We tasted last night (2/11/15) some New White Wines:
1. RoyalTokaji Furmint MezesMalyVnyd Dry Tokaji Wine (1592 btls; 13.5%; L0320) Mad/Tokaji/Hungary 2009: Med.
gold color; some floral/mango/pineapple/spicy/nutmeg/cardammon slight stony/mineral lovely very perfumed
nose; lightly tart quite perfumed/floral/peach blossom/mango/pineapple some stony/earthy quite floral
flavor w/ slight tannic bite; very long/lingering lovely floral/mango/pineapple some stony/earthy/chalky
finish w/ a slight tannic bite; lovely aromatics and maybe the best dry Furmint I've had; great price at
$30.00 (CB)
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2. RoyalTokaji Furmint Dulovalogatas/Uragya/Betsek Vnyds (14.0%; 2036 btls; L1100) 2009: Med.gold color; more
dominant stony/mineral/chalky light floral/mango/perfumed more classic Furmint nose; tarter much more stony/
mineral light floral/mango/spicy/pineapple bit tangy/metallic/steely flavor w/ very light tannic bite;
very long tart/tangy/metallic stony/chalky/mineral light floral/mango/spicy finish; more stony/mineral and
less floral/mango than #1 but quite a nice dry Furmint. $28.75 (CB)
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3. RoyalTokaji Furmint (14.0%; L2088) Mad/Tokaji 2011: Med.light yellow color; bit waxy/figgy/metallic/burning
metal/pungent/arc welder/ozone rather spicy/nutmeg bit nutty very unusual nose w/ little fruit; quite tart
bit off-dry Vicks Vapor Rub/waxy/metallic slight floral/mango/spicy/nutmeg tangy flavor w/ slight tannic bite;
med.long Vicks Vapor Rub/pungent/burning metal slight floral/mango off-dry finish w/ light tannic bite;
a rather weird/bizarre/unuusual wine not altogether unpleasant, just strange. $24.00 (KK)
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4. RoyalTokaji TheOddity Furmint Dry WW (13%; www.WilsonDaniels.com) Mad/Hungary 2013: Med.light yellow color;
quite light rather stony/mineral bit VicksVaporRub/mentholatum rather strange though not really bad nose
with a paucity of fruit; bit tart some stony/earthy some mentholatum/tangy/metallic/resiny strange flavor;
med.short tart/tangy/metallic bit waxy/mentholatum/piney/resiny light finish; rather light in flavor and
a strange piney/resiny character. $14.38 (PrimaIlC)
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5. Heidi Schrock furmint (13.5%; www.Heidi-Schroeck.com; TerryTheiseSlctn) Rust/Burgenland 2013: Med.gold color;
rather stony/mineral/earthy quite fragrant/floral/mango/pineapple almost GV-like/peppery quite lovely nose;
bit tart/metallic rather stony/mineral strong floral/mango/spicy/GV-like quite lovely/interesting dry flavor
w/ slight tannic bite; very long bit tart/metallic quite floral/perfumed/mango/carnations almost spicy/GV-like
dry balanced finish w/ slight tannic bite; quite a lovely expression of a dry Furmint. $29.00 (AV)
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6. Heidi Schrock gelber muskateller (12%) 2013: Med.gold color; very intense muscatty/cheap hair oil very
perfumed/fragrant slight mineral/stony quite nuanced/interesting nose; tart/metallic slightly bitter very
strong muscatty/cheap hair oil some stony/mineral/earthy deep flavor; med.long very strong muscatty/floral/
cheap perfume some stony/mineral slightly bitter totally dry finish; not just slap-you-in-the-face muscat
fruit but more nuanced & interesting than you usually get in Muscat. $24.00 (AV)
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7. Malvira Arneis DOCG: Roero (13%) 2012: Med.light gold color; quite fragrant/perfumed/floral/R-like/carnations/
peach blossom slight stony quite lovely nose;light fairly tart very spicy/almost muscatty/floral/R-like
light bodied very bright/lively Arneis flavor; very long light/lively quite floral/R-like/almost muscatty
light stony finish; a lively/bright/zippy expression of Arneis w/ nice stony undertones; not as good as the
Idlewild but a very pretty/good-drinking white at a good price. $21.00 (SFW&S)
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8. Malvira Favorita DOC: Langhe (12%; Indigenous; www.Malvira.com; www.IndigenousSelection.com) Canale 2013:
Med.light gold color; bit pungent/cat-pee/kitty litter box/SB-like/earthy somewhat coarse nose; soft/fat strong
pungent/kitty litter box/pungent/SB-like somewhat sour/earthy/coarse flavor; med.long pungent/SB-like/kitty litter
box/cat pee earthy/coarse finish; a rather pungent/unpleasant almost Corsican-like expression of Vermentino.
$18.50 (SFW&S)
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9. Ca'De'Santi Albaluce DOC: CollineNovaresi Bianco (100% Erbaluce; EB; 13%) Ghemme 2011: Light gold color; rather
stony/mineral/earthy bit waxy/parrafin slight pencilly very lightly floral somewhat neutral nose; rather tart/
tangy stony/earthy/mineral bit waxy/parrafin slight pencilly lightweight flavor; med. some spicy/waxy/parrafin
slight stony/mineral bit pencilly/floral finish; a rather pleasant if lightweight expression of Erbaluce,
but just that. $25.00 (WE)
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10. Domaine Zafeirakis Malagousia Tyrnavos Bianco (12.0%; www.ZafeirakisWines.Gr) Greece 2011: Med.gold color;
lovely/exotic intense mango/mango sorbet/pineapply syrup/very ripe slight resiny/piney nose; soft/fat very
exotic mango/pineapply/canned pineapples/overripe bit resiny/piney/earthy/coarse flavor; long overripe/exotic/
mango/pineapple syrup slight resiny/earthy/coarse finish; quite an exotic/overwhelming nose but rather soft/
fat/porky/overripe on the palate. $16.00 (WEx)
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11. Recas Feteasca Regala (DemiSec; 12.5%; www.RecasWine.com; Lot: 12233-6:23) CrameleRecas/Jud.Timis/Romania
2011: Med.gold color; very fragant/perfumed/exotic quite spicy almost R/floral lovely nose; near dry (<0.5%?)
quite perfumed/floral/pineapple some floral/R-like fairly tart quite attractive aromatic flavor; very long/
lingering slight off-dry fairly tart perfumey/floral/pineapple finish; not a profound white but quite
lovely and easy-drinking at a stupid/silly price. $10.80 (UdWCo/KC)
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12. EKAM Castell d'ENCUS Costers del Segre (100% Riesling; 6,000btls/600 to US; www.VinoVico.com; Pallars Jussa
Pyrennes) Raul Bobet/CatalanPyrenees/Spain 2010: Med.gold color; beautiful R/floral/pineapple strong Mosel
valve oil/gout de petrol bit metallic/stony/mineral beautiful nose; very tart/lean/acid/hurtey classic R/stony/
slatey/pineapple/floral gout de petrol flavor; very long very tart/acidic/hurtey/screechy/metallic beautiful
gout de petrol/Mosel valve oil bit stony/mineral finish; a beautiful expression of R from an uncommon area;
much like a great Oz Riesling; should easily go out 10 yrs; stupid/silly price. $10.80 (UdWCo/KC)
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More nonsense from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. The two last wines were recently purchased from UnderDogWineCo in KC, at the recommendation of RyanSciara.
They were absolutely mind-blowing for the quality they delivered for the $'s. I had never seen Riesling
from Catalonia before. It reminded me of the Ojai KickOnRanch Riesling, which was brutally acidic at
release and is developing into a lovely example of old Riesling. Some like Oz ClareVlly or MargaretRiver
Riesling. I have little doubt it won't develop over 10 yrs or so. For $10.60??? Absolutely insane.
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2. Feteasca Regala: A cross developed in Romania of Feteasca Alba X Grasa in the '30's. Name means "Royal young
girl". It was quite an impressive wine. They oughta be planting this all up&down the Coast of Calif.
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3. Gelber Muskateller: None other than the French Muscat Blanc a Petit Grains, the MuscatCanelli, and Muscat
d'Alsace. Origins probably in Greece but widely found throughout the Meditterean areas.
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4. HeidiSchrock: I had the privledge of meeting Heidi at ArroyoVino in SantaFe when she was pouring a few
weeks ago. A very interesting person to visit. I was struck by the passion for what she does. I have,
across the board, liked her wines a lot. Because it was once part of the Hungarian Empire, she was one
of the first to return Furmint to the Burgenland. Her Wings of the Dawn Ausbruch is also outstanding.
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5. Abaluce: The alternate name for Erbaluce in the CollineNovarese.
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6. Malagousia: This was a variety, indigeneous to Greece apparently, that was rescused from extinction by
Gerovassiliou of Domaine Carras in the '80's. It has a very exotic perfume to it but tends to make
somewhat soft/fat wines. Probably should work well in some blends. I would like to try others.
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7. Furmint: The well-known grape that makes the late-harvest/botrytis-infected Tokaji wines of Hungary.
Because those are regarded as one of the great dessert wines of the World, it used to be rare to see
a dry Furmint. With the fall of the IronCurtain (kerthunk!!) and the flow of outside $$$'s into Hungary,
you now see many more dry Furmints than before. These two single-vnyd Furmints were two of the best dry
ones I've tried, as was the Schrock.
Furmint apparently originated in the Tokaji region with GouaisBlanc a parent. Thiis makes it a half-
sibling to Chard and some 80 other varieties. That GouaisBlanc lady really got around.
Furmint strikes me as a rather interesting white when made as a dry wine. It almost always has a stony/
mineral character, sometimes to the exclusion of any fruit. The first two Furmints & the Schrock had a
very strong floral/perfumey character that is unusual for Furmint. Furmint is (according to DarrellCorti)
the white grape that has the most tannic content. It would be kinda fearsome to try a dry Furmint made
with extended skin contact during fermentation.
The Bilbros (Scot & Jake) have a small block of Furmint (planted by MikeCollins) there at LimerickLane.
There have been a number of LateHarvest versions made from those grapes by RodBergland for MikeCollins.
Alas, in that region of the RRV, botrytis (I undestand) is not all that common. If they can make dry
Furmints of these quality, they should be mighty proud.
Tom