Susan's son & family arrived on Mon & we tried:
1. Abrente Godello BirdlandVnyd/SonomaVlly (14.1%) Sonoma 2013: Light yellow/gold color; quite fragrant appley/spicy/apple pie light earthy very attractive nose; fairly tart appley/apple pie/earthy/spicy bright flavor; med.long appley/earthy/pear slight mineral/stony slight floral finish; quite an attractive white but not as perfumed/fragrant as the Albarino; more lean/austere/minerally than any Spanish Godellos I've tried. $22.00
__________________
2. Dom.GeorgesVernay Fleurs de Mai Syrah VdP: CollinesRhodaniennes (12.5%) Condrieu 2013: Med.dark color; strong blackberry/Syrah some roasted/NRhone/dusty/peppery bit earthy/graphite nose; quite tart/lean slight blackberry/Syrah strong roasted/NRhone/dusty/peppery flavor w/ modest hard/angular tannins; long tart/lean slight Syrah/blackberry/peppery rather NRhone/roasted/smokey/earthy/dusty finish w/ some hard tannins; speaks mostly of NRhone Syrah w/ whole cluster; a rather tight/lean/hard/austere Syrah that may develop into something interesting; a bit pricey for what it is but you gotta pay for the name Vernay on the label. $36.00 (AV)
_______________________________
A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Godello: This is a white grape variety of Galicia and, mostly, Valdeorras. The Spanish ones I've tried have seemed to be a bit on the clunky/coarse side and not particularly fragrant. This Abrente is a joint effort of MichaelHavens & MorganTwain-Peterson and their first Godello, maybe the first Calif Godello. It's better than any Spanish Godello that I can recall. Not as perfumed & aromatic as their Albarino, a seems more tart/lean. Still, quite a good expression of Godello.
Tom