1. Oremus Furmint Mandolas Tokaji TW (13.5%; Europvin/VanNuys/CA; http://www.Vega-Sicilia) Tempos VegaSicilia; P&B by Tokaj-Oremus/Bajcsy/Hungary 2018: Med.light gold color; fairly strong floral/Furmint/carnations/hollyhocks some stony/chalky rather aromatic quite pretty nose; fairly tart/tangy/slight metallic bit saline some rich strong floral/Furmint/hollyhocks fairly stony/chalky bit hard/austere terroir-driven flavor; long tart/tangy/metallic chalky/stony rather saline slight floral/Furmint/hollyhocks finish; a bit on the austere/stony side but a richness & structure that suggests it needs 2-6 yrs of age; needs food. $37.50 (KK)
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2.DryCreekVnyd SauvBlanc Taylor'sVnyd DryCreekVlly/SonomaCnty (13.5%; Musque Clone; Vine age: 21 yrs; Hrvst: Sept 9; 100% SS/no oak; TA: 6.3 gm/l, SaH: 22.8 Brix; 568 cs) 2021: Pale yellow color; very fragrant herbal/melony/SB rather floral/muscatty-like lovely aromatic nose; fairly tart/tangy fairly rich strong herbal/melony/ripe/SB bit floral/muscatty lovely flavor; very long/lingering ripe/melony/SB/slight herbal almost muscatty/floral finish; a beautiful rendition of SauvBlanc.
$30.00
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3. Kenneth-Crawford Syrah EvansRanch/StaRitaHills (15.3%) MarkHorvath/Buelltown 2003: Med.dark w/ some browning; strong c-c/black pepper fairly strong blackberry/blueberry/Syrah fairly toasty/Fr.oak strong Rhonish/roasted/w-c slight cedary/pencilly/oldRed some dusty/earthy quite complex nose; rather tart/tangy some blackberry/Syrah/blueberry fairly Rhonish/w-c/espresso some c-c/black pepper bit drying out some Fr.oak/toasty rather complex flavor w/ light tangy tannins; very long/lingering rather c-c/blackberry quite Rhonish/w-c/espresso/roasted complex finish w/ light tannins; a fairly classic c-c/quite Rhonish Syrah that's starting to show its age; dominated by the w-c/Rhonish character; a bit beyond its peak & not going to get any betterbut still offers up lots of pleasure. $28.25
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4. CedarvilleVnyds {Zin} Estate/ElDroado (14.9%; 75 cs; http://www.CedarvilleVineyard.com) JonathanLachs/FairPlay 2020: Med.dark color; strong spicy/Zin/blackberry/raspberry some earthy/mushroomy/ElD light Am.oak some complex very attractive nose; lightly tart/tangy light earthy/dusty/mushroomy/ElD some bright Zin/spicy/blackberry/raspberry some vanilla/Am.oak flavor w/ modest brisk tannins; very long bright/raspberry/blackberry/Zin/spicy slight earthy/mushroomy/ElD finish w/ modest tannins; a fairly bright blackberry/spicy Zin that speaks strongly of ElDCnty; a lovely ElD Zin at a very fair price. $33.00
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More furkustittle from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Tempos VegaSicilia: Didn't realize that the reach of VegaSicilia was much broader than their home Estate.
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2. SauvMusque: The Musque (musky) clone of SB was discovered by DougMeador of VentanaVnyds.
SauvMusque
It was imported into FPS from the Gironde in the early '60's, but just languished on their list for a number of yrs. In the mid-'70's, Doug planted it at Ventana. Up until then, their standard SB clone yielded wines that were very vegetal & weedy. His were dreadful. Doug found that Musque produced a much more perfumed/aromatic wine w/o the vegetal character.
It was originally listed on the FPS list as Savagnin Musque but DNA work in the '90's by CaroleMeredith indicated that it was a form of Sauvignon Blanc.
FPS wrote: Sauvignon blanc 27Top
Registration Status Registered
Source Savagnin/ Sauvignon musqué, Pont-de-la-Maye, Bordeaux, France
Treatments Heat treatment 80-1 days; microshoot tip tissue culture therapy
Comments This selection was imported to Foundation Plant Services in 1962 from Viticoles d’Arboriculture Fruitiere, a viticulture station at Pont-de-la-Maye in the Gironde region (Bordeaux) of France. One group of cuttings was labeled with the name Savagnin musqué (USDA Plant Identification number 279503). The selection was initially given the name Savagnin musqué 01 and was planted in the old FPS foundation vineyard in 1967. The plant material did not undergo treatment at FPS and was first registered in 1974 under that original name. Savagnin musqué 01 disappeared from the registered list and was removed from the FPS foundation vineyard in 1978.
Index testing in the late 1970’s revealed a stem pitting problem, which at the time disqualified plant material from the California Grapevine Registration & Certification Program. The plant material for this selection thereafter underwent heat treatment for 80 days and reindexing between 1983 and 1986, after which it was renamed Savagnin musqué S1. Savagnin musqué S1 again tested positive for RSP virus in 1987 and underwent microshoot tip tissue culture disease elimination therapy. The treated material was renamed Savagnin musqué S1F and then Sauvignon musqué S1F in 1992.
In 1998-1999, Dr. Carole Meredith, Professor of Viticulture & Enology at UC Davis, performed a DNA analysis, comparing the variety known at FPS as Savagnin/Sauvignon musqué with Sauvignon blanc. She found that both vines shared the same DNA profile and concluded that Sauvignon musqué should be considered a form of the variety Sauvignon. FPS Grape Program Newsletter, October 1999. Based on that scientific data, the name of this selection was changed in 2001 to Sauvignon blanc 27.
The Musque clone has been picked up by a lot of other wineries in Calif, but they don't always indicate it's Musque. The DCV Taylor's is one of my very favorite Calif SB's yr in & yr out.
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3. Kenneth-Crawford: I used to follow the wines of MarkHorvath very closely, but they have sorta fallen off my radar. I need to revisit their recent offerings. Mark started his winemaking career at Carmenet in Sonoma, but fell under the spell of SantaBarbara winemakers, when he & Wendy moved down there & he took a job as Asst Winemaker w/ BrianBabcock, befor launching his own brand.
Tom