Butterfly coal

Easton 2008 Cabernet Franc Monarch Mine (Sierra Foothills) – Fairly generic California wine, in style: big, brawny, laden with dark fruit, and yet not quite tasting entirely of fruit as such. A hint of greenness to the significant tannin is the only sign of real differentiation from the norm. Maybe (much) time will help this, but it’s tedious to the extreme right now. (3/10)

Hoyas

Easton 2008 Pinot Noir Duarte-Georgetown (Sierra Foothills) – 14.2%. Despite positive verbiage on the label and the accompanying tech sheet (this is a free sample from the winemaker), I’m dubious. OK, pinot noir may have a history in the Sierras, but I suspect there must be a reason it doesn’t have a present. Certainly it would be an easier sell than the ubiquitous syrah, wouldn’t it? Well, anyway, first impressions don’t challenge my predispositions, with a vinyl, overworked quality to the sappy red fruit. There’s acid, and there’s minerality, but neither one works pleasantly towards a pleasant wholeness. So I leave the bottle alone for a while. One day becomes two, and two become three, and then I revisit. At which point I’m forced to walk back some of my criticisms, because the plastic element has disappeared, the structure has integrated, and the fruit is far more appealing than it was on the first day. There’s still minerality, and now there’s balance, and so now one wonders if there might be ageability. Is it a great pinot? No. Neither the Russian River Valley, nor the Central Coast, need quake in their boots (I’m not sure the Anderson Valley, for all its qualities, can quite afford boots yet). But it’s interesting, it’s markedly different, it’s from a trustworthy producer, and…well, who really knows? Worth a revisit, but mind the pop-and-pour mentality, because it doesn’t work here. (2/10)

Piedmonts

Montevina 2005 Zinfandel (Sierra Foothills) – 13.5%. Sort of a sangiovese-esque take on zin, with spotlit raspberry/strawberry fruit geysering forth on a crest of acidity. This is neither as brambly nor as spirited (pun intended) as zins from this area usually are. Juicy, tasty, fun, and under $20. Not many of those left, at least among zins worth drinking. (3/09)

London arenas

Domaine de la Terre Rouge 2003 “RO₂X” (Sierra Foothills) – An interesting tribute to the partially-oxidized style of wine one can find all over Europe, but rarely (except by accident) here. The grape is roussanne, and its Californian interpretation is most definitely on display here, as despite relatively restrained rancio there’s a great deal of lush golden fruit of an intensity not usually found in its old world models. This upsets the balance somewhat, but that could just as easily be a matter of expectations. I find this wine most enjoyable, and wholeheartedly support further experiments in this direction. Plus, anyone who loves a good pun as much as me has to like the name. (1/09)

...and his boy wonder, primitivo

Perry Creek 1999 Zinfandel “Zin Man” (Sierra Foothills) – Pine needles, with its regional wildness still present but caged, as age wears away at the surface and exposes the gentler interior. This has lasted well, though I’m not sure it has actually aged. (2/08)

Sierra smile

Easton 2005 Sauvignon Blanc (Sierra Foothills) – Big and aromatic…is that a little creamy leesiness?...with a surplus of ripe gooseberry and some fat to the texture. The cream and its accompanying butter are deceptive, as the wine doesn’t go through malo, but the ripe greenness reasserts itself on the finish. It’s like sauvignon blanc aromatics wedded to a viognier texture (though with the heat that so often plagues the latter). Interesting, and unmistakably New World.(5/07)

High, how are you?

Domaine de la Terre Rouge 2003 Syrah “High Slopes” (Sierra Foothills) – Smoked blackberry on enamel. A bit short. With more air comes more intensity and interest, so this might just need some time to figure itself out. (5/07)

Ang gris

Terre Rouge 2004 Vin Gris d’Amador (Sierra Foothills) – 51% mourvèdre, 34% grenache, 15% syrah. Unfocused and somewhat candied, this stumbles clumsily around its lazy fruit and finally passes out somewhere in a pool of alcohol. A rare misstep from this winery. (8/07)