The Other Kind of Wine Press
 On January 8th, 2010, the San Francisco
Chronicle Wine Competition concluded the annual week of judging
at the Cloverdale Citrus Fairgrounds in Sonoma County, California.
Over five days, 63 professional wine experts within the media,
restaurant and hospitality, education, winemaking and retail
wine industries tasted and evaluated a world-record breaking
4,913 entries, a number that maintains the competition's
status as the largest competition of American wines in the
world. We are proud that our 2007 Pinot Noir, Dierberg Vineyard
and 2008 Goat Bubbles both received silver medals!
 Josh Raynolds of Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine
Cellar recently tasted through our lineup and reported the
following notes. We are very pleased to have been included
in this very prestigious bi-monthly publication. For details
on the IWC, please click here.
Pinot
Noir Solomon Hills Vineyard Santa Maria Valley 2006
Deep,
vivid red. Musky aromas of cherry skin, dark berries, dried
flowers and underbrush, with a strong spicy overtone.
Lush, gently sweet cherry and black raspberry flavors provide
excellent palate coverage, with orange zest and cracked pepper
notes providing vivacity. Suavely blends depth and energy
and finishes long, silky and sweet. This is delicious right
now. 92
Pinot Noir 2a Rio Vista Vineyard Sta. Rita
Hills 2006
Vivid
ruby. Expressive cherry and dark berry aromas are enlivened
by Asian spices and white pepper. Lush but energetic,
offering sweet red and dark berry flavors framed by velvety
tannins. Gains weight with air while maintaining energy
and focus. Finishes long, sweet and gently spicy. This
will benefit
from a couple more years of aging. 91
Pinot Noir Salisbury
Vineyards San Luis Obispo County 2006
Bright ruby-red. Bright
cherry and black raspberry aromas are complemented by dried
rose, black tea and dark chocolate.
Lively cherry and dark berry flavors pick up a spicy quality
with air and are firmed by dusty tannins. This rich but
energetic pinot will work well with full-flavored foods,
especially
grilled red meats. 90
Pinot Noir Rancho Santa Rosa Vineyard
Santa Rita Hills 2006
Bright red. Deep dark berry and
cherry aromas are complemented by notes of underbrush and licorice.
Deeper and more powerful
than the Dierberg but lacking that wine's vivacity right
now. Gains freshness with air and finishes with excellent
thrust and creamy persistence. This wine improved significantly
with aeration. 90
Pinot Noir Dierberg Vineyards Santa Maria
Valley 2006
Light, bright red. Fresh red berries
and flowers on the nose, with tangy spice and white pepper
notes adding
complexity.
Bright and racy in the mouth, offering clean red fruit flavors
and good mineral snap. The brisk finish features impressive
clarity and mineral snap. 90
Pinot Noir Dijon Rio Vista Vineyard
Sta. Rita Hills 2006
Bright red. Rich aromas of cherry-cola,
vanilla and mocha, with a subtle note of dried rose. The
richest of this set
of pinots, with deep cherry and plum flavors and slow-building
smokiness. Dusty tannins add grip to the sweet, nicely persistent
finish. 89
Goat Bubbles Rose Sparkling Wine Santa
Maria Valley 2008
100% pinot noir from Solomon Hills
Vineyard. Bright orange-pink, with a fine, energetic bead.
Redcurrant
and strawberry on
the nose, with a hint of blood orange adding vivacity.
Juicy red berry and citrus flavors are braced by tangy acidity,
which adds good back-end cut. Very dry wine with admirable
finishing clarity and lift. This is more refined and precise
than a good percentage of pink Champagnes. 89
 Pinot
Noir San Luis Obispo County Salisbury Vineyard 2006
Medium-deep ruby color; complex, deep stewed dark
cherry aromas with floral and pepper notes; rich, ripe, deep
dark cherry flavors with pepper, herbs and smoky notes; slight
tannin; good structure and balance; long finish. A bold and
balanced Pinot. The Salisbury Vineyard is located in the Avila
Valley near San Luis Obispo and is about a mile from the Pacific
Ocean.
Score: 91
Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley Dierberg
Vineyard 2006
Medium-deep ruby color; complex red cherry and earthy
aromas; rich, ripe red cherry flavors with spice and earthy
notes; some toasty oak; good structure and balance; long finish.
A rich and complex Pinot that’s great for the table.
From the Dierberg Vineyard in the southern reaches of the
Santa Maria Valley.
Score: 90
Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley Solomon
Hills Vineyard 2006
Medium-deep ruby color; complex and deep red cherry,
earth and smoky notes; rich, ripe and deep red cherry flavors
with lots of interesting smoky, spicy notes; silky texture;
good structure and balance; long finish. Delicious Pinot with
really nice structure and great mouthfeel. Pair with grilled
salmon.
Score: 92
Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills Rio
Vista Vineyards Clone 2A 2006
Medium-deep ruby color; deep, spicy black cherry
aromas; rich, full black cherry flavors with some tea and
spice notes; silky texture; sweet oak, good structure and
balance; long finish. Rich and delicious Pinot; this wine
needs some time to open up and pairs well with grilled meats.
Score: 92
Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills Rio
Vista Vineyards Dijon 2006
Medium-deep ruby color; deep black cherry aromas
with herbal and toasty oak notes; big, rich and complex black
cherry flavors; earthy, herbal notes with some tannin and
toasty oak; good structure and balance; long finish. Big and
rich, this Dijon bottling is a blend of clones 115, 667 and
777 from the Rio Vista Vineyard.
Score: 90
Odd? The Ventura County Star recently published
and article titled “Wine 101: Odd name on bottles of
some fine Pinots”. No we love the article, but how can
one call our kids “odd”??
Read all about it here.
 Several
Flying Goat wines took home medals from the Orange County
Fair:
2008 Pinot Gris Sierra Madre won Silver
Medal
2006 Pinot Noir Salisbury Vineyards won
Gold Medal
2007 YNOT Pinot Noir won Silver Medal
The
2009 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition boasted 4,736
entries from 26 states, making it one of the largest competitions
of American wines. So we are extremely pleased to report that
Flying Goat Pinot Noirs have again “brought home the
gold” to the Lompoc Wine Ghetto! This year, each of
the three wines entered into competition brought home a medal
– a bronze medal for the 2005 Pinot Noir, “Dijon”
from Rio Vista Vineyard, a gold for 2006 Pinot Noir, Salisbury
Vineyard in San Luis Obispo County, and a gold and BEST OF
CLASS for the 2006 Pinot Noir “Clone 2A” from
the Rio Vista Vineyard in Sta. Rita Hills. We’re honored!
 The
people from NBC's In Wine Country stopped by while
we were bottling, talked with Norm, and took a tour of the
Wine Ghetto. Click
here to watch the episode.
Stephen
Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar newsletter
is an independent and critically acclaimed publication, read
by wine lovers in 50 states and 34 countries. We will thrilled
to be reviewed in a recent edition:
2005 Pinot Noir, Salisbury Vineyards,
San Luis Obispo County 87+
Bright red. Spicy red berries are complemented by incense
and smoky vanillin oak. Tangy red fruits are given depth by
vanilla and mocha, with gentle tannins contributing structure.
Finishes sweet and persistent, with an echo of oak spice.
There's excellent, sweet fruit here, but the oak is just a
bit strident right now.
2005 Pinot Noir, Rio Vista Vineyard
Clone 2A, Sta. Rita Hills 91
Light red. Exotically perfumed aromas of strawberry,
orange zest, sandalwood and cinnamon. Bright and spicy, offering
sweet red berry and blood orange flavors, silky tannins and
excellent mineral lift. A suave cinnamon quality builds on
the long, energetic finish. This boasts impressive finesse
and clarity, in a distinctly Burgundian style.
2005 Pinot Noir, Solomon Hills Vineyards,
Santa Maria Valley 90+
Light, bright-hued red. Vibrant red berry aromas
offer an energetic, sharply focused personality. Racy redcurrant
and strawberry flavors are youthfully taut but concentrated,
delivering tangy punch and finishing with impressive persistence.
Gained weight and sweetness with air, suggesting that some
cellar time will be rewarded.
 Flying
Goat Cellars Owner and winemaker Norm Yost is a veteran winemaker
in Santa Barbara County whose label specializes in limited
quanitites of vineyard designated Pinot Noirs from the Central
Coast. He crafts his beautiful Pinot Noirs in a small winery
in the Lompoc ghetto. The 2005 Flying Goat Cellars Rancho
Santa Rosa Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir ($44) won the Red Wine
Sweepstakes Award at the 2007 San Francisco Chronicle Wine
Competition (now sold out not surprisingly). The 2005 Flying
Goat Cellars Dierberg Vineyard Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir
($42) is every bit as good and still available. The Dierberg
is aromatically stylish with a palate which is soft, plush,
long and tasty. Flat out beautiful. Oh, the Dierberg won a
Gold Medal at the same competition.
Goat
Wine Wins Sweepstakes
Yowza! We entered our wines in the very
prestigious San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition,
and….they won! Could’ve knocked me over with a
goat-feather when I heard that the 2005 Pinot Noir, Rancho
Santa Rosa was given the Sweepstakes Award (best wine voted
by all judges) for red wines – not only a Gold medal
and Best of Class, but the big enchilada. Wow. And what a
grand day, as the 2005 Pinot Noir, Dierberg Vineyard was lauded
with a gold medal. Score two for goat wine! |
Read
all about it here.
|
