We tried tonight (1/8/14) Some New Friulian Whites:
1. Domaine Ciringa FosiliniBreg SauvBlanc VrhunskoVino ZGP/Slovenia (13.0%) Stajerska/Slovenija Wingut Tement
2011: Pale yellow/near colorless; quite grassy/new mown grass/cat pee herbal/grapefruity/metallic rather
saline/NC-like clean unusual nose; fairly tart/citric/grapefruity/grassy bit tinny/metallic/saline rather
NZ-like/mineral flavor; long tangy/citric/grapefruity/grassy/herbal bit tinny/metallic lean/mineral finish;
quite an interesting SB much like a NZ-SB but more structure and greater minerality. $23.00 (BWM)
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2. Forlorn-Hope Morrow SauvBlanc AllaisVnyd/Rutherford (14.51%; 17 cs; skin-fermented; 3 yrs in barrel) 2010:
Deep gold/burnished bronze color; rather phenolic/cidery/saline/resiny some smokey/woody/tobaccoy bit
cinammon/nutmeg slight appley/herbal very unusual/exotic/complex nose; soft/lush/glycerined/textured bit
tangy/appley/herbal rather resiny/phenolic/saline exotic flavor w/ light/tangy tannins; very long/lingering
saline/resiny/phenolic/cidery soft/lush bit herbal/appley slight oxidized rather smokey/tobaccoy very exotic
finish w/ slight tangy tannins; unusual in that it has little flavor/impact when it first hits the palate
and then this very long/lingering finish wells up in your mouth; not much recognizable as SauvBlanc but
very unusual/bizarre/exotic stuff; not for the faint of heart. $40.00
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3. Feliciana DOC/DOP: Felugan Lugana (13%; www.MatinicusWines.com; www.Feliciani.It; 100% Trebbiano)
Pozzolengo/Brescia 2010: Light gold color; rather simple/fruity bit herbal/earthy rather neutral/grapey nose;
soft light appley/stony slight earthy/herbal/tangy rather dull/simple/lightly fruity flavor; short soft light
appley/stony tangy simple/innocuous finish; not much here and dull as dishwater; can't make a silk purse
out of a sow's ear. $15.00 (BWM)
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4. Feliciana DOC/DOP: Torfel S.Martino della Batlaglia Friulano (100% Friulano; 13%) 2012: Light gold color;
much stronger tangy/grapefruity/floral/Tocai rather spicy quite attractive nose; soft tangy/grapefruity/appley/
Tocai light spicy/stony pleasant enough flavor; short soft tangy/grapefruity/Tocai finish; speaks of Tocai and
pleasant enough but a bit on the uninteresting side. $16.00 (BWM)
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5. Tercic RibollaGialla DOC: Collio (13%; www.GrandFondoWine.com; JeffMorgenthal) Az.Agr. Tercic Matijaz/
SanFloriano 2011: Light gold color; some pungent/peppery/RG/spicy light earthy/chalky interesting/pleasant nose;
soft/lush bit tangy/peppery/RG/spicy light earthy flavor; rather short/soft light tangy/peppery/RG slight stony/
earthy finish; quite attractive RG nose but rather washed-out/soft/dull on the palate; very overpriced at
$40.00 (BWM)
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6. PierpaoloPecorari RibollaGialla IGP: VeneziaGiulia (12.5%) SanLorenzo Isontino 2012: Light yellow color; quite
pungent/peppery/RG slight reductive/sewer gas/diaper pail bit floral/gardena earthy/chalky/spicy fairly intense
nose; fairly tart/tangy rather pungent/peppery/RG slight diaper pail/reduced bit grapefruity/SB-like flavor;
med. tart/tangy some peppery/pungent/RG/grapefruity finish; a rather strong/assertive pungent/RG/stinky/toe jam
RG; some good RG character buried underneath the other stuff. $20.00 (BWM)
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7. Scubla LoSpezialeBianco DOC: ColliOrientali del Friuli (13%; Ribolla & Malvasia; L11/E; www.Scubla.com)
RobertaScubla/Ipplis 2010: Light gold color; some pungent/peppery/RG light floral/malvasia/carnations/spicy
rather gentle/low-key nose; rather soft/lush light peppery/pungent/RG light floral/carnations/malvasia slight
bitter flavor; long/lingering/elegant peppery/pungent/RG light floral/malvasia some bitter finish; a pleasant/
gentle white w/ the malvasia giving it a bit of a lift; bit pricey at $32.00 (BWM)
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8. Roncus Bianco VecchieVigne DOC: Collio (70% Malvasia/20% Friulano/10% Ribolla; 13.5%) Caprivi del Friuli 2008:
Med.light gold color; some TCA/corked bit pungent/floral rather low-key/compromised nose; tart lush off-dry
slight floral/Malvasia rather gutted flavor; med.short light malvasia off-dry bit bitter finish; some nice
things therein but pretty gutted by the TCA. $47.00 (BWM)
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9. Raccaro Malvasia DOC: Collio (14%; www.JanDAmoreWines.com) DarioRaccaro/Cormons 2012: Light gold color; light
floral/Malvasia/muscatty/spicy some stony/mineral quite attractive nose; soft/lush/ripe floral/Malvasia bit
off-dry fairly smooth attractive flavor w/ no bitterness; med.long soft/lush/ripe low-key muscatty/Malvasia/
hair-oil slight stony/mineral finish; a quite attractive Malvasia, but just that; pricey at $42.00 (BWM)
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10. Caduceus DosLadrones GrahamCnty/AZ TW (50% MalvasiaBianca/Chard; www.Caduceus.Org) Jerome/AZ 2012: Light yellow
color; ratherr strong perfumed/Malvasia/muscatty some melony/Chard bit perfumed talc fragrant nose; soft/lush/
fat/mushy light floral/Malvasia some clunky/cloying light earthy flavor; med.short soft/fat/porky bit cloying
light floral/Malvasia finish; clean but soft & cloying & lacking structure & dull and way overpriced at $48.00 (BWM)
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11. MerkinVnyds ChupacabraBlanca NM WTW (26% Sauvignon Blanc/26% Gewurztraminer/20% Riesling/14% Chardonnay/
11% Chenin Blanc/3% Malvasia Bianca from Luna Rossa Vineyard; HandPicked/ColdSoaked; WholeClusterPressed;
BrlFrmtd@52F; Aged in SS; J.Bechard/M.J.Keenan) MerkinVnyds/CampeVerde/AZ 2012: Light yellw color; some earthy/
sagebrush/pungent slight floral/aromatic pleasant nose; soft/fat/mushy/porky slight earthy/sagebrush vaguely
fruity flavor; short light earthy/sagebrush/pungent soft/fat vaguely fruity finish; quite dull and way
overpriced at $28.00 (BWM)
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12. Radikon Slatnik IGT: VeneziaGiulia (13%; LSL10; Louis/DressnerSlctns; 80% Cahrd/20% Tocai; 3 wks of skin
maceration, 1 yr in barrel) Oslavia 2010: Deep orange/burnished bronze slight redish/brown color; strong phenolic/
cidery/resiny/saline biit smokey/pungent slight oxidative rather complex/exotic nose; soft rather phenolic/
cidery/resiny/savory some tannic/bitey somewhat apple cidery complex flavor; very long/lingering rather tannic/
sharp/bitey/astringent quite phenolic/cidery/resiny/saline slight tobaccoy/pungent finish; a very exotic nose
but a bit soft/mushy on the palate & a bit of oxidation in the backtaste; a very savory loaded w/ umami;
cheap for a Radikon. $48.00 (LM)
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13. Kante Vitovska IGT: VeneziaGiulia (13.0%) Trieste 2008: Med.gold color; quite perfumed/spicy/aromatic/floral/
white rose some stony/mineral slight phenolic complex/lovely nose; soft/rich/lush rather floral/rose petals/
carnations light mineral/stony slight tannic/phenolic; very long fragrant/floral/rose petal/carnations/gardenias
light mineral/stony/chalky bit phenolic/savory finish w/ slight tannic bite; a rather interesting/complex
white. $70.00/litre
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And the usual profound musings from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Caduceus/Merkin: I'd had two of the whites at ArroyoVino that I thought were pleasant enough. I had their
Nebbiolo at NEB4 and thought it rather good. I saw these two rather pricey whites up in Boulder and thought
I'd give them a shot. They were pretty disappointing. The NM wine probably came from Paolo d'Andrea's vnyd
in Deming. There's a lot of sagebrush/chamisa in the area that emits oils like eucalyptus and often taints
the wines from those grapes. Part of Paolo's terroir, I guess.
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2. Malvasia: Malvasia is a grape that can make some quite attractive wines; with a strong floral scent not quite
as intense as Muscat. The wines tend to a bit of bitterness, so are often finished slightly off-dry. The most
common one is Malvasia Bianco. Origins are thought to be Greece. The Malvasia grown in Friuli/Croatia is known
as Malvasia Istrianna or Malvasia d'Istria. It seems a bit milder/gentler less muscatty than the Malvasia
Biancos. One of the best Malvasias I've had is from ArbeGarbe ("wild weed") made from SaraLee's grapes, in
RRV/Calif.
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3. Kante: This would be EdiKante. Vitovska is a Prosecco Tondo X Malvasia Bianca Lunga found only in Friuli/Slovenia.
Came in a very unusual litre btl w/ a very thin neck and a rather tiny cork.
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4. Forlorn-Hope Morrow: This is a new rendition of SauvBlanc from MattRorick. It's a rather bizarre/exotic white
that resembles no SauvBlanc I can recall. Most people were kind of puzzled by this wine. As we've been scolded
by Monktown attourneys, you gotta "think outside the box" on this one.
Tom