We tasted last night (3/20/19): Tasting w/ Oliver McCrum:
1. Skerk Malvazija IGT: Venezia Giulia (14%) 2016: Med.light gold color; quite fragrant Malvasia/
bit muscatty/floral/slight peach bit earthy light skin-contact/phenolic lovely aromatic nose;
quite tart/tangy rather floral/Malvasia/bit muscatty somewhat earthy/dusty light phenolic/resiny/
skin-contact fairly complex flavor w/ light tannic bite; very long/lingering fragrant/Malvasia/
bit muscatty some earthy light phenolic/skin-contact/resiny some complex finish w/ very slight
tannic bite; a bright/lithe/nervous/savory lovely expression of Malvasia w/ a light skin-contact
component. $48.00 (OMvVB)
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2. Skerk Vitovska IGT: Venezia Giulia (12%; www.Skerk.com) SandiSkerk/Prepotto 2016: Med.light gold
color; fairly strong phenolic/skin-contact/resiny some dusty/earthylight peach/pear/spicy/nutmeg
quite attractive fairly complex nose; some tart/tangy fairly strong resiny/phenolic/skin-contact
rather earthy very light fruit/pear/apple slight stony some complex flavor w/ slight tannic bite;
very long rather phenolic/resiny light pear/apple/fruity bit earthy/stony finish w/ light tannic bite;
clearly some phenolic character but not painfully austere as some skin-contact whites can be; nice
balance between phenolic & fruit character. $48.00 (OMvVB)
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3. Skerk Ograde IGT: Venezia Giulia Bianco (25% Vitovska/Malvasia/Sauvignon/PinoyGrigio; 13%; 2 wks
skin-contact post frmt) 2016: Deep golden/amber/ramato bit garnet color; powerfully fragrant orangey/
honeyed/floral/some GWT-like/lychee strong phenolic/resiny/skin-contact/bit cidery quite complex
beautiful nose; fairly tart/tangy rather rich/lush quite orangey/honeyed some bitey/tannic fairly
phenolic/resiny/skin-contact some floral/GWT-like complex flavor w/ some tannic bite; very long/
lingering rich/lush quite orangey/honeyed some floral/GWT-like rather phenolic/resiny/skin-contact
quite complex finish w/ modest tannic bite; powerfully orangey aromatic w/ ample phenolic character;
not as hard/tannic/austere/painful as some extended skin-contact whites; best Skerk wine I've yet had;
amazing white. $48.00 (OMvVB)
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3a. Skerk Ograde Bianco IGP: Venezia Giulia (13%; 25% Vitovska/Malvasia/Sauvignon/PinotGrigio) 2013:
Tasted several days later; clearly betwixt the 'll & '16 but lots of honeyed/orangey character and
more akin to the '16; clearly will benefit from more age; beautiful skin-contact white. $35.00 (VB)
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4. Skerk Ograde IGT: Venezia Giulia Bianco (25% Vitovska/Malvasia/Sauvignon/PinoyGrigio; 13%) 2011: Lighter
amber/bit brown color; more dusty/earthy much lesh orangey/honeyed quite phenolic/resiny/skin-contact
more complex bit austere beautifully aromatic nose; fairly tart/tangy rather phenolic/skin-contact/
resiny very light orangey/honeyed light floral/pear/PG much smoother rather complex flavor w/ much
lighter tannic bite; very long/lingering fairly phenolic/resiny/skin-contact light floral/orangey/honeyed
some dusty/earthy smoother quite complex finish w/ light tannic bite; clearly of the same genre as the
'16 but less honeyed/orangey/rich/lush, much smoother, more complexity; no signs of oxidation or going
down hill or drying out; a beautiful skin-contact white. $35.00 (VB)
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5. IlTorchio Vermentino ilBianco Dd'OC: Colli di Luna/Liguria (12.5%; 2 day skin-contact; Frmtd: SS)
Il Torchio di Musetti Gilda/Castelnuovo Magra 2017: Med.light gold color; lovely very floral/Verm/
carnations/roses slight saline/savory/graham cracker powerfully aromatic Verm nose; fairly tart/
tangy very strong floral/carnations/Verm/apple/pear very slight saline quite perfumey flavor; very
long/lingering intense Verm/floral/carnations bit saline/savory slight fruit/apple/pear bit complex
finish; a quite intense expression of Ligurian Vermentino almost as intense as a GWT; resembles the
Ryme "Hers" Vermentino in intensity but a more intersting/savory character; one of the best Ligurian
Vermentinos I can recall. $25.00 (OMvVB)
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6. IlTorchio Stralunato IGT: Liquria di Levante (70% Vermentino/30% Moscato; 13%; Btl# 1194 of 1400;
4 days of skin contact; Frmtd: Large oak barrels; Non Filtrato) 2017: Light gold color w/ small bubbles
slow to dissapate; very strong floral/Verm/carnations/perfumed some phenolic/resiny/skin-contact quite
saline/savory very light muscatty/floral lovely nose; lightly tart/tangy some floral/Verm/carnations/
roses some phenolic/resiny/skin-contactrather savory/saline slight muscatty fairly complex flavor w/
little tannic bite; very long/lingering strong/aromatic/Vermen/floral/carnations some phenolic/resiny
rather savory/saline bit complex finish; lots of floral/Vermen w/ some phenolic w/ nice balance betwixt
the two; much like the Ryme "His" but not quite as phenolic; lovely rendition of Vermentino.
$36.50 (OMvVB)
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7. Franz Gojer Kerner Karneid DOC: Sudtirol/AltoAdige (Glogglhof; 13%; www.Gojer.it/en) Bolzano 2017:
Med.light yellow color; strong pear/floral/apple bit Germanic/Pfalz-like light earthy rather aromatic
quite pleasant nose; lightly tart bit off-dry fairly strong floral/pear/apple slight metallic/earthy/
stony quite attractive flavor; very long rather apple/pear/floral some earthy/chalky/bit metallic finish;
quite a pleasant/attractive of Kerner but a bit expensive for what it is; better than the Abbazzia Kerner.
$33.00 (OMvVB)
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8. Franz Gojer Vernatsch AlteReben Glogglhof DOC: Sudtirol/AltoAdige (13%) 2017: Med.light color; lovely very
floral/perfumey/strawberry/alpine flowers light earthy/loamy classic Schiava nose; lightly tart slight
tangy/metallic some earthy/loamy bright/strawberry/alpine flowers light/zippy flavor w/ light brisk tannins;
very long bright/strawberry/alpine flowers bit earthy/loamy quite pretty finish w/ light tannins; shows
the classic Sudtirol earthy/loamy character; a very pretty vin de soif. $25.00 (OMvVB)
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9. Franz Gojer St.Magdalener Classico Glogglhof DOC: Sudtirol/AltoAdige (95% Schiava/5% Lagrein; 13%;)
Bolzano 2017: Med.light garnet color; light pencilly/oak fairly earthy/loamy some strawberry/blackberry/
raspberry more complex serious red nose; somewhat softer some earthy/loamy light Schiava/raspberry/
blackberry light pencilly/oak more structured slightly rustic some complex flavor w/ slight chewey
tannins; very long/lingering lightly tart strong raspberry/blackberry/Schiava light pencilly/oak some
complex finish w/ light firm tannins; much more depth & structure; can use 2-5 yrs of age yet; one of
the best St.Magdaleners I've had. $30.50 (OMvVB)
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10. Erste-Neue Kaltersee Classico Superiore Dd'OC: AltoAdige (12.5%; www.Erste-Neue.It; Schiava) Caldaro
2017: Med.color; light earthy/loamy lightly floral/lilacs/strawberry/rose petal slight metallic/pungent/
burning metal very fragrant quite attractive nose; lightly tart slight metallic/tangy light earthy/loamy
fairly floral/rose petal/strawberry/Schiava quite pretty/drinkable flavor w/ light gentle tannins; very
long strong floral/strawberry/rose petal/Schiava some earthy/loamy/Sudtirol bit complex finish w/ light
tannins; quite a lovely/drinkable Schiava at a great price. $18.00 (OMvVB)
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11. IlTorchio il Nero Vermentino Rosso VinoRosso (13%) IlTorchio di Musetti Gilda/Castelnuovo Magra/Liguria
NV (2017?): Med.dark color; very strong blackberry/blueberry/bit Zin-like/bit Syrah-like slight earthy/
dusty bit rustic very attractive nose; quite tart/tangy/bit metallic strong blackberry/blueberry/bit
Syrah-like/bit Refosco-like some earthy/dusty fairly structured quite attractive flavor w/ light gentle
tannins; very long/lingering some tart/tangy strong blackberry/blueberry/bit Refosco-like bit rustic
somewhat earthy/dusty some complex finish w/ light smooth tannins; much bigger than any reds from Liguria
that I've yet had; reminds a lot of Syrah, some of Refosco/Terrano;not the pretty brightness of Rossesse,
but a pretty serious red. $30.00 (OMvVB)
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12. Brezza Freisa Dd'OC: Langhe (14%; www.brezza.it/en/) Brezza Giacomo e Figli/Barolo/Piemonte 2017: Med.dark
color; strong very fragrant strawberry/raspberry/Freisa slight earthy bit floral/lilacs/Nebb-like slightly
rustic rather attractive nose; quite tart/tangy somewhat earthy/dusty fairly dry/austere lightly floral/
lilacs/Nebb-like some fruity/raspberry/blackberry bit rustic bright/lively flavor w/ some hard/chewey
tannins; very long rather tart/tannic some floral/lilacs/Nebb-like some raspberry/strawberry/perfumey bit
eathy/rustic slight complex finish w/ some hard tannins; lots like a Langhe Nebb but not quite as perfumed
and somewhat different aromatics; needs some age yet but very good expression of Freisa. $25.00 (OMvVB)
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More irkerfettle from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. When I was out in Calif in December, we had lunch w/ SteveEdmunds/OliverMcCrum/Maria Castelli at TheWolf.
Oliver had just gotten in some new imports from Italy that I wanted to try, so I put together a 2 cs order
& funneled it thru Dan Polsby at VintageBerkeley. This is the first tranche from that order. The wines were
very impressive, across the board.
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2. SandiSkerk: I fell in love w/ these wines when Oliver first started bringing them in. Enough so that we did
a visit w/ Sandi some 3 yrs ago. He works in the small village of Prepotto, just NW of Trieste, in the
Kras/Carso, and less than a km from the Slovene border, within view of the AdriaticSea. Alas, his WebSite
is not of much use or informative...just a movie of bugs flying around on the backdrop picture of his vnyd..
kinda strange.
His Malvasia is made, of course, from Malvasia d'Istriana. It is a much more restrained/refined version of
the Malvasia Bianca, the very tutti-fruity grape found in most Italian Malvasias. I much prefer the former
over the latter.
Vitovska is a grape native to Friuli & Slovenia. Mostly found on the Kras/Karst plateau nowadays. It is
typically made w/ some skin-contact. It is a cross of Prosecco Tondo and Malvasia Bianca Lunga. Alas,
Prosecco is no longer a grape variety for making a sparkling wine near the village of Prosecco. The grape
was comandeered by the folks in the Veneto, renamed Glera, and Prosecco can only come from the Veneto anymore.
According to a 2009 ruling by the EU.
The Ograde is easily my favorite from SandiSkerk's portfolio. Oftentimes, skin-contact whites w/ extended
skin-contact are nothing but phenolic/resiny and quite painful to taste (they always need food and be served
at cool room temperature). The Ograde is not at all painful & austere on the palate as those. I would
characterize the Ograde as a world-class white wine. Le Montrachet?? No. Cuvee FredericEmile? No.
ChateayRayasBlanc? No. But I would say every bit of the quality level of those. Whether it will age as long
as those iconic whites...I haven't a clue. But it is better than any Gravner or Radikon I can recall having.
But world-class??...yup!!
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3. IlTorchio: This is a new producer for Oliver from Liguria. The labels are very exotic. I was quite impressed
by all three of these wines. The Vermentino Rosso is a very rare grape, unrelated to Vermentino, found only
here&there in the eastern reaches of Liguria. Il Torchio has no WebSite. I would be interested if they make
a Rossesse and a Pigato as well. I liked both of the Vermentinos quite a lot. There is not much skin-contact
Vermen made in Liquria as best I can tell.
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4. Vernatsch: A grape that originated in the Sudtirol/Trentino area. Also goes in Italy under the name of Schiava.
Made its way to Germany, where it is mostly found in the Wurttemberg region, under the name Trollinger, where
it has developed a reputation for making ordinary wines.
To be a St.Magdalener, it must come from the traditional regions on the NE edge hillsides above Bolzano.
Glogglhof is the name of the FranzGojer Estate.
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5. Erste-Neue: One of my favorite wineries in the Sudtirol. Located on the shores of LakeKaltern, one of the
warmest alpine lakes in the Sudtirol, and exerts a moderating influence on the vines. I met their World rep,
Judith Unterholzner when she was here in NM last Fall. A real gem of a lady and very knowledgeable of the
Sudtirol wines.
Tom