Tried these two Chards over the weekend:
1. Boheme Chard EnglishHillVnyd/SebastapolHills/RRV (14.3%; 1/2 acre of WenteSlctn on Sept.26; Whole-cluster
pressed into neutral Fr.oak; one yr sur lies; www.BohemeWines.com; 144 cs) KurtBeitler/Occidental/Rutherford
2012: Med.gold color; some toasty/smokey/oak strong ripe/melony/Chard/lemony very spicy/nutmeg fairly complex quite perfumed nose; some tart strong melony/ripe/Chard/lemony very spicy/nutmeg rather rich/lush flavor; fairly tart rich/lush/balanced very spicy/nutmeg/toasty/oak/smokey very strong ripe/melony/Chard/lemony some toasty/smokey/oak very perfumed finish; seems much more richer/lusher than when I had it w/ Kurt; quite a good Chard at a very fair price. $37.75
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2. Boheme Chard TaylorRidgeVnyd/SonomaCoast (14.5%; WenteSlctn harvstd on Oct.11; 2.34 tons/acre; W-C pressed &
frmtd in Fr.oak & SS; Aged 1 yr sur lie; 288 cs) 2012: Light gold color; very strong lemony/melony/Chard/apple/quince very light pencilly/oak/nutmeg quite perfumed/fragrant almost R-like lovely/elegant nose; quite tart/tangy slight mineral/stoney strong quince/apple/lemony/melony/Chard rather lithe/wirey light pencilly/Fr.oak/nutmeg/spicy rather bright/racey levely flavor; very long/lingering bright/zippy/spicy tart/tangy some rich very strong quince/appley/lemony/melony/Chard light pencilly/Fr.oak/nutmeg light mineral/stoney/earthy quite lovely finish; a really lovely bright/wirey/elegant Chard that belies its 14.5%. $37.75
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Boheme: The wines of Kurt Beitler out in Occidental. Some of my favorite Calif wines that tend to be more on the elegant/racey side. I'd had these two Chards (plus others) w/ Kurt out among the redwoods in the Freestone Municipal Park in front of the creperie. I was quite taken by them. These arrived several weeks ago and I opened the EnglishHill w/ Susan for dinner on Fri. It seemed a lot richer/lusher/more oaky than I recalled it, so cracked the TaylorRidge last night. It was much more in the refined style that I recall both of them being. Don't know if the EnglishHill was an off bottle (off being relative...it was a delicious wine...just not what I recalled), it's putting on weight, or what.
Tom