We tried last night (1/4/17) Some New Wines:
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IngridGroiss RoterVeltliner Reserve Niederosterreich (13.5%; www.Ingrid-Groiss.At) 2012: Light gold color; very
fragrant/perfumed very floral/GV-like/carnations some steely/mineral lovely nose; rather tart lovely floral/
carnations/GV-like quite spicy bit tangy some mineral/steely lovely flavor; very long/lingering very floral/
GV-like/perfumed some mineral finish; maybe not quite as good as her GV, but danged close; a lovely dring white.
$30.00 (BWM)
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WimmerFamilieu Czerny RoterVeltliner Fels am Wagram (DemeterBiodynamischer Landbau;
www.Wimmer-Czerny.At) Fels 2014: Med.gold color w/ tiny bubbles; very ripe appley/grapey almost GWT/spicy slight
SO2/valve oil/pungent bit bannana oil some earthy rather strange nose; some spritz/CO2/ersatz acidity rather
underacid fairly ripe/soft appley/grapey rather simple flavor; med.long refreshed/CO2/prickly bit soft/appley/
grapey very slight floral soft/underacid finish; a pretty dull expression of RoterVeltliner and the added CO2
doesn’t save it. $24.00 (BWM)
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Tintero Favorita DOC: Langhe (12%; KermitLynch; Vermentino) ElvioTintero/Mango 2015: Light yellow color w/ lots
of bubbles; rather appley/floral/7Up some Vermentino bit earthy nose; rather fizzy/CO2/frizzante soft somewhat
vapid/light slight floral/Vermentino slight tangy/grapefruity flavor; med.short frizzante/fizzy slight appley/
floral/Vermentino slight earthy soft finish; speaks quietly of Vermentino; a somewhat vapid/facile rendition of
Vermentino; easily the most disappointing Favorita I’ve had from Langhe. $13.00 (BWM)
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Montez LeBlanc d’en face IGP: CollinesRhodaniennes (12.5%; www.Montez.Fr; Viognier) Stephane Montez du
Monteillet/Chavanay 2014: Med.gold color; very perfumed Viog/pear/peach slight mineral very Condrieu-like beautiful
nose; lightly tart fairly rich/lush ripe Viog/pear/peach light mineral/stony some Condrieu-like lovely flavor;
very long/lingering rich/ripe/lush strong pear/peach/Viog light mineral some complex finish; very much like a
Condrieu at a great price. $25.00 (BWM)
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Kante Malvasia IGT: VeneziaGiulia (13%; U; KermitLynch) Prepotto/Trieste 2013: Med.yellow color; lovely fragrant
Malvasia/slight muscatty/floral light mineral/stony beautiful Malvasis d’Istriana nose; lightly tart/tangy strong
floral/carnations/Md’I/slight muscat some mineral/stony/earthy very attractive flavor; very long/lingering Md’I/
floral/carnations light stony/mineral/chalky finish; an absolutely lovely example of Malvazia. $42.00 (BWM)
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Ronco delle BetullE Vanessa Dd’OC: FriuliColliOrientali (13.5%; EB; 50% PinotBianco+Friulano/RibollaGialla)
Adami Ivana e Figlio/Manzano 2013: Light gold color; rather stinky/cabbagey fairly herbal/SB-like light stony/
chalky rather strange nose; quite tart/tangy/metallic some earthy/chalky bit herbal/SB-like bit cabbagey flavor;
long/lingering rather tart/tangy/metallic quite herbal/SB-like/herbaceous some cabbagy finish; has the structure
of PinotBlanc but all the varietal character of Friuli SB; the cabbagy character cleared a bit but not entirely
go away; a strange and not particularly attractive Friuli white. $28.50 (Cured)
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EdiSimcic Rubikon Rebula GoriskaBrda (13%; SmallVnyds/Seattle) 2013: Light gold color; slight skin-contact/phenolic/
resiny lightly floral some RG/peppery/spicy slight orangey/honeycomb quite complex nose; rather tart/tangy strong
RG/peppery/spicy very light skin-contact/phenolic/resiny some honeyed/honeycomb/orangey bit earthy lively complex
flavor; very long/lingering some peppery/RG/floral honeycomb/earthy/orangey/honeyed slight earthy rather savory
finish that goes on & on; a beautiful example of a RG w/ minimal skin-contact/phenolic character; an absolutely
lovely RG at a great price. $23.50 (Cured)
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LesCretes Fumin Dd’OP: Valle d’Aosta (13.5%; Vignaioli Indipendenti; L13-A13) Aymavilles 2013: Dark color; very
strong cracked black pepper some grapey/Pinotish fairly earthy/dusty somewhat rustic/loamy quite complex lovely
nose; rather tart earthy/dusty/rustic/granatic some black pepper/cherry/PN-like flavor w/ modest hard/rough/
rugged tannins; very long some cracked black pepper earthy/granitic somewhat cherry/black cherry cola/Pinotish
bit cracked black pepper some complex finish w/ ample rough/hard tannins; very attractively scented but a rather
terroir-driven rugged/rustic sort of red that is quite interesting; needs food. $20.00 (BWMvSC)
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Furlani “Rosso Alpino” (12.5%; Affinamento in Damagiana; L.11/2013; Lagarino Rosso/Marzemino/Rosara/
Negrara/Lagrein; www.CantinaFurbani.It; SelectionNaturel) Matteo Furlani/Vigolo Vattaro NV(2012?): Med.light
color; rather corked/TCA light cherry/black cherry/earthy fragrant little fruit nose; tart/sour cherry/cherry cola
some TCA/corked/musty flavor w/ light tannins; some of the [/b]cherry/Marzemino come thru but the wine is robbed by
the TCA. $15.00 (BWM)
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Harrington Lagrein PelletiereVnyd/PasoRobles (14.1%) 2014: Very dark/near black color; very intense herbal/
rosemary/thyme classic Lagrein some ripe/black cherry cola/licorice/Smucker’s boysenberry jam slight earthy/
rustic complex nose; soft/rich/lush/PR jammy very strong black cherry cola/licorice light toasty/oak bit earthy
flavor w/ modest ripe tannins; very long/lingering very strong black cherry cola/licorice/boysenberry light smokey/
oak quite rich/lush slight earthy/rustic finish w/ some ripe/textured tannins; much like a SudTirol Lagrein but
not the strong earthy/loamy that those often show; this may be the best Lagrein that I’ve yet had; superb expression
of Lagrein at a great price. $30.00
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LesCretes Syrah Coteau la Tour Dd’OP: Valle d’Aosta (13.5%; Vignaioli Independenti) Aymavilles 2013: Med.dark color;
strong blackberry/Syrah some earthy/dusty light c-c/cracked black pepper bit Rhonish fairly complex nose; quite
tart/tangy strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy/blueberry light c-c/cracked black pepper rather earthy/dusty/granitic
classic Vd’A rustic/earthy flavor w/ some hard tannins; very long/lingering light c-c/cracked black pepper strong
blueberry/blackberry/Syrah rather earthy/granitic/dusty finish w/ some hard/rough tannins; not as brutally tannic
as the Furmin, but still plenty tannic; needs 3-6 yrs; bit on the pricey side at $56[/b].00 (BWM)
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Drew Syrah PerliVnyd/MendoRidge (13.9%; 50% whole cluster; Drk: 2016-2030) 2014: Very dark color; very strong
ripe/blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry some toasty/charred/oak very attractive ripe nose; slightly tart strong ripe/
blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry some toasty/charred/oak slight black pepper flavor w/ modest ripe tannins; very long
strong ripe/blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah rather toasty/charred/oak slight earthy/dusty finish w/ some ripe/lush
tannins; not the strong c-c/black pepper character of the Valenti. $40.80
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Drew Syrah ValentiRanch/MendoRidge (13%; www.DrewWines.com) Elk 2013: Med.dark color; beautiful Rhonish/black
pepper/cold-climate very spicy/smokey/bacony some blueberry/blackberry/Syrah rather complex NR nose; fairly tart
very spicy/black pepper/NR/c-c strong spicy/blueberry/blackberry/Syrah some balsamic/very savory complex flavor
w/ modest ripe tannins; very long/lingering very spicy/c-c/black pepper some blueberry/Syrah/blackberry quite savory
very NR/bacony quite smokey/bacon fat finish w/ modest smooth/ripe tannins; a beautiful savory/peppery/c-c/Syrah
very NorthernRhonish much like a very good StJoseph; maybe the best Drew Syrah I’ve yet had. $45.00
More nonsense from TheBloodyPulpit:
- Montez: This was an entirely new producer that I stumbled upon up in Boulder. I was blown away by the wine.
Outperforms many Condrieus at 2-3 times the price. I’m not exactly sure what is in this wine. One Site
(www.Vivino.com) indicates it is Viognier. The Montez WebSite and the Weygant-Metzler Site indicates it is
60% Cugnette (Jacquere) and 40% Chard. Which is an odd planting for the CollinesRhodaniennes. To my palate,
the wine tasted for all the world like Viognier…and Viognier from Condrieu. I find that many Collines
Viogniers deliver pleasant enough Viognier character, but are a bit simple and seldom show the minerality that
you get from Condrieu. This Montez was much better than that. It delivers Condrieu character of many Condrieus
at 2-3 times the price. Stephane also makes real Condrieu/StJoseph/Cote-Rotie that I am now dying to try.
- Malvasia Istriana: This is a variety that evolved on the Istriana peninsula of Croatia. It is presumably a member
of the Malvasia family. Most Malvasia (including that planted in Calif) is Malvasia Bianca. It has a pretty
intense Muscat-like aroma that is often a bit too strong for my tastes. When I was over there this Fall, I
tried to taste in Friuli/Slovenia/Croatia as many Malvasia as I could. It typicallu has a much more subtle and
minerally character than simple Malvasia Bianca. Alas, I don’t think the variety is available in Calif. 'Tis
a pity. Maybe Bryan Harrington will bring back some in Feb. It’s not clear to me id Malvasia Istriana is the
same as the Croatian variety Malvazija Istarska. Presumably it is. This EdiKante was one of the best
Malvasia Istrianas that I’ve had.
- CO2 Refreshning: This is a technique that is sometimes/often used w/ white wine, particularly in NewZealand
w/ SauvBlanc. It involves the addition of a slight amount of CO2 at bttling in order the “refresh” the wine
and give it a sense of hightened acidity. In my book, this technique is a big fail. The heightened acidity
is an ersatz acidity that rapidly leaves the palate. It’s not the brisk/tnagy acidity that you get and persists
on the palate. With a screwcapped wine, you often will hear a slight “pop” when you unscrew the cap. The Wimmer
and the Tintero were both “refreshed” by CO2. The Tintero especially so that it seemed frizzante on the palate.
I did not care for either one. Fakey acidity.
- RoterVeltliner: One of the original varieties in the Veltliner group, of unknown parentage. No DNA relationship
to GrunerVeltliner. I’ve had over a dozen over the yrs. The seem to resemble GV, but maybe of lesser character.
Although the skin is lightly pigmented, they always seem to be made as a dry/white wine. I don’t find RV all that
much different from GV, so it may just be preserved for historic purposes…don’t know.
- Lagrein: A grape primarily found in the SudTirol/AltoAdige, where it makes big/rustic/lush red wines w/ a distinct
earthiness. It, like Marzamino, is a descendent of Teroldego and a cousin to Syrah. One of my favorite reds. There
is some Lagrein grown in PasoRoblesEast and vinified by ChrisWhitcraft. Not all that good. The best I’ve yet had
from Calif was David Cafarro’s. The PelletiereVnyd is up on WillowCreekRd in WestSide PasoRobles. They are a wnry
focused on Italian varieties, including Nebbiolo. Just ordered a hlf case from them to try. Run by JanisDenner w/
the winemaker being AmyButler. Bryan’s Lagrein may just be the best Lagrein I’ve ever had, SudTirol or anywhere.
- Fumin: This is a variety indigenous to the Valle d’Aosta. It was nearly extinct not so long ago, but has been
enjoying a modest revival. Most often it is blended w/ other Vd’A grapes. It’s rare to find it as a mono-varietal.
Though I liked the aromatics of this wine, it seemed brutally tannic on the palate.
- LesCretes: (www.lescretes.it/en/) I’ve had a number of these wines over the yrs and have been pretty impressed w/
them, though they can sometimes be a bit on the pricey side. I had their Syrah some 4-5 yrs ago and was blown away
by it for its intense cracked black pepper character. This '13 version seemed a bit more ripe/Calif in style and
not as intense black pepper as the previous one I recalled. I would love to see what they could do w/ Picotondre
(Nebbiolo).
- Drew: This is Jason & Molly Drew. Followed them from the very start down in SantaBarbara where they made pretty
big/extracted wines. When they returned home to MendoCnty, Jason done see’d the light and drew back in his style.
He is now one of the IPoB darlinges. I like, as a rule, quite a bit his Syrahs. Less impressed by his Pinots. But
his Viognier & Albarino are some of the best made in Calif.
Tom
