Tried these two over the weekend:
1. Forlorn-Hope Vermentino baron von verm Rorick Heritage Vnyd/CalaverasCnty/SierraFoothills (12.70%) 2018: Med.gold/bronze color; some phenolic/ViniMacerati/resiny/skin-contact some Verm/floral/carnations/spicy/curry bit earthy/dusty fairly fragrant nose; very tart/tangy/acidic/bit metallic some VM/phenolic/resiny very light Verm/floral/spicy some earthy/dusty bit austere/severe flavor w/ some tangy tannins; long quite tart/tangy rather austere/dry/bit severe strong phenolic/VM/resiny/earthy finish w/ some tangy tannins; some Verm/floral in the nose but little fruit on the palate; not much pleasure to taste on its own & badly needs spicy food; should be much better w/ 3-5 yrs of age; a rather austere/severe VM at this young age. $32.00
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2. Ryme Vermentino "His" LasBrisasVnyd/Carneros/SonomaCnty (12.4%) 2019: Deep gold/burnished bronze rather cloudy color; very strong VM/skin-contact/phenolic/resiny light floral/Verm/carnations some orangey/honey graham/graham cracker/honeycomb bit herbal rather complex nose; some tart/tangy/bit metallic strong VM/phenolic/resiny light Verm/floral/carnations some honeyed/honey graham/orangey fairly complex flavor w/ light tannins; very long/lingering strong phenolic/VM some earthy/dusty some honey graham/graham cracker/honeycomb rather tart/austere finish w/ light bitey tannins; lots of VM/phenolic character (more so than previous ones at this point) & not a lot of fruit on the palate; needs 4-8 yrs but will probably be an outstanding VM w/ age. $32.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. I was not expecting a whole lot of pleasure in these two skin-contact Vermentinos just after their release. Both are dominated by the skin-contact character right now.
Megan & Ryan Glaab make two Vermentinos from FrankMahoney's LasBrisas vnyd, a "Hers" & a "His". The "Hers" is made by conventional direct-to-crush fermentation. It's consistently one of my favorite Vermentinos. This "His" is made as a ViniMacerati w/ varying degrees of skin-contact, frmtd in amphorae I believe. When young, I usually prefer the "Hers". But w/ age, the "His" can age into a beautiful wine. This '19 "His" has particularly strong phenolics, but I'm confident it will develop into an incredible example of aged VM.
Tom