By: AJ McClellan
We had Todd “The Todd” Anderson in for a tasting of his famed Ghost Horse wines. With Todd’s Ghost Horse Spectre going for almost twice as much as Screaming Eagle and the fact that they are virtually impossible to buy there is a lot of hype around these bottles, and for good reason.
When Todd brushed in through the door he was larger than life, from his custom made cowboy boots to his leather duster embroidered with a rearing horse, this guy cut quite the figure every bit as big as his wines. Todd greeted me with a firm handshake and a friendly smile that immediately washed away any trepidation that I may have had regarding this famed winemaker. The tasting went great. Todd told us all about his wines, sparing no secrets and answering every question we could throw at him honestly and earnestly. Todd also told us about his personal journey, how he came to make wines, and the events that lead up to the creation of Ghost Horse.
The wines were great, all four labels coming from a small single vineyard in the south end of Napa Valley. Each label has its own small plot within the single vineyard and while they are a stone’s throw away from each other they are remarkably unique and extremely distinguishable. What struck me was the remarkable gymnast like balance that each wine exhibited, even with the 200% new oak treatment that Todd put his Apparition and Spectre through they have a stunning balance that boggles my mind….
2006 Ghost Horse Cabernet – The nose was fragrant with notes of smoke, beef jerky, sweet currants, and subtle earth notes of foliage and underbrush. The palate was huge and exploded with roasted blueberries and cherry cobbler. The wine had a very pleasing overall balance and a finish of game and boysenberries.
2006 Ghost Horse Phantom – A very interesting nose of barley and mint followed by milk chocolate reminding me of Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies. There was also a deeper, richer nose of freshly baked brownies topped with fresh blackberries and ripe red cherries. The palate was full of black and red fruits with a dark earth note of tilled earth and a finish of subtle cooking spice, chocolate, and chewy black fruits.
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2006 Ghost Horse Apparition – Dark in the glass with a nose of black cherries, plum, dark fudge, and hookah tobacco. The palate was full and weighty with juicy black fruits and pleasant notes of nutmeg and cloves. Excellent balance with soft velvety tannins and a finish of tobacco and coconut.
2006 Ghost Horse Spectre – First thing I noticed was the color of the wine, ink black and impenetrable by light. The nose showed coco bean, juicy black fruits, hot fudge, cooking spices, wet tobacco, vanilla bean, vanilla extract, clove, crushed plums, dark chocolate, over ripe blueberries, tar, and smoke. The wine was like blackberry jam on my palate, thick and heavy with fat shavings and huge tobacco finishing with brown sugar and mocha.