Tasting Note - Cloudy gold color. Penetrating, slightly volatile aromas feature straw, lemons, minerals, white spices and some grapefruit. Lean and chewy on the palate, long but gristly texture. Flavors mimic the aromas, there is bright fresh fruit but something slightly metallic on the finish and a lack of amplitude and muted fruit make this a dubious drinking experience. Rated 74. Drink up or pour down the drain.
Tasting Note - Cloudy gold color. Intense aromas are redolent of ripe but high-acid Sauvignon Blanc featuring straw, lemons, minerals, white spices and thankfully just a well-integrated touch of grapefruit. Lean and muscular on the palate, this has fine balance and intensity. It’s as if a Classified Pessac-Leognan moved to California and turned slightly burned-out but good-hearted and intelligent hippy; a little surly at first but eventually a very worthwhile companion. Rated 91 tonight, up to 2 points of improvement just possible over 5 years. A bizarre treat.
Same wine, same taster, same time. This depends on your tolerance for weirdness. Hunter Thompson would have loved this wine. John Updike would have hated it. My first Scholium Project wine. I would be happy to try another but not upset if I never do again. Your mileage is almost guaranteed to vary, but I’m glad I went there. Now on to local lamb shank and a respectable red.
Dan, thanks for posting the two notes. I’ve never had any of these wines, but have read about them and the “hit or miss” distinctiveness of the wines. Would be interesting to hear other opinion on Abe Schoener’s wines.
I love the note. I haven’t had the '10, but I’ve had the next two vintages, and they’re weird. I love the wines, as did the group I had the '10 with (the other was not really discussed, so I don’t know), but I can see people really not liking them.
As far as Abe’s wines in general, I’ve had some that I loved and some that I didn’t like at all, with several at various places in between. One had way too much volatile acidity for me, but the others have all seemed sound, just idiosyncratic to the extreme. None will be for everyone, but I think many people can find at least one that really speaks to them, usually more for those who are really into wine. Since I have liked far more than I haven’t, I look forward to continuing to try more. I have found that many of the people who eagerly follow the wines have met Abe, and the connection is easy to understand.
Tolerance for weirdness is a good description, but I would describe it as willingness to experiment and enjoy the thrill of discovery. You must let your inhibitions and preconceived notions leave the room before having many of Abe’s wines, but there are many that are outstanding. IMHO, his Babylon Petite Sirah is the best PS I have ever tasted by a wide margin. I can also depend on mood. I have had wine X and loved it and then opened another bottle six months later and wondered what I saw in it. Same wine, same flavors, different mood.