WTN: Three Whites @ Dinner....(short/boring)

Had these three whites over the last two dinners:
1. PuntaCrena Mataossu Vigneto Reine IGT: Colline Savonesi/Liguria (12.5%; Kermit-LynchImports; Plntd: 1930) Az.Agr. PuntaCrena/famiglia Ruffino/Savona/Liguria 2018: Med.light gold color; rather fragrant floral/carnations/spicy/perfumed talc light chalky/mineral slight apple/pear lovely fragrant nose; lightly tart/slight metallic rather floral/carnations/gardenias/spicy some mineral/perfumed talc/chalky fairly taut/wirey quite interesting flavor; very long/lingering rather floral/gardenias/carnations/spicy ligt chalky/perfumed talc totally dry finish; a lovely spicy/floral aromatic white w/ nice minerality; reminds a lot of Ligurian Pigato but a bit less aromatics & more chalky minerality; quite a pretty white. $30.00 (K-L)
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2. TerroirDrivenWines Quinta Essentia CheninBlanc Stellenbosch/Cape of Good Hope/SouthAfrica (14.0%; www.QuintaEssentiaWinery.com; Importer: BetzFamilyWines/Redmond; RS: 0.27 gm/100 mlDrk: 2017-2027-2032) Stellenbosch 2017: Med.light yellow color; clean/bright/crisp floral/pear/CB/slight herbal some mineral/chalky quite aromatic/perfumed rather dusty/OV lovely nose; very tart/tangy crisp/vibrant floral/apple/pear/CB bit spicy/thyme rather dusty/OV quite mineral/chalky/perfumed talc complex flavor; very long/lingering very tart/tangy/slight metallic strong CB/pear/apple/quince fairly mineral/chalky/perfumed talc rather dusty/mineral/OV some complex finish; a vibrant/wirey/crisp expression of OV CB w/ lots of minerality; pricey at $40.00 (KK)
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3. Unico Zelo Esoterico AmberWine Riverland & ClareVlly (12.5%; Fiano/Zibbibo/MoscatoGiallo/GWT/Greco; Epicurean Wines/Seattle) Brendan & Laura 2020: Med.gold color w/ some bubbles; rather cloudy/murky color; strong resiny/quite cidery/phenolic/ViniMacerati very light floral/muscatty/fragrant/aromatic bit earthy/loamy nose; very tart/tangy/metallic very strong VM/cidery/phenolic lightly floral/muscatty slight metallic/orangey/earthy bit austere/tannic flavor; very long/lingering rather VM/cidery/resiny/phenolic very light floral/muscatty fairly earthy/coarse finish; pretty much dominated by the cidery/VM character & not particularly attractive on the palate; needs more age; a natural wine but no particular natty character; an interesting amber wine. $20.00 (KK)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Mataossu: This is a native grape in Liguria that was rescued from extinction by the Ruffino family. A synonym for the Lumassina grape.
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2. OldVines White: I think I'm starting to get a handle on what OV whites taste like. This CB had a chalky minerality that I find in the Bedrock WirzVnyd R and the Bedrock MonteRosso Semillon. It's not the dusty character I get in OV Zin, but a bit similiar. Doubt that I could recognize OV White character blind, though.
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3. Esoterico: I liked this wine a lot more than I expected to. It's a natural wine, so I was expecting a lot of natty/unclean character. It was not there. But it was dominated by the cidery/resiny character that was not particularly attractive.
Tom

[David M. Bueker]

Esoterico is a name I like very much. Too bad the wine isn’t more enticing.

Esoterico is a name I like very much. Too bad the wine isn’t more enticing.

Yup, David...the name was probably the high-point of the experience.
Tom

[Jenise]

Love your description of that Ligurian white, right up my alley. Re the Betz chenin--yeah, I've had several vintages over the last 5 or 6 years and feel about them as you do. Good enough, but overpriced.

[David M. Bueker]

Re the Betz chenin--yeah, I've had several vintages over the last 5 or 6 years and feel about them as you do. Good enough, but overpriced.

Well almost every US produced Chenin is overpriced, so why not Chenin imported by a US winery.

[Jenise]

True-ish. We just had the 2020 last week from L'Ecole 41, this one made by the new head winemaker Marcus Rafanelli. Brighter with less oak influence than his predecessor's; one I'd seek out at $20ish.