Chris Murphy & Renee and Dave Kammerer & Leslie were in SantaFe, so we got together to taste a few wine & some appetizers. Three that I brought & wanted to try were:
1. Idlewild Cortese FoxHillVnyd/MendoCnty (12.5%; www.IdlewildWines.com; partial skin ferment) 2017: Light gold some hazy color; some stony/earthy bit floral/carnations light phenolic/resiny/skin-contact quite interesting nose; lightly tart some phenolic/resiny light floral/carnations bit earthy/stony/Cortese flavor w/ little tannins; very long some floral/carnations light rsiny/phenolic bit earthy interesting complex finish w/ light tannic bite; a bit on the quiet side for the Idlewild Cortese but should age well & put on weight; a nice balance of Cortese fruit & phenolic. $40.00
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2. Castelli RossoValverde Estate Red Blend RRV/SonomaCnty (14.2%; Cabernet/Sangiovese;
www.CastelliVineyards.com; 30 cs) 2014: Very dark color; very strong herbal/blackcurranty/Cab strong plummy/cherry/Sangio light toasty/oak lovely nose; rather tart bit lean/angular strong cherry/Sangio/blackcurranty/Cab/plummy bit herbal light toasty/oak bit earthy flavor w/ modest brisk tannins; very long bit tart/lean strong cherry/Sangio/blackcurranty/Cab/plummy/light herbal bit toasty/oak finish; speaks both of Sangio & Cab; suggests a bit of a SuperTuscan blend but a bit harder/leaner & not as ripe; should age for -8 yrs; quite an interesting red at a great price. $24.00
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3. LaVrille Vuillermin DOC: Valle d'Aoste (13.5%; EB; www.LaVrille.it) 2016: Dark color; very strong floral/peppery/very spicy bit pungent/ozone some licorice/blackberry/bit Syrah-like light smokey/toasty/oak almost Mondeuse-like quite complex/interesting nose; fairly tart/tangy intense floral/lilacs/pungent/peppery/blackberry/plummy bit earthy/mineral slight pungent/ozone quite complex/mineral very interesting complex flavor w/ ample hard tannins; very long/lingering intense floral/lilacs/peppery/cold-climate/licorice bit earthy/mineral finish; reminds some of Savoie Mondeuse but not as earthy/rustic and more high-toned; a beautiful complex interesting Alpine red. $88.00 (EVN)
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And today's wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Cortese: This is one of the more interesting whites that Sam makes. It's rather different from Piemonte Cortese but I think it's a worl-class expression of that variety. He makes it somewhat differently. The south-facing side of the row gets more sun exposure and colors up a bit, so he harvests them separately and makes as a skin-contact white to capture those phenolics. The north-facing side of the row is made conventionally as direct-to-press. The two wines are then blended together. I've found this Cortese ages very/very well.
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2. Valverde: Emilio's vnyd is in the GreenVlly area just East of Occidental...a pretty cold-climate growing area. He has a tiny bit of Cabernet that ripens here w/ great difficulty. He only makes this SuperTuscan blend in the few yrs he can ripen the grapes. This is the first one I've had and liked it quite a lot.
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3. Vuillermon: This is a variety that is indigeneous to the Val d'Aosta. It is a offspring of the Fumin grape and some other unknown parent. It was thought to be extinct until a few vines were identified in the 1980's in some old vnyds. Planted in only tiny amounts.
This is a new wine that Parissima recently got into EnotecoVinoNostro. Easily the best Vuillermin I've ever had (out of maybe 6-8). Clearly a grape they should be planting all up&down the Coast of Calif.
Tom