Tried these two last night at dinner:
1. I Pastini Rampone Minutolo IGP: Valle d'Itria/Puglia (12.5%; www.IPastini.It; KermitLynch/Berkeley) I Pastini SRL/Puglia 2020: Med.yellow color; quite fragrant floral/carnations/gardenias some chalky/perfumed talc light spicy/nutmeg almost R-like or slight muscatty lovely nose; fairly tart/tangy/slight metallic quite fragrant/floral/gardenias some chalky/perfumed talc totally dry fairly rich very perfumed/R-like beautiful flavor; very long/lingering lightly tart/tangy bit metallic/steely quite floral/gardenias/apple blossom slight chalky/mineral somewhat complex finish; a beautiful very fragrant floral rather R-like white w/o the usual coarse/rustic character you often get in SItalian whites; very reasonable priced at $23.00 (KK)
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2. BarboursvilleVnyds Octagon VA (13.5%; Merlot/CabSauv/CabFranc; www.BarboursvilleWine.com) Barboursville/VA 2006: Very dark color w/ some bricking; fairly earthy/dusty some toasty/smokey/Fr.oak fairly strong Cab/slight blackcurranty rather Bdx-like/herbal bit pencilly rather complex nose; soft slight metallic/drying out/tannic rather herbal/Bdx-like/Cab some earthy/dusty bit rough/tannic some complex flavor w/ light astringent tannins; very long somewhat earthy/dusty fairly herbal/Bdx-like/Cab some toasty/oak bit drying/astringent some complex finish w/ light drying tannins; a rather interesting Cab that reminds more of Bdx than US; clearly starting to dry out but still pretty interesting. $nc (B&SR)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Minutolo: Also known as Fiano Aromatico of Fiano Minutolo. An indigeneous variety that is not really related to Fiano. It was close to extinction but since 2000 there has been a renewed interest in the grape.
This was my first Minutolo & I was pretty impressed. A grape they should be planting all up&down the coast of Calif.
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2. THe Barboursville was gifted me Sat by Bill & Sheila Reed, longtime LosAlamos friends who now live in Charlottesville. Given uncertain storage provenance, I had very low expectations of this wine. It was far better than I expected, though clearly on its downside. The next morning, it was a dark murky brown and pretty much shot.
Tom