WTN: MarthaStoumen Nero d'Avola '18....(short/boring)

Tried this wine last night:
1. MarthaStoumen Nero d'Avola/MendoCnty (13.5%; marthastoumen.com; PMWines/Taos; 63% BensonRanch/25% FoxHillVnyd/12% ChiaritoVnyd) Sonoma 2018: Very dark/near blaco color; strong earthy/dusty/MendoCnty tomatoey rather coarse/rustic light toasty/oak quite interesting/Italiante nose; quite tart/tangy/acidic strong earthy/Italianate some MendoCnty/tomatoey rather blackberry/plummy light toasty/pencilly/oak old-timey Mendo Red flavor w/ very strong rough/coarse tannins; very long quite tart/tangy/rough/coarse rustic/Italianate strong blackberry/plummy/earthy/dusty finish w/ ample rough tannins; lots of rustic/coarse/Italianate some old-timey MendoRed character; badly needs 4-10 yrs of age but not sure it'll be anything really special & the fruit may not outlive the tannins; a very rugged red; pricey at $40.00 (KK)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. This is, of course, the great red grape of Sicily. There's not much of it planted in Calif but should be able to make a great wine there. This wine is probably not it, though.
Nd'A has been planted at FoxHill for over 33 yrs, probably the oldest planting in Calif. John Chiarito planted his Nd'A block 25 yrs ago & it is now farmed by Martha. Not sure why Megan&Ryan Glaab have not done anything w/ the FoxHill Nd'A.
Martha has some Stockinger barrels but not sure that this wine ever saw any Stockinger. Stockinger, the Rolls Royce of oak cooperage, are very rare & imported into this country by RajPaar and JamieMotley.
Martha is a "natural" winemaker, but this wine is perfectly clean & well-made & shows no natty character.
Tom

[Jenise]

Love your bully pulpits, this one was especially informative. I don't pay much attention to cooperage beyond oak type, and I appreciate that you're so close to the winemakers that you do.

Love your bully pulpits, this one was especially informative. I don't pay much attention to cooperage beyond oak type, and I appreciate that you're so close to the winemakers that you do.

Hey, Jenise... I'm a LosAlamos guy. I make stuff up!!!
Stockinger is regarded as the ne plus ultra of oak cooperage. I've never seen one, but I understand they're beautifully crafted.
Tom

[Jenise]

Hey there you are, I was just off reading about them. Here's the best description I found--very impressive!

Stockinger is one of the great artisanal coopers of Europe and one of the last to do everything of importance by hand. Situated in Waidhofen an der Ybbs (in the Alpine foothills about 150 kilometeres west of Vienna) this is a small family owned cooperage run by father and son, Franz and Mathias, who are both themselves master coopers. Stockinger’s vision began with the idea of creating the highest possible quality barrels that would not mark the wine in any way. Barrels that fully respect the wine, both the fruit and minerality, allowing the wine to mature gracefully with the least possible influence on the aromatics or flavours. This was a vision that was well ahead of its time and is today perfect for winemakers that want to limit oak impact on their wines.

Every step in the production is designed to bring out the best quality and to respect the wine. Firstly there is the source of wood. Stockinger uses a range of forests, mostly in Austria and Germany, but also in Romania and Hungary. They find these forests deliver tighter grain and oak that is less aromatic, which is exactly what they are looking for. With the same logic in mind, Stockinger do not use any French or American oak. All the barrels are an assemblage of forests that the Stockingers work with directly. Every tree is brought directly from the forest to the cooperage for splitting and aging. The wood is air dried in Stockinger’s yards in Waidhofen an der Ybbs in the North Western part of Austria (near Salzburg). They spend a minimum of 24-36 months aging (up to 500 litres) and then between 4 and 10 years for the larger format (from 600 litres upwards). They make use of a special and traditional technique to maximise airflow through the stacks of wood, thus ensuring wood that is extremely well ripened. The production method here is extremely manual and old school with river reeds still used between the staves to prevent leaking, natural flour putty used to seal the heads and master coopers making the barrels. The craftsmanship and quality on offer is a thing of beauty, and why they are used by so many great producers across the globe.