We tasted last week at Pig+Fig the New Foradori Wines, plus two Calif Teroldegos:
1. Foradori Fuorpista PinotGrigio IGT: Vigneti delle Dolomiti (12.5%; 8 mo. skin contact in clay Tinijas;
LouisDressnerSlctns/NY) Elisabetta Foradori/Mezzolombardo/TN 2021: Pale rose/garnet color; light cranberry/floral/PG light phenolic/VM/resiny some spicy/fragrant slight haymow/herbal rather complex lovely nose; rather tart/tangy some VM/phenolic/resiny fairly strong floral/PG/gardenias rather complex lovely flavor w/ slight tannic bite; very long/lingering slight VM/phenolic plenty of PG/floral/gardenia rather complex finish; very light VM character for 8 mo. on the skins & plenty of PG/floral character; great balance & intensity & a beautiful expression of VM Ramato wine. $54.50 (KK)
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2. Foradori FontanaSanta Nosiolo IGT: Vigneti delle Dolomite (12.5%; 8 mo.skin contact) 2021: Light gold color; beautiful very fragrant/floral/gardenias/bit appley very slight VM/phenolic very aromatic almost R or Timo-like in character lovely nose; lightly tart very rich/lush very perfumed/floral/gardenias/spicy very light VM/phenolic beautiful flavor w/ very slight tannic bite; very long/lingering lightly tart rich/lush very perfumed/Nosiola/floral/gardenias quite spicy slight mineral/stony powerful finish; very low-key in VM/phenolic character; a very powerful perfumed expression of Nosiola & about as good as it gets in an Italian white; almost like a R or Timo in powerful perfume; very fairly priced at $56.00 (AV)
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3. Harrington Teroldego Fratelli Vnyd/SantaClaraCnty (14.1%) BryanHarrington/SanFrancisco 2013: Very dark color; strong blackberry/Terol/licorice some smokey/oak bit pungent very Calif style almost Syrah-like very attractive bit complex nose; bit soft strong toasty/oak strong blackberry/Syrah-like slight CienegaVlly/chocolatey/grapey flavor w/ some hard tannins; very long rather toasty/oak some blackberry/licorice/Syrah-like bit smokey slight CienegaVlly/jammy/chocolaty bit complex finish w/ modest hard tannins; a very good Harrington Red that resembles Syrah more than Tero; needs another 2-5 yrs yet. $14.00
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4. Matela Teroldego LeBonClimateVnyd/SantaBarbaraCnty (13.5%; www.BevelaWines.com) Marisa & Chris Beverly/
BevelaWines/SantaMaria 2012: Very dark color; very strong much more Tero/spicy/herbal/blackberry/licorice bit herbal/peppery quite fragrant lovely nose; fairly tart/tangy some Tero/blackberry/licorice light earthy/dusty/OV light toasty/oak spicy bit complex flavor w/ modest tannic bite; very long/lingering strong Tero/blackberry/licorice/spicy/bit herbal light toasty/oak some complex finish; needs a few more yrs yet; speaks distinctly of Tero w/ a Calif accent.
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5. Foradori Lezer Teroldeso IGT: Vigneti delle Dolomiti Rosso (12.5%; 68% Teroldego/32% Syrah/Lagrein/Merlot;
LouisDresner/NY) Mezzolombardo 2021: Med.light color; fairly strong Teroldego/blackberry/licorice light earthy light toasty/oak quite pleasant nose; soft slight tangy/metallic some cherry/Tero/blackberry bit earthy slight grapey/Bojo-like light pencilly/oak bit simple/grapey flavor w/ light soft tannins; med. fairly Tero/blackberry/cherry/licorice slight earthy/grapey/Bojo-like finish w/ light soft tannins; definitely speaks of Tero; an altogether pleasant Vin de Soif but borders a bit on the bland side on the palate. $28.00 (SFW&S)
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6. Foradori Teroldego IGT: Vigneti delle Dolomiti (12%; U; www.AgricolaForadori.com; LouisDresnerSlctns/NY) Mezzolombardo 2021: Very dark color; very strong black cherry cola/Tero/licorice/bit pungent classic Tero very light toasty/oak bit earthy/dusty/OV some complex lovely nose; rather tart/tangy strong Tero/licorice/black cherry/black cherry cola bit rough/rustic some earthy/dusty/OV slight toasty/oak flavor w/ rather rough tannins; very long/lingering classic Tero/black cherry/blackberry/licorice bit dusty/OV some rough/rustic bit complex finish w/ some rough tannins; needs 4-6 yrs of age; very strong Tero character a bit rough/rustic but clearly the one to buy; a classic Foradori Teroldego at a very good price.
$30.50 (KK)
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7. Foradori Morei Teroldego IGT: Vigneti delle Dolomiti (12.5%; www.AgricolaForadori.com) Mezzolombardo 2021: Very dark color; beautiful intense Tero/licorice/black cherry/black cherry cola light toasty/oak lovely complex nose; some tart very strong black cherry/Tero/licorice light toasty/oak some complex flavor w/ modest smooth tannins; not as rough/rustic as the regular & much smoother but w/ the intensity of Tero fruit of the Granato; my clear favorite of the Teroldegos. $53.00 (SFW&S)
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8. Foradori Sgarzon Teroldego IGT: Vigneti delle Dolomiti (12.5%) Mezzolombardo 2021: Dark color lighter rather attractive Tero/black cherry/licorice somewhat simpler/quieter fairly complex nose; rather lighter less oak strong Tero/black cherry/licorice somewhat smoother/more elegant/less intense rather complex quite lovely Tero flavor w/ modest smooth tannins; clearly cut from the same cloth as the Morei but somewhat less intense & smoother. $53.00 (SFW&S)
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9. Foradori Granato Teroldego IGT: Vigneti delle Trentino (13%; U) 2020: Very dark near black color; rather intense Tero/licorice/black cherry colastrong toasty/pencilly/Fr.oak rather modern/European some dusty/OV quite complex nose; very intense black cherry cola/Tero/blackberry/licorice strong toasty/Fr.oak rather dusty/OV rather complex w/ ample hard tannins; very long/lingering intense Tero/black cherry cola/DrPepper strong toasty/Fr.oak/pencilly rather dusty/OV rather complex finish w/ ample hard tannins; the most intense Tero of the bunch but masked a bit by the oak; a bit more balanced & polished than the '21's; a pretty massive expression of Tero; beautiful Tero that will only get better as the oak subsides; needs much age; beautiful expression of Tero.
$82.00 (KK)
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More likkerspurt from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Elisabetta Foradori is one of my most favorite Italian producers. She is, of course, the master of Teroldego, bar none. We did a visit with her some yrs ago & you couldn't ask for a more charming lady. I gather her two sons are the primary figures at the wnry nowadays.
She ferments mostly in clay amphoraes/tinajas from Juan Padilla, who is regarded by most as the best producer of clay amphorae. JuanPadilla Both of these VM were fermented for 8 mo. on the skins. Usually, this is sufficiently long to obliterate any varietal character and bring the phenolic character to dominate. But with these two, the VM character was pushed way to the background, particularly in the Nosiola. The PinotGrigio is probably the one of the most expensive Ramatos ever. However, I didn't thing it was really overpriced. The Nosiola is a grape found mostly in Trentino. It originated either in the Sudtirol or the Trention region. It is related by DNA to a Swiss variety known as Reze.
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2. Calif Teroldego: I liked both of these quite a bit. The Harrington resembled Syrah more than anything, not much Tero in character. The first Calif Tero was by JimClendenen under his ABC label. Back around 2010, Jim turned over his Tero program to his niece, Marisa. The Tero was planted on Jim's estate property, rather than BienNacido. But the vines were badly virused and were eventually ripped out. So no more Matela/Bevela Teroldego.
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3. Elisabetta is clearly the master of Teroldego. The Lezer was clearly the least of the Tero but still a pretty tasty red for the price. I always buy the regular because it's more cost-effective, yet plenty of Tero character. The Morei was my favorite of this bunch & will buy another btl or two of it.
But for Teroldego, it just doesn't get any better than Foradori.
Tom