Monthly Archive for January, 2008

January 7th, 2008
Decades ago, I learned of Lane Tanner through her wines.  They are beautiful, elegant and feminine wines intended for the ages.

More recently I learned of her equally famous reputation as an unabashed character!  Her photo here – submerged in a grape bin, and wearing no more than a dry-iced mist – is but one indication of her eagerness to eschew all things pretentious and snooty.  This photo is the home page for her website, by the way – good on ya, Lane!

Lane the Iconoclast
My first meeting with her did nothing to prove or disprove her reputation, unless you consider her wine-colored Jaguar.  Still, I continued to hear tall tales, and was impishly eager to raise them with her during our interview almost a year ago.  I was not disappointed. 

But words can only convey part of her story so I recommend watching this video clip from her recent interview with NBC news.  It’s good, as far as it goes, but the full Lane Tanner doesn’t come to the fore until she is under the spotlight, signing bottles, beaming, talking to customers, and sharing a sip or three of wine – such as the night she was the celebrity guest at the Tastes of the Valleys wine shop and tasting bar, where her wines are always available for tasting.

Lane’s Winemaking Style
Lane recently released her 2006 vintage, and though her prices are creeping upward, her wines are still remarkably affordable.  Here are my "Cliffs Notes" summary on Lane’s wines:

• Elegantly "perfumed" wines
• Delightfully moderate alcohol
• Great acidity – they really bloom when paired with food
• Age nicely for 5-10 years.  I was recently thrilled by her 1986 pinot!

In keeping with my numerous postings about closures (Taber Interview, Reduction and glass closures, Glass Closures Expand, and book review "To Cork or not to Cork") I must dedicate some space to Lane’s iconoclastic choice.  After losing a ruinously high percentage (11%!) of her 1997 vintage to tainted corks, Lane demanded remuneration from the cork provider.  She had a policy of purchasing only the best quality, 2-inch wine corks available, and believed the company who provided the faulty corks would make good.  She was told, in no uncertain terms "No we won’t reimburse you and feel free to sue us – nobody has ever won a cork taint case."

She vowed right then to find an acceptable alternative to cork.  Concerned about the possibility of reduction from air-tight closures such as screwcaps and glass T-Tops (still open to debate, by the way) when used in long aging trials, Lane wanted a solution that allowed her wines to age JUST AS IF they were under a cork finish.  She found one – a synthetic cork called "NeoCork" that allows the wine to breathe at the same microscopic rate as a true cork, but with no risk of cork taint.  In addition, she found that NeoCork had none of the removal difficulties inherent with most "synthetic corks" – no more broken corkscrews.  She has been an avid supporter of this alternative closure since 1998, and believes her wines age beautifully well under this new closure.

2006 Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara County $26
This wine offers a bargain-level introduction to Lane’s pinots.  I suspect it serves as a missionary, creating converts for her "pricier" wines (which are still bargains, relative to most pinots).  Lane describes it as her "working girl" wine, as it makes a great everyday wine when you want to make everyday a little special.  From a lush vintage, this is an inviting wine.

Buy it here

2006 Syrah, French Camp Vineyard $23
They say it is difficult to tell what instrument is playing if a note’s first few nanoseconds are removed from the recording.  Apparently, each instrument’s "attack" on a note contains the majority of the clues needed for our ear to determine instrument variation.  In much the same vein, hide the label on this elegant syrah and see how often it is mistaken for a pinot.  This wine is considerably different than its bold and brawny brethren – syrahs that fit our contemporary definition of "goodness".  But it would be a shame to miss this gem simply because it doesn’t fit the usual syrah mold.  Pair it with the usual suspects for pinot, and affordable happiness is but a corkscrew away.

Buy It Here!

2006 Pinot Noir, Bien Nacido Vineyard $33
The Bien Nacido Vineyard is perhaps the most famous of Central Coast vineyards, providing the fruit behind many of our nation’s award-winning wines.  The fruit in this particular wine, however, is from vines that are 25 years old – low-yielding vines producing grapes with great flavor concentration.  In the day when similar pinots are selling at $35 – $45, this is an excellent candidate for your cellar, to be opened in 7 or 10 years and slowly savored as the wine evolves in your glass.

Buy it here!

2006 Pinot Noir, Julia’s Vineyard $36
This is the top end of Lane’s small portfolio.  And while my palate leans slightly toward her Bien Nacido pinot, I would not be disappointed to find a case of this on my proverbial desert island.  The Robb Report sums up all of Lane’s wines in its review of her Julia’s Vineyard pinot – "This Pinot achieves what few Pinot Noirs do: Marrying the forceful fruit of California with the more delicate mold, mushroom and earth essences we associate with grand crus of Burgundy." Try a bottle of this wine and compare it to the Bien Nacido, then let us know what you think.

Buy it here!

Cheers!

Dave Chambers, Wine Merchant

Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com

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