Central Coast week at d547: Palmina Wine
Okay, so we’re extending Central Coast week just a little bit, since we didn’t post as frequently as we would have liked last week.
Palmina is a winery started by Steve Clifton, of Brewer-Clifton fame, several years back. Its focus is primarily on Italian varieties, and given our current reading for the Wine Book Club, Vino Italiano, it was interesting for us to have the chance to taste what Italian grapes do when grown in California terroir. The tasting room itself is in Lompoc, in what’s referred to as the Wine Ghetto, a set of industrial complexes that house notable wineries such as Loring, Fiddlehead (which has a tasting room just around the corner from Palmina’s) and Sea Smoke, to name a few.
From the corrugated steel exterior, one wouldn’t guess that the tasting room would be so, well, so downright cozy inside! It is a great atmosphere, intimate and unintimidating, in which to taste wine. Also, given its location off the typical tourist’s winery-hopping route, it’s generally pretty laid back and quiet. If you’ve found Palmina, you’re probably there for all the right reasons.
On an aside, we planned to meet Amy of West Coast Wine Country Adventures at Palmina, on a sort of blind date for bloggers, and after an awkward period of confusion (no thanks to Twitter) and shyness, we figured out who the other was and had a lovely time all sitting around the communal table, tasting wine and talking in general about the area. Thanks to Amy, we had a great meal at American Flatbread in Los Alamos that evening, but that’s another post for another time. Here, we’re just going to go through the wines we tasted at Palmina.
2006 Palmina Arneis, Honea Vineyard
Certainly pleasant enough for a white, and not anything like Chardonnay that the region is known for. This straw-toned wine reminded us somewhat of Viognier, albeit subdued in terms of the honey and floral notes. The acidity is there but in a moderate way. We think with food this would have a chance to shine. On its own, it didn’t do much for us and seemed a bit steep at $26.00 a bottle. Decent but not for us.
2006 Palmina Dolcetto, Santa Barbara County
The color on this was a beautiful ruby, not too deep or opaque, but translucent and shimmering. The fruit on the nose was 100% red in character, with strawberries, cherries and a hint of raspberry to top things off. In the mouth it seemed very true to Italian iterations of Dolcetto that we’ve had lately, with one distinct advantage for American palates: there was the sourness of the raspberry, but without some of the bitterness that often accompanies Italian wines. This is a smooth wine ready to be sipped gulped down. Looking for a classic Pizza wine? Here you go. At $20 a bottle, this is a huge winner. Very good to excellent.
2005 Palmina Undici, 100% Sangiovese, 11 Oaks Vineyard
We’ve attended a couple of trade tastings recently which have focused on the 2003 Brunellos. While 2003 is not considered the stellar year that 2001 was, or 2004 is said to be for Italian Sangiovese Grosso, it is meant to be fairly typical and traditional in style, and deemed good enough (unlike 2002) for wineries to age and bottle their wines as Brunellos rather than to declassify them. Suffice it to say, the Undici really stood up incredibly well to the 2003 Brunellos, and is a ready-to-drink wine. The aromas have red fruit but layers of blackberry and black cherry as well. Flavors are layered, with some smoke and earth coming into play, and a tad bit of licorice. The tannin levels are there and show this can age, but they’re not unpleasant or mouth drying. You’d be hard-pressed to find a quality Rosso di Montalcino at this price point (Brunello would be impossible). $36.00 a bottle and worth it. Only 444 cases produced. Very good to excellent.
2004 Palmina Nebbiolo, Stolpman Vineyard
Sashi Moorman of Stolpman has been focused on Rhone varieties of late, and this means that the Nebbiolo he used to play with has to find a home elsewhere. Lucky for all of us that Steve Clifton got access to this fantastic fruit. This is all black fruit, all the time. It has some herbaciousness to it, mushrooms mostly, but as with the Dolectto (and the Sangiovese, too), it has a softness in its youth that distinguishes it from its Piedmont counterparts. The structure is definitely here, but there’s a laid back surfer-dude quality to this serious wine that is purely California. Only 390 cases produced. $40 a bottle. Very good.
2004 TriTono Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina
This is the first vinatge of a joint project between Steve Clifton, Joe Bastianich and Argentine vintner Matias Mayol. Produced in Mendoza, the Tritono comes from a growing season that saw some challenges, but which ultimately yielded small quantities of premium fruit. The wine was distinct from the Palmina wines in its color which was deep inky purple, and nearly opaque. The aromas were dominated by smoke and tinder box, and on the palate there was rich black fruit (stewed plums) and a lot of tannin. This is a big boy, the biggest of the bunch, and the flavors just lingered for ages and left a pleasant spicy aftertaste in our mouths. This wine is one to decant for a couple of hours at least, or one to lay down for a while. $40. Very good.
2005 Palmina Santitá, Larner Vineyard, 100% Malvasia Bianco
We were told by the tasting room staff that Steve Clifton likes to fill up a large glass of this decadent dessert wine, and sop it up with almond biscotti. This was loaded with honey and had a viscous texture. We’re not that schooled in dessert wines so that’s about all we jotted down in our notes. At $50 per 375ml bottle, this one’s a bit dear for our wallets these days. Decent stuff, but not for us.
Our pick: 2006 Palmina Dolcetto, Santa Barbara County
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get your wine on
2008 “Bebame” Red, El Dorado County, California
Cabernet Franc (65%) and Gamay (35%) from - gasp - California! And only 13% ABV, pretty modest by California standards. If I tasted this blind I would probably have said it’s from the Loire Valley. It has pretty much nothing in common with the full bodied iterations of Cab Franc coming out of Napa. Juicy, light, delicious quaffing wine.$18 a bottle
2006 Telegramme Chateauneuf-du-Pape Rouge
Really balanced and smooth, this is a bargain of a Chateauneuf. Yeah, the 07s are lauded but what would I prefer to drink? This! It’s the second label of Vieux Telegraphe, from the same property but from younger vines. And it’s a deal at $33 a bottle.2006 or bust!
NV Barcino Cava: LA Times Wine of the Week!
Delicious and just in time for New Year’s Eve…this is the LA Times Wine of the Week, and we have plenty in stock. Order online, pick-up in-store!$14 a bottle!
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freshly pressed
The Business of Saying No:
No, I am not a natural wine merchant.
And no, I am also not not a natural wine merchant.
So what exactly is my store, Domaine LA? This is a tricky question that I try to answer here.
________
A couple of months back, I participated in the first annual Los Angeles Natural Wine Week, spearheaded by Lou Amdur of Lou Wine Bar. At that time, I took some heat from a few folks around the Internet who felt I might have been merely capitalizing on a trend and didn’t see me as a true natural wine merchant.
The thing is, I’ve never claimed to be a natural wine merchant. When I started my business online a few years ago, I stated plainly that I wanted to sell wines I loved. I was an enthusiast with a fairly receptive, wide-ranging palate, and I considered learning about wine a journey I would be going on alongside my customers. While I’ve since expanded my business to include a brick and mortar space, my self-conception and mission statement haven’t really changed. But my palate has.
To be absolutely blunt about it, I used to love wines that I simply can’t stomach anymore. There are blog posts archived on my website that in retrospect make me cringe, paragraphs singing the praises of some of the most blatantly manipulated wines in the world. I once criticized a wine bar for not having any Southern Hemisphere selections; it’s now my favorite spot in Los Angeles. And today I carry barely a dozen Southern Hemisphere SKUs myself.
By and large, my palate-shift is reflected in what I bring into the store. Chris Ringland and Mollydooker have been replaced by Eric Texier and Thierry Puzelat; the California fruit- and alcohol-bombs, for the most part, have given way to wines from La Clarine Farm, Donkey and Goat and LIOCO.
As a result of my largely obscure inventory, almost every day I’m faced with customers asking for items that I don’t stock. On a regular basis, I hear:
“Do you have Rombauer Chardonnay?”
No, I answer.
“Do you have Caymus?”
Afraid not, I reply.
“What about Blackstone Merlot?”
So sorry, but no.
“Where’s the Veuve Clicquot? This is a gift. I need the recipient to know it’s nice!”
Sigh.
Saying no to people sets up a potentially risky relationship that may start and end with that one exchange—many customers want what they want and aren’t open to alternative suggestions. In other cases, however, that simple “no” can be the beginning of something beautiful, a dialogue that winds up with a customer who came in looking for the Prisoner instead going home with something like Morgan Twain-Peterson’s Bedrock Heirloom Red, a wine which, while perhaps not 100% natural, is a more honest “made in the vineyard” (yes, I know this is also a cliché) version of what the Prisoner purports to be.
Of course, sometimes that customer really just wants the Prisoner. Which leads me to my major confession here: despite more than a bit of ambivalence, I continue to sell the Prisoner, along with other wines that are by no means natural, wines that are quite frankly manufactured. The Prisoner sits on the shelf right next to the Bedrock Heirloom Red, and for the time being, it will stay there. At least twice a week people come in asking specifically for this wine, and, for several reasons, it’s a request I’m not—yet—willing to deny.
Even though I no longer drink the Prisoner, there was a time–not too long ago–when I did so happily. When I first started getting interested in wine, it was a bottle that captured my imagination and helped launch me on the journey I remain committed to today. So maybe I keep the Prisoner around out of a sense of nostalgia. Or maybe I keep it around to remind me how far I’ve come. Maybe I keep it around hoping that for those who ask for it, it will simply be their starting place just as it was mine.
Or, more cynically, maybe I keep it around because people buy it. Maybe it’s a crutch to lean on when I’m too tired to hand-sell the less familiar items on my shelves. Seeing something recognizable is comforting to consumers, and that comfort somehow lends me credibility; credibility is a precedent to trust. Trust is what enables me to recommend something different to a customer who normally drinks the Prisoner.
In this sense, the Prisoner is of great value to me, not just as an easy sell, but even more so as a gateway to all the other wines I have available. I don’t know that I’d be able to move as much of the Bedrock, an unknown wine with a tiny case production, without the Prisoner right next to it.
______
Saying no is extremely hard. Right now, I’m willing to do so 90% of the time, maybe even 95%. Call me a coward or a fake if you want. But I know where I started out, and it’s been a logical evolution. And while I’m headed in a particular direction, guided by my palate, it’s safe to assume I won’t ever be a 100% “natural wine merchant.”
I like to think there’s room for somebody like me—somebody with confidence in her tastes, who also takes into account modes of production in buying decisions; someone who has a particular point of view, yet retains an inclusive attitude. I am strong in my opinions, and enthusiastic in my passions. I never judge my customers, and hope that they’ll be as open-minded and respectful of my offerings as I am of their preferences.
So far, it seems to be working out. In recent months, I’ve brought in only one case of the Prisoner (less than a thousandth of a percent of its total production) for every three cases of the Bedrock (1.3% of its total production).
So, what am I?
I’m not a natural wine merchant. And I’m not not a natural wine merchant.
I’m a work in progress. And I’m okay with that.
The Business of Saying No
Los Angeles Natural Wine Week: Taste California Terroir on 5/15/2010 at Heath Ceramics
Meet the Reps: Amy Atwood
wine jargon
Frizzante
From Wikipedia: Frizzante is an Italian wine term term for semi-sparkling wine (as opposed to Spumante, which is generally used for fully sparkling wines). Frizzante wines generally owe their bubbles to a partial secondary fermentation in tank. You might notice a light fizz or tingly sensation on the tongue with a Frizzante wine, compared to the more carbonated sensation that more fully sparkling wines yield.
Scorekage
Okay, so we made up this word yesterday after a great restaurant experience. We brought a bottle of wine with us, expecting to pay a corkage fee. But the restaurant either forgot to charge us the $15, or decided to be nice to us. We scored! Hence, “scorekage” has entered our lexicon. This can also refer to BYO friendly restaurants that don’t charge for corkage under any circumstances.
grapewise
DomaineLA Store Contact Info
If you’re looking for our brick and mortar shop, here’s where it can be found:
(323) 932-0280
Hours are 11AM to 8PM, Monday through Saturday and noon to 5PM on Sundays.
Read more…Fabulous & Frugal!
Our friends launched a new site and domaine547 is a featured wine columnist in their premiere edition! Go check out Fabulous & Frugal for some fantastic lifestyle tips for living the good life during what, for most of us, is an economically challenging time. There’s much more than wine there, and we’re thrilled to be a small part of the start of what will surely be a successful venture. Congrats to Brandi & Steph for their achievement!
DomaineLA Store Contact Info
Fabulous & Frugal!
domaine547 In the Blogosphere! Imbibe Magazine Unfiltered
February 18th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
I have a bottle of the 2005 Dolcetto and 2005 Barbera which I have not tasted yet. Based on your notes, I do look forward to tasting them soon.
February 19th, 2008 at 11:32 am
Hi Jill, Glad we got to meet up. My notes look like they concur with yours. I’m glad you enjoyed Flatbread!
February 23rd, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Met Steve here in Walla Walla a couple years ago. Great guy! And I love the Dolcetto and Undici. Seriously wish there was an easier way to get a broader wine selection here in “wine country” — I’m working on it!
Although Palmina wines aren’t for everyone, I really admire what Steve and his wife, Chrystal, are doing, their vision for the winery, and their commitment to that vision despite some industry scoffing. In some ways I am reminded of Tim Sampson of Yellow Hawk Cellar here in Walla Walla (exclusively Italian reds).