the possibility that the golden retriever you loved at first sniff can turn into the Rottweiler that will bite the back of your tongue off upon ingestion. Few wines can masquerade as something so jailbaity on the nose and turn into such long prison sentences when they cross your lips. Ouch. And that’s on a normal day, when conditions are ideal. Pinot, you are a harlot.
At the Pinot Shootout finals (organized by Barbara Drady of Affairs of the Vine), held January 15, 2011, on a beautiful day at Fort Mason in San Francisco, I had the misfortune of sitting across from the fire escape door. In a rare happenstance, it was open to add some air to a stuffy top floor room on a windless, cloudless, all sunny, all too much like Spring afternoon. The abundantly bossomy Sophia Loren-like sun spilled over onto my [...]

Tagged as: Barb Drady, Claiborne & Churchill, Expression 39, Fulcrum, Hahn, Kenneth volk, Mueller, nth Degree, Pinot Noir, pinot shootout, pinot summit, Sequana