We tasted tonight (10/3/18) Some New Wines:
1. PuntaCrena LumasSina IGT: Colline Savonesi (11%; KermitLynch; www.PuntaCrena.It; 170 yr old
100% Lumassina grape) famiglia Ruffino/Savona NV
: Light yellow color w/ tiny bubbles that disappate
rapidly; somewhat soda-poppy/7Up light floral/appley/citrusy lightly fragrant nose; quite spritzy lots of
dissolved CO2 very light appley/floral/citrusy very light/weak/vapid flavor; very short virtually no finish;
a pleasant enough spritzy white but absolutely vapid on the palate; very disappointing for PuntaCrena.
$20.00 (K-L)
______________________
2. Tenuta Anfosso Vino Bianco AnteaOrigini (13%; KermitLynch; RosseseBianco grape) Perrotti Marisa/Soldano
NV (2015?)
: Deep golden/burnished bronze color rather phenolic/resiny/spoiled apple cider definitely skin-
contact bit rotted apple nose; intensely phenolic/resiny/pine sap/cidery/skin-contact very acid no fruit
unpleasantly bitter/astringent flavor w/ ample harsh tannins; very long qute astringent/bitter/tannic strong
phenolic/resiny/pine sap finish; obviously prolonged skin contact; quite hurtey on the palate; maybe get
better w/ age but ??/who knows?; way overpriced at $58.00 (K-L)
______________________
3. Ch.Feuillet PetiteArvine Dd'OP: Valle d'Aosta (13.5%; www.KermitLynch.com) Maurizio Fiorano/St.Pierre
2017
: Med.yellow color w/ some bubbles/dissolved CO2; rather stony/chalky/mineral/perfumed talc/Alpine white
light floral/carnations/white flowers quite attractive nose; quite tart bit off-dry (1% r.s.?) chalky/Alpine
white/mineral quite floral/carnations slight yeasty/WonderBread rather pretty flavor; very long quite floral/
carnations some stony/chalky off-dry/bit flaccid finish; quite an attractive PA but a bit too much r.s. and
seems a bit flacid; would like more Alpine minerality. $29.00 (K-L)
______________________
4. Ch.Feuillet MoscatoBianco Dd'OP: Val d'Aosta (13.5%) 2014: Med.light yellow color; slight SO2 quite floral/
light muscatty/fragrant light earthy/chalky/cat pee rather attractive perfumed nose; rather off-dry (1-2% r.s.)
bit soft very floral/quiet muscatty slight earthy/perfumed talc bit cat-pee/SB-like flavor; very long bit soft
off-dry somewhat floral/muscatty light perfumed talc/earthy finish; a rather quiet muscat more like a a
Malvasia d'Istriana than Muscat; bit soft and fat. $29.00 (K-L)
______________________
5. Avanguardia Ampio SierraFoothills RW (12.4%; Refosco+Carmine) 2012: Med.color; rather herbal/earthy bit pungent/
loamy/root cellar some plummy/black cherry somewhat floral/violets/high-toned/exotic bit smokey quite
interesting nose; rather tart/tangysomewhat earthy/loamy/mushroomy/root cellar light black cherry/plummy
bit floral/violets/herbal slight grapefruity rather exotic flavor w/ some tangy tannins; very long somewhat
earthy/loamy/root cellar some black cherry/plummey/floral/violets interesting finish w/ light tangy tannins;
not a lot like Italian Refosco and almost Rosesse in character; a bit like a Calif or Savoie Trousseau; develops
a lot of fragrant/floral/high-toned character in the glass; quite an interesting/exotic red. $22.00
______________________
6. Vignai da Duline Morus Nigra DOC: Refosco dal Peduncola Rosso Friuli/ColliOrientali (13%; KL) DiLorenzo
Mocchiutti e Federica Magrini/San Giovanni al Natisone 2014
: Dark color; strong black cherry/black cherry cola/
DrPepper rather fragrant fairly classic Refosco bit pencilly/oak lovely complex nose; quite tart/acid/bit
screechy strong black cherry/black cherry cola/plummy/DrPepper bit hard/angular light earthy/dusty flavor w/
ample hard/chewey tannins; very long strong black cherry cola/DrPepper/bit plummy classic Refosco rather
complex finish w/ amply hard/chewey tannins; speaks strongly of Refosco but quite acid and hard/angular on
the palate; needs much age; rather pricey at $60.00 (K-L)
______________________
7. Adrien Roustan Dom. d'Ourea TireBouchon Vin de France (13%; ThomasCalderSlctns; Grenache/Syrah/
10% old-timey Aramon & Oeillade Noire) Vacqueyras 2016
: Med.dark color; rather pleasant Grenache/strawberry/CdR
light earthy/dusty rather nice nose; bit soft strong Grenache/strawberry/CdR some earthy/dusty light-bodied flavor
w/ light soft tannins; med.long soft rather strawberry/Grenache bit earthy/dusty finish w/ light soft tannins;
an altogether pleasant/lightweight CdR w/ lots of Grenache character but just that. $15.00 (DiVino)
______________________
8. Lucchetti Guardengo DOC: Lacrima di Morro d'Alba Superiore (14%; www.Massanois) Morro d'Alba/AN/Marche
2015
: Very dark/near black color; bit SO2 that clears; strong blackberry/black cherry/boysenberry/LaCrima bit
root beer/RCCola some licorice classic LaCrima lovely aromatic nose; bit tart/tangy quite hard/tannic/overextracted
strong blackberry/black cherry cola/RCCola/spicy lovely LaCrima flavor w/ ample hard/crunchy tannins; very long/
lingering very strong blackberry/black cherry cola/RCCola/bit licorice fairly tart/acid very structured/hard/angular/
tannic slight earthy finish w/ ample hard/crunchy tannins; big classic LaCrima fruit but a bit overextracted on
the palate; needs 5-10 yrs of age but ?? not sure the tannins will ever resolve; a steal at $18.00 (WineBazaar)
______________________
9. Benevelli Piero Freisa Gioia DOC: Langhe (13%; KermitLynch) Benevelli Massimo/Monforte d'Alba/Piemonte 2016: Med.color;
bit earthy strong Freisa/strawberry very fragrant bit Nebbiollo-like quite attractive nose; soft bit off-dry strong
Freisa/strawberry/floral bit earthy/coarse slight astringent/bitter flavor w/ light rather bitter/astringent tannins;
long bit astringent/bitter strong Freisa/strawberry bit earthy/coarse some Nebb-like finish w/ light astringent tannins;
loads of pretty strawberry character but a bit too bitter/astringent on the palate; great price at $18.00 (K-L)
______________________
10. Tenuta LaPergola Birbet (7%; KermitLynch; Brachetto) Cisterna d'Asti/Piemonte NV (2015?): Med.light color w/ lots of
tiny/swirling bubbles; very fragrant/perfumed bright strawberry/cherry/Brachetto lovely frivolous little nose; slightly
sweet (2%-3% r.s.?) quite spritzy very strong strawberry/cherry/Brachetto frivolous little flavor w/ light soft tannins;
very long bright/strawberry/cherry somewhat sweet quite frizzante beautiful finish w/ light soft tannins; a terrific
frivolous little wine one step above Nehi strawberry soda pop. $14.95 (K-L)
______________________
11. OltreTorrente Rosso DOC: Colline Tortonesi (14%; Barbera/Dolcetto) Paderna 2015: Very dark color; very strong Barbera/
spicy/Italian sausage/Italian dried herbs bit earthy/loamy slight grapey/Dolcetto lovely perfumed nose; very tart/acid
classic Barbera/spicy/dried fennel seed/Italian sausage bit earthy/dusty structured lovely flavor w/ ample tangy/hard
tannins; very long/lingering quite tart/tangy very strong classic/Barbera/very spicy/dried Italian herbs/slight grapey
slight earthy/dusty structured finish w/ some hard tannins; still needs some time; loads of tart Barbera character but
fleshed out some by the Dolcetto; a great drinking Barbera at a great price. $18.00 (BWS)
______________________
12. Foradori Teroldego Sgarzon IGT: Vigneti delle Dolomiti (12.5%) Elisabetta Foradori/Mezzolombardo 2015: Very
dark/near black color; beautiful Teroldego/black cherry cola/licorice/plummy some herbal/thyme/Mondeuse-like/
some spicy slight earthy very aromatic beautiful nose; lightly tart/tangy very strong Teroldego/black cherry
cola/licorice bit herbal/thyme balanced/structured/lush/smooth/polisher some complex flavor w/ modest smooth/
ripe tannins; very long/lingering very strong black cherry cola/spicy/licorice bit herbal/thyme very structured/
rich/balanced complex finish w/ ample ripe tannins; a beautiful structured/balanced Teroldego that should age
5-10 yrs; well-priced on futures at $48.00 (vSC)
________________________________________________________________________________________
More garblesitz from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Lumassina: This is a grape also known in Liguria as Mataossu. However, PuntaCrena makes a difference in those
two varieties for some reason. Several weeks ago, we had their Mataossu and it was a beautiful wine. This
Lumassina distinctly less interesting.
______________________
2. RosesseBianco: Things are a bit confusing here. There is a RosesseBianco grown in the Langhe. And there is a
RosesseBianco also grown in Liguria. But it is not clear that they are one in the same grape variety. They have
RosesseBianco at FPS and need to do the DNA to verify they are all the same. With it at FPS, it will be planted
all up&down the Coast of Calif in no-time at all. Because this Anfosso was made w/ prolonged skin-contact, it's
hard to tell if it's the same as the Manzone/Langhe we had a few weeks ago.
______________________
3. TireBouchon: Means Cork-Puller. This is a Vacqueyras wine. Because of the last two grapes in it, both unauthorized
varieties, it can only be labeled VdF. Aramon one used to be the most widely planted grape in France, but has
now fallen from favor, mostly grown in Roussillon and Provence. Oeillade Noire also a Provence/Roussillon grape
that is now near extenct. There is no indication that Aramon nor Oeillade Noire should be planted all up&down
the coast of Calif.
_______________________
4. LaCrima: A grape variety made primarily in the Marche. It is one of my favorite grape varieties in Italy. I had seen
the Luchetti on the Massanois WebSite and was very interested in the Visciola that they make. So I contacted them and
they suggest that TheWineBazaar was a good source, which is where this btl came from. The Visciola was dynamite. Unti
grows LaCrima in a tiny amount. It is quite good, though different from any from the Marche. A grape variety they
should be planting all up&down the coast of Calif.
_______________________
5. Freisa: Another of my favorite grapes because of the lovely aromatics. Freisa is one of the parents of Nebbiolo, and
often shows that relationship on the palate. Often it is made slightly off-dry, often w/ a bit of frizzante; much
like a Birbet. This is my favorite expression of Freisa. When made as a dry wine, it often shows the Nebb-character on
the palate. I would love to see a Freisa made in the style of the Vajra JC Claret. BonnyDoon used to grow & make Freisa.
BryanHarrington now makes a great one from the SkowVnyd in SanBenitoCnty. Clearly a grape they should be planting all
up&down the hills of the WillametteVlly.
_______________________
6. Birbet: A frivolous little fun wine. Made from the Brachetto grape. Usually made in an off-dry to sweet version.
Usually made frizzante to fully sparkling. It is classically paired w/ light desserts. I find it actually goes very/very
well w/ charcuterie. The Malvira is one of my favorite ones and when I serve it to novice wine drinkers, they always
fall head over heals in love with it. Brachetto is a wonderfully aromatic grape that they should be planting all
up&down the flanks of the SantaCruzMtns.
_______________________
7. Teroldego: Another of my favorite grapes from Italy. ElisabettaForadori is the master of that grape. Both Harrington
and Bevela (JimClendenen's neice) make very good Calif renditions of that grape. Not sure where they should be planting
it, but all up&down the coast of Calif would be a good start.
_______________________
8. OltreTorrento: A new producer for me that I discovered in the Balanced Wine Selections portfolio. I've tried their
Timarasso and Cortese, which were outstanding. This is the first red that I've had and I was quite impressed. A producer
worth following.
Tom