We tried last night (11/20/13) Some New Wines:
1. Harrington Fiano FratelliVnyd/SantaClaraVlly (14.1%; 45 cs) 2012: Med.light gold color; slight pungent/smokey/
earthy rather fragrant/floral/carnations slight herbal/thyme/SauvBlanc-like/cat pee/pungent interesting nose;
soft/lush/textured quite perfumed/floral/carnations slight honeyed/candied/mango very attractive flavor; very
long honied/candied soft/ripe/lush perfumed/floral/carnations finish; has the softness of the Campania versions
but not the stony/earthy character of them; seems riper than last yrs and more like a GrenacheBlanc; quite an
attractive/ripe white. $25.00
___________________
2. Unti Fiano DryCreekVlly (First crop; 75 cs; 13.2%; Hrvstd: Sept 30/2012; Bttld: March 4/2013; TA: 0.60;
pH: 3.35) Healdsburg 2012: Med.light gold color; rather floral/fragrant/carnations/mango light earthy/stony
rather perfumed/perfumed talc/spicy lovely nose; somewhat tart rather stony/earthy quite perfumed/floral/
carnations/mango slight caramel/spicy very attractive flavor; very long/lingering some stony/earthy/chalky
rather perfumed/floral/carnations slight candied/caramel finish; quite a lovely Fiano that shows some of
the stony/earthy character of the Campania ones. $23.75
___________________
3. Unti CuveeBlanc DryCreekVlly (46% Vermentino/43% GrenacheBlanc/11% Picpoul; 580 cs; Hrvstd: Sept 27&28/
Oct 1&21; 13.4%; TA: 0.68; pH: 3.40; Aged: SS & concrete tanks; Bttld: March 6/2013; www.UntiVineyards.com)
2012: Pale gold color; very attractive floral/honeysuckle/honeyed/apple blossom/pear quite spicy lovely/
fragrant nose; soft/lush rather floral/honeysuckle/honeyed/pear/poached pear/spicy flavor; very long soft/lush
honeyed/pear/pear blossom/spicy flavor; very long soft/lush honeyed/honeysuckle/floral/spicy/poached pear lovely
finish; speaks mostly of GrenacheBlanc; resembles Tuscan Vermentino than Liguria or Corsican and blows away
any Tuscan versions I've had; resembles a bit Piemonte Favorita if anything. $23.75
___________________
4. Arnot-Roberts Trousseau NorthCoast (1 Foudre/3 Puncheons/1 Barrel; 13%; LuchsingerVnyd/ClearLake+Bartolemmei
Vnyd/GreenVlly+BohanRanch/FtRoss-Seaview; whole cluster frmtd; U/U) 2012: Pale ruby/red color; rather earthy/
dusty strong cranberry/rosewater/rose petal quite perfumed/fragrant lovely nose; some earthy/dusty/loamy strong
cranberry/rose petal/floral fairly tangy/tart quite perfumed bit tannic/bitey flavor; very long some earthy/
dusty/loamy perfumed/floral/rose petal/cranberry juice finish w/ light/bitey tannins; rather akin to a Jura
Trousseau w/o as strong an earthy/loamy character; quite a pretty Trousseau. $30.00
___________________
5. Arnot-Roberts Trousseau LuchsingerVnyd/ClearLake (4 Puncheons + 1 Foudre; 12.2%) 2011: Pale ruby/red color;
very fragrant/perfumed rose petal/rosewater/cranberry juice lovely/aromatic nose; bit softer/lusher very perfumed/
cranberry juice/rose petal/rosewater slight tangy flavor w/ slight tannic bite; long very perfumed cranberry juice/
rosewater/floral/rose petal slight earthy/dusty finish w/ light/bitey tannins; bit lusher & softer and not as
fresh as the '12; quite a pretty Trousseau and great Thanksgiving fare. $30.00
___________________
6. Harrington Trousseau SilettoVnyd/CienegaVlly (14.1%; 53 cs) 2012: Med.light color; very strong grapey/
Beauj-like/white pepper/spicy slight cranberry/cherry juice lovely nose; rather tart slight earthy/loamy strong
grapey/Gamay-like/cherry juice light rather spicy/white pepper delicate/lithe lovely flavors w/ light tannins;
long cherry juice/grapey/Beauj-like bit earthy/loamy slight barnyardy/horsecollar finish w/ light tannins;
a quite pretty red very much in the style of a Beaujolais w/ lots of grapey/juicy fruit. $30.00
___________________
7. WindGap TrousseauGris Fannuchi-WoodRdVnyd/RRV (400 cs; 13.3%; #3499) 2011: Med.gold color; some earthy/reduced/
funky slight phenolic very perfumed/honeyed/caramel/spicy almost GV/peppery quite exotic nose; tart/tangy slight
phenolic rather rich/very honeyed/caramel/angel food cake quite lush flavor; very long somewhat tart rich/lush/
oily honeyed/caramel/graham cracker very slight phenolic complex finish w/ little tannins; quite an exotic wine
at a great price. $21.00
___________________
10. Forlorn-Hope Sogni della Speccia Sangiovese ShalePeakVnyd/SolanoCnty/Calif (14.63%; 77 cs) 2012: Med.color;
beautiful/fragrant cherry/black cherry/choke cherry/Sangio/cherry cola/boysenberry very perfumed very juicy light
earthy/dusty/loamy complex nose; rather tart some tannic/hard very strong cherry/choke cherry/cherry juice bit
earthy/loamy/dusty flavor w/ some hard/firm tannins; very long quite perfumed cherry/choke cherry/cherry juice
light earthy/loamy/dusty finish w/ somewhat hard/bitey tannins; one of the best Calif Sangios I've had; has all
the bright cherry character that makes Sangio so good; needs 2-6 yrs of age; no heavy-handed use of oak; great
price at $24.00
___________________
11. Unti Segromigno DryCreekVlly (70% Sangiovese/30% Montepulciano; 13.8%; 600 cs; Hrvstd: Sangio-Sept 25/Oct 1, MP-
Oct 13-17; TA: 0.62; pH: 3.60; Aged: 13 mo. in 620 gal Fr.foudre; Bttld: Sept 11/2012) 2011: Med.dark color; very
intense smokey/charred/forest fire/oak some Sangio/black cherry/cherry juice fairly aromatic nose; quite tart
bit reduced/pungent some charred/burnt/oak light cherry/Sangio/cherry juice bit earthy/loamy rather big flavor
w/ some hard tannins; very long rather pungent/charred/oak light Sangio/black cherry/cherry juice finish w/ some
hard/angular tannins; seems to be dominated by the charred/pungent oak and not a lot of bright Sangio fruit;
actually an interesting wine in a rough/rustic sort of way; needs some age yet. $26.60
___________________
12. Unti Barbera DryCreekVlly (Aged: 25%-30% new Fr.oak for 12 months; 13.6%; Hrvstd: Oct 12-14; TA: 0.80; pH: 3.35;
Bttld: Dec 12/2012; 275 cs) 2011: Very dark color; strong vanilla/oak/bit toasty/smokey strong Barbera/spicy/
fennel sausage bit earthy/dusty lovely nose; rather tart/lean/acid very spicy/Barbera/Italian sausage bit vanilla/
oak/toasty light earthy/dusty quite attractive flavor w/ some hard/bitey tannins; very long/lingering Barbera/spicy/
Italian sausage light dusty/earthy some light/vanilla/oak rather tart/austere finish w/ some hard/bitey tannins;
needs 2-5 yrs of age; very strong classic Barbera character; more like a Barbera d'Alba than Barbera d'Asti but
more rich/lush character w/ same acid/tannin profile; quite a good expression of Calif Barbera. $28.50
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
And the usual BloodyPulpit:
1. Unti: I've tried a few of the Unti Zins over the yrs and found them quite nice, representative of DryCreekVlly
Zins. But nothing that compelled me to pay much attention to Unti. When I found out a month ago that they were
releasing their first Fiano, I knew I had to try it. When I visited their WebSite (www.UntiVineyards.com), I found
all sorts of interesting Italian stuff. So ordered a mixed half-case to revisit Uniti. I liked what I tasted tonight
across the board and now realize I need to pay more attention to what George & Mick Unti are doing. This Barbera
is one of the best Calif Barberas I've had in some time and maybe better than the Forlorn-Hope, though they differ
quite a bit in style.
What's really interesting is that they've planted LaCrima di Morra d'Alba, a variety indigenous to TheMarche and
one that I feels makes some very interesting red wines. It would be really/realy interesting if they would make
a Visciola from those grapes. They also have Ciliegiolo, Mammolo, Aglianico, and Montepulciano in the ground.
Definitely a wnry I need to pay attention to.
___________________
2. Trousseau: This (red) variety is grown mostly in the Jura where it makes some quite perfumed Pinotish reds w/
that distinctive Jura earthiness. Also grown in Portugal where it's a minor grape in Port and also in Madeira,
where it's known as Bastardo. All three of these Trousseaus were really quite pretty renditions of that variety
and would make lovely Thanksgiving fare.
TrousseauGris, the pale mutation of Trousseau, was orginally planted quite a bit in Sonoma & Mendocino, and
supposedly originated in Alsace. It was originally known in Calif as GrayRiesling. It was made mostly by Gus
Sebastiani, though LeeStewart did make some pleasant ones at Souverain in his day. But the rather
insipid/bland character of those from Gus pretty much drove that variety into obscurity. The Fannuchi folks
planted a block in 1981 (for gawd knows what reason) and that remains the largest existent block in Calif. There
has been a renewed interest in the variety now in Calif. Good thing, I say.
___________________
3. Sangiovese: We've been told by the critics that Sangiovese is a failure in Calif. Buut I've been finding quite a
few Calif Sangios that I like quite a bit. This Forlorn-Hope is one of the best I've had. And from the SuisunVlly,
no less...not an area known for particularly great wines. It's not gonna be the next big thing, but I think we're
going to see more & more good Sangios out of Calif.
Tom