We tried last night (4/5/17) Some New Wines:
1. Solminer GrunerVeltliner deLandaVnyd/SantaYnezVlly (13.3%; www.Solminer.com) Lompoc 2015: Light gold color; very
fragrant GV/floralspicy/light white pepper very attractive nose; somewhat tart/tangy/slight metallic/steely
strong GV/floral/bit white pepper almost R-like/floral flavor; very long fairly tart/tangy strong floral/GV/bit
white pepper lovely finish; some like a Weinvertiel GV on the elegant/delicate side; seems the best Solminer
GV yet. $30.00
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2. Carlisle GrunerVeltliner SteinerVnyd/SonomaMtn/SonomaCnty (13.9%; 160 cs) 2015: Med.light gold color; very strong
fragrant GV/white pepper/very spicy/very floral/apple blossom slight herbal beautiful nose; soft rich/ripe/lush
very strong GV/white pepper/very spicy slight green olive/herbal light tangy/metallic classic GV flavor; very
long/lingering very rich/lush very strong GV/white pepper/spicy/floral slight herbal finish; very varietally-correct
GV of a Smaargd level quality; doesn't have the minerality you find in Austrian versions but can go mano a mano w/
any from Austria I think. $29.00
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3. Bedrock SauvBlanc UboldiRanch/SonomaVlly/SonomaCnty (14.1%; Musque clone; 95% barrel frmrd; 17% new oak)
2016
: Light gold color; very strong floral/melony/spicy/almost muscatty slight herbal/SB very perfumey beautiful
nose; somewhat tart/tangy very floral/perfumed/melony almost muscatty slight herbal/SB flavor; very long tart/
tangy/grapefruity strong floral/melony/SB slight herbal/chalky finish; reminds a bit of DryCrrekVnyds Taylor's
Musque, but w/o the oak; quite a lovely SB at a great price. $23.00
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4. Bedrock SauvBlanc Staves of Waidhofen SonomaVlly/SonomaCnty (14.1%; Fassbinderei Stockinger oak/
Waidhofen/Austria; + JudgeVnyd/BennettVlly+AlderSpringsVnyd/MendoCnty) 2016
: Med.light gold color; strong ripe/
melony/SB slight herbal light pencilly/smokey/oak almost Fume-like beautiful nose; lightly tart bit softer/
smoother ripe melong/SB slight herbal light pencilly/smokey/oak very spicy flavor; very long/lingering lightly
tart softer/smoother light pencilly/smokey/oak rather meloney/ripe/SB finish; not as floral/muscatty and a bit
more herbal/smokey than the regular; a really lovely SB w/ very interesting smoky/Fume character. $29.00
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5. TablasCreekVnyd Vermentino Estate/AdelaidaDist/PasoRobles (12.9%; www.TablasCreek.com; 15'th bttlg;
1275 cs) 2016
: Light gold color; very fragrant Verm/floral/spicy slight nutmeg slight chalky/metallic very
attractive/lovely nose; fairly tart strong Verm/spicy/floral slight tangy/metallic slight chalky/mineral flavor;
very long tart/tangy/metallic strong floral/Verm/spicy slight chalky finish; reminds more of Piemonte Favorita
than Liguria/Corsican Verm; a really attractive Verm at a great price. $21.60 (VIN)
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6. TablasCreekVnyd Roussanne Estate/AdelaidaDist/PasoRobles (13.4%; 1200 cs) 2015: Med.gold color; very strong
Rouss/honeysuckle/honeyed/floral/peachy/spicy bit buttery strong ginger/nutmeg slight valve oil/petrol complex
beautiful nose; bit soft[/b]er beautiful Rouss/honeyed/honeysuckle/peachy slight waxy/petrol/chalky slight smokey/
tobaccoy beautiful flavor; very long/lingering strong Rouss/honeysuckle/peachy bit petrol/valve oil slight
chalky/waxy finish; another terrific TCV Rouss at a great price. $28.00 (VIN)
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7. Ryme Aglianico LunaMattaVnyd/PasoRobles (14.5%) 2013: Very dark/near black color; beautiful very strong licorice/
herbal/rosemary/pungent/thyme light toasty/oak/smokey black cherry/CherryMash complex amazing nose; rather tart/
lean/hard/taut/nervy intense herbal/rosemary/thyme/pungent very strong licorice/black cherry/CherryMash quite
structured light toasty/oak complex flavvor w/ ample hard/ripe tannins; very long/lingering somewhat tart/tangy
strong herbal/rosemary/thyme/black cherry/CherryMash light toasty/oak very structured finish w/ ample hard tannins;
a huge Aglianico and a bit bigger than most Ryme reds; needs 5-10 yrs but should be a great one; a huge/herbal
bruiser of a wine; a world-class Aglianico. $49.00
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8. Harrington Aglianico GianelliVnyd/TuolumneCnty (14.1%; 61 cs) 2014: Very dark color; slight funky/mousey that
clears strong licorice/Aglianico very strong charred/toasty/smokey/oak very ripe/Italianate bit rustic somewhat
complex nose; soft very ripe/overripe licorice/Aglianico/boysenberry/chocolate covered cherries strong burnt/
charred/oak bit hard/austere somewhat rustic/Italianate flavor w/ ample hard/rough tannins; very long/lingering
bit soft rather ripe/overripe/Aglianico/chocolate covered cherries/boysenberry bit rough/rustic/Italianate rather
charred/burnt/oak finish w/ ample hard/rough tannins; a bit on the funky/rustic/Italianate side; shows more Paso
ripe/jammy character than the Ryme; a very interesting rendition of Calif Aglianico that needs 4-8 yrs of age
yet; should evolve into something pretty interesting if it sheds some of the oak; very fairly priced at $25.00
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9. TablasCreekVnyd Syrah Estate/AdelaidaDist/PasoRobles (14.6%; 845 cs) 2014: Very dark color; very strong
blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/light peppery very spicy light toasty/oak quite perfumed classic Syrah nose;
lightly tart strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/very spicy slight peppery light toasty/oak very spicy flavor
w/ modest ripe/smooth tannins; very long/lingering very spicy/blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah light peppery
structured/balanced slight chalky/earthy light toasty/oak finish w/ modest smooth tannins; resembles a lot
a good EdStJohn Syrah and nothing like the usual Paso jammy Syrahs like Saxum or LinneCalado; one of the
best TCV Syrahs I can recall. $32.00 (VIN)
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10. TablasCreekVnyd Panoplie Estate/AdelaidaDist/PasoRobles (14.5%; 65% Mourv/28% Grenache/7% Syrah;
800 cs) 2014
: Med.light color; rather light/restrained bit closed some plummy/Mourv bit earthy/dusty refined/
elegant light toasty/oak nose; bit tart lightly structured light plummy/Mourv/strawberry rather elegant/spicy
smooth/polished/balanced flavor w/ light smooth/ripe tannins; very long smooth/polished some Mourv/plummy/
strawberry light toasty/oak slight earthy rather elegant/quiet finish w/ light smooth tannins; a very attractive
smooth/restrained expression of Mourv but seems a bit pricey for what it is. $76.00 (VIN)
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11. TablasCreekVnyd Tannat Estate/AdelaidaDist/PasoRobles (13.6%; 985 cs) 2014: Very dark color; very intense
plummy/chocolaty/licorice/boysenberry/Tannat huge fruit slight earthy/dusty/mineral/graphite slight herbal/
rosemary/chocolate/chocolate covered cherries slight rustic very light toasty/oak lovely complex nose; lightly
tart huge fruit plummy/chocolaty/Tannat/spicy/boysenberry somewhat herbal/rosemary bit earthy/dusty/chalky
lovely complex flavor w/ modest ripe/soft tannins; very long/lingering strong licorice/boysenberry/chocolate
covered cherries somewhat herbal/rosemary/pungent complex finish w/ some ripe tannins; a pretty big red
for TCV; the herbal character reminds some of the Ryme Aglianico but a bit more polished; a beautiful
expression of Tannat and a world-class Tannat. $32.00 (VIN)
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12. Harrington Corvo SumuKawVnyd/ElDoradoCnty (66% TourigaNacional/34% Alverelhao; 13.1%) 2014: Dark color; strong
black cherry/Port-like/chocolaty/plummy/boysenberry slight herbal light earthy/mushroomy/ElDorado some toasty/oak
some complex nose; soft rather herbal/rosemary some Port-like/Duoro dry/boysenberry/chocolaty/ripe light toasty/
oak some complex flavor w/ modest hard tannins; very long bit herbal/rosemary/pungent bit ElDorado/earthy/
mushroomy some toasty/oak ripe/boysenberry/Port-like finish w/ some hard/firm tannins; needs 3-6 yrs of age;
very good red that resembles a lot some of the current Duoro dry reds. $35.00
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13. Ch. Saint-Louis L'Esprit AC: Fronton (MeBaC; 12.5%; Negrette) A.Mahmoudi/LaBastide St.Pierre 2007: Dark color;
rather rustic/earthy/dusty slight burning metal very strong cracked black pepper complex nose; somewhat tart/
lean/hard bit bretty/horsecollar quite peppery/cracked black pepper slight boysenberry rather earthy/dusty
fairly rough/rustic country-wine flavor w/ ample hard/rough tannins; long some bretty/unclean rustic/rough
strong cracked blacl pepper/earthy/dusty finish w/ ample hard/rough tannins; loads of cracked black pepper &
a bit unclean but an interesting rough/rustic country red at a fair price. $19.00 (CB)
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14. Ch.Bouscasse GrandVin de Madiran (VieillesVignes; 14.5%; Tannat) Vignoble Brumont/Maumusson Laguian 2006:
Very dark color; slight TCA/corked/musty some plummy/earthy/rustic/rough bit peppery nose; rather hard/tannic/
rough light black pepper slight TCA/musty flavor w/ ample hard/coarse tannins; a rough/rustic red compromised
by the TCA. $26.00 (vSC)
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More deranged thoughts from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Gruner: Solminer is the wnry of Anna & David deLaski. Anna hails from Austria and their focus is on wines
of those varieties. The deLanda vnyd is on the SW edge of LosOlivos, but the wine is made by SteveClifton
down in the LompocChetto. This Gruner is probably the best/most authentic Gruner yet. They also make a
BlauFrankisch that is quite good.
MikeOfficer is a big fan of Austrian Gruner and convinced the Steiner folks to plant a few acres of GV
for him. I think it is the best GV being made in Calif and a world-class/Smaargd-level of GV. I took a btl
his '14 GV to IngridGroiss last Fall. She recently shared it w/ some Austrian winemaking friends and they
all deemed it quite good and surprised that Calif could do that well w/ GV.
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2. Bedrock SauvBlanc: SauvMusque is, of course, the clone of SB that DougMeador discovered languishing on the
FPS variety list. He was unhappy w/ the herbal/vegetal character in his Ventana SB and decided to give
Musque a shot. The rest is history. The Musque gives a wine that is very floral and almost muscatty in
character. Some purists of Loire/Bdx SauvBlanc compare it to putting lipstick on a pig.
Morgan was fortunate to get a few Stockinger barrels via Raj Paar. Franz Stockinger in Waidhofen is
regarded by many winemakers is the finest builder of barrels in the World. He sources his oak mostly from
Austria and Germany, w/ a bit from Romania & Hungary. Interesting view of the Stockinger barrels at Dom.
deTrevallon: (www.nomacorc.com/blog/2016/11/change-oak-new-barrels-stockinger).
The '15 SB was the first he used the Stockinger barrel on. I thought it was a bit on the oaky side.
This latest '16 version shows much less oak on it...no surprise there. The Staves didn't have the strong
floral Musque character that the regular showed. Of these two, I slightly preferred the Staves for its
greater complexity.
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3. TablasCreek: The TCV prices are all the VIN WineClub prices. This month (April), TCV is offering $10 flat
rate shipping. We're backing up the truch as we speak.
Another sterling release from TCV. I thought their '14 Rouss was their best one yet. This '15 is right
up there with it, perhaps.
The Panoplie was a real puzzle to me. It generally is a fairly big wine for TCV. This Panapolie was the
lightest and most evolved/mature edition that I can recall. I have little doubt that its balance will take
it out at least 10 yrs, but it doesn't seem to have the stuffing to evolve into something really special.
But then I could very well be wrong. Sometimes you just gotta believe.
I particularly liked this '14 Syrah. Previous Syrahs have always left me feeling a bit underwhelmed
and not of the stature of their other reds. This one had a lot of spiciness and I thought their best
one yet.
And the Tannat is a whole nuther thing. A huge wine for TCV.
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4. Aglianico: Believed to have originated in Greece, it's primarily found in the South: Basilicato/Campania.
It is regarded by many as one of Italy's best red grapes. There are small plantings of this in Calif to
the tune of some 62 acres state-wide. I think it has a lot of of potential in Calif. The Ryme has always
been one of my favorites....a world-class Aglianico.
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5. Negrette: A grape primarily found in the Fronton area of SW France near Toulouse. Often blended w/ Cabernet/
Sauv & Franc. It was planted once a lot under the name Pinot St.George, but now must be named Negrette.
The early Charles LeFranc (Almaden) versions of PStG were always quite good. KennyVolk uncovered a old Almaden
planting in the CienegaVlly and makes one of Calif's best. Should be planting this all up&down the Coast
in Calif.
Tom