Cal Cabs Thrashed In Decanter!

[Randy Caparoso]

Oui, mon. Bourgogne is way, way out of line. You and Bucko tend to like those tiny little Russian River Valley PN growers (Swan and Rochioli, although I don't know if you buy Williams Selyem and Dehlinger) a lot more than me. I've actually been a little more impressed by the recent bottlings ('97s) by De Loach O.F.S. and Jordan "J" (no kidding!). I also recently tried a '96 Moshin RRV Pinot, which shares those familial regional traits of smoked/pepperminty/Christmasy fragrances, mixtures of red and than black berry perfumes (with a nod towards the black), and rounded, broad textures.

But ultimately, I do think that there are more high quality Dry Creek Zins producers than RRV Zin producers. And there also more (and more consistent) high quality Santa Barbara/Arroyo Grande Pinot Noir producers than RRV PN producers; and from I've seen, the Sonoma Coast and Mendocino may prove even better yet (although today's evidence is still sketch). But, there, I've said it. The Russian River is a very good area for grapes (well, maybe not so much for Cabernet!), but to me it will always be "premier," rather than "grand."