More Wines On Tuesday (3/27/11):
I had too many wines to fit into my luggage, so back at my motel I cracked open to try:
1. Occhipinti SP68 Bianco IGT: Sicilia Albanella/Zibibbo (11.5%) Louis/Dressner 2010: Med.gold color; rather
fragrant dried mango/dried pineapple/tropical fruits/apple quite perfumed/toilet bowl cleaner perfumed talc slight
slight reduced/stinky some stney/mineral quite interesting nose; slightly tart perfumed dried mango-pineapple/hair oil
slight bitter some mineral/stoney/lean flavor; very long dried mango-pineapple/perfumed/hair oil lean/stoney/mineral
slight bitter/apple peel finish; very attractive aromatics and nice structure on the palate; probably some skin
contact but very clean/well-made. $24.00 (PMW)
__________________
2. LucianoLandi Lacrima di Morro d'Alba Passito (13.5%) 2007: Very dark/black color; very intense grapey/
chocolaty rather volatile/alcoholic strong plummy/figgy some Lacrima/black cherry/bing cherry/boysenberry very
perfumed/fragrant nose; soft quite sweet intense black cherry syrup/pomengranate syrup/chocolaty/boysenberry
slight alcoholic/fumey bit earthy very rich flavor; very long/lingering intense chocolaty/bing cherry syrup/
boysenberry quite sweet soft/syrupy light earthy finish w/ fair tannins; a wonderful dessert red.
and that night w/ a wonderful meal at Oenotria, I tried:
1. Jolie-Laide TrousseauGris Fanucchi-WoodRd Vnyd/RRV (12.9%) Forestville 2010: Light gold color; rather fragrant
R-like/flowery bit mineral/chalky/stoney quite attractive nose; tart flowery/pineapply/mango slight earthy/mineral
bit lean/austere flavor; long quite floral/R-like/pineapply/mango light earthy/chalky finish; quite a pleasant
very fragrant/perfumed w/ a nice mineral structure to it; well-priced at $22.00
_________________________________________
And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. TrousseauGris: This is what used to be known as GreyRiesling in Calif. The Fanucchi planting is the largest remaining
block left in Calif and goes to a number of very good winemakers. When I tasted GreyRiesling back in the '70's,
it was quite dull stuff. Amazing what competent winemaking can do with a poorly-regarded grape. I had never heard
of Jolie-Laide and they appear to have no WebSite.
__________________
2. SP68: I had this wine, but the '09 version, by the glass at CafeRouge the week before. It was proabable served too
cold and the skin-contact/bitter character was quite pronounced. I served this at closer to room temperature and
the aromatics were much stronger and the bitterness not so obvious.
__________________
3. Oenotria: This restaurant in Napa is one of my big favorites these days. Started by two guys who met cooking at
Oliveto. They do amazing pizzas. The crusts made amazing croutons on my salad a week later at home. They cure
their own characturie and it's all the equal of Adesso's. The somm, SurLucero, has put together an amazing wine
list, mostly Italian, but from all over as well; with lots of things I couldn't resist on it.
__________________
4. Lacrima Passito: A few yrs ago, the passito rendition of Lacrima la Morro d'Alba was apparently more the norm.
Nowadays, there is apparently a lot more producers making dry table wine versions of this grape. And all's the
better for that; it makes some pretty terrific wines.
Tom