We tasted tonight (11/20/19) some New White Wines:
1. Solminer DryRiesling SantaBarbaraCnty (12.6%; 148 cs; www.Solminer.com) Lompoc 2016: Light gold color;
very attractive R/floral/mango some Mosel valve oil/chalky/mineral quite lovely nose; very tart/tangy/
bit metallic some Mosel valve oil/mineral some mango/R/floral/bit pineapplelovely flavor; very long/
lingering mango/R/floral/slight pineapple somewhat mineral/Mosel valve oil/pungent finish; a really
lovely bit Mosel-like R w/ lots of mango/R fruit. $30.60
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2. Solminer DryRiesling CoquelicotVnyd/LosOlivosDist (12.7%; 124 cs) 2017: Light gold color; bit less
mango/floral/R much more mineral/chalky/stony light pineapple/R attractive nose; somewhat tart/tangy
bit richer maybe slight r.s. pleasant R/floral/pineapple slight metallic some stony/mineral bit simpler
flavor;very long fairly strong R/floral/pineapple some stony/mineral finish; a pleasant enough R but
quieter and a bit simpler and not up to #1. $30.60
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3. Solminer GrunerVeltliner SpearVnyd/SantaRitaHills (13.2%; 295 cs) 2018: Med.light gold color; lovely
fragrant classic GV/white pepper/floral/bit spicy quite attractive classic GV nose; fairly tart/tangy/
bit leaner classic GV/white pepper/spicy/floral slight candied simpler flavor; very long/lingering
classic/GV/white pepper/floral finish; not as intense as a Wachau GV and more like a Weinvertiel GV
but quite a nice expression of Calif GV. $30.60
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4. Carlisle GrunerVeltliner SteinerVnyd/SonomaMtn/SonomaCnty (14.1%; 230 cs; Pckd: Aug 30 @ 22.3 Brix +
Sept 5 @ 23.5 Brix; Frmtd/aged: SS) 2017
: Med.light yellow color; very strong floral/GV/some white pepper
some perfumed talc/ineral bit complex lovely nose; lightly tart bit quiet strong floral/G/slight
white pepper some perfumed talc fairly rich bit more complex flavor; very long/lingering perfumed talc/
mineral fairly rich some floral/GV/light white pepper finish; not as classic GV but more complex &
interesting and really develops on the palate; a lovely Calif GV at a very good price. $24.00
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5. Weiniger DAC: Gemischer Satz Wiener Wein (12.5%; Winebow/NY) Wien 2017: Med.gold color; beautiful
fragrant/floral/spicy/perfumed talc quite aromatic some complex nose; fairly tart/tangy/bit metallic
quite floral/spicy/perfumed talcsome complex beautiful flavor; very long/lingering very spicy slight GV/
white pepper strong floral/perfumed talc balanced slight chalky/mineral some complex finish; a beautiful
example of GS at a great price. $21.00 (SFW&S)
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6. Weiniger DAC: GrunerVeltliner ViennaHills (12.0%) 2017: Med.light yellow color; light mineral/chalky/
perfumed talc pleasant GV/white pepper/bit spicy bit complex quite pleasant nose; lightly tart slight
earthy/chalky quiet GV/white pepper bit chalky flavor; long quiet rather light GV/white pepper light
chalky/perfumed talc finish; a pleasant enough GV a bit on the simple/quiet side; not nearly the
intensity and aromatics of the GS. $23.00 (SFW&S)
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6a. Weiniger Riesling ViennaHills WienerWein (12.5%; Q) Wien 2016: Light gold color; strong mineral/
Mosel valve oil/steely some floral/R/mango quite slatey/Mosel-like beautiful nose; quite tart/tangy/
steely/metallic light floral/mango/R quite mineral/Mosel valve oil rather complex flavor; very long/
lingering steely/metallic/slatey/Mosel valve oil/pungent some R/floral/mango finish; not huge R fruit
but a more subtle expression of R; a beautiful very Mosel-like R at a great price; blows away most
Wachau R at twice the price. $23.00 (SFW&S)
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7. Bedrock Compagni PortisVnyd/SonomaVlly/SonomaCnty WW (Planted: 1954; Dry pharmed by PhilCoturri; 14.2%;
120 cs) 2018
: Light gold color; lovely very perfumed/fragrant GWT/lychee rather Alsatian-like fairly spicy
nose; bit soft slightly off-dry fairly rich GWT/lychee/cheap hair oil/spicy slightly cloying rather
attractive GWT flavor; very long strong GWT/lychee/spicy sloght off-dry/soft finish; speaks strongly of
GWT and quite an attractive expression of Calif GWT. $30.00
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8. Carlisle Compagni-Portis SonomaVlly/SonomaCnty WW (13.5%; Plntd: 1954; GWT/TrousseauGris/Riesling;
150 cs; Pckd: Aug 29 @ 23.8 Brix; 4 hr cold soak) 2016
: Light yellow color; rather herbal/almost SB-like
quiet GWT/lychee/low-key lightly fragrant bit earthy bit complex nose; soft fairly rich/lush low-key/GWT/
spicy/bit lychee some herbal/SB-like interesting flavor; bit soft maybe a bit off-dry quiet lychee/GWT
some herbal/SB-like/chalky/earthy finish; a rather quiet expression of GWT and more like a Sudtirol GWT
than anything; quite an interesting white at a very good price. $24.00
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9. Bedrock Staves of Waidhofen SauvBlanc SonomaVlly/SonomaCnty (14.1%; 74% Uboldi/26% JudgeFamily vnyds;
www.BedrockWineCo.com) 2018
: Med.light gold color; beautiful fragrant ripe/melony/SB/floral/almost muscatty/
very spicy very slight herbal/SB light pencilly/oak some complex nose; lightly tart rather rich/lush ripe/
melony/SB/floral/almost muscatty slight mineral/chalky slight herbal rather complex flavor; very long/
lingering strong ripe/melony/SB/floral slight pencilly/oak light chalky finish; would guess this is
SauvMusque; one of the best Calif SB's I can recall; beautiful wine. $28.00
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10. Herve Villemade AoP: Cheverny/Loire (13.8%; Louis/Dressner; Chard/SauvBlanc) Cellettes 2018: Light yellow
color; rather strange natty/mousey smell of powdered milk light chalky/mineral slight herbal very strange
nose; fairly tart rather strange/natty taste of powdered milk/bit herbal some earthy/chalky strange but
interesting flavor; very long slight herbal strange natty/mousey/powdered milk bit earthy/chalky finish;
not a lot of fruit and some funky/natty character but somewhat interesting white. $24.00 (KK)
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11. Foradori ManzoniBianco Fontanasanta IGT: Vigneti delle Dolomiti (12%; www.ElisabettaForadori.com;
SM Wine Imports/Oakland; Incrocio Manzoni 6.0.13) ElisabettaForadori/Mezzolombardo/Trentino 2015
: Med.dark
gold color; bit reductive/H2S that clears; fairly phenolic/skin-contact/resiny/bit cidery fairly complex
slight earthy/dusty/graham cracker little fruit nose; fairly tart/tangy rather phenolic/resiny/skin-contact
some earthy/dusty bit graham cracker/pungent/hazelnuts little fruit some complex flavor w/ light tannic
bite; very long/lingering rather phenolic/resiny/skin-contact bit pungent/graham cracker finish; would
like a bit more fruit but a rather complex/interesting white. $29.00 (vSC)
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12. Foradori Nosiola Amphore IGT: Vigneti delle Dolomiti (12%) 2016: Med.light yellow color; very strong
fragrant Fleer's bubble gum slight herbal/hay mow bit hazelnutty complex very interesting nose; fairly
tart light phenolic/resiny somewhat herbal/haymow almost SB-like bit earthy/dusty very interesting
flavor; very long/lingering light phenolic/resiny some pungent/herbal/haymow complex finish; quite an
interesting white some like a Friuli SauvBlanc, some like a skin-contact RibollaGialla. $50.00 (vSC)
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More farkysnot from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Solminer: This is the wnry of David & Anna DeLaski in LosOlivos. They both have backgrounds in Austrian
winemaking and focus on Calif wines of those varieties. I like their whites and Austrian-style wines,
whites & reds, quite a lot. They also make some Syrahs which are on the lighter/leaner side and don't
appeal as much to me. But good folks making good/solid wines.
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2. Carlisle: Mike is a big fan of Austrian GV and prevailed on them to plant it at Steiner. His was one of
the first Calif GV's and is consistently one of the best. This '17 doesn't seem as intensely GV as previous
versions but is still one of the best made in Calif.
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3. Weiniger: I come to really like the wines from this producer. The Riesling was spectacular. Alas no longer
available from the distributor. The GS was nearly as good.
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4. Compagni-Portis: I like the whites from this vnyd. The Bedrock was much more expressive of GWT but I
preferred the Carlisle very slightly for being a bit more interesting.
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5. Waidhofen: This refers to the cooperage made by FranzStockinger in Waidhofen, in the far North of Austria,
hard by the Czech border. These are regarded by many winemakers as the RollsRoyce of oak cooperage.
(https://elizabethgabay.com/2019/08/19/stockinger-barrels-at-domaine-de-trevallon/).
They are imported into the USofA by RajParr and JaimeeMotley.
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6. Manzoni Bianco: This is a grape variety found mostly in the Veneto. It was developed in the '30's by
Luigi Manzoni at Conegliano as as PinotBianco X Riesling. A good article on the grape:
(https://www.forbes.com/sites/courtneysch...e/#4fd414fb4a61)
It is technically known as Incrocio (crossing) Manzoni 6.0.13. This refers to Manzoni's crossing in Row 6,
Vine #0, in vnyd 13; the location of the original crossing. Elisabetta Forodori's is the only one I've tried
of this grape variety, though AloisLageder apparently makes one.
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7. Nosiola: This is a grape, one of whose parents is the Reze grape of the Swiss Valais. The other parent is unknown.
Where the crossing took place is also not known. Because its bunches are fairly loose, it is well-suited for
making passito and vin santo wines, though I have never seen such wines available. The name comes from hazelnuts,
one of the characteristic aromas of the grape
Tom