Tried this the other night w/ Susan:
- Benandants MalvasiaBianca Catie’sCornerVnyd/RRV/SonomaCnty (14%) ArbeGarbe/St.Helena 2015: Light yellow color; intense Malvasia/cheap hair oil/quite muscatty very floral/gardenias/huge fruit slight stony/mineral intense perfumed nose; rather tart/tangy fairly dry-to-near dry very strong Malvasia/floral/gardenias/bit muscatty some chalky/earthy/minerally/stony slightly rustic flavor w/ slight bitterness; very long/lingering slight stony/metallic/mineral/chalky strong floral/gardenias/Malvasia fairly dry some tart/tangy finish w/ trace of bitterness; nose is intensely Malvasia and a bit too much of a good thing but on the palate it has more subtility and reminds a bit of Friuli Malvasia d’Istriana; quite an attractive very perfumed Malvasia.
A wee BloodyPulpit:
- Benandants is the label that Enrico & Letezia use for their wine from purchased grapes, ArbeGarbe being their primary label. They both hail from Friuli and they (and DanPetrowski/Massican) are doing the best job of making Friuli-style wines in Calif. Enrico is asst winemaker at FloraSprings, where he makes his wine. The have two of the neatest young boys you’d ever want to meet, who have even beaten the World-Champion of the Tip-It game.
When this was first released, it was loaded w/ in-you-face Malvasia fruit. It still is like that on the nose, but on the palate it seems to be developing more subtlities like you’d find in a Malvasia d’Istriana from Friuli or Croatia.
Tom