Tried these two whites at dinner last night:
1. OjaiVnyd Viognier RollRanchVnyd/VenturaCnty (13.5%; 225 cs) 2013: Light yellow color; light floral/peach blossom/pear/peach/Viog slight chalky delicate/elegant nose; quite tart/lean/stony/chalky delicate/high-toned pear/peach/floral/Viog/peach blossom slight tangy/metallic flavor; med.long tart/lean/metallic/tangy/citric delicate/floral/Viog finish; a lean/delicate/high-toned very atypical Calif Viog that badly needs some age; try again in 2 yrs. $23.00
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2. Voglar DOC: Sauvignon AltoAdige (13.5%; www.PeterDipoli.com) PeterDipoli/Egna/AltaAdige) Imprtd by KermitLynch 2011: Med.light yellow color; very strong herbal/SB slight aspargras/grapefruity rather earthy/stony/mineral/granatic slight smokey/pungent very classic SB very classic AA stony nose; quite tart/tangy/grapefruity quite stony/granatic/mineral rather herbal/SB/aspargras fairly rich/concentrated slight spicy/nutmeg/sandlewood very interesting flavor; very long/lingering fairly tart/rich/structured strong herbal/SB/smokey/grapefruity strong stony/mineral/metallic/tangy finish; almost like a PouillyFume on steroids; much like TonyAustin's SonomaCoastVnyds SauvBlanc w/o the oak; a beautiful/interesting rendition of SauvBlanc; reasonably priced for a KermitLynch wine at $28.80 (CB)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Ojai: This Viog is a pretty big departure from Adam's past RollRanch Viogniers. It's very much in line w/ Adam's new winemaking philosophy of picking earlier and aiming for lower alcohols and higher acidities. In fact, I would bet the alcohol is below 13.5% that's stated on the label. The wine became much more fragrant/perfumed as it warmed up in the glass. Even though the acidity was high, it did not seem at all underripe nor eviscerated. It seemed, in fact, almost like a trocken German Riesling on the palate. It also reminded me a bit of the early Qupe Viogniers. At any rate, if'n you're looking for a DollyParton Viognier, this ain't for you. It's savory character actually went pretty good w/ the food. I expect this will be much more interesting in 2 yrs or more. Sometimes you just gotta believe and trust Adam to know what he's doing.
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2. Voglar: This was a wine that DarrellCorti served at Easter dinner & I was rather impressed. So I bought another btl to try at home and was even more impressed this time around. It speaks strongly of both AltoAdige and of SauvBlanc. One of the best Italian SauvBlancs I can recall.
Tom