Sonoma wines worth tasting
While American financial markets teeter on the brink of disaster, the U.S. wine industry -- at least for now -- still stands as a bright spot amongst all the doom and gloom. Sonoma in particular is enjoying a moment in the sun as its wines emerge from the shadow of Napa Valley and its celebrity cult wines.
It strikes me as odd that the mainstream wine press in the U.S. chooses to profile wineries that produce less than 500 cases of wine a year and sell everything they make to an exclusive group of clients or through mailing lists.
In most cases, getting on one of those mailing lists means waiting five years or so. This is not the real world for most wine lovers.
As for me, I am quite happy to drink Sonoma's blue-chip wines; they're readily available and better priced than they have been for some time in our market.
Last week, I tasted the latest releases from St. Francis Winery, a Sonoma stalwart, and I'm pleased to report the wines have improved significantly. In the past, the wines were uniformly marked by an overabundance of oak, but it seems to be a thing of the past.
The winery has revamped its oak program, replacing a great deal of the American barrels with French oak. The result is wines that display better balance and more emphasis on fruit rather than sweet vanilla and wood tannins.
St. Francis is best known for its Merlot; the current release, the 2005 Sonoma County ($33), offers notes of black fruits and mocha with soft chewy tannins. It's a delicious red for casual fare.
While visiting Sonoma a few months ago, I was reacquainted with another of the region's benchmark producers, Chateau St. Jean, now part of the Fosters empire. Winemaker Margo Van Staaveren is completing her 29th harvest with Chateau St. Jean, and the wines are still among the region's best. The 2005 Sonoma Cabernet ($44) is a regional classic, full of red fruits and a nice touch of dusty earth.
The 2004 Cinq Cepage ($80), while pricey, holds it position as one of Sonoma's most sought-after wines. The '04 is big and ripe, a fleshy red that could stand a few years in the cellar, although drinkable now with a rib eye to keep it company.
A few other producers that continue to deliver the goods from Sonoma include Laurel Glen (my favourite), Seghesio and Benziger. Cheers!
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Geoff Last is a longtime Calgary wine merchant and a regular contributor to City Palate and Orange Life magazines. He instructs on food and wine at the Cookbook Company Cooks.
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Best Cellars
Wine: St. Francis 2004 Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon
Country: California, U.S.A., from Sonoma County
Suggested retail price: $33, GST included
Availability: Select wine and liquor stores
Tasting notes: The 2004 is a very good vintage for Sonoma; the wines range in style from soft and easy to big and structured. (There is a diversity of terroir and styles within the region.) This one has lots of ripe black cherry fruit with notes of dark chocolate and just the right amount of spicy oak. It would go well with beef tenderloin and most red meats, but is soft enough to work with pork tenderloin or roast chicken, too.