My Idlewilds arrived Thurs, so Pobega'd these two over the weekend:
1. Idlewild Arneis FoxHillVnyd/MendoCnty (11.5%) 2016: Med.gold contact; fairly fragrant/mango/floral/Arneis slight phenolic/resiny light stony/earthy bit closed/tight nose; fairly tart/austere rather stony/mineral/chalky/earthy light/quiet Arneis/mango slight metallic/bitey light resiny flavor w/ light tannic bite; med.long light floral/mango some stony/chalky/mineral bit lean/austere slight phenolic/resin finish w/ light tannic bite; rather lean/austere & more like many Piemonte Arneis. $30.00
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2. Idlewild TheBird Flora&FaunaRed MendoCnty (13.2%; 39% Barbera/28.5% Nebbiolo/26% Dolcetto/4% Grignolino/2.5% Freisa) 2016: Med.dark color; fairly grapey/spicy/plummy/licorice/dried herbs some earthy/dusty/Mendo tomatoey light oaked nose; lightly tart/tangy/lean/hard some earthy/loamy/dusty/Mendo tomatoey light spicy/licorice/black cherry/dried herbs/Barbera light vanilla/oak somewhat rustic/Calif old-timey/rough flavor w/ light/rough tannins; long plummy/licorice/spicy/dried herbs rather tart/tangy/hard earthy/loamy/rustic slight vanilla/oak finish w/ some rough/hard tannins; a rather rough/rustic/old-timey Calif red. $25.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Arneis: The Arneis seems a bit of a departure from Sam's previous versions. Those tended to be on the fairly rich/lush side W/ very strong aromatics. The color and the phenolic character seems to suggest there was a bit of skin-contact used in making this wine.
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2. Bird: This is Sam's first red under the F&F label. I find in some/a lot of MendoCnty reds from the UkiahVlly that they have what I call a "tomatoey" character a bit like that of tomato sauce. That "terroir" thing I guess. This wine had it in spades. It reminded me a lot of old-vine Mendo Carignan, like a Parducci; some of a rough/rustic Piemonte Barbera. It's a rather rough/rustic red that I think will benefit from a few yrs of age.
Tom