My shipment from D&G arrived last week and I couldn't wait to try some:
1. Donkey&Goat Coupe d'Or 50% Roussanne/Marsanne ElDorado (14.1%; U; FenaughtyVnyd; 97 cs) 2009: Med.gold color; strong ripe/grapey/nutty/toasted hazelnuts appley/mango/apple cider some earthy rather unusual/exotic/mineral complex nose; tart lush/rich appley/apple cider/mango some earthy ripe/rich flavor; long rich/lush appley/apple cider/baked apple/spicy/cinammon bit mango/grapey finish; not much Roussanne character and speaks strongly of ElDorado terroir; an unusual/ripe Rhone white. $25.00
____________________
2. Donkey&Goat Roussanne StoneCrusher ElDorado (13.3%; U; EllenRidgeVnyd; 100% skin ferment for 9 days; 58 cs) 2009: Med.gold/burnished bronze rather cloudy/muurky color; strong appley/apple cider/baked apple slight floral/honeysuckle rather earthy/minerally slight toasted hazelnuts quite interesting nose; rather tart/tangy/grapefruity some mineral/metallic appley/apple cider fairly lush bit lean/tight/bit tannic rather earthy/ElDorado quite interesting flavor; med.long tangy/grapefruity/tart light floral/honeysuckle chalky/mineral/earthy some appley/apple cider finish; a quite unusual rendition of Roussanne. $20.00
____________________
3. Donkey&Goat Syrah Mendocino Melange TheWhiteLabel (14.2%; BrokenLeg&McDowell vnyds; 2% co-frmtd Viog; 194 cs) 2008: Med.dark color; rather earthy/Mendocino/tomatoey some spicy/Syrah/blackberry slight licorice/pencilly/oak nose; soft rather earthy/rustic tomatoey/Mendo bit tannic/rough some blackberry/Syrah/licorice flavor; med. earthy/tomatoey light spicy/licorice/Syrah/blackberry slight tannic/rough/rustic finish; not much intensity of Syrah fruit but lots of tomatoey/Mendocino character; some like Qupe Central Coast Syrah but less bright fruiit; pleasant enough Syrah at $18.00
_____________________________
A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. I rather liked the two white Rhones. They were pretty atypical of Roussanne/Marsanne in Calif but quite interesting wines at a more than fair price. The Roussanne was, I suppose, an example of an "orange" wine, though it had no obvious oxidative character. If you are looking for varietal typicity, these are not for you. But they are quite interesting wines and much better w/ food than tasting by themselves. It's a bit weird for the palate to pick up tannins in a white wine. It will be very interesting to see how these two whites age.
Tom