Tried this last night w/ my gelato:
1. OjaiVnyd Viognier RollRanchVnyd/Calif Dessert Wine (6 brls; 11%) 2003: Deep golden color; very intense orangey/passito light earthy/smokey some Viog/grapey/peachy rather complex passito nose; bit soft quite sweet very intense orangey/tangerine/peachy/passito slight earthy complex flavor; very long/lingering quite sweet bit soft very intense grapey/passito/orangey/peachy/tangerine light earthy complex finish; a beautiful example of a Calif passito that will go another 10-20 yrs.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. This was, as I recall, made originally as a freezer ice wine, not as a passito wine. If correct, it shows much more development than any Calif freezer ice wine I've seen. The intense orange character reminded me a lot of Lucio Gomiero's Vignalta Fior d'Arancia in the Colli Euganei of the Veneto, one of the best of the Italian passito wines.
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2. This wine was from my latest discovered orphan boxes in my garage. Standing upright, under totally uncontrolled temps, for over 10 yrs. That could very well be why this dessert wine was so good & complex. The other Ojai reds in this orphan box have also been quite good, by & large, for '02-'03 Syrah/Pinots.
Tom