Wine Unfiltered

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SAARLOOS&sons @ HOUSE

2971 Grand Ave Los Olivos

www.saarloosandsons.com

From second one, I knew this was my kind of place. Basically, this is what my tasting room would look like if I had one. It was so disturbingly suited to my style that I did a double take when I walked in, thinking I maybe had too much wine that day and was having a dreamlike psychotic episode. But no.

Those who have seen my beauty products or truffles, been to one of my parties or ever walked into my house for that matter, knows that anything that is a cross between alchemical and modern whimsy is my cup of tea. Speaking of tea, Alice and the Mad Hatter would have the most outrageous tea party here. It even comes with it’s own little cakes in-house. But this is not where you go to get tea. It’s where wine goes to get you.

Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t some frilly, froufrou wine cottage. We’re talking clean-line funky mirrors, a giant yet unobtrusive flat screen tv, and what I call a cheerful-gothic sensibility. It’s more Matrix than Martha Stewart. Trust me, any geek with good taste will enjoy this.

But before I go any further, Enjoy Cupcakes: as for the brilliant mini cupcakes, the whimsical blackboard shows that choices are abound. Just remember this formula: chocolate + blackberry x syrah = good. Fresh, barely sweetened and perfect. I suspect it’s an oil based cupcake not a butter one. That’s a good thing. It would explain the continuing moistness and light, but still substantial texture. Can you tell I like mini cupcakes? Can you tell I thought about this too much? Visit the apothecary bell jars and cake pedestals behind glass upon entering to your right. If nothing else but to stare at them for 3 minutes.

You must be asking yourself at this point, chick, are the wines any good or what?

Owner Keith Saarloos will pour the drinks with smooth no-nonsense and quick wit. In a good way. Don’t be afraid. Step up. As an intense mac nerd myself, anyone with that large of an apple screen behind the bar can pretty much do no wrong. Thank god the wines rock.

Mostly reds….the points just keep going up. Though one Chardonnay does hang around and it will make you pay attention. Out it pours, and the last red flows from the best looking decanter in existence. Here, each wine is family. And I mean literally. There’s a familial tale for each in the tasting book, relating to someone in the ‘loos’s lore. I won’t do it an injustice by trying to summarize here. There is a special and rich history to learn, along with the land that the grapes are grown on. Keith will tell you all about it when you see him. But one thing he won’t tell you is what to think about his wines. That’s up to you.

He is also about the education, whether it be his winemaking choices or how to optimize your tasting by “painting the walls”. Pouring the perfect amount every time into the glass and lying it vertically on the bar, you may slightly jump until you get used to the fact that the wine will indeed skillfully remain at the very edge of the rim while you roll the glass, “painting the walls”, giving a leggy coat. I’ve always loved this concept because, I admit, I am a ponce about how my glass smells and want no distractions.

A rundown of wines from April 2009:

Daughter’s Chardonnay: crisp, light but solid in the glass. The barest hint of mineral, but that’s not what drives it. You won’t find lots of oak here but you will want to go back to the glass. This can handle both acid and oil, so pair away.

Purper Hart: all Syrah, means business. Clear spice but not a heavy machine. Screams for roast beast. Decant and delve.

194Five The Union: 85% Syrah, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep fruit, balanced tannins, super friendly.

Ring Effie Unk: 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauv, 5% Cab Franc. It’s no secret I love blends and this was one of my favorites. Hint of limestone and jam. Earthiest of the bunch, it feels like Europe in a glass. Gigantically aromatic. Take your time on this.

They were out of O and 2 that day, but go take a look and drool.

Extended Family: So this was my favorite. Heady and full with supreme balance. Put it down for a year and see what happens. Brilliant. Everything a Pinot should be but often is not. It’s about time.

More than my usual extreme love of leather, earth, oak and leaves, some of my favorite, rarer elemental qualities exude from these wines: deep, amorphous, gluey and pheromone rich.

The bottle images remind me of my own family’s very old photos from turn of the century Italy. Romantic, real and unrepeatable. Pretty much like their wines. Saarloos and Sons won’t make the same wine twice. Limited releases, small productions and once it’s sold out, you are out of luck. Club members will get wine put aside for them but other than that one loophole, you’ll have to ready yourself for the next new wine, new label and new experience.

Three of us were at the bar and unfortunately it was our last stop of the day and the room was almost closing. My tasting notes were severely lacking from my usual thoroughness and my memory is not as potent. That will not be happening next time I can tell you. It’s slightly stressing me, because I know that I will never get those same wines to taste again. That’s the price you pay for unique quality.

But it was a whirlwind of tasting, talking, taking in and after leaving, I felt like I just got punched in the face with experience.

If you feel you have a limited view of the grape and if you want to completely change your traditional perception of wine, do yourself a favor. Stop by. I could effervesce with descriptors for another week, but it’s pointless. It’s something you have to go and do. Just take the red pill and see how far the rabbit hole goes.

I personally plan on bringing a bus load of people toward the end of the summer, and most of them will laugh and understand why I am raving. Because they know me. And it’s just one of those perfect things in life that feels like it was made just for you, but you didn’t have to build or paint anything.

Just the walls.