Tried last Sun night at ZaZu:
1. BigTableFarm PinotGris WirtzVnyd/WillametteVlly/OR (12.4%; 125 cs; U/U) 2010: Med. dark orange/burnished bronze color; rather nutty/toasted hazelnuts slight oxidative fragrant peach/apple cider bit earthy light fruit interesting/unusual nose; tart/lean/austere some tannic nutty/peach/apple cidery/spicy/cinammon glycerined fairly rich flavor; very long rather nutty/toasted hazelnuts bit tannic/hard very tart/austere/lean peach/apple cider finish; a very unusual rendition of PG; a bit disjointed/rattle-trappy kind of wine because of its rich texture but lean/hard/austere character on the palate that needs time to resolve. $28.00 (MX)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. We had this wine at ZaZu outside of SantaRosa. I'd always heard good things about this restaurant out on the GuernevilleHwy but had never found time to try it. Last March, DuskieEstes participated in a RhoneRanger seminar on Rhones 'n Bacon and I was quite impressed by her pig parts. So Susan & I made it a must-stop on this last trip. The food was amazingly good; pig parts as good as any I've ever had. As we closed down the restaurant, Duskie came out and we visited for quite awhile, both about pigs and about wine. This funky little restaurant, with a very nicely done/interesting wine list, is one I'd highly recommend. Our waitress, Kat, was very knowledgeable and her rec for Willi'sWineBar the next night was spot-on.
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2. BigTableFarm: This is a wnry in Oregon started by Napa transplants BrianMarcy (Turley/Neyers/Marcassin) and ClareCarver (wine label designer). This is a pretty classical orange wine made w/ brief (several days??) skin contact. This pretty much destroyed any PinotGris varietal character that I recognize. The nutty character suggests it was made in a slightly oxidative manner, rather than a reductive manner. It's a wine that, by itself, is pretty strange and not that attractive. It cries out for food...preferably pig parts. I think, with 5-10 yrs of age, it will be quite an interesting wine. Or it may not.
Tom