We tasted last night (1/18/17) some More New Wines:
1. Salomon Undhof GrunerVeltliner VonStein/Krems-Stein dac: KremstalReserve (14.5%; www.SalomonWines.com;
EA; trocken; L/N 8673/14) Dr.SalomonWein/Stein/Donau 2013
: Med.light gold color; very attractive fragrant/GV/peppery/
floral/mango/very spicy bit Mosel valve oil lovely nose; dry very rich/lush bit mineral very strong GV/floral/mango/
quite peppery somewhat tart/tangy/grapefruity lovely flavor; very long/lingering spicy/white pepper rich/lush
strong GV/floral/mago fairly tart finish; an absolutely beautiful GV. $43.00 (BWM)
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2. Sohm & Kracher GrunerVeltliner Lion Pd'O: Illmitz(12.5%; www.SchatziWines.com) Sohm & Kracher/Illmitz
2015
: Light gold color; light stony/mineral delicate fragrant/GV/spicy/light peppery rather quiet/low-key nose;
bit soft slight tangy light/delicate GV/floral bit lean/metallic light mineral/stony flavor; very long/lingering
delicate GV/floral/peppery slight mineral/stony finish; a quiet/gentle sort of GV w/ a finish that belies its
delicate nature; very good value at $23.00 (BWM)
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3. Count Karolyi GrunerVeltliner (12.5%; dry; www.QuintessentialWines.com) Binderer St.Ursula/Pannon/Hungary
2015
: Light gold color; slight candied/perfumed talc rather spicy/GV/floral/mango very pleasant nose; light
low-key GV/floral/spicy slight earthy quite pleasant flavor; med.short light/quiet GV/floral bit simple finish;
a pleasant/simple/low-key varietally-correct GV at a very attractive price. $13.00 (BWM)
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4. FoglineVnyds Flora SpringHillsVnyd/RRV (14.30%; 63 cs) 2015: Med.gold color; lovely fragrant/perfumed slight lychee/
figgy bit earthy quite spicy complex/very interesting nose; fairly rich/lush rather tart bit smokey/smoked hot dog
some tangy/grapefruity some floral/lychee/figgy/spicy bit piney/rosemary very exotic flavor; very long/lingering
toasted marshmallow/angel food cake very floral/figgy/lychee/mango very exotic finish; it speaks some of GWT, some
of Semillion but very interesting/exotic white; this is a wine that can man e mano w/ any PinotGris from Alsace;
amazing white at a great price. $nc (EP)/$24.00
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5. Arnot-Roberts GrunerVeltliner AlfaroFamilyVnyd/SantaCruzMtns (2 brls; 13.4%) Healdsburg 2015: Med.gold color; bit
stony/earthy slight SO2/pungent interesting grapefruity/metallic/earthy/light peppery slight herbal/grassy unusual
nose; quite tart/tangy bit stony/mineral grapefruity low-key GV/peppery interesting flavor; med.long qrapefruity/
tangy/tart bit herbal/grassy very light GV/floral/stony finish; a bit lean/tight and speaks only quietly of GV but
very much in the A-R style; may have some potential to develop more w/ age. $25.00
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6. Carlisle GrunerVeltliner SteinerVnyd/SonomaMtn/SonomaCnty (14.1%; 180 cs; Frmtd/Aged: SS; no M-L) 2014: Med.light
gold slightly cloudy color; light metallic bit petrol very spicy/strong white pepper/perfumed talc some GV/floral/
mango rather complex nose; fairly tart strong white pepper/petrol/pungent perfumed talc tangy some GV/floral/mango
rather exotic flavor; very long/lingering tart/tangy bit petrol/strong white pepper/perfumed talc light GV/floral
quite exotic finish; very unusual/exotic rendition of GV w/ lots of white pepper/pungent; quite an interesting/
exotic GV. $28.65
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7. Patricius Tokaj SargaMuskotali (dry; 12.5%; www.PatriciusTokaj.com) Bodrogkisfalud/Hungary 2013: Light yellow color;
light earthy/muscatty/metallic almost SB/herbal rather interesting nose; dry bit soft earthy/muscatty/tangy some
herbal/SB-like light muscatty/hair-oil slightly bitter flavor; very long perfumed talc/herbal light muscatty/
hair-oil rather bitter finish; rather low-key expression of muscat; a pleasant little white at a good price.
$12.00 (BWM)
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8. Stephane Montez du Monteillet AP: SaintJoseph (52% old vines Marsanne/48% Roussanne; 14%; www.Montez.Fr;
Weygandt-Metzler Imports) Chavanay 2014
: Med.gold color; very strong toasted marshmallows/caramel/oak very intense
Marsanne/ripe/some peachy/honeysuckle/very intense fruit complex nose; soft very rich/lush some caramel/pencilly/oak
very intense Marsanne/floral/honeysuckle beautiful flavor; very long/lingering caramel/toasted marshmallow/oak
intense Marsanne fruit/honeyed/honeysuckle; resembles a lot the Chave HermitageBlanc but w/o the stony/earthy
character; loads of rich/ripe Marsanne fruit but still keeping a good balance; wonderful StJosephBlanc. $53.00 (BWM)
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9. Harrington PinotNoir CentralCoast (13.8%; SilettoVnyd/SanBenitoCnty + CasaToyon Vnyd/SantaCruzMtns; 188 cs)
2015
: Med.light color; light toasty/oak rather earthy/dusty slight funky light cherry/floral/PN bit Calera-like
slight TCA-tainted interesting nose; soft bit toasty/charred/oak slight funky/earthy/dusty light black cherry/PN
flavor w/ light tangy tannins; very long light black cherry/black cherry cola/PN light charred/oak bit earthy/
dusty/funky finish w/ light tannins; interesting Pinot but seems to have a very low-level TCA infection; reminds
a lot of the Calera CC Pinot. $25.00
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10. FoglineVnyds PinotNoir SonomaCoast/SonomaCnty (50% whole-cluster/JanianVnyd + 50% HillsideEstateBlock;
14.30%; 65 cs) Fulton 2014
: Med.color; some charred/smokey/oak bit earthy/dusty slight w-c/peppery some black
cherry cola/PN rather complex bit Burgundian nose; fairly tart some toasty/smokey/oak earthy/PN/black cherry
cola/RCCola slight mushroomy/forest floor very structured quite interesting/complex flavor w/ some ripe/grippy
tannins; very long some smokey/toasty/oak strong black cherry cola/PN/RCCola/spicy bit earthy/dusty very structured
bit peppery/forest floor complex finish w/ some ripe tannins; needs some age; a very structuredPinot that reminds
me of the Failla Pinots; quite a good & interesting cold-climate Pinot. $nc (EP)/$65.00
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11. Stephane Montez du Monteillet AP: StJoseph (13%) 2014: Med.dark color; very strong Syrah/blackberry light roasted/
NRhone/espresso bit black olive/earthy some Calif-like more Hermitage-like beautiful nose; lightly tart very
strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy light smokey/toasty/smokey/roasted meats slight earthy light oak flavor w/ modest
smooth tannins; very long/lingering strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy light smokey/roasted/NRhone bit black olive
finish w/ some ripe/round tannins; more like a good SBC Syrah (think Jaffurs) w/ a low-key NRhone character;
a wonderful Syrah. $44.00 (BWM)
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12. Stephane Montez du Monteillet Cuvee du PapyAP: StJoseph (13%; Old vine Syrah) 2013: Very dark color; very strong
cracked black pepper smoked meats/espresso/roasted/NRhone some blackberry/Syrah/spicy beautiful complex nose;
rather tart somewhat dusty/OV strong cracked black pepper/espresso/smoked meats/roasted strong blackberry/Syrah/
peppery/spicy flavor w/ modest ripe/smooth tannins; very long lingering smoked meats/espresso/roasted/NRhone/
black pepper very strong blackberry/Syrah/peppery finish w/ some smooth/silky tannins; reminds a lot of some
LaChapelles of old; this is how they would make SantaBarbaraCnty Syrah in the NRhone if they could; stunning
wine at a great price. $56.00 (BWM)
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A more profundities from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Fogline: These two were sent to me by winemaker Evan Pontoriero after he saw several of my posts extolling the glories
of Calif Flora. Flora is an Olmo cross of GWT X Semillon developed back in '38 as a grape to provide aromatics to
CentralVlly whites. He got the aromatics right, but its failure to retain acidity doomed it. It apparently had a
bit of traction in NewZealand, but the wine's aromatics were a bit too much for the wussy KiWis. ZD used to produce
a Flora that I rather liked, though Gino oft used a bit too much oak on it. The early Schramsberg Cremants were made
from the Flora grape. I've long thought that Flora should be explored more in Calif when grown in cooler climes.
This Fogline is exhibit #1 as to why it should. Evan hit it out of the park on this one. I rest my case.
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2. Gruner: I've long been a fan of Gruner (as has been MikeOfficer). When I started drinking Austrian wine, the
Gumpoldskirchen was the big wine, w/ some great values in dessert wines from the Burgenland. Then the ethylene
glycol scandel hit and Austrian wines pretty much vanished. It was a tough slog back but, now, Austrian wines stand
w/ any of the World's best. I've particularly been a fan of GV, which shows lots of floral aromatics and, sometimes,
a stony minerality. It often has an underlying/subtle scent of cracked white pepper.
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3. SargaMuskotali: This is just the standard MuscatBlanc a PetitGrains.
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4. Montez: I discovered the wines of StephaneMontez several weeks ago when we had a Collines Rhodaniennes Blanc that
was simply stunning and a dead-ringer of a very good Condrieu. However, it was a blend of Cugnette (Jacquere) and
Chard, an unusual pair for the Rhone, not Viognier. Shows how much I know!! I went back to BoulderWineMerchant and
ordered a btl of each of the remaining Montez wines to try, the three we had here. Simply stunning StJoseph wines,
some of the best I've yet had. This is a producer to search out.
Tom