We tasted ystrday some Forlorn-Hope Whites at Pig+Fig:
1. Forlorn-Hope King-Andrews Vnyd/SuisunVlly WW (11.87%; 47 cs) Murphys 2014: Med.dark gold color; slight oxidative/nutty/smokey some tobaccoy slight floral/pungent/marigolds rather complex very interesting nose; lightly tart rather smokey/tobaccoy/pungent some herbal/pungent/marigolds slight oxidative/nutty rather complex flavor; very long pungent/tobaccoy finish that mimics flavor; quite an interesting wine that strongly resembles an old HunterVlly Semillon; no signs of going round the bend anytime soon.
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2. Forlorn-Hope King-Andrews Vnyd/SuisunVlly WW (12.34%; 47 cs) Murphys 2015: Med.dark gold color; somewhat TCA/corked/bit musty slight herbal/gloral nose dominated by the TCA; tart rather musty/TCA/earthy fairly tangy flavor; pretty much destroyed by the TCA.
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3. Forlorn-Hope Sihaya Ribibolla Gialla Vare Vnyd/NapaVlly (12.10%; 27 cs) Fairfield 2011: D eep golden/burnished bronze color; some phenolic/VM/resinous/skin-contact rather orangey/honeyed/bit honey graham quite complex beautiful nose; quite tart/tangy some VM/phenolic/resinous quite rich/lush/textured rather orangey/honeyed/honey graham lightlu herbal/RG/floral bit earthy/dusty/OV quite complex flavor w/ light tannins; a beautiful VM/RG that would make them proud in Friuli; should go another 10 yrs.
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4. Forlorn-Hope Nodosaur RorickVnyd/CalaverasCnty WW (14.21%; 207 cs; Picpoul Blanc/Viognier/Albariño) Murphys 2014: Light gold color; quite fragrant floral/bit R-like/mango/pear/Viog some chalky/mineral slight metallic bit Picpoul de Pinet-like rather useful nose; rather tart/tangy some chalky/mineral/perfumed talcstrong floral/Picpoul de Pinet lightly floral/pear/Viog some rich/lush slight R-like quite youthful flavor w/ no signs of age or evolution but some complexity; very long/lingering finish that mimics the flavor; shows some resemblance to Picpoul de Pinet; a bright/youthful/brisk white showing little signs of its 9 yrs of age; amazingly good.
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More dittleskatz from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. King-Andrews is a large vnyd in the SuisanVlly that has a mixed number of varieties in it, including GreenHungarian taken from the LibraryVnyd in StHelena. This is a field blend that was all frmtd together. On release, it was a rather light/simple underwhelming white. It has put on considerable weight & evolved into a very interesting mature white that should go on for a number of yrs.
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2. The Ribolla came from the GeorgeVare vnyd on the North edge of the town of Napa. George sold his RG grapes, the first planted in the US, to a number of different winemakers to see what they could do w/ the variety. Some were made w/ skin-contact as is often done in Fruili, others made as direct-to-press. This F-H RG is a World-class RG and one of the best I've ever had.
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3. These whites were absolutely amazing and showed no signs whatsoever of their age. I've been quite impressed how these F-H are aging. None showed any signs of falling over the cliff.
Tom