Tried these three last night:
1. Forlorn-Hope Picpoul RorickVnyd/CalaverasCnty (12.27%) Murphys 2014: Med.gold color; strong appley/pear bit herbal/grassy/SauvBlanc-like slight earthy bit new mown hay/Kansas hayloft interesting nose; quite tart/tangy/bit steely rather apple/pear/herbal/grassy/haymow some earthy/chalky/mineral little fruit flavor; med.long quite tart/tangy/metallic light apple/pear rather mineral/stony/chalky slight herbal/grassy rather lean finish; rather a lip-stinger true to its name; a rather lean/mineral/steely white w/ little fruit that offers up little in the way of joy.
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2. Arnot-Roberts Zin KirschenmannVnyd/MokelumneRiver/Lodi (13.5%; 3 brls) Healdsburg 2019: Med.light color; strong earthy/loamy/Lodi/mushroomy very light raspberry/Zin bit emaciated nose; quite tart/tangy/lean bit prickly light raspberry/Zin/slight spicy some earthy/Lodi/loamy/mushroomy bit dusty/OV rather lean/thin/eviscerated/spare flavor w/ light tangy tannins; med.short quite lean/tart/tangy/emaciated light raspberry/Zin some earthy/Lodi/loamy/mushroomy finish w/ light tannins; a mean little Zin that speaks mostly of Lodi Zin in a high-pitched/whiney voice; an ugly little Zin true to the A-R spare/lean style; offers up little pleasure.
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And desperate for something good, I cracked:
3. Lagier-Meredith Tribidrag MtVeeder/NapaVlly RW (15.3%) 2013: Quite dark color w/ no bricking; very strong Zin/blackberry/boysenberry/licorice very classic MtVeeder spicy/peppery light pencilly/toasty/Fr.oak fairly complex beautiful peppery/Zin nose; quite tart/tangy quite rich/structured very strong MtVeeder spicy/peppery/blackberry/boysenberry/Zin some toasty/Fr.oak rather wirey/crunchy fairly complex lovely flavor w/ ample brisk tannins; very long/lingering very strong Zin/blackberry/boysenberry/licorice quite MtVeeder/peppery/very spicy quite structured/chewey some toasty/Fr.oak complex finish w/ ample tannins; starting to show a bit of evolution but quite structured that belies the 15.3 alcohol; still needs age to resolve the tannins; seems a bit awkward/angular right now but packed w/ flavor & aromatics; reminds a bit of MikeBernstein's MtVeederWnry Zins but more structure but same peppery spiciness; a Zin built for the long haul.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Arnot-Roberts: This Zin was not a bad wine, but in a style that does not at all work w/ Zin. I'm about to give up on the A-R reds. The whites work a lot better w/ this style.
Tom