We tried last night (11/8/17) Some New Interesting Wines:
1. Bibich debit North Dalmatia (100% Debit grape; SS ferment; www.BlueDanubeWines.com; 13.0%)
Skradin/Croatia 2016: Light gold color; fairly fragrant pineapple/mango/orangey/citrusy/peach slight
Windex light stony/chalky attractive perfumed nose; fairly tart/metallic ripe/pineapple/mango/peach/
almost R-like slight chalky flavor; med.long ripe/pineapple/mango/peach sight chalky fairly tart
finish; a rather attractive fragrant bit simple white, fairly priced. $16.50 (BDW)
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2. Sipun Zlahtina Dry WW (Vrbnicka Zlahtina or Zlahtina Bijela grape; 11.5%; LZ0816) SipunEstate/
Ivica Dobrincic/Urbnik/Island of Krk/Croatia 2015: Light yellow color; lightly fragrant spicy/nutmeg
slight smokey/tobaccoy/oak fairly fragrant nose; soft/bit flaccid rather smokey/bacon light mango rather
washed-out flavor; med.short rather tobaccoy/bacon little fruit finish; a rather strange white but
dull/watery/vapid on the palate; needs acid. $18.95 (BDW)
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3. Bibich R5 Riserva North Dalmatia (Debit/Posip/Marastina + PinotGrigio/Chard; new Am.oak for 12 mo;
13.5%; 300 cs) 2015: Light gold color; very strong R-like/floral/mango/pineapple very fragrant/perfumed/
aromatic spicy rather vanilla/oak/tobaccoy quite attractive nose; soft very ripe floral/mango/pineapple
light vanilla/Am.oak very slight resiny/phenolic complex flavor; med.short floral/bit R-like/mango/pineapple
rather vanilla/Am.oak finish; lots of R-like aromatics but a bit too much Am.oak. $16.50 (BDW)
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4. Bibich Debit Lucica Riserva (100% Debit Berba; bibich.co/; 13.5%; L012017) 2015: Med.gold bit burnished
bronze color; slight phenolic/resiny/skin-contact very ripe/pineapple/mango fragrant nose; soft rich/ripe/
overripe/pineapple/mango light phenolic/resiny/skin-contact slight bitter/apple-skin flavor; med.long soft/
rich/lush light phenolic/skin-contact/resiny some overripe/pineapple/mango bit bitter/apple-skin finish w/
very light tannins; seems to have a quiet skin-contact character and on the overripe side but interesting
if rather overpriced. $34.95 (BDW)
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5. RedTailRidgeWnry Miscreant (50% GWT/Chard; skin frmtd; aged in neutral oak 8 mo.; www.RedTailRidge.com;
12.6%) PenYan/NewYork 2015[/b]: Med.dark gold/burnished bronze color; strong GWT/lychee/spicy light phenolic/
skin-contact/resiny/apple cider/cidery some Vitalis hair oil rather aromatic very interesting nose; fairly
tart light GWT/lychee/spicy/bit hair oil some phenolic/resiny/skin contact interesting bit austere flavor w/
slight tannic bite; long some phenolic/skin-contact/resiny some GWT/spicy/lychee/Vitalis/perfumed fairly tart
bit austere finish w/ slight bitter tannins; not a particularly heavy phenolic loading and plenty of GWT
varietal character; rather interesting rendition of GWT. $23.00 (GMT)
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6. Gutoggau Emmeram Weiss Weinland Osterreichscher Landwein (13.5%; Halbtrocken; www.Gutoggau.com;
Demeter; Jenny&Francois Slctns) Eselbock & Tscheppe/Oggau/Austria 2015: Med.gold color; quite appley/floral/
GV-like/very ripe light phenolic/apple cider/resiny rather aromatic complex nose; quite tart/austere rather
bitter off-dry very ripe/pineapple/apple/mango light phenolic/skin-contact complex flavor; very long very
ripe/appley/pineapple/mango/overripe-R some phenolic/resiny/skin-contact bit sweet quite tart finish; a rather
interesting/exotic but very ripe/off-dry white w/ light phenolic/skin-contact character; a bit on the weird
side and rather over-priced. $55.00 (GMT)
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7. Bibich R6 Riserva North Dalmatia Red (34% Babic/33% Plavina/33% Lasin; 1 yr in Am.oak barrique;
13.4%) Skradin/Croatia 2015: Med.dark color; strong Am.oak/vanilla rather earthy/loamy bit volatile slight
licorice/blackberry strange plastic/hybridy rather rustic/coarse somewhat interesting/strange nose; rather
tart/tangy fairly metallic quite coarse/rustic very earthy/loamy some bitter rather Am.oak flavor w/ light
rough/coarse tannins; med. rough/coarse/earthy/loamy very slight licorice/blackberry bit bitter finish w/ some
hard/rough tannins; very much a rough/rustic/coarse peasant red w/ little likable features other than being
different. $16.50 (BDW)
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8. Gere Attila Pinceszete Portugieser Villanyi Vedett Eredetu Classicus Vorosbor DHC: Villany Szaraz
(Kekoporto grape/Blauer Portugieser; 12%; www.Gere.Hu; www.BlueDanuneWine.com) Villany/Erkel/Hungary
2014: Med.light color; very pungent some fecal/septic tank quite earthy/dusty slight grapey/blueberry very
coarse/unattractive nose; quite bitter/sour rather fecal/septic tank/unclean slight grapey/blueberry very
coarse/rough/rustic/funky flavor w/ light coarse tannins; med.long unclean/fecal/septic tank/reduced sour/bitter
slight blueberry/fruity finish w/ light rough/coarse tannins; definitely a DNPIM type of wine that has some
sort of bacterial problem; dreadful stuff. $11.00 (BB)
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9. Durin Ormeasco DOC: Pornassio (13%; www.Durin.It) Basso Antonio/Ortovero/Savona 2005:Med.dark color; slight
bricking/browning color; rather earthy/dusty licorice/Dolcetto rather tired nose; lightly tart fairly tired/
oldRed slight licorice/Dolcetto rather earthy/dusty flavor w/ some dried-out tannins; med.long tired/dried-out
rather earthy/dusty slight Dolcetto/licorice finish w/ light tired tannins; speaks of old Dolcetto but pretty
tired & dried out. $26.00 (WE/SM)
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10. Dom.Plageoles Prunelart IGP: Cotes du Tarn (12%; Jenny&Francois Slctns; www.JennyAndFrancois.com;
Prunelart grape:father of Malbec) Robert & Bernard Plageoles/Gaillac 2013[/b]: Med.dark color; very strong
pungent/smokey licorice/blackberry/herbal light earthy/loamy rather aromatic/complex nose; lightly tart some
earthy/loamy pungent/smokey licorice/blackberry/herbal/thyme bit Mourv-like/plummy flavor w/ light brisk/crunchy
tannins; very long ripe/blackberry/herbal/thyme/pungent some earthy/loamy finish w/ light brittle tannins;
quite an interesting if a bit rough/rustic/peasant red. $25.00 (GMT)
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A BloodyPilpit from the alt-news:
1. This was a tasting I threw together to explore some of the nether-regions of the grape world. Alas,
none of the wines were particularly exciting. None of the varieties appear to be worth planting all
up&down the coast of Calif.
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2. Debit: A white grape grown primarily on the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia. Thought to have originated there.
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3. Zlahtina: Another indigenous Croatian white grown almost exclusively on the island of Krk. Means "noble",
which may be a bit of a stretch.
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4. Posip: Another indigenous grape, originating on the island of Korcula. It survived phylloxera because it
was mostly grown around the village of Smokvica, which has very sandy soils and it's grown on its own
roots. It is enjoying a bit of a rennaisance in other areas. It is regarded by some as a "super-grape"
of the status of Riesling or Chardonnay.
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5. Marastina: Another Croatian variety of uncertain origin. It is also known as Malvasia Bianca Lunga where
it's grown in Tuscany.
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6. A good source of info on all these Croatian varieties can be found:
http://www.total-croatia-wine.com/blog/grapes
There apparently is a bill before the US Congress to ship a whole boatload of vowels to Croatia in order
to save their language. The Nationalist Party of Croatia is opposed to this corruption of their language and
has threatened to sink the boat.
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7. R6: Babic is an indigeneous grape of the Northern Dalmatian coastline. It is regarded as having the potential
for making high quality reds. Plavina is yet another indigeneous Croatian variety that is a cross between
Verdeca (of Puglia) and Tribidrag. A rather rare grape. Lasin is another very rare indigeneous grape from the
North Dalmatia shore. No DNA has been done on it.
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8. Ormeasco: This is the Ligurian name for the Dolcetto grape grown in the NW Alps of Liguria. The few younger
Ormeascos I've tried had shown more bright fruit akin to Rosesse.
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9. Prunelart: Also called Prunelard, is one of the grapes native to the Galliac area of SW France. It pretty much
died out after phyloxera, but has been enjoying a mild renaissance in the area. The Plageoles have been very
much responsible for its resurgence. I found this wine quite interesting and different. Clearly a variety
they should be planting all up&down the coast of Calif.
Tom