Fri night, Susan & I had these three:
1. TerreRouge Viognier Estate/Fiddletown (14.5%; www.TerreRougeWines.com) Jane O'Riordan & Bill Easton/Plymouth 2014: Light gold color; very strong peach/pear/Viog/spicy bit nutmeg elegant/restrained beautiful Viog perfumey nose; slightly tart strong peach/pear/Viog/spicy/nutmeg slight earthy elegant/balanced flavor; very long lightly tart spicy/nutmeg/peach/pear/Viog light earthy finish; a beautiful laser-sharp/focused bright Viog and far from DollyParton territory; very attractively priced at $19.00 (KK)
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2. Kenneth-Crawford Syrah EvansRanch/SantaRitaHills (15.3%; www.KennethCrawford.com) Buellton 2003: Very dark color w/ slight bricking; strong toasty/charred/oak/pungent strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy bit cold-climate/peppery slight earthy/dusty complex nose; fairly tart very spicy/blackberry/Syrah slight c-c/peppery strong toasty/charred/oak slightly lean/dried-out flavor w/ some hard/drying tannins; very long/lingering somewhat tart/hard slight dried-out very strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy/pungent strong toasty/charred/oak some c-c/peppery light herbal/pungent/thyme complex finish w/ light drying tannins; lots of spicy/peppery/c-c Syrah character and strong on the oak; starting to dry out a bit but still a lovely SBC mature Syrah. $28.95
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3. Fausta Mansia DOC Moscato di Siracusa Dessert WW(16.00%) Capocorso di Siracusa/Siracusa/Sicilia 2004: Deep golden/burnished bronze/sherry color; very strong moscato/orangey/passito honeyed beautiful complex nose; rather tart alcoholic very intense muscatty/orangey lightly sweet very passito complex flavor; very long/lingering fairly tart/tangy/rather alcoholic lightly sweet intense muscatty/orangey/honey comb complex finish; a very intense muscatty/passito complex beautiful dessert wine. $33.00/50cl (WE/SM)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. TR Viog: I was quite impressed by Bill's latest rendition of his Viog. It reminded me a bit of Cuilleron CollineRhodannies Viog, a lot of the Failla AlbanViog (alas..no longer being made) but not the bracing acidity and structure that one shows. It doesn't have the minerality of a Condrieu...but then it doesn't cost 3-5 times the cost of those, either. Just a well-made, lip-smackin' good Calif Viog.
Tom