My shipment of new Massican wines arrived last week, so have tried them all:
1. Massican Annia NapaVlly WW (12.8%; 53% TocaiFriulano/39% RibollaGialla/8% Chard) DanPetroski/Calistoga 2019: Light yellow color; very fragrant Tokai/floral/carnations some chalky/perfumed talc/bit mineral very Friulian slight citric lovely aromatic nose; fairly tart/tangy/bit grapefruity lightweight Tokai/floral/carnations light chalky/mineral/perfumed talc rather quiet/reserved balanced flavor; very long/lingering somewhat floral/Tojai/carnations light chalky/mineral/perfumed talc finish; a very strong resemblence to a Friuli of Felluga Friulano; a lovely laser-sharp Friuli-style white on the quiet/understated side. $30.00
_________
2. Massican SauvBlanc NapaVlly (100% SauvBlanc; 13.3%) 2019: Light gold color w/ small bubbles that dissipate; lovely spicy/SB/melony/floral/gardenias light chalky/perfumed talc slight pencilly quite perfumed/aromatic beautiful nose; quite tart/tangy very strong ripe/melony/SB/floral lightly spicy/perfumed talc bit citric/grapefruity flavor; very long/lingering very floral/melony/SB/gardenias/slight herbal light perfumed talc/chalky finish; a dead-ringer for a great Friuli SB like Jermann; a beautiful SB that reminds some of the Bedrock Waidhofen SB. $28.00
_________
3. Massican Gemina Calif WW (13.0%; 74% PinotBianco/26% Greco) 2019: Med.gold slightly cloudy color; some earthy/chalky light floral/PB slight herbal/new mown grass maybe slight phenolic rather tight/closed nose; quite tart/tangy/grapefruity very slight phenolic (?) light/quiet floral/PB slight herbal/new mown grass bit earthy/rustic flavor; long rather tart/grapefruity/bit pineapple light PB/floral/dandelions slight resiny/phenolic bit earthy/rustic finish; not a bad wine but does not speak strongly of PinotBlanc from Friuli or Sudtirol; not the aromatics you usually get from Gemina; just a bit on the muddled side. $35.00
_______________
1. Massican is, of course, the Friuli-style wines of DanPetroski, winemaker at Larkmead, a Cabernet house. He pretty much has that Friuli style nailed. I can see myself drinking any of his wines at dinner at LaSubida or Frasca.
I was particularly struck by the SauvBlanc, a variety that I am often a bit lukewarm about. A very perfumed/aromatic rendition of SB w/o the herbal overtones of many Calif SB's.
The Gemina was a bit of a puzzle to me. It is usually a very aromatic/perfumed type of wine. This '19 came across as a bit muddled and out of form. There was some suggestion that I may have had a slight degree of skin-contact. Will go back & try one of my older ones in a few days.
Tom