Tasted over the weekend:
1. StrykerSonoma Semillon "Oz" AlexVlly (12.0%; U/U; pH: 3.5; TA: 0.59; "Oz"Vnyd; 214 cs) 2007: Med.yellow color; very attractive figgy/Semillon some herbal/spicy light caramel/nutmeg/vanilla/oak nose; slightly tart rich/lush ripe/melony/fiffy/Semillon light vanilla/oak flavor; med. slightly tart lush/ripe/figgy/Semillon slight herbal light vanilla/oak finish; not sure about the "Oz" designation as it doesn't resemble OzSemillon very much; an attractive/likable Semillon at a fair price. $20.00
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2. WindGap SonomaCnty Chard (#892; 266 cs; 13.8%; www.WindGapWines.com) 2008: Light gold somewhat cloudy/murky color; strong melony/Chard quite minerally some Mosel/slatey/R-like/floral rather perfumed nose; rather rich minerally light appley/minerally/Chard slight earthy/slatey flavor; med.short tart/tangy minerally/slatey/chalky/steely rather appley/melony/Chard finish; a lean/tangy Chard w/o being eviscerated/green/underripe in character; rather interesting if atypical Calif Chard, bit pricey at $44.00.
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3. CasaCadaval Trincadeira DOC: Ribatejo (EB; 13%; 100% Trincadeira or TintaAmarela of Porto; 50 yr old vines; www.CasaCadaval.Pt) 2005: Med.dark color; rather earthy/gout de terroir slight herbal/piney rather perfumed/floral/lilacs slight licorice/plummy very attractive nose; soft slightly metallic/tangy earthy/dusty some perfumed/floral/lilacs/licorice bit tannic/hard flavor; med.long somewhat tannic/hard/rustic earthy/gout de terroir slight floral/lilacs finish; a rather rough/rustic red that may benefit from a few yrs of age. Fairly priced at $11.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Stryker: Ordered this to fill out a case of their Rockpile wines. At 12.0%, I was expecting a rather lean/tight/acid kind of wine. It was not. It showed a lot of rich/lush character on the palate that belied the 12.0%. Nice wine nonetheless.
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2. WindGap: This wine is, I suspect, an example of the new direction PaxMahle is taking his wines. It is a rather unusual rendition of Calif Chard. Lots of minerally character. Don't know if it was fermented in his concrete eggs or not. A great food wine but a bit on the pricey side.
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3. Trincadeira: This was my first experience w/ this indigenous Portugese variety. Based on this data point of one, I see little reason for the world to beat a path to Trincadeira's door. A rough/rustic wine that went perfectly well w/ the braised short ribs.
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4. Gout de terroir: Back when I was learning wine, in the early '70's, the (mostly British) term "gout de terroir" was a slightly denigrating term that described a wine that tasted of the earth, with a paucity of fruit. Many of the Bordeauxs of that era, afore Parker & Rolland changed Bordeaux forever, had a distinct "gout de terroir". It was a character that I didn't find particularly attractive.
Nowadays, terroir has taken on a much more high-falutin' connotation. Any wine that displays any terroir is now hoisted upon a pedestal and worshiped for displaying terroir...no matter how crappy the wine is. Sigh!!!
Tom
