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Tandem barrel tasting and seminar - Printable Version

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- wondersofwine - 02-21-2006

On Saturday I attended a luncheon and Tandem Pinot Noir barrel tasting at Sullivan's Restaurant in Raleigh as part of Triangle Wine Experience. Greg La Follette (formerly of Kendall-Jackson and winemaker at Flowers) now has his own label, Tandem, in Sonoma County, producing mainly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir (with a little Sangiovese and Zinfandel). He also works for Boisset America and consults for other wineries, having helped design or redesign 14 wineries worldwide. His philosophy is that wine is "raised" rather than "made."
We first were poured wines from four barrels. Two were from the same Pinot Noir clone, clone 115, but from different vineyards. The second of these from a ranch next to Tandem Winery was my favorite of the first four although I thought there was something a little "odd" about the nose. Clone #115 can be a little hard and needs extra hang time. For the second wine that we tried that I liked best of the four, the grapes wer picked at 28 brix instead of 24 or 25. The third wine was a blend of clones, #115, Pommard, #777 and #667. The fourth wine was from volcanic soil and had clones from Calera and Swan.

After sampling all four, we were told to pour them all into one glass and taste again. The blended wine tasted a bit grapier but was definitely better and more complex than the individual wines (arguing again for the benefits of judicious blending rather than single vineyard always triumphs).
After trying the blended wine, we were poured some Sangiacomo Pinot Noir and Keefer Ranch Pinot Noir. The lady on my left and I prefered the Sangiocomo while the couple on my right prefered the Keefer Ranch (Green Valley). The Sangiacomo grapes were the last picked grapes in Sonoma County, growing under the cool-climate influence of the Petaluma Gap in the Sonoma Coast appellation. Light burgundy color, transparent. Tighter, and more linear, with more acidity than the Keefer Ranch. Long finish. Exhibits red fruits such as pomegranate, cherry and cranberry and an attractive smoky character.
Mr. La Follette describes the Keefer Ranch as evoking black fruit images but I didn't necessarily agree. I did feel it tasted thinner than the Sangiacomo and lacked the long finish but had some redeeming elegance.
The Keefer Ranch P.N. is a blend of the following clones: Wadenswil 2A, Pommard, Mariafeld and Dijons. The Sangiacomo P.N. is priced at $48 a bottle from the winery and the Keefer Ranch at $42.


- dananne - 02-21-2006

Great notes, and thanks! Sounds like a fun time.


- Kcwhippet - 02-21-2006

Really like Keefer Ranch, Siduri puts out a very nice version. The 777 clone from SW Willamette is one of our faves, too.


- Deputy - 02-22-2006

what do you guys mean by "clone" in this context?


- Drew - 02-22-2006

Price estimates?

Drew


- wondersofwine - 02-22-2006

Drew, read the bottom of the first posting in the thread for prices.


- wondersofwine - 02-22-2006

Deputy,
"Wondering what a grape clone is? Well - A grape clone is a grape that has been developed to replicate a desired characteristic from the vine [from]which it was propagated. Clones can be developed to increase or decrease yields, to provide disease resistance, or adapt to a climatic specification. For identification purposes, clones are categorized by number, this is known as clonal designation." I would add that clones can be developed for their contributions to aroma or color of the wine also. This is from www.aginfo website. Perhaps Foodie, who has owned a winery, can further explain.


- winoweenie - 02-22-2006

Dep. Clones are the offspring of the many diverse original grape varietals. Just as there are hundreds of different roses, there are hundreds of different versions of Pinot Noir traceable back to the place where they were first cloned. All belong to the Pinot Family but all have their own traits just as red, yellow, blue, and pink roses have their own traits but belong to the major rose family. This is a simplistic version but hopefully it helps. WW (Cabs, Chardonnays, Sav Blanc, et.al have clones also)


- Kcwhippet - 02-22-2006

Just a bit more on the clones. The PN clones are dumped into two groups - the Old School clones and the Dijon clones. Old School are, in fact, older clones brought to CA as long as 115 years ago. Calera is Old School but was brought from Domaine Romani Conti about 25 years ago. The Dijon clones are all numbered - 113, 114, 115, 667, 777, 459 and 828 are the ones most planted in CA. Clone 115 is one that's generally most able to be bottled alone, though it does benefit with the addition of smaller amounts of the other clones in the blend. Clone 777 is similar to 115 but isn't quite as rich. I don't know how many different PN clones are planted in CA, but the French have identified over 1000 in their vineyards. I believe I read that Melville has about 15 different PN clones planted in their vineyard. Boggles the mind how a vintner can keep track of all the characteristics of each clone they've planted and then combine them just right to make a great wine.


- Innkeeper - 02-22-2006

KC did you write that off the top of your head, or did you have a 500 lb text book in your lap?


- wondersofwine - 02-22-2006

Very impressive, KC. WW's analogy to roses is helpful also.


- hotwine - 02-22-2006

The best descriptions I've read, anywhere. Good goin', folks.


- Deputy - 02-22-2006

Very helpful. Thanks!


- Kcwhippet - 02-22-2006

IK, Part out of my head, and some I looked up.


- wondersofwine - 02-28-2006

Just got a mailing list invite to purchase some KostaBrowne Pinot Noirs and I noticed on their website the wine fact sheets tell not only what percentage of the grapes is from which vineyard but also what percentage of each clone is included. To me the Russian River Valley P.N. sounds more attractive than the Sonoma Coast version.