We tried tonight (3/7/12) Some New Wines:
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Vinoterra Kisi Kakheti/Georgia DryWW (Frmtd in Qvevri; 12.5%; www.Suchmann-Wines.com;
www.GeorgianWineHouse.com) 2006: Med.gold color; slight earthy/cidery/oxidized rather grapey/simple pleasant
nose; dry some bitter rather watery soft slight cidery/grapey/appley/apple peel simple flavor; med.short rather
watery some bitter/bitter apple peel/appley/grapey finish; a pleasant enough nose but rather watery/simple on
the palate; definitely an orange wine but thoroughly undistinguished. $19.00 (K&L)
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Satrapzo 10Kvevri Rkatsitelo Telavi/Kakheti/Georgia (13%; www.TewinCel.com; #1445 of 6004 btls;
www.Corus-US.com) 2007: Med.dark gold color; quite perfumed/grapey/appley/spicy/apple pie slight oxidized bit
volatile aromatic nose; rather bitter/apple peel slight oxidized some grapey/perfumed slight earthy/mineral/
stoney some watery/washed out flavor; rather bitter/apple peel some grapey/perfumed slight stoney/mineral slight
oxidized textured somewhat washed out finish; some interesting things in the nose but not particularly attractive
on the palate; overpriced at $30.00 (K&L)
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Ch.Feuillet DOC: Valle d’Aosta (13%; 100% Fumin) Maurizio Fiorano/StPierre 2005: Very dark color; hugely corked/
musty/cardboardy/TCA-blasted nose w/ no redeeming features; strong musty/corked flavor w/ no fruit; the SaranWrap
treatment failed to salvage this wine in even the slightest degree; so sad, friggin’corks, thank you Portugal.
$37.00 (WE)
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Ch.Feuillet DOC: Valle d’Aosta Torrette (13%; 90% PetitRouge/10% Mayolet) 2006: Med.light color; somewhat earthy/
loamy/mineral/stoney rather roasted/burnt toast/charred slight BeaujGC light cherry/fruity interesting nose; light
BeaujGC/grapey/cherry rather earthy/loamy/mineral/stoney light roasted/charred/burnt toast lean bit tannic/rustic/
rough flavor; med. rough/rustic rather earthy/loamy/stoney/mineral slight cherry/BeaujGC bit tannic/rough finish;
on the light/earthy/loamy side but rather interesting and some like a BeaujGC w/o the fruiit, some like an AltoAdige
Pinot; pretty pricey for what it is. $37.00 (WE)
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Cave Caloz HumagneRouge LaMourziere LesCoteaux de Sierra AOC: Valais/Suisse (13.2%; www.CaveCaloz.Ch) 2007: Very light
color; rather earthy/mineral/dusty/loamy quite perfumed/aromatic lovely cherry/Pinotish/raspberry/alpine strawberries
some toasty/oak nose; tart ratherr earthy/dusty/loamy fairly lean/tannic light cherry/Pinotish flavor; rather long rough/
rustic/earthy/dusty some cherry/Pinotish fragrant bit tannic/lean finish; rather earthy and lots of Pinotish/cherry
aromatics; rather pretty nose but bit lean on the palate; lots like an AltoAdige Pinot.
$30.00 (K&L)
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Charles Trosset Arbin Mondeuse (L’Expression d’un Terroir; 12.5%) 2009: Dark color; strong earthy/dusty strong black
cherry/boysenberry/Mondeuse slight mineral/chalky quite fragrant/perfumed nose w/ lots of bass notes; tart peppery/black
cherry/boysenberry/Mondeuse quite earthy/dusty/mineral rather rough/tannic flavor; very long earthy/dusty strong black
cherry/Mondeuse/boysenberry/framboise rather rough/tannic finish; pretty classic Savoie Mondeuse w/ strong fruit and
lots of mineral/dusty character; very good Mondeuse for the price. $20.00 (K&L)
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Ridge PetiteSirah Calif DynamiteHill (100% PS; DynamiteHill/YorkCreekVnyd/SpringMtnDist; 14.6%;
40 brls; Bttld: Aug 2006; Drk: 4/11-4/16: EB/PD) 2004: Very dark/black color; lovely DraperPerfume/coconutty/vanilla/
Am.oak/smokey strong spicy/peppery/PS very perfumed beautiful nose; tart big/tannic/extracted/structured/hard very spicy/
peppery/PS/perfumed talc rather smokey/toasted/vanilla/Am.oak/toasted coconutty slight earthy lovely flavor; very long
quite smokey/vanilla/Am.oak/toasted coconut/ZagNut bar rather hard/tannic/structured quite spicy/peppery/PS/licorice
quite perfumed finish; needs more age; should be a beautiful wine down the road…already is. $32.00 (ATP)
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Ridge PetiteSirah Calif DynamiteHill/YorkCreekVnyd/SpringMtnDist/NapaVlly (13.8%; 45 brls; Drk: 8/08-8/18-8/23: EB)
2006: Very dark/black color; very perfumed/aromatic intense fruit/blackberry/peppery/PS/spicy some vanilla/Am.oak/
smokey/coconutty huge fruit very aromatic/perfumed nose; some tart slight earthy huge fruit/blackberry/spicy/peppery/PS/
boysenberry pungent/smokey/toasted/Am.oak rather tannic/hard/structured/extracted beautiful flavor; very long huge fruit/
blackberry/peppery/PS/spicy/boysenberry strong smokey/pungent/toasty/vanilla/Am.oak/toasted coconut rather tannic/
structured beautiful finish; a classic Ridge YC PS. $32.00 (ATP)
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donRodolfo Vina CornejoCostas Tannat CafayateVlly/Salta/Argentine (13.5%) 2010: Black color; quite earthy/loamy/
gout de terroir very strong burnt/charred/toasty/oak some licorice/pungent fruit quite rustic nose; quite tannic/hard
very sour very strong charred/burnt/toasty/oak slight licorice/pungent/blackberry fruit flavor; long very hard/tannic/
rugged strong charred/toasty/vanilla/oak earthy/loamy slight fruity/blackberry/licorice finish; a rugged/coarse/earthy
wines that is slammed by charred oak; interesting in a perverse sort of way; no telling where it will go. $14.00 (SFW&S)
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cambiata Tannat RocosaLomaVnyd/Monterey (14.5%; www.CambiataWinery.com) 2007: Very black color; rather herbal/Monterey
Cnty licorice/ripe/jammy/Tannat very strong toasty/charred/Fr.oak nose; hard/tannic very strong herbal/licorice/ripe/
jammy/chocolaty rather alcoholic/overripe strong toasty/charred/Fr.oak flavor; med.long very ripe/jammy/licorice/
boysenberry some alcoholic/hot rather hard/tannic strong charred/Fr.oak finish; lots of jammy ripeness and hard to
tell where this wine will go. $20.00 (K&L)
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DryCreekVnyd Zin OldVine DCV (85+ yrs old vines-120 yrs; 9% PS; 1-2 tons/acre; 14.5%) 2008: Dark/very dark color;
quite lovely strong blackberry/raspberry/Zin very perfumed/spicy somewhat vanilla/toasty/Am.oak some dusty/old vine
very attractive some complex nose; soft/smooth/polished slight tannic strong Am.oak/vanilla strong blackberry/Zin/
spicy/raspberry some dusty/old vines some complex flavor; very long/lingering smooth/velvety some dusty/old vines
fairly spicy/blackberry/raspberry/Zin some vanilla/Am.oak finish w/ light tannins; a lovely example of old vine Zin
in a very smooth/polished/svelte/graceful package.
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Dehlinger 60% PS/40% Zin GuadagniBrosVnyd/DCV (15.0%) 2009: Very dark/near black color; very strong smokey/toasty/oak
classic Dehlinger very strong boysenberry/peppery/PS/blackberry very lush/spicy quite fragrant/perfumed nose; soft/
lush rich/boysenberry/blackberry/PS/peppery some toasty/smokey/oak slight tannic/hard quite perfumed/classic
Dehlinger flavor; very long lush/rich strong boysenberry/blackberry/peppery/PS/spicy strong smokey/toasty/oak finish
w/ some tannins; needs 2-5 yrs yet; much like the Dehlinger Syrahs; a classic Dehlinger red w/ lovely aromatics.
$30.00 (vBS)
And the unusual BloodyPulpit:
- Georgia: This has become a real hotbed for wine excitement these days, especially among Alice & her cohorts
who preach the glories of “natural” wines. They have a winemaking tradition that goes back some 8,000 yrs
(which…I should note…was well before my time). Traditionally, they ferment their wines in qvevri,
or kvevri, large clay amphora standing about a man’s height, that are buried in the ground. The wines are
traditionally fermented w/ skin contact, both whites & reds. For the white grapes, or gris, this often imparts
an orange color to the wines and a noticible bitterness. This winemaking tradition is the source of the “orange”
wines that have become very fashionable/trendy. These techniques have been embraced by the likes of Gravner,
Radikon (in Friuli) and Cornelisson (Sicily) and are gaining some traction in Calif, as well.
These two Gerogian wines we tried are what I would call “orange” wine Lite. They had only a light bitterness
and were only lightly oxidized. The first is from the Kisi grape variety, also known as KisMis or KishMish.
This variety is known in this country as…tada…ThompsonSeedless. If this were my first exposure to Georgian
wines, I would not be tempted to try any more.
I’ve tried as many orange wines as I can lay my hands upon. And as many Georgian wines. I’ve had a couple
(Radokin/Gravner) that I actually thought were pretty good. But most orange wines, the best I can say about them
is that they’re “interesting”. I’ve had a handful of Georgian reds. Rough/rustic/coarse peasant wines is about the best
I can say for them…exactly the reason Alice praises them to the skies. At this point, I relegate orange & Georgian
wines merely to novelty wines…nuthin’ more than that.
Though not really orange wines (skin contact, but not made in an oxidative manner not in amphorae), the best ones
I’ve had have been JimCowan’s Isa LakeCnty SauvBlanc and several of the Donkey&Goat Roussannes & Chards.
- HumagneRouge: Never had this grape before. Also known as Cornalin d’Aoste, presumably because it originated in the
Aosta Vlly. Known there as PetiteRouge.
- Tannat: Which is, of course, the predominate grape of Madiran. There seems to be some interest in it in Calif these
days. These two were not particualarly good examples of what the grape can do. The TablasCreek Tannat stands, IMHO,
heads & shoulders above anything I’ve tasted yet.
- DryCreekVnyd: DCV is making nowadays some of the best Zins they’ve ever made. The basic HeritageClone Zin is a lovely
wine and very well priced at $16. They regard the OldVine Zin as their top-of-the-line Zin, but I actually prefer
the Beeson annd Sommers Ranch Zins for their more intense/more spicy/ more classic DryCreekVlly Zin/ more exhuberent
kind of Zin. The OldVine is a much more polished/elegant style of Zin, maybe a bit too mild-mannered for my taste.
- Ridge PetiteSirah: I have, of course, followed the Ridge PetiteSirahs from the very start, with the legendary YorkCreek
PS '71. Actually, there may have been one made in '70, but not sure. The '71 was a monumental wine from the very
beginning. I last had it in the mid-'90’s at BipinDesai’s Ridge retrospective. I characterize it as the greatest
Calif red wine I’ve ever had.
Over the yrs, Ridge continued making YorkCreek PS (and Zin & Cab & Merlot), but the '71 always stood out in my
mind. We bought a ton of it up at Boulder’s LiquorMart at $8.79/btl. Shoulda bought more. I wouldn’t be surprised
if there’s not a btl or two still hanging out here in LosAlamos.
Alas…the Ridge YorkCreek PS will be no more. Not sure if the '06 is the last one or not. The owner of YorkCreek
Vnyd is FritzMaytag (of washer and AnchorSteamBeer fame), a close friend of PaulDraper’s from their days together
in Chile in the '60’s. He has been selling the PS grapes to Ridge in a sweetheart deal for yrs. Fritz finally
confirmed to Paul that he could get several times the $'s/ton he was selling to Ridge, so Paul acquiesed and gave
up their YorkCreek PS grapes. Now, there only PS will be coming from their LyttonWest Estate. It’s good, but just
not the wine of the YorkCreek. But it’s been a great run for Ridge w/ YorkCreek PS. Sad that it has to end.
Of these two PS’s, they aren’t what I recall the '71 being at this stage; but they’re are two of the best YC PS’s
I can recall of the recent yrs. I somewhat preffered the '06 because of it richer/lusher fruit which probably covered
up the tannins better than the '04. EricBaugher thinks it’s the longer lived of the two. I fully expect them both to be
going strong in the mid-late-2020’s, however.
Tom