Idlewild is live

Four wines this time:

2017 Cortese ($40)
2017 Dolcetto ($30)
2017 Barbera ($40)
2016 Nebbiolo ($50)

I went with the mixed case, as I love every wine Sam makes. Idlewild is my most consumed winery, three years running.

Tasted them Fri with Tom. The three reds very good, the Dolcetto maybe best yet. The Nebb is a bit lighter than usual, but powerfully fragrant.
Tom

Same here David, great minds and all that :slight_smile: I was fortunate to have tried a pour of the new Dolcetto at Idlewild Sunday School (this past Sunday) and it honestly blew me away. All the fruit, earth, herbal notes you expect and absolutely perfect tannin management. They are there but fully support all the other attributes.

Will taste and makes notes at the Pick Up on all the new releases (and Oct. Sunday School) after we are back from vacation in late September.

Tom

I tasted all of these at the winery a couple of weeks ago. Overall, pretty nice and interesting stuff. I liked the Dolcetto and Barbera quite a bit.

The Nebbiolo, though, was quite disappointing and had no varietal character, even in the context of American Nebbiolo (which I never had before, but it has to be better than this).

Maybe an off bottle (I know, unusual for a tasting room). That hasn’t been my experience from any of vintages going back to 2012.

Tom

I thought the Nebb had a ton of varietal character…loads of floral/violet/lilacs/rose petal…very much like the GDVajra JC Clare…which is pretty atypical of Barolo.
Tom

That’s good to hear, maybe the bottle I had was indeed off. I’ll try to visit and taste again next time I’m in Healdsburg, just wanted to share my opinion – use it at your own discretion :wink:

Well, Andy…probably not an off-btl. If what you’re used to in Nebb is B/B, then Sam’s Nebb won’t resemble that much. But if you can track down a Vajra JC Clare…try one. That is Nebb…at least as ThomasJefferson recognized as Nebb.
Tom