We tried the other week (9/4/13) Some New Reds:
1. Makor Sangiovese WhiteHawkVnyd/SBC (15.5%) 2010: Med.dark color; some pungent/smokey/toasty/oak bit licorice/
black cherry/earthy/mushroomy interesting nose; slightly tart rather toasty/smokey/oak some pungent/licorice
light black cherry/plummy flavor w/ slight tannic bite; med.long some tart/tannic/bitey pungent/smokey/oak
bit black cherry/plummy finish; more like a Sardinian Sangio w/ oak; lacks the bright cherry fruit of Sangio;
interesting Sangio but a bit on the coarse/rustic side. $nc (JA)
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2. Forlorn-Hope Sogni Della Speccia ShalePeakVnyd/SolanoCnty Calif RW (13.7%; 27 cs; Sangiovese) 2011: Med.light
color; quite pretty bright/cherry/spicy slight earthy rather attractive nose; tart/lean bit earthy/mushroomy
some bright/cherry/Sangio/spicy pleasant flavor w/ light tannic bite; med.long light bright/cherry/Sangio
light earthy/dusty finish w/ a bit of a tannic bite; a pleasant/pretty/lightweight red that speaks of Sangio
but just that. $29.00
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3. CantinaMiglianico CerroRosso IGT: Terre di Chietti (12%; www.CantinaMiglianico.It; 100% Montepulciano
d'Abruzzo) 2007: Very dark color; some toasty/oak slight goat pen/hot climate/coarse fairly earthy/loamy/
rustic slight herbal/rosemary bit funky nose; soft very ripe/chocolaty some goat pen/hot-climate somewhat
bretty/funky/unclean flavor w/ some hard/coarse tannins; med. earthy/loamy rather goat pen/funky/bretty/
unclean finish w/ rough/hard tannins; a hot-climate/coarse/uncleam Italian red. $14.00
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4. Caruso Maestro Sanguineti Nord-Centrale-Sud (14% Corvina/6% Rondinella/50% Sangiovese/10% Syrah/20% Nero
d'Avola; 13.9%; SmallVineyards/Seattle) Giuseppe Lonardi/Valpolicella, AlessandroBocci/Tuscany,
Giuseppe Martorana/Sicily) Az.Agr. Perazzeta/Montenero del Piano L2007: Med.dark color; very ripe/overripe
earthy/loamy/root cellar rustic bit tired nose; soft very ripe/overripe earthy/loamy/mushroomy fat/porky
flavor w/ little tannins; med. soft/fat overripe/grapey/chocolatey very earthy/loamy finish w/ little
tannins; like a big StBernard jumping up on you and slobbering kisses all over your face; utterly no
distinguishing characteristics whatsoever. $17.00 (BWM)
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5. Yorba Tempranillo ShakeRidgeVnyd/AmadorCnty (14.9%; www.YorbaWines.com) Winemaker: KenBernards/Napa;
Grower: AnnKraemer/SutterCreek 2008: Med.dark color; light toasty/oak slight herbal some black cherry/
chocolatey/Temp fairly rich/lush almost Cab-like nose; big/rich/lush some toasty/charred/oak rather
structured/tannic strong/ripe/black cherry/boysenberry/chocolatey slight herbal flavor w/ fair/structured
tannins; very long strong black cherry/cherry/chocolatey/boysenberry fairly tannic/structured some toasty/
charred/oak finish; needs 2-8 yrs; doesn't have the bright cherry character I like in Temp but quite
a good/structured red; tastes like a Temp made by a Cabernet producer. $nc (AK)
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6. Rosa d'OroVnyds Aglianico ClearLake/LakeCnty (EB; 7 brls; 14.6%; www.RosaDOroWine.com) 2010: Med.dark color;
rather grapefruity/metallic/ozone very strange burning metal/pungent nose w/ little fruit; tart bit tannic/
hard some SouthernItaly/rustic bit cherry/cherry cola rather tangy/grapefruity somewhat hard/lean flavor;
med.long rather hard/tannic/bitey some earthy/rustic/coarse light cherry/cherry cola finish; a rather weird
nose but flavor is interesting in a rustic/SouthernItaly kind of way. $nc (PB)
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7. IlGioielloWnry Aglianico AmadorCnty/SierraFoothills (14.3%; www.IlGioielloWinery.com) Fiddletown 2007: Dark
color; fairly strong dusty/earthy/loamy/wet stone rather black cherry/blueberry bit pungent/licorice very
light toasty/oak nose; soft rather fierce/hard/tannic somewhat earthy/dusty/wet stone light spicy/black
cherry/blueberry bit herbal/rosemary/piney light toasty/oak flavor; med.long earthy/stony/granatic/wet
stone some cherry/blueberry slight herbal/piney finish w/ hard/gritty tannins; some interesting things
theirin but dominated by fierce/hard/gritty tannins; needs age but ??? $28.00
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8. AmadorFoothill Aglianico Estate/ShenandoahVlly/Calif (14.4%; www.AmadorFoothill.com) 2008: Med.dark color;
light Am.oak/vanilla some spicy/perfumed light boysenberry bit earthy rather high-toned/Zin-like nose;
fairly tart lean/hard/tannic slight boysenberry/raspberry/spicy/Zin-like bit spicy/herbal flavor; med.long
light boysenberry/raspberry/spicy slight earthy/dusty some vanilla/Am.oak finish w/ rather rough/hard
tannins; a rather high-toned almost Zin-like refined rendition of Aglianico. $28.00
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9. Ryme Aglianico LunaMattaVnyd/PasoRobles (13.1%; 45 cs) 2010: Very dark color; big/rich/lush/ripe somewhat
black cherry/chocolatey rather spicy/cinammon/celery seed/herbal bit tea-like very exotic/perfumed/aromatic
nose; slightly tart big/rich/ripe rather tannic/hard/structured exotic black cherry/chocolaty/DrPepper/tea
quite perfumed/exotic flavor; very long strong black cherry/chocolaty/boysenberry/herbal/tea/celery seed
slight earthy/mineral/graphite quite spicy/exotic finish w/ somewhat hard/grippy tannins; quite an exotic
wine and maybe the World's 2'nd best Aglianico (after the Ryme '08); terrific/interesting red. $40.00
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10. Torre Quarto/Bottaccia IGT: Puglia Uva di Troia (13%; www.TorrequartoCantine.It) 2007: Med.dark color
w/ slight bricking; rather earthy/rustic quite unclean/goat pen/bretty/hot climate slight grapey/boysenberry
nose; soft bit hard/tannic/rough/coarse somewhat unclean/goat pen/bretty/hot climate slight grapey/
boysenberry rustic/funky flavor; med.short unclean/bretty/goat pen/hot climate very ripe/grapey/boysenberry
finish w/ some hard/coarse tannins; way too unclean and difficult to find anything to like here. $20.00 (WoP)
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11. Ryme CabFranc AlegriaVnyd/RRV (11.7%) 2011: Med.light color; very strong herbal almost weedy/vegetal rather
perfumed/fragrant/spicy/cinammon slight cherry/cola beautiful/exotic nose; tart/bright/light some herbal/
earthy very bright/cherry/cherry cola quite spicy/cinammon/cardamon rather comple quite exotic flavor w/
some modest tannins; very long/lingering herbal/earthy bright/cherry/cherry cola very spicy/cinammon finish
w/ some tannins; needs several yrs yet; a very unusual/exotic expression of Calif CabFranc and not just
anuther Calif Cabernet wanna-be; lovely red at a great price. $24.00
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12. Forlorn-Hope GasconyCadets PetiteVerdot KingAndrewsVnyd/SuisunVlly/SolanoCnty (47 cs; 15.1%; 4 months on
skins & stems) 2009: Med.dark color; light toasty/oak strong earthy/smokey rather plummy/blackcurranty rather
ripe/chocolatey quite lush/spicy slight herbal fairly intense nose; soft very rich/lush/ripe some earthy/plummy/
blackcurranty bit chocolaty/herbal light toasty/oak flavor w/ modest/smooth tannins; very long rich/ripe/lush
chocolatey/blackcurranty/herbal finish w/ some smooth tannins; a rather good Cab-like red but not as
exotic/distinctive as I'd expect from MattRorick; needs several yrs; very fairly priced at $30.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Makor: This is the wnry of JimAdelman, who runs the Qupe/AuBonClimat cellars. He doesn't spend a lot of
time marketing his wines, so you seldom seem them around. When I visited w/ Jim last month, he wasn't sure
if he was going to continue w/ this label or not.
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2. Aglianico: The people growing/making Aglianico in Calif seemed quite excited by its prospects in Calif.
I doubt it's going to be the next "big thing" though. However, in the right winemaker's hands, I think
it can probably make some very interesting wines. They don't seem to have the rough/coarse/rustic
character that many from Campania/Basillicato often show. But the tannins seem to be pretty fierce and
tannin management could be the game-changer. Perhaps it's a grape that would show well if MOx is used
on it??
This Ryme Aglianico is one of the best Aglianicos I can recall. I recall
liking their '08 version slightly better, but they're close. The '09 is still in barrel, I believe.
John & Jody Ahner (LunaMatta owners) are quite excited by the grape and believe it has a real future
in Paso. Certainly the Ryme version confirms that thought.
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3. Ryme: This is the wnry of Ryan & Megan Glaab. He's the asst winemaker at Pax's WindGap wnry. She probably
has a day job as well, but not sure what it is. They are making some of the most interesting wines in Calif
these days and certainly march to the beat of a different drummer. They make several wines in a "His" and
a "Hers" version. The "his" versions are a bit more out-there and the "hers" are a bit more conventional/
mainstream. To tell the truth, I like the "hers" versions better...but don't tell Ryan that!! The "Hers"
Vermentino is probably the best Vermentino/Pigato/Favorita that I've yet had. From FrankMahoney's LasBrisas
vnyd in Carneros and probably one of the World's coldest Vermentino vnyds. They are playing around w/
skin-contact whites and amphorae/qvervi ferments w/ some interesting results. A wnry to keep your eyes
on. Followed 'em from the very start, of course.
Tom