Had these three last night dor dinner:
1. Stirm calcite CienegaVlly WTW (12.2%; 88% Riesling/WirzVnyd; 6% Cahrd/GlenwoodVnyd/SantaCruzMtns; 6% Scheurebe/C5Vnyd/SantaYnezVlly; 340 cs; U/U) Watsonville 2020: Med.light gold color; strong floral/mango/R/bit pineapple quite chalky/stony/mineral/bit flinty bit complex nose; quite tart/tangy quite mineral/chalky/stony some floral/carnations/mango/R/pineapple bit complex flinty/steely flavot; very long/lingering some mango/R/pineapple quite mineral/chalky/stony finish; quite an attractive old-timey Calif R w/ lots of mineral/stony character; should go out some 5-10 yrs. $18.00 (AV)
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2. WindGap PinotGris WindsorOakVnyd/ChalkHill (12.8%; 123 cs; #269) PaxMahle/Forestville 2009: Deep burnished bronze/some ruby garnet color; quite fragrant floral/gardenias/PG some nutty/oxidative/toasted hazelnuts some apple/pear slight resiny quite complex nose; fairly tart/tangy somewhat oxidative/nutty bit metallic/resiny slight floral/gardenias/appley/spiced apples rather complex quite interesting flavor; very long quite tart/tangy/bit metallic some oxidative/nutty/resiny slight floral/appley rather complex finish; clearly some oxidative character but a rather saline/savory expression of PG; has lost a lot of fruit but still an interesting mature PG ramato.
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3. three 3 Zin ContraCoastCnty (14.8%; www.ThreeWineCompany.com; Zinfandel/Petite Sirah/Mataro (Mourvèdre)/Carignane/Alicante Bouschet/Black Malvoisie.) MattCline/winemaker Clarksburg 2019: Fairly dark color; strong earthy/mushroomy/loamy/CCCnty strong blackberry/Zin/quite plummy/boysenberry/ripe some vanilla/toasty/oak fairly attractive nose; soft fairly lush/rich strong CC/earthy/mushroomy/loamy strong ripe/blackberry/boysenberry/Zin bit spicy/licorice/plummy bit fat/porky dlavor w/ light soft tannins; long soft/fat ripe/blackberry/boysenberry/plummy/Zin rather CC/earthy/loamy finish w/ light tannins; a pleasant enough expression of CC Zin but a bit unthrilling; not of the level of the old Cline AncientVine Zin; a fairly underwhelming/unremarkable expression of CC Zin. $24.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. I really like the wines Ryan Stirm is making. His focus is to return Riesling to its glory it once enjoyed in Calif. His wines are natural wines, yet I never find any natty character in them. Just shows that you can make natural wines that are clean if you're careful about doing it....they don't have to be loaded w/ mousey character.
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2. This is the first wine from Matt Cline I've had in some time. He & Erin used to be partners w/ Fred & Nancy Cline, focusing on old vnyds in the Sacramento Delta region. They made some very/very good wines in their day, w/ lots of CCCnty character. When the partnership broke up, Matt kept most of the OV vnyds & Fred moved his wnry & vnyds to just South of the town of Sonoma and focused more on Rhone & Italian varieties. I thought this Zin was pleasant enough, spoke strongly of CCCnty, but just a bit on the underwhelming side.
Tom