2005 Scholium Project Satrapies of the East California Red Blend
In a corner of my cellar today I found a little carton of four bottles intended for disposal, then forgotten. I remember them all as sketchy stuff I hated or 100% expected to. Today, in clean-up mode, I decided to pop corks, taste, dump. This was one, and it's not that bad! Somewhere between secondary and tertiary development, the intriguing perfumed nose shows little of the cab/mer/syr blend it is. Rather, both nose and palate read more like zinfandel and alicante bouschet, likely due to the combined effect of high alcohol (14.9%) and surprising acidity for the vintage. Salty red fruits abound, and I'm not hating this as much as I believe I should. In fact, it would be a good partner for corned beef next week.
Other things I tasted this week:
2010 Domaine François Cotat Sancerre Les Culs de Beaujeu Sauvignon Blanc
Oh shit, severely corked.
2023 Avennia Lydian Columbia Valley Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend
BTG pour at Vail wine bar, Coupeville. Dark yellow with assertive flavors of ripe pineapple, lemon peel and passion fruit. Though only 20% semillon tastes like much more with extra skin contact and/or oak. Not a style I appreciate. If the svelte Washington Chaleur Blanc I opened last week was Catherine Deneuve, then this was Lucille Ball. I have not enjoyed a wine from this winemaker since long long ago; I think I need to write him off.
2019 I Veroni Chianti Rùfina La Rusticola Sangiovese Blend, Sangiovese
More tannins than fruit. Gritty tannins. Would be okay with beef or pizza, but it failed with chicken in a pesto cream sauce. Eh.