WTN: Two Strange Wines..(short/boring)

We had friends over for apps ystrday afternoon and tried:
1. WindGap PiccoloBastardo Fannuchi-WoodRdVnyd/RRV (38 cs; 13.5%; #236) 2010: Med.orange/burnished bronze/pale pink color; rather earthy/appley/apple cider somewhat saline/mineral/smokey/raw meat/walnutty/tea bit nutty/oxidized very unusual/complex nose; tart appley/apple cider/tangy/walnutty/strong tea some smokey/earthy bit oxidized/nutty some tannic rather interesting flavor; long some oxidized/nutty apple cider/appley/earthy smokey/tea/saline somewhat tannic finish; rather strange/interesting wine w/ little fruit; lots of savory/umami character; not a wine for the faint of heart or who worship at the altar of varietal typicity.
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2. JacquesPuffeney AC: Arbois Trosseau Cuvee "LesBerangeres" (13%; MeBalP; NealRosenthalImports) 2008: Med.color w/ slight bricking; quite erathy/dusty/horses/cedar chest full of mouldy clothes slight sherry/oxidized/funky/cherry rather weird nose; strange earthy/dusty/old wedding dress/fusty light black cherry/smokey/mineral/granatic rather hard/tannic flavor; med.long fusty/mouldy wedding dress/earthy/granatic slight cherry/earthy/cherry cider rather hard/tannic complex/weird finish; lots of savory/umami character; little fruit and not for the faint of heart. $36.00 (CB)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. These wines are (sorta) from the same grape variety..Trosseau. The WindGap is a skin-contact white from TrosseauGris, what used to be known in Calif as GreyRiesling. The Puffeney is from (I believe) TrosseauNoire. Both of these wines are quite savory in character and need to have food w/ them. Certain Monktown attourneys admonish wine tasters to think outside the box and these two wines certainly require that. Not wines that will appeal to everybody's/many palates.
Because of the phenolic content of these wines, it's important that they be served at room temperature. Certainly, wines that will appeal to sweet Alice. But few others.
Did I like these wines?? Sorta....yeah. They were interesting intellectually and stretched my vinous boundaries. But I think I much preferred the Chester'sAnvil GretnaGreen and Carlisle 3Birds for their sensual character.
Tom

Tom; what's granatic?

Tom; what's granatic?

How about granitic....the taste of rocks.
Tom

[David M. Bueker]

Thanks Tom.

I tried my first bottle of the Wind Gap last Christmas, and found it even more intellectually challenging than I expected. Still glad I bought a bit (including a magnum - wonder how I will ever use that!), as it's something totally different.

Although I have not tasted this specific vineyard designate wine, I've not found the Puffeney wines (including Trousseau) THAT challenging, Tom. Certioanly had plenty of plum fruit...definitely in the "French organic Dear Alice Hipster scyhool of wine, but...

Could this have been a bad bottle?

Could this have been a bad bottle?

Perhaps it could have been, Brian. After I opened the btl and tasted it, I scolded and berated it....but to no avail.
Other Puffeney wines I've had I liked a lot better, showed more fruit...so, given its "natural" winemaking, it could very
well have been just a bad btl.
Tom

Hi Tom -

Thank you once again for the notes.

I am surprised that Wind Gape labeled their 2010 FWR Trousseau as Piccolo Bastardo - the same producer/site's Trousseau Gris was labeled as Trousseau Gris when I had it last year, with no de-legitimization. This almost sounds like an attempt at making a dry "Madeira"??? Weird, to say the least.

As far as Puffeney, I have liked what I have had from them, but have not had this particular cuvée. Although I have liked their Trousseau (Noir), I have preferred their Poulsard and their Melon-Queue-Rouge (Chardonnay clone), especially considering the prices. Then again, I tend to like Poulsard more than Trousseau Noir because the former seems to have an extra layer of elegance to me; maybe there is something that I am still missing with Trousseau Noir, or I need to hold it longer?.