TN: Idlewild Grignolino & Freisa '20....(short/boring)

Tasted these two new wines from Sam over the last few days:

  1. Idlewild Grignolino FoxHillVnyd/MendoCnty (12.2%) Geyserville 2020: Light ruby near rose color; very pretty Grigno/rose petal/bit floral/strawberry/orangey almost moscato-perfumed some earthy/dusty slight cinammon/cloves/spicy lovely fragrant nose; fairly tart rather earthy/dusty strong Grigno/strawberry/floral/orangey bit spicy/cinammon/cloves flavor w/ light raspy tannins; very long light floral/strawberry/rose petal/Grigno some earthy/dusty bit spicy/cloves finish w/ light bitey tannins; a lightweight sorta glou/glou red w/ lots of very pretty spicy Grigno aromatics; a very good first stab at Grigno by Sam. $35.00

  1. Idlewild Freisa FoxHillVnyd/MendoCnty (12.4%) 2020: Med.dark color; strong floral/lilacs/blackberries/very Nebb-like some pungent/tarry/road tar light pencilly/oak/smokey fairly spicy/cinammon slight plummy/licorice some complex very attractive nose; lightly tart strong blackberry/floral/lilacs/very Nebb-like some tarry/pungent/licorice light toasty/smokey/oak light earthy/dusty flavor w/ light chewey tannins; very long/lingering strong blackberry/floral/lilacs/violets/very Nebb-like light pungent/road tar bit toasty/smokey/oak some complex finish w/ light grippy tannins; definitely a lot Nebb-like floral/tarry character but more richness & not the hard/take-your-head-off tannins of Nebb; has a bit of Mourvedre/plummy character; reminds a lot of Val d’Aosta Prunent but more floral character; as good, or better, than any Freisa from Piemonte that I can recall because not as hard/tannic; a world-class Freisa. $35.00

A wee BloodyPulpit:

  1. These are two new varietals from Sam. The Heitz Grignolino (RIP) has always been pretty much my benchmark for Calif Grigno. This is better than any Heitz that I recall.
    Freisa is one of the parents of Nebbiolo. The resemblance between Freisa wines and Nebb is quite evident. The Piemontese Freisas tend to be pretty hard & tannic. This one from Sam is not nearly as hard as most of them. This is world-class Freisa.
    Tom

Not often I beat Tom to the punch… :wink:

Yeah, David… but my TN’s are the definitive ones!!
Tom

Well you have been following Freisa and Grignolino from the very start.

Nice notes, thanks Tom (and David). If I get some time I will get my notes posted on all three new wines, Favorita, Freisa and Grignolino. Been crazy busy.

Tom
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I forgot to post a note on the Favorita, but I really liked it. Not a big fan of the Erbaluce, but 3 out of 4 ain’t bad.

I recall the Heitz versions (rose/red/port) in the '90s being interesting novelties that were fun on rare occasion, but really being “too much”. Heavy, pithy, just more concentration of rose petal than needed. I thought Heitz nailed it with their '14 red, being light on its feet, bright and highly expressive. My guess is at some point they figured out hanging a much heavier crop would bring everything into balance nicely. That was a stunning wine. (Screw the conformist sheep with their preconceptions - I’d give that one 94 pts.) Their '15 red was dull in comparison, but still quite good. The '17 rose was also stunning.

I’ve been highly impressed with Sam, from trying his Neb at NEB while he explained how he achieved a highly expressive and compelling and enjoyable on release Nebbiolo - one of the best at the event - to his masterful blends, and the clean, true varietal expression in his wines.

Sam’s wines have indeed been impressive, and it would be cool to try these two new ones. If I can find a bottle of the Freisa, it would be fun to compare it with the Harrington Freisa from a few years ago. Different vineyard sites, of course, but the comparison would be interesting.