Text 9539, 83 rader
Skriven 2014-02-05 22:52:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: j and twomey 145
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J Winery is right next door: Rodney Strong used to make the
wines for Piper Sonoma, which built a nice facility there
before vacating it to go who knows where, whereupon the
property was snapped up by Judy Jordan, the daughter of the
Jordan Winery people, and now her product's reputation is
the equal of her parents', though the focus is more on
Pinot. The tasting room was quiet and sedate by comparison,
a relief. The host was also pretty knowledgeable, and by
the sound of the conversations, so were the customers.

Pinot Gris (California) 12 - a light, floral, tropical
fruity wine that didn't seem to have any of the weighty
characteristics of most of the wines made here. I liked it,
though it was rather amabile for my usual tastes.

Chardonnay (Russian River) 11 - good oak, rather lemony
and acid. Nice balance, though.

Pinot Noir (Russian River) 11 - this is the basic product,
rather brothy, plums and light earth, almost worth buying,
but the price was quite high. We were charmed into buying
some anyway.

Pinotage (Russian River) 11 - the appeal of this wine
escapes me. It's like a Pinot but somewhat overwrought
in its fruitiness. The plumminess of Pinot is mixed with
an overt grapy quality and maybe pear and tropical notes
that I'd think more appropriate to a white wine of a
variety less favored by me.

We had neither the time nor energy nor wherewithal to
taste the prestige cuvees, of which several were available.

As the sun was setting and the wineries were closing, it was
time to head back down I-5 and to the hotel.

Dinner was simple, as we had had sufficient lunch: we just
went to the executive lounge, where I had a Lagunitas Pils
and Lilli a couple glasses of the Kenwood Cabernet. Both
were fine; I'd perhaps have preferred the more famous and
savory IPA, but you take what you can.

--

The same old breakfast; this time I tried Cinnamon Toast
Crunch, which tastes sort of like cinnamon toast, and then
a replay of the eggs.

Off to Twomey, the Merlot arm of Silver Oak, whose big wines
are a take-or-leave proposition; I'm ambivalent, but the
relatively subtle expressions of Merlot sort of won me over.

The tasting guy was pretty knowledgeable, and I suspect that
he was a bit more than

Pinot Noir (Russian River) 11 - this was a prerelease taste,
and the wine was very young indeed. Spicy and plummy, it
combined the best of Oregon with the best of California.
It was no blockbuster, like Williams Selyem down the road,
erring on the early drinking side if anything, but the taste
was delightful. A pity I can't afford it.

Merlot (Napa) 06 - chocolate, dark cherries, some spice,
menthol-eucalyptus, quite smooth and supple.

The same, 08 - plummy and spicy, a bit of chocolate mint,
a bit young yet, but I liked it almost as much as the 06.

The same, 09 - a little lighter, more reddish, I didn't like
it as much, as it reminded me more of mass-market wine than
the other two. I suppose I should give it another chance,
maybe next year.

We bought a couple bottles of the 06, which for some reason
was on sale, but which we preferred anyway.

The genial host finished our tasting by offering us a small
bunch of Pinot Noir grapes meant for the 13 bottling. These
were small, intense, sweet, delicious.

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