We tasted tonight (8/23/17) Some New Wines:
1. CO Coronica Istrian Malvasia (13%; L060616) Umag/Istria/Croatia NV (2015): Light gold color; lovely perfumed
Malvasia/spicy/pineapple rather subtle muscat perfumed talc/earthy beautiful nose; tart slight CO2/refreshed
perfumey/Malvasia low-key/muscatty slightly bitter floral/pineapple/spicy fairly tart flavor; long bit earthy
perfumed/Malvasia/pineapple/spicy subtle/muscatty finish; has a bit of CO2/refreshed character that distracts;
quite an attractive Malvasija Istarska w/ some subtlety to it. $19.95 (BDW)
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2. Onward MalvasiaBianca CappInnRanch/SuisunVlly (12.8%; tank frmtd/sur lie aged; weed control by wild pigs;
www.OnWardWines.com) Faith Armstrong Foster/Sonoma 2015: Light gold color; very strong fragrant muscatty/Malvasia
perfumey/cheap hair oil slight earthy quite lovely nose; fairly tart/tangy/metallic totally dry some Malvasia/
muscatty/perfumey flavor w/ no bitterness; very long rather Malvasia/muscatty/flowery/cheap hair oil fairly tart
bit metallic finish; quite a nice expression of Malvasia , totally dry, and no bitterness; reminds a lot of the
ArbeGarbe; a great drinking Malvasia at a great price. $20.00
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3. Farmstrong FieldWhite SuisunVlly WW (13.2%; www.FarmStrongVineyards.com; 20 brls; GrenacheBlanc/Albarino/
Verdelho) 2014: Light gold color; very fragrant honeysuckle/GB/spicy/honeyed very floral/peach/apple blossom/
perfumed talc/spicy very lovely nose; fairly tart/tangy/metallic strong spicy/GB/honeysuckle/florap/apple blossom
flavor; very long tart/tangy/metallic bright/vibrant GB/honeysuckle/honeyed/honey comb finish; a lovely bright/
zippy balanced white blend w/ great aromatics at a very good price. $22.00
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4. Forlorn-Hope Nodosaur RorickVnyd/CalaverasCnty (14.21%; 207 cs; Picpoul/Verdelho/Albarino/Muscat) Murphys
2014: Light gold color; some earthy/dusty very fragrant/floral/spicy/pineapple aromatic nose; tart/tangy bit
pineapple/mango floral/apple blossom/spicy almost 7-Up totally dry somewhat rich/lush slight stony flavor;
very long lovely spicy/floral/apple blossom slight stony/mineral finish; lots of understated aromatics and
speaks some of Picpoul. $26.00
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5. Forlorn-Hope The Kerrigans Carignan PoorRanch/MendoCnty (12.61%; 277 cs) 2015: Med.color; strong spicy/black
cherry/Carignan rather fragrant earthy/dusty/OV some tomatoey/MendoCnty bit Zin-like light vanilla/oak nose;
fairly tart/tangy strong black cherry/Carignan/bit Zin-like tomatoey/MendoCnty rather earthy/dusty flavor w/
light tangy tannins; very long cherry/black cherry/Carignan rather earthy/dusty/bit loamy some tomatoey/MendoCnty
finish w/ light brisk tannins; a nicely done classic Mendo Carignan. $30.00
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6. Forlorn-Hope Saint Kerrigan Carignan PoorRanch/MendoCnty (12.78%; 24 cs; no added SO2) 2015: Med.dark color;
strong quite earthy/dusty/OV strong black cherry/Carignan bit herbal slight funky/wet-wool much more interesting/
complex nose; quite tart/tangy/metallic rather black cherry/Carignan/black cherry cola quite dusty/earthy/OV bit
funky/wet wool quite interesting flavor w/ modest tangy tannins; very long/lingering slight brett/funky/wet wool
strong black cherry/Carignan/black cherry cola strong earthy/dusty/OV slight herbal/pungent finish w/ light bitey
tannins; not as much tomatoey/MendoCnty character; more bass notes and less high toned character; much more
interesting/complex Carignan. $32.00
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7. Forlorn-Hope The Kerrigans Carignan PoorRanch/MendoCnty (13.54%; 261 cs) 2014: Med.color; strong Carignan/cherry/
black cherry some earthy/dusty/OV bit spicy bit tomatoey/MendoCnty quite attractive nose; lightly tart fairly
rich/lush some Carignan/cherry/black cherry/black cherry cola fairly earthy/dusty/OV flavor w/ light tangy tannins;
very long lightly tart strong earthy/dusty/OV strong cherry/black cherry cola/Carignan slight tomatoey/MendoCnty
finish w/ light brisk tannns; quite an attractive Carignan; a bit more like #6 but w/ more bright/cherry fruit.
$28.00
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8. Onward Carignane HawkeyeRanch/RedwoodVlly (14.1%; 8 brls; St.George rootstock; 80 yr old head trained)
2014: Dark color; strong tomatoey/tomato sauce/MendoCnty some black cherry/Carignan/black cherry cola fairly
earthy/dusty/OV/loamy bit mushroomy some complex very attractive nose; very tart/tangy/almost screechy rather
tomatoey/MendoCnty strong black cherry/Carignan/black cherry cola rather earthy/dusty/OV/loamy flavor w/ some
tangy/hard tannins; very long/lingering rather earthy/loamy/dusty/OV strong black cherry cola/Carignan rather
tomato sauce/MendoCnty very tart somewhat rustic finish w/ modest bitey/hard tannins; speaks strongly of MendoCnty
and Carignan; rather on the hard/austere/lean side and needs age; almost Languedoc in character; quite an
interesting Carignan. $30.00
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9. Onward Syrah LedgewoodVnyd/SuisunVlly (14.5%; Tended by RogerKing; 110R rootstock; 3 brls; Plntd: 1997)
2015: Med.dark color; very strong cracked black pepper strong blackberry/Syrah/blueberry/very spicy slight Rhonish/
roasted beautiful nose; rather tart/hard/angular/bit austere strong blueberry/blackberry/Syrah very strong cracked
black pepper/spicy complex flavor w/ ample hard/firm tannins; very long/lingering strong cracked black pepper strong
blueberry/blackberry/Syrah/spicy bit Rhonish/roasted rather tart/hard/austere very structured finish w/ ample hard
tannins; needs 5-10 yrs; maybe the best red from the SuisunVlly I've had; very cold-climate in character. $34.00
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10. Dom.Romaneaux-Destezet Herve Souhaut LesCessieux AOP: St.Joseph (13.5%; www.JennyandFrancois.com)
2015: Very dark color; strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy some peppery/black pepper slight wet dog fur some roasted/smoked
meats/espresso complex nose; fairly tart/tangy rather hard/austere strong spicy/blackberry/Syrah light Rhonish/
espresso/roasted some complex flavor w/ ample hard/rough tannins; very long strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy rather
tart/hard/austere/bit rough some roasted/espresso/Rhonish/smokey some complex finish w/ ample tannins; a rather
hard/austere StJoseph that needs 5-10 yrs of age. $46.00 (G/MT)
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11. Martha Stoumen Nero d'Avola BensenRanch/MendoCnty (YoungVines/DryFarmed; 13.2%; MarthaStoumen.com) Napa 2015:
Very dark color; rather earthy/rustic strong black cherry/blackberry/boysenberry bit mushroomy/herbal very interesting
nose; lightly tart/tangy/bit metallic rather earthy/rough/rustic Italianate strong blackberry flavor w/ some tangy/
coarse/rough tannins; very long tart rough/rustic/sauvage strong blackberry/black cherry rather earthy/dusty bit
mushroomy/herbal finish w/ some rough tannins; a very interesting wine that speaks more of rustic Southern Italy
than MendoCnty; needs 3-6 yrs of age. $31.75 (VB)
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12. Jean-Francois Quenard Persan Dd'OP: Savoie "Les 2 Jean" (12.5%; www.JFQuenard.com) Chignin 2014: Med.dark color;
bit reductive/burning metal that clears; rather earthy/loamy some herbal/rosemary bit mushroomy/truffl/pungent bit
Mondeuse-like somewhat high-toned complex nose; lightly tart earthy/loamy slight blackberry/plummy bit herbal/thyme/
rosemary/pungent some rustic/mountain-red flavor w/ light brisk tannins; very long/lingering rather earthy/loamy/dusty
some blackberry/plummy bit herbal/rosemary/musky finish w/ light sharp tannins; an interesting rustic mountain-red
w/ herbal character; a bit like a Mondeuse-lite. $26.00 (BergAlley)
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More stuff from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Onward/Farmstrong: These are the wines of Faith Armstrong Foster. A month ago, I tried her skin-contact Malvasia
and was quite impressed with it, so thought I should try her other wines. Onward is the label she uses for her
single vnyd wines and Farmstrong for her blended wines. Born in BritishColumbia, she went to UC/Davis, did a stint
at FrankFamilyWines, and then launched her own label. She selects vnyds that she can work closely w/ the grower
on to bring out the best of that site. I was most impressed by her wines from the SuisunVlly, an area that is not
particularly known for producing great wines. I was particularly struck by the strong cracked black pepper character
in the Syrah, a character associated w/ cold-climate Syrah but not SuisunVlly. I would guess it was a whole-cluster
ferment. Definitely a lady to watch.
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2. MarthaStoumen: A young lady located in Napa. Her focus is in the vnyd, rather than the wnry. Her first experience
was farming grapes in Tuscany. Then w/ a number of folks in Calif/France/Italy..always w/ the emphasis on the
vnyd aspect. Though she doesn't label herself as a "natural" winemaker, she espouses many of that movement's
principals. Another lady to watch.
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3. Souhaut: The wines of HerveSouhaut I've tried thus far have been very impressive. A bit on the pricey side, but not
out of line for their quality. He makes an old-vine Gamay from the Rhone that is outstanding.
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4. Persan: A very rare grape indigenous to the Savoie. A tiny bit planted in Suisse. Also a tiny amount grown in
Piemonte, where it is known as Becuet, in the SusaVlly. A grape they should be planting all up&down the coast
of Calif.
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5. Kerrigans: These two '15 Carignans were quite an interesting and striking comparison. Same wine, one made w/ no
SO2 additions. Most preferred the no SO2 version as much more interesting expression of Carignan.
In many MendoCnty reds, Zins & Carignans, I get a kind of tomato sauce/slightly pungent character, not like
fresh tomatos, but more a reduced tomato sauce/slightly burnt character. This was evident, to varying degrees,
in these MendoCnty wines.
Tom