El Dorado Wine Passport Weekend

[Claret]

Courtesy of some friends I had tasted several wines from the Sierra Foothills prior to this trip and found the wines to be of interest, especially the Italian and Rhone varietals and blends. Some of these wines can even be found on the shelves of local supermarkets in Reno. We enjoy Renwood Barbera and stock up on it on sale for $8.99, but distribution is generally limited on these low production wines.

Passport Weekend is one of the major events in El Dorado County. For those of you who are not familiar with this AVA it is East of Sacramento, South of Auburn and Coloma CA, and to the Southwest of Lake Tahoe in the Western foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. This is gold country, south of Sutter's Mill in sleepy Coloma, with granite and decomposed granite soils, on elevations up to 2700+ feet. The Pasport is $65 for both days and includes tasty small plates at many of the wineries, as well as barell tasting for futures purchases, along with all the current releases and some library gems. Many of the wineries offer special discounts and the futures were generally nicely discounted and in some cases the only way to buy the limited production stuff. The quality of the wines ranged from shallow and boring to very good, even excellent in a few examples. We hit 18 wineries and must have tasted 100+ wines. I was the designated spitter and diigently spit all but about 5 pours and was able to drive about without difficulty which is especially helpful on the narrow twisting roads thruout the hills. We stayed in quaint Placerville which is still called Hangtown, the scene of rope oriented Western justice.

As for the varietals in the Foothills, Chardonnay was a poor varietal for this area as is Cabernet Sauvignon. The Chards and Merlots were all boring and many of the Cab Sauv's had a greenness that I do not like. Barbera, Sangiovese, Malbec, Petite Sirah, Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvedre and some of the Zinfandels were the stars of the vineyards for the reds. I enjoyed the minerally Viogniers, Rousanne and Sauvignons from a few producers. The Roses were mostly only fair. Most wineries made Ports and the general quality level of the Ports was good, although I tasted only a few Ports on the second day to preserve my palate.

I did not take any notes but I will list my favorite wineries for quality. Number one was easily Holly's Hill in Fairplay with the desirable red clay soil. Excellent Rhones across the board. Wonderful Roussane, Grenache and of course Syrah. They even have an acre of Counoise for blending. Good QPR.

Crystal Basin Cellars had fine Barbera, Malbec, Cabernet Franc(CF was better at most all wineries that straight Cab Sauv), Viogner and an excellent 100% Petit Verdot Reserve. Latcham Vineyard and Granite Springs have the same owner and Italian winemaker, and it was at Latcham that we bought the 2001 Library Zinfandel and Granite Springs 1999 Library Petite Sirah, which I felt were the top examples of their varietals this weekend.

Also noteworthy and worth seeking out were Miraflores for their 2007 Syrah and best of weekend 2007 Meritage. Perry Creek for the Syrah, Zin and Syrah Rose, and Single Leaf for their granite inflected Malbec which was possibly the best Malbec that I have ever tasted.

A word on vintages-2006 is the current release and is a very good vintage. The 2007's were even better and were consitently good just about everywhere.

It looks like Passport weekend will become an annual event for us. The locals are friendly and and the drive is very pretty across the Sierra, and is only 2.5 hours assuming that the mountain passes do not have any snow.

[William P]

Thanks Glen, there are a lot of little gems up there. I like Charles Mitchell Reserve Syrah and reserve Barbera, and Karley's Mourvedre. The barberas are starting to come into there own now. The problem with foothill wines is they are so rich and high in alcohol. Now exactaly food friendly, but great for sitting back and sipping a rich full-bodied red.

Give me a call next time you are headed to Fairplay or Amador, and I'll meet you there.


Bill

[Claret]

Bill, there were certainly some big puppies out there, but also some wines that show restraint along with that glorious California fruit. IMO California wines have the best 'fruit' qualities of any wines on the planet with a big nod to German Riesling, and I do appreciate this yummy but not jammy fruit quality every once in a while in addition to my Old World favorites. The best wines combine depth and structure along with controlled alcohol and oak levels with all that ripe fruit.

I agree with you on the overall high quality level of the Barberas. Rich with good acidity. A guy that works in my office who is a light beer drinker was in another group during Passport. He bought Barbera futures again this year for his only purchase.

We plan on being out in Lodi, Clarksburg and Old Sac hopefully on May 29 and 30. Do you have any plans for then?

[William P]

We will be here. Would you and your friends like to come over for a bbq after tasting?