Tanner Vineyard Taste-Off!

That’s Calaveras County highlighted on the map. It’s about two hours’ drive east of the San Francisco Bay.

Napa and Sonoma are two locales that commonly spring into people’s minds around here when the wine country is the topic of discussion. But while both appellations are certainly world-class destinations with world-class wine production, there is much more to the California wine country than just Napa and Sonoma.*

Indeed, I am infatuated with Calaveras County. In and of itself, I think it’s simply a good thing to be able to taste fine wines from a locale that many people have not yet considered. Soon, however, I think that wine lovers (and hikers, too!) will discover Calaveras County for the many well-made Rhone-style wines produced in its red-rust Sierra foothills.

Over this past summer, I received a WineQ shipment in which I’d queued up two 2004 syrahs. With syrah’s warm, spicy, and sensuous characteristics, I wasn’t yet ready to open either bottle during warm weather, but I knew I’d find the cool nights of Autumn a perfect time to fully appreciate them. What had intrigued me most about these two syrahs were that they were sourced not only from the same Calaveras County vineyard, but that they were vinted by two different winemakers, each with their own approach to winemaking.

Finally, as the dozy-warm days of Indian Summer began to yield to the chilly nights of Autumn, I wasn’t yet ready to let go of Summer’s warmth. It was time for Syrah.

Indeed, it was time for a Tanner Vineyard Taste-Off.

I was eager to explore the commonalities and differences of the Tanner Vineyard as exemplified in my two patiently-waiting syrahs. But I was also eager to know more about the vineyard itself. Indeed, back in the late 20th Century – as far back as 1998 – brothers Ron and Dick Tanner chose to plant ten acres of Syrah grapes on a south-facing slope above Highway 4 in Vallecitos, California. Typical of the region, the Tanner Vineyard lies at an elevation of 2,000 feet in an area boasting well-drained volcanic soil as well as warm days and cool nights during a moderately long growing season. Couple that with sustainable Tanner Bros. farming practices and add in the quality of fruit from a lower-than-average-yield 2004 harvest, and the potential existed for a supremely sublime syrah-sipping scenario.

Oh, and did I mention that the Tanner Vineyard is located just across the way from Twisted Oak Winery in Vallecitos, California? Yes it is, and yes, you guessed it: one of my two wines was the 2004 Twisted Oak Tanner Vineyard Syrah. It’s taste-off tablemate was the 2004 Smith Wooton Tanner Bros. Vineyard Syrah.

And thus and so, I set out two glasses and popped a couple of corks, handy tasting sheet at the ready.

Tasting Notes
My first impression of these two syrahs? They are marvelous wines for pairing with food. Both are quite drinkable, though marginally so upon opening due to their collective heat and oak-laden astringency; decanting definitely aided near-term drinkability. Each are voluptuous on the palate, with spicy cherry fruitiness that linger nicely and suggest moderate longevity. Both go beyond the cherry spice, though, to add herbal undertone and textural depth that are most pleasing as food accompaniment.

The differences? I loved the (post-Brettanomyces) smokiness of the Twisted Oak version which seemed to appear about 30 minutes after opening; the Smith Wooton didn’t have this attribute. The Smith Wooton did, however, seem to embody greater power in its body and balance characteristics, imparting a solid structure and mouthfeel to its overall great spice and fruit. It’s the one of the two that seemed to shout “Wow!” to me – not that the Twisted Oak Syrah was far behind. I truly enjoyed tasting these wines again the following evening, when both had softened their hard edges to become bonafide drinkers.

It’s easy to suggest that the differences between these two syrahs, though fairly subtle, are in the vinting, not the vineyard. I’m no winemaker, and therefore I don’t possess a winemaker’s instincts, but my palate tells me to hazard a guess and say that the choice of oak and the secondary (malolactic) fermentation are what distinguish these two wines, new oak and an additional two months of aging possibly being a greater component of the Twisted Oak Syrah than the Smith Wooton.

2004 Twisted Oak Tanner Vineyard Syrah
Young but delectable after decanting. Deep purple inkiness with black raspberry and cherry aromas that carry through to its taste. A little tight on tannin but smooth mouthfeel. Plum flavors also, plus a hint of mission figs, cloves, and a little Brett at first that gives way to a nice smokiness that had me reaching for another glassful of this fine effort by Twisted winemaker Scott Klann a.k.a. Fermento. Aging potential: 3-7 years.

14.3% alcohol; 250 cases produced. $31.99 per bottle at WineQ.
16.5 winehiker points**

2004 Smith Wooton Tanner Bros. Vineyard Syrah
Before you serve your Poached Beef Tenderloin, decant this young wine and enjoy its deep violet color, but let this wine breathe for a good 60 minutes. Then, revel in its black cherry and vanilla aromas, then its raspberry and white pepper flavor which even includes a hint of figs and chocolate. You’ll find it refreshing, with fine balance, light to moderate texture, and a moderately-lengthy finish. The result is a very nice Syrah created by winemaker Gary Wooton. Aging potential: 6-8 years.

14.7% alcohol; 291 cases released September, 2006. $27.99 per bottle at WineQ.
17.5 winehiker points**

I had queued up both these wines for a number of weeks at WineQ.com, thereby assuring that I would receive them when scheduled. At the time of this posting, however, I understand that the 2004 Twisted Oak Tanner Vineyard Syrah is in dangerously low supply but (and here’s a News Flash) that the 2005 Tanner is now available from the winery. That being said, you can still add both 2004 syrahs to your queue as of today.

By the way, if you are comfortable with purchasing wine online but haven’t yet given WineQ a try, I recommend you check ‘em out for their growing collection of great wines that you can select yourself and queue up in any order and shipping frequency, as well as rate and review them after you’ve tasted them. WineQ also offers free shipping on orders over $35.

~winehiker

*The long and narrow Napa Valley accounts for only 5% of the total land area devoted to growing California wine grapes.
**Based on the 20-point UC Davis scale.

Related posts:

• Six scrumptious syrahs for seasonal sipping
• Character-laden Calaveras links
• Wine drinkers: do you Q?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 13th, 2007 at 10:30 am and is filed under grape squeezins, wine reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.