We tried last week (8/2/17) Some Interesting Wines:
1. Jean-Francois Quenard Chignin Anne de la Biguerne Ad'P: Savoie (100% Jacquere; 12%; www.JFQuenard.com;
CharlesNealSlctns) Chignin 2014: Light gold color; very fragrant apple blossom/appley/lemony some stony/mineral/
chalky attractive nose; very tart almost screechy bit lean/metallic rather stony/mineral light appley bit simple
flavor; med.long stony/mineral/chalky appley/lemony quite tart/lean finish; a pretty typical simple/mineral
Chignin bordering on eviscerated. $18.50 (VB)
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2. Dom.des Ardoisieres ArgileBlanc IGP: Vin des Allobroges St.Pierre de Soucy-Villard d'Hery (Altesse/Jacquère;
VinBiologique; 12%; 11.5%; MartinesWines) B.Omont/Freterive 2015: Light yellow color; some pencilly/oak very
fragrant/spicy/floral/peach blossom/mango quite attractive nose; soft/lush some pencilly/oak very spicy/floral/
gardenia fairly rich/lush light earthy/tangy some complex flavor; very long/lingering some pencilly/oak spicy/
floral/gardenia bit stony/earthy finish; a bit too much oak but one of the best Altesses I can recall; rather
pricey at $36.50 (VB)
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3. Istvan Spiegelberg Juhfark Somloi (12.5%; www.Spiegelberg.Hu; BlueDanube; #0174 of 1330 btls)
Szent Ilona-Dulo/Hungary 2011: Light gold color; very fragrant perfumed talc/very spicy strong floral/carnations
some mango/pineapply quite attractive nose; rather tart/lean/austere/metallic rather spicy/perfumed talc strong
carnations/floral/mango/pineapple slightly bitter quite interesting flavor; very long tart/metallic/steely/austere
rather spicy/perfumed talc/mango/pineapple/carnations bit bitter finish; a bit pricey but quite an interesting wine.
$36.75 (VB)
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4. Pannonhalmi Tricollis Apatsagi Pinceszet (40% WelshRiesling/40% Riesling/20% GWT; www.SkurnikWines.com;
www.ApatsagiPinceszet.Hu; 13.0%) Pannonhalma/Pannonia/Hungary 2016: Light yellow color; some cheap R-like/BlueNun/
pineapple bit earthy/funky nose; soft ripe rather cheap R-like/pineapple slight tangy/metallic lightly fruity flavor;
dry med.short cheap R/simple/fruity soft bit metallic finish; rather like a cheap German R like BlueNun but OK for
the price. $11.00 (CB)
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5. G.D.Vajra Clare J.C. DOC: Langhe Nebbiolo (Nebbiolo as made in the 17'th & 18'th centuries; L07 17;
www.GdVajra.It) Barolo 2016: Med.light color; very fragrant/perfumed bright strawberry/cherry light earthy lovely
perfumed nose but not much like Nebb; very slightly off-dry slight bit of spritz up front very bright cherry/strawberry
slight earthy flavor w/ light bitey/crunchy tannins; long bit off-dry slight spritz fairly tart/tangy bright/vibrant
strawberry/cherry/floral bit earthy finish w/ light brittle tannins and a slight mousey/wet dog fur far in the
backtaste; quite different from Langhe Nebb and a very unusual expression of Nebb. $27.00 (CB)
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6. Ramsay Nebbiolo Calif (13%) Napa 1991: Med.color w/ some browning; some wet dog fur rather tired/aged burnt/
charred/burnt rubber/burning metal pungent nose; rather sour/tired/stewed fruit bit dried rose petal/pungent flavor
w/ light dried out/bitter tannins; speaks quietly of old Nebb but pretty much dead&gone.
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7. Cavatappi Maddalena Nebbiolo RedWillowVnyd/WashState (12%; 1st bttlg/#4162) PeterDow/Kirkland 1988: Med.light cloudy/
murky color w/ some browning; slight rose petal/oldNebb rather cedary/pencilly/old red somewhat old Nebb/complex nose;
sour oxidized/stewed fruit slight dried rose petal/pungent rather tannic/metallic/dried out flavor w/ light dried-out/
astringent/bitter tannins; speaks quietly of old Nebb but pretty tired/dried out on the palate.
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8. Cavatappi Maddalena Nebbiolo RedWillowVnyd/WashState (12%; U/U; #2104) PeterDow/Kirkland 1989[/b]: Same color; some
oxidized/dirty diaper pail some cedary/pencilly/old red slight rose petal/Nebb/pungent nose; soft bit awshed out
rather tired/oxidized bitter/astringent slight rose petal/cedary/pencilly flavor w/ light astringent tannins;
rather on the funky side and pretty shot.
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9. Attilio Ghisolfi Nebbiolo DOC: Langhe (14%; www.QuintessentialWines.com; www.ghisolfi.com/en/)
Monforte d'Alba 2011: Med.light color; bit pungent/tarry/earthy very slight floral/Nebb/lilacs rather attractive nose;
rather tart/tangy fairly pungent/tarry very slight floral/lilacs/rose petal flavor w/ light angular tannins; med.long
fairly tart/tannic somewhat pungent/tarry light floral/lilacs finish w/ light brittle tannins; speaks strongly of
Nebb's tarry side; a pretty decent Nebb at a very fair price. $20.00 (VB)
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10. Cotes de Ciel Nebbiolo Ciel du Cheval Vnyd/RedMtn (15.3%; CotesDeCiel.com/) HolmesFamilyWnry/Richland 2012: Dark color;
rather toasty/oak some pungent/tarry slight floral/rose petal somewhat fragrant Nebb nose; lightly tart fairly
hard/tannic/structured some toasty/oak rather pungent/tarry/graphite very light floral/rose petal flavor w/ ample hard
tannins; very long rather toasty/oak strong pungent/tarry/graphite/mineral light floral/rose petal/violets lightly tart
finish w/ ample hard/mouthfilling tannins; a big/extracted structured Nebb w/ ample toasty/oak; needs 4-8 yrs of age;
as the oak integrates, this could turn into a very interesting mature Nebb; very fairly priced at $25.00.
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11. Boheme Zin OldManciniRanch/RRV/SonomaCnty (14.9%; Plntd: 1922; + Carignane/PetiteSirah/AlicanteBouschet;
head pruned/dry farmed; Hrvstd: Oct.22; 360 cs) 2013: Dark color; very bright Zin/Zinberry/very spicy quite dusty/OV
very light pencilly oak beautiful nose; shows the alcohol a bit more; fairly tart bright Zinberry/raspberry/blackberry
quite dusty/OV more complex quite spicy bright flavor w/ modest brisk tannins; very long/lingering bright Zinberry/
blackberry quite dusty/OV rather tart/brisk very light pencilly/oak finish w/ light brisk tannins; shows more spiciness
and more dusty/OV character; a beautiful OV Zin. $38.25
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12. Carlisle Zin ManciniRanch/RRV/SonomaCnty (15.5%; Plntd: 1922; +Carignane/PetiteSirah/Abouriou/GrandNoir;
245 cs) 2015: Very dark color; very strong RRVZin/blackberry/boysenberry/bit Zinberry some dusty/OV bit alcoholic
rather toasty/oak nose; lightly tart very strong RRVZin/blackberry/ripe rich/full/lush some toasty/oak classic Carlisle
Zin flavor w/ ample rich/ripe tannins; very long/lingering bit softer rich/ripe/lush very strong RRVZin/blackberry/spicy/
slight peppery some toasty/oak light dusty/OV finish w/ ample ripe tannins; a pretty classic Carlisle Zin; beautiful
and needs age. $44.75
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More alt/facts from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Cavatappi: The '88 was the first Nebb PeterDow made, as I recall. I had a '95 Cavatappi several yrs ago at NEB#5 that was
excellent. I was expecting these to be a bit shakey, but they were pretty much dead & gone.
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2. Vajra Clare: This is a special wine that they have made in an attempt to replicate how Nebbiolo used to be made long
ago. DarrellCorti came across a TN that ThomasJefferson made of Piemonte Nebbs back in his day. He communicated it to
the Vajra folks and suggested they might want to replicate that wine. The J.C. stands for Jefferson/Corti.
It was made w/ 20% whole-cluster and finished up in SS; very slightly off-dry and w/ a slight bit of spritz.
Loads of very pretty alpine strawberry character but doesn't speak much of (modern-day) Nebbiolo.
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3. Ciel du Cheval: This was a vnyd that was planted fairly early by Jim Holmes. He also founded, w/ partners, the KionaVnyd
wnry. Jim worked for GE at Hanford and frequently visited LosAlamos. He presented several tastings of Kiona wines to my
group.
Jim was a pioneer in WashState viticulture and the Ciel du Cheval is regarded as on of the great WashState vnyds.
Truly a visionary to plant Nebbiolo in an area dominated by Cabernet/Merlot. I first encountered the Ciel du Cheval
Nebbs in the wines from two OR wineries, TamarackCllrs and Cana'sFeast. So I knew I must try the Cotes de Ciel version
as well. The two OR Nebbs leaned more towards the floral side of Nebbiolo. This Ciel is more on the pungent/tarry
side, some like the early Cavatappi Nebbs. It has more oak than you usually find in Nebb, but it is very structured
and I think, as the wine ages, the oak will integrate and this will become a very interesting Nebb.
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4. Mancini: This is an OV vnyd, mixed plantings, that is kitty-corner on OlivetLane from Papera. The grapes go to a
number of different winemakers. In 2013, KurtBeitler got an offer for a bit of Mancini Zin that he partnered w/
a friend to make an unnamed label Zin. They couldn't settle on a name and eventually Kurt swapped for some of his other
wines for the entirety of the Mancini Zin, bottled now under his Boheme label. There is also a Mancini Zin vnyd over
in Calistoga. I had a shiner of this Boheme Zin almost a yr ago and thought it quite nice, but just that. And that
period, this wine has really evolved into an exceptional Zin.
Both of these Zins were exceptional and reflected more the styles of the winemaker. I liked them both equally well.
Tom