Some new wines from PMWines showed up at ArroyoVino, so tried these three:
1. Testalonga DOC: Dolceacqua (Rossesse; Louis/Dressner; 14%) Nino&Erica Perrino 2017: Med.dark color; bit pungent/reduced very light Rossesse/cherry/strawberry rather funky/unclean/bretty/earthy/loamy quite rustic rather unteresting/unusual nose; quite tart/tangy/sour rather bretty/unclean/funky somewhat earthy/loamy very slight Rossesse/cherry/strawberry flavor w/ light tangy tannins; very long rather unclean/bretty/funky/rustic some earthy/loamy light Rossesse/cherry bit complex finish w/ light sharp tannins; lacks the bright/vibrant character of Ligurian Rossesse and a bit too unclean/bretty for my tastes. $32.00 (AV)
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2. Heinrich Mayr Elda Nusserhof VinoRosso (12%; Louis/Dressner; 90% Schiava) Bozen NV: Med.light color; fairly strong bright/cherry/Schiava/strawberry some earthy/loamy quite pretty/attractive light nose; lightly tart bright/cherry/strawberry/Schiava somewhat earthy/loamy/rustic rather pretty flavor w/ light brisk tannins; long somewhat earthy/loamybit rustic/funky light charrey/Schiava/strawberry finish w/ light brisk/bitey tannins; a pleasant enough expression of Schiava but a bit on the earthy/rustic side; would like more brightness of fruit; bit on the pricey side for what it is. $33.00 (AV)
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3. Populis Wabi-Sabi MendoCnty (Carignan/Zin/Syrah; 15 cs; 13.0%; in partnership w/ LesLunesWines/Orinda; www.PopulisWine.com) Shaunt Oungoulian & Diego Roig/Orinda 2017: Med.light color; light cherry/Carignan/bit spicy/Zin rather tomatoe sauce/MendoCnty somewhat earthy/rustic bit coarse nose; rather tart/tangy/bit lean rather earthy/MendoCnty tomatoey light cherry/Carignan/bit Zin/spicy rather rustic flavor w/ light gentle tannins; med. light cherry/Carignane/spicy rather light earthy/rustic/MendoCnty tomatoey finish w/ light tannins; a rather earthy/rustic red that sleaks strongly of MendoCnty Carignane; reminds a bit of rustic SouthernItaly reds; pleasant & drinkable but altogether undistinguished...but it's "natural".
$20.00 (AV)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Schiava: The Sudtirol name for Trollinger or Vernatsch grape.
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2. Populis: Not a whole lot of info out there on these guys. Used the be TheLivingWineCollective & MarthaStouman was involved. Wines are made out of one of their parents basement in Orinda. More info here: Populis/LesLunes
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3. I like to try a lot of "natural" wines. I'm often asked how I define "natural" wines. That definition is often a bit fuzzy/woo-woo. My definition is pretty simple...if SweetAlice says it's "natural"...then by dammies..it's "natural".
I often find many "natural" wines to be "interesting". Sometimes..that's meant in the highest calling of the word. Other times, "interesting" is used to describe a wine that you're wanting to say something nice about, but can't really find any nice descriptors.
Tom