We tasted last night (12/4/19) Some New Interesting Whites:
3. Ryme Vermentino LasBrisasVnyd/Carneros/SonomaCnty (Hers; 11.2%) 2018: Med.light yellow color; strong
bright/Vermen/floral/carnations slight herbal/haymow quite fragrant lovely nose; fairly tart/tangy/
bit grapefruity strong Verm/floral/carnations slight herbal flavor; very long rather tart/tangy/
grapefruity strong Vermen/floral lovely finish; quite a pretty expression of Vermen w/ lovely aromatics
and plenty of flavor despite the 11.2% alcohol. $25.00
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4. Ryme Vermentino LasBrisasVnyd/Carneros/SonomaCnty (His; 12.4%) 2018: Med.gold color; some phenolic/
resiny/skin-contact slight floral/Vermen/carnations bit haymow/pungent some complex nose; strong
phenolic/resiny/skin-contact rather tannic/austere slight Vermen/floral flavor w/ some tangy/bitey
tannins; very long rather phenolic/resiny very light floral/Vermen complex finish; nice balance of
phenolic & Vermen fruit on the nose but mostly phenolics on the palate; bit on the austere side and
needs 3-6 yrs. $32.00
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5. Dom.Pieretti AC: Coteaux du Cap Corse Vin de Corse (13.5%; Vermentinu; SacredThirstSlctns/Moraga;
www.SacredThirstSelections.com) Luri 2017: Med.light yellow color; quite fragrant Vermen/floral/
carnations slight herbal/dusty/earthy quite lovely nose; fairly tart strong floral/Vermen/carnations
slight herbal/haymow/earthy flavor; very long strong Vermen/floral/carnations bit earthy finish; quite
an attractive example of Corsican Vermen; a bit coarser than the "Hers" but not as rustic as many
Corsican Vermens. $30.00 (Prima)
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6. TerraInitia Rkatsiteli Qvevri Kakheti/Georgia (13%; Frmtn: 6 mo; Aged: 4 mo. in barrel; WineDiscovery/
Georgia; BlackLambWines/Oakland 2017: Rather bronze/golden color; rather phenolic/skin-contact/resiny
some honeyed/honeycomb/graham cracker bit pungent complex nose; soft rich very strong phenolic/resiny/
skin-contact some pungent/honeycomb/graham cracker flavor w/ some bitey tannins; very long strong
phenolic/resiny bit pungent/honeycomb/graham cracker finish; quite a good qvevri Rkats dominated by
the phenolic character but some Rkats fruit in there and no signs of oxidation; not as hard/austere
as most. $21.00 (BG)
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7. Carlisle TheDerivative f'(x) SonomaCnty WW (13.8%; RossiRanch/ManciniRanch/PaganiRanch; 48% Muscadelle/
29% Semillon/21% Colombard/2% Palomino; 215 cs) Windsor 2017: Med.light yellow/gold color; very fragrant
strong/floral/gardenias almost Friulano-like lovely aromatic nose; lightly tart fairly rich/lush very
floral/gardenias/spicy almost muscatty slight orangey lovely flavor; very long/lingering lightly tart
fairly rich/lush very floral/gardenias/spicy almost muscatty finish; resembles mostly a very good Friuli
Friulano; quite a pretty white that should be even better w/ 2-4 yrs of age; another terrific Derivative.
$23.00
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8. Harrington TwelveMoons Calif WW (13.2%; 48% each Greco di Tufo/Malvasia from GianelliVnyd/TuolumneCnty;
Moscato from LunaMattaVnyd/PasoRobles; 4 yrs in Acacia brls & SS; 74 cs) NV: Light gold rather cloudy/hazy
color w/ some bubbles; intense muscatty/floral/lavender/exotic soap slight volatile bit earthy very
exotic/perfumey bit complex nose; some tart/tangy bit frizzante intensely muscatty/floral/lavender maybe
off-dry very exotic flavor; very long/lingering intense muscatty/floral/lavender bit frizzante finish;
doesn't have the bright/clean aromatics of most Calif Muscats; a rather bizarre/exotic expression of
ripe Muscat more like a Moscatel de Setubel; a rather weird Muscat but sorta likeable. $35.00
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9. BrendanTracey Romorantin VdFrance (12%; GoatboySlctns/NY) Sainte-Anne/Cour-Cheverny/Loire 1998: Med.gold
color; bit natty/funky/slight mousey/bit toe jam slight aged Chard/orangey/vanilla wafer unusual/
interesting nose; soft fairly lush somewhat natty/funky/toe jam/mousey bit old WhiteBurg/aged flavor w/
no signs of oxidation; very long/lingering some natty/funky/toe jam bit old WhiteBurg/earthy savory
interesting finish; shows some funky/natty character but no oxidation; an interesting old White but not
altogether pleasurable; strange stuff. $42.00 (OWB)
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10. Baja Falanghina Dd'OC: CampiFlegrei (12.5%; www.PoggioLaNoce.com; TelenteyImports/NY) Poggio la Noce/
Fiesole 2016: Med.yellow color; quite fragrant floral/gardenias bit earthy slight metallic/steely very
attractive nose; bit soft slight metallic/tangy fairly rich/lush strong floral/gardenias slight earthy
very interesting flavor; very long some floral/gardenias bit earthy/tangy/metallic rather rich/lush finish;
quite fragrant for a Falanghina, not the usual coarse/stony, and one of the best I've had. $28.00 (BWC)
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11. Harrington GrenacheBlanc SilettoVnyd/SanBenitoCnty (11.1%; 48 cs; SaH: 19 Brix) SanFrancisco 2017: Med.
gold color; bit toasty/oak fragrant floral/GB/honeysuckle some smokey slight earthy rather interesting
nose; soft light pencilly/oak/smokey some floral/honeysuckle/GB rather rich/lush quite interesting flavor;
very long soft ripe/GB/floral/honeysuckle some toasty/smokey/oak; rather rich for 11.1% and doesn't seem
eviscerated or lean; not the usual effusive fruit of most GB's; a quite interesting if atypical Calif GB.
$28.00
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12. Boveri Luigi Filari di Timorasso DOC: Coli Tortonesi (15%; ToscoImprts) LuigiBoveri/Costa Vescovato/
Derthona 2016: Light yellow color; lovely fragrant lemony/Timo/floral/apple blossom very aromatic nose;
bit soft rich/lush very strong floral/lemony/apple blossom/quite spicy loads of Timo fruit flavor; very
long/lingering ripe/Timo/floral/apple blossom finish; loads of ripe Timo fruit but not the minerality or
interest of a WalterMassa or Colombera Timo. $29.00 (EVN)
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13. ZenithVnyd Auxerrois Estate Eola-AmityHills/WilametteVlly (13.2%; www.ZenithVineyard.com) Tim&Kari Ramey
w/ MarkVlossak/winemaker 2015: Light gold color; rather fragrant floral/honeysuckle/spicy almost GB-like
quite lovely nose; lightly tart rather rich/lush floral/honeysuckle/GB-like spicy quite attractive flavor;
very long floral/honeysuckle lightly tart rich/lush spicy finish; quite an attractive white that rather
resembles GrenacheBlanc in character. $30.00
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More erstepiddle from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Ryme: Megan & Ryan take their Vermentino from Frank Mahoney's LasBrisas vnyd on the South edge of the
Carneros. The "Hers" is made by direct-to-press standard white wine techniques. The "His" is made w/
several weeks of skin-contact. When tasted side-by-side, most people prefer the "Hers" for its bright/
vibrant/fresh fruit. The "His" usually shows a fair amount of phenolic character and really starts to
come into its own after a few yrs of btl age. Both are two of the best Vermentinos made in Calif.
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2. Romorantin: This grape was originally thought to be a Pinot X GouaisBlanc (same as Auxerrois) but was
later found to be a PinotTenterier X GouaisBlanc. Originally fairly widely planted in the Loire, because
it has difficulty ripening, it is now grown only in Cheverny. It supposedly has a reputation for aging, but
I was surprised to find a '98 on the shelf at OrdinaireWineBar back in August.
GoatBoySlctns, as one might expect, is an importer of "natural" wines. This wine certainly showed some
of that natty character, but was not altogether unpleasant...just sorta interesting. The next night, it was
pretty much the same and had not gone South like I would have expected.
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3. Falanghina: This wine is from the more widely planted Falanghina Flegrea. The other planted in Campania is
the FalanghinaBenevento.
Tom