1. AndisWines Schioppettino SierraFoothills (EG; 13.5%; www.AndisWines.com) AndyFriedlander & Janis Akuna/Plymouth 2017: Dark color; very strong classic Schio/black pepper/bit licorice/black cherry/boysenberry slight earthy/briary bit rustic lovely nose; fairly tart/tangy structured strong black pepper/black cherry/licorice classic Schio slightly rustic flavor some complex finish w/ some raspy tannins; very long/lingering strong black pepper/black cherry/bit licorice/pungent quite structured bit rustic/earthy/briary finish w/ modest gritty tannins; a classic expression of Schio; needs 2-5 yrs yet. $32.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. I tasted the first Andis Schio in May'18:
Tom wrote:9. AndisWines Schioppettino Estate/AmadorCnty (15%; www.AndisWines.com; 2 brls) Plymouth 2015: Very dark color;
rather overripe/raisened/pruney some alcoholic/fumey slight black pepper/Schio rather Amador/briary/boysenberry
nose; soft rather overripe/pruney/raisened some alcoholic/fumey slight Schio/pepper some Amador/briary flavor
w/ light ripe tannins; long very ripe/overripe/pruney/late hrvsty slight peppery/Schio flinish w/ light ripe
tannins; an overripe/late-hrvsty/fumey character that belies the 15% alc level; more like an Amador LateHrvst
Zin than anything; it does have some Schio/pepper character beneath the overripe fruit. $30.00/500 ml
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BloodyPulpit:
2. Andis: When I was last up to Amador, I stopped into the Andis tasting room. The wnry/tasting room is a dramatic
architecture statement that sorta sticks from the usual low-key/rustic/industrial facilities that dominate the
ShenandoahVlly. They have the classic ShenandoahVlly lineup of wines; Zin/Barbera/Syrah/Grenache/SauvBlancetc.
Overall, I thought the wines were quite sound/well-made/4-square ShenandoahVlly wines. I was particularly
impressed by the Semillon from DillianRanch; a variety that I think deserves a lot more respect up there.
A month ago, MikeDunne had an article on four Amador wineries that he thought are worth visiting. What caught
my eye were the two wines that he recommended: a skin-contact Viognier and a Schioppettino. This is only the
fourth Schio in Calif of which I am aware. And I was unaware that anybody in Amador was playing around with
skin-contact whites. So, of course, I had to try these two wines and ordered some. GM JenaePlasse was a
great help in getting these wines to me.
I was particularly impressed with the skin-contact/orange Viognier. The phenolics were definitely present
but there were a lot of other things going on in this wine. Worth seeking out. The Schio was less impressive.
It, indeed, speak of Schio, but w/ a whisper. It was swamped by the overripe/late-hrvsty character that
reminded me some of the Montevina or Santino/Renwood late-hrvst Zins of yesteryear. I suspect that Schio has
a real potential, like Nebbiolo, in the ShenandoahVlly and very much look forward to trying their future
efforts if they can reign the ripeness level.
I found the '15 Schio rather interesting but not very typical Schio. Darrell was right. With this '17; Andis has nailed it. Easily the best Calif Schio I've yet tried. Not quite as good as the Ronchi di Cialla's, but getting pretty close. Terrific wine at a very good price. There's a future for Schio in the ShenandoahVlly.
Tom