My new release arrived last week, so had to crack one w/ Susan:
1. ArbeGarbe RRV WW (14.1%; 85% Malvasia/15% Chard; http://www.ArbeGarbeWines.com) St.Helena 2021: Light gold color; lovely very fragrant Malvasia/floral/slight muscatty/bit melony some minerally/chalky some complex beautiful nose; fairly tart/tangy refined/subtle Malvasia/floral/bit melony/muscatty light chalky/minerally/stony quite textured quite interesting flavor; very long finish that mimics flavor; a lovely white that resembles a Friuli Malvasia d'Istriani; beautiful aromatic white at a great price. $35.00/$24.50
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More bickerblat from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. ArbeGarbe is the winery of EnricoBertox & LetiziaPaulette. They both hail from Friuli & make wines in the style of their home country. Enrico is the winemaker at FloraSprings. I first met them at an early RibollaFest at Matthiasen when they were making Ribolla from GeorgeVare grapes. THey also make wines under the Benadants label, including one of the best Charbonos made in Calif.
ArbeGarbe comes from the Friulian dialect for "wild weed".
Most of the Malvasia planted in Calif is the common Malvasia Bianco. Those wines are typically an in-your-face very tutti-frutti very muscatty wine, often finished with some residual sugar to cover the slight bitterness. I much prefer the Malvasia d'Istriani, originally from Croatia but widely grown in Friuli. It has a less intense Malvasia character & more subtle/mineral character and is a much more interesting white. This ArbeGarbe, to me, resembles more a Malvasia d'Istriani than a Calif Malvasia. Alas, there is no Malvasia d'Istriani planted in Calif that I'm aware of.
Tom