SamBilbro & I were to get-together at BergamotAlley to taste his new releases and a few other
things. Joining us was RyanGlaab/RymeCllrs. Alas, Bergamot was closed that night for a VikingFeast,
so we adjourned nearby to Sam's home. He'd has his pickup day the day before at Idlewild, so just happened
to have some leftover salami/cheese to accompany the wines. Sam had been making his IdleWild wines at
Marietta, but has recently moved into an old mushroom-growing facility that he's outfitted as a wnry, there
in Geyserville. So we tried:
1. Idlewild Arneis FoxHillVnyd/MendoCnty (12.9%) 2014: Med.light gold color; very perfumey/aromatic/floral/
peach blossom/class Arneis slight stony/mineral nose; big/rich/lush fairly tart very perfumed/floral/
peach blossom flavor w/ a nice underlying stony/chalky minerality; very long/lingering tart/rich very
perfumed some stony/mineral finish; maybe even better than the wonderful '13; one of the World's best
Arneis. $28.00
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2. Idlewild The Flower Rose (Nebbiolo/Dolcetto/Barbera; no skin contact) 2014: Pale salmon/rose color; some
perfumed/fragrant/grapey rather stony/mineral/earthy nose; very tart/tangy/lean/bit austere stony/chalky/
earthy slight floral/grapey flavor w/ light/bitey tannins; a very dry/austere/savory rose and not your
usual tutti-fruity Calif rose; reminds me a lot of the old EdStJohn Nebiolo Rosado.
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3. Tinhof Neuberger (Sylvaner X RoterVeltliner; 13%) Burgenland 2013: Very light color; slightly perfumed/
apple blossom/floral bit metallic/earthy nose; slightly tart/metallic/tangy rather watery/dull slight
floral mostly stony/earthy flavor; med.short rather watery/light finish; a pretty enough nose but rather
vapid/washed out on the palate.
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4. Idlewild TheBee Flora&Fauna White NorthCoast WW (60% MuscatCanelli/30% Friulano/10% Cortese) 2014: Med.light
yellow color; lightly muscatty/floral some Friulano/spicy/peppery some floral/appley/mineral quite aromatic
nose; fairly tart/rich lightly muscatty bit Friulano/spicy/floral/appley balanced/bright flavor; very long/
gently muscatty peppery/Friulano/spicy bit floral/perfumed tart/bright finish; a lovely white blend. $22.00
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5. LeCirque GrenacheGris VdP Cotes Catalanes (13.5%) 2012: Pale yellow color; quite stony/mineral/earthy/dusty
nose w/ little fruit to speak of; tart/lean/austere quite stony/earthy bit metallic/tangy flavor w/ precious
little fruit; not a very thrill white unless you worship at the altar of terroir; doesn't hold a candle
to Sam's GibsonRanch GrenacheGris.
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6. Idlewild Cortese FoxHillVnyd/MendoCnty 2013: Med.light gold color; very strong/powerful honeyed/lush
rather Cortese/perfumed slight earthy/mineral very perfumed nose; slightly tart rich/honeyed/perfumed
some floral/perfumed flavor; a very good & very unusual rendition of Cortese in a Calif style.
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7. Angoris Schioppettino Friuli/ColliOrientali (www.Angoris.com) 2011: Very dark color; very strong plummy/
peppery/spicy/black cherry/licorice lovely nose; tart strong plummy/black cherry cola/spicy/peppery/cracked
black pepper bit earthy/dusty flavor w/ some hard/rough tannins; a quite good example of Friulian
Schioppettino at a very good price. $20.00
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8. IlPodere dell'Olivos Parabola Nebbiolo SBC ("Defying the Space/Time Continuum"; 12.5%) NV('86-'88-'89-'90):
Very dark color w/ little bricking; slight herbal/rosemary/earthy strong plummy/blackberry some funky bit
oxidized/oldRed/pencilly slight floral/grapey nose; rather tart herbal/rosemary plummy/blackberry/floral
fairly cedary/oldRed bit funky/earthy flavor w/ slight drying/astringent tannins; rather ripe & dark for
an old Nebb and speaks only quietly of Nebbiolo, but still holding in there.
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9. Idlewild Nebbiolo FoxHillVnyd/MendoCnty (14.1%) 2012: Med.light color; very perfumey/aromatic strong floral/
violets/lilacs slight toasty/oak somewhat earthy/loamy/licorice/pungent nose; rather tart/tangy licorice/ripe
boysenberry/floral/lilacs/pungent slight toasty/oak flavor w/ some hard tannins; an excellent first effort
at Nebbiolo w/ wonderful aromatics.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. SamBilbro is of the Bilbro family whose father, Chris, founded MariettaCllrs. His twoi bros, Jake &
Scot work at Marietta and LimerickLane. Sam struck out on his own to found Ildewild, focusing on
Italian varietals. I have followed Idlewild from the very start. I've been quite impressed w/ what
Sam is doing w/ his wines.
I'd never heard of the Neuberger variety before. Sam found this at Biondivino wine shop in
SanFrancisco (www.biondivino.com), a shop he highly recommends. The nose was pleasant enough, but it
was rather watery/vapid on the palate. Not a variety I'm likely to search out, based on this one data
point (LosAlamos guys can draw broad conclusions based on only one data point...or, sometimes, no
data points).
I was quite taken by TheBee, the logo Sam uses on the top of his capsules. At 60% MuscatBlanc, I was
expecting an pretty intense muscatty wine. It was not. The muscatty/floral character was somewhat subdued
and resembled a MalvasiaBianca w/o the bitterness those usually show. Or, more accurately, it reminded
me a lot of a Malvasia d'Istriana from Friuli/Slovenia. A really beautiful white blend.
I was also quite taken by the Cortese. I'd not tasted it in over a yr and was struck by how honeyed
and rich ot'd become. This was made w/ some limited skin-contact and had a bit of a phenolic bite. This
btl showed none of that character.
This was Sam's first attempt at Nebbiolo. Definitely not a Langhe Nebb (actually..better than most)
but speaks strong of Nebb aromatics. It was a big hit at the NEB#5 public tasting.
Tom
