Tried these 5 wines over the weekend:
1. CantinaTramin PinotGrigio DOC: Sudtirol-AltoAdige (13%; WinebowImprts; www.CantinaTramin.It) CantinaTramin/Termeno 2020: Light gold color; fairly fragrant PG/floral/pear/carnations light perfumed talc pleasant nose; bit soft pleasant PG/floral/carnations/pear somewhat bland/simple flavor; med.long lightly tangy pleasant floral/PG/carnations/pear finish; not a particularly distinctive PG & rather on the simple side. $18.00 (KK)
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2. Cami dels Zops Anima Mundi White Sparkling Wine (M.Ancestral; 12.5%; JosePastorSlctns/LlauradorWines/Fairfax; Macabeu/Xarel-lo grapes; PetNat) Saint Sadurni d'Anoia/AltPenedes/Spain 2020: Light gold color w/ tons of frothy bubbles that dissapate rapidly leaving a continuous stream of tiny bubbles; very strong yeasty/bready light floral/CB-like/pear/carnations rather attractive nose; quite tart/tangy very frizzante/bubbly that vanishes in the mouth in a frothy explosion some bready/yeasty lightweight floral/carnations/pear light stony/mineral/chalky quite attractive if lightweight flavor; very long very frothy some yeasty/bready light floral/carnations finish; a rather pretty PetNat that froths up when it hits the palate. $22.99 (KK)
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3. Herve Villemade What'sUp Vin de Val de Loire Vin de France Sparkling White Wine (13%; Louis/Dressner Imprts; Natural wine; Chardonnay/Chenin Blanc) Herve Villemade/Cellettes/Loire NV: Med.gold color; lots of tiny bubbles; lightly yeasty/bready mostly stony/chalky very light floral/CB bit simple nose; quite tart fairly bready/yeasty rather stony/chalky/mineral light CB/pear/floral flavor; med.long some bready/yeasty/chalky/stony finish; pleasant enough but a bit simple nearing on vapid; no natty character at all. $27.50 (KK)
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4. Rainoldi Inferno Dd'OCeG Valtellina Superiore Nebbiolo (13%; WinebowImprts) AldoRainoldi/Chiuro/Valtellina 2016: Med.light color w/ some bricking; fairly fragrant floral/Nebb/violets light pungent/tarry fairly classic Valtelline Nebb rather attractive nose; rather tart some earthy/dusty lightly floral/violets/Nebb/lilacs light pungent/tarry pleasant Nebb flavor w/ light bitey tannins; med.long fairly tart lightly floral/violets/Nebb some earthy/dusty bit pungent finish w/ light bit bitey tannins; a pretty enough expression on Valtelline Nebb but a bit undistinguished & underwhelming. $27.00 (KK)
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5. Stolpman LaCuadrilla Program BallardCanyon (14.1%; 70% Syrah/15% Grenache/15% Sangiovese) Lompoc 2019: Very dark color; strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy light toasty/oak slight peppery fairly pleasant SBC Syrah nose; lightly tart rather blackberry/Syrah/spicy bit rough/rustic some toasty/oak flavor w/ some rough/chewey tannins; fairly long strong/blackberry/spicy/Syrah some toasty/oak rather rough/coarse/rustic flavor w/ some coarse tannins; a rather simple/pleasant/rustic expression of SBC Syrah; not of the refined level of the regular Stolpman Syrah. $21.00 (KK)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. TomStolpman gave a small block of his vnyd to his (full-time) vnyd workers to tend the block themselves & make a wine for their own table. He has since expanded the program to make this wine and share the proceeds with the vnyd workers at year's end. This program is described in (https://www.stolpmanvineyards.com/produ ... -Cuadrilla).
Quite an honorable effort on his part I would say. Cudos to Tom.
Tom