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Denis Hoey

Odonata    www.odonatawines.com
  
               334-A Ingalls St, Santa Cruz CA 95060
                  (831) 566-5147

Denis Hoey is the winemaker and orchestrator of this boutique operation. He got much of his training as production manager and assistant winemaker at Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard. A job that he still holds, but Odonata is his baby. His first vintage was 2005 and he now produces about 1,000 cases per year. Tastings are the first Saturday of the month or by appointment. The tasting room is in Santa Cruz, so it took us a little over an hour to get here from Ridge in Cupertino. Their tasting room and winemaking facilities are under the same roof as Santa Cruz Mountian Vineyard.

Denis, our friendly host, started us off with three barrel samples from the 2010 vintage, including a Viognier (55%), Rousanne (45%) blend that tasted like tart pineapple candy (in a very good way), a Pinot Noir that showed fine Santa Cruz Mountains character and an elegant Syrah with spice, mocha and forestal flavors. All of these barrel samples showed the same quality and style as the finished wines below, but tasted more young and unformed, as expected.

90+   2009  Odonata  Silvaspoon Vineyard Grenache  (Alta Mesa)  $28

90% Grenache, 10% Syrah   14.1%alc  100 cases
Overall: Medium raspberry color. Bouquet shows raspberry, red cherry and bitter/sweet licorice. Very elegant and pure. Smells like Grenache, but quite Burgundian at the same time. A middleweight with excellent acidity and fruit, yet light on its feet with elegance. The intensity in the bouquet carries through to the flavor and finish with some minerality lingering. Delicious stuff already, but may gain more complexity in the next 2-5 years. Grenache for a Burgundy lover like me.

88  2008  Odonata  Malbec  (Alta Mesa)  $25

90% Grenache, 10% Syrah   13.6%alc  100 cases
Overall: Excellent acidity supports black raspberry fruit. Solid middleweight that excels in the finish and has structure that promises better things in the next few years, but the bouquet and flavor are a little restrained at present.

92+  2008  Odonata  Santa Cruz Mountains Syrah  $28

100% Syrah   14.5%alc  145 cases
Overall: A light heavyweight with racy acidity, propelling concentrated blackberry, papaya and boysenberry fruit with very good, smooth tannins and a viscous, silky mouthfeel. Also shows black pepper with nuances of tar and bramble bush, all on an elegant Northern Rhone-like frame. Impressive! Drink it now for its delicious fruit or wait 5-10 years to see what intricacies emerge.

89  2008  Odonata  Monterey Durif  $28

90% Grenache, 10% Syrah   14.5%alc  90 cases
Overall: Rich blackberry fruit coated with pure cocoa. Very compelling in the bouquet and coats the mouth with its flavor, but the finish is not quite as distinctive at present. Needs a few years to show all it's got.

Final Thoughts: Denis describes his wines as "nouveau-style" and they do, in fact, possess an approachability and a freshness that suggest early drinking. But they are also well-structured and balanced, which gives them the potential to improve with age. So, they bear no resemblance to Beaujolais Nouveau, just in case you got the wrong idea. All of these wines are refreshingly different and exciting. The Grenache and Syrah in particular have a combination of elegance and flavor intensity that reminds me of red Burgundy or the Northern Rhone. After this small sampling, I hope to follow these wines in more depth going forward. Thanks Denis!!

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