Tried these three natural Vini Macerati over the weekend:
1. HeidiSchrock & Sohne Amphore Amore Landwein WW (13%; 100% AuxerroisBlanc; Year in Amphora on skins; 300 btls; No SO2, tiny amount @ bttlg; SkurnikWines) Weingut Schrock/Rust/Weinland 2020: Dark gold/amber/browning rather cloudy color; very strong phenolic/resiny/VM somewhat earthy/dusty/funky/bit natty no fruit at all not attractive nose; soft some metallic/tangy rather earthy//loamy strong funky/resiny/VM/phenolic/skin-contact no fruit rather sour/natty flavor w/ modest tannins; med.long sour/earthy/loamy some funky/natty strong VM/phenolic/resiny somewhat bitter/harsh finish w/ modest tannins; completely dominated by the VM character & totally lacking any fruit; a distinctly unpleasant rather severe/austere wine; may develop into something interesting/exotic w/ 10 yrs of age or may not; the next day it shows a bit of fruit & more pleasant & not as harsh on the palate & not as funky but still a pretty unattractive wine. $34.50 (KK)
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2. Il Farneto Giandon Castellarano/Emilia-Romagna WW (12%; Spergola grape; Natural wine/certified biodynamic; skin-contact for 3 weeks; Scuola di Vino Imprts/Daly City/CA; L.GB421) NV (2021?): Rather golden/amber/bit browning quite cloudy color; lots of very tiny bubbles clinging to sides of glass; some Malvasia/muscatty/orangey rather earthy/bit loamy light resiny/skin-contact/VM slight funky/natty somewhat interesting nose; rather frizzante/prickly fairly Malvasia/muscatty rather bitter/sour some natty/funky fairly savory/saline/hard flavor; med. rather bitter/metallic some Malvasia/muscatty slight funky/natty/unclean finish; speaks strongly of Malvasia but distinctly unattractive & aging is unlikely to salvage this wine; next day loses a lot of the Malvasia fruit & shows a lot more funky/natty/unclean character; aftertaste develops a dreadful natty/wet dog fur/unclean character that goes on&on & totally ruins this wine & makes it undrinkable. $22.50 (KK)
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3. 6 Degree Elemento Orange Valencia (17%; 100% Viura; BonVivantImprts/Boise/ID; www.VinoSextoElemento.com; 250 day maceration w/ raisened grapes; Frmtd 2 yrs in barrel) Lopez Diaz Family/Venta del Moro/Valencia/Espana 2018: Deep golden/amber/bit browning sherry-like quite hazy color; rather funky/natty/mousey/unclean/earthy bit oxidized some orangey/grapey/raisened lightly fragrant some interesting nose; fairly tart rather orangey/grapey/bit raisened some natty/unclean/funky lightly sweet bit alcoholic somewhat earthy rather sour flavor w/ light tannins; long bit oxidized somewhat earthy/funky/unclean bit raisened/grapey bit bitter finish; a bit oxidative & rather sherry-like; would be good w/ a 20 yr old fruitcake but not very attractive on its own; bit too natty/unclean & eccentric for my tastes $46.00/500 ml (KK)
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More skifflegerb from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. I have loved HeidiSchrock's Burgenland win es for many yrs, since when I first met her in SantaFe. We did a visit with her some yrs ago in Rust. This is, to my knowledge, her first foray into ViniMacerati, so I had high hopes when I saw it Fri on the shelves at Kokomans. So I was absolutely shocked when I tried this wine on Sat. It shows all of the things that can go wrong w/ VM and natural winemaking, even though she doesn't advertise herself (and sons) as natural winemakers. Worst HeidiSchrock I've ever had.
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2. The Spergola is a grape mostly found in Emilia-Romagna. Also known as Vernaccia di Oristano. The importer labels it as being made from 100% Malvasia di Candia grapes. Certainly the wine suggested a member of the Malvasia family.
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3. Not a good showing for natural wines this week. Sweet Alice would have loved them.
Tom