Sat/July 18
Susan & I were staying w/ MollyHill (SequoiaGrove winemaker) and Lars Bjorkman (Envy winemaker, formerly asst
winemaker at Saddleback) in Calistoga and started out dinner w/ these two whites:
1. SaddlebackCllrs Albarino RedHills/LakeCnty Barrel Select(14.2%) 2013: Light yellow color; very perfumed/aromatic/
Albarino slight stony/mineral very Spanish Albarino-like lovely nose; quite tart/tangy rather stony/mineral quite
flowery/Albarino/carnations light chalky/stony/mineral/flinty slight earthy flavor; very long powerfully
floral/carnations/Albarino light stony/chalky/mineral/metallic rather tart/tangy finish; much like the Drew and
the Bedrock Albarinos but more of the steely minerality of the Spanish versions; quite a lovely Calif Albarino.
$24.00
_______________
2. Roso d'OroVnyd Vermentino LakeCnty WW (U/U; 40 cs; 13.5%) Kelseyville 2013: Med.dark gold/burnished bronze color;
strong phenolic/resiny/cider rather orangey/figgy/honeyed slight earthy quite fragrant nose; bit tart fairly
phenolic/resiny/cidery rather honeyed/figgy/orangey light earthy/dusty rather saline/savory flavor w/ a light
tannic bite; very long/lingering rather phenolic/cidery/resiny quite honeyed/figgy/orangey fairly savory/saline
finish w/ very light tannic bite; quite a good example of a skin-contact Vermentino and not as agressively
phenolic as the Ryme "His" Vermentino. $20.00
_______________________________
A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Saddleback makes a few interesting varietals for their wine club members. I tasted some of them a yr ago w/ Lars
and Nils from barrel and was pretty impressed by them. This Albarino is as good as it gets from Calif.
_______________
2. Roso d'Oro: PietroButtita gave me 2 btls each of 3 wines to take to share at RibollaFest. I was very eager to
try this, their first Vermentino, from Estate fruit. It was made w/ 10 days of skin-contact and had that distinct
phenolic signature, but not particularly austere/tannic on the palate. This wine really sang when we served it
w/ Dave's spicy calamari & shrimp.
Tom