The Mountains, not the Bayou
When we say “Fogarty”, you think of a reefer-smoking hippie singing Born on the Bayou, right? Well stop it. As much as we love doobie hittin’ singers from CCR (John Fogerty, see they aren’t even spelled the same), we love winery-owning doctors named Thomas Fogarty even more. Why? Because the good doctor has a winery located up in the Santa Cruz Mountains that puts out a plethora of good juice, and it’s all handcrafted by a damngood and seasoned wine making all-star; Mr. Michael Martella.
The Thomas Fogarty Winery and Vineyard is located about 2000 feet up in them there hills and has been there since 1981. The Estate sits on 325 acres, with about 25 acres dedicated to Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and small lots of Merlot and Sangiovese. Right now the good doctor and Mr. Martella are producing 13 different wines and case production is rather limited on many of their offerings and reaches the 3500+ case boundary with just a few of their wines.
Today I had the pleasure to sit down with a nice little selection from the Santa Cruz Mountain winery. I got my Riedel glasses ready, my music selection going, and my corkscrew in place, and then started swirling juice. I selected a Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Late Harvest Zin, and Cabernet for this little afternoon tasting. I felt that they covered a fair portion of what Fogarty has to offer and will lead me to a conclusion on whether or not to try and hunt down all the others that Michael Martella makes.
Well everything went better than planned and the Chard was phe-frickin-nomenal, and I was four for four. I am never four for four. I usually get at least one dog in the mix when I open up four bottles. It was an exceptional afternoon and yes, some of the wine actually made it to the dinner table. So now I am full, all tasted out and sleepy. Below are the tasting notes and nighty-night.
1999 Thomas Fogarty Santa Cruz Mountains “Estate Reserve” Chardonnay
This Chard can come over to my place any day of the week. It shows a clean gold color and it balances on the medium to full bodied line. O.K., I’ll make up my mind, more medium bodied than full. The aromas that spring forward are caramel and cinnamon spice. This Chard has layers and I was feeling all of them, one after another.
The first was like putting a butterscotch candy in your mouth and then taking a bite of a pear, next was a caramel covered pippin apple, and then came some light orange peel tanginess. It is a Chard that just doesn’t give up, it coats your mouth and is still stuck in your middle cheek area and resonating on the sides of your tongue long after you have set the glass down. The full oak flavors come in gently but consistently, and just like a pissed off old girlfriend, just don’t leave you alone. I like that.
The oak, not the old girlfriend. The balance is perfect, acidity just right, and with all that going for it the finish is truly classic. Just to get a time reference for myself on the finish I put on the song “Exodus” by Bob Marley, which is 7 minutes and 34 seconds long. I took a sip and a swallow right as the song starts and half way through the song it finally fades out. Damn that was a long 3 minutes. That is a truly tasty and serious wine. Sorry, only 215 cases made.
1998 Thomas Fogarty Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir
I really enjoyed this Pinot and the nice structure it has to offer. Both fruit and earth come together very well and some bright plum flavors work hard to balance out the earthy, mushroom hints that make this mid to light bodied wine seem a bit more dense than it really is. It has a lively nature that intermingles the flavors enough to really be a Pinot that can satisfy all Pinot drinkers. The long cool growing season imparts a lot of depth and flavor. 597 cases made.
2000 Thomas Fogarty Late Harvest Fiddletown Zinfandel
Light brick red in color that just starts to turn burnt orange on the rim. It looks like it wouldn’t be so thick in the mouth, but it is. The sweetness catches you and takes you for a ride. It is like a bite of boysenberry-blueberry pie with lite sprinkles of powdered sugar on top, followed by a shot of cognac. A long sweet finish makes this wine ready for my dessert choice any time. It is an interesting wine that I would recommend to anyone as a change up from Port. 15% alcohol and 7.5% residual sugar. An excellent wine that needs to be shared with friends, because you may get hurt drinking the whole thing on your own. Very limited production.
1997 Thomas Fogarty Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
To bad this Cab is only produced in very small quantities because it will be a definite crowd pleaser, if only you could get your hands on it. But you probably won’t. Sleek dark cassis flavors are all wrapped up in chewy, mildly spicy, warmly oaked and semi-tannic shell. An all around big taste experience. I think a case of this Cab should rest in my cellar for a couple years so I have something to open when my “good” friends come over. But since it is very scarce I will leave it for the rest of you to fight over. I will hold back and wait till the ’99 is released, then I’ll buy it all. Very limited production.
back to The Mountains, not the Bayou
Related posts:
- CALIFORNIA: Santa Cruz Mountains
- Ahlgren Vineyard Santa Cruz Pinot Noir
- Wine A Steal of a Deal
- McIlroy Cellars
- Turkey Day Wines
February 14th, 2010 at 10:30 am
I have needed this information for so long. Where have you been!!! Thanks