We tried last night (6/3/15) some More New Wines:
1. Forlorn-Hope Saturn NapaVlly WW (33.3% LarkmeadVnyd SauvVert/33.3% Peripolli SauvBlanc/33.3% YountMillVnyd
Semillon; 13.30%; 77 cs) 2013: Med.gold color; strong quite fragrant spicy/mango/carnations/floral light
stony/chalky/metallic lovely nose; quite tart/lean rather floral/carnations/mango/appley/spicy bit stony/chalky/
metallic/tangy fairly rich/aromatic flavor; very long floral/carnations/mango light chalky/mineral/metallic/tangy
finish; quite an attractive white that reminds a lot of a Friuli Tocai or PinotGrigio but w/ more perfume.
$30.00
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2. Forlorn-Hope Nacre Semillon YountMillVnyd/NapaVlly (11.6%; 157 cs; 177 cs) 2011: Med.light gold color; strong
underripe Semillon/green olive/roasted green chile/green apple slight dusty/mineral very interesting nose;
very tart/acidic/green/screechy rather green olive/roasted green chile quite stony/dusty/mineral flavor;
med.long strong green olive/roasted green chile/green apple very acidic finish; much like an underripe
HunterVlly Semillon w/o the oak; lacks the figgy/FigNewton character of ripe Semillon; a bit hurtey on the
palate because of the acidity but I suspect this will age into something great in 10 yrs or more. $28.00
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3. No.11 Minimus WW RogueVlly/WhitOakVnyd (Albarino; CarbonicMaceration; 12.8%; TA:0.61, pH: 3.58; VA: .019;
RS: 0.13%Bttld: 7.11.2014; www.minimuswines.com) Chad & Jessica Stock/Rickreall/OR 2013: Deep golden/Sauternes
color; quite grapey/orangey/lemony/floral/mango some earthy/herbal/rosemary w/ almost none of the usual Albarino
perfume; bit soft some tangy/metallic rather grapey/orangey/herbal/earthy very exotic/interesting flavor w/
a very slight phenolic bite; very long orangey/lemony/mango/floral/carnations slight tangy/metallic finish w/
very slight skin-contact/phenolic bite; a very exotic white that I liked quite a lot. $26.00 (WoP)
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4. drew Albarino AndersonVlly (12.8%; www.DrewWines.com) Elk 2012: Very light yellow color; very perfumed/aromatic
quite floral/gardenias/Albarino rather stony/chalky/steely very perfumed nose; bit CO2/spritz very fresh apple/
floral/gardenias/quince bit stony/metallic/chalky/tangy rather tart/lean/crisp flavor; very long floral/
gardenias/apple/quince some stony/chalky quite tart/tangy bit CO2 finish; not as rich/lush as previous
Albarinos but a delicious wine at a very good price. $21.25
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4a. Forlorn-Hope Ukiyo DeWittVnyd/AmadorCnty/SierraFoothills Rose Wine (11.31%; 50% Touriga Nacional/30% TintaRoriz/
15% Tinto Cão/5% Trincadeira; SaH: 19 Brix; Whole cluster pressed, SS Fermentation) 2013: Med. rather
orangey/salmon color; strong cranberry/smokey/tobaccoy herbal/earthy rather saline/savory exotic bit coarse
nose; very tart/dry/austere/lean quite savory/saline earthy/herbal/smokey/tobaccoy slight cranberry flavor w/
light/bitey tannins; very long quite savory/saline earthy/herbal/thyme/pungent/smokey/tobaccoy finish w/ light/
bitey tannins; not your usual tutti-fruity rose; quite saline & savory & austere and a bit on the coarse side
but quite an interesting rose that needs spicy food. $24.00
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5. Forlorn-Hope SanHercurmer delle Frecce Barbera ShakeRidgeVnyd/AmadorCnty (13.93%; 97 cs; 100% stem inclusion)
2013: Med.dark color; strong very spicy/Barbera/Italian sausage/fennel bit earthy/peppery classic Italian Barbera
nose; quite tart/acidic classic Barbera/spicy/Italian sausage bit earthy/dusty flavor w/ some bitey tannins; very
long quite tart/bracing acidity classic Barbera/spicy/Italian sausage/fennel light earthy/dusty; on the lean/hard
side and very much like a Piemonte Barbera. $30.00
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6. Forlorn-Hope l'Asino Santo Barbera ShakeRidgeVnyd/SierraFoothills/AmadorCnty (14.30%; 23 cs; 21 cs;
no added SO2) 2013: Very dark color; deeper/richer/lusher ledd bright more grapey/blackberry some spicy almost
Amador Zin-like slight wet dog fur/funky very slight volatile/EA/fragrant very interesting nose; softer/richer/
lusher grapey/blackberry/spicy some earthy/dusty flavor w/ softer/rounder tannins; very long richer/lusher strong
blackberry/Amador Zin-like/spicy bit earthy/dusty finish w/ some soft/round tannins; much less Barbera in
character and almost like a spicy Amador Zin; not as lean & tight as the other Barbera. $30.00
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7. Pisano DOC: Rossese di Dolceacqua (12%; L 1 14) Pisano Danila Soldano 2013: Light color; beautiful cherry/
Pinotish/peppery/very spicy/bright slightly savory/saline very perfumed/aromatic nose; rather tart bright/
peppery/cherry/Pinotish/spicy bir earthy/savory/saline quite interesting flavor w/ light/brisj tannins; long
lightweight bright/cherry/peppery/floral/Pinotish slight savory/saline finish w/ light/bright tannins; almost
like a Beaujo in style but less earthy and more bright/vibrant fruit; quite a pretty/easy-drinking red.
$26.00 (Cured)
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8. Foradori Teroldego IGT: Vigneti delle Dolomiti (13%; www.ElisabettaForadori.com) Mezzolombardo 2011: Very dark
color; deep blackberry/licorice/boysenberry/spicy very perfumed/aromatic classic Teroldego light graphite/mineral/
earthy beautiful nose; somewhat tart very strong licorice/blackberry/boysenberry/black cherry cola/spicy some
earthy/dusty/graphite/mineral flavor w/ some ripe/soft tannins; very long/lingering strong black cherry cola/
blackberry/licorice some dusty/graphite/mineral rich/structured finish w/ some soft/round tannins; this is as
good as Teroldego gets; almost Calif in style; amazingly good wine at a very good price. $18.50/hlf (Cured)
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9. LimerickLane PetiteSirah EG/RRV/SonomaCnty (13.7%; 76 cs; 100% whole-cluster; Drink: now) 2013: Black color;
very strong grapey/blackberry/boysenberry/blueberry/PS bit peppery/RCCola/root beer some earthy/dusty bit
smokey/licorice very interesting bit atypical PS nose; some soft mineral/earthy/dusty some grapey/blackberry/
blueberry/PS slight peppery flavor w/ some soft tannins; very long blackberry/blueberry/PS/peppery/licorice/
grapey slight earthy/dusty/graphite finishn w/ modest/soft tannins; not the structure of most conventional PS's
but plenty of grapey/blackberry character; pretty exotic red. $42.00
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10. PolymathWine PetiteSirah Calistoga (13.4%) SavannaWright/Failla 2013: Black color; strong licorice/earthy/
herbal bit PS/peppery some blackberry/PS/spicy quite a lovely nose; bit tart strong licorice/blackberry/PS light
peppery/earthy/dusty flavor w/ modest/bright tannins; very long/lingering strong licorice/blackberry/very spicy
slight dusty/earthy finish w/ some bright/zippy tannins; should go out some 4-8 yrs; quite an interest atypical
expression of PS. $19.00
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11. No.14 Minimus RW RogueVlly/CraterViewVnyd (Mourvedre; CarbonicMaceration; 15.4%; TA: 0.53, pH: 3.98; VA: 0.077;
RS: <.02; Bttld: 9.01.2014) 2013: Med.dark color; strong plummy/Mourv/juicy/grapey light earthy/loamy slight
tutti-fruity/candied/CM/Beaujo very interesting nose; slight candied/CM/tutti-fruity quite plummy/Mourv/grapey/
earthy slight Beaujo-flavor w/ light/soft/gentle tannins; long strong plummy/earthy/Mourv light candied/CM finish
w/ light/gentle tannins; speaks loudly of Mourv and quietly of CM; very interesting wine. $38.00 (WoP)
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12. LimerickLane HailMary EG/RRV/SonomaCnty (94% Syrah/6% Grenache; 14.6%; 140 cs) 2012: Dark color; very strong
boysenberry/Syrah/blackberry/plummy/very spicy light toasty/oak slight earthy/dusty quite fragrant rather
unusual Syrah nose; bit soft very lush/ripe strong boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah/jucy/jammy slight dusty light
toasty/oak flavor w/ modest/soft tannins; very long bit soft very strong lush/ripe/boysenberry/Syrah/plummy/
juicy/jammy slight toasty/oak finish w/ modest/soft/ripe tannins; this is how PhillipeCambie would make RRV
Syrah if he could; loads of lush/juicy Syrah fruit but a certain softness on the palate that suggests early
drinking; quite an interesting rendition of RRV Syrah. $48.00
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13. Ridge Alicante PaganiVnyd/SonomaVlly/Calif (75% Alicante/25% Zin; 14.6%; 29 brls; Bttld: April 95;
100 yr old vines; Drk: 2/95-2/00: PD) 1993: Very dark/black color w/ no bricking; very strong licorice/
boysenberry/blackberry very floral/lilacs quite dusty/OV/Pagani somewhat earthy/loamy/rustic slight alcoholic
light Draper perfume/vanilla/oak complex very perfumed nose; somewhat soft rather vanilla/oak intense
boysenberry/blackberry/floral/lilacs quite earthy/loamy bit herbal/forest floor quite dusty/OV complex flavor
w/ light/gentle tannins; very long/lingering intense boysenberry/blackberry/lilacs/floral/perfumed rather
vanilla/Am.oak/Draper perfume strong dusty/OV/Pagani quite complex w/ soft/light/velety tannins; a stunning
Alicante, an incredible expression of Pagani, an amazing Ridge; the best old Ridge I've had in many yrs.
$24.00 (ATP)
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14. Carlisle PetiteSirah DryCreekVlly (14.8%; 85 cs) 2007: Very dark color; very strong blackberry/boysenberry/
plummy/PS/framboise slight floral/violets some toasty/charred/oak slight peppery/dusty/licorice fairly primary
PS nose; soft/fat/lush bit alcoholic very intense boysenberry/blackberry/PS licorice/chocolaty some toasty/oak
flavor w/ light/soft tannins; very long sot/fat intense blackberry/boysenberry/PS/Syrah-like licorice/ripe/
chocolaty bit alcoholic light toasty/charred/oak finish w/ modest/soft/fleshy tannins; loads of ripe PS fruit
but a bit lacking in structure on the palate. Costigan mystery wine.
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Stuff from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Rossese: There's a bunch of different Rosseses. Most are Biancos, mainly up in the Piemonte. Rossese di Dolceacqua
is one of the few reds, grown in westernmost Liguria. Nearby, across the border in France, the grape is called
Tibouren, where it usually goes into undistinguished blends. But it is Rossese di Dolceacqua where the
grape really shines, producing easy-drinking, lightweight, spicy/peppery wines. This is only the 3'rd
Rossese that I've tried, but I'm rather impressed w/ the grape. There's a very good article on DanilaPisano at:
http://louisdressner.com/producers/Pisano/
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2. Teroldego: One of my most favorite grapes and ElisabettaForadori is the master of it. She uses tinajas (clay
amphora-like vessels) to ferment, farms BioDynamic, ages in old oak; sensitive crystalization...all the
woo-woo stuff that goes into natural winemaking. Yet the wines are as modern and clean as anything.
This is her basic Teroldego. She also makes, in addition to whites from Nosiola and MaanzoniBianco; several
single-vnyd Teroldegos plus a high-end Teroldego called Granato. I actually prefer the basic Teroldego as being
a purer expression of the Teroldego. I hope to do a visit there in early October, maybe even w/ a BryanHarrington
Teroldego in hand, the best Calif expression of that grape.
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3. Minimus: These were two wines I stumbled upon in WinesOnPiedmont several months ago. Two CarbonicMaceration
wines, Albarino & Mourvedre. I had never heard of a white wine being made by CM & was very intrigued. Brian
assured me they were very interesting wines and that I must try them. As usual, Brian was right.
Minimus is the work of Chad & Jessica Stock. Each wine is a numbered experiment, these two being #11 and #14.
They are part of the "natural" wine cabal, as best I can tell, so I was expecting these two to be on the rather
funky side and darlings of SweetAlice. They were absolutely not that at all. They were both on the unusual side
but seemed very well made and quite interesting "experiments". Their WebSite (www.MinimusWines.com) is very
minimal and hasn't a lot of information, alas. You can find much more about Minimus at:
(www.northwest-wine.com/Minimus-Wines.html) and
(www.nwwineanthem.com/2014/01/minimus-wi ... k-you.html)
The Albarino was the one I particularly wanted to try. Albarino has a very powerful floral scent, almost as
intense as a Muscat. The CM process did a pretty good job of obliterating any Albarino varietal character, at
least as I recognize. I was also expecting, because of the skin-contact during the CM fermentation, the wine to
a lot of skin-contact white phenolic character. It did not...only very slight hints at phenolics. The wine is like
no other white wine I can recall and very/very intriguing. I would like to see other winemakers try CM w/ their
whites, particularly Viognier (you listening out there, Matthew??). It's a technique that should be explored.
Thanks for opening our eyes, Chad.
The Mourv was a bit more mainstream. I've always felt that CM pretty much destroys any varietal character.
It did not in this wine. The varietal plummy/Mourv character came thru loud & clear, slightly modulated by
that candied/tutti-fruity character you get in BeaujNoveau, but not the very perfumed/bannana-oil character
that many of those show. Again, a very interesting rendition of Mourv.
Anyway, I was quite impressed with these two wines & would like to try more of their "experiments". Alas,
production levels seem to be tiny. But if you see a Minimus wine on the shelf, you should try one. Just
remember to lay your preconceptions aside and think outside the box.
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4. Alicante: AB is a tenturier grape that is mostly used as a blending variety, mostly to add color. Because of
the very weird polyphenolics of tenturiers, their color is rather unstable and they drop color and brown fairly
early in their lives. I was expecting this AB to pretty much be on its last legs. It was not; it was in
magnificent shape; what a shame Ridge no longer makes this wine. One of the best mature Ridges I've had in
quite a long time. You can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear after all. If you're PaulDraper. Alas...
it don't work for Carignane, though.
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5. SauvVert: The SauvVert grape was once fairly widely planted in Calif, where it used to make dreadfully ordinary
white wines. With DNA typing, much of the remaining SauvVert was identified as either TocaiFriulano or
Muscadelle. MikeOfficer states that most of SauvVert is Muscadelle. LarkmeadVnyd has a tiny (0.72 acres) planting
of SauvVert in front of the old ranch house that is over a century old. They sell the wine as TocaiFriulano
to their wine club members. Presumably, this is where Matt got his SauvVert in his Saturn but not sure why he
chose to declare it as SauvVert. Maybe because of his penchant for retro-named Calif grapes. Maybe because
most of the old Calif SauvVert went into Calif Sauterne. Maybe he didn't want to address the Tocai/Muscadelle
issue. Maybe he drove the grapes over to SuisunVlly in his Saturn automobile. Beats heck out of me.
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6. Ukiyo: This is Matt's Kumo To Ame rose, from Portugese varieties, that was left in barrel (old oak) an additional
8 months w/ no SO2 additions or topping up. It is quite a different beast from the Kumo To Ame w/ loads of
savory character and a bit on the coarse side. It reminds me a lot of some of the Corsican roses. Needs to
be served at a bit warmer temperature than most roses. Despite no topping, the wine showed no overt signs
of oxidation. Quite an interesting wine.
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7. Barbera: This came from AnnKraemer's ShakeRidgeVnyd abobe SutterCreek, source of so many good wines. These two
Barbera's are essentially the same wine, one made w/o SO2 additions. Can't explain the difference in alcohol,
though. I was quite struck by the difference in these two Barberas. It could be due to different times in the
btl, perhaps.
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8. LimerickLane: These two recently released reds are a bit different from other PS/Syrahs; made by a hybrid/
unconventional fermentation. The fully ripe grapes are layered in open-top SS tanks w/ dry ice, full clusters,
and after a brief CarbonicMaceration period, then gently trod every few days (presumably after the dry ice
had vaporized). I wonder if Sam is given the 3'rd degree when he's out buying all that dry ice like all the
stores give teen-agers when they buy dry ice...making sure they're not using it to make soda-pop bottle
bombs??
These two are wines made by CarbonicMaceration-Lite. They had a certain grapiness to them but little of that
CM/tutti-fruity/bannana oil character. Because of the whole-cluster ferment, I was expecting a bit of that
Rhonish/pepper/W-C character; but did not find any. These two had plenty of lush/ripe fruit but had a certain
softness/fleshiness on the palate and not the structure of the usual LL reds. Both very interesting reds.
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9. Polymath: This is an under-the-radar wine made by SavannaWright, the asst winemaker at Failla. This was shilled
to me bath Kathy as a "lighter" expression of PS. Perhaps...but it is not a "light" wine. It shows a brighter,
more restrained side of PS you don't often see; not your usual oafish/ponderous rendition of PS that galumps
across the palate in combat boots. Presumably the grapes are from one of the old PS vnyds up in Calistoga.
Savanna also has a '14 BohanVnyd old-vine Riesling in the works that I can hardly wait to try. This is a
lady you need to keep your eye upon.
Tom