We tried these six whites from Cadre last night at our Pig+Fig tasting:
1. Cadre Albarino Ode to the Sea SpanishSpringsVnyd/SLOCoast (13.3%; www.CadreWines.com) ArroyoGrande 2022: Light gold color; very fragrant/perfumed floral/Albarino/carnation slight chalky very pure Albarino bit white peach nose; bit soft very rich/lush intense floral/Albarino/carnations/gardenias slight chalky intensely perfumed flavor; very long/lingering lush/rich intense Albarino finish that mimics the flavor; a wonderful Calif expression of Calif Albarino. $42.00
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2. Cadre Albarino Sea Queen SLOCoast/EdnaVlly (13.1%) 2022: Light gold color w/ lots of tiny bubbles; more stony/chalky/mineral lighter Albarino/floral/carnations/bit dandelions more restrained/subtle bit more complex but less intense nose; rather chalky/mineral/slight steely more restrained/quiet slightly more complex bit saline flavor w/ a bit of dissolved CO2; very long restrained/subtle Albarino finish that mirrors the flavor; a bit more quiet/subtle expression of Albarino but a bit more interesting. $30.00
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3. Cadre Ode to Fate SLOCoast (14.2%; 62% GrunerVeltliner/28% SauvBlanc/10% Albarino) 2022: Med.light gold color; lovely very fragrant/perfumed floral/GV/gardenias beautiful/perfumed bit non-Calif/complex nose; fairly tart/tangy rather floral/GV/gardenias somewhat herbal/SB slight mineral/stony very attractive bit complex flavor; very long/lingering strong floral/GV bit herbal/SB finish that mimics flavor; speaks strongly of GV but the herbal/SB character really comes thru; a lovely fragrant bit complex/spicy white. $42.00
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4. Cadre GrunerVeltliner Band of Stones SLOCoast/EdnaVlly (14.2%) 2022: Med.light gold color; more subtle/restrained strong GV/floral/white pepper/qute spicy rather pure GV fairly aromatic nose; lightly tart very perfumed/GV/white pepper bit more subtle/restrained/low-key less intense slight mineral quite lovely flavor; very long/lingering restrained/subtle rather strong GV/white pepper/spicy floral/GV/carnations finish; not the intensity of GV fruit as the Ode to Fate but more purity of GV character; quite a lovely Gruner at a very fair price. $30.00
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5. Cadre SauvBlanc Stone Blossom SLOCoast/EdnaVlly (14.2%) 2022: Light yellow color w/ slight bubbles; very strong rather ripe/melony/SB/bit herbal very perfumed/fragrant lovely nose; quite tart/tangy strong melony/ripe/SB/bit herbal slight pencilly slight stony/mineral bit complex lovely flavor; very long/lingering ripe/melony/SB finish that mirrors the flavor; a lovely expression of Calif SB and one of my favorites now. $30.00
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6. Cadre Beautiful Stranger SLOCoast/EdnaVlly (13.7%; 50% GrunerVeltliner/42% Albarino/8% SauvBlanc) 2022: Light gold color; strong GV/white pepper/spicy floral/gardenias slight mineral/chalky/stony lovely perfumed/aromatic nose that speaks strongly of GV; somewhat tart very GV/spicy/white pepper fairly floral/gardenias/GV slight mineral/chalky flavor; very long/lingering very perfumed GV finish that mirrors flavor; the Albarino probably give the wine a bit more structure than the other GV's show; a beautiful perfumed GV at a great price; my favorite (slightly) of all the Cadre wines & my favorite expression of GV. $30.00
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More dillerbrokle from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Several weeks ago, I came upon the Cadre SauvBlanc on the shelf here in NM, a new lable for me, tried it, and was reasonably impressed. So I ordered their tableau of 6 whites to try. Particularly I was interested in their Gruner. These are the six I ordered.
Cadre is owned by John Niven & his wife, Lucy. His grandfather was Jack Niven who pioneered grape growing in the EdnaVlly in the early '70's with his ParagonVnyd. I met Jack several times when I first started visiting the EdnaVlly in the mid-late '70's and was mightly impressed with the wines he was producing. I seem to recall they were focused on Chard & Riesling. I was struck with the aromatics they showed & have been a big fan of EdnaVlly wines since then.
ParagonVnyd
Across the board, my people were quite impressed by the Cadre wines for their very strong aromatic quality, which is what first drew me to the EdnaVlly wines. Cadre is now another favorite producer of mine.
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2. Albarino: A liked both of these Albarinos quite a lot & thought them as good as most Calif Albarinos. Louisa Sawyer-Lindquist/Verdad has always been my gold standard for Calif Albarino,also an EdnaVlly Albarino. I slightly preferred the Ode to the Sea for its somewhat greater intensity.
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3. SauvBlanc: This was the first wine from Cadre that got my attention. John has a little of Sauv Musque in this wine, which is probably why it has such lovely aromatics. The wine resembles a bit some of the early Talley SB's from the EdnaVlly. Resembles a bit the SB's from NewZealand because of the aromatics, except no cat pee on a gooseberry bush. Probably most accurately, it resembles the SB's from the Sudstiermark and Friuli, which don't have the intense herbal character.
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4. Gruner: I'm very impressed by what John is doing with his Gruner. My benchmark for Calif Gruner has always been Mike Officer's/Carlisle because it often shows a Smaargd intensity. The pure GV/Band of Stones was probably the least of his Gruners by a small margin. His blends were the most interesting of his GV's and showed the strongest GV character.
Tom
