Shared these w/ Susan over the weekend:
1. StottleWnry ZaraLina WW Blend YakimaVlly/WA (14.4%; 59% Viognier/41% Roussanne; www.StottleWinery.com) StottleWnry/Lacey/WA 2015: Me.gold color; some stony/mineral some pear/Viog/fresh peach some melony/honeysuckle/Rouss lightly fragrant some perfumed talc some Rhonish white nose; quite tart/tangy some mineral/chalky/stony light Viog/pear/peach bit honeyed/Rouss rather attractive bit Rhonish white flavor; med.long finish that mimics flavor; shows no signs of oxidation or 9 yrs of age; a rather mineral expression of Viog; a pleasant white Rhone but just that. $19.00 (Kelly's/LB)
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2. H&JB AC: Languedoc WW (13%; 50% Piquepoul/25% GrenacheBlanc/25% Roussanne; www.HechtBannier.com; FrederickWildman/NY) Hecht & Bannier/Aix en Provence 2017: Med.dark gold color; some earthy/dusty some oxidative/mucilage light Rouss fruit bit old/tired nose; soft bit rich rather tired/oxidative rather tangy/metallic/tired almost no fruit flavor; a pretty much dead & tired white. $13.00 (Kelly'sLB)
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3. Secateurs Shiraz Swartlandse W.O. Rootiwyn Wine of Swartland/SouthAfrice (13.5%; 52% Shiraz+ 25% Cinsauly/11% Grenache/11% Touriga Nacional/1% Tinta Barocca; www.AABadenttorst.com) Badenhorst FamilyWines/SouthAfrica 2019: Dark color; strong blackberry/Syrah rather earthy/dusty/loamy some OV slight peppery rather rustic nose; rather tart/tangy fairly sour quite earthy/loamy/dusty/rustic some toasty/oak not very attractive flavor; med. rather sour/loamy finish that mirrors flavor; a quite unattractive sour/loamy Syrah w/ little blackberry fruit nor any high-toned character. $21.00 (SFW&S)
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4. Dirupi Ole DOC: Rosso di Valtellina Nebbiolo (13%; GiulianaImprts/Boulder) Dirupi/Ponte/Valtellina 2021: Med.dark color; strong earthy very fragrant Nebb/floral/lilacs rather spicy light pencilly/oak lovely classic Valtelline Nebb nose; quite tart/tangy some earthydusty/OV very strong floral/Nebb/lilacs bit pencilly strong classic Valtelline Nebb flavor w/ modest ripe/hard tannins; very long bit tannic/hard finish that mimics flavor; a fairly intense expression of floral Valtelline Nebb; needs 2-6 yrs of age; quite a good Valtelline Nebb but still a bit tannin; very fairly priced at $33.00 (SFW&S)
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More stottljipper from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. The Stottle was a wnry I was not familiar with that was languishing on the shelf at Kelly's Liquor Barn. I had not been in that store in probably 3 yrs, but had been told it was making a comeback. So I checked it out on Friday. No...it's not making a comeback. The shelves had been replenshid, but mostly rather quotidian stuff. But the Stottle & the H&JB looked like something worth trying. The Stottle was far better than I expected it to be.
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2. I've never been a huge fan of SA reds. I'v like a lot of their CheninBlancs, however. I'm supposed to put together a tasting of South Africa wines for my SF Winos group in Feb. Wish me luck.
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3. I had the Dirupi Ole '20 about a yr ago & teally liked it. This '21 is even better.
I visited Dirupi in Sondrio a few yrs after they had opened. At that time, they were focusing on being natural wines. I thought them rather unclean & rustic. So I was surprised when they showed up on the shelf at Susan’s. A recent addition to the Giuliana/Boulder portfolio, and their only Valtelline producer.
They have some of the highest altitude vnyds in the Valtelline, mostly rented. The mostly farm organic, which is difficult in the Valtelline. The next morning, after standing on the counter overnight, the tannins had softened considerably & it showed more richness & lushness. Look forward to trying some of the other Dirupis.
Tom