Tasting w/ Letizia & Enrico
I have followed the wines of Letizia Paulette and Enrico Bertoz from the very start, when I first met them
at my first RibollaFest at the Matthiasson's. They both come from Friuli and make wines of a Friulian take
under their ArbeGarbe label. Enrico first made wines at Nonino, the maker of great Friulian grappas. He came
to work in the US at Valentino's in LosAngles and then moved to the NapaVlly to make wine. He is currently
assistant winemaker at FloraSprings, where he also makes his ArbeGarbe wines. (www.arbegarbewines.com)
We'd not hooked up w/ them in some 4-5 yrs, so we arranged to get together at FloraSprings on our free Sunday
in the NapaVlly. We first tasted thru tank/barrel samples of their unreleased wines:
1. ArbeGarbe WW (65% Malvasia + TokaiFriulano from PaganiRanch and RibollaGiallo) 2016: Light gold color; quite
purfumey mostly Malvasia/muscatty slight stony/mineral/perfumed talc lovely nose; lightly tart totally dry
fairly rich/lush quite floral/Malvasia/muscatty/bit candied slight mineral/perfumed talc flavor; very long
Malvasia/muscatty finish; speaks strongly of Malvasia tempered a bit by the Tocai/Ribolla.
________________
2. ArbeGarbe Malvasia Catie'sCronerVnyd/RRV 2016: Light gold color; very strong perfumey/floral/Malvasia/muscatty/
gardenia/apple blossom very aromatic nose; lightly tart/slight bitter very perfumed/floral/Malvasia/bit muscatty
quite dry flavor; very long/lingering intense Malvasia finish; pretty blatent Malvasia character but a bit on
the simple side.
________________
3. ArbeGarbe Malvasia Passito (8%; RS: 12%) 2014: Med.gold color; very strong grapey/floral/very ripe light malvasia/
floral/muscatty nose; lightly tart quite sweet very intense grapey/floral/Malvasia/bit muscatty flavor; very long/
lingering quite sweet finish; lots of unresolved RS but has the acidity to carry it w/o seeming sweet/sour; as good
as any Italian Moscato Passitos; should have a very long lifetime.
________________
4. Benandants Charbono Amarone 2015: Very dark/near black color; very intense grapey/chocolaty/licorice/pungent light
earthy/dusty/OV rather complex nose; bit soft slightly off-dry very intense/grapey/chocolaty/licorice/pungent
some dusty/OV/earthy slight herbal/RCCola rather concentrated flavor w/ ample soft/ripe tannins; very long/lingering
intense licorice/chocolaty/grapey slight herbal some dusty/OV finish w/ ample ripe tannins; doesn't have the rustic
or bitter character of many Amarones; should be very long lived wine.
___________________________________
A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. The Malvasia Enrico uses is MalvasiaBianco from the Catie'sCornerVnyd in the RRV. The grape has a fairly intense
floral/candied/somewhat muscatty character that is often finished off-dry to cover any bitterness. Both of
these whites were totally dry as best I could tell. I would love it if they could source Malvasia d'Istriana,
which makes a less flamboyant and more interesting wine, at least in Friuli/Slovenia/Croatia. Alas, that
grape is not yet in Calif. But the ArbeGarbe Malvasia is about the best in Calif.
________________
2. Enrico makes a Charbono from the ShyPokeVnyd in Calistoga under the Benandants label. It is one of the best
Charbonos being made in Calif. This one barrel is his first attempt at making an Amarone-style red. It is
a stunning example of an Amarone wine.
After tasting these barrel samples, we adjourned to the picnic space in front of the FloraSprings wnry/tasting
room. Enrico & Letezia set out a large spread of cheeses and charcuterie. We then tasted thru an entire vertical
of the ArbeGarbe WW and AG Malvasia, vintages '14/'15/'16. Didn't take any detailed TN's. Of the Malvasia, I slightly
preferred the '14 for its lower-key/more subtle Malvasia character. Of the AG WW, I slightly preferred the '15 for
its stronger/more intense fruit. Not a whole lot of difference in the wines and the '14 was still going strong
and showing no signs of aged character.
After the apps and the wine, I adjourned to the adjacent picnic table to engage Benedetto and Francesco in a
rousing game of Tip-It, a very fun balancing table game that requires the precise hand work of a neurosurgeon or
an epee fencer. I am widely acknowledged to be the WorldChampion at TipIt (Google it!!) and seldom loose at it.
After the first round victory, I lost the next three rounds to Benedetto and Francesco. I'm convinced those
two guys must have been cheating on me as I'm confident the numerous glasses of wine were not affecting my
hand-eye coordination in any way.
Tom