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

WTN: Some Recent Arrivals....(long/boring)

Moderators: Jenise, Robin Garr, David M. Bueker

no avatar
User

TomHill

Rank

Here From the Very Start

Posts

7842

Joined

Wed Mar 29, 2006 12:01 pm

WTN: Some Recent Arrivals....(long/boring)

by TomHill » Tue Jan 22, 2019 12:22 pm

We tasted tonight (1/16/19) Some More Recent Arrivals:
1. Failla Riesling HopewellVnyd/Eola-AmityHills (12.1%; www.FaillaWines.com) Carleton/OR 2017: Pale yellow color
w/ lots of swirling/tiny bubbles/dissolved CO2; rather yeasty/Champagne-like very slight pineapple/R/little
fruit almost vapid nose; very fizzy/frizzante/dissolved CO2 off-dry quite yeasty very little pineapple/R flavor;
short rather fizzy/shallow/yeasty no fruit finish; rather vapid expression of R w/ only the strong yeasty
character evident; very disappointing R. $22.00
_________________
2. Bedrock Riesling Erster Zweieiiger Zwilling ColeRanch/MendoCnty (13.0%; RS: 0.18%) 2017: Light gold color;
attractive floral/pineapple/mango/R light earthy bit spicy/peppery bit simple pleasant nose; lightly tart
fairly dry rather floral/R/pineapple/mango slight peppery/herbal/earthy slight metallic pleasant flavor;
very long some pineapple/mango/R/floral fairly dry slight peppery finish; a rather pleasant Calif R but
just that. $24.00
_________________
3. Failla GrunerVeltliner ChehalemMtnVnyd/ChehalemMtns (12.1%) 2017: Light gold color; some toasty/graham cracker
light white pepper/GV bit floral/carnations/GV slight earthy bit quiet nose; soft bit toasty/oak/graham cracker
light white pepper/GV/floral/carnations slight earthy flavor; med.short light white pepper/GV/floral bit toasty/
graham cracker soft finish; speaks very quietly of GV but borders on vapid; disappointing for an EhrenJordan
wine. $25.00
_________________
4. Bedrock Riesling Zweiter Zweieiiger Zwilling ColeRanch/MendoCnty (8.5%; Plntd: 1973; RS: 3.41%;
Kabinett level) 2017
: Med.light gold color; bit more juicy/grapey some floral/pineapple/mango/R bit spicy/earthy
attractive nose; quite sweet lightly tart juicy/floral/R/pineapple/mango bit simple flavor; very long juicy/sweet
some floral/R/mango finish; much like the Erster but a bit simpler and needs more acid for the level of r.s.
$24.00
_________________
5. Arnot-Roberts GamayNoir ElDorado (12.5%) Healdsburg 2017: Light somewhat cloudy color; fairly strong cherry/
strawberry/Gamay/juicy/fruity bit Bojo-like light earthy/mushroomy attractive nose; lightly tart juicy/Gamay/
cherry/slight bannana oil/bubble gum light earthy flavor w/ little tannins; med.short juicy/Gamay light earthy
finish w/ little tannins; a pleasant/simple bit Bojo-like Gamay a bit on the lean/eviscerated side but pretty
overpriced for what it is. $27.00
_________________
6. Failla Gamay BjornsonVnyd/Eola-AmithHills (13.0%) 2017: Med.dark color; more earthy/mushroomy some Gamay/cherry/
black cherry more serious Bojo GC pleasant enough nose; quite tart/tangy some juicy/Gamay/black cherry rather
earthy/mushroomy pleasant flavor w/ light tangy tannins; med.long rather tart/tangy/metallic some Gamay/black
cherry rather earthy/mushroomy/loamy finish w/ light tannins; a pleasant enough mor Bojo GC-like Gamay but
rather overpriced. $30.00
_________________
7. Solminer Carbonic Syrah deLandaVnyd/LosOlivosDist (12.5%; 100% Organic grapes; Bttld: April 19/2018;
Btl# 141 of 288) 2017: Dark color; slight blackberry/Syrah bit earthy/mushroomy rather fragrant slight Bojo-like
interesting bit funky nose; fairly tart light blackberry/blueberry/Syrah bit funky/earthy flavor w/ light tangy
tannins; med.long blackberry/Syrah/blueberry slight grapey/Bojo-like bit funky/earthy/mushroomy finish w/ light
tannins; a bit of grapey/Bojo character but a rather strange/interesting rendition of Syrah not altogether that
attractive. $32.40
_________________
8. thee & thou ElRucio SantaYnez (75% Syrah/25% Grenache; 12.5%) John Donaghue/PetardCllrs/PurityWines/SanFrancisco
2014
: Dark color; rather earthy/funky/bit mousey/hantavirus slight Syrah/blackberry rather unattractive nose; very
sour/acid rather funky/hantavirus very slight Syrah rather earthy flavor w/ modest tangy tannins; long funky/mousey/
hantavirus/stale mouse pee slight Syrah/blackberry quite sour/acid finish w/ light tangy/bitey tannins; a little
bit of Syrah hiding in there but pretty much obliterated by the funky/hantavirus character; a wine only SweetAlice
would love but undrinkable for me. $25.00 (WoP)
_________________
9. Ser Graciano JohnSmithVnyd/SanBenito (14%; 145 cs; www.SerWinery.com) NicoleWalsh/SantaCruz 2015: Med.dark color;
rather attractive Graciano/floral/cherry/fairly spicy bit (no oak) Rioja-like/rustic quite attractive nose; fairly
tart/tangy btight/cherry/Graciano/floral/rose petal rather spicy bit rustic flavor w/ light tangy tannins; very
long bright/cherry/Graciano/floral bit tart bit Rioja-like/earthy/rustic quite lovely finish w/ light brisk tannins;
shows lots of Graciano character and a very nice-drinking red; a bit of old-timey Gilroy red character; ranks right
up there w/ Luisa's Verdad Graciano. $26.00 (WoP)
_________________
10. Ser CabernetPfeffer WirzVnyd/CienegaVlly (14%; 100 cs) 2014: Med.light color; some earthy/dusty bit peppery/
CabFranc-like quite spicy very interesting nose; lightly tart some dusty/OV rather peppery/spicy/bit CabFranc-
like/sight herbal slight rustic/earthy rather interesting flavor w/ light tangy tannins; very long spicy/peppery/
bit CabFranc-like fairly dusty/OV bit earthy/rustic very interesting finish w/ light brisk tannins; quite an
interesting old-timey Gilroy red; reminds some of a lighter Frontnnais Negrette from Tolouse in SW France.
$45.00 (WoP)
_________________
11. BeaverCreekVnyds Survivor PetiteSirah HorneRanch/LakeCnty (14.2%; Organic/Bio; 125 cs;
www.BeaverCreekVineyards.com) Middletown/Lake 2017
: Black/opaque color; intense blackberry/boysenberry/PS rather
peppery/earthy bit old-timey/rustic quite attractive nose; lightly tart/tangy very strong blackberry/PS/boysenberry/
ripe bit earthy/peppery structured flavor w/ ample ripe/chewey tannins; very long intense blackberry/PS/boysenberry/
ripe slight earthy/rustic/peppery very light toasty/oak finish w/ ample chewey tannins; loads of ripe PS fruit
w/o straying into over-the-top territory; a bit old-timey & rustic; maybe the best PS from LakeCnty I can recall
at a great price. $18.00 (WoP)
_________________
12. Benandants Charbono ShypokeVnyd/Calistoga/NapaVlly (15%) 2016: Very dark/near black color; very strong toasty/
Fr.oak/pencilly bit alcoholic/fumey strong boysenberry/licorice/classic Charbono light earthy/dusty/OV very
interesting nose; slightly tart bit hot/alcoholic intense boysenberry/licorice/Charbono bit peppery/earthy
rather dusty/OV very strong toasty/charred/Fr.oak structured/ripe flavor w/ ample hard tannins; very long/
lingering boysenberry/licorice/ripe slight alcoholic very strong toasty/Fr.oak finish w/ ample hard/chewey
tannins; on the ripe side & loads of Fr.oak but should evolve into something quite interesting w/ 4-8 yrs of age.
$75.00
_________________
13. StolpmanVnyds Syrah Estate/BallardCnyn (14.1%; 50% w-c; Frmtd in concrete) Lompoc 2016: Very dark color; strong
blackberry/Syrah bit c-c/black pepper some Rhonish/peppery/roasted/w-c lovely complex nose; some tart/tangy
rather roasted/Rhonish/w-c/pungent some c-c/black pepper bit toasty/oak strong blackberry/Syrah quite attractive
flavor w/ modest crunchy tannins; very long/lingering strong Rhonish/pungent/w-c/peppery some c-c/black pepper
strong blackberry/spicy/Syrah finish w/ some hard tannins; needs 3-6 yrs; quite a good SBC Syrah w/ good Rhonish
character and a great price. $24.00 (KK)
_________________
14. Gang of Six + 3 Shovel Blanc CabFranc SilettoVnyd/SanBenitoCnty ("Every citizen makes an equal effort crushing
grapes to become a hero") NV
: Med.color; some toasty/Fr.oak/smokey bit herbal/CabFranc/spicy/peppery light dusty/
OV slight licorice/chocolaty/ripe very interesting nose; soft fairly rich/lush rather herbal/thyme/CabFranc/spicy
slight blackcurranty/Cab some toasty/Fr.oak restrained/balanced very interesting flavor w/ modest chewey tannins;
very long bit herbal/thyme/CabFranc/spicy bit ripe/chocolaty/licorice light toasty/oak balanced/restrained finish
w/ light chewey tannins; speaks of both CabFranc and CienegaVlly; needs 4-6 yrs; quite an interesting rendition
of CabFranc. $nc (KZ)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
More fiddlecarp from TheBloodyCellar:
1. Failla: These are the first wines from Ehren's OR operation that I've tried. A winemaker whose wines I almost always
like quite a lot. These were utterly disappointing. The R is a complete mystery to me as to what it's intent was.
Closed w/ the normal cork stopper. I can only guess that it was intended to be a pet-nat wine but can find no
information to such. I had this wine back in early Nov and it was vastly different:
Tom/Oct 31 wrote: 1. Failla Riesling HopewellVnyd/Eola-AmityHills (12.1%; www.FaillaWines.com) Carleton/OR
2017
: Med.light yellow color; rather stony/chalky/earthy slight reductive very little R fruit bit dusty rather
atypical R nose; bit spritz/dissolved CO2 bit off-dry (0.5%-0.7% r.s.) quite tart/tangy rather earthy/chalky/stony
very slight mango/dried pineapple/R quite austere flavor; med.short rather earthy/chalky/stony very slight mango/R
austere bit rustic finish; mostly like a Sudtirol R w/o the R fruit; a bit like an old-timey Calif R like a Ridge
VineHill R from the late '60's w/o all the oak; rather strange/atypical R. $22.00

The GV, though no obvious dissolved CO2, showed only the slightest of GV character and was not very interesting.
The Gamay was the best of a sorry lot but not as good as many of the OR Gamays.
_________________
2. Bedrock: The name means "fraternal twins", referring to the fact that these are the same wine, but one has a stopped
fermentation. I recently had the WirzVnyd R and was mightly impressed by it. These two are pleasant enough but just
that, not up to the Wirz. But I wouldn't be surprised if they put on some weight in the next yr or two. Or maybe not.
_________________
3. Gamay: These two were made from authentic Gamay Noir a jus blanc. They were both pleasant enough, pricey compared
to Bojo. Neither would hold a candle to Steve's BoneJolly.
_________________
4. CabernetPfeffer: A sort of a mystery grape, pretty much only found in the CienegaVlly of Calif. It was supposedly
bred by a Dr.Pfeffer from a cross of Cabernet X Trousseau, in LosAltos. DNA disproves this and has identified it
as Mourtaou, an obscure French variety. Also known as Gros Verdot. But no Cabernet in it.
When Almaden was run out of the SanJose area by housing growth, the went South to the Pacienes in SanBenitoCnty
and planted large vnyds, including CabernetPfeffer. The first varietal CabernetPfeffer was made by EdFriedrichs
under the Almaden Charles LeFranc label. It was actually quite good, as were most of the Charles LeFranc wines.
The ClF Riesling was actually terrific. The CabPfeffer in the CienegaVlly was planted back in the late 1800's.
_________________
5. Ser: This is a winery I stumbled across in Wines on Piedmont. "Ser" means expressing the identities
of origins. The idea is to make wines, in a minimalist way, that express their vnyd origins. Probably has something
to do with that "terroir" thing that wine geeks blather about all the time. The lady behind Ser is Nicole Walsh,
who has extensive experience working w/ RandalGrahm at BonnyDoon. I liked both of these wines quite a lot...
a good new discovery for me. I must try more of her wines, especially the Wirz Riesling, one of the best R vnyds
in Calif.
_________________
6. ShovelBlanc: This is a wine made by KenZinns and his buddies at HarringtonWnry, where they help out Bryan. Bryan is
such a silver-tongued devil to get all these wine geeks to work free for him. The ShovelBlanc label depicts the
large plastic scoop shovels they use to shovel out the fermented pulp to go to press. A very clever label poking f
un at the classic CabFranc wine, ChevalBlanc.
_________________
7. the & thou: Not a whole lot of info out there on this operation run by JohnDonaghue. I gather the focus is on
"natural" wines by whatever definition you choose. This is a wine I stumbled upon at Wines on Piedmont. Not very
inclined to try any others. No WebSite & scant information out there.
Tom

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: AhrefsBot, ClaudeBot, Google [Bot], Patchen Markell and 4 guests

Powered by phpBB ® | phpBB3 Style by KomiDesign