TN: Two Scholium Project SauvBlancs '19....(short/boring)

WINE TALK
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Tried these two ScholiumProject wines this weekend:

  1. ScholiumProject LaSeverita di Bruto SauvBlanc Calif WW FarinaVnyd/SonomaMtn (12.0%; 24 hrs skin maceration) AbeSchoener/Napa 2019: Deep golden rather hazy/cloudy color; strong herbal/SB/earthy bit loamy/rustic slight floral/melony very slight phenolicsome complex rather Jura-like/mineral very interesting nose; quite tart/tangy/rather metallic fairly earthy/quite sour some herbal/SB bit phenolic/rustic/coarse rather austere/sour flavor; long quite sour/coarse finish that follows flavor; a rather unattractive rather Jura-like quite coarse/SB white w/ little floral/high-toned SB fruit; an in teresting Jura-like expression of SB; not very attractive; needs to be at a RW temperature where it is much more attractive & less sour/austere; a pretty bizarre rendition of SB. $25.00 (KK)
  1. ScholiumProject ThePrince in His Caves SauvBlanc FarinaVnyds/SonomaMtn Calif WW (12.5%; skin-frmtd SauvBlanc; 24 days skin contact; aged 20 mo. in brl) 2019: Deep golden/some browning/quite cloudy color; very strong resinous/phenolic/ViniMacerati slight herbal/SB rather dusty/earthy not very attractive strongly VM nose; very tart/tangy strongly VM/phenolic/resinous light pineapply/orangey/herbal/SB some earthy/dusty fairly rich/lush somewhat attractive flavor w/light tannic bite; long ripe/lush slight VM/phenolic finish that follows the flavor; not nearly as strongly VM in character as I expected; much more lush/ripe fruit than expected that speaks less of SB but much more lush fruit & much less austere than expected; actually a rather interesting/unusual rendition of SB. $25.00 (KK)

More gliddlefurk from TheBloodyPulpit:

  1. ScholiumProject are the rather eccentric wines produced by AbeSchoener. He left as professor at StJohnCollege in 1998 to try his hand at making wine. And has never looked back. He was an itinerant winemaker up on the NorthCoast but has now moved his winemaking operation down to LosAngles.
    I’ve tried Abe’s wines off & on over the yrs. They are unique to say the least. But I’ve not seen them around much at retail of late. They have recently shown up in NM at prices that are about half the normal retail price. So I’ll be trying them more often now.
    This was a rather bizarre pair of SBs. Given the extensive skin-contact maceration, I was expecting the Prince to be dominated by the VM character and pretty much near-undrinkable. It was not. It had a rich lushness of fruit that I didn’t expect. These two are, of course, natural wines. But they displayed no natty or mousey character whatsoever. An interesting, not particular attractive brace of SBs.
    Tom
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His wines seem like they would be better served among a group of oenophiles, as discussion triggers, rather than as actual ‘drinking’ wines. I found his Clos Thales project to be quite distinctive and wished those bottles had been used that way.

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Somewhere there are a lot of Clos Thales wines in a warehouse! I was a partner in that project…oh what a mess! Too many cooks in the kitchen.

As for wines made under Scholium Abe has basically ceased making them other than the occasional one off. I think he made some Tenbrink last year.

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Abe and I go way back, as I used to teach at SJC also. The fruit in the Prince in the Caves often ends up lush, as Tom says; it’s one of Abe’s bottlings that I have most enjoyed, though some of his reds show this same quality as well. The wines then become delicious AND interesting wines. Like Tom, I infer, I always found them a bit pricey–at that tariff, I’m definitely a buyer.

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One of my favorites from Abe is the Prince In His Caves - have 2 bottles at home. Abe is my next door neighbor in DTLA at “winery row”.

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