Tried this wine this afternoon w/ John:
1. VivacWnry Refosco NM (13.5%; 85% Refosco/10% Merlot/5% CabSauv; www.VivacWinery.com) Jesse & Chris Padberg/Dixon 2008: Med.dark color w/ slight bricking; very slight chamisa/sagebrush/Deming terroir light earthy/dusty some plummy/pomengranate/black cherry some herbal/rosemary interesting nose; soft bit tangy/metallic/earthy/loamy very slight chamisa/sagebrush somewhat rustic/plummy/pomengranate/boysenberry some herbal/rosemary/thyme/pungent flavor w/ light/bitey tannins; med.short tangy/metallic/loamy/earthy/rustic light pomengranate/plummy/licorice/black cherry some herbal/rosemary/thyme finish w/ light/angular tannins; an quite interesting rustic NM red that would go quite well w/ many NM dishes.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Refosco/Mondeuse: These grapes come from (I presume) Paolo d'Andrea's vnyd down in Deming. Wines from those grapes tend to show a sagebrush/chamisa character from the oils in the air these plants emit, like eucalyptus. That character was very faint in this wine. Perrhaps because of the age??
I've queried Paolo several times about the origins of his Refosco plant material, but he has never responded. Unless he suitcased in this Refosco, he undoubtedly got it from FPS in Calif. In which case, because of the well-known Refosco screwup, these grapes would most likely be Mondeuse. The herbal character in this wine suggests it is Mondeuse rather than Refosco dal PeduncolaRosso. The earthy/loamy character suggests Savoie Mondeuse. So I suspect this wine is probably Mondeuse.
OTOH, Ian d'Agata, in his new book on Native Wine Grapes of Italy, states: "In NM, I was thrilled to find RdPR vnyds in fine shape". As such an authority on Italian grapes as he is, I would think that he'd recognize RdPR grapes if he saw them. But maybe not, others have mistaken Mondeuse for RdPR in the past. Maybe he looked at the vnyds when they were dormant and couldn't really recognize the grape's variety. Who knows?? But, to my palate, it certainly reminds me of Mondeuse. Which, at the end of the day, is not such a bad thing afterall.
Will try the '09 soon & offer up another opinion.
Tom