Tried these 4 over the last few days:
1. Novy Zin ElsbreeVnyd/RRV (14.6%) 2010: Med.color w/ some bricking; strong Siduri/oak some blackberry/Zin/spicy slight cedary/pencilly/old Zin bit complex nose; soft rather cedary/pencilly/old Zin/Siduri oak light blackberry/Zin bit tired/metallic/tangy flavor w/ light tired tannins; med.long light blackberry/raspberry/Zin strong Siduri oak/pencilly/old Zin finish; still has a bit of Zin fruit but pretty much on the tired/dried-out side.
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2. Novy Syrah Susan's Hill Vnyd/SLH (14.7%) 2010: Very dar color w/ slight bricking; strong blackberry/Syrah/very spicy slight c-c/peppery strong Siduri/smokey/oak slight Rhonish/roasted some complex attractive nose; lightly tart/tangy/metallic strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy slight SLH/c-c/peppery strong Siduri/smokey/oak some complex flavor w/ light tangy tannins; very long bit tart/tangy strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy/peppery some Siduri/oak finish w/ light tannins; speaks strongly of SLH Syrah & Siduri signature oak; fully mature & a bit beyond but a fairly delicious Syrah.
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3. Novy Nebbiolo StolpmanVnyd/SantaYnezVlly (14.1%) 2006: Med.light color w/ some bricking; rather fragrant/floral/Nebb/lilacs some Siduri/pencilly/oak light pungent/tarry aromatic some complex nose; fairly tart/tangy/metallic light Nebb/floral/lilacs some Siduri/pencilly/oak bit dried-out/tannic flavor w/ some tangy/chewey tannins; long rather tart/tangy/bit metallic some floral/Nebb/lilacs/rose petal slight tarry/pungent/earthy finish w/ light chewey tannins; in pretty good shape for 14 yr old Calif Nebb; has the classic Nebb tannins & speaks of Nebb but not very exciting; still alive but drying out some; reminds a bit of an AltoPiemonte Nebb than anything.
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4. Novy LeonMillot WillametteVlly/OR (13.6%) 2007: Very dark color w/ sligt bricking; strong Siduri/pencilly/smokey/oak rather grapey/herbal bit vegetal/musky/hybridy rather interesting nose; quite tart/tangy/metallic rather hybridy/coarse/sharp/acidic/grapey fairly earthy/rustic/coarse/rough some Siduri/pencilly/oak flavor w/ strong tangy/coarse tannins; long quite tart/tannic/acidic fairly hybridy/earthy/loamy some Siduri/pencilly/oak finish w/ coarse tannins; actually quite well-aged for a Leon-Millot; this is how a Pinot producer w/ make a Fr.hybrid wine if he could; pretty acidic/tangy/tannic/coarse but interesting & not dead.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Leon-Millot: This is one of the Fr.hybrid grapes that tends to make a rather coarse wine. As I recall the story, one of his OR Pinot growers had some L-M and offered to Adam at a price he couldn't refuse. He only made 1-2 vintages of this wine and never looked back.
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2. Nebbiolo: I have fond memories of this wine. It was, I believe, the first Nebb Adam made. I liked it quite a lot when I first tasted it out of barrel w/ Adam. I suggested to Adam maybe it would be neat to get a few of the Calif Nebb producers together and taste their efforts. So a couple of yrs later we did: Adam/Pax Mahle/Ken Musso/Emilio Castelli & myself got together at Pax's wnry in Forestville. From that start of 6 folks at NEB#1, the NEB organization grew out of it.
Tom