Tried these two @ dinner Fri night:
1. CedarvilleVnyd {Syrah} Estate/ElDorado (14.9%; www.CedarvilleVineyard.com) FairPley 2008: Dark color w/ no bricking; strong blueberry/blackberry/Syrah some stony/earthy/ElD/mushroomy/dusty bit peppery light oak slight Rhonish/smokey nose; lightly tart strong blackberry/Syrah/blueberry/peppery some earthy/dusty/mushroomy/ElDorado stony slight Rhonish/smokey light toasty/oak slight metallic/tangy flavor w/ light gentle tannins; long strong blueberry/Syrah/blackberry slight metallic/tangy some earthy/mushroomy/ElD finish w/ light smooth tannins; carries the alcohol very well & no overripeness; probably near or beyond its peak; quite an attractive/mature Calif Syrah that speaks strongly of ElDoradoCnty. Reminds a bit of SteveEdmunds ElDorado Syrahs.
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2. Idlewild Cortese FoxHillVnyd/MendoCnty (13.8%; www.IdlewildWines.com) Geyserville 2014: Med.gold color; some phenolic/resiny quite honeyed/figgy/orangey/ripe/graham cracker rather floral/ripe mango slight earthy wonderfully aromatic complex nose; quite tart bit austere/lean some phenolic/resiny earthy rather honeyed/figgy/orangey/graham cracker complex flavor w/ light tannic bite; very long/lingering some phenolic/resiny/cider ripe mango/figgy/orangey/graham cracker complex finish w/ light bitey tannins; clearly has a skin-contact component; a very interesting aromatic complex white that will surely improve in the btl. $39.25
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Idlewild: I like very much what SamBilbro is doing w/ his Idlewild wines. I have one more from his latest release to try...the Dolcetto. The Carignane...meh. The Barbera & the Valdigue are very good. And I loved the Arneis...as well as this Cortese. The two wines are night & day. The Arneis is loaded w/ bright/exuberant fruit. This Cortese is a much more serious wine.
This clearly has a skin-contact component. In the past w/ his Cortese, the shady side of the vines were picked first and given conventional white-winemaking. The side w/ more sun exposure had more pigmentation and color and was made w/ some skin-contact to extract the flavors from those skins. This is a much more interesting Cortese than any from the Piemont that I can recall.
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2. Cedarville: This is a wnry, Jonathan & Susan, that just doesn't get a lot of buzz. I have, of course, followed them from the very start when they first showed at HdR yrs ago. Yet they keep, quietly, knocking out very good ElDorado wines yr after yr. They should be better known.
Tom