Tried these two w/ Susan this weekend:
1. Stags'Leap Viognier NapaVlly (14.5%; www.StagsLeap.com) Napa 2016: Med.light gold color w/ small bubbles when poured; fairly strong floral/Viog/gardenias bit spicy/cardamon rather pretty nose; bit soft/fat slight dissolved CO2 light floral/Viog/gardenia rather simple bit vapid flavor; med.short soft/fat/porky light Viog/floral/gardenias/pear rather simple/vapid finish; a rather pleasant Viog nose but pretty dull/vapid on the palate; another white robbed on the palate by dissolved CO2. $23.00 (KK)
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2. Balletto Chard Teresa'sUnoaked/RRV/SonomaCnty (EG/EB; 13.4%; www.BallettoVineyards.com) SantaRosa 2016: Light gold color w/ tiny bubbles; brigt appley/pear/slight melony/Chard pleasant/simple nose; fairly tart slight dissolved CO2 bright/pleasant apple/ripe pear/slight melony/Chard rather simple/straightforward flavor; med. bright pear/peach/Chard/melong lightly tart bit dissolved CO2/spritz rather simple finish; a pleasant enough Chard but on the simple side; clearly some dissolved CO2 but it doesn't rob the wine on the palate like it often does. $30.00 (AV)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Stags'Leap: The label on the bottle seems to tout that Stags'Leap (as distinguished from Warren Winiarski's Stag's Leap Vnyds) was a pioneer in the Rhone wine mevement. That struck me as a bit peculiar...they were only known for the old-vine Petite Sirah that rose to fame under Carl Doumani in the late '70's w/ his inky/black Petites. From their WebSite, they look to be mostly a Cabernet house nowadays. Also interesting, their WebSite makes absolutely no mention of Carl, who revived the wnry and made it a mordern success. Ahhh...fame is so fleeting. Carl now, of course, runs Quicote Wnry, still specializing in Petite.
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2. Balletto: Driving around the RRV this last trip, I noticed a number of different Balletto vnyds, but hadn't the time to stop into their tasting room. So when I saw this in ArroyoVino on the shelf, thought I'd give it a shot. Originally in the vegetable-growing business, they now seem to specialize in winemaking. They seem to specialize in Chard and PinotNoir. Based on this single data point, I'm not likely to try any of their other wines.
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3. Both of these whites were rather underwhelming. I need of a white wine, I shoulda just have been done with it and opened an Ingrid Groiss..always a sure bet.
Tom