We tried tonight (5/10/17) Some New Red Wines:
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DOP Oid TreMonti Pignoletto Frizzante DOC: Colli d’Imola (11%; www.Tremonti.It) Imola/Emilia Romagne 2014:
Pale yellow near colorless; very light bubbles; some yeasty/toasted/bready/almondy simple light nose;
fizzy/frizzante very light grapey/yeasty/bready rather innocuous flavor; med.short spritzy light grapey/
bready finish; a rather blah wine at the level of a middling Prosecco. $12.00 (WH)
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Solminer Nebullite Sparkling Syrah SantaYnezVlly (13.2%; 66 cs; www.Solminer.com) Lompoc 2015: Med.ruby
color w/ strong persistent bubbles; rathe[/b]r grapey bit spicy/boysenberry slight yeasty/bready knose; very
tart prickly/fizzy raspberry/blackberry/soda-pop light grapey/blackberry very interesting flavor that speaks
of Syrah; long fizzy slight bready/yeasty some raspberry/blackberry/soda-pop light Syrah finish; quite an
attractive frivolous little sparkler that reminds of a dry Lambrusco but not nearly as grapey. $42.00
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Bevela Syrah OldFashionedSuperstition TierraAltaVnyd/BallardCanyon (13.5%; www.BevelaWines.com; 49 cs)
SantaMaria 2014: Med.color; beautiful blackberry/blueberry/Syrah quite peppery light toasty/oak rather
whole-cluster/smokey/Rhonish/smoked meats quite perfumey nose; rather tart/lean/hard some peppery/w-c strong
blackberry/blueberry/Syrah some smokey/Rhonish/roasted/coffee light toasty/oak structured some complex flavor
w/ modest hard tannins; very long/lingering quite Rhonish/smoked meats/roasted/espresso strong blackberry/
blueberry/Syrah/spicy/peppery complex finish w/ some hard tannins; quite structured and needs 3-8 yrs;
lots of Rhonish and w-c character; a real discovery. $40.00
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Bevela RW UnforseenAlchemy SBC (13.5%; 50% Syrah/Teroldego; 48 cs) 2014: Med.dark color; lovely perfumed very
Teroldego/black cherry/black cherry cola some blackberry/Syrah rather toasty/oak quite spicy very fragrant
beautiful nose; lightly tart very strong black cherry cola/blackberry/Teroldego slightly sour/hard some
toasty/oak very structured complex flavor w/ some hard tannins; very long/lingering quite black cherry cola/
Teroldego/blackberry some toasty/oak lightly tart structured complex finish w/ some hard/ripe tannins; a
genius blend never before made in the World; a brilliant wine that needs 4-10 yrs of age. $35.00
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Bevela Teroldego LeBonClimatVnyd/SBC (13.5%; 48 cs) 2011: Med.dark color; very fragrant strong Teroldego/
black cherry cola/RCCola very spicy light earthy light pencilly/oak bit smokey lovely complex nose; fairly
tart/tangy bit lean/hard some pencilly/toasty/oak strong black cherry cola/RCCola/spicy/Teroldego very light
earthy/dusty flavor w/ modest hard tannins; very long lingering strong black cherry cola/RCCola/Teroldego/
very spicy light pencilly/smokey/oak slight earthy/dusty finish w/ some hard/ripe tannins; more structured
than the IlPoderes were; quite structured and needs 4-10 yrs of age; a wonderful expression of Teroldego
in Calif. $40.00
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DeVescovi Ulzbach Dd’OC: TeroldegoRotialiano (13%; L.T2013.1; www.DevescoviUlzbach.It; ToscoWines)
Mezzocorona 2013: Dark color; very strong black cherry cola/Teroldego/RCCola/root beer bit reductive some
peppery/spicy light earthy/loamy/dusty complex nose; some tart/tangy/lean strong black cherry cola/RCCola/
root beer/Teroldego very spicy/bit peppery very light oak flavor w/ light firm tannins; very long/lingering
bit tart/tangy rich/strong black cherry cola/RCCola very spicy/peppery light earthy/loamy complex finish w/
light firm/ripe tannins; very strong classic Teroldego; not quite of the basic Foradori level by pretty
close. $33.00 (EVN)
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TablasCreekVnyds Cotes de Tablas Rouge Estate/AdelaidaDist/PasoRobles (39% Grenache/35% Syrah/
16% Counoise/10% Mourv; 14.5%) 2015: Med.light color; very fragrant strawberry/Grenache/very spicy
alpine strawberries lovely nose; lightly tart very strong strawberry/Grenache/alpine strawberries very
spicy quite flowery light/bright/zippy very pretty flavor w/ light delicate tannins; very long alpine
strawberries/Grenache/very spicy very flowery finish w/ light gentle tannins; a light bright vibrant
energetic Grenache that is great drinking; seems more lightweight than their varietal Grenache. $35.00 (VIN)
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Harrington SubRosa 65% Mourv/35% Syrah SumuKawVnyd/ElDoradoCnty (13.6%; 87 cs) 2014: Med.color; strong
earthy/mushroomy/ElDorado terroir rather plummy/stewed plums/Mourv some toasty/oak nose; rather tart/lean/
tight strong plummy/Mourv/stewed plums some toasty/oak bit earthy/loamy/mushroomy flavor w/ light hard/
rough tannins; very long Mourv/plummy some earthy/dusty/ElDorado/mushroomy bit toasty/oak finish w/
modest rough/hard tannins; speaks strongly of Mourv and ElDoradoCnty; needs 2-5 yrs of age yet; good/tasty
Mourv at a good price. $25.00
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Pax TheVicar NorthCoast RW (U/U; 13.7%; Grenache/Syrah) 2014: Very dark color; strong Grenache/blackberry/
bit strawberry strong toasty/charred/oak some licorice/pungent some earthy/dusty nose; rather candied/Grenache/
blackberry/strawberry bit earthy/dustystrong charred/toasty/oak flavor w/ light tannins; very long strong
Grenache/strawberry/blackberry rather charred/toasty/oak bit earthy/dusty finish w/ light soft tannins;
quite a pleasant Grenache but pricey for what it is. $40.00
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Agharta NorthCoast RW (84% Grenache/14% Syrah/2% Viognier; 14.9%) 2006: Very dark color; strong toasty/charred/
oak slight funky/musty (non-TCA)/root cellar very ripe/blackberry/licorice/Grenache slight earthy nose; soft
rather ripe/alcoholic bit tired/oldRed very ripe Grenache/blackberry/boysenberry/licorice/pungent flavor w/
light hard tannins; very long strong/pungent/very ripe/Grenache/blackberry/licorice slightly tired/oldRed
strong charred/Fr.oak finish w/ light drying tannins; very much a Grenache in the Alban style and an Alban
pricing; showing signs of cracking up. $90.00
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Ryme CabFranc AlegriaVnyd/RRV (12.5%) 2015: Med.light color; strong herbal/plummy/blackcurranty/CabFranc
light toasty/oak rather fragrant/floral/spicy quite lovely/perfumed nose; slightly tart some herbal/
CabFranc/blackcurranty bright light earthy nervy light oak flavor w/ light tannins; very long some herbal/
blackcurranty/CabFranc light toasty/oak finish w/ light brisk tannins; an unusual rendition of CabFranc and
definitely not Loire in style; a rather pretty/bright/nervous expression of CabFranc at a good price. $32.00
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Ryme CabSauv PeacelandsVnyd/FountainGroveDist (14.4%) 2014: Very dark color; somewhat funky/earthy that blows
off some toasty/oak rather spicy/cinammon/bit blackcurranty/Cab slight herbal/earthy/dusty quite interesting
nose; lightly tart some spicy/cinammon/blackcurranty/Cab bit earthy/dusty/herbal flavor w/ modest sharp
tannins; very long light earthy/dusty/herbal some spicy/cinammon/nutmeg/bit blackcurranty/Can some toasty/
oak finish w/ light brisk tannins; quite an attractive atypical Calif Cab but seems a bit pricey for a Ryme.
$51.00
More alt-blabberings from the fake BloodyPulpit:
- Pignoletto: Also known as Rebola (no relation to RibollaGialla) and identical to Grechetto in Umbria.
I’ve had several varietal Pignolettos that have impressed me. Reminded me a lot of Roussanne. Clearly
a grape they should be planting all up&down the coast of Calif.
- Solminer: This is, of course, the wnry of David&Anna deLaski in LosOlivos. I’ve not yet tried their
Nebullite and thought a pretty nifty wine. I once had a 40 yr old Seppelt Sparkling Shiraz that
DarrellCorti served me. It was amazing. Lost most of its fizz, but a dead ringer for an old RedBurg.
Doubt that this will age as well, though.
- UnforseenAlchemy: Never before been a blend of Syrah/Teroldego that I’ve heard of. They don’t grow
Syrah in Trentino, where most of the Teroldego is grown. I think it’s a stroke of Genius. Syrah is
a nephew of Teroldego via the Duerza connection. I find that good Teroldego has a lot of blackberry
character that you also find in Syrah. This wine was my (slight) favorite of the Bevela wines.
- Bevela: This is the wnry of Kris & Marisa Matela Beverly. Marisa is the niece of JimClendenen and the
asst winemaker at ABC/Qupe. The Bevela comes from the combination of their two last names. Their first
vintage was the Teroldego 2010.
- Teroldego: This is an indigenous variety of the Trentino/Sudtirol area. Teroldego is a sibling of Dureza.
Dureza X Mondeuse Blanche in the Savoie to produce Syrah. So Syrah is a nephew of Teroldego. I find
the Teroldegos from the Rotialano Plain show a rather similar character to Syrahs. Teroldego is also
the parent of Lagrein and Marzemino.
JimClendenen planted the first Teroldego in Calif at BienNacido vnyd back in the '90’s and made Calif’s
first Teroldego then, under the IlPodere label. In 2007, he planted Teroldego on the ClendenenFamily vnyd
near BienNacido. When Marisa came on-board at ABC, Jim turned over the Teroldego project to her.
Since then, there have been a number of new Teroldego plantings in Calif. The Harrington Teroldego from
FratelliVnyd in Gilroy has always been my favorite. I recently discovered the WolffVnyd/EdnaVlly Teroldego
to be even better. But this Bevela Teroldego is the best yet and knocking on Elisabetta’s door. I very
slightly preferred the DeVescovi Teroldego for its greater complexity and Trentino character.
There is a tiny amount of Teroldego planted in FingerLakes, but have not tried one yet.
- Ryme: The wnry of Ryan & Megan Glaab. I was first attracted to them because of their white wines. As they
expanded their red wine production, I’m finding them exciting as well. Not at all like most other
Calif wines from the same varieties. Their LunaMattaVnyd Aglianico is a world-class wine.
Tom