We had these four Rymes at our Pig+Fig tasting this week:
1. Ryme Vermentino "Hers" LasBrisasVnyd/Carneros/SonomaCnty (12.1%) 2023: Light gold color; quite pretty fragrant Verm/floral/carnations slight chalky bit light nose; lightly tart/tangy some Verm/floral/carnations bit chalky/mineral flavor; med.long finish that tracks the flavor; a lightish pretty expresion of Verm that is sure to put on weight & develop in the next yr. $27.00
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2. Ryme Vermentino "Hers" LasBrisasVnyd/Carneros/SonomaCnty (11.9%) 2015: Med.gold color; beautiful fragrant floral/Verm/carnations slightly nutty/oxidative very slight herbal/grassy fairly complex nose; fairly tart/tangy some floral/Verm/carnations bit nutty bit lightweight quite interesting/complex flavor; very long floral/Verm finish that tracks flavor; shows a bit more age than the '14; the slightly nutty character makes it a very interesting wine; a lovely mature expression of Verm. $24.00
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3. Ryme Vermentino "Hers" LasBrisasVnyd/Carneros/SonomaCnty (12.0%) 2014: Med.dark gold color; very strong Verm/floral/carnations slightly waxy/Semillon-like light pencilly quite complex nose; bit softer more rich/lush strong floral/Verm/carnations slight waxy/old-Semillon-like some pencilly rather complex flavor; very long/lingering floral finish that tracks the flavor; a beautiful fully-mature expression of Verm. $24.00
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4. Ryme Greco LasCinas/SonomaCnty (13.9%) 2022: Deep golden/orange color; some VM/phenolic/resinous rather orangey/floral/peach/graham cracker bit honeyed fairly complex lovely nose; lightly tart/tangy quite honeyed/orangey light VM/resiny/phenolic rather floral/mango/Greco bit earthy quite rich/lush slight graham cracker fairly complex flavor w/ light tannns; very long/lingering complex finish that tracks flavor; quite a lovely complex expression of Greco w/ a good balance of floral Greco fruit w/ just enough VM/skin-contact character to give it interest; should age well for 2-5 yrs; a beautiful expression of Greco. $42.00
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More dikaslack from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Ryme makes two Verms from LasBrisas. The "Hers" is made by conventional direct-to-crush frmtation. The "His", made from the same grapes, is made w/ skin-contact, usually in amphorae. Right out of the gate, I usually prefer the "Hers" for its greater intensity of fragrant Verm fruit. But the "His" with age usually develops into a beautiful skin-contact/VM complex wine.
The '23 was tried right off the boat & seemed on the lightish side. I suspect given a few months, it will put on weight & intensity & evolve into another fine "Hers". The '15 & '14 were beautiful examples of fully mature Ryme Verm. The slightly nutty character of the '15 made it a bit more complex, but I preferred the '14 for its greater intensity.
The Greco (bianco) is a grape found mostly in the Campania area of Italy. They tend to be a bit on the stony/mineral side but a lovely white for Southern Italy. It is not planted much in Calif, but the examples I've tried have been world-class examples of Greco. A grape that should be planted all up&down the Coast of Calif.
Tom