Tried this last night as I was confitting tuna for a SaladeNicoise:
1. Hendry HendryRanch/NapaVlly Albarino (13.9%; Block 9B; http://www.HendryWines.com) 2007: Pale yellow color; very perfumed/floral/carnations rather minerally/stony bit spicy very attractive nose; tart/rich lightly floral/carnations slight steely/minerally/stony clean/crisp/bright flavor; med. steely/minerally slight floral finish; very perfumed/fragrant nose and quite minerally on the palate; lovely rendition of Albarino. $23.00
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. We are seeing more and more Albarino from Calif. Alas..they are screwing it up badly. The wines tend to show lots of floral and minerally character that makes Albarino such a lovely wine. But if they're ever going to make world-class Albarino in Calif..they gotta barrel ferment in new/toasty Fr.oak, barrel age for a yr, lees stirring, full ML fermentation...the whole shebang. Otherwise, Calif Albarino will never get above 95 pts and will remain nothing but a pleasant white to drink w/ food. Come on, Calif...get with the program!!!
GeorgeHendry is one of my favorite winegrowers. His background is in accelerator design and he was one of the principal designers on the Berkeley Bevatron. In addition to being a grower and winemaker, he still has his day-job. In a barn on HendryRanch, he builds cyclotrons for medical applications. Probably illegal as hell by NapaCnty zoning regulations.
Tom