We tasted last night (8/12/15) Some New Reds:
1. Ronco delle BetullE Refosco dal PeduncolaRosso DOC: FriuliColliOrientali (13.5%; L.RF 4/12)
Adami Ivani e Figlio/Manzano 2010: Dark color; classic Refosco strong blackberry/boysenberry/peppery/RCCola
slight earthy very perfumed nose; lightly tart strong blackberry/black cherry/Refosco/spicy slight earthy/herbal
bit tangy/metallic flavor w/ some lean/bitey tannins; very long strong black cherry/black cherry cola/blackberry
slight earthy bit tart finish w/ modest angular/bitey tannins; a very good example of Friuli Refosco. $27.00 (BWM)
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2. Ronchi di Pietro Schioppettino DOC: FriuliColliOrientali (L10; 13%; EnotecImports/Denver) Ronchi San Giuseppe
di Zorzettig Francesco & Fulvio/Cividale del Friuli 2013: Med.color; beautiful classic Schioppettino/white
peppery/blackberry/very spicy/slight floral very aromatic lovely nose; lightly tart/tangy/grapefruity strong
white pepper/blackberry/spicy/herbal light earthy/dusty flavor w/ light bitey tannins; very long tart/tangy/
grapefruity/metallic strong spicy/white pepper/blackberry/black cherry cola bit earthy/dusty finish w/ light
grippy tannins; lovely aromaticcs and a classic Schioppetino at a great price. $22.00 (LM)
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3. Castello Luzzano DOC: Bonarda dell'OltrepoPavese VinoFrizzante (13%) Giovannella Fugazza/Luzzano/Rovescala
2010: Rather fizzy/frizzante/frothy very dark color but the fizz immediately disappates; rather earthy/dusty/
root cellar quite grapey/juicy/DrPepper interesting nose; tart juicy/grapey rather earhy/dusty/rustic some
DrPepper/black cherry flavor w/ light hard/bitey/raspy tannins; med.long grapey/juicy DrPepper/cherry cola
rather earthy/dusty/root cellar/fusty finish w/ some lean/hard/raspy tannins; pretty interesting wine much
like a serious Lambrusco; CO2 not very obvious on the palate and disapates rapidly. $21.00 (LM)
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4. Castello di Luzzano Carlino DOC: Bonarda dell'OltrepoPavese (13%; L3179) Giovannella Fugazza/Ravescala 2012:
Med.dark color; some earthy/dusty rather grapey/juicy/DrPepper/root beer quite interesting nose; somewhat tart
quite grapey/juicy/DrPepper/Nehi grape soda pop rather earthy/dusty/rustic/coarse/rough flavor w/ somewhat
softer/rounder/slight bitey tannins; lightly tart softer/rounder rather earthy/dusty/rustic/rough somewhat
grapey/Nehi soda pop/DrPepper flavor w/ modest ripe/slight bitey tannins; a juicy/grapey interesting red.
$26.00 (BWM)
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5. Monsecco Croatina DOC: Colline Novarasi (13%; L13157) Sergio e Valter Zanetta/Borgoalto 2012: Med.dark color;
rather grapey/black cherry/RCCola/spicy some earthy/dusty bit pungennt/metallic/ozone nose; bit tart grapey/
juicy/black cherry cola/RCCola slight pungent/metallic fairly lush/ripe flavors w/ modest smooth/ripe tannins;
med.long slightly tart quite grapey/black cherry cola/RCCola/juicy light earthy/dusty fairly lush finish w/
modest/ripe tannins; quite an interesting red and the best of these three Croatinas. $24.00 (DiV)
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6. Charles Trosset Arbin Mondeuse Savoie (Prestige des Arpents; 12.5%; www.CharlesNealSelections.com) 2012: Dark
color; rather earthy/dusty/loamy slight wet dog fur/bretty grapey/black cherry cola nose; soft earthy/dusty/loamy
rather grapey/black cherry cola/licorice slight bretty/wet dog fur/unclean rather rustic somewhat sour flavor
w/ modest round tannins; med.long loamy/earthy slight bretty/unclean some black cherry cola/grapey/Mondeuse bit
tangy/metallic finish w/ light gentle tannins; a bit on the unclean/bretty side but pretty decent Savoie Mondeuse.
$27.00 (WoP)
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7. ThierryTissot Mataret Mondeuse AOC: Bugey (12%; www.deMaisonSelections.com) vaux en Bugey/Savoie 2010: Dark
color; fairly earthy/dusty/root cellar rather funky/unclean/pungent/ozone light black cherry cola/root beer/
Mondeuse nose; soft rather earthy/dusty funky/fusty/unclean diaper pail slight black cherry cola/root beer/
Mondeuse flavor w/ modest rough/bitey tannins; med.long earthy/dusty/rustic somewhat unclean/diaper pail
metallic/rough light black cherry cola/Mondeuse finish w/ light/coarse tannins; speaks of Savoie Mondeuse but
rather too unclean for my taste. $32.00 (BWM)
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8. CortiBros Mondeuse AtlasPeakVnyd/NapaVlly (TW) NapaCllrs/StHelena 2009: Med.dark color; very strong herbal/
rosemary/pungent/thyme/Mondeuse some chocolaty/floral/DrPepper quite complex very interesting nose; bit tart
rather herbal/Mondeuse/rosemary/thyme/pungent some floral/chocolaty/licorice/DrPepper flavor w/ light bitey
tannins; very long/lingering strong pungent/herbal/rosemary/thyme light floral/chocolaty/DrPepper/spicy finish
w/ light angular tannins; shows the savory character of Mondeuse to the max; a steal (if you like the wine)
at $10.00 (CB)
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9. Lagier-Meredith Mondeuse MtVeeder/NapaVlly (14.4% 97 cs) 2012: Very dark color; very strong black cherry/
root beer/floral light smokey/toasty/oak slight herbal/rosemary/earthy lovely nose; slightly tart bright/black
cherry/black cherry cola/root beer/floral light toasty/oak very slight herbal/rosemary/peppery complex/interesting
flavor w/ ample round/ripe tannins; very long/lingering lightly tart strong black cherry/cola/root beer light
herbal/rosemary/peppery/earthy/spicy light toasty/oak finish w/ some ripe/lush tannins; rather similar in style
to the L-M Syrah but a bit more hard/angular and herbal; lovely world-class Mondeuse. $37.80
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10. Salinia "wunderkind" blaufrankisch MokelumneGlenVnyd/MokelumneRiver/Lodi (12%; MethodeSauvage) SantaRosa
2013: Med.color; very fumey/EA/volatile/airplane glue/pickle juice slight earthy/BF nose; soft very fumey/
volatile/airplane glue/pickle juice slight earthy/loamy/BF flavor w/ light tannins; med. very fumey/airplane glue
finish w/ light/lean tannins; way over-the-top volatile acidity. $21.00 (VO)
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11. WindGap Blaufrankisch RitchieCreekVnyd/SprintMtnDist/NapaVlly (1 brls/23 cs; #209; 12 3/4%) 2012: Dark color;
strong earthy/dusty/loamy slight plummy/chocolaty/blackberry slight volatile/EA interesting nose; soft rather
plummy/BF/chocolaty/blackberry soda some earthy/loamy/root cellar flavor w/ light/soft tannins; med.long soft
plummy/BF/chocolaty some earthy/loamy finish w/ light tannins; the slight EA/volatility give it a bit of an
aromatic lift; a rather good expression of BF in Calif; a bit pricey for what it is. $36.00
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12. Kurtzler Blaufrankisch Burgenland/Osterreich (Trocken; www.Krutzler.At; 13.0%; TerryTheiseSlctn) SudBurgenland/
Deutsch-Schutzen 2013: Very dark color; quite earthy/dusty/loamy/root cellar some plummy/chocolaty/BF nose;
soft/ripe/plummy/chocolaty rather earthy/loamy/root cellar slight musty/fusty/old attic flavor w/ light rough/
coarse tannins; long quite earthy/loamy/fusty some plummy/chocolaty/BF finish w/ some light/coarse tannins;
pretty characteristic of Austrian BF; bit pricey at $26.00 (AV)
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Stuff from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. BlauFrankisch: The Salinia wines were given a strong recommendation to me by FloridaJim; that they were doing
some "interesting things". JonBonne recommended KevinKelly as a winemaker to watch. When I saw this wine on the
shelf at VinOrdinare, I jumped at it. Pretty disappointed. This had such a high degree of volatile acidity and
a fuminess that smelled of airplane glue. Not often I find a wine from anywhere so volatile. Not sure what went
wrong here. But I'll give Kevin's other wines a try as the opportunity arrises.
BF is a pretty interesting wine in Austria and I think it has some potential in Calif. It has long been
established in WashState under the name of Lemberger. It is apparently related to PinotNoir. It is the most
widely planted variety in the Czechrepublic.
In Austria, I find that BF, mostly from the Burgenland, has a distinct earthy/loamy, almost course, character.
I can find no character of PinotNoir in the wines. Another Austrian variety, StLaurent, makes very similar wines.
BF X StLaurent gave us Lagrein...another of my favorite grapes.
I liked the WindGap rendition of this grape as being pretty true to BF in character. But it comes nowhere
close to MattRorick's Forlorn-Hope StLaurent.
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2. Mondeuse: A grape variety indigenous to the Savoie and another of my favorite grapes. To my palate, the
wines often have a savory/pungent/herbal/rosemary/thyme signature. The CortiBros had this character in spades.
It was a pretty controversial wine in that some folks thought it too intense in character...folks that are
more use to drinking wussy RedBurgs. Other liked it because of its unique/intense unusual character. I was in that
camp and liked the wine quite a lot. What's amazing is that the wine was made by the Trinchero folks at NapaCllrs.
It has an intensity of character that is quite rare for a Trinchero wine. This was the last crop of Mondeuse
(orignally thought to be Refosco) of the Antinori AtlasPeak vnyd afore it was ripped to plant Cabernet.
What a friggin' waste of good vnyd land.
MondeuseNoir (the bastard uncle of Syrah, which is a MondeuseBlanche X Deureza, as SteveLagier calls it) is
a variety that I'd like to see more of planted in Calif. It can make very interesting wine. The Savoie versions
seem to be more earthy/loamy and rustic in character compared to the Calif versions.
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3. Croatina: One of the varieties (along w/ Vespolina & Uva Rara) that is often blended w/ Nebbiolo in the Colline
Novarase/AltoPiemonte. Not often bottled on its own as a variety. Bonarda dell'OltrepoPavese is the local name
in the OP for Croatina, but has no relation to any of the other Bonardas in the world.
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4. Refosco/Schioppettino: Two reds that are most commonly found in Friuli. Bot make very perfumed/aromatic, a bit
similar, wines and are two varieties that should be much more widely planted in Calif. SteveMatthiasson makes
both varieties from his Estate grapes and they are outstanding examples that will be travelling w/ me to Friuli
in October.
Tom