I love this area. No one grape varietal dominates in this AVA. One can enjoy some of the finest Zinfandels here along with Cabs, Merlots, Pinots, and Sauvignon Blancs. The area is probably the most scenic in all of the California regions with the eastern mountains budding up to the vineyards.
1. Simi - After adding Simi's Landslide to my must-have list of Cabs, it is always worth a revisit here just to taste the current vintage. This year, Simi offered four different Chards which ranged from no oak to total oak splinters. The nicely balanced Russian River Chard was our pick here.
2. Stonestreet - Probably my overall favorite Cab maker in Alexander Valley. Super nice house and grounds with extraordinary reserve red wine flight offering. We tried the 2005 Red Wine Legacy, Black Cougar Ridge, and Christopher's Cab along with the library wine, the 2001 Black Cougar Ridge Cab. All of these are very good, but the 2001 Black Cougar is one of those wines to put on the dream list. I say this because of its $125 price tag...
3. Ridge - No trip to this area is complete without your visit to Ridge at Lytton Springs. The unofficial Zen of Zin, there are many good ones here, all dry farmed and spicy. My usual favorite is still, the Lytton Springs 2007. Ah but we also tried the 2006 Monte Bello. This is one of the big Cab names from California and I've always wanted to try it. Well, it's $145 a bottle. That's all I'm going to say about that.
4. Papapietro Perry - A reco from our friends Phil and Tracy, and a fine one. Large Pinot here! In fact, we bought two of them - the Russian River 2007 and the Leras Family 2007. As an added bonus, we met partner Bruce Perry who graciously signed both bottles! Add this to your must visit list.
5. Kokomo - Very conveniently located in the same lot as Papapietro Perry, Kokomo has a nice assortment of varietals including Sauvignon Blanc (which I liked), Char, Grenache Rose, Pinot Noir, Zin, Cab, and Syrah. The prices here are significantly lower than most of the other vineyards in the area, however. We especially liked the Timbercrest Zin which is nicely priced at $32. Robust and port like on the nose, this is a big fruity dusty Zin which is just my style.
6. Sbragia - I'll tell you up front, we bought two Merlots here. We drank part of one of them with lunch, which we also bought from here. The Home Ranch Merlot at $25 is a great deal. I'm hoping to find this one here at home since it does export out. Also bought was the Andolsen Cab 2007 which is tight now but promises to blossom in the next 3-5 years. This scored a 90 in 2006, so I'm hoping that 2007 is a better year. I'm betting it will be.
Tomorrow is Calistoga and St. Helena. Chateau Montelena and some others highlight the day.
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