We tried last night (11/28/18) Some New Wines:
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Aeris EtnaBianco Superiore Carricante (12.2%) I.Vigneri/Ragusa; Impt: RhysVnyd/LosGatos 2014: Med.gold
color; very strong mineral/chalky/perfumed talc/saline strong pear/ripe peach/bit floral/carnations
slight raw turkey meat bit angel food cake/spicy very aromatic complex nose; quite tart/tangy/bracing
acid rather saline/savory/bit metallic strong perfumed talc/chalky/mineral some ripe peach/pear/floral
lovely bracing/electric flavor; very long tart/tangy/acidic strong perfumed talc/chalky/mineral slight
metallic quite savory/saline bit floral/ripe pear/peach finish; an absolutely electrifying wine not
unlike sticking your finger into a 110Volt socket and feeling that shock vibrate thru the entirity of
your body, maybe even like a low-amperage electric chair; a bit like biting down on a strip of aluminum
foil between the fillings of your teeth; like any great wine there is often a little pain involved;
best Carricante I’ve ever had; bit pricey in the scheme of white wines at $59.00
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TascantE Buonora DOC: EtnaBianco (12.5%; 100% Carricante; DallaTerraImports/Napa; www.TascadalMerita.It)
Tascante Estate/ Castiglione di Sicilia 2016: Med.light color; light chalky/perfumed talc light pear/fruit/
peach pleasant if simple nose; lightly tart/bit metallic light pear/floral slight stony pleasant flavor;
med.short lightly tart/metallic light pear/apple finish; a pleasant enough Carricante but barely that;
not the minerality of most good EtnaBiancos; a sort of Oakland wine; undistinguished and a bit on the dull
side; not worth $23.00 (AV)
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Buchegger Riesling Moosburgerin DAC: Kremstal Reserve (trocken; 13.0%; www.Buchegger.At;
H.MercerImports/LosAngeles) SilkeMayr/Walter Buchegger/Dross 2013: Light gold color; beautiful fragrant
very strong R/mango/pineapple/floral/spicy some Mosel valve oil/gout de petrol very aromatic nose; slight
CO2/spritz beautiful very rich/lush/smaargd-level slight off-dry (0.5%-0.7% r.s.?) intense floral/R/pineapple/
mango bit gout de petrol/pungent beautiful flavor; very long/lingering intense R/floral/mango/pineapple quite
rich/lush/smaargd-level some gout de petrol slightly off-dry beautiful finish; a classic/beautiful expression
of Kremstal R that should age for 5-10 yrs. $36.00 (Prima)
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Conte Vistarino Riesling “Ries” IGT: Provincia di Pavia (13%) ConteCarlo Giorgi di Vistarino/
Rocca de’ Giorgi 2013: Med.light gold color; very little R fruit; rather phenolic/resiny somewhat oxidative
overripe bit metallic very weird nose; very tart/tangy/rather metallic some phenolic/resiny bit oxidative
no R fruit strange flavor w/ light tannic bite; long some phenolic/resiny bit oxidative slight earthy/metallic
no R fruit finish; could not identify this as a R; oxidation eventually went away; very weird stuff.
$25.00 (Prima)
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Solminer Dry Riesling RiverbenchVnyd/SantaMariaVlly (12.4%; 124 cs) 2016: Med.light gold color; light pineapple/
mango/R slight earthy/perfumed talc rather quiet/low-key nose; fairly tart bit off-dry (0.3%-0.5% r.s.?) light/
gentle very attractive floral/R/mango slight earthy flavor; very long lightly tart quiet attractive floral/R/
mango/pineapple slight earthy fairly rich/lush finish; a quite pleasant quiet/low-impact R a bit in a
Sudtirol style. $30.60
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Solminer GrunerVeltliner Curarse La Cruda SkinFrmtd deLandaVnyd/LosOlivosDist (12.8%;
Btl# 409 of 1428) 2017: Med.gold/burnished ronze color; lovely orangey/honeyed/almost muscatty some phenolic/
quite resiny/bit cidery very spicy/nutmeg/cinammon very light GV/white pepper quite complex nose; quite tart/
tangy/rather metallic rather orangey/honeyed fairly phenolic/quite resiny/bit cidery quite saline/savory slight
white pepper/GV complex flavor w/ slight tangy tannins; very long/lingering quite honeyed/orangey fairly
phenolic/resiny/bit cidery light spicy/white pepper/GV very savory/saline complex finish w/ light brisk tannins;
a great balance between phenolic/skin-contact character and some GV/white pepper fruit peeking thru; not the
hard/austere character of some skin-contact whites; an absolutely thrilling wine at a great price. $30.60
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Solminer GrunerVeltliner SantaYnezVlly (13.3%; 124 cs) 2017: Med.light gold color; quite attractive GV/white
pepper/floral/spicy slight orangey nose; lightly tart very spicy classic GV/white pepper slight orangey/honeyed
clean/perfumed beautiful flavor; very long/lingering very strong GV/white pepper/floral/quite spicy slight
orangey rather rich/lush finish; more classic/varietal GV and more intensity w/ a beautiful spiciness on the
palate. $28.80
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Solminer GrunerVeltliner DeLandaVnyd/LosOlivosDist (12.8%; 48 cs; www.Solminer.com) Anna&David
DeLaski/Lompoc 2017: Med.light gold color; bit quieter lovely GV/white pepper/floral/bit carnations light spicy/
earthy more complex/interesting nose; bit tarter richer/lusher bit quieter strong GV/white pepper/floral/carnations
more subtle/elegant more complex flavor; very long/lingering strong GV/white pepper/floral bit quieter slight
earthy/spicy bit more complex finish; very similar to the other but a bit quieter and more complex/interesting.
$30.00
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Solminer Blaufrankisch deLandaVnyd/LosOlivosDist (12.2%; 191 cs; 8 brls; U/U) 2017: Very dark color; slight
metallic strong BF/earthy/dusty bit floral/pungent/holly hocks slight eucalyptus/tomatoey very exotic nose;
rather tart/tangy/metallic/bit lean some earthy/loamy strong floral/pungent/tropical fruit bit smokey/pungent
some black currant/pomengranate very exotic flavor w/ light tangy tannins; very long/lingering somewhat floral/
pungent/earthy/loamy bit pomengranate/black curranty slight smokey finish w/ light tangy/brittle tannins; quite
an exotic expression of BF; has an intensity that they don’t show in their Syrahs; a BF that could go up against
anythiing from the Burgenland; more high-toned/floral than most. $39.60
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Claus Preisinger basic Dry RW (12.5%; 50% Zweigelt/Blaufrankisch; www.ClausPreisinger.At; CircoVino/Tuscon)
Gols 2014: Very dark color; very high-toned cherry/cherry cough syrup bit metallic some earthy/loamy quite peppery
slight bretty very exotic nose; rather tart/tangy strong cherry cough syrup/spicy/cherry/root beer slight bretty/
horsecollar bit rustic rather exotic flavor w/ light tangy tannins; very long/lingering rather cherry/cherry cough
syrup/high-toned/root beer/spicy light earthy/loamy slight bretty/unclean finish w/ light angular/spiky tannins;
a bit bretty but a quite exotic/high-toned expression of BF w/o the strong earthy/loamy/coarse character of some;
quite a delicious red at a great price. $19.00 (KK)
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PaulAchs Lust & Leben (12.5%; 50% Zweigelt/30% St. Laurent/20% Blaufränkisch; www.Paul-Achs.At; Winebow) Gols/
Burgenland 2015: Very dark color; strong Zwei/boysenberry/blackberry some earthy/loamy/bit rustic slight bretty
pretty classic Zwei quite attractive nose; bit soft slight metallic/tangy strong Zwei/blackberry/boysenberry some
earthy/loamy/root cellar slight bretty flavor w/ light tangy/gritty tannins; very long strong blackberry/boysenberry/
Zwei/slight Lodi Zin-like bit earthy/loamy/compost pile slight bretty finish w/ light gritty tannins; a pretty
classic earthy/boysenberry Burgenland Zweigelt w/ more structure than most but a bit on bretty side. $22.00 (AV)
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Feiler-Artinger Zweigelt (13%) Rust am See/Burgenland 2013: Med.dark color; very strong Zweigelt/boysenberry/black
cherry cola/spicy/floral/lilacs rather aromatic somewhat complex nose; lightly tart strong Zwei/boysenberry/black
cherry cola/very spicy some earthy/loamy bit complex flavor w/ modest smooth/ripe tannins; very long/lingering
strong boysenberry/black cherry cola/very spicy some earthy/loamy/slightly rustic bit complex finish w/ light
ripe/lush tannins; a very bright/zippy expression of Zweigelt and not as clunky as some; delish red at a great
price. $20.00 (WM)
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MarthaStoumen Nero d’Avola MendoCnty (12.4%) MarthaStouman/Richmond 2016: Very dark color; light earthy/dusty/OV
rather Mendo/tomatoey fairly grapey/Zin-like/blackberry/spicy perfumed quite interesting nose; bit soft slight
tangy/metallic rather grapey/Zin-like/raspberry/blackberry/spicy bit rustic some Mendo/tomatoey bit earthy/dusty/
rustic slight pencilly/oak flavor w/ light brisk tannins; very long some Mendo/tomatoey strong Zin-like/blackberry/
raspberry bit earthy/dusty/rustic slight pencilly/oak finish w/ light tannins; speaks a lot of UkiahVlly/tomatoey
red; lots of Zin-like character but a bit of rusticity you’d get from Nd’A; rather old-timey red that reminds of
old Parducci Zins or PS’s; quite an interesting old-timey red. $35.00
More lubelitter from TheBloodyPulpit:
- Aeris: This is KevinHarvey’s foray into Italian grapes. He has a partnership in an old Carricante vnyd on
the slopes of Mt.Etna, from where this wine originated. He also has a new vnyd planted in the mountains of
Northern Sonoma, to the West of Lake Sonoma. Rockpile area? Don’t really know on that. In addition to his
Carricante, he has planted Nebbiolo and NerelloMascalese there.
Most Etna Biancos, whether based on Carricante or Cataratto, sell for pretty modest prices, mostly in
the $20’s. I really wanted to not like this wine because of the $59 price tag. Alas, I liked it a lot…
quite a lot. For its very savory/saline character. Easily the best Carricante and the best Etna Bianco that
I’ve ever had. Worth $59? Perhaps. I now wish I’d bought a few more btls.
- Vistarino Riesling: This was one very bizarre wine that did not at all speak of R. Almost seemed like an
amphora frmtd & aged white; almost like a skin-contact white. But made pretty conventionally. Left at barely
above freezing for 24 hrs before going to crush; frmtd in SS. Strange wine, whatever.
- Solminer: This is the effort of Anna & David DeLaski. Their focus is on making Austrian-style wines, reflective
of the time they spent making wine in Austria. Their deLanda vnyd, organic/biodynamic, is on the SW outskirts of
LosOlivos. Their Gruner is one of the best (after Carlisle) GV’s made in Calif & can go mano a mano w/ many
from Austria.
This is their first skin-contact white attempt. And a good one it is. It doesn’t have that hard/austere
character that many skin-contact whites show. I’m taking a btl out to Calif this week to show Florida Jim (Cowan),
whose skin-contact whites I like quite a lot.
Of the two GV’s, not sure the exact difference betwixt the two. I think they both come from deLandaVnyd. The
non-vnyd designate was a bit more intense & GV-varietal. The deLanda was a bit more subtle and complex and more
interesting. I slightly preferred the deLanda but not enough to argue over.
- Reds: A liked quite a bit these 4 reds, though two had a noticible but not overwhelming brett component. I
particularly liked the Solminer and the F-A.
Tom