The place for all things wine, focused on serious wine discussions.

WTN: Mediterranean Wines NOT the Big Three

Moderators: Jenise, Robin Garr, David M. Bueker

no avatar
User

Jenise

Rank

FLDG Dishwasher

Posts

42549

Joined

Tue Mar 21, 2006 2:45 pm

Location

The Pacific Northest Westest

WTN: Mediterranean Wines NOT the Big Three

by Jenise » Mon Dec 04, 2017 9:55 pm

So went the theme for last month's Dork tasting. Was quite a night. Everyone brought multiple bottles, which isn't typical. So 21 bottles for 7 drinkers about which I managed to take notes on only 18 of which only 14 were decipherable three weeks later. Jenise forgot to pace herself. :oops:

2015 Domaine des Ouled Thaleb Chardonnay Morrocco
Green apple with white pepper and sage. Reminds one more of Sauv Blanc than chardonnay. Fermented six months on lees in concrete, unoaked. Very very good.

2013 Domaine Santamaria Patrimonio Nielluccio, Sangiovese, Corsica
Mine, and best red of the night. Spicy, citrussy on great fruit, it's a fresher version of Sangiovese than I've ever had from Italy. Purchased at K&L, Hollywood.

2016 Domaine Santamaria Patrimonio Vermentino, Corsica
Also mine. Nose of white flowers and dryer sheets, dry and minerally on the palate with seaspray and kelp. Good.

2015 Gabbas Cannonau di Sardegna Lillovè
Easy drinker, flavors of strawberry, pepper, pizza and balsamic vinegar. Good but not special.

2009 Azienda Agricola Cos Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG, Sicily
Mine. Teaberry, strawberry, blueberry, leather, mushrooms. Initially some sulfur which didn't entirely blow off but a longer decant would probably have taken care of that. Still, superb.

2014 Rojac Refosco Istra Slovenska Istra / Koper, Slovenia
Black currant, wild berry, intense in a cool way., One of my favorites of the night.

2011 Domaine Giudicelli Patrimonio Nielluccio, Sangiovese, Corsica
Bad nose, serious VA and a bit of putridity. Judging by more positive comments from others, I'll put this down as a flawed bottle.

2015 Girolamo Russo Etna a Rina Etna DOC Nerello Blend, Nerello Mascalese, Sicily
Very Burgundian, advanced maturity in a good way. Musty with animal fur, big acids and tannins.

2014 Riofavara Moscato di Noto Mizzica
My notes say: "super super super dry. C-". That's all I got.

2015 Domaine des Ouled Thaleb Zenata White Blend, Morrocco
Super interesting. Corn on the cob, tomato leaf, white pepper, and salt on pretty decent fruit. More serious than the garish label promises. 60% Faranah and 40% Clairette. Who knew they could make wine this good in Morrocco!

2016 Lyrarakis Dafni Psarades Vineyard, Crete
Nose of Noxema cold cream--medicinal menthol--and rosemary on the palate, with light fruit. And I do mean rosemary, not just a hint, more like someone had soaked a long twig of it in the bottle. I liked it quite a bit. One of the retailers present said he loved it but couldn't buy it for his store because he had no idea how to sell it.

2014 Movia Sauvignon Blanc Goriška Brda, Slovenia
Pale yellow, cloudy, flowers, fresh oregano, sour cream on the finish, very dry and savory. A renegade unlike anything called Sauv Blanc I've ever had; but I liked it.

2015 Sigalas Assyrtiko Santorini, Greece
Minerally, very rich and waxy on the palate. Not like any other Assyrtiko I've had.

2014 Sella & Mosca Torbato Alghero Terre Bianche, Sardinia
Mine. My 3rd bottle of this, but didn't deliver like the other two. It seems to have lost it's nerve, there's yellow plum and chamomile but not much else.
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov
no avatar
User

Jon Leifer

Rank

Wine guru

Posts

788

Joined

Mon Apr 14, 2008 3:34 pm

Re: WTN: Mediterranean Wines NOT the Big Three

by Jon Leifer » Mon Dec 04, 2017 10:39 pm

The Sigalas is annual buy for me..My daughter did a semester abroad in Greece back in 2007 and got me started on Greek white wines.
Jon
no avatar
User

Mike_F

Rank

Ultra geek

Posts

0

Joined

Wed Jul 09, 2008 3:56 pm

Location

Rehovot, Israel

Re: WTN: Mediterranean Wines NOT the Big Three

by Mike_F » Mon Dec 04, 2017 11:52 pm

Excuse the ignorance, but what are "the big three"...??
Of course we must be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.”
Richard Dawkins
no avatar
User

Jenise

Rank

FLDG Dishwasher

Posts

42549

Joined

Tue Mar 21, 2006 2:45 pm

Location

The Pacific Northest Westest

Re: WTN: Mediterranean Wines NOT the Big Three

by Jenise » Tue Dec 05, 2017 2:26 am

Mike: France, Italy and Spain. However, islands associated with same weren't banned.
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov
no avatar
User

Tim York

Rank

Wine guru

Posts

4925

Joined

Tue May 09, 2006 2:48 pm

Location

near Lisieux, France

Re: WTN: Mediterranean Wines NOT the Big Three

by Tim York » Tue Dec 05, 2017 3:27 am

What an interesting tasting. :D I haven't been so lucky so far with Corsican Niellucciu feeling that those which have come my way lack some of the depth of their Tuscan Sangiovese cousins. However there is no doubt that this grape brings a freshness to wines in a Mediterranean climate which the varieties mostly used in mainland France lack.

My favourite Crozes-Hermitage producer, Alain Graillot, is an associate in the Ouled Thaleb venture, so I'm not surprised by the showing of these wines. Let us hope that Islamic fundamentalism does not bring a halt to the promising Moroccan wine culture.
Tim York
no avatar
User

Jenise

Rank

FLDG Dishwasher

Posts

42549

Joined

Tue Mar 21, 2006 2:45 pm

Location

The Pacific Northest Westest

Re: WTN: Mediterranean Wines NOT the Big Three

by Jenise » Tue Dec 05, 2017 11:20 am

Tim, what an interesting detail about Graillot, I'm surprised it didn't come up at the tasting--nearly everyone but me is ITB so the conversation usually includes all the geek bits, and the two Thalebs were brought by two different people so someone should have known that. They were both very good wines.
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov
no avatar
User

Dale Williams

Rank

Compassionate Connoisseur

Posts

11125

Joined

Tue Mar 21, 2006 4:32 pm

Location

Dobbs Ferry, NY (NYC metro)

Re: WTN: Mediterranean Wines NOT the Big Three

by Dale Williams » Tue Dec 05, 2017 11:25 am

Jenise wrote: However, islands associated with same weren't banned.

Aha. I was reading and thinking Sicily and Corsica snuck in.
no avatar
User

Mike_F

Rank

Ultra geek

Posts

0

Joined

Wed Jul 09, 2008 3:56 pm

Location

Rehovot, Israel

Re: WTN: Mediterranean Wines NOT the Big Three

by Mike_F » Tue Dec 05, 2017 12:23 pm

Jenise wrote:Mike: France, Italy and Spain.


Aha. I was trying to figure out which grape varietals they might be...!
Of course we must be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.”
Richard Dawkins
no avatar
User

Patchen Markell

Rank

Wine guru

Posts

947

Joined

Sat Jan 16, 2016 11:18 am

Location

Ithaca, New York

Re: WTN: Mediterranean Wines NOT the Big Three

by Patchen Markell » Tue Dec 05, 2017 1:00 pm

What a great tasting! I'm especially interested by the Ouled Thaleb wines, which I hadn't heard of -- looks like they are west of Gibraltar, so I wonder if it would be interesting to compare them to some Portuguese whites too! Also happy to have the name of another good Patrimonio producer -- I think all I've tried has been Antione Arena: good but pricey.
cheers, Patchen
no avatar
User

Jenise

Rank

FLDG Dishwasher

Posts

42549

Joined

Tue Mar 21, 2006 2:45 pm

Location

The Pacific Northest Westest

Re: WTN: Mediterranean Wines NOT the Big Three

by Jenise » Tue Dec 05, 2017 1:14 pm

Patchen Markell wrote:What a great tasting! I'm especially interested by the Ouled Thaleb wines, which I hadn't heard of -- looks like they are west of Gibraltar, so I wonder if it would be interesting to compare them to some Portuguese whites too! Also happy to have the name of another good Patrimonio producer -- I think all I've tried has been Antione Arena: good but pricey.


Yes, fun theme. Both of the Ouled Thalebs were great, revelations in fact. I believe I've had exactly one Morroccan wine prior to this, a decent rose at restaurant Momo in London. Never laid eyes on one here. I could see these duking it out with Portugese whites, easy.

The Patrimonios were great. As I mentioned, I bought them at K&L where they were highly reccomended by the buyer, he'd just got these in and was very excited about them. The red was just $25. I'd buy more if they locally available.
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Amazonbot, ClaudeBot, Google [Bot] and 1 guest

Powered by phpBB ® | phpBB3 Style by KomiDesign