Tasting Room at Testarossa

Today the tasting room was offering the following wines for the tasting:

2006 Novitiate Pinot Noir Rose, a new release

2005 Castello Chardonnay, which was a nice Chardonnay

2004 Schultze Family Vineyard Pinot Noir, a very nice Pinot, with solid fruit and pepper, easy to drink.

2005 Bien Nacido Vineyard Pinot Noir, I really liked this Pinot, full of fruit and spice, but balanced and easy to drink.

2004 La Cruz Vineyard Pinot Noir, I did not like this one as well as the others due to the finish.

2001 Garys' Vineyard Pinot Noir (Sold Out), a nice Pinot, still had some spunk after several years of aging, plenty of fruit.

Testarossa will be an interesting winery to watch, since they have played a role in developing markets for several vineyards along the California Coast with their low production special vineyard wines. It seems like vineyards that are teaming with the Jensens at Testarossa can try to ride the momentum from this very popular small production winery.

Testarossa Vineyards Barrel Tasting Event

I just returned from a wonderful tasting event at Testarossa Vineyards in Los Gatos for their club members. The winery is located in the historic Novitiate Winery at the top of a hill, but very close to downtown Los Gatos, so it is a great place to go for a wine tasting any weekend you are in the area. The people there are excellent hosts and it has an atmosphere that is very comfortable for visitors, casual and unpretentious. We were able to spend some time with Rob Jensen (who owns the winery with his wife), Bill Brosseau, winemaker and Adam Comartin, assistant winemaker. I have known Testarossa for their fine Pinots in the past, and now I am more knowledgeable about their Syrah production.

This was an amazing vertical tasting of their Garys' Vineyard Syrah, ranging from the 2000 vintage through the 2005 and 2006 barrel tastings, seven vintages in all. Then we tasted two of their new Syrah offerings from the barrel that will be released when finished. My tasting notes are as follows:

2000 Garys' Vineyard (GV) Syrah, nice laid back wine, very smooth but lacking boldness or complexity compared to some others.

2001 GV Syrah, this was a big, earthy, very drinkable wine, went well with the appetizers such as filet tartar tower.

*2002 GV Syrah, wow, this was my favorite one, big fruit with spice and pepper, a little on the wild side, a really nice wine from my perspective.

2003 GV Syrah, very drinkable for a young wine, fruit forward, overall a nice wine.

2004 GV Syrah, this wine had tight tannins, tasted very young, needs aging but has nice potential but high acidity now.

2005 GV Syrah (barrel tasting), this young wine was already very drinkable, solid fruit, low tannins for its age, a nice wine from the barrel.

2006 GV Syrah, this wine is so young at this stage, it is still developing and I don't feel I can tell what time in the barrel will bring, without tasting other vintages at this early stage.

2005 Thompson Vineyard Syrah, this is a new wine to be released, it has more fruit than spice, many of us liked it even at this early stage, a nice addition to the Testarossa offerings, should be quite popular.

2005 Subasio Syrah, this is a new wine made from fruit from several vineyards, it will be more modestly priced and easier to acquire. I liked the complexity of the wine, it was smooth and drinkable, with nice potential.

We also stopped by the tasting room, and I will cover that separately.

Testarossa Syrah Barrel Tasting Event

Later today I am headed to Testarossa for my first visit there. They are having a special members only barrel tasting event for their new Syrah, as well as tasting some of their library Syrah. Maybe we can try some of their excellent Pinot as well. I will try to write about it soon afterward. This is an excellent winery located in Los Gatos, so I look forward to checking it out.

2005 Husch Vineyards Pinot Noir is Released

I just received word this week that Husch Vineyards started taking orders for their 2005 Pinot Noir, which sells for only $21/bottle. I have ordered some already, and will post some notes on it once I have a chance to try this vintage. It sells out quickly most years, so it is now available. Some tasting notes from the winery:

The 2005 Estate Pinot Noir shows aromas of red cherry, plum, clove and rose petal. Fruit flavors repeat on palate with the addition of high-toned raspberry, vanilla, cedar and spice.

2005 Rusack Pinot Noir Santa Barbara County

Tonight we opened a bottle of Rusack Pinot to have with dinner. It was a really nice Pinot, fruit forward, fairly full bodied for a Pinot, and nicely balanced. It seemed like it could really improve with aging, unlike many Pinots I have tried. I think this is a really nice Pinot, and give it a rating of 93, and it is reasonably priced at around $25/bottle at my local wine merchant. I might pick up a case for my cellar.

2005 Folk Machine Central Coast Pinot Noir

We had a small gathering at my place for the Super Bowl yesterday, and tried a Pinot Noir that I picked up earlier in the day, the Folk Machine Pinot Noir 2005 vintage. This is a new label for me, but was recommended by my local Pinot expert as an affordable Pinot Noir. In this case affordable was around $20. Well, several of us tasted this wine, and it is easy to drink and not bad for the price, but it was a little too sweet for my taste. I would consider buying it again, but I really prefer a dry Pinot Noir rather than this one, quite honestly. I would rate it 83/100. Some of the others in the group would rate it higher. Folk Machine is working on their website and seems to be related to Hobo Wines, Banyan Wines, and Moshin Vineyards.

Another Nice Pinot Noir, Paraiso

Last night I was at a business dinner at Mistral, and ordered a bottle of the 2003 Paraiso West Terrace Pinot Noir. It had fairly bold fruit, was well-balanced, and opened up nicely during the dinner. It was excellent paired with their rack of lamb, as well as some of the other entrees. We all agreed to order a second bottle, which was great also. I will give it a rating of 90. It was also reasonably priced for the quality at $46 per bottle.