REUNION  117 – RESUMEN         31  Enero 2011,   preparado por German Zincke

I.  Participantes:

La reunión se realizó el 31 de enero de 2001 con los siguientes participantes:Mario Aguilar, Euro Alves, Hugo Benito, Emilio Bernal-Labrada, Cecilio Berndsen Jorge Beruff, Rolando Castañeda,  Alfonso Caycedo, Bolivar Cobos,  Juan Luis Colaiacovo, Ruth Connolly, Luis Carlo Danin-Lobo, Clara Estrada,  Jaime Estupiñan, Albertina Frenkel, Bernardo Gluch, Alvaro Lopez, Orlando Mason, Rene Meza, Italo Mirkow, Wilson Moreira, Alfonso Munévar, Carlos Paldao,  Jorge Omar Rodríguez,  Alfonso Sánchez, Jairo Sánchez, Raúl Sanguinetti, Ginger Smart, Pedro Turina, Ricardo Zavaleta, Germán Zincke. Además, un invitado de Cecilio Berndsen, el Sr. Erico Silva.

II. Selección de Vinos

Degustación de vinos del Russian River Valley y de Paso Robles, USA.

La selección y compra de los vinos estuvo a cargo de Hugo Benito y  fueron adquiridos en Calvert Woodley. La presentación estuvo a cargo de Alfonso Sánchez.

N°	Nombre del vino	Año	Alcohol	Precio
1	Tío Pepe Palomino Fino Sherry			$17.99
2	Rodney Strong Pinot Noir   Estate  Wineyard	2009	14.5	$19.99
3	Wild Horse Cabernet Sauvignon  Paso Robles	2007	13.9	$16.99
4	Rosemblum Zinfandel Richard Suret Vineyard	2006	14.7	$21.99

 III.   Comentarios.

Comentarios de nuestros expertos

Comentario de Juan Luis Colaiacovo: La uva zinfandel siempre me intrigó. Como me gustan los vinos con mucho cuerpo esta uva es perfecta. Hubo bastante discusión acerca del origen de la uva. Muchos dijeron que era autóctona de USA pero recientemente leí que un grupo de ampelógrafos concluyó que la uva es prima-hermana de la “primitivo” proveniente del sur de Italia, por lo cual probablemente este es el origen.

Comentarios de Alfonso Sánchez: Hace unos dos o tres de años hicimos una presentación sobre Zinfandel. Entre los materiales consultados encontramos una investigación de DNA de la Universidad Davis en California  que coloca el origen de esta uva en Croacia como una evolución de la uva Crijenak.  La uva Primitivo italiana, concluyeron los científicos, es también descendiente de la Crijenak y es hermana de la Zinfandel y no su madre.  La Zinfandel fue introducida a los EEUU en 1820 por George Giobbs de Nueva York (dedicado al negocio de plantas o viveros) quien trajo unas cepas de la colección Imperial de Plantas de Austria. Es una uva resistente a los extremos climáticos y a las pestes, de alta producción, y muy adaptable a los deseos del enólogo.  A mi también me gustan los Zinfandel bien hechos por su estructura (taninos) y sabores intensos. Generalmente tienen 14.5 ó 15 por ciento de alcohol o sea que dos copas ya son muchas.

Información adicional presentada por Alfonso Sánchez: En el anexo se presenta un resumen de las características de las AVAs (American Viticultural Area) de Paso Robles y Russian River.  Como sabemos el clima, los suelos, las variedades de uva y las técnicas de manejo del viñedo forman un complejo sistema que determina la calidad y el carácter de los vinos.  También hay unas notas sobre los vinos a degustar.    

Evaluación de los socios 

La información fue preparada por Hugo Benito. Se repartieron 23 formularios y se recibieron 16 respuestas. El resultado de la evaluación de los vinos se presenta a continuación. Incluye comentarios de Mario Aguilar y Alfonso Sánchez:

 Vino Número 1.- Tío Pepe Dry Palomino Fino Sherry.  Evaluaron este  aperitivo 11 comensales con un promedio de 88.7 puntos. .Comentarios: seco, muy agradable, aromático, buen aperitivo, excelente “aftertaste”, equilibrado. Excelente final.

 

Vino Número 2 – Rodney Strong  Pinot  Noir 2009. Evaluaron este vino 16 comensales con un promedio de 88.2 puntos y una concentración ente 88 y 91 puntos (13 personas)  con un promedio de 89.7. Comentarios: Aroma a frutas rojas, vainilla, agradable al tomar, excelente color, delicado, un vino suave no agresivo, no se sienten los 14.5 de alcohol, fresco muy balanceado, “good aftertaste”. Excelente Pinot por el precio. Compite muy bien con los Pinot de Oregón  de mayor precio.

 Vino Número 3.-Wild Horse Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 Paso Robles. Evaluaron este vino 16 comensales con un promedio de 87.9 puntos y una concentración entre 88 y 90 puntos  (11personas) con un promedio de 89 puntos. Comentarios: equilibrado, bien balanceado, algo de tanino, oscuro, frutas negras  cerezas berries, “long finish”, muy astringente, taninos que sobrepasan y eliminan el” aftertaste”, “dark burgundy full bodied”, aroma agradable, algo de acidez pero “soft”, excelente cuerpo, muy buen cabernet, taninos exactos, sabor frutal.

 

 

 Vino Numero 4. – Rosemblum 2006 Zinfandel-Richard Sauret Vineyard. Evaluaron este vino 15 comensales con un promedio de 88.7 y una concentración entre 89 y 90  (10 personas) con promedio de 89.6. Comentarios: estructurado, chocolate, frutas negras, taninos, buen aroma ,  oscuro, red púrpura,, se siente el alcohol, full body, aromático, excelente, mejoró con la aeración.

Fue notable que esta degustación pues hubo mucha coincidencia en la evaluación de los vinos.. No se presentaron valuaciones extremas.   

 

 

 

VI.     Acuerdos Adoptados

 Se acordó continuar las reuniones en el Restaurante Da Domenico, esta vez, en el comedor grande y realizar una evaluación luego de la reunión de febrero.

 VII. Otros

– El Club congratuló a Clarita Estrada y a Bolívar Cobos por sus cumpleaños cumplidos en el mes de enero.

– A la fecha  de la reunión, 25 socios han pagado sus cuotas correspondientes al año 2011.

– Inauguramos el nuevo logo, gracias al esfuerzo de nuestro socio Alfonso Sánchez.

 

THE  PRODUCTION  REGION

Dominant Climatic Features in California

Roughly North of SF – Climate (cool) is a function of penetrating Pacific low fog and resulting cloud cover (11-4PM). Lower lands keep more acidity for Pinot Noir, above the fog level faster maturity and better for Zinfandel and Syrah. Green Valley (southwest part of Russian River AVA) is the coolest. Central and South Coast are warmer and summers are hotter than in the north.

RUSSIAN RIVER (American Viticultural Area)

Location. Northern part of Napa Valley (north of Santa Rosa). Comprise only a small section of the entire valley. Climate. A Cool Place to Grow Grapes Initial plantings in early 19th century The Russian River Valley climate is sculpted by the regular intrusion of cooling fog from the Pacific Ocean a few miles

 

 to the west. Much like the tide, it ebbs and flows through the Petaluma Wind Gap and the channel cut by the Russian River. The fog usually arrives in the evening, often dropping the temperature 35 to 40 degrees from its daytime high. The fog retreats to the ocean the following morning. This natural air-conditioning allows the grapes to develop full flavor maturity over an extended growing season — often 15 to 20 percent longer than neighboring areas — while retaining their life-giving natural acidity.

Soils. The geologic history of the Russian River Valley is both active and recent. The collision between the North American and Pacific tectonic plates caused the uplift of ancient bedrock, which then eroded. Within the last few million years the eruption of volcanic vents immediately to the east resulted in the deposition of volcanic ash on the shallow ocean bottom. The resulting sandstone gave us our famous Goldridge loam soil. Water flowing off of the Sonoma Mountain range carried with it eroded volcanic material, creating soils with large amounts of clay in the central portion of the appellation. Then, in what remains a major mystery to geologists, the Russian River, which once flowed south to what  now San Francisco Bay, changed course and headed west through the coastal foothills. Along its course it deposited large amounts of alluvial materials that are now river benchlands. Each of  these different soils has a profound effect on wine produced from grapes grown in this soil..

Grape. Chardonnay 41%, Pinot Noir 29%, Zinfandel 9% (Total16.000Acres)

Sustainable Farming. The basic theories of sustainable farming practices are pretty simple:  reduce chemical use, conserve energy, waste nothing, use nature and don’t fight it. Nature provides a variety of resources that cannot be replaced – clean air, clean water and a place for every species, including humans.  The winegrowers in the Russian River Valley use natural solutions to natural problems. They plant cover crops between rows of vines. The cover crops return nutrients to the soil, improve soil structure, prevent erosion and provide habitat for beneficial insects. They reduce the amount of water they consume for irrigation by using precision drip irrigation that delivers a measured amount to each individual vine. Nutrient, are added with water flow rather than scattered from a tractor. Rodents and insects are a problem in any garden. Instead of poisoning them, vineyards use nature’s system and invite predators like hawks and owls (who prey on the rodents) and bluebirds (who feed on the insects) to set up housekeeping above the grape rows.   

PASO ROBLES AVA.

  

Location. Located between San Francisco and Los Angeles along California’s Central Coast. The western boundary is just six miles from the Pacific Ocean. The appellation lies on the inland side of the Santa Lucia coastal mountains in San Luis Obispo County, and roughly forms a rectangle 35 miles from east to west, and 25 miles from north to south. It extends from the Monterey County border to the north, to the Cuesta Grade below Santa Margarita to the south, and from the Santa Lucia Mountains to the west, to the Cholame Hills to the east.   This is California’s fastest growing wine region and largest geographic appellation, the 24 square miles territory and more than 26,000 vineyard acres and nearly 200 wineries. Ranks behind only Napa, Sonoma and Monterey counties in planted acreage among the state’s coastal growing areas.

Climate. South of SF. No fogs, warmer climates. Mild winters and summers cooler than the rest of the region result in a long growing season.

More concentration. Wines tend to be deeply colored and rich due to the intensity of the sun, with fairly bright acidity due to the cool nights. However, beyond these generalizations, the region’s diversity prevents easy characterization of its wines.

Soils. Geologically different from other California wine growing regions. Unlike others with deep, rich fertile valley soils, there are four general soil types in the Paso Robles AVA primarily formed from weathering granite, serpentine, shale and limestone, with shale and limestone being the most predominant bedrock types. Soil diversity is the norm and a vineyard block may commonly contain several different soil types. One distinguishing factor of the Paso Robles AVA is the abundance of highly desirable limestone and calcareous-rich soils found throughout the region. Due to geologic uplift, chalky limestone shale is plentiful in Paso Robles’ west-side hills, where dense clay-based soils combine with relatively plentiful rainfall to make it possible for some vines to be dry-farmed without supplemental irrigation. East of the Salinas River, gently rolling hills, many of which are also rich in limestone, are covered with sandy, loamy soils. In the watershed areas, particularly the Estrella River plain, loam and clay are overlain with sand.

Grapes. More than 40 wine grape varieties are grown in Paso Robles, ranging from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, to Syrah, Viognier and Roussanne, to Zinfandel, the area’s heritage wine varietal. The number one wine grape variety in San Luis Obispo County is Cabernet Sauvignon with 8,600 acres. Merlot is second with 4,000 acres. There are about 110 wineries in the County. In Santa Barbara County, Chardonnay is the predominant grape with 8,000 acres, and Pinot Noir follows with 2,900 acres. There are almost 90 wineries.  

THE WINES  

Rodney Pinot Noir – 2009            Winemaker’s notes: Supple in texture, with rose petal and red fruit aromas, this lively, medium bodied wine is aged entirely in small French oak barrels, which adds a subtle, toasty vanilla character and a hint of spice. Ideal for current enjoyment, this pinot noir will hold nicely over the next 2 to 4 years.

Critical acclaim: “Made in a leaner, drier, lighter style than most Russian River Pinots, but the elegance and complexity are very attractive. Shows a white pepper and herbal note to the sour cherry candy fruit, and is balanced with perfect acidity. A beautiful wine to accompany, not overwhelm, fine foods. Editor’s Choice. ” 91 Points WS

 Wild Horse Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon – 2007      Silver medal winner at the 2009 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. This is a handcrafted, voluptuously textured Cabernet featuring cherry pie filling aromas and flavors, along with other allusions to baking such as clove, nutmeg and pepper. 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Malbec, 4% Merlot, 4% Petite Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc.

Winemaker’s notes: Individual vineyard lots were fermented and aged separately and then prior to bottling the lots were blended together to create a complex and balanced wine. Malbec  enhanced the anise spice aromas while adding richness to the mid-palate. The 4% of Merlot offers bright fruit and pastry characteristics to the nose. This artisan blending results in a Cabernet Sauvignon with rich aromas and flavors of cherry cobbler, baking spices, cedar, and clove, followed with a voluptuous mouth feel yielding a mouthwatering finish. The vibrant fruit and balanced acidity found in this wine makes a perfect match for a wide range of foods including prime rib or possibly a boysenberry cheesecake.

Rosemblum -Zinfandel Richard Suret Vineyard-2006           The Rosenblum winery is one of California’s top zinfandel specialists, making over a dozen different versions of this iconic American varietal every vintage. For our money, year-in and year-out, the Richard Sauret Vineyard in Paso Robles makes Rosenblum’s most consistent and delicious Zinfandel. The flavors and balance of this wine are pure Paso: ripe, jammy fruit just bursts from the glass, tart pie-cherries and blackberries, citrus notes, raisins and dates all make an appearance, but the overall balance is fresh and bright, never heavy or dull. You’ll be tempted to guzzle this juicy, flavor-packed wine, it’s just that tasty and easy to drink. A consistent favorite, and understandably so.