June 2007 Wine Tasting Notes:
2005 Daniel Gehrs Fireside Port, Amador County.
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This Port is inky ruby in color. The nose offers medium intensity jammy cherry and blackberry with light aromas of spices (anise), notes of butterscotch and hints of raisin. freshly cut hay and herbs emanate from a just-emptied glass. The palate is built around medium intensity bramble and cherry. Hints of caramel, chocolate and coffee follow. Full bodied, with good acidity and sleek, delicate tannins for a plump, juicy mouthfeel. A medium length finish of cherry and blackberry livens up with bittersweet chocolate. |
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Cumulative Score: 93 breakdown 20% Alcohol $31.00 Retail (750 ml, from winery) Production volume unspecified |
Juicy and rich, this port is still young and remains fruit-dominant. It is expected to express more secondary characteristics with continued bottle aging. This composition should cellar well for 10 - 12 years. Pair with chocolate cake, truffles and mousses as well as the winemaker's recommendation of of nuts and aged, blue cheeses. |
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More reviews of Daniel Gehrs Wines |
Composition: 45% Tinta Cão, 45% Tinta Amarela and 10% Touriga Roriz. Aged 32 months in neutral American oak.
While Port-styled wine can be made from just about any grape, true Port is made from a combination of eight traditional Portuguese varieties: Mourisco, Sousao, Tinta Amarela, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Cao, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Francesca and Touriga Nacional (read more). In the making of fortified wine, alcohol (typically brandy) is added to the wine before fermentation ends, the fermentation process stops and the resulting wine is sweet because of residual sugars. If the alcohol were to be added later (typically when fermentation is close to being finished or has completed), the wine will be dry and the result is called Sherry. Port is rich, with alcohol levels generally in the 18% to 20% range (read more).
Tinta Cão, one of the favorite and best Port varietals from the Duoro valley, is thick-skinned and reveals floral and spicy aromas as well as black cherry and spice flavors. Tinta Amarela, another Portuguese native waning in popularity in the Duoro Valley, is a staple of the Dão region. It expresses aromas and flavors of black fruit as well as tea and tobacco leaves. Tinta Roriz, the Portuguese name for Tempranillo, is used both in Ports and dry table wines. It offers berry-like aromas and flavors accompanied by herbal and earthy characteristics.
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 results from variables in farming, winemaking techniques (particularly the heavy-handed approach to over-the-top extraction), and AVA.
"The Heart of the Mother Lode", as it’s promoted, Amador County is located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, south east of Sacramento. It was in fact the heart of the gold rush, but wine replaced gold in the 19th century. The rolling hills with iron rich volcanic soils of decomposed granite bask in a warm, sunny climate. Zinfandel (and sibling, Primitivo) put the county back on the wine map. Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier as well as Barbera, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, Syrah and Touriga Nacional are the most widely planted varieties.
Daniel Gehrs developed his wine making expertise over the past 3 decades. He initially started making wine at home as a college student. Well armed for the job with a passion and a Political Science degree, he joined Paul Masson Vineyards, Saratoga, in the San Francisco Bay area. After two years there, he and his wife purchased Congress Springs Vineyards and spent sixteen years there making Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon from old vines under his own label. Over the next three years, Daniel and wife Robin migrated slowly south until they arrived back in Santa Barbara County and Daniel took on wine making responsibilities at Zaca Mesa. After four years, he left Zaca Mesa. He currently makes wines for several label in addition to his own and is an active consultant to other producers in the area. He sources the fruit for his grapes from all over California. Stylistically, Daniel believes wine should be a companion to food and strives to make his wines food-friendly, with lower alcohol levels than most producers today. Daniel makes his current releases at the Lucas & Lewellen winery facility in Buellton.
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5 points |
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Nose |
4 points |
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Palate |
3 points |
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Finish |
3 points |
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Tannins |
5 points |
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Acidity |
5 points |
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Alcohol |
3 points |
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Aging potential |
4 points |
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Overall quality |
9 points |
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