We tasted last night (5/3/17) Some More New BlueDanube Wines:
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Josip Brkic Zilavka Citluck/Mostar/Bosnia&Herzegovina (12.8%; www.BlueDanubeWine.com) 2014: Med.gold color;
strong appley/apple cider light stony/mineral bit spicy/apple pie very slight resiny interesting nose; rather
tart bit washed-out/watery strong appley quite stony/mineral/chalky somewhat simple flavor; med.short appley
some stony/mineral somewhat rustic/washed-out/simple finish; rather dilute and a bit on the simple/dull side.
$45.90/2 (BDWC)
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Josip Brkic Zilavka GredaVnyd/Citluk/Mostar/Bosnia&Herzegovina (12.2%; skin macerated; 2 yrs in
oak brls; www.Brkic.Ba) 2010: Med.dark gold color; strong appley bit smokey/tobaccoy/oak some mineral/stony
light phenolic/apple cider/resiny some complex nose; bit soft light phenolic/resiny/skin-contact/apple cider
light stony/mineral bit dilute slight apple/pear flavor; fairly long light phenolic/resiny/cider some apple/
pear light stony/earthy bit dilute/flat finish; rather low-key skin-contact/phenolic character; a pleasant/
interesting white but just that; lacks energy & life. $26.95 (BDWC)
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Bernreiter GrunerVeltliner Wien (12.0%; www.Bernreiter.At) Peter Bernreiter/Vienna 2014: Light yellow color;
light/low-key lightly fruity/GV/little white pepper rather simple/fruity nose; bit soft off-dry simple GV/
fruity rather light/watery flavor; med.short light fruity/GV slight tangy/metallic rather watery/dull off-dry
finish; mostly just a simple/fruity GV w/o much classic white pepper character; would work perfectly well as
a heuriger wine by the pitcher but that’s it. $16.95 (BDWC)
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Geyerhof GrunerVeltliner Hoher Rain/Kremstal (11.5%; www.Geyerhof.At; Organic) Oberfucha 2014: Med.light gold
color; strong slightly pungent/reduced/SO2 that clears strong GV/white pepper/spicy light earthy very fragrant/
attractive nose; lightly tart strong GV/white pepper bit gout de petrol/pungent light earthy fairly spicy lovely
flavor; very long/lingering strong GV/white pepper slight pungent/gout de petrol spicy/earthy finish; an
absolutely lovely/attractive classic GV at a very fair price. $26.95 (BDWC)
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Batic Angel GrandCuvee Rezerva V.O. Vipavska Dolina/Slovenia (13.5%; www.Batic-Wines.com; 40% Pinela/
20% Chard/20% Malavizja/10% Rebula/7% LaskiRizling/2% Zelen/1% Vitovska) 2009: Deep golden color; strong
phenolic/resiny/cidery light honeyed/honeycomb some stony/earthy light floral/mango bit tobaccoy/smoked
hot dog rather exotic/complex nose; soft some resiny/phenolic/honeycomb light floral/mango/pineapple light
smokey/tobaccoy very complex flavor w/ very slight tannic bite; very long bit honeyed/honeycomb some
phenolic/skin-contact/resiny bit graham cracker/angel food cake finish w/ very light tannins; quite an
exotic/interesting white that’s difficult to find adequate descriptors. $34.95 (BDWC)
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Bodrog Bormuhely Tokaj Furmint HalasVnyd/Lapis (14.0%) Hajdu Janos & Farkas Krisztian 2012: Med.gold color;
very pungent/resiny/musky strong ripe peach/botrytis/apricotty light figgy/honeycomb bit mineral/stony/earthy
rather complex wine; totally dry some rich/lush bit soft strong botrytis/apricotty/peachy/honeyed some earthy
bit figgy/herbal/straw flavor; very long soft strong botrytis/apricotty/peachy/honeyed totally dry rich/textured
slight herbal/straw finish; clearly a strong degree of botrytis in the wine; could use more acidity; sort of
a disconnect because of all the botrytis and then the wine is totally dry; a rather strange but interesting/
complex wine. $21.95 (BDWC)
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LimerickLaneCllrs 63% Furmint/37% Harslevelu Estate/RRV/SonomaCnty (12.5%; www.LimerickLaneWines.com) 2015:
Med.gold color; quite fragrant floral/mango/pineapple/Furmint/peach blossom very spicy some stony/mineral/
perfumed talc beautiful aromatic nose; quite tart/lean light stony/perfumed talc quite floral/mango/pineapple/
spicy/Furmint beautiful flavor; very long/lingering light stony/mineral/perfumed talc rather floral/mango/
Furmint/pineapple rather tart fairly rich/lush finish; this wine has really put on weight over the last year
and developed wonderful aromatics; fairly rich but a sturdy spine to it from the acidity. $38.00
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bott Harslevelu Hatari/Tokaji (13%; www.BottPince.Hu; 1100 btls) 2012: Med.gold color; quite perfumed floral/
mango/ripe Bhudda’sHand/ripe pear light earthy/stony/mineral lovely nose; fairly tart rather earthy/stony quite
floral/mango/Bhudda’sHand/pear/apple/spicy/apple pie fairly complex lovely flavor; very long ripe pear/peach/
mango/floral lightly tart somewhat rich/lush light earthy/stony quite spicy finish; reminds some of a Wachau
Riesling; a lovely perfumed white. $34.95 (BDWC)
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Istvan Spiegelberg OlaszRizling Somloi (12%; www.Spiegelberg.Hu; #192 of 664 btls) Districtus Hungaricus
Controllatus 2011: Med.light gold color; some musty/TCA/corked some earthy low fruit slight apple/pear/musky
nose; rather tart/lean bit washed-out slight apple/pear/pineapple/earthy slight herbal/burlap bag flavor;
med.short some musty/TCA/corked light apple/pear/musky finish; some interesting things buried therein but
pretty much robbed by the TCA. $39.95 (BDWC)
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Fekete Pince Somlovasarhely Somlo WelschRiesling/Olaszrizling (14%; www.Feketekft.Hu) Fakete Bela/Somlo
2011: Med.gold color; light earthy pear/peach light floral/peach blossom slight metallic/valve oil rather
fragrant/complex very attractive nose; fairly tart quite spicy/pear/peach rather floral/peach blossom fairly
rich/lush slight earthy complex flavor; very long peach/pear/spicy/poached pears quite floral/peach blossom
bit earthy finish; quite an attractive rich/perfumed white that reminds a lot of R from the Weinverteil or
AltoAdige; lovely very R-like white at a great price. $24.95 (BDWC)
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Terzolo Teran Istria/Croatia (12.3%) Tercolo/NovaVas/Porec/Croatia 2013: Very dark color; strong black
cherry cola/blackberry/plummy/black cherry some earthy/plummy/loamy Kansas root cellar/basement bit funky quite
bretty rather rustic nose; some black cherry cola/blackberry/Refosco-like/RCCola rather unclean/bretty/rustic
fairly earthy/dusty/loamy flavor w/ light smooth/ripe tannins; long black cherry cola/Refosco-like/RCCola
some earthy/loamy/dusty rather unclean/bretty/funky finish w/ light smooth tannins; shows lots of Teran
character but a bit too bretty/rustic for my taste. $20.95 (BDWC)
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Josip Brkic PlavaGreda Citluk/Herzogovina&Bosnia (100% Blatina; 12.2%; www.Brkic.Ba) 2013: Med.dark color;
strong plummy/blackberry/spicy almost Zin-like some earthy/loamy bit rustic rather interesting nose; soft
fairly rich/lush rather blackberry/Zin-like dusty/earthy/loamy rustic flavor w/ light bitey tannins; long
strong Zin-like/blackberry/plummy fairly earthy/loamy/dusty somewhat rustic/rough finish w/ light bitey
tannins; a rather rough/rustic red that reminds a lot of Croatian Tribidrag. $45.90/2 (BDWC)
Some more blatherings from the alt-BloodyPulpit:
- These wines were most all purchased from the BlueDanubeWineCo (www.bluedanubewine.com), an importing
company that specials in wines from the Balkans. They have a very interesting portfolio and I have been
slowly working my way thru the nooks&crannies. They are one of the few importers that do DTC sales.
- Zilavka: This is the most widely planted white grape in Bosnia/Herzegovina. It is indigenous to the Mostar
region near the Adriatic. It is apparently related to the Prosecco grape.
- Batic: A new producer for me. Located at the mouth of the VipavaVlly where it opens up onto the plains of
NovaGoricia. Located in the town of Sempras, the Angel is the name of his son, and the vnyd, farmed
bio-dynamically. Wine has been made on the property since 1592, by monks.
- Furmint: A variety that originated in the Tokaj region of Hungary, responsible for the famed dessert wines
of that region. It is the parent of GouaisBlanc, which makes it related to Chard/GamayNoir/Riesling. It is
also the parent of Harslevelu. Mostly it’s grown in Hungary, but more & more it’s being grown in the
Burgenland, which was once part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. HeidiSchrock makes a wonderful Furmint in
the town of Rust.
- WelschRiesling: OlaszRizling is the Hungarian name for WelschReisling (unrelated to Reisling) and also known
as Riesling Italico in Italy. The Croatian name is Grasevina, where the grape originated.
- Blatina: The most widely planted red variety in Bosnia/Herzegovina. Originated in the area of Mostar.
Supposedly makes wines similar to Tribidrag. Which I could see in this wine.
- Bosnia/Herzogovina: Based on this grand total of 3 data points, I hearby declare B/H is nowhere as a primo
wine-producing area. Much like the VipavaVlly/Slovenia and Croatia, the wines simply don’t stir my soul.
But I will continue to try them in hopes that lightning will strike. I think the vnyds are probably first
rate. It’s just that the winemaking could probably be notched up a bit.
- LL Furmint: I had this wine back in July '16. At the time, I found it rather hard/lean/austere quite stony/
mineral in character. I liked it for its saline/savory character. I found it much the same when I had it w/
HeidiSchrock in Rust back in early Oct. So I was rather shocked when I tried it last night. It had really
put on a lot of weight and developed an amazing perfume that was not there before, that I could tell. This
is, now, world-class Furmint.
Why Furmint at LL? Way back when, the original owner (before the Bilbros), MikeCollins, was a big fan of
Tokaji Furmint, mostly sweet one back then, the dry ones being the exception. Plus a little bit of Harslevelu
that he also brought back from Hungary. He planted it and made it mostly as a dry wine, since there is not
a whole lot of botrytis there in LimerickLane. I believe he made a few passito-style Furmints as well.
When the Bilbros bought LL a few yrs ago, a gave Jake very firm instructions that if he pulled that
Furmint, there’d be hell to pay. He was obviously cowed by admonition, and so it remains at LL. The only
planting of Furmint in Calif to my knowledge. This Furmint is as good as any you can find anywhere.
- Geyerhof: My first experience w/ this Austrian producer. Located on the “wrong” side of the Danube, about
2 km south of the Danube and 3 km SE of the town of Krems. Organically farmed. Family owned since the
16’th century. A real discovery.
- Teran: A variety that originated on the Istrian Peninsula. A member of the Refosco family. Mostly grown
in the Kras/Slovenia, the Karst of Friuli just North of Trieste, and in Croatia. Makes a very interesting
Refosco-like wine. The SandiSkerk is the best I’ve had.
Tom
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