Tried these two w/ dinner last night:
1. VinTJS PinotGris WillametteVlly/Oregon (12.8%) Wines by Joe/Dundee 2009: Pale yellow color; atractive floral/carnations/PG light slight minerally/earthy nose; lightly tart clean/floral/carnations/PG slight earthy/minerally flavor; tart bit lean/metallic lightly floral/mineral/PG finish; a pleasant/simple lightweight wine that speaks quietly of PG; a pleasant quaff, but just that, at a fair price. $6.00
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2. UrsaVnyds Tannat SilvaspoonsVnyds/Lodi (14.8%) 2006 Very dark/black color; rather toasty/oak/vanilla strong blueberry/licorice/smoky/meaty/earthy slight mushroomy quite interesting nose; fairly tart rather earthy/mushroomy/blueberry/licorice/tarry/pungent pretty hard/tannic/rough flavor; med.long rather tannic/hard strong licorice/blueberry/pungent/tarry finish; needs 2-5 yrs; very good acidity and structure for a Lodi red; a rather rough & tumble red that speaks clearly of Tannat; fairly priced at $18.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. VinTJS: This is TraderJoe's store brand. This PinotGris was a rather pleasant/simple rendition of that variety at a more than fair price. OTOH, the VinTJS WillametteVlly PinotNoir '09 iis pretty dreadful stuff at any price; thin/lean/hard and a real paucity of Pinot ruit...avoid.
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2. The Ursa wines were recommended to me by the folks at ShakerRidge Wnry up in ElDoradoCnty. They had like the Ursa Souzao quite a bit. I've the current releases from Ursa that we'll try in a few weeks. But I was fairly impressed by this Tannat.
Tom