Had these two for dinner last night:
1. Idlewild TheBee Flora&Fauna White NorthCoast (11.5%; 30% MuscatCanelli/30% Friulano/30% Arneis/10% Cortese; www.IdlewildWines.com) 2015: Med.light gold color; very fragrant spicy/floral/pear blossom/some muscatty light chalky/mineral/stony lovely perfumed nose; fairly tart/tangy some stony/mineral rather floral/spicy/pear/pear blossom/light muscatty totally dry/fairly rich very attractive flavor; very long/lingering mostly stony/chalky/mineral some floral/pear blossom/light muscatty/bit Arneis bit spicy finish; a bottom of the line Idlewild white that has put on some weight and developed into quite lovely-drinking/pretty white; as good as any Piemonte Arneis as your likely to find; great price at $24.00
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2. Carlisle Zin SonomaCnty (15.0%; pre-prohibition vines interplanted mixed blacks; 670 cs) Windsor 2013: Med.dark color; very strong blackberry/raspberry/very spicy mostly DCV/raspberry/bright some dusty/OV some pencilly/toasty/oak quite fragrant lovely Zin nose w/ no signs of alcoholic heat; lightly tart bit tangy/metallic strong blackberry/DCV raspberry/Zin/very spicy some pencilly/toasty/oak fairly dusty/OV/bit earthy flavor w/ light gentle/smooth tannins; very long very spicy/Zin/blackberry/raspberry/bit licorice some toasty/oak fairly dusty/OV finish w/ light gentle tannins; tannins fully resolved and probably not going to develop a whole lot more.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Idlewild: The Idlewild TheBee is a no-brainer WW purchase yr in & yr out; the wine has put on weight and really developed into a lovely wine. Reminds a bit of a Friuli Malvasia d'Istriana w/o the earthiness and shows a very understated muscat character.
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2. Carlisle: Though not the depth & complexity of his vnyd-designate Zins, this was just a good-drinkin'/lip-smackin' Zin that really hit the spot last night. Good stuff from Mike.
Tom
