My Solminer/Ryme shipment arrived last week, so I tried w/ some friends on Sat:
1. Solminer Curarse LaCruda GrunerVeltliner Skin-Contact DeLandaVnyd/LosOlivosDist (12.2%; 208 cs; U/U; Biodynamic Demeter Certified) Buellton 2021: Med.dark gold quite cloudy color; very strong resinous/phenolic/ViniMacerati quite funky/unclean/very mousey very slight GV fruit quite unattractive/unclean nose; very tart/tangy/metallic slightly off-dry rather phenolic/resinous/VM very slight orangey/honeyed some funky/mousey/unclean/natty rather bitter/tannic no fruit flavor; very long tart/tangy/metallic rather unclean/mousey/natty quite tannic finish; much too natty/mousey for my tastes; a rare Solminer failure. $36.00
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2. Ryme Fiano Skins RanchoCoda RRV/SonomaCnty (12.9%; www.RymeCellars.com) 2021: Deep gold slightly hazy color; fairly phenolic/VM/resinous some floral/Fiano somewhat aromatic bit complex rather attractive nose; lightly tart/tangy bit rich fairly phenolic/VM/resiny light floral/Fiano/carnations/dandelions lightly tannic/bitter fairly saline/savory some complex flavor w/ light tannins; very long slight tannic bit rich light Fiano/floral fairly VM/phenolic finish w/ slight tannic bitterness; much like a young His Vermentino but not as austere/severe on the palate & a bit more fruit; sorta of a His-Lite; should develop into quite a nice VM w/ some age. $42.00
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3. Ryme Vermention Hers LasBrisasVnyd/Carneros/SonomaCnty (12.8%) Geyserville 2022: Light gold color; slight herbal/weedy quite fragrant Vermen/floral/gardenias light stony/chalky rather attractive aromatic nose; quite tart/tangy/slight metallic quite floral/Vermen/gardenias slight herbal/weedy slightly off-dry (0.2%-0.4% r.s.) quite youthful perfumed flavor; very long/lingering slightly off-dry rather tangy/rich bit herbal/weedy finish; a bit atypical of a young Hers Vermentino but will be just fine I suspect. $27.00
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More gizzersonk from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Solminer: I was quite disappointed in this wine. Much too unclean/natty/mousey for my tasted. However, I left it out on the counter overnight & retried it this morning. Much to my surprise, all the unclean/natty/mousey character had cleared out. Still, the wine was dominated by the the phenolic/VM/resinous character & pretty austere/tannic on the palate and a bit of GV/fruit was peeking thru. So it's just a natural wine that needs an opportunity to breathe. So, I have a lot of confidence, like most austere VM, this wine will probably evolve into something quite interesting w/ 4-8 yrs of age.
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2. Ryme Fiano: This wine, I believe is the first skin-contact Fiano the Ryan & Megan have made. It is along the lines of the His Vermentino but not as austere as the His young.
The wines was closed by a new cork (for Ryme) known as the Vinventions SUBR F7 (https://www.vinventions.com/en-us/ohlinger-subr-f7). The first glue-free agglomerate TCA-taint free cork. It was one of the ugliest corks I have ever had to deal with. Hard as nails. It was near-impossible to drive my waiter's corkscrew into it & I had to put a metal sleeve on the handle to get enough leverage to pry the cork out of the neck of the btl. My electric corkscrew would not have been able to handle it. I really hope this is not the wave of the future. The Hers used a much more conventional cork & gave no problem.
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3. Ryme Hers: This '22 was a bit different from previous yrs. They typically have a load of rich/lush Vermen fruit & quite rich on the palate. This one should a light weedy/herbal character that I'd not seen in the Hers on release. However, I'm fully confident that it will evolve into another splendid Hers.
Tom