GARAGISTE 6 - PART TWO

           To continue Adam Lazarre's presentation, four wines were poured. Two were large production and the others were his own label. A 2014 Sea Monster Eclectic White blend is "built" for Whole Foods. There were 6,000 cases made, grapes coming mostly from the Santa Ynez AVA and unoaked. Eclectic is an apt description for this $15 bottle that includes Viognier, Riesling, Grenache Blanc, Gewürztraminer and (what the heck) a kiss of Chard. It worked, go figure.

 

A little easier to figure was the other large volume offering. A commonly seen combo in this area, it was an 82% Petite Sirah and 18% Syrah blend. There were 16,000 cases made for a $14 retail and the grape sources were mostly Livermore with some N. Santa Barbara fruit as well. The wine is a 2014 Cycles Gladiator Petite Sirah, Central Coast by label. It sounded like a California appellation might be appropriate in this case since Livermore is an AVA on its own. Both regions provide cool climate versions of the fruit and perhaps I didn't correctly hear his breakdown.

The idea was to compare and contrast mass produced wines from his own label. The costs addressed in the first part of this posting aside, there were a couple of major differences between his small lot wines and the ones above.  The wines were 2014 Lazarre Chardonnay, Santa Maria Valley, of which only 175 cases were produced at a shelf price $22. A more than fair price point for the quality of the wine and considering the tonnage cost of Chard from that region. His focus is on Pinot Noir, which was poured as a 2012 version from the Central Coast appellation. Only 480 cases were made for sale at $36 and sourced from Santa Maria and Santa Lucia Highlands. It was more an old world style in look and on the palate than many of the somewhat massive Pinots seen from Santa Barbara and parts of Monterey County.

His comparison dealt with knowing the vineyard and the fruit, being involved with picking decisions, use of oak, smaller containers for fermentation. And, that the winemaker was personally in touch, on a daily basis, with the progress of the product. Plus the need for work arounds for things as simple as not having a bottle line and the toys while producing a superior product. Yet even the Pinot Noir was at the low end of  Central Coast pricing for the variety.

The second session of the day was called Illegal Blends. The being based on the restrictive laws seen in many growing regions in the world as to what grapes can go into a bottle. The garagistes can play it anyway they want. And that is one reason we get to taste Albarino, Counoise, Tannat at this event.

I would point out that all the wines poured were rated Best of Class or received 91 or more ratings from publications or competitions.

Erick Allen of Ascension Cellars poured 2015 "Silver" Blanc. Made at Cass (Paso Robles) and using SIP certified Chardonnay from Castoro Cellars, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier were also in this blend. The Rhone varietals were estate grown and both his wines were 13.9% alcohol. While the wine was light it offered more body on the palate than I expected. There were 465 cases at $36. The second pour was the 2013 "Soul Shaker" of which only 135 cases were made, priced at $66. It is his best selling wine and the fruit is sourced from Cass. It is 73 % Bordeaux blend - 40/20/13% Cab, Merlot and Petit Verdot with the remainder being Syrah. For the Paso area, these types of blends are fairly common, having mixed results as they combine "illegal" wines. It is an interesting experiment that may need some familiarization tasting to those not used to what Syrah can do to the more familiar combination.

Brian Brown of ONX Wines poured 2014 "Mad Crush", a $48 wine with 561 cases being made. There is a bit of something for everyone in this blend of 45% Grenache melded with nearly 1/5th Tempranillo and Malbec and 9% each Mourvedre & Zin. I found it very fruit forward with an evident backbone of tannin that should balance out as it sees more time in the bottle.

 

Steve Lemley from Pulchella Winery showed "The Awakening" 2014, an "unplanned" blend of which 125 cases were produced, priced at $45 and having a 15.7% alcohol level. Very deep in color, the wine is 66% Tannat, 34% Petite Sirah. Another example of a grape that is just gaining a foothold and another that was a standard for many years and fell out of favor for a while, now making a comeback, being used. Only the garagistes are playing on that field and making for one of the most interesting gatherings of the year. Can't wait for #7!