Tried these two together last weekend:
1. Forlorn-Hope Barbera SanHercurmer della Frecce ShakeRidgeVnyd/AmadorCnty (13.9%; 127 cs) 2011: Very dark color; very strong Barbera/spicy/Italian sausage/dried Italian herbs bit earthy/dusty very Piemonte Barbera quite fragrant nose; very tart/acidic/tangy/screechy strong Barbera/spicy/dried Italian herbs somewhat earthy/dusty slight oak rather lean/hars/screechy/hurtey flavor w/ ample hard/chewey tannins; very long very acidic/screechy strong Piemonte Barbera/spicy/dried Italian herbs quite Piemonte Barbera finish w/ ample hard tannins; lovely Barbera nose but quite screechy on the palate & hurts to taste; needs more age to drop some tannin; needs fatty food to accompany it.
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2. Forlorn-Hope Barbera L'Asino Santo ShakeRidgeVnyd/AmadorCnty (13.9%; 17 cs; Sans Soufre) 2011: Very dark color; some Barbera/spicy/dried Italian herbs/Italian sausage slight funky/almost mousey not particularly attractive nose; softer fairly tart Barbera/dried Italian herbs/spicy bit richer/lusher lots more Barbera fruit flavor w/ ample gentler tannins; very long bit softer very spicy/Barbera/dried Italian herbs much more Barbera fruit finish w/ modest hard tannins; a bit strange in the nose that clears.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. These are the two identical wines. The L'Asino Santo ("the Sainted Ass") is a single barrel to which he adds no SO2. Both are made 100% whole-cluster. The grapes come from AnnKraemer's ShakeRidge vnyd, one of the best vnyds in AmadorCnty.
These were an interesting comparison of aged SO2 vs non-SO2 wines. The SanHercurmer had a screechy acidity that made it hard to drink. The L'Asino was much softer & more Calif Barbera in character and much more attractive on the palate.
I really like MattRorick's wines. He does a lot of interesting. Reflects a lot his work w/ AbeSchoener.
Tom