Tried these three over the last two nights:
1. Forlorn-Hope Moresque Albarino RorickVnyd/CalaverasCnty (13.81%; Skin-frmtd; 52 cs) MatthewRorick/Murphys/CalaverasCnty 2015: Deep golden/burnished bronze color; fairly strong resiny/phenolic/VinoMacerati some floral/Albarino/gardenias bit spicy/honeycomb/graham crackers some complex quite attractive nose; lightly tart fairly VM/phenolic/resiny light Albarino/floral/gardenias bit graham crackers somewhat complex flavor w/ slight tannic bite; very long slight tangy/metallic/tannic some VM/phenolic/resiny light Albarino/floral somewhat complex finish; shows some Albarino floral character but still dominated by the VM character, but moving in the right direction.
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2. Forlorn-Hope SauvBlanc AllaisVnyd/Rutherford/NapaVlly (14.51%; 17 cs) Fairfield 2010: Deep golden/burnished bronze color; rather resiny/phenolic/VM some herbal/old SB rather graham cracker/honeycomb/honey grahams light smokey/forest fire bit forest floor quite complex interesting nose; quite tart/tangy/bit metallic rather pungent/resiny/phenolic slight herbal/old SB bit oxidative graham cracker/honey grahams/honeycombquite complex rather savory/saline quite interesting flavor w/ slight tannic bite; very long fairly tart bit metallic quite rich some VM/phenolic rather honeyed/honeycomb/honey grahams light SB/herbal/old SB bit oxidative quite complex finish; quite an interesting savory/saline white that seems to still have a bit of VM/skin-contact that has evolved into something quite interesting.
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3. Unico Zelo Pastafarian SouthAustralia (14.0%; 44% Nebbiolo/39% Sangiovese/13% Merlot/4% Nero d'Avola; Biodynamic; Epicurian Wines/Seattle) Brendan & Laura 2021: Med.dark color; strong Nebb/floral/lilacs/violets some black cherry/Sangio/cherry some toasty/oak/smokey bit rustic/Italianate slight Oz/ripe/grapey some complex rather interesting nose; bit soft fairly rich/lush strong Nebb/floral/lilacs bit pungent some black cherry/Sangio bit rough/rustic/Italianate bit complex flavor w/ some rough tannins; long rather Nebb/floral/lilacs/pungent rather earthy/rustic/Italinate bit black cherry/Sangio some earthy/dusty some toasty/oak bit rustic/coarse finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; more like a Valtelline Nebb rather than Piemonte; does not speak of SA at all; a rather rough/rustic/bit coarse Italian red. $28.50 (KK)
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More mimmolatte from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. I've been dipping into my older VM white of MattRorick's Forlorn-Hope. Upon release, they are often quite austere & tannic & not very attractive, dominated by the phenolics. But with some age on them, they often evolve into very interesting wines.
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2. The Unico sat out on the counter overnight. This morning, the tannins had softened considerably and it had developed a plummy richness that suggested more SA than Italy.
Tom