WTN: 2012 Idlewild Nebbiolo

[David M. Bueker]

2012 Idlewild Nebbiolo Fox Hill Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Mendocino County (7/8/2015)
Finally getting around to writing up my note in this wine from last week. I had been wanting to try this since it arrive in the spring, but never got to it until Wednesday. Right at opening it was very aromatic, with cherry and floral aromas coming out with zero coaxing from me. The color of the wine was quite pale, especially around the rim, and the overall elegance of the wine reflected that. From the front through the mid-palate there was a pretty balance, and then on the back end the tannins kicked in. At first it made the wine seem overly astringent, but air fleshed things out a bit more. I managed to snag another small pour of this near the end of the evening (two folks at dinner were doing their best to hang onto the bottle to drink alongside their pasta with veal and sundried tomatoes), and the wine continued to open up and flesh out. If I open another bottle in the near future it will get a good 90+ minute decant. Better yet I will leave the bottles alone for a few years.

I like this wine quite a lot, though it is not as immediately friendly as most Idlewild bottlings.

Seen several posts here about interesting wines from Idlewild, and every time I assume it's a New York wine...

I've not been impressed by very limited tries of Cali Nebbiolo, this sounds tempting

[David M. Bueker]

Dale,

Have you had the Wind Gap?

I've not been impressed by very limited tries of Cali Nebbiolo, this sounds tempting

Well, Jenise...it's not like I know anything about US Nebbiolo, but.....

The Idlewild is outstanding and most people at the NEB#5 public tasting thought it was the most European
of those Nebbs. Not sure if that's a compliment or not, though.

I like the Palminas as well, though not as well as some of the others. And they're waaay too expensive.
Tom

[David M. Bueker]

I should open a Cortese again sometime soon.