TN: Some BalancedWineSlctns Whites..(long/boring)

WINE TALK
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We tasted last night (8/22/18) Some New Whites from Balanced Wine Selections:

  1. Weingut Eder GrunerVeltliner Sussenberg/Wachau Q Smaragd (13.9%) Mautern 2015: Med.light gold color;
    very attractive lemony/floral/GV/carnations fairly strong white pepper/spicy very classic GV nose;
    fairly tart/tangy spicy/floral/carnations/GV some white pepper quite balanced lovely flavor; very
    long/lingering fairly tart/tangy classic GV/floral/white pepper finish; a bit quieter than the other
    GV’s but quite a pretty GV at a very good price. $23.40 (BWS)
  1. Gritsch GrunerVeltliner Hochrain/Wachau Q Smaragd (13.5%; www.Mauritiushof.At) Spitz/Donau 2015: Med.
    gold color; very strong grapefruity/lemony/GV/floral some white pepper/spicy very fragrant beautiful
    nose; quite intense very grapefruity/lemony/floral/GV very strong white pepper lightly tart/tangy
    fairly complex beautiful flavor; very long/lingering rather intense GV/floral/lemony/grapefruity strong
    white pepper fairly tart complex finish; an absolutely beautiful expression of Austrian GV and one of
    the best I’ve had this year; as good as any of the “name” GV producers; great price at $30.60 (BWS)
  1. Gritsch GrunerVeltliner Singerriedel/Wachau Q Smaragd (14%) 2015: Med.gold color; less intense bit quiet
    GV/floral/carnations bit white pepper very attractive nose; bit softer quite rich/lush strong floral/
    carnations/GV light white pepper beautiful flavor; very long/lingering rather rich/lush strong GV/floral/
    carnations some white pepper finish; a bit quieter on the nose but richer and packed w/ ripe GV flavor;
    terrific GV. $40.50 (BWS)
  1. Atzberg GrunerVeltliner Steilterrasseu (12%; www.Atzberg.At) Spitz 2014: Med.light gold color; very strong
    GV/floral/grapefruity/melony very spicy/loads of white pepper bit complex fairly intense aromatic nose;
    lightly tart rather rich/lush strong grapefruity/floral/GV quite spicy/white pepper lovely GV flavor; very
    long/lingering rather rich/lush/smaragd-level maybe slight r.s. very strong GV/floral/carnations/white pepper
    finish; loads of spicy/white pepper character; nose a bit quieter than the others but packed w/ GV flavor
    on the palate; superb GV. $31.50 (BWS)
  1. Turk GrunerVeltliner Frechau DAC: Kremstal Reserve (13.5%; www.WeingutTuerk.At) Stratzing/Kremstal 2015:
    Med.light gold color; very attractive very spicy/floral/GV/carnations light white pepper slight earthy
    very perfumed nose; lightly tart/tangy some grapefruity/floral/GV/lemony very light white pepper/spicy
    flavor; very long lightly tart/tangy strong GV/floral/lemony/grapefruity very light white pepper finish;
    not as much white pepper and not as intense GV as the other GV’s but quite a pretty GV. $30.60 (BWS)
  1. Turk Riesling KremserWeinberge DAC: Kremstal (13%) 2015: Med.light gold color; beautiful R/floral/pineapple
    slight Mosel valve oil very classic Mosel R-like quite aromatic nose; quite tart/tangy/bit metallic bit
    lighter floral/R/pineapple/mango very light Mosel valve oil slight steely/flinty structured totally dry
    quite lovely flavor; very long/lingering rather tart/tangy/brisk strong R/floral/pineapple/mango some
    steely/flinty finish; a lovely very Mosel-like R at a stupid/silly price. $18.90 (BWS)
  1. Gritsch Riesling 1000-Eimerberg/Herzstuck/Wachau Smaragd (13.5%) 2015: Med.gold color; beautiful R/floral/
    pineapple/mango/perfumed talc some steely very light Mosel valve oil very aromatic nose; very tart/tangy
    very strong pineapple/floral/R/mango/perfumed talc bit steely/metallic light Mosel valve oil totally dry
    beautiful flavor; very long/lingering quite tart/tangy somewhat rich very strong pineapple/R/floral/perfumed
    talc very light Mosel valve oil bit complex finish; totally dry but not lean/eviscerated some like a trocken
    Mosel; quite a beautiful Wachau R at a very fair price. $33.30 (BWS)
  1. Weingut Schneeweis Riesling Tausendeimerberg Smaragd (14%) Spitz/Donau 2013: Med.gold color; beautiful very
    intense R/floral/pineapple/mango some pungent/dirty feet/gout de petrol very ripe almost candied very spicy
    complex nose; quite tart/tangy totally dry ripe/R/floral/pineapple/mango bit pungent/reduced/gout de petrol
    rather rich/lush/ripe flavor; very long/lingering rather tart/tangy rather rich/lush intense floral/R/mango/
    pineapple some pungent/gout de petrol slight earthy/stony complex finish; shows a more pungent/dirty feet
    side of the gout de petrol character; a beautiful R much like a trocken Mosel spatlese; my easy favorite of
    the 3 R’s; very attractive price at $27.00 (BWS)
  1. OltreTorrente Timorasso DOC: Colli Tortonesi (14.5%) 2015: Light gold color; very strong floral/Timo/
    perfumed talc quite spicy/bit cardamon slight piney/earthy lovely nose; lightly tart/tangy very strong
    floral/Timo/perfumed talc quite spicy/cardamon beautiful flavor; very long/lingering lightly tart fairly
    strong perfumed talc/floral/Timo lovely finish; a bit more classic Timo in character; very attractive price
    at $24.30 (BWS)
  1. LaColombera IlMontino DOC: Colli Tortonesi Timorasso (13.5%; Oliver McCrum Wines) Piercarlo Semino/
    Vho di Tortona/Piedmont 2013    : Light gold color; beautiful very aromatic floral/Timo/pear/peach some Viog-like
    or GV terrific complex nose; fairly tart/tangy totally dry very floral/Timo/pear/peach rather Viog-like fairly
    rich spicy complex flavor; very long/lingering very strong floral/Timo/peach/pear some spicy fairly complex
    rich finish; a very aromatic expression of Timo almost like a Viog and pushing into DollyParton territory but
    saved by the acidity;one of the best Timo’s I’ve had. $35.00 (H-T)
  1. Francesco Brigatti Bianco GrecoNovarese/Erbaluce Mottobello DOC: Colline Novaresi (13%) Suno 2016: Light gold
    color; strong fairly stony/chalky/mineral some apple/pear/quince bit apple pie/spicy rather aromatic quite
    attractive nose; rather tart/tangy/bit metallic strong chalky/mineral/Erbaluce rather quince/apple/apple pie
    very interesting mineral/savory flavor; very long stony/mineral/chalky some apple/quince slight peppery finish;
    more fragrance than common for Erbaluce, which tends to be a bit on the neutral side; maybe the best dry Erbaluce
    I’ve had; very attractive price at $18.00 (BWS)
  1. OltreTorrente Cortese DOC: Colli Tortonesi (14%) Paderna 2016: Med.light gold color; very perfumed floral/
    carnations/Cortese light stony/chalky lovely aromatic nose; fairly tart/tangy/bit metallic rather stony/chalky/
    mineral fairly rich light floral/carnations bit spicy very attractive flavor; very long/lingering floral/
    carnations/Cortese bit stony/mineral/chalky quite attractive finish; quite a pretty expression of Cortese w/
    lots of aromatics but still that underlying stony Cortese character; very good price at $18.00 (BWS)

More fitzspittle from TheBloodyPulpit:

  1. Several weeks ago, I stumbled upon this importer ( BalancedWineSlctns ) that does (mostly) DTC sales. As I browsed thru their portfolio,
    my first reaction was “I don’t know (most) any of these producers”. Of course, I couldn’t resist trying a bunch,
    so I ransacked their Austrian/Italian, and some of their French sections, for wines that interest me. This is
    the first run-thru of my BWC selections. And it was a doozy. All producers that were new to me. Across the
    board, all these wines were outstanding. We went back for another 2 cs of wines we particularly liked. You get
    10% off on a case order and the kicker is there’s free shipping on 6+ btls. The prices above reflect the 10%
    discount. One of the things I really liked about these Austrian 8 wines was that none of them showed any signs
    whatsoever of being refreshed with CO2…all showed a natural brisk acidity. The three Rieslings were, I thought,
    particularly impressive. All 5 of the Austrian producers were particularly impressive and as good as as any of
    the “big boys”/famous producers along the Danube.
  1. Timorasso: A grape found mostly in the Colline Tortonesi near Derthona. Both of these are probably the best Timos
    I’ve yet had…better than even the WalterMassa vnyd-designates. We had both of these w/ SamBilbro at out Idlewild
    tasting back in June. LaColombera makes a basic Derthona Timo priced around $20. This vnyd-designate is an order
    of magnitude better.
  1. Erbaluce: A grape that is primarily grown around Caluso in the Canavese. I’ve not seen one before from the Colline
    Novaresi. This one was probably the best of the dry Erbaluces I’ve had. They tend to be pretty stony/mineral and
    not a lot of perfume. The best Erbaluces I’ve had have been the Caluso di Passito from Dr.?. Had a 30 yr old
    version w/ DarrellCorti that was stunning. Don’t know that he still makes that wine. Cieck/Ferrando/Orsalani are
    regarded as the best of the Caluso producers, but I seldom see those wines at retail.
  1. Cortese: Don’t recall that I’ve ever seen a Cortese from the Colli Tortonesi, where Timorasso is the more common
    white grape. This is one of the better Cortese’s from the Piemonte I’ve had, though not quite as good as Sam’s/
    Idlewild Cortese, which is a world-class Cortese.
    Tom
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Thanks for the tasting notes and all that fitzspittle, Tom!!

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Tom, thanks for putting these notes together. I’m especially interested in your GV comments. May try the GV “Discovery Pack” that Balanced is offering. A few of the GVs in your tasting notes are included.

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Yup, Jim…I think the BWS “Discovery Packs” are a great way to get introduced to the BWS producers.
Don’t know if those “Discovery Packs” include a discount or not.
Tom

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All of our Discovery Packs include a 10% discount and no charge for shipping.
An additional 10% 12-Bottle Discount would apply if you purchase two or more Discovery Packs on the same order.
https://balancedwineselections.com/collections/sample-packs

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I visited Brigatti twice the last five years and sell his wines. Suno is a sad story in an area loaded with sad stories when it comes to vineyards. Suno used to be a wine town. Surrounded by hills full of vines. Like its neighbouring areas of Boca, Ghemme, Sizzano, Gattinara etc Suno got hit by the textile industry that took all the workers. Few remained to make wine and vineyards shrivelled from 40000 ha to just a few hundreds. Suno got especially bad out of the situation as the town never was granted any appellation. I asked Franceso Brigatti if there today was other winemakers in Suno. He said there was one more, but I have never seen any wines. This is a single vineyard Erbaluce from the vineyard named Mottobello. Bello is understandable to most. Motto comes from the local word möt, which has the same meaning as bricco, the top of the hill.

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Thanks for sharing that deep background, Arnt. Interesting…and sad.
Tom