Flock It To Me: Tasting Two Shepherds New Releases

My first stop prior to the official start of #WBC12 in Portland was to taste the new line up from Two Shepherds by William Allen. I sat down with William along with Chris Kern of @ForgottenGrapes  to sample the new releases. Here are verbatim, my live, unedited comments and extensive wine notes:

2011 Grenache Blanc –100% Grenache Blanc
“Mmmm. It’s so flocking good.” This wine put Mr. Allen on the map of the United States of Whatever.

2011 Viognier –100% Viognier
 “Oh Man! That’s nice!”  Straight up, fresh and forward--opening into a full-on Yum O'rama.

2011 Pastoral Blanc blend– 45% Roussanne, 25% Marsanne, 20% Viognier, 15% Grenache Blanc
I tell you, if Charlie Mason had access to this wine he never would have gone on a rampage. This is a wine that can soothe the savage beast. X marks the spot for balance and elegance.

Barrel Sample– 100% Grenache
To paraphrase Vincent Vega--“Godamn that’s a pretty fucking good barrel sample. I don’t know if it’s worth $5 dollars, but its pretty fucking good.”

2010 GSM --
Blastoff! Um yeah… take your protein pills and put your helmet on for this one. Ground control to Major Tom, er make that William, you’ve really made the grade here. Unfortunately the top-secret nature of this wine may have died along with Neil Armstrong that weekend. Well okay, here is the secret- 50% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 25% Mourvèdre • From two Vineyards: Saralee’s Vineyard, Russian River Valley. Mouvedre, Livermore.

2010 Syrah|Mourvedre--50% Syrah, 50% Mourvèdre
An 8.0 on the Richter scale of Grapeness--grab the mane on this little pony and hold or you might get bucked off from the powerful flavor.

You can find full notes and details on all the wines from Two Shepherds here.
http://twoshepherdsvineyards.com

In the meantime--Keep your dial tuned here for a flurry of new posts coming in, including all the wild wine action from #WBC12 and a full report on the Wonders of Carlton, Oregon! You don’t want to miss that. Also coming up--a peek into the deep heart of Texas wine at Messina-Hof winery.

Rhone Rangers Wrap Up

Rhone Rangers Mourvedre Seminar

So I got the chance to give away two tickets to the San Francisco Rhone Rangers event that took place last weekend in my post There's a Name for My Condition: Rhone Ranger. The winner was Rick from @cheers2winecom. That post was also part of a blogging competition that awarded tickets to the event to a wine blogger-- with the Grand prize being a full weekend pass including the Winemakers dinner on Saturday night.

Well guess who won???

Hint hint...your soaking in it. Yup it was me! I was surprised and excited to learn I was the winner of the whole shebang. Thank you very much Rhone Rangers judges!

I was only able to attend the Saturday events but they were incredible. At the Mourvedre seminar moderated by Jon Bonne I really enjoyed the Tablas Creek Vineyard 08 from Paso Robles and we also tasted my old stand by and BFF the 08 Wine Creek Ranch Mourvedre by Quivira.

Next... on the the Gala Winemakers Dinner catered by Girl and the Fig followed by the Rhone Rangers Scholarship Fund auction.

Prior to the dinner a walk around tasting reception was held with the wine makers. Wow! There were some real standouts that were new to me. I was especially blown away by selections at Quady North from Southern Oregon.

A selection from Quady North

One of the many wines poured at the dinner

Auction in full swing

The auction action was fast and furious and raised funds for the scholarship, and all the incredible wines served at the event raised serious fun for all the attendees. If you love rhones, become a Rhone Ranger Member and be sure to catch the event next year.