We tried last night (1/20/16) some Wines for the AFWE:
1. brocCllrs LoveWhite Calif (85% Marsanne/12% Roussanne/3% Viognier; 13%) 2014: Med.gold color; quite fragrant
floral/honeysuckle bit spicy/mineral lovely perfumed nose; fairly tart/tangy bit saline/mineral quite floral/
honeysuckle very attractive balanced flavor; very long tart/tangy/saline/mineral strong floral/honeysuckle/
mabgo finish w/ a very slight funky/oxidized character far in the backtaste; a fairly tart/lean/savory white
yet still has plenty of flavor; very well-priced at $20.00
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2. brocCllrs VineStarr GrenacheBlanc CentralCoast WW (12.5%) Berkeley 2013: Light gold color; fairly lush
melony/floral/mango/GrannySmith apple quite spicy slight valve oil/mineral/R-like very aromatic nose; quite
tart/tangy bit green/lean/saline/mineral some floral/mango/GS apple flavor; long tangy/tart/grapefruity light
appley/floral/mango finish; a bit on the lean/spare side w/ lots of GrannySmith apple character; very atypical
for most Calif GrenacheBlanc but still delicious. $30.00
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3. Harrington Vermentino CedarLaneVnyds/ArroyoSeco (14.1%) BryanHarrington/SanFrancisco 2014: Med.gold color;
bit funky/reductive/fried eggs/H2S some floral/Vermentino/spicy/carnations interesting nose; rather tart/lean
bit reductive/funky/eggy light floral/Vermentino/7Up spicy flavor; med.long 7Up/eggy/bit reductive light floral/
Vermentino/spicy/carnations finish; not a lot of fruit & seems a bit reductive; try again later. $25.00
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4. Arnot-Roberts GrunerVeltliner AlfaraFamilyVnyd/SantaCruzMtns (2 brls; 12.2%) Healdsburg 2014: Light gold/
cloudy color; very unusual piney/Christmas tree/perfumed/PineSol slight peppery/saline/earthy rather lean/
eviscerated nose; quite tart/lean/grapefruity some peppery/saline bit earthy/mineral light Christmas tree/piney
flavor; med.short tart/lean/grapefruity perfumed talc/piney/Christmas tree rather lean/pinched/eviscerated
finish w/ slight fecal/unclean aftertaste; a rather pinched/lean/eviscerated rendition of GV that's lacking
any fruit; strange not very attractive GV. $25.00
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5. Harrington Trousseau SilettoVnyd/SanBenitoCnty (14.1%) 2014: Med.light ruby red color; strong cherry/cherry
cola/bright very spicy some dusty/earthy light tobacco leaf/cigar bit herbal/thyme/spicy/cinammon quite attractive
complex nose; bit tart very spicy/cinammon/cardamon bright/cherry some dusty/earthy very interesting flavor w/
light tannins; very long very spicy/cinammon/cardammon bright cherry bit earthy/dusty finish w/ light bitey
tannins; a very pretty/interesting Trousseau. $30.00
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6. Arnot-Roberts Trousseau NorthCoast (1 Foudre/5 Puncheons/6 Brls; 13%) 2014: Med.light bit cloudy color; some
earthy/dusty very spicy/cherry/cinammon/waxy bit Beauj-like some w-c/peppery quite interesting nose; quite tart/
lean/eviscerated bright cherry/earthy slight herbal flavor w/ light bitey/lean/hard tannins; med. very tart/lean/
eviscerated/tight/pinched some cherry/earthy finish w/ light bitey tannins; has some pretty cherry/earthy
character but pretty lean/eviscerated on the palate. $30.00
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7. Harrington Symetrie CentralCoast (50% PinotNoir/Trousseau; Jura inspired; 14.1%) 2014: Med.color; rather earthy/
dusty/smokey some herbal/piney/cherry/savory/spicy/cinammon rather fragrant nose; bit tart earthy/dusty/smokey
herbal/cherry quite savory/spicy/cinammon w/ light gentle tannins; very long earthy/dusty bright cherry/savory/
spicy/cinammon bit herbal finish w/ light smooth tannins; the earthy/dusty character from the Trousseau gives
it a lot of character of a Jura version, but w/o the rustic character and often bitey tannins. $30.00
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8. Harrington Corvina HeirloomRanch/Lodi (12.5%) 2014: Light garnet/near rose bit cloudy color; strong cherry/earthy/
spicy bit dusty/OV quite interesting nose; fairly tart/tangy light/bright cherry/earthy slight mushroomy/loamy/
Lodi flavor w/ light bitey tannins; med.long cherry/spicy/waxy bit earthy/Lodi/mushroomy slight rustic/Italian
finish w/ light bitey tannins; a bit like a 20 yr old Bolla Valpicilla in a light/cherry sort of way; on the
light side but actually rather interesting for Calif's first Corvina. $25.00
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9. brocCllrs Sogi CentralCoast (70% PinotNoir/30% GamayNoir; 13.5%) 2013: Med.light color; very attractive fragrant
cherry/spicy/grapey slight earthy quite pretty nose; very pretty bright cherry/PN/spicy slight earthy/savory
flavor w/ light gentle tannins; long bright/spicy/cherry/PN light earthy lightly tart attractive finish w/
light tannins; resembles greatly a French PasToutGrains but more fruit and less earthy/rustic character; quite
a pretty/light-weight/drinkable red. $24.00
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10. brocCllrs Zin VineStarr SonomaCnty (12.8%) 2014: Med.color; light raspberry/earthy/savory bit spicy/cinammon
cedary rather light-weight very attractive nose; fairly tart raspberry/juicy/spicy/bright light/zippy/pretty
slight earthy/dusty flavor w/ light gentle tannins; long bright/zippy/raspberry/Zin/spicy light cedary/pencilly
bit earthy finish w/ light tannins; a rather quiet/low-key/pretty rendition w/ lots of raspberry character;
reminds a bit of the old LouisMartini or JohnParducci Zins that I used to drink w/ gusto. $32.00
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11. brocCllrs Counoise EaglePointRanch/MendoCnty (13%) 2014: Med.light color; light herbal/spicy/thyme slight
cherry/strawberry/raspberry bit dusty slight Mendo/tomatoey rather perfumed/attractive nose; lightly tart pretty
cherry/raspberry/strawberry/rose petal light dusty/earthy flavor w/ light gentle tannins; med.long bright
strawberry/cherry/perfumed light earthy/dusty finish w/ light tannins; quite a pretty/drinkable red. $27.00
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12. brocCllrs Nero d'Avola MendoCnty (13.5%) 2014: Med.color; rather earthy/dusty bit rustic/coarse slight
Italianate/hot-climate bit plummy/blackberry some spicy/cinammon nose; soft bit rough/coarse slight Italianate/
hot-climate bit rough/rustic light plummy/blackberry/earthy flavor w/ light coarse tannins; long slight plummy/
blackberry bit earthy/rough/coarse/rustic finish w/ light rough tannins; clean & well-made and not as clumsy/
coarse as many Italian versions; presumably from JohnChiarito's Nd'A grapes. $32.00
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A the ole BloodyPulpit:
1. broc: This would be ChrisBrockway who started his winemaking career at JCCllrs. We recently had two of his
BennettVlly Syrahs, at 15%, that had matured quite nicely for very ripe Syrahs. Since he opened his own
wnry down in lower Berkeley next to Donkey&Goat, Chris has changed his style to a lower-octane type of wine
that reflects the Site of the grapes more. Wines for the AFWE.
I stopped at the tasting room several yrs ago and liked what I tried, so thought I should revisit the
broc wines (www.broccellars.com), so ordered a half case to try w/ my group. I'm glad I did. The wines are
quite savory, well-balanced, restrained (won't play well in Monktown). They are not flashy & showy, but
quite nicely done for that genre. They're the kind of wine you keep going back for anuther glass and you
suddenly realize you've drained the entire btl.
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2. Corvina: Of course, the iconic grape of Valpolicella. I was expecting this wine to be much darker than it was.
Forgetting those prejudgements, though, I thought this was a fun little rendition of Corvina w/o the nastiness
you get in so many Italian Valpolicellas. I'd like to see what this grape would give grown in PasoRobles
or SantaClaraCnty.
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3. Harrington: This is BryanHarrington's wnry there in lower SanFrancisco. Followed him from the very start, I did.
Originally focused on PinotNoir, he sorta gone off the deep end and making a lot of interesting wines from
grapes no one else is interested. His Pinot still remains absolutely first rate.
Tom