Tried these two last night w/ dinner:
1. : H&B AC: Languedoc VinBlanc (50% PiquepoulBlanc/25% Roussanne/25% GrenacheBlanc; 13%; www.HechtBannier.com) GregoryHecht & Francois Bannier/Aix en Provence 2015: Med.yellow color; strong mineral/stony/earthy/peach pit some apple/honeysuckle/mango slight smoked hot dog fairly fragrant nose; quite tart/tangy/bit metallic bit lush rather appley/mango/honeyed/honeysuckle some stony/chalky pleasant flavor; long tangy/metallic some mango/honeysuckle/Rouss/pineapple some stony/chalky/Picpoul slight perfumed talc finish; an altogether pleasant white w/ a nice balance of Rouss lush fruit and Picpoul crunchiness at a very fair price. $15.00 (SFW&S)
__________________
2. Kaltern Lagrein DOC: AltoAdige (13%; www.KellereiKaltern.com) Caldaro 2014: Very dark color; very strong plummy/black cherry/black cherry cola/RCCola bit chocolaty fairly strong earthy/loamy classic AA Lagrein nose; rather tart/tangy/metallic/citric strong licorice/black cherry cola/RCCola/root beer rather earthy/loamy flavor w/ modest bitey/tangy tannins; long quite tart/metallic/tangy/grapefruity quite earthy/loamy/compost pile strong plummy/black cherry cola/RCCola finish w/ modest hard/coarse tannins; like rolling your fingers thru a well-aged compost pile and sticking black cherries in your mouth; an attractive earthy/loamy expression of Lagrein. $21.00 (SFW&S)
_________________________________
A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Lagrein: I've been trying a fair number of Lagreins over the last few months. Laagrein is a variety indigenous to the AltoAdige. This Kaltern is one of the excellent coops in the AA. It shows the earthy/loamy character one expects from AA Lagrein.
I've had a number of Calif Lagreins that I was very impressed with. The first Calif Lagrein was the ChrisWhitcraft one, which I thought was OK..just that. DavidCofarro makes a good one. The recent Harrington from the PelletiereVnyd in Paso was the best I've yet had. The PelletiereEstate is also quite good. They all show that classic black cherry cola character w/o as much earthy/loamy character. It's a grape that should be planted all up&down the coast of Calif.
Tom