2006 Arietta Variation One

(55% syrah and 45% merlot, co-fermented) Good full medium ruby. Wild aromas of black raspberry, game, smoke and gravel. Lush and sweet, with the gamey quality joined by chocolate and roasted herbs on the very ripe palate. Finishes with substantial fine-grained tannins. Big and rich but fresh: winemaker Andy Erickson told me he uses the merlot "to tame and freshen the syrah, and to lower the wine's pH."

The blend of 55-60% Syrah and the rest Merlot is called Variation One (450-500 cases produced). The dense purple-hued 2006 Variation One exhibits notes of asphalt, chocolate, blackberries, and forest floor, and an extravagantly rich, full-bodied style with none of the noticeable tannin found in some of the other 2006s. This broad, savory, complex wine should provide provocative drinking over the next 15 or more years. Some of California’s more innovative wines emerge from proprietor Fritz Hatton, the well-known auctioneer who is also a classical pianist. Hatton has been expanding his portfolio with each new vintage, and it appears his blended cuvees turn out more interesting than the varietal wines. Usually a blend of 55-60% Cabernet Franc and the rest Merlot is the proprietary red wine from the H Block of the Hudson Vineyard. The most expensive offering in the portfolio, it is very Cheval Blanc-like. Tel. (707) 963-5918; Fax (707) 963-5919

(55% syrah and 45% merlot) Wild aromas of mocha, graphite and game, with a complicating note of roasted nuts. Sweet, plush and seamless, but with excellent energy to the layered black fruit flavors. This comes across as remarkably vibrant for a wine with a pH of 3.9. Finishes with building but very fine tannins and excellent length.