Some Tastings In My Motel6 Room (6/24-30/18)
These are a few of the wines I got at BayGrape & tried in my motel rooms along the way:
1. LesDolomies AC: Cote du Jura Savagnin Premiee (12.5%; www.Les-Dolomies.com) Celine et Steve Gormally/
Passenans 2016: Med.gold color; rather appley/pear bit stony/earthy/mineral rather Alpine white nose;
very tart/tangey/bit grapefruity slight metallic/steely rather stony/mineral/savory flavor; long tangy/
tart/metallic slight apple/pear/Alpine rather stony/mineral finish; a rather attractive savory stony/
mineral Alpine white.
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2. Cascina Belmonte Serese WW IGP: Benaco Bresciano (85% ManzoniBianco/15% RieslingRenano; 12%;
www.CascinaBelmonte.It; www.LyraWine.com) DiMartino Enrico/Muscoline 2016: Med.gold color; very strong
appley/peach/pear quite fragrant pineapple/mango/R-like/floral quite lovely nose; bit soft/lush spicy/
R-like/floral/peach/mango bit pineapple flavor; very long/lingering floral/pineapple/peach/mango/rathe
R-like lightly tart/rich quite aromatic finish; lots of aromatics from the R; lovely white at a great
price. $22.00 (BayGrape)
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3. Talisman Nebbiolo WeirVnyd/Lizzie'sBlack/YorkvilleHighlands (13.4%; Plntd: 2007; 23 cs; 20 mo. in old
Fr.oak; Hrvst: Oct.16; www.TalismanWines.com) Sonoma 2013: Med.dark color; somewhat strong Nebb/floral/lilacs
bit earthy fairly fragrant nose; lightly tart rather hard/austere/rough lightly floral/Nebb/lilacs light
pencilly/oak flavor w/ modest hard/bitey tannins; long lightly floral/Nebb/lilacs bit earthy/coarse light
pencilly/oak some lilacs/violets/Nebb/floral finish w/ light rough/hard tannins; speaks of Nebb but a bit
on the hard/rough side; bit pricey at $47.00 (Enoteca)
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4. LittleBlue Plavac PlavicMali Dalmatia Costal Vnyds (13.5%; Terraneo Merchants/Lincolnwood/IL) 2014: Dark
color; some blackberry/blueberry slight metallic/Vitalis hair oil light earthy/smokey somewhat interesting
nose; rather tart/tangy metallic/stony/earthy some blueberry/blackberry slight Zin-like rather earthy/loamy
bit saline flavor w/ light tangy/metallic tannins; med.long light tangy/metallic/steely rather saline/savory
some blueberry/blackberry/bit Zin-like finish w/ light tangy tannins; a rather interesting red that only
slightly resembles Zin; a bit of a rustic/peasant red. $17.00 (BayGrape)
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5. la Grangette Cocoriko Piquepoul Noir IGP: Cotes de Thau (13%) Christelle & Mathieu Caron/Castelnau de Guers/
Languedoc 2016: Very dark color; strong plummy/blockberry/boysenberry/bit black cherry slight earty/rustic
quite attractive nose; bit soft fairly rich/lush light earthy/loamy strong blackberry/black cherry/plummy
slightly rough/rustic flavor w/ modest rough/bitey tannins; very long strong black cherry/blackberry/
boysenberry/plummy light earthy/loamy/stony/rustic finish; quite an interesting red that resembles strongly
a Refosco or a Teranno or a LaCrima, a bit like a high-toned Mourvedre; very attractive price at $18.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Savignin: Or Savignin Blanc (no relation to Sauvignon Blanc) is a variety grown primarily in the Jura. It is
believed to have mutated along the way from Traminer in the Sudtirol when it got to the Jura. It has a very
unstable genome, apparently.
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2. PicpoulNoir: My first encounter out in the world w/ this grape. I was rather impressed w/ this wine. I had
stopped into the Unti tasting room for my usual visit w/ Alex Hill (that name has a nice ring to it). As
I walked towards the tasting room, Mick Unti was standing there w/ a visitor and he immediately recognized me.
In the tasting room as I visited w/ Alex, I mentioned I happened to have a PicpoulNoir in my car & would he like
to taste it with me. So we cracked that sucker open & tried it, sharing w/ Mick and the Somm from FL who
was visiting w/ Mick. I also got to try w/ them the first/new/unreleased Montepulciano from Unti. Another
great addition to the Unti tableau. Now if I can only convince them to make a Visciola.
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3. Talisman: My first encounter of their wines. Found this at MX's Enoteca in Calistoga and she was proud to
have snagged one of only 23 cases. They appear to specialize in Pinot & Chard.
Tom