2007 Pandora Alban Estate

My visit with John and Lorraine Alban and winemaker Glenn Skrabanik was a highlight of the ten days I spent in the Central Coast. I tasted all of the 2008s and 2009 reds from barrel, plus the 2007s from bottle. Those lucky enough to visit the winery won't see barrels ordered by conventional numbers, rather each series of barrels carries the names of thematic categories such as Kentucky Derby winners, Academy Award winners, etc. It is fair to say no one has done more for the Rh?ne Ranger movement in this country than John Alban. First and foremost, the Alban wines have led the way in terms of quality for many years. A founder of the hugely successful Hospice du Rh?ne, Alban has also planted and developed a number of clones that bear his name and that are used widely throughout California. For most of his early years Alban was forced to sell fruit from his property and rent out portions of his winery as a custom crush facility to make ends meet. Amazingly, after all these years 2011 is the first vintage in which Alban is not selling fruit and is vinifying only his own wines. Readers will find no shortage of compelling wines in vintages The 2007s are big, powerful wines that show the opulence and weight of the year. Vintage 2007 was the first of three drought years that followed the generous 2005 and 2006 harvests. Alban gave his three top Syrahs a whopping 44 months in 100% new oak barrels. The 2008s are the product of a season marked by a spring frost. A blast of heat followed over Memorial Day, but the rest of the summer was relatively cool, with little sunlight because of the forest fires that year. As great as the 2007s are, I found myself equally drawn to the 2008s for their greater delineation and complex, multi-dimensional personalities. The 2009s are warm, radiant wines with silky, forward fruit and highly expressive aromatics. The 2008s and 2009s are still in barrel, though, so there is plenty of time to follow their evolution. The 2010 Viognier shows one of the newer directions Alban is moving towards. In 2010 Alban did one irrigation in July to keep the canopy more robust and less deleafing than in the past, plus no batonnage on this wine.