1. Skerk Ograde IGP: VeneziaGiulia Bianco (25% Vitovska/Malvasia/Sauvignon/PinotGrigio; 13.5%; L1;
Skin macerated for 2 weeks; Left to mature on lees for 18 mo. in wooden barrels) Prepotto/Trieste 2011: Deep golden/burnished bronze color; lightly phenolic/resiny quite honeyed/orangey bit earthy/smokey/fragrant slight muscatty/Malvasia/flowery quite complex nose; lightly tart rather tangy/metallic lightly phenolic/skin-contact/resiny rich/lush orangey/honeyed/orange peel quite smooth bit flowery/mango/malvasia quite complex beautiful flavor w/ no tannic bite anymore; very long/lingering very light phenolic/skin-contact very smooth/rich/lush rather orangey/honeyed bit malvasia/flowery/mango rather delicate/elegant/gentle beautiful complex finish; ver little phenolic/skin-contact character left and turned into a beautiful/balanced white w/ no oxidative character whatsoever. $38.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Given two weeks of skin-contact, I was expecting much more phenolic character. I got this wine over a yr ago from K&L when OliverMcCrum had the latest release a yr ago in the Fall. I wanted to try this afore I jumped on the '13 Ograde, which is now available. This is what many would call an "orange" wine, especially given the color. It is not an "orange" wine in that it has no oxidative character...it is simply a skin-contact white made in a reductive manner...color be damned.
This is what I said when I first tried it a yr ago:
Tom on Jan 2016 wrote:3. Skerk Ograde IGP: VeneziaGiulia Bianco (25% Vitovska/Malvasia/Sauvignon/PinotGrigio; 13.5%; L1;
Skin macerated for 2 weeks; Left to mature on lees for 18 mo. in wooden barrels) 2011: Dark gold/burnished bronze
color; quite fragrant apple/pear/spicy bit hops/beer/herbal light phenolic/resiny/cidery perfumed talk quite
complex nose; lightly tart some phenolic/resiny/nutty some apple/pear/orangey bit herbal/hops very complex balanc
ed
fairly rich flavor w/ light wiry tannins; very long/lingering apple/pears/orangey/honeyed lightly tart rich/
balanced slight phenolic/resiny/cidery very complex finish w/ light lean tannins; a very complex/exotic white
w/ only a light phenolic character given the skin contact; words fail on this wine. $38.00 (K&L)
It seems to be losing some of the edgy character and really turning into a beautiful wine. The '13 is currently available at VintageBerkeley on CollegeAve, who are big fans of SandiSkerk's wines. Oliver relates they Skerk wines are a tough sell...which puzzles me. They are, across the board, exceptional wines.
Tom