Tried these two last night:
1. QutoriWines Syrah CO (14.8%) QutoriWines/Paonia/CO 2017: Very dark color; very strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy/light peppery light toasty/oak slight earthy/loamy quite interesting nose; fairly tart/tangy bit earthy/loamy strong blackberry/Syrah/fairly spicy bit peppery somewhat rough/rustic bit toasty/oak w/ modest rough tannins; very long some blackberry/Syrah/spicy light peppery light toasty/oak some earthy/loamy/rustic finish w/ light rough tannins;speaks strongly of Syrah but with a somewhat rough/rustic voice; reminds some of Languedoc or SouthAmerica Syrah than Rhone or Calif; maybe slightly of a rustic Cornas; very interesting attractive expression of Syrah that needs a few yrs to smooth out. $nc (KS)/$30.00
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2. RedFoxCllrs Nebbiolo GrandVlly/CO (15.0%; www.RedFoxCellars.com) Palisade/CO 2017: Med.light red color; light earthy/loamy some floral/lilacs/Nebb light pungent/tarry light toasty/oak quite fragrant nose; quite tart/tangy bit hard/tannic faintly floral/Nebb/lilacs slight pungent/tarry some earthy/loamy bit rustic flavor w/ modest chewey tannins; very long some tart/tannic/hard some earthy/loamy strong Nebb/lilacs/pungent light toasty/oak some earthy/loamy finish w/ modest gritty tannins; lacks the high-toned perfume of Langhe Nebb but definitely speaks of Nebb; the earthy character suggests some of Valtelline Nebb, maybe a bit of Donas Val d'Aosta Nebb, a bit of ElDorado Nebb, but w/o the fragrant perfume those often show; shows the classic Nebb tannic bite but not enough to take your head off; a quite interesting expression that would show well in our NEB get-together; needs a few more yrs to smooth out the tannins. $nc (KS)/$38.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. These two wines were GoldMedal winners in the CO Governor's Cup competition. They were sent to me to try by KyleSchlachter, who is a tireless promoter for CO wines.
I have, of course, followed CO wines from the very start, when the first EugeneIvancieCllrs wines were released in the mid-'70's. He hired a novice winemaker out of Univ of Chicago...a guy named Warren Winiarski, who went on to make some pretty creditable wines after that. A nice history is:
Historic CO Wineries
Over the last few yrs, there's been an increasing diversity shown by the CO wine industry as that move away from the Chard/Cab paradigm that infects most new-found wine regions. The wines are showing a much more nuanced use of new oak than they early ones did. Back in those early Cabs/Chards, the idea if a bit of oak was good, then a lot of oak is better. The CO wines I've tried over the last few yrs have been markedly better than those early ones.
Not sure, though, where CO is in terms of making skin-contact whites, "natural" wines, or use of clay amphorae. Would be interested in finding out. Kyle??
Tom



Edited by TomHill (01-10-2020 10:08:47)