1. Skipstone Viognier AlexVlly/SonomaCnty (14.9%; www.SkipstoneWines.com) StHelena 2013: Med.gold color; attractive fragrant peach/pear/Viog slight spicy/nutmeg pleasant enough nose; rather soft/fat pleasant/simple Viog/peach/pear lightly spicy/cardamon flavor; med.long pleasant/simple soft/fat Viog/peach/pear slight spicy finish; a soft/fat simple Viog but not straying over the line into DollyParton territory; a pleasant/simple Viog but grossly overpriced at $56.00 (AV)
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2. OjaiVnyd Syrah Verna'sVnyd/SBC (14.5%) 2005: Very dark color w/ little bricking; very strong toasty/toasted coconut/oak very spicy/blackberry/Syrah/licorice/smokey quite complex classic Ojai nose; bit tart strong toasty/charred/smokey/Fr.oak classic Ojai very strong blackberry/Syrah/licorice slight peppery/pungent complex flavor w/ light smooth/gentle tannins; very long/lingering strong peppery/black pepper strong blackberry/Syrah/licorice/pungent somewhat complex finish w/ light smooth tannins; a fully mature lovely classic Ojai Syrah that is probably at its peak.
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3. Nokolaihof GrunerVeltliner Hefeabzug Wachau (12%; DemeterCertifiedBiodynamic; www.Nikolaihof.At; EB) Mantern 2013: Light yellow color; light perfumed talc slight mango/floral/GV rather simple/fruity nose; soft bit off-dry some mango/floral/GV slight tangy/metallic rather bland/simple flavor; med.short simple/fruity soft light mango/pineapple/GV/floral slight tangy/metallic finish; a pleasant enough GV but on the simple/vapid side. $24.00 (SFW&S)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Skipstone was a new wnry for me. Located in the mtns overlooking the AlexVlly. Winemaker if PhilippeMelka. Owners are Fahri & Constance Diner. General Manager is EmilyWines. All of the beautiful people set. The WebSite sorta makes me gag:
A quintessential connoisseur of fine-and-fast things in life, Constance leverages her deep expertise in marketing luxury products to help expand Skipstone’s brand recognition. Instilled with an unconditional commitment to quality through her European roots from Germany, Belgium and Switzerland, she connects naturally and harmoniously with Skipstone.
It is a "devoted partnership w/ the Earth" and the wines are designed to display the unique terroir of the SkipstoneVnyd (of course!!). If you go to their WebSite for this Viognier, you can track the relative humidity and the solar output (in kWHours) on an hourly basis for the 2013 growing season...all very important data for a truly deep understanding of this Viognier. They also produce two Cabernet blends and an olive oil (extra virgin, of course). These wines are very rare and limited and, consequently, expensive. They are not meant for plebeian folks such as myself and I feel terribly guilty of buying this wine off the shelf at ArroyoVino and, thereby, depriving some truly deserving person of the ethereal experience this wine would afford them.
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2. Nikolaihof: It was a Nikolaihof GV that a Somm friend presented at a recent seminar and proclaimed how Biodynamic grapes reveal the terroir of a vnyd much more than non-Bio wines. I struggled to find something distinctive in this wine that spoke of the Hefabzug vnyd...but, alas, failed badly. The story of my life...a life-long string of failures. I found the wine on the dull & vapid side. Since I've discovered the IngridGroiss wines, my bar for Austrian wines has been lifted to a whole nuther level. This wine did not meet that bar.
Tom