TN: Some More New Whites....(long/borrring)

Posted by: TomHill

TN: Some More New Whites....(long/borrring) - 01-02-2018 12:27:31

We tried last night (12/20/17) Some New Whites:
1. Bedrock SauvBlanc JudgeFamilyVnyd/BennettVlly/SonomaCnty (14.2%; Brl frmtd: old Fr.oak + new cigares+
Stockinger brls; pH: < 3.3) 2016
: Med.light gold color; very strong herbal/classic SB bit cat pee light
stony/chalky slight melony nose; very tart/acid/teeth-chattering strong herbal/SB some stony/mineral/chalky
steely/metallic bit austere flavor; very long/lingering acid/tangy/steely/metallic quite herbal/SB slight
melony rather stony/chalky/mineral finish; a very acid/herbal/austere SB very much in the Sancerre mold;
should age I would think. $28.65
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2. Bedrock Cuvee Karatas/SonomaCnty WW (14.1%; MonteRosso Semillon planted in 1886; Frmtd & aged in brl;
+ SauvignonMusque from UboldiVnyd/Kenwood; last vintage; Drk: 2019-2030: MTP) 2016[/b]: Med.gold color; strong
Semillon/waxy/figgy light floral/muscatty light chalky/perfumed talc lovely nose; fairly tart/tangy classic
Semillon/waxy/figgy slight earthy light floral/muscatty bit graham cracker flavor; very long/lingering strong
waxy/figgy/Semillon light earthy fairly tart finish; a bit on the simple side now but should age into something
really special. $38.50
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3. Bedrock Compagni-PortisVnyd/SonomaVlly/SonomaCnty WW (14.2%; Dry pharmed by PhilCoturri; Plntd: 1954;
GWT/TrousseauGris/Riesling/RoterVeltliner) 2016
: Med.gold color; very fragrant lychee/GWT/spicy/nutmeg/bit
melony fairly subtle/complex very interesting nose; lightly tart fairly rich/lush very strong GWT/lychee/spicy/
nutmeg bit melony/angel food cake lovely flavor; very long/lingering lightly tart/tangy subtle GWT/lychee/spicy/
nutmeg fairly rich/textured finish; a lovely subtle textured GWT that avoids the cheap hair oil/tutti-fruiti/
in your face of some Calif GWT; much like the Alsace GWT in the days of yore afore Z-H. $26.65
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4. Bedrock GWT AltaVistaVnyd/MoonMtnDist/SonomaCnty (13.5%; Plntd: 1940's; 70 cs to wildfire releif;
Drk: 2018-2024: MTP) 2016
[/b]: Med.light gold color; lovely GWT/lychee/spicy/nutmeg somewhat subtle light earthy/
dusty perfumed nose; lightly tart balanced/subtle GWT/lychee/spicy/nutmeg slight earthy flavor; very long/lingering
subtle/GWT/lychee/spicy bit earthy rather complex finish; not the usual in-your-face Calif GWT and reminds some of
the splendid GWT from the AltoAdige/Trentino region. $40.50
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5. Unti Fiano DryCreekVlly (13.6%; Concrete eggs; 242 cs) 2016: Light gold color; strong mango/floral/spicy some
earthy/dusty/metallic slight H2S/reduced quite aromatic lovely nose; bit soft mango/floral/Fiano/light spicy
light earthy/du[/b]sty quite attractive flavor; fairly long bit soft rather floral/mango slight tangy/metallic/earthy/
dusty finish; quite an attractive expression of Fiano that is more high-toned & less rustic than many Italian
versions. $28.00
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6. Lunar Apoge Ad'OP: Lirac (30% GrenacheBlanc/20% Roussanne/25% Clairette/25% Bourboulenc; Organic
grapes/demeter/Biodynamic; www.TheArtisanCollection.US) Leperchois Christian/Roquemaure 2014[
/b]: Light
gold color; low-key/quiet light floral/GB/honeysuckle bit waxy/appley bit spicy pleasant nose; bit soft
somewhat earthy light floral/GB/apple blossom somewhat simple flavor; med. soft light floral/apple blossom/
GB some earthy rather simple finish; a pleasant simple CdR Blanc but a bit pricey. $26.00 (AV)
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7.UntiVnyds CuveeBlanc DryCreekVlly (13.6%; 64% Vermentino/27% GrenacheBlanc/9% Picpoul; 395 cs;
Concrete eggs; www.UntiVineyards.com) 2016
: Light yellow color; very fragrant/perfumed/floral/honeysuckle/
Vermentino quite spicy/cinammon bit complex nose; lightly tart strong floral/honeysuckle/honeyed/Vermintino
bit waxy/graham cracker rich/ripe/lush flavor; very long/lingering ripe/lush/rich quite strong Vermentino/
floral/honeysuckle/spicy slight graham cracker finish; a lovely Calif expression of Vermentino. $30.00
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8. UntiVnyds Vermentino DryCreekVlly (13.6%; Plntd: 2004; Concrete tanks; 205 cs) 2016: Light yellow color;
very perfumed/floral/honeysuckle/Vermentino slight spicy quite aromatic nose; lightly tart bright/brisk strong
floral/Vermentino/honeysuckle/carnations slight tangy/grapefruity very perfumed flavor; very long/lingering
lightly tart bright/floral/Vermentino/carnations slight grapefruity/metallic finish; a lovely expression of
Vermentino; not as powerful as the Ryme "Hers" and a bit more subtle not too unlike Piemonte Favorita or
Timarasso. $30.00
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9. Bedrock Riesling ColeRanch/Erster zweieiiger Zwilling (Plntd: 1973; 13.0%; Drk: 2018-2024: MTP) 2016: Light
yellow color; light earthy light floral/mango/R/apple blossom light earthy/mineral/spicy fairly fragrant
nose; fairly tart pineapple/mango/R/floral bit mineral/steely light earthy/chalky totally dry quite interesting
flavor; very long/lingering pineapple/floral/R/mango fairly tart quite dry light steely/mineral finish;
doesn't have the bracing acidity of a German R but quite good for Calif and of the Navarro/Claiborne&Churchill/
Dashe level. $24.50
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10. Matthiasson RibollaGialla MatthiassonVnyd/NapaVlly (12.1%) 2015: Deep golden/burnished bronze bit hazy color;
very spicy/graham cracker some phenolic/resiny/skin-contact/slight cidery very perfumed/fragrant bit white pepper
quite complex nose; lightly tart/tangy spicy/graham cracker some phenolic/resiny fairly rich/lush light earthy/
complex flavor w/ slight bitey tannins; very long/lingering some tart/austere some phenolic/resiny slight white
pepper/RG/honeyed bit earthy slight metallic/tangy finish w/ slight tannic bite; clearly a skin-contact white
but not that rugged/austere/very dry character of some and some lovely honeyed character; quite a beautiful/
complex skin-contact Ribolla. $45.00
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11. CowanCllrs RibollaGialla RRV/SonomaCnty (12.9%; www.CowanCellars.com) SantaRosa 2016[/b]: Med.light gold color;
very fragrant/perfumed white pepper/RG/very spicy light graham cracker quite spicy/nutmeg/cardamon beautiful
aromatic nose; fairly tart slight phenolic/resiny bit graham cracker/spicy/cardamon very spicy/white pepper/RG
rather complex flavor; very long/lingering slight resiny/phenolic quite spicy/cardamon/graham cracker strong
white pepper/RG fairly complex finish a very rich/lush white w/ great RG character and maybe a slight bit of
skin-contact character. $28.00
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12. CowanCllrs RibollaGialla RRV/SonomaCnty (12.5%) SantaRosa 2014: Med.light gold color; very strong cracked
white pepper/RG some pungent/fresh shoe leather very spicy complex beautiful nose; fairly tart very complex
strong white pepper/RG new shoe leather slight earthy light phenolic/resiny quite complex flavor; very long/
lingering fairly complex strong white pepper/RG light fresh shoe leather slight earthy very light skin-contact/
phenolic/resiny finish w/ very slight tannic nip far in the backtaste; a lovery RG that is developing nicely
and would play well in Friuli I suspect. $26.00
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13. Bedrock Riesling ColeRanch/MendoCnty Zweiter zweieiiger Zwilling (8.5%; RS: 9%/Auslese; Drk: 2018-2030: MTP)
2016
: Light gold color w/ some dissolved CO2 bubbles; very fragrant floral/R/pineapple/mango light Mosel
valve oil/chalky/metallic/steely rather spicy/pizza-spice quite attractive rather Nahe-like nose; bit soft rather
sweet/pineapple/mango/R/floral bit simple slight metallic/chalky/tangy flavor; bit soft fairly sweet strong
pineapple/mango/R/floral slight metallic/steely bit simple finish; a quite attractive bit Nahe-like nose but a
bit simple on the palate and strays into tutti-frutti teritory; pleasant enough now but should be really
interesting in 5-10 yrs I expect. $24.00
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14. Unti Segromigno DryCreekVlly (83% Sangio/17% Montepulciano; 14.5%) 2013: Med.dark color; quite fragrant very
spicy cherry/Sangio some DCV/raspberry/almost Zin-like some Am.oak/cedary/pencilly lovely nose; bit soft strong
Am.oak/pencilly strong cherry/Sangio/very spicy light earthy bit Italianate/rustic flavor w/ light smooth tannins;
very long bright cherry/Sangio some cedary/Am.oak quite spicy light earthy/rustic finish w/ light smooth tannins;
speaks strongly of bright Sangio fruit but also has hints of a Zin-like character; jus a bit rustic/Italianate.
$26.00
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More fake-news from the alt-BloodyPulpit:
1. LunarApoge: I wanted to try this wine because it's rather rare to find a white wine from Lirac. But I was
a bit reluctant to when I saw the "demeter" on the label and realized it was a "natural" wine. Surprise....
the wine was actually clean and well-made with none of the defects you often find in "natural" wines. And
it was also pretty simple and unthrilling.
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2. Riesling: Morgan made two R's from ColeRanch this year, a (dry) Erster and a sweet (Auslese level) Zweiter.
ColeRanch is a tiny AVA (smallest in the USA) w/ only a single owner, the Sterlings of EsterlinaWnry. It's
located in a tiny vlly up in the mtns on the back highway from the UkiahVlly to Booneville/AndersonVlly. It's
regarded as one of the best Riesling sites in Calif. I'm delighted that Morgan is working w/ that fruit. I'd
love to see what he could do with McFadden/PotterVlly R fruit.
Of these two Bedrock Rieslings, I found the Erster the more interesting of the two.
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3. MonteRosso: Whatta shame Morgan (and Mike Officer) will no longer get Semillon from MR vnyd. I hope the Gallo
folks put those grapes to good use and don't squander them. I had some amazing 20 yr old MR Semillon made by
LouisMartini way back in his day. One of the world's great Semillon vnyds.
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4. Unti: Another stellar lineup of wines from George & Mick Unti. They are making the best wines they ever have and
have really upped their game over the last few yrs. One of my favorite producers of Italian varietals in Calif.
And they keep their prices reasonable...no SuperTuscans here.
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5. Cowan: I was mightly impressed by these two Ribollas from FloridaJim. They both seemed to have a bit of
skin-contact/phenolic character but not at the expense of the RG fruit. I particularly loved the '14. It had a
slight hint of fresh shoe leather character that took me back when my Dad would take me into the BusterBrown
store over on MinnesotaAve. I loved that smell as you walked in the door of fresh shoe leather. But the best
part were the X-Ray machines. You'd try on a pair of shoes and then go put your feet in this maching and you
see the bones in your feet and wiggle your toes and see the bones move (Dem bones/dem bones/dem dry bones...).
How you could tell from that if you had a proper fit or not beats heck out of me. Wonder what happened to all
those BusterBrown X-Ray machines??
Tom
Posted by: Florida Jim

Re: TN: Some More New Whites....(long/borrring) - 01-03-2018 08:30:23

Tom,
FYI, both of those RG are put in the press within an hour of arrival in the winery, given a light squeeze, and then the juice in the press pan is pumped back over the grapes in the press. Hence, the light phenolic note.
Best, Jim