Had these few wines over the last several days:
1. Turley PetiteSirah NapaVlly (14.6%) 2019: Very dark/near black color; very strong ripe/PS/blackberry/boysenberry/bit peppery very light toasty/oak quite juicy/fruit forward nose; fairly soft/lush/juicy ripe/PS/blackberry/boysenberry/bit overripe slight earthy/peppery bit simple flavor w/ modest ripe tannins; very long slight fumey/overripe strong PS/blackberry/boysenberry bit earthy/peppery light toasty/oak finish w/ some ripe/chewey tannins; loads of ripe PS fruit but lacking in structure & probably not going to evolve into anything interesting.
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2. Idlewild Barbera FoxHillVnyd/MendoCnty (14.4%) 2018: Very dark color; strong classic Barbera/spicy/dried Italian herbs bit earthy/dusty some toasty/oak fairly rich/lush nose; rather tart/tangy very strong Barbera/Italian sausage/Italian dried herbs/fennel seed light toasty/oak quite structured some dusty/earthy flavor w/ modest chewey tannins; very long strong Barbera/dried Italian herbs/spicy light toasty/oak finish w/ modest chewey tannins; quite a classic Calif Barbera; some like Piemonte Barbera but richer/lusher & not the strident acidity those often show; rather structured & needs 2-5 yrs of age.
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3. Idlewild Cortese FoxHillVnyd/MendoCnty (13.1%) 2018: Med.dark gold color; rather quiet Cortese/floral/earthy/stony/zinnias/pungent slight resiny/skin-contact somewhat shut-down nose; quite tart/tangy some lean/tannic some earthy/stony/Cortese light ViniMacerati/resiny/skin-contactslight floral/pungent/marigolds bit complex flavor w/ light tannins; med.long lightly tart rather stony/earthy/Cortese bit floral/marigolds light VM/skin-contact/phenolic/resiny finish w/ light tannins; a rather quiet/subdued expression of Cortese; seems to be rather closed down & needs some time in btl.
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4. Bedrock Syrah OldLakevilleVnyd/SonomaCoast (Sangiacomo family/Armando Ceja; 33% whole-cluster; 1% Viognier; 60% new oak; 4 brls/1 pincheon; 15.5%) 2007: Very dark color w/ some browning; rather black olive/tapenade/cold-climate/black pepper light toasty/oak some blackberry/Syrah bit Rhonish/smokey/w-c rather complex nose; fairly tart/tangy rather black olive tapenade/c-c/black pepper rather Rhonish/w-c some blackberry/Syrah fairly tannic bit hard/dried out some complex flavor w/ some bitey/drying tannins; quite tart strong c-c/peppery/black olive tapenade strong blackberry/Syrah bit fumey rather tannic/metallic/drying out finish w/ some drying tannins; still lots of c-c/Syrah character but not going to get any better & on its last legs; very interesting c-c nose but pretty hard/drying out on the palate.
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5. FieldRecordings Skins CentralCoast WW (12.1%; 41% CheninBlanc/37% PinotGris/9% Albarino/8% Verdelho/5% Riesling; Vnyds: MartinBros/CatCanyon/Greengate/Zabala/HuerHuero/ChapelHill/NorthFork/MorroView/PomarJunction; http://www.FieldRecordingsWine.com) FieldRecordings/PasoRobles 2020: Deep golden/dark bronze color; very strong resiny/ViniMacerati/phenolic/skin-contact somewhat earthy very slight floral/pear/CB some complex nose; quite tart/tangy/some tannic very strong resiny/VM/phenolic rather earthy/rustic almost no fruit flavor w/ strong tannic/astringent character; med.long very phenolic/VM/resiny almost no fruit some earthy finish w/ strong astringent/bitter tannins; somewhat interesting but agressively phenolic/VM on the palate & rather unattractive; badly dominated by the skin-contact character; needs 4-8 yrs; reminds a lot of a young Kabaj VM which are also agressively phenolic; suspect this will be a very interesting wine down the road but very unattractive right now. $17.00 (KK)
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6. BlackBadger Chard AlexVlly/SonomaCnty (13.5%) V&B by BistueCllrs/Oakville; Carolina Bistue 2018: Light yellow/gold color; pleasant melony/Chard light pencilly/oak rather simple/quotidian nose; rather soft light/pleasant melony/Chard light pencilly/oak rather simple bit dull flavor; med.light pencilly/oak light melony/Chard/bit floral/spicy pleasant enough finish; a pleasant enough Chard but very undistinguished & simple, bordering on dull. $18.00 (AV)
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7. Jaffurs Viognier SantaBarbaraCnty (14.0%) SantaMaria 2000: Dark golde/burnished bronze colr; fairly nutty/toasted hazelnuts/some oxidative light/subtle Viog/pera/peach bit pungent/resiny slight sherry-like rather complex/savory nose; soft fairly oxidative/nutty/bit sherrified slight Viog/floral/peach very light toasty/oak slight pungent/resiny/honeyed rather savory/complex flavor w/ slight bitterness; long fairly nutty/oxidative/sherrified very slight floral/peach/Viog/honeyed some pungent/savory/resiny bit bitter finish; a rather savory old Viog w/ not nearly the Viog fruit the '03 showed; not actually unpleasant but rather interesting in a savory sort of way.
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8. Jaffurs Grenache StolpmanFamilyVnyd/SantaBarbaraCnty (14.0%) SantaMaria 2000: Med.light color w/some browning; rather cedary/pencilly/oldRed bit old Grenache/CdP-like some toasty/oak bit complex nose; soft rather tired/cedary/pencilly/oldRed slight Grenache/strawberry bit old CdP-like bit metallic/tired/dried out flavor w/ light drying tannins; med. soft rather dried-out/tired some cedary/pencilly/oldRed bit old CdP-like finish w/ light drying /astringent tannins; some interesting old CdP-like things therein but pretty much tired/dead & gone.
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9. Jaffurs Syrah BienNacidoVnyd/SantaBarbaraCnty (14.0%) SantaMaria 2000: Very dark/near black color w/ some bricking; very strong blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry some black cherry/BN/blacp pepper/cold-climate fairly toasty/smokey/oak rather complex some Rhonish/roasted/pungent quite attractive/complex nose; fairly tart/tangy strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy classic BN/black cherry some toasty/charred/smokey/Fr.oak slight earthy/dusty rather complex Rhonish/roasted/w-c flavor w/ light drying tannins; very long lightly tart strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy/c-c/peppery some roasted/Rhonish/w-c rather smokey/Fr.oak classic BN/black cherry finish w/ some drying tannins; fully mature & beautiful Rhonish aromatics but unlikely to get any better; lovely classic mature BN Syrah.
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10. LimerickLane Zin RRV/SonomaCnty (14.7%; http://www.LimerickLaneWines.com) Healdsburg 2017: Med.dark color; strong blackberry/Zin/RRV peppery/spicy bit ripe/boysenberry some pencilly/Am.oak fairly intense/lovely Zin nose; lightly tart/tangy strong ripe/blackberry/Zin/boysenberry bit RRV/peppery strong vanilla/Am.oak slight dusty/OV bit lean/wirey bit simple flavor w/ light bitey tannins; med.long fairly strong spicy/Zin/blackberry/ripe bit RRV Zin/peppery some pencilly/Am.oak bit lean/wirey/angular finish w/ light bitey tannins; somewhat angular/hard on the palate & lacks the richness of a Carlisle or Bedrock; a lovely classic LL Zin nose but rather tight/bitey/lean on the palate & probably not going to go anywhere.
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11. Ridge GrenacheBlanc AdelaidaVnyd/PasoRobles (13.0%; 77% GrenacheBlanc/15% Roussanne/8% Picpoul; bttld May 2021; Drk: 3/21-3/25-3/26: JO) 2020: Light gold color; very strong honeyed/floral/honeysuckle/GB/gardenias light pencilly/Am.oak slight chalky/mineral/perfumed talc very aromatic lovely nose; lightly tart ripe/GB/honeysuckle/floral/gardenias/bit spicy light chalky/mineral balanced lovely very perfumed flavor; very long/lingering very floral/honeysuckle/gardenias/GB/honeyed light pencilly/oak slight perfumed talc/mineral finish; rather rich/lush w/ loads of GB fruit but well away from DollyParton territory; not as over-the-top/overripe as many Paso GB & very well balanced; should go another 4-6 yrs w/ ease. $35.00 (AV)
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12. Ryme Fiano LagoVnyd/SonomaCnty (12.2%) 2013: Med.gold color; strong apple/quince bit floral/apple blossom some earthy/stony bit spicy/cardamon some complex rather attractive/low-key nose; fairly tart rather stony/mineral/chalky bit lightweight strong apple/quince/Fiano bit earthy/rustic slight metallic/steely some complex/interesting flavor; very long rather mineral/stony/earthy slight metallic/steely bit lean/tight some apple/quince bit rustic/Fiano quite interesting finish; not the high-toned aromatics of the Vermentino but a rather rustic/savory Fiano w/ some South Italianate character; nothing profound but a rather interesting expression of Fiano.
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13. Ryme Aglianico LunaMattaVnyd/PasoRobles (14.1%) 2009: Very dark color w/ fair amount of bricking; very strong black cherry/licorice/cherry bit pungent some smokey/toasty/oak rather earthy/dusty/rustic slight graphite/ozone quite interesting/attractive nose w/ lots of bass notes; quite tart very tannic/rough/rustic/hard very strong black cherry/boysenberry/licorice/pungent/Aglianico rather toasty/smokey/oak quite structured flavor w/ ample hard/astringent/rough tannins; very long huge/mouthfilling/rough/rustic rather black cherry/licorice/boysenberry some toasty/smokey/oak rugged/tannic/rough/coarse finish w/ ample rough/astringent tannins; no PasoRobles character whatsoever; a huge extracted rough/astringent/rugged Aglianico that will probably never evolve & become attractive to drink; some very attractive Aglianico in the nose but pretty brutal/rugged on the palate.
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14. Bedrock Compagni Portis Vnyd/SonomaVlly/SonomaCnty WW (14.7%; Plntd: 1954; Pharmed by PhilCoturri; GWT/TrousseauGris/Riesling/Burger + others) 2012: Med.gold color; rather fragrant floral/R/mango light GWT/spicy slight pungent/Mosel valve oil slight pencilly/oak bit complex quite lovely nose; lightly tart/tangy rather floral/GWT/spicy/mango slight earthy/dusty/OV light Mosel valve oil/pungent fairly rich/lush light melony/earthy some complex flavor; very long/lingering some tart/tangy rather rich/lush rather spicy/GWT/mango/R/pineapple light pencilly/oak complex finish; speaks both of R & GWT; reminds mostly of a middle-aged Alsace GWT, a bit of Trentino GWT; has evolved into quite a lovely/complex white.
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15. Bedrock Syrah NorthCoast (14.5%; 33%-50% whole-cluster; 11 mo. in barrel; 14 brls) 2012: Rather dark color w/ slight bricking; very strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy some cold-climate/black pepper rather roasted/Rhonish/graphite/ozone/WWII beacon some toasty/smokey/Fr.oak beautiful complex nose; lightly tart/tangy very strong blackberry/quite spicy/Syrah some light pencilly/toasty/Fr.oak some c-c/black pepper bit roasted/Rhonish/smokey/w-c/spicy/graphite some complex flavor w/ modest tangy tannins; very long/lingering very spicy/blackberry/Syrah/black pepper/c-c rather Rhonish/w-c/smokey light toasty/oak finish w/ modest grippy tannins; a lovely c-c/Syrah rather Rhonish/roasted @ a great price; needs a few more yrs & will go out another 8-10 yrs I would guess.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. IdlewildCortese: Sam makes his Cortese in a rather unusual way. The South-facing sides of the rows get a lot of sun exposure and he picks them separately & ferments them w/ some skin-contact. The other side is less ripe and goes direct to press. This gives his Cortese a somewhat ViniMacerati/phenolic/skin-contact character but not agressively so as some skin-contact whites. It's a world-class expression of Cortese.
This '18 was a bit of a disappointment in that it seemed rather closed down & lacked the aromatics it usually shows. I expect w/ a few yrs in btl, it will put on weight and be aromatically much more interesting. His Cortese is one that typically ages very well.
Tom
