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The Profile Series: Bob Foley
EWS Blind Tasting - July 27, 2005

We readily admit to having unabashed enthusiasm for Bob Foley’s wines; been feeling this way for a lot of years. Foley’s genius comes through in the glass almost every time. It seems as if he takes winemaking back to a primal goal of "make it taste good" and succeeds better than just about anyone else at achieving that goal.

So when we say that it was an "honor" to have Bob Foley host a tasting of 18 of his wines, the word is not used as cliché. After all, didn’t we proclaim that "Bob Foley is the God of Cabernet" in an earlier report?

Not surprisingly, the Cabernet Sauvignons were indeed the brightest stars this evening. But the Syrahs were not far behind, a revelation for those of us who were unfamiliar with Foley’s deft hand with Syrah. The Merlots were superb on their own terms. Even as a "least preferred" flight, the Cabernet Francs held our interest and gathered our appreciation.

What did surprise us was Foley’s amazing ability to captivate his audience; he speaks as well as he makes wine, providing numerous insights from the vineyard and winery. For example, us city-slicker Easterners learned all about "tarweed," a wild, exotic, floral note found in many of his wines. Foley’s easy-going, friendly speaking style was well received while he managed to provide gushers of valuable information. Combined with tasting so many wonderful wines, this event will go down as an EWS classic, stimulating to the palate and brain. Thank you Bob Foley!

All wines except the 1996 Cabernet Reserve were purchased directly from Pride and shipped to New York for this tasting.

The following are consensus tasting notes, written to share commentary and convey the overall impression the group had for the wine. Wines are listed in the order they were poured.

1) 1999 Pride Merlot - 89 rating Deeply colored. Open nose is attractive featuring soft blueberry, tangerine, citrus, and orange notes. There are also notes of smoke. Some thought the nose was Bordeaux-like. Fairly big and weighty in the mouth but one-dimensional with soft ripe fruit, excellent acidity, and noticeable tannins. The toughest critics in the room pointed out that it’s somewhat out of balance, rather soft, lacks presence on the mid-palate, not particularly complex, and shows a bit too much alcohol. Seems fully mature, certainly good, but hardly stellar.

2) 2000 Pride Merlot - 88 rating Deeply colored though lighter around the rim. Soft, subtle, attractive nose is pleasing. On the palate the 2000 Merlot seems less sweet and less dense than the 1999. We do pick up notes of dark plums, raspberry, and cassis. It is a fairly well-structured wine with a little tannic bite at the end. Frankly, this Merlot was rather boring at first, lacking in vibrancy, but it gained character and points as it opened in the glass. Modest length in the finish. In the end, just OK.

3) 2001 Pride Merlot - 92 rating Deeply colored. Rich nose features notes of blueberries, cassis, black licorice, wet earth, cola syrup, oak, and smoke. These characteristics carried over on the palate. This was a better balanced, sweeter, "sexier" style than the first two vintages. There is more complexity, richness of fruit, and concentration. The balance of tannins and acidity (there is plenty of both) suggests another four to five years of life. Best of all, the finish was extra long. This Merlot had lots of elegance and class; much better than the 1999 and 2000.

4) 2002 Pride Merlot - 93 rating Medium-deep color. Lovely sweet, extroverted nose offers complex aromatics featuring baked blueberry, black plum, cocoa, smoke, and a pronounced roasted quality that was quite attractive. Vibrant and youthful in the mouth; the ripe, concentrated black fruit compote is juicy and delicious, rich yet silky. There’s a luscious glycerin mouth feel and an extra long finish. No question, this was the crowd’s favorite among the Merlots.

5) 1999 Pride Cabernet Franc - 87 rating Medium-deep color. Dry, "tired" nose following on the heels of those sweet Merlots. But this nose was dominated by spicy, dirty earth smells that were more fascinating than enjoyable, described by one taster as "baked pomegranate and cat piss soufflé." Similarly follows through on the palate with faded, dry dark berry fruit. More positively, the acidity is fine, it’s well-structured, and the influence of oak adds complexity and interest. Long red pepper finish. But overall faded fruit renders this wine monolithic and a "weakest link" in the company of the other wines.

6) 2000 Pride Cabernet Franc - 89 rating Deeply colored. Prominent medium-char smoky nose also offers subtle hints of berries and cocoa powder. Well-structured on entry but shows signs of being a little rough. This is a dense, powerful Cabernet Franc that has noticeable tannins. But the seemingly under ripe fruit is not the seductive type, though the 2000 was more enjoyable than the 1999. The finish was long. This wine did win a few fans but most participants were only modestly impressed.

7) 2001 Pride Cabernet Franc - 93 rating Deeply colored. Subtle, though sweet and elegant nose offering scents of blueberry, black plum, licorice, raspberry seeds, green tea, and a vegetative note as well. Chewy and complex in the mouth with wonderful flavors of bitter chocolate, mint leaf, and dusty ripe black plums. This wine has excellent structure and perfect acidity. It seemed so much more lively and fresh compared with the 1999 or 2000. Very long finish. Probably has a lot of life still ahead.

8) 2002 Pride Cabernet Franc - 94 rating Very deeply colored. Beautiful, complex, smoky nose recalls candied violets, lilac, and cocoa powder. At this point Bob Foley proclaimed that "Tarweed produces those smells of crushed flowers; that’s here in spades." Thoroughly delicious on the palate featuring sweet raspberry fruit with bitter crushed cocoa and coffee bean notes. This wine is well-structured with the influence of oak showing in the nose and on the palate. The wine builds to a very long and most pleasurable finish. Simply superb!

9) 1999 Pride Cabernet Sauvignon - 89 rating Deeply colored. Nose is open and attractive with a syrupy decadence that recalls a young northern Rhône; there’s plenty of oak, smoke, spice, and lots of minerality. Well-textured on the palate with notes of sweet red peppers and eucalyptus; still somewhat tannic. On the negative side, this middleweight Cab was a little rough, lacked real concentration, and fell flat in the finish. It did get better as it opened in the glass, but the 1999 was easily the weakest of the four Pride Cabs.

10) 2000 Pride Cabernet Sauvignon - 92 rating Deeply colored. Beautiful nose features plenty of tobacco, tar, spice, and smoke with distinct herbal, red pepper, and anise syrup scents. Complex, concentrated, chewy, and focused on the palate; immediately obvious that this is a more complete wine than the 1999. We pick up plum pit, fennel, marjoram, and oregano leaf flavors. This is a youthful, elegant Cab with good acidity that still shows some tannin. The finish was long and consistent. Overall, a very good Cab, especially for the vintage.

11) 2001 Pride Cabernet Sauvignon - 92 rating Very dark color, the darkest in this flight of Cabernets. Interesting floral nose really gains power as it opens in the glass. It features notes of shoe polish, mint, leather, and wet cedar wood. Rich, spicy, and concentrated in the mouth, yet soft and mellow. This is an elegant, "feminine" Cabernet, not flabby, but soft and fleshy. It’s youthfully tannic with fine acidity and perfect balance. Modestly long finish. The 2001 Pride Cab will probably benefit from a few years in the cellar to settle down.

12) 2002 Pride Cabernet Sauvignon - 94 rating Deeply colored. Terrific nose is sweet, creamy, smoky, with dark berry fruit, cocoa, and mint; really sexy! Follows through nicely on the palate with excellent structure supporting a perfect balance of fruit, acidity, and tannins. This is a youthful, vibrant Cabernet that keeps evolving as it opens in the glass, offering notes of chocolate-soaked oranges, Valrona bittersweet chocolate, black olives, and chocolate covered pretzels. Above all else, it was delicious from start to (very long) finish; easily the favorite of Pride’s "regular" Cabs.

13) 2000 Pride Syrah - 90 rating Opaque, "black hole" color. Open smoky, bacon fat, licorice, minty nose with some alcoholic fumes. Huge, sweet in the mouth with intense richness and concentration. This wine is so heavily extracted it’s like Syrah syrup! Youthful and tannic, this powerful, mineral-laden Syrah is just a baby with a decade or more of life ahead. It also has a gamy, wild quality that many felt was either "funky" or "over the top" but clearly not to everyone’s liking. Long, persistent finish. There’s a lot going on here but it’s a bit raw right now.

14) 2001 Pride Syrah - 93 rating Again, this Syrah is opaque. Gorgeous and complex nose with none of the "funk" that plagued the 2000. It’s spicy, smoky and extremely rich; much sweeter than the 2000 with a more floral bouquet. Notes include szechuan pepper, ginger, plums, and black fruit tart. Lots of acidity, fresh fruit, and vitality in the mouth; it’s a complex yet balanced wine. Long, penetrating, juicy finish. This is a superb wine although it was noticeably less Syrah-like than the 2000. It should continue to evolve over the next few years.

15) 2002 Pride Syrah - 94 rating Opaque. Huge, ripe, raisiny nose is in the "wild and exotic" camp recalling a great Cote-Rotie. Aromatically, this wine was as compelling as any experienced in this tasting with its hypnotic lilac and tarw

eed notes. Brilliantly structured on the palate; dense, juicy, and powerful balanced by jammy blackberry and black cherry fruit. This youthful Syrah has excellent acidity and tannin to shed. Above all, we were treated to an extra long finish. Maybe there was a bit too much alcohol showing, but it was forgivable in the context of the 2002 Syrah’s numerous attributes.

16) 1999 Robert Foley Vineyards "Claret" (from magnum) - 95 rating Deeply colored, but not nearly as impenetrable as the preceding Syrahs. Open, gorgeous gamy nose featuring tons of smoke and oak. Kept getting better and better as it sat in the glass. Big, rich, concentrated, complex, well-textured in the mouth; layers of bloody game, French pastry, and brilliant black earth, weedy notes. It’s dense, yet light of foot. There is more tannin here than the Pride Cabs. Long, consistent, persistent finish. This amazingly delicious wine seems to be at the dawn of peak drinking years. For most participants, this was the "wine of the night."

17) 1995 Pride Cabernet Sauvignon "Reserve" - 94 rating Deeply colored. Lovely, softer, sweet, funky, lush, creamy nose offers lots of dusty black plums, cedar wood and tobacco. Simply delicious on the palate; appears to be very young right now with room to grow into an even greater wine. It’s a huge mouthful with above average acidity; an intensely concentrated, dark fruit wine. The finish was long with a wonderful textural sensation all the way through. Overall, a terrific wine.

18) 1996 Pride Cabernet Sauvignon "Reserve" - 93 rating Deeply colored. Wonderful big, rich, jammy, hi-toned nose is youthfully exuberant. Notes include framboise, fennel, and almonds. Follows through nicely on the palate; tremendous concentration and thoroughly delicious. The 1996 seems tighter with less fruit intensity when compared with the sweeter and sexier 1995. But this wine makes up for it with power and structure. One small issue: the alcohol obscured the delineation of flavors. Long, consistent finish. These bottles may have been too well stored as this wine seems 3 - 5 years away from full maturity. It will be worth the wait.