Tried these four Natural Wines over the weekend:
1. Sieman Occhio al Bianco IGT: Veneto Bianco (12%; Garganega/TaiBianco/Incrocio Manzoni; CriticalMassSlctns/T.ElentenyImprts/NY; L.0219; www.Sieman.It) Marcel/Daniele/Andrea Filippini/Villaga 2018: Dark gold/bronze rather cloudy color; rather musky/pungent some floral/carnations some resiny/phenolic/bit VM slight herbal/Kansas hay mow rather interesting nose; bit soft/tangy some VM/phenolic/resiny slight floral/herbal/Kansas hay mow/slight pungent bit off-dry (0.4%-0.6% r.s.) low fruit rather strange flavor; med. some light VM/resiny/phenolic slight tangy/metallic bit herbal/vegetal/Kansas haymow rather strange finish; a somewhat interesting if rather strange white & not particularly attractive; more of an intellectual than a hedonistic experience. $22.50 (KK)
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2. Agricola Grillos Cantores MI NENA Vineda Cerezo Guarilhue, LaLeonera D.O. Itata/Chile (12.5%; Corinto/ChasselasDore; Velo de Flor; Brazos Wine Imprts/Brooklyn/NY; www.BrazosWine.com) MDA Wines/Santiago/Chile 2019: Med.dark gold color; very strong flor/yeasty/sherry/bready some oxidative/earthy some complex nose; soft rather flor yeast/bready/quite sherry-like bit oxidative complex rather savory flavor w/ light tannins; med.short strong flor yeast/bready/yeasty somewhat oxidative little fruit soft finish; speaks strongly of flor yeast but no fruit & a bit oxidative; not the bracing acidity of a flor sherry & more like a sherry-light; a rather strange/savory white but not particularly attractive to taste & badly needs food. $19.50 (KK)
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3. Ruth Lewandowski naomi GrenacheGris GibsonRanch American Dry WW (13.6%; U/U; www.RuthLewandowskiWines.com) Ruth Lewandowski Wines/Geyserville NV : Med.gold very cloudy color; rather strong phenolic/resiny/VM slight mousey/funky/natty/unclean light pungent/herbal/Kansas haymow/earthy little fruit rather strange nose; lightly tart some VM/resiny/skin-contact/phenolic fairly natty/mousey/funky/earthy virtually no fruit flavor w/ slight tanninc bite; med.long bit tart rather natty/mousey/funky/unclean/earthy little fruit finish; a natural wine that's a bit too natty for my tastes but not off the charts; can choke it down but it offers up little in te way of pleasure; seems a waste of some exceptional fruit. $27.00 (KK)
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4. Julien Pineau LesSucettes a ;'Anuis Vin de France (12%; Louis/Dressner Slctns; L20.1; Pineau d'Anuis grape) Mareuil sur Cher/Touraine/Loire NV(2020): Med.dark color w/ considerable foaming that dissipates; quite earthy/loamy/dusty rather herbal/CabFranc-like slight Gamay-like fruity nose; somewhat frizzante/sharp/prickly quite earthy/loamy/compost pile very sour rather funky bit herbal/CabFranc-like bit natty/unclean flavor w/ light tannins; long quite earthy/loamy some CabFranc-like/herbal finish w/ light tannins; all earthy/loamy w/ little fruit & a dreadful wet dog fur aftertaste that goes on&on; a rather rustic/herbal Loire red that is quite sour on the palate. $34.00 (AV)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. RuthLewandowski: These are the wines of EvanLewandowski who hails from SaltLakeCity originally. Named after the OldTestament Book of Ruth that is one of his favorites. At one time, Evan fermented his wines in Calif & then shipped them to Utah to finish....hence the American designation. I gather he is now entirely Calif based but hopes to someday grow grapes in Utah.
The wine was enclosed with a very hard plastic capsule that was impossible to break thru until I softened it up w/ the radiation from a 14 kT thermonuclear explosion nearby. I jabbed my hand with the knife trying to break thru the capsule.
Evan is working w/ SamBilbro to farm the LostHills Ranch Sam has up in the YorkvilleHighlands. He tastes/sells his wines from the Idlewild tasting room in Healdsburg.
The grapes for this wine came from the famed/very old GibsonRanch in the McDowellVlly of Mendocino. Alas, the natural character of the winemaking dominates what was probably exceptional fruit. GibsonRanch, when owned by BillyCrawford, was once the source of one of Calif's great Syrah, made by GeorgeBursick. George is now the winemaker at EagleMtnWnry in SouthCarolina and crafts a rather strange portfolio of Calif wines there.
The GibsonRanch is a real American treasure now owned/farmed by JakeBilbro of LimerickLane. Lots of very old-vine stuff but the wines coming out of GibsonRanch don't quite seem to deliver what this great ranch should be doing.
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2. Pineau d'Aunis: This is a grape variety that originated in the LoireVlly. This vnyd is near Touraine, where the Pineau d'Aunis is apparently not an authorized variety. It supposedly made its way to Calif where it was known as CheninNoir, but I've never seen such a wine in Calif.
Tom
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