WTN: Unusual White Wines...(long/boring)

We tasted last night (7/19/06) Some New (Unusual) Whites:
1. Txomin Etxaniz Getariako Txakolina DOC: Getariako Txakolina (EB; 11.5%) 2005: Pale
yellow color; clean minerally/stoney rather floral/citric bit herbal almost Albarino-
like nose; rich very tart/steely/minerally grapefruity/citrus stoney flavor; med.short
stoney/citric/steely finish; rich but austere stoney bit floral/fragrant wine;
has terroir in spades; bright/zesty/zippy white. $20.00
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2. Urindo DdO Bizkaika Txakolina Ibarretxe Zarriketa/Zaratamo/Bizkaia (11%;
70% FolleBlanche, 25% HondarribiZuri, 5% SauvignonBlanc; MailetaMahasti Vnyd; 12%;
http://www.DeMaisonSelections) Roberto Ibarretxe/Uriondo NV: Light gold color; bit H2S/stinky
light earthy rather charred/burnt/oak bit SO2/oxidized low fruit nose; very tart/
grapefruity/citric no fruit bit stoney flavor; very short screechy/acid grapefruity/
citric no fruit finish; a bit hertey to drink; strange. $14.00
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3. Mont Corvin Matterhorn Fendant du Valais (12%) Charles Bonvin/Sion/Suisse 2005: Pale
yellow color; light floral rather stoney/minerally nose; lean/acid off-dry light/
bright/zippy light floral 7Up flavor; med. bright/acid/zippy green/austere stoney/
minerally finish; a gtood fondue wine; interesting & austere. $16.00
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4. Chateau Bela Riesling Sturovo Region/Muzla/Slovakia (13%; Slovenske vyberove vino
neskory zber) P&B by EgonMuller 2002: Light gold color; lovely/beautiful Mosel valve
oil/minerally very floral/R/pineapply spicy/complex nose; rich/lush spicy/floral/
Mosel valve oil very spicy/floral/R lovely slightly off-dry flavor; very long rich/
lush Mosel valve oil/pineapply bit minerally finish; beautiful wine; tastes like
a Slovak wine made in the Mosel; very attractive price. $27.00
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5. Kofererhof PinotGrigio DOC: AltoAdige Valle Isarco (14%) 2004: Light gold color;
pleasant minerally/floral/aromatic slight earthy nose; soft floral/pineapply/spicy
some minerally/metallic lovely flavor; long minerally/floral/aromatic finish; lots
more fragrance and terroir than most It PG; lovely wine. $25.50
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6. Borgo Magredo PinotGrigio DOC: Friuli/Grave (12%) 2004: Med.gold color; some toasty/
oak spicy/floral/appley bit minerally/earthy nose; soft earthy/minerally/floral slight
toasty/oak green apple flavor; med. light toasty/oak soft light floral bit earthy
finish; attractive interesting white at a good price. $13.00
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7. Jean-Philippe Fichet Bourgogne-Aligote (12.5%) 2004: Med.gold color; light low-key
minerally/stoney/chalky light oak nose; tart/citric/austere earthy/minerally some
Chablis-like flavor; tart/lean/citric/austere steely/minerally no fruit finish; much
like a minor Chablis but little fruit. $20.00
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8. French Rabbit Chard VdPd'Oc (12.5%) 2004: Light gold color; pleasant/melony/Chard
simple bit earthy nose; soft light/fruity/melony/Chard dry bit earthy flavor; short
light melony/Chard soft bit earthy finish; a pleasant Chard for the price; blows away
the 2$Chuck Chard any day. $8.00/1 L Tetra-Pak
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9. Emilio Bulfon Cividin VdT Bianco (13%) NV(??): Med.light gold color; light floral/
earthy bit H2S/SO2 rather earthy interesting nose; very ripe pineapply/floral/earthy
very spicy/rich off-dry complex flavor; long ripe/pineapply/appley/floral off-dry
slight earthy finish; very interesting wine w/ lots of ripeness. $22.00
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10. Emilio Bulfon Sciaglin VeneziaGiulia (13.5: http://www.VinoTerra.net; http://www.bulfon.it) 2003:
Med.gold color; slight earthy/dusty bit H2S/funky slight floral/earthy/hazelnutty
minerally older Marsanne-like nose; soft bit quinine/bitter earthy/floral slight ripe/
pineapply interesting flavor; long pineapply/earthy slight bitter finish; rather
interesting but not that distinctive. $19.00
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11. Edi Simcic Takaj Goriska Brda/Slovenia (13.5%) 2002: Light gold color; earthy/dusty
Marsanne-like light butterscotchy/caramel/oak slight oxidized/nutty some floral/
perfumed complex nose; soft beautiful/lush earthy/Marsanne-like bit appley/hazelnutty
complex flavor; very long/lingering slight metallic/minerally bit nutty/earthy some
appley complex finish; very interesting/lovely white. $35.00
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12. Edi Simcic Rebula Riserva (13.5%) 2002: Med.gold color; earthy/dusty low-key/low-fruit
some oaked/caramel nose; soft/rich/lush light floral/perfumed rather earthy/dusty slight
nutty some caramel/oakvanilla flavor; med.long earthy/dusty slight floral bit oaked
finish; far less interesting than the Takaj. Pricey at $38.00
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13. Movia Sauvignon Goriska Brda/Slovenia (12.5%) 2003: Med.gold slight cloudy color; very
attractive floral/aromatic mango/tropical fruit slight herbal/SantaBarbara SB ripe
interesting nose; tart bit thin attractive mango/tropical fruit/spicy light herbal
flavor; med.long ripe/tropical fruit/mango finish; very interesting/attractive white;
lots of tropical fruit character and much like a ripe SantaBarbara SB. $24.00
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14. Marco Felluga Molamatta DOC: Collio Bianco (13.5%; 40% TocaiFriuliano, 40% PinotBianco,
20% RibillaGialla; http://www.MarcoFelluga.It) 2004: Light color; very fragrant/floral/pineapply
some SantaBarbara/herbal light oak/vanilla nose; soft pineapply/floral slight earthy/
herbal flavor; med.long floral/pineapply/earthy bit lean finish; very interesting
white at an attractive price. $20.00
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14a. Agricolas Vino Bianco da Tavola di Sardegna Angialis WhiteTableWine of Sardinia
(13.5%) 1997: Burnished gold slight brown color; intense peachy/apricotty/orangey very
ripe beautiful/complex nose; slightly sweet bit alcoholic intense orangey/mango/
pineapply/apricotty very complex flavor; very long/lingering orangey/pineapply/
apricotty/peachy slightly sweet very complex finish; a spectacular wine that's
developing beautifully. Larry's mystery wine.
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15. Inama Vulcia Apres IGT: Veneto Bianco Vino Dolce (12%; http://www.DallaTerra.com) 2001: Med.
dark gold color; slight earthy/dusty/wet concrete/piney very complex perfumed/fragrant
beautiful nose; soft very lush/buttery/ripe loads of ripe fruit/mango complex quite
sweet flavor; very long/lingering complex ripe/buttery/huge fruit finish; should live
for many yrs. $28.00/hlf
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The usual stuff from the BloodyPulpit:
1. Txakolina: Pronounced Choc-o-leena. This is about the 7-8 ones of this blended whites
I've had. It's not agonna set the world on fire, but it's an interesting white. Much
like Albarino w/o the intense floral/fruity character.
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2. Slovak Wine: This was my very first Slovak wine, and a real beaut it turned out to
be. Don't know if this qualifies me for following Slovak wines from the very start or
not. Know nothing about viticulture/winemaking in Slovakia, but I've heard that it's
an up&coming region to watch. Google of "Slovak wines" turns up a small amount of
interesting info. Not sure if this Ch.Bela is typical of what's coming out of
Slovakia, but I suspect Egon Muller knows a bit about winemaking and is, at least
partly, responsible for its terrific quality.
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3. Bulfon Wines: Emilio Bulfon is a strange guy who has been specializing in bringing back
indigenous Friulian varieties from the dead; a man w/ a mission. The wines are
invariably interesting. But I have yet to taste any of the varieties that have knocked
my socks off. That's not to say the varieties deserve to die, because I'm all for
diversity in wines. Maybe in some other terroir, they'll produce one of the world's
great wines. Who knows?? His WebSite (http://www.Bulfon.It) has a lot of interesting stuff;
worth reading.
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4. Edi Simcic: I've long heard of this producer as maybe the best winemaker in Slovenia.
They showed up (finally) up in Colorado, so I jumped on them to try. Really liked the
Takaj (Tocai Friuliano) a lot. The Rebula (Ribiolla Gialla) was far less interesting.
Both were well-made, but a bit on the pricey side for what they were.
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5. Passito wines: The two dessert/passito wines were pretty spectacular. Not sure if they
were dried-on-the-vine passitos or dried-on-trays passito. I've followed the Italian
passito wines from the very start (Darrell Corti turned me on the Dr.??'s Caluso
Passito from the Erbaluce grape back in the mid-'70's) and there have been some
spectacular ones over the yrs; one of the world's great dessert wines. It's always
puzzled me why this genre has not been pursued in Calif, where the conditions should be
ideal for it. It should make far more interesting dessert wines in Calif than most all t
the freezer Ice Wines now being made.
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6. This was a pretty eccentric/ecletic collection of white wines. But the wines (except for
the French Rabbit) were all very/very interesting. The diversity of wines throughout
the world makes for some pretty amazing drinking.
Tom

There's nothing I love more than bizarre white varietals. I sell the Txomin Etxaniz Txakolina pretty well. It's a great representation of Basque blanco. I'm also a big fan of Aligote and Chateau Bela is one of my favorite "off-country" Rieslings. If you're looking for more top end collio wines, check out those of Mario Schiopetto.

Prost!
Bill

There's nothing I love more than bizarre white varietals. I sell the Txomin Etxaniz Txakolina pretty well. It's a great representation of Basque blanco. I'm also a big fan of Aligote and Chateau Bela is one of my favorite "off-country" Rieslings. If you're looking for more top end collio wines, check out those of Mario Schiopetto.

Prost!
Bill

I am hearing a lot about the Txomin lately and have never seen it up here. The wines popularity is pushing Pepiere into the shade!!

Tom, you were right about the Bulfon website, very interesting. Thanks.

Lovely report! Thank you so much. I love Txakolí - but isn't the pronounciation rather chAc-o-leena? The "a" sound of Euskara is IIRC a more backward sound than the English "a", but it certainly isn't as backward as the English "o".

The Urindo DdO Bizkaika Txakolina Ibarretxe Zarriketa/Zaratamo/Bizkaia has a very strange blend of grapes. I thought only three grapes were permitted for this are: Hondarrabi Zuri, Hondarrabi Beltza and Munemahatsa. Here is a site on Txakolí.

Thanks for your view on the Slovenians! I recently tried through a supremely interesting range of Slovenian wines, but I did think the whites over oaked. The reds were fantastic though.

And you are, I believe, correct on the pronunciation.
I had, indeed, spotted your notes on the Slovene wines. You were finding a lot more oak in the Simcic wines than I did. I thought them noticably oaky, but not so much that I disliked them. But I'm pretty oak tolerant.
Tom

Tom Hill wrote:

9. Emilio Bulfon Cividin VdT Bianco (13%) NV(??): Med.light gold color; light floral/
earthy bit H2S/SO2 rather earthy interesting nose; very ripe pineapply/floral/earthy
very spicy/rich off-dry complex flavor; long ripe/pineapply/appley/floral off-dry
slight earthy finish; very interesting wine w/ lots of ripeness. $22.00

I know this is an old posting, but the Cividale region has become a recent interest of mine. Here is what the Emilio Bulfon website has to say about Cividin:
"This ancient vine originated in the valleys arond Cividale. It later spread to the hillsides of Maniago, Meduno, Navarons and the area around Vito d' Asio. Today, it is planted in mixed rows with other varieties. It yields a delicate wine with a fruity was (sic) enjoyed at noble tables in the eighteenth century."

Yeah, great to read all this again. Especially as I am now finding Slovenia on the shelf here! Don`t worry forumites, I will get to them sooner or later.
Heck, after the amazing Cab Franc Open Mike, think it might be fun to do this eh.