My Idlewild shipment arrived this week, so couldn't resist cracking:
1. Idlewild Cortese FoxHillVnyd/MendoCnty (12.9%; www.IdlewildWines.com) 2016: Med.gold bit cloudy color; very strong floral/Cortese/carnations slight stony/mineral very light phenolic/resiny/skin-contact slight smokey/smoked hot dog/spicy quite perfumed complex old-world nose; quite tart/tangy some phenolic/resiny/skin-contact some floral/carnations/Cortese fairly stony/chalky/mineral flavor w/ light tannic bite; very long/lingering someskin-contact/phenolic fairly floral/carnations/apple/quince/spicy/Cortese light chalky/mineral rather tart finish w/ light tannic bite; still pretty primary but a wine that will put on weight and become something pretty special; try again in a yr and should go out some 10 yrs or more; very nice balance between floral fruit/minerality/and phenolic; lovely stuff that'll only get better. $40.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. SamBilbro makes a Cortese that is World Class and unlike any from the Piemonte. He makes two passes at harvest. One side of the rows get more sun exposure and pick up a little sunburn. The other side is more shaded w/ less sun exposure. The first side he fermnts as a skin-contact white to capture the greater phenolics in thos grapes. The shaded side is given a direct-to-crush treatment. He then blends the two lots. So the wine typically shows a slight degree of phenolic character. I find they age into something really exotic. Did I mention that his Cortese is World-class?
Tom