When I arrived for my last trip to the Bay area (8/29/19), as we usually do, a bunch of us got together for dinner:
1. Failla Viognier AlbanVnyd/EdnaVlly (14.7%) 2010: Med.gold color; bit nutty/oldViog some remaining pear/Viog some pencilly/oak somewhat complex lovely nose; quite tart/tangy some nutty/toasted hazelnuts/oldViog/honeyed some pencilly/cedary/oak slight pear/Viog/fruit bit hard/austere flavor; very long/lingering tart/austere/angular rather nutty/old Viog some pencilly/oak finish; showing some age but drinking quite well and lots of nutty/oldViog character; best to be drunk up.
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2. Harrington Chard LiebelerVnyd/SantaCruzMtns (13.1%) 2018: Light gold color; strong ripe/melony/Chard rather toasty/smokey/oak slight earthy/dusty/mineral nose; rather rich/lush strong melony/Chard/lemony/ripe some toasty/smokey/oak bit earthy/dusty/stony/mineral bit complex flavor; very long/lingering ripe/melony/lemony/peach/Chard some toasty/smokey/oak bit mineral/earthy finish; a lovely Chard that shows that somewhat earthy/mineral character you find in SCM Chards; some like the MtEden Chards w/ less oak.
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3. Briceland Arneis SpiritCanyonVnyd/MendoCnty (13.5%) 2017: Light yellow color; fairly fragrant floral/Arneis/carnations slight stony bit quiet/low-key nose; tart some Arneis/floral/carnations slight stony flavor; long lightly floral/Arneis/carnations lightly stony finish; a fairly pleasant Arneis but a bit on the quiet/mild-mannered side.
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4. Peay 71%Roussanne/29% Marsanne Estate/SonomaCnty (12.6%) 2012: Light gold color; quite fragrant Rouss/honeyed/honeysuckle/floral/Rouss rather rather spicy bit pencilly/oak slight earthy somewhat complex lovely nose; very light nutty/agedRouss strong floral/Rouss/honeysuckle/honeyed slight pencilly/oak rather spicy slight earthy flavor; very long/lingering lightly tart rather rich/spicy slight pencilly/oak balanced rather honeysuckle/Rouss flavor; quite a youthful Rouss showing little signs of age.
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5. LaddCllrs Chard CuveeVoile Calif 2017: Light gold color; slight nutty/oxidized/yeasty/sherry some melony/Chard very complex nose; lightly tart some nutty/oxidized/sherry-like some ripe/melony/Chard quite complex flavor; shows some of the sous voile character with some melony/Chard character; one of the most exotic Calif Chards I've ever tried; amazing stuff; words fail me on this one; resembles strongly many of the sous voile Chards from the Jura but w/ more fruit as well.
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6. Dom.Arnoux-LaChaux Echezeaux Grand Cru 2010: Med.color; strong earthy/dusty/OV bit loamy some violets/PN/floral light toasty/oak bit complex nose; fairly tart/tangy bit hard/angular some toasty/pencilly/oak light floral/violets/PN some earthy/dusty/loamy/root cellar flavor w/ some hard/chewey tannins; very long rather hard/lean some earthy/dusty/loamy light floral/violets/PN finish; a bit on the rustic side and a bit tight/hard; probably needs some age; not the mind-blowing RedBurg I was expecting for a GrandCru.
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7. MarchWines St.Laurent RicciVnyd/Carneros (11.9%; www.marchwines.com) MC Wine Group/Napa 2018: Med.dark color; very strong plummy/St.L/bit blackberry light earthy/loamy almost PN/floral quite lovely aromatic nose; lightly tart light toasty/oak strong plummy/St.L/blackberry/boysenberry bit loamy/earthy quite floral flavor w/ modest tangy tannins; very long/lingering strong plummy/St.L/blackberry/bit floral/PN-like light toasty/oak finish; an absolutely lovely expression of St.Laurent; lots of lovely aromatics w/ a bit of that earthy/loamy character you find in Burgenland St.L; more high-toned/floral/less rustic than Matt's St.L.
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8. Harrington Alvarelhao SumuKawVnyd/ElDoradoCnty (13.2%) 2018: Med.color; quite fragrant/perfumed/lightly floral slight earthy/rustic/ElD mushroomy fairly high-toned nose; lightly tart quite perfumed/floral/violets/bit plummy slight earthy/rustic very interesting flavor w/ light gentle tannins; very long some floral/violets/almost Nebb-like bit rustic/earthy finish w/ light tannins; quite a pretty easy-drinking red w/ a bit of rustic character and speaks quietly of ElDoradoCnty.
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9. Alban Abbott Viognier T.B.A. EdnaVlly (9.1%) 2000: Dark brown/burnished bronze color; very intense botrytis/peachy/apricotty/raisened no Viog fairly complex TBA nose; rather tart some sweet/sour very intense botrytis/peachy/apricotty fairly sweet slight earthy some complex flavor; very long/lingering rather sweet very intense botrytis/peachy/apricotty bit earth rather tart/tangy finish; loads of intense botrytis and not much else; fairly typical of an old Calif TBA.
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A brief BloodyPulpit:
1. When I make a Bay area trip, we often get together for dinner that first night w/ a bunch of wino friends: KenZinns/BryanHarrington/EricLundblad/TomLeaf/AlanRath to share some interesting/special btls. Bryan had made arrangements for a no-corkage night at the BluePlate restaurant in TheCite; in UpperMission/BernalHeights area. As usual, the food was outstanding. The wines were outstanding. And the company couldn't have been better. My TN's are a bit sparse because there was a lot of chin-waggin' going on.
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2. CuveeVoile: This wine was a real eye-opener for me. This wine was made with one barrel "sous voile" (under a veil of flor yeast) as they often make whites (Chard & Sauvignin) in the Jura, blended w/ one barrel of conventional Chard. This is an amazing Chard that very much resembles those from the Jura, but w/ more fruit present. I kept going back to this wine until the btl was drained, finding new things every time as it breathed. Not yet released but I'm getting some.
JuraSousVoile
Bonne/VoileWhites
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3. March: This is a new wnry for me. Winemaking team in Napa of Maura Christoffers and Charley Johnson. I stumbled upon it at BayGrape wines and, having had RicciVnyds St.Laurent from MattRorick/Forlorn-Hope, wanted to try it right away. I was quite impressed w/ this wine. It had some of the earthy/loamy character you get from Burgenland St.L but more high-toned floral character. I took a btl of Matt's St.L to share w/ HannesSchuster in St.Margarethen and he was impressed by it. I'd love to show him a btl of this March St.L.
Tom