Amador County and Sierra Foothills Romp

We were in the Foothills for the week of July 4th and visited a few wineries. Here are my reviews of the wineries that we visited:

Murphy's

Twisted Oak: They are located on Main Street in Murphy's CA and make fantastic Syrah and Tempranillo. Their Grenache and Rhone blends were not my favorites, but they also make a great Verdehlo. This winery is definitely raising the quality of SF wines.

Milliare: This winery was the best one in Murphy's for years, but now takes a back-seat to Twisted Oak and Hatcher. They still make very honest wines, but the quality is not the same as the aforementioned neighbors. My favorite here was a blended zin called Old Vine.

Hatcher: Fantastic Barbera and a killer Rhone blend called Sewell. These guys get better every year and are located under the street level in a very cool tasting room. Zin, Cab Franc and Sauv Blanc were good too.

Plymouth

Vino Noceto: Still one of the best producers in CA of sangiovese. They make about 7 or eight different versions. My favorite was the Marmellata, which is a big and robust version of their reserva. I was also impressed by their killer barbera and a very good Ferrero Ranch Zinfandel.

Dobra Zemjla: This winery produces HUGE wines that I believe are throw-backs and also reflect the Amador terroir. I am a big fan of the Zinfandel and was very impressed by a 2003 Grenache. Also prduce a sweet Viognier, Sangiovese and a blend of zin, sang and syrah.

Dillian: These guys ROCK! Fantastic Zinfandel and Syrah. He sells a ton of grapes to Joel Gott and Rombauer. My favorite wine was a semillion that was not cooked or sweet and was very refreshing on a 100 degree day. They also make a great Orange Muscat that is not at all syrupy.

TOP FIVE WINES FROM SF/AMADOR

1). Dillian Semillion, 2005, Shenandoah Valley-$18
bone dry with citrus flavors (9.5/10)
2). Hatcher, Sewell, 2005, Sierra Foothills-$23
spicy and balanced with great fruit (9/10)
3). Twisted Oak, Tempranillo, 2004, Sierra Foothills-$24
Nice tannins and very balanced (8.8/10)
4). Vino Noceto, Linsteadt Barbera, 2004, Shenandoah Valley-$28
Robust with dark fruit and soft tannins (8.75/10)
5). Dobra Zemjla, Grenache, 2003, Amador County-$24
Great backbone and dark stone fruit flavors (8.6/10)