Marr Cellars Cuvee Patrick Petit Sirah Tehama County 2006

Last week I worked with Bob Marr’s 2006 Petit Sirah Cuvee Patrick, named after his son.  The wine is a blend of petit sirah, zinfandel, carignane, syrah, viognier and a bit of orange muscat.

Bob takes a chef’s approach to blending his wines, having worked in restaurants during college and after  His fruit sources include John Alger’s vineyards on the side of Mount Lassen in Tehama County.  Planted in the ’70’s at an elevation of 2500 feet, these vineyards are at the snow line, and are subject to flurries in late Spring and Fall.

Bob’s winemaking approach is very simple: find low-yielding grape sources, get involved in the vineyard management, harvest at optimum ripeness, destem the grapes, cold soak, and either innoculate with yeast strains or allow native yeasts to start the fermentation.  But what is most remarkable is that Bob has very little machinery to work with.  This is not about the latest rotary fermenter or bladder press, but all about just staying out of the way and letting the vineyards speak through the wine.

The wines are manipulated and moved as little as possible.  Bob prefers gravity to pumps, and fines and racks his wines only when necessary.  He filters only rarely, preferring to let the wines settle before bottling.

Bob’s “Garage” Winery, in a storage space near Davis, California

The wine is dense, with color so dark you can’t see through a glass.  On the nose it has wild berries and spice, with a touch of eucalyptus.

The first taste is a mass of blackberry pie fruit, with tannins present but in check.  The wine is dense and thick without being heavy, but you will definitely feel the weight on your tongue .

The finish is long, with a trail of fine tannins competing with the dark fruits for the last impression.

Bob’s total production is under 2,000 cases, all hand-made from purchased grapes.  Bob has long relationships with growers, dating back to his days working harvest during college.  His preference is Rhone-style wines and old vines Zinfandel, each wine individually crafted and cared for.

If you would like more information on finding Marr Cellars wines please contact me.

Matsu Tinta de Toro 2006

Last night I tried a bottle of Matsu 2006, a modern-style Toro wine.  I had tried this wine previously at the Spanish Food & Wine event in late April in Manhattan, but it is always different tasting wines at home, at your own pace, and with food of your choice.

The wine was very concentrated, dense and impenetrable in the glass.  The nose reminded me a bit of a petite sirah, dark fruits and sweet oak.

I have tasted a few wines from Toro, including a marathon of more than 10 at the Alimentaria in Barcelona a few years back.  Most of the wines I have tried have massive tannins, balanced by intense fruits, but I always get the sense that the tannins will never quite resolve in time for the fruit to balance well.

The Matsu was different.  Tannic structure was there, but the tannins were fine-grained, creating a wonderful texture in the mouth, and the finish was long and rich.  What a complete wine!

If you would like information on where you can purchase this wine please contact me.