Tried these two wines over the last few days:
1. Matthiasson NapaVlly WW (13.6%; www.Matthiasson.com; 59% Sauvignon blanc/28% RibollaGialla/
8% TocaiFriulano/5% Semillon) MatthiassonFamilyVnyds/Napa 2009: Med.yellow color; attractive very fragrant floral/appley/cinammon/apple pie rather lemony/grapefruity light chalky/minerally/stoney quite perfumed nose; rather tart/crisp grapefruity/lemony/appley/cinammon zippy/vibrant/neon red light minerally/stony quite perfumed flavor; very long minerally/steely/stony tart/grapefruity/lemony/appley very perfumed/aromatic finish; a very pretty/good-drinking white to have w/ lighter fare; much like Darrell's Chalone CheninBlanc in minerality. $35.00
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2.ArbeGarbe Ribuele NapaVlly RibollaGialla (14.5%; www.ArbeGarbeWines.com) 2009: Med.gold color; lovely citrusy/lemony very floral/honeysuckle/honeyed some minerally/stony/slatey very aromatic almost muscatty nose; rather tart but rich/lush minerally/stoney quite floral/honeysuckle/honeyed/lemony/citrusy slight tangy/metallic very perfumed flavor; very long lemony/citrusy/floral/honeysuckle some minerally/stony/chalky/tangy finish; some like a Roussanne in floral aromatics but some like a Vermentino in mineral/stony character; a lovely/perfumed wine; more aromatics & richness than the Friuli versions. $29.00
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. I liked both these wines....quite a lot. They were both the kind of wine that says "damn...that's lip-smackin' good...I'll have a nuther glass". The ArbeGarbe was a bit richer w/ stronger aromatics; the Matthiasson was a bit leaner and restrained.
The SauvBlanc character seemed to be dominated by the floral Ribolla character; almost a muscatty character that suggests SauvignonMusque.
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2. Friulian varieties: There is a lot (well...not a huge amount) of interest in Friulian varieties up in the NapaVlly. The chief instigator of this movement would be GeorgeVare, who has a vnyd of RibollaGialla. He shares this fruit w/ a number of wineries to stir up interest in the variety and see what kind of wines it can deliver in Calif. In addition to these two, he sells fruit to DanPetroski/Massican and I recall to Arnot-Roberts and WindGap.
There used to be a lot of plantings of SauvignonVert in Calif, where it was known to make rather dull/ordinary/quotidian wines. Since SauvignonVert has been found to be TokaiFriuliano (or...in some cases Muscadelle du Bordelais), there has been an increasing interest in these old vnyds, some of which still exist, and are being made into wine labeled as TokaiFriuliano.
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3. ArbeGarbe: This is a wnry that DanPetroski steered my to. Owned by Enrico Bertoz & Letizia Pauletto. ArbeGarbe means "bad weed", what the Friulians refer to as their cover crop in the vnyds. The '10 version of this wine has just been bottled and should be released soon. I got this btl from FrankMelis' GoldenGate Cellars, where they're still available.
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4. Matthiasson: This is another wnry that Dan steered me towards. Owned by Jill Klein Matthiesson and Steve Matthiasson. Steve's daytime job is vnyd manager/vnyd consultant. In addition to this white, they also produce a NapaVlly Cabernet blend and farm two small orchards from which they grow fruit. The '10 version of this white has just been released. They also have what is probably Calif's only true planting of
Refosco dal Pedunculo Rosso (Refosco w/ the red stem). According to DarrellCorti, there is a whole family of Refoschi, of which this is the most highly regarded. Having had some 30-40 Refoscos, I think it's a variety that should be more widely pursued in Calif. One of the parents of RdPR is none other than the Piedmont's Marzemino. Much of the Refosco that was originally planted in Calif turns out to be MondeuseNoir...not necessarily a bad thing...but not Refosco.
Tom
