We tried tonight (5/4/15) w/ my SantaFe group Some Nebbiolos:
1. SantaBarbaraWnry Nebbiolo StolpmanVnyd/SYV (14.9%; 225 cs) PierreLaFond/SantaBarbara 2007: Med.dark color;
strong toasty/smokey/charred/oak rather pungent/tarry/smokey slight floral/lilacs/perfumed nose; rather tart
strong smokey/charred/oak/licorice very light floral flavor w/ light hard/bitey tannins; long fairly tart
charred/toasty/smokey/pungent/oak slight floral/lilacs bit alcoholic finish w/ modest hard tannins; speaks
rather quietly of Nebb and pretty heavy on the charred oak. $28.00
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2. Ca'del Solo Nebbiolo MontereyCnty EstateVnyd (13.7%; www.BonnyDoonVineyard.com) 2007: Med.color w/ some bricking;
quite fragrant/perfumed floral/lilacs/strawberry light rose petal slight smokey/tarry/pungent nose; slightly tart
rather floral/perfumed/lilacs/strawberry slight pungent/tarry flavor w/ light/gentle tannins; med.long perfumed/
floral/lilacs/strawberry light pungent finish w/ light/gentle tannins; some of the floral character of Freisa
and Grenache but w/ a bit of Nebb tannic bite. $30.00 (CB)
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3. Castelli Nebbiolo 'Fosco' SBC (14.2%; 75% SisquocVnyd/25% newer GreenVlly planting; U/U; 150 cs; Hrvstd: 11/2 &
11/8; SaH: 25 Brix, pH: 3.2) 2009: Med.color w/ slight bricking; very perfumed/aromatic strong floral/violets/
lilacs/rose petal very light tarry/pungent/RCCola quite spicy lovely nose; slightly tart very floral/violets/
rose petal light pungent/RCCola flavor w/ light/smooth tannins; very long floral/violets/lilacs/Nebb slight
pungent/tarry/RCCola finish w/ light/bitey tannins; wonderful Nebb aromatics; great Nebb for the price. $22.00
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4. Castelli Nebbiolo SisquocVnyd/SBC (Michet Clone; 14.5%; U/U; 150 cs; Hrvstd: 11/2; SaH: 25 Brix, pH: 3.18)
2009: Med.light color w/ slight bricking; less perfumed/aromatic some floral/lilacs/rose petal/cherry/Pinotish
attractive nose w/ a bit of EA that gives it an aromatic lift; somewhat bigger/richer some pungent/tarry light
floral/lilacs/Nebb slight fumey/EA flavor w/ some hard tannins; long light floral/lilacs some tarry/pungent
slight fumey/hot finish w/ some hard/bitey tannins; shows a bit of heat & volatility and more of the pungent/
tarry side of Nebb. $26.00
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5. Castelli Nebbiolo Estate/GreenVlly/RRV/SonomaCnty (DryFarmed; 13.5%; U/U; 80 cs; Hrvstd: 11/5; SaH: 23.5 Brix,
pH: 3.15) 2009: Med.color w/ slight bricking; beautiful/aromatic/perfumed very floral/lilacs/rose petal/violets/
spicy slight earthy/herbal light pungent/tarry/licorice/smokey complex lovely Nebb nose; bit tart fairly rich
strongly floral/lilacs/violets/rose petal light pungent/tarry/smokey/herbal/earthy flavor w/ some smooth tannins;
very long/lingering strong Nebb/floral/violets/rose petal light tarry/herbal/earthy/mineral complex finish
w/ modest hard/firm tannins; a nice balance between the floral & tarry components of Nebb; very good structure
and should go out 10 yrs or more; one of the best examples of Calif Nebb. $34.00
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6. Clerico Massimo DOC: Lessona (13.5%; L010701) Lessona 2007: Med.dark color; lovely floral/violets/lilacs/Nebb very
perfumed/fragrant soaring aromatics spicy nose; quite tart rather lean/austere quite floral/lilacs/violets/Nebb
slight earthy flavor w/ some hard/bitey tannins; very long floral/violets/lilacs/rose petal/spicy bit earthy/dusty
finish w/ some hard/rough/bitey tannins; needs 3-8 yrs of age; has the beautiful soaring aromatics of Nebb but
a mean little rascal on the palate. $49.00 (Gom/MT)
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7. Giribaldi "Accerto" DOC: Nebbiolo d'Alba (14%; L4212) Rodello 2011: Med.dark color; Med.dark color; some earthy/
herbal bit pungent/licorice slight tarry/RCCola/DrPepper/spicy somewhat alcoholic bit clunky nose lacking in
aromatics; bit soft earthy/herbal licorice/pungent/RCCola/DrPepper rather rough/clunky bit alcoholic flavor w/
light hard/rough tannins; med.long earthy/herbal/licorice/RCCola coarse finish w/ some rough/hard tannins; lacks
aromatics and not much Nebb character; more like a coarse Paso Mourvedre than anything; not a bad wine but not
much Nebb. $17.00 (LM)
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8. G.D.Vajra Albe DOCG: Barolo (14.5%; www.RinascimentoWineCo.com) 2010: Med.dark color; quite fragrant/perfumed
some floral/violets/Nebb bit alcoholic slight pungent/toad tar quite perfumed nose; some tart bit hot/fumey/
cherry cough syrup somewhat floral/violets/lilacs/Nebb slight tarry/licorice/pungent/black cherry cola flavor
w/ some modest/hard tannins; very long floral/lilacs/violets/perfumed Nebb light tarry/licorice/pungent finish
w/ light/hard/bitey tannins; a good 4-square solid/blocky Barolo but not the soaring aromatics I'd like in a
Barolo; needs some age but reasonably balanced and not for tannin-pigs. $40.00 (CB)
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9. NinoNegri DOCG: Inferno ValtellinaSuperiore (100% Nebbiolo/Chiavennasca; 25% large Slovenian oak/
75% large Fr.oak barrels; 13%) Chiuro 2009: Med.color w/ slight bricking; some earthy/mineral/stony/root beer/
DrPepper smokey/pungent/tarry slight Nebb/floral/lilacs somewhat coarse nose; tart quite earthy/mineral/granitic
licorice/pungent/root beer/mushroomy slight floral/lilacs/Nebb flavor w/ some rough/hard tannins; med.long
rather earthy/mineral/mushroomy bit pungent/tarry very light floral/lilacs/Nebb finish w/ some hard/coarse
tannins; speaks of Valtelline terroir or ElDoradoCnty; would like more aromatics & perfume; a solid/blocky
Valtelline Nebb but not particularly distinguished. $27.00 (Gm/MT)
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10. Barolo Chinato Fratelli Serio & Battiste Bongogno Vino Aromatizzato (17.5%; Barolo
Cannubi; Zucchero: 18%) NV: Quite brown/murkey color; very earthy/herbal some cough syrup/fragrant quite strange
nose; rather sweet very herbal/medicinal quite earthy bit oxidized flavor w/ little tannins; totally devoid
of any fruit; one of the worst Chinatos I've had. $45.00 (WE/SM)
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A more blatherings from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Ca'DelSolo: This was a Nebb that really grabbed DarrellCorti's attention because of its aromatics. Though I
didn't find it strongly Nebb in character, I liked it quite a lot because of its perfume. It reminded me
more of Grenache than anything. And at least the tannins didn't take your head off. It came from Randall's
Soledad vnyd that he sold in 2009 (don't know what the vnyd's name is now), so '09 is his last Nebb. He plans
to plant Nebb in his new vnyd in SanJuanBatista eventually.
The front label of this wine displays a "sensitive crystallization" petri-dish shot of this wine. It
supposedly shows the balance & harmony of this Nebb. To me, it's a dead ringer of one of the pics from my
latest colonoscopy. We've not heard much of late from Randall on his sensitive crystalliaztion exploits.
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2. Weird Lighting: As I tasted thru the first few wines, I was getting a distinct bricking/brownish color to them
that suggested them old before their time. When I retasted them at home, the color seemed fine. It clearly
was the type of light bulbs they used at the original venue that was producing this aged color.
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3. Vajra: The Albe is plural for "albe" or sunrise. This wine comes from three different vnyds that receive three
different sunrises over about a 20 min span.
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4. Castelli: This is one EmilioCastelli, whom I've known in CyberSpace for some 12-14 yrs when I found out he was
growing Nebb up in the GreenVlly area just East of Occidental. Not an obvious place to grow Nebb I thought at
the time. He farms by Fukuoka and has one of the ugliest vnyds in SonomaCnty that brings to mind a teen-age
daughter's bedroom when you look at it. Looks to be on its last legs. OTOH, Emilio cites the Korbel Pinot vnyd
down the road as one of the ugliest he's ever seen. It is pristine, fully cultivated, not a weed in sight,
well-manicured. Soil is probably sterile & dead as well. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess.
These Nebbs were a Fall release and the Estate sold out in a few days. The other two are available
(www.castellivineyards.com) and the Fosco is a great price to see what Calif can do w/ Nebbiolo. And it is
worth mentioning that his Pinots are quite good in their own right and reasonably priced..made from purchased
grapes.
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5. Nebbiolo: At our recent NEB#5 get-together (www.facebook.com/NebNebbioloEnthusiastsBelievers), I was impressed
by the progress made in the USofA. Use of new oak is way down and the aromatics of Nebb are being shown
better. The soaring aromatics are what most attracts me to this variety. When I drive home or are out on my
bicycle for a ride and look up into the sky and see a hawk or an eagle soaring in the up-drafts, I immediately
think "That's Nebbiolo". I love the lilacs in the Nebb aromatics as it brings back fond memories of my
childhood (which was not all that long ago) and playing hide & seek w/ the neighborhood kids nightly in the
Summer. We had this huge/overgrown lilac bush in front & my favorite place to hide was to crawl into the
middle of that bush. I'd stay hidden until the "it" person would holler out "Oley Oley Austin..all in free".
Remember that smell so well.
Tom
