Tried these wines over the weekend:
1. SierraVista ElDorado 60% Viognier/40% Roussanne (13.9%; EB) 2006: Med.gold color; lovely floral/perfumed/Viog slight honeysucklt light earthy very attractive nose; soft lush/floral/Viog/peachy some floral/honeysuckle/Rouss light earthy flavor; long light earthy/minerally very floral/honeysuckle/Roussanne finish; a lovely Calif Rhone. $18.00
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2. Ottimino Zin vonWeidlichVnyd/RRV (14.7%; 5998 btls) 2003: Very dark color; beautiful dusty/old vines blackberry/boysenberry/Zin bit peppery very spicy light toasty/oak some complex nose; tart very/very/spicy/peppery strong blackberry/Zin/boysenberry light toasty/oak very dusty/old vines flavor; very long dusty/old vines some tannic very spicy/peppery strong blackberry/Zin light toasty/oak finish; needs several yrs and will probably go out 10-15 yrs; very strong wine but very balanced and shows good restraint; not over the top at all; fairly priced at $35.
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3. Il Podere dell'Olivos CentralCoast Teroldego "Homage to Elisabetta" (13.5%) 2003: Very dark color; strong plummy/licorice earthy/minerally some floral/lilacs/violets slight boysenberry light toasty/oak lovely nose; tart very attractive licorice/plummy/peppery/boysenberry bit rough/tannic some minerally/earthy flavor; long very plummy/licorice/peppery/boysenberry some rough/tannic finish; great food wine at a great price. $18.00
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4. OneHandClapping LateHrvst PinotBlanc BienNacidoVnyd/SantaMariaVlly (13.5%; SaH: 47.2Brix; RS: 23%) 2005: Med.dark gold color; beautiful intense peachy/botrytis/apricotty slight spicy/earthy slight floral very aromatic nose w/o the VA often found in high-botrytis wines; tart very intense peachy/apricotty/botrytis some spicy/floral quite sweet flavor; very long/lingering intense botrytis/peachy/apricotty light spicy/floral finish; very intense botrytis and very sweet, but a high acidity to give the wine balance. A steal at $20.00/hlf.
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5. EdmundsStJohn Roussanne TablasCreekVnyd/PasoRobles (14.5%; http://www.EdmundsStJohn.com) 2004: Med.gold color; very strong floral/honeysuckle/honeyed some spicy/minerally/chalky some pencilly/valve oil/petrol lovely complex nose; tart some chalky/minerally quite floral/honeysuckle/honeyed spicy/apple pie/waxy/figgy slight valve oil/petrol complex flavor; very long tart textured/rich strong floral/honeyed/honeysuckle some chalky/minerally finish; great structure & balance and will go out 10-15 yrs; great price at $27.00
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. SierraVista: I was quite impressed w/ this white Rhone blend. Maybe the best white Rhone that John has yet made. I have found that their Viogniers have sometimes been on the fat/soft/porky side. This wine was a bit more restrained yet had good structure. Very nice drinking for now and a few yrs.
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2. Ottimino: This comes from a very old Zin vnyd up in Occidental, an area much too cold for Zin in general. The vonWeidlich vnyd is located up on a ridge line and is a bit warmer than most of Occidental. This vnyd was the source of some legendary Occidental Zins by Ridge in the early '70's. This wine is much different from those early Ridges. Made by BradAlper and BillKnuttel (of DryCreekVnyds), this wine is pretty intense but shows a great sense of restraint and balance. It is one of the very best Zins I've had this year. Amazing stuff and still available.
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3. Teroldego: The Elisabetta is, of course, Elisabetta Foradori, producer of some of the world's greatest Teroldegos. Their old-vine Teroldego "Granato" is an amazing wine. This Calif Teroldego, from Jim Clendenen, is very true-to-type Teroldego. A grape that should be more widely planted in Calif.
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4. OneHandClapping: This wine comes from JimClendenen. Back in the late '80's (by crackey), there was a dessert wine called ThreeThumbsUp, made by JimAdelman, BobLindquist, and JimClendenen, from the last crop of WhiteRiesling on BienNacido, afore they pulled those vines (whatta shame). It was one of the greatest Sauterne's every made in Calif. Last one I had a yr ago was still going strong.
This heavily-botrytis PinotBlanc reminds me a lot of that wine, 'cept not the oak that was in the ThumbsUp. This wine should easily go out 20 yrs because of the high RS and the high acidity. One of the best dessert wines from Calif I've had in some time.
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5. EdStJohn Roussanne: When this wine was first released, I thought it was a bit tight & closed, but had the structure to age very/very well. This is the first revisit I've had to that wine. It is showing great evolution and is a terrific drink know. But it has not yet developed that nutty/hazelnutty character of an old RhoneBlanc yet. It's got the structure to age into maybe one of Calif's greatest Roussannes ever I think. Another amazing white from SteveEdmunds (he of "low-brow Cotes du Rhone" fame).
Tom