Tried these three over the weekend:
1. Forlorn-Hope TheFaufreluches GWT HillVnyd/RRV (147 cs; 12.88%; skin-contact) Murphys 2014: Amber/deep yellow rather cloudy color; light rose petal/GWT/fragrant/floral some phenolic/resiny/cidery complex nose; fairly tart rather phenolic/resiny/cidery light GWT/rose petal/orangey/floral flavor w/ light tannins; quite long tannic/tart/tangy some phenolic/resiny light floral/GWT/rose petal/lychee finish w/ light tannins; speaks mostly of skin-contact white and quietly of GWT; quite an attractive savory/umami-loaded wine; needs food and serving at cool room temp to lessen the tannic bite. $28.00
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2. Forlorn-Hope TrouGrit TrousseauGris King-AndrewsVnyd/SuisunVlly (25 cs; 10.87%; GreyRiesling) Murphys 2014: Med.gold/bit amber slight cloudy color; very pungent/rather reduced/SO2/dirty diapers/Kansas outhouse fresh celery light phenolic/skin-contact/resiny little fruit/slight pear nose; quite tart/tangy/metallic bit screechy/austere light phenolic resiny flavor w/ light bitey tannins; as it warms up to cool room temp, the nose clears to slight herbal/earthy/smoked hot dog bit waxy/figgy rather strange almost LakeCnty SauvBlanc very slight resiny/phenolic rather quiet nose; a very bizarre unattractive wine that may be an off-btl or just needs more time in the btl to come together. $26.00
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3. Forlorn-Hope GasconyCadets PetiteVerdot KingVnyd/SuisunVlly (171 cs; 14.5%) Calistoga 2006: Very dark color w/ no bricking; very strong herbal/thyme/chocolaty/boysenberry some dusty/earthy bit rustic quite interesting perfumed nose; rather tart/tangy/metallic strong pungent/thyme/bit herbal/rosemary some chocolaty/boysenberry light toasty/oak very structured/hard bit rustic flavor w/ ample hard/edgy tannins; very long tart/metallic/tangy strong herbal/thyme dusty/earthy/rustic some chocolaty/boysenberry finish w/ modest hard/rough tannins; a big/hard/structured red that still needs 5-12 yrs and may never come around; a rather rough/rustic/savory red that's quite interesting; seems to be aging at a glacial pace. $30.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. These are, of course, the wines of MattRorick. This '14 TrouGrit was one of the most weird/bizarre wines from Matt that I've had. His wines are not typically mainstream, but this one was way out in left field. When I first opened it at a fairly cool temp, I was pretty sure the nose would clear up as it warmed in the glass. But it never did come around to anything that offered up much pleasure. But I have confidence in Matt's winemaking and will give this wine a try in 6 mo. or so and see what has happened w/ age.
Tom