Cracked these two last night w/ my chicken salad bruschettas:
1. Forlorn-Hope PinotGris KirschenmannVnyd/Lodi (10.71%; 52 cs) MatthewRorick/Fairfield 2013: Dark garnet/slightly bricking color; slightly volatile very fragrant/perfumed floral/rose petal/dried rose petal/slight carnations slightly phenolic/VM complex quite lovely aromatic nose; some tart/tangy somewhat rich strong floral/dried rose petal/bit carnations light earthy/Lodi bit phenolic/VM quite complex flavor w/ very light tannins; very long/lingering lightly tart/tangy fairly rich strong floral/PG/carnations/dried rose petal light phenolic/VM slight earthy some complex lovely finish w/ light gentle tannins; one of the better PG/ramatos I can recall; its richness belies the anemic alcohol level; wonderful stuff.
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2. Lagier-Meredith Tribidrag Mt.Veeder/NapaVlly RW (15.2%; www.LagierMeredith.com) Napa 2012: Quite dark color w/ slight bricking; beautiful classic MtV spicy/peppery strong blackberry/Zin/boysenberry slight earthy/licorice some toasty/oak rather complex nose; somewhat tart very spicy classic MtV/peppery/blackberry/boysenberry/Zin light earthy/dusty some toasty/oak fairly complex flavor w/ modest gentle tannins; very long/lingering ligtly tart very spicy/strong blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/peppery light toasty/oak slight earthy/dusty rather complex finish w/ light smooth/ripe tannins; shows loads of that classic MtV spicy/peppery character; pretty close to full maturity & don't see it getting a whole lot better; shows no overripe character nor the alcohol.
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More gurgleswag from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. The Ramato was one of the better PG Ramatos I can recall. Upon release, it was rather painful to drink w/ a high acidity, lean/eviscerated on the palate, and dominated by the phenolic/VM character. The VM character has subsided into the background & it's complexity as a mature Ramato has come forward. Don't see it as getting dramatically better...but who knows?
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2. The L-M Tribidrag was a pretty outstanding example of a fully mature Tribidrag. It reminded me some of the early MikeBernstein MtVeederVnyds Zins and a bit of the PeteFranus ChesterBrandlin Zins. But those were Zins and not Tribidrags.
Tom