Tried these wines over the weekend w/ Susan:
1. HortonVnyds Rkatsiteli OrangeCnty/VA (12%) 2017: Light gold color; rather stony/mineral bit herbal/SB-like some earthy low fruit fairly interesting nose; rather tart/lean quite stony/mineral/flinty/steely little fruit flavor; med.long stony/mineral/flinty little fruit finish; very little fruit but very strong mineral/stony character; a fairly classic dry Rkatsiteli. $21.00 (vGK)
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2. Idlewild Erbaluce North Coast (12.1%) 2021: Med.dark gold color; slight resiny/VM/pungent some floral/dandelions/marigolds/herbal quite interesting nose; lightly tart bit pungent/earthy light VM/resiny/phenolic some floral/marigolds/pungent slight metallic flavor; very long light metallic light VM/phenolic/pungent some floral/marigolds/musky/herbal/pungent finish; a rather strange expression of Erbaluce; seems to have some skin-contact/VM character at a fairly low level; rather interesting white that could use another 2-5 yrs of age. $35.00
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3. Anne Pichon Sauvage Viognier IGP: Vin de Pays du Vaucluse (14.1%; T.EdwardsWines/NY; Certified organic; Plntd: 2000; Direct to press; Vinified: SS for 5 months) Anne Pichon Estate/Mormoiron/Vaucluse 2020: Med.gold color; lovely pear/peach/Viog some mineral/perfumed talc slight Condrieu-like very attractive nose; fairly tart/tangy restrained/pear/peach/Viog bit Condrieu/minerally/spicy quite attractive flavor; very long rather Viog/pear/peach/bit spicy floral bit mineral/Condrieu-like quite attractive finish; a rather elegant/restrained expression of Viog w/ some slight Condrieu-like minerality. $26.00 (KK)
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4. Rosarubra Triluna IGT: Colline Pescaresi Bianco (14%; EnotecImports/Glendale/CO; www.Rosarubra.It; 40% Chard/4% SauvBlanc/20% Malvasia) Rosarubra/Pietranico/Abruzzo 2015: Deep god color; strong herbal/slight oxidative slight phenolic/skin-contact some toasty/oak some ripe/melony/Chard/honeyed bit floral some waxy/late hrvsty rather complex nose; bit soft rather rich/lush slight tangy/metallic strong ripe/melony/Chard/honeyed/waxy slight herbal/pungent some late harvsty quite exotic complex flavor; very long/lingering very ripe/honeyed intense melony/Chard bit herbal/pungent slight alcoholic very exotic finish; quite an exotic/interesting very rich/lush white that speaks mostly of LateHrvst Chard more than anything. $46.00 (SFW&S)
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5. Harrington Aglianico GianelliVnyd/TolumneCnty (13.4%) SanFrancisco 2015: Very dark color; very strong plummy/boysenberry/Aglianico/ripe/chocolaty light earthy/dusty some pencilly/Fr.oak/Burgundian/bit smokey quite perfumed lovely nose; fairly tart/tangy bit tannic/bitey strong blackberry/boysenberry/plummy/Aglianico/chocolaty bit rustic/earthy somewhat pencilly/Burgundian/Fr.oak bit complex flavor w/ ample chewey tannins; very long rather tart/tangy strong boysenberry/blackberry/Aglianico/plummy strong pencilly/Burgundian/Fr.oak bit earthy/rustic bit complex finish w/ ample tannins; a pretty big/extracted beast of an Aglianico w/ lots of Burgundian oak; rather tough/rugged red that still needs more age; not as rough/rustic as Italian Aglianico; a sensible Aglianico made by a Pinot producer.
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6. Pax Syrah SonomaCoast (12.5%; 100% w-c in concrete tanks; Aged: neutral Fr.oak & concrete for 10 months; U/U) Sebastapol 2020: Very dark/near black color; intense c-c/black pepper strong w-c/Rhonish/peppery/roasted intense blackberry/Syrah/very spicy/ripe light pencilly/Fr.oak quite complex beautiful Rhonish nose; fairly tart bit herbal/pungent very strong w-c/Rhonish/smoked meats/peppery strong c-c/black pepper very strong blackberry/Syrah/bit boysenberry/pungent rather complex Rhonish flavor w/ ample chewey hard tannins; very long/lingering very strong w-c/Rhonish/peppery/smoked meats intense blackberry/Syrah/very spicy/slight herbal complex finish w/ ample tannins; a beautiful c-c/w-c/Rhonish Syrah that can go out 10 yrs or more. $36.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Rosarubra: this white was far different from what I expected from Abruzzo. The color suggested some skin contact, but apparently there was none. I expected another Trebbiano-based bit rustic white. This was was not at all like that.
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2. Harrington: We recently had the Harrington Aglianico '14, which was starting to show some development & maturity. This '15 is a far more rugged expression of Aglianico than that '14.
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3. Pax Syrah: I recently had Pax's new NorthCoast Syrah '20 and thought it quite good. This SonomaCoast took that Syrah to a whole nuther level. I am impressed w/ the amount of flavor that is packed into this Syrah that is harvested on the early side.
Tom