Tandem barrel tasting and seminar

[wondersofwine]

On Saturday I attended a luncheon and Tandem Pinot Noir barrel tasting at Sullivan's Restaurant in Raleigh as part of Triangle Wine Experience. Greg La Follette (formerly of Kendall-Jackson and winemaker at Flowers) now has his own label, Tandem, in Sonoma County, producing mainly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir (with a little Sangiovese and Zinfandel). He also works for Boisset America and consults for other wineries, having helped design or redesign 14 wineries worldwide. His philosophy is that wine is "raised" rather than "made."
We first were poured wines from four barrels. Two were from the same Pinot Noir clone, clone 115, but from different vineyards. The second of these from a ranch next to Tandem Winery was my favorite of the first four although I thought there was something a little "odd" about the nose. Clone #115 can be a little hard and needs extra hang time. For the second wine that we tried that I liked best of the four, the grapes wer picked at 28 brix instead of 24 or 25. The third wine was a blend of clones, #115, Pommard, #777 and #667. The fourth wine was from volcanic soil and had clones from Calera and Swan.

After sampling all four, we were told to pour them all into one glass and taste again. The blended wine tasted a bit grapier but was definitely better and more complex than the individual wines (arguing again for the benefits of judicious blending rather than single vineyard always triumphs).
After trying the blended wine, we were poured some Sangiacomo Pinot Noir and Keefer Ranch Pinot Noir. The lady on my left and I prefered the Sangiocomo while the couple on my right prefered the Keefer Ranch (Green Valley). The Sangiacomo grapes were the last picked grapes in Sonoma County, growing under the cool-climate influence of the Petaluma Gap in the Sonoma Coast appellation. Light burgundy color, transparent. Tighter, and more linear, with more acidity than the Keefer Ranch. Long finish. Exhibits red fruits such as pomegranate, cherry and cranberry and an attractive smoky character.
Mr. La Follette describes the Keefer Ranch as evoking black fruit images but I didn't necessarily agree. I did feel it tasted thinner than the Sangiacomo and lacked the long finish but had some redeeming elegance.
The Keefer Ranch P.N. is a blend of the following clones: Wadenswil 2A, Pommard, Mariafeld and Dijons. The Sangiacomo P.N. is priced at $48 a bottle from the winery and the Keefer Ranch at $42.