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May 2007 Wine Tasting Notes:
2004 Cima Collina Hilltop Red, Monterey County.
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This unfiltered wine is an opaque, dark ruby-purple in color.
The nose starts with a burst of medium intensity pomegranate
followed by medium intensity, fleshy black currant and plum.
Light intensity aromas of coffee, brown spice, vanilla and
cocoa powder. On the palate, medium intensity coffee is
prominent on entry. Light brown and caramel flavors frame an
interplay of light intensity black currant, blackberry and plum.
Oaky vanilla notes are distinct. Full bodied owing to big,
ripe extraction and firm, supple but smooth tannins, good
acidity and bigger alcohol, this wine has a smooth, plump mouthfeel. A modest length finish of dark fruit and oaky notes
ends dry and a bit warm. |
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Cumulative Score:
89
breakdown
14.2% Alcohol
$29.00
Retail (from winery);
800 cases produced |
Complex and curvy with a well toned core, this wine has a lot
going on. The distinct characteristics of San Antonio Valley
Petite Syrah of this very ripe year come through unmistakably
without hijacking the wine. It has nice complexity and structure
in a voluptuous, feminine form. It is intriguing and interesting
and asks for meaty American dishes such as BBQs, ribs and even
meatloaf to pair over the next 6 years or so. |
Composed of 55%
Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Syrah from the Newell
Vineyard in the recently formed San Antonio Valley AVA and 35% Merlot
from the Cedar Lane Vineyard in the Arroyo Seco AVA, the wine was aged
for 14 months in 50% new French Oak and bottled unfiltered.
Richard Lumpkin
formally opened
Cima Collina in 2004. In Italian (pronounced “Cheema Koleena”) and
Spanish (pronounced “Seema Koleena”), the name means "hilltop". In
previous years, winemaker Annette Hoff had made wine for Richard (from
his own vines) on a private basis. He convinced her to come on full time. The model they set down was to source fruit
from select, small vineyards in
Monterey County. In addition to the estate vineyard, Cima
Collina, the fruit comes from
Chula Vista Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands Vineyard,
Cedar Lane Vineyard and Newell Vineyard in the newly formed San Antonio
valley in the southern end of Monterey County.
Annette
Hoff
is the wine maker (and accomplished blogger) at Cima
Collina. She cut her winemaking teeth north of Monterey
County at Sterling
Vineyards, working with Pinot noir, Cabernet sauvignon
and Merlot. She moved on to Saintsbury in Carneros where
she indulged her passion for Pinot noir. A short stint
in New Zealand was an interlude following which she
became winemaker at Estancia Winery. She sees a lot of
similarities between new Zealand and Monterey: cool,
marine-influenced climates prime for Pinot noir. In
2002, she began consulting to small producers. That led
to her relationship with Richard Lumpkin who ultimately
convinced her to come on full time and formally start
the Cima Collina label. She prefers a customized,
hands-on but minimalist approach. There is no prescribed
formula for a number of
punch downs or any other procedures. She prefers
to do do what the wine needs - be it more or less input.
Focusing on Chardonnay, Pinot noir and a Bordeaux-styled
blend, the winery (located on the ranch) started with
2,000 cases annual production and is currently up to
3,600 cases annually. Look for good structure with a
soft, feminine touch in the wines.
The 30-acre
Newell Vineyard is in the center of the newly recognized San Antonio
Valley AVA. Nestled in a highland valley of the Santa Lucia Mountain
range at the southern tip of Monterey County, the valley in known for
producing quality Bordeaux varieties as well as other late-ripening
varieties like Petite Syrah. Situated near the town of Lockwood, the
vineyard is separated from Lake San Antonio by a line of gently-sloping,
low hills to the southwest. The vineyard’s climate is representative of
this AVA: daytime heat exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit is countered by
temperature drops to 45 degrees, at night. This region is much warmer
than the rest of
Monterey County, with a climate approaching that of
Paso Robles to the south. Much of the cooling effect (and
occasional fog) is attributable to the large San Antonio Lake in the
southern end of the AVA. The well-draining soils of the vineyard are
composed of sandy loam, peppered with calcareous and shale elements.
Owner, Jay Newell, developed the vineyard to 4 varieties with the under
advice of Napa-based consultants.
½
acre
of the highest elevation in the vineyard is planted to Chardonnay. Three
different Cabernet Sauvignon clones are planted on 22 acres. There are 3
½ acres of Cabernet Franc and Petite Syrah is planted on 3 ½ acres of the
vineyard.
The 60-acre
Cedar Lane Vineyard is located in the southwestern portion of the
Arroyo Seco
AVA, just south of the Santa Lucia Highlands. More precisely, it sits
near the base of the “tail” of the Arroyo Seco
AVA.
That “tail” follows the Arroyo Seco Canyon westward for some 6 miles.
While it is near the southernmost (and generally warmest) end of the
Monterey
County AVA, the
vineyard is still subject to strong marine influences: Fast winds blow
through the Salinas Valley, clearing out the fog in the morning and
reducing both the intensity and duration of the afternoon heat. The
vineyard is situated in an old riverbed. Hence, its deep, alluvial,
well-drained soils of nutrient-poor sand and large, cobblestone-sized
rocks. Varieties planted include: Sauvignon Blanc and Vermentino, Merlot
Pinot noir (7 clones including the Dijon 115 and 667, Pommard) and
Syrah.
Often called the "King of
wines" and one of
the 'big five' of Bordeaux reds,
Cabernet Sauvignon is
the most widely planted among the five and, with over 40,000 acres
planted in the state, it is the most successful red wine in California.
With its
reputation for longevity and aging, California winemakers began to take
example from their Bordeaux counterparts and blend it with other
varietals. Soon, the
Meritage Association was formed to foster this movement. It
usually
usually shows black
currant, blackberry and black cherry flavors backed by cedar
characteristics.
(read
more)
Merlot has a flavor
profile similar to Cabernet Sauvignon,
with less distinctive and slightly more herbaceous
aromas and flavors.
Because
of its lower tannins and more forward fruit, it is more approachable
than Cabernet Sauvignon. It is beloved by many for its
approachability and is a dominant part of California and Bordeaux-style red
wines. (read
more)
DNA analysis shows
Cabernet Franc is, along with Sauvignon Blanc, the “parent” of Cabernet
Sauvignon. It is one of the five main Bordeaux grapes used for making
red wines.
It is much more often used as part of a blend – most traditionally in
Bordeaux or
Meritage blends as well as unconventional blends with
Rhône varieties, Cal-Itals and Super Tuscans. Cabernet Franc
displays raspberry, cherry, plum, strawberry, floral notes of violet and
sometimes spice. (read
more)
Petite Syrah was
developed in the
Rhône Valley in the 1870s as a cross between Syrah and Peloursin. Francois Durif
(working in a nursery in the the Rhône Valley) gave this grape its
eponymous name himself. The grape’s
deeply colored, very tannic wines and
hence the motto: “There is nothing petite about Petite Syrah” has
come to be commonly heard in tasting rooms and read in wine articles.
The high tannins and high acidity, in combination, lay the foundation for considerable longevity
as well as a common choice for "beefing up" some blends . While some may find it a
lot less distinctive that Pinot Noir or Cabernet, it expresses dense
blackberry and black pepper. (read
more)
The
hot
2004 growing season was
one of the shortest
in the history of the state. Harvest came two to three weeks earlier
than usual, at the start of August. Statewide reports of light to normal
yields of excellent quality fruit with superb extraction raised
anticipation of the wines to come. However, red wines from this vintage are
proving variable by our experience. While this "crop of crops" was
lauded as producing highly extracted fruit, some wines have been rather
unbalanced while others were stunning an memorable. This seems to depend
more on the combination of AVA and vineyard management, rather than
winemaking techniques. Each offering from this vintage should be judged
individually and not by virtue of vintage alone since the shortened
growing season affected different varietals in different AVAs and even
vineyards. The
Monterey County and
San Antonio Valley
AVAs saw very ripe fruit in 2004.
|
Color |
5 points |
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Nose |
4 points |
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Palate |
3 points |
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Finish |
2 points |
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Tannins |
5 points |
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Acidity |
5 points |
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Alcohol |
4 points |
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Aging potential |
3 points |
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Overall quality |
8 points |
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