Tried last night:
1. Birichino MalvasiaBianca Monterey Vin Blanc (13.0%; www.Birichino.com) Birichino Amici/KingCity 2008: Pale yellow near colorless; strong Malvasia/muscatty slight earthy/chalky/minerally nose; soft dry rather bitter strong muscatty/Malvasia slight mineral/earthy flavor; med.long rather bitter strong Malvasia/muscatty simple slight minerally finish; quite strong varietally correct Malvasia but a bit too bitter on the palate; nor bad w/ the duck breast. $16.50
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. The strange label attracted me to try this wine. It was in both French and English. Perhaps a Calif wine targeted for the export market? It is a cooperation of JohnLocke, former BonnyDoon winemaker, and AlexKrause, current BonnyDoon sales/export director.
The wine was not attractive to taste on its own because of the bitter streak on the palate; but w/ the balsamic/cherry glazed duck breast, the bitterness subsided.
Wines like this are tough to drink. Dry Muscat/Malvasia. The intense muscatty nose prepares your palate for sweet wine. And then a dry wine hits the palate. You gotta think outside the box, I've been told.
Tom