Tried these 5 new wines over the weekend w/ Susan:
1. Dom.Courbis AC: St.Joseph Blanc (13%; MeBaD; Marsanne/Roussanne; VintageImprts/Denver) Laurent & Dominique Courbis/Chateaubourg 2021:Pale gold color; attractive appley/Marsanne lightly floral/Rouss/carnations some stony/chalky rather complex youthful classic NRhone Blanc nose; rather tart/tangy rather earthy/stony/chalky/bit mineral lightly appley/Marsanne slight floral/carnations fairly rich/textured quite youthful NRhone blanc flavor; very long finish that mimics flavor; not particularly strong aromatics but classic youthful NRhone Blanc that needs 2-8 yrs of age. $35.00 (SFW&S)
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2. Sileo Dd'O: Montesant (13.5%; 90% Grenache/10% Carignan; Llaurador Wines/Fairfax/CA) Viticola Sileo/Falset/Catelonia 2020: Med.color; some strawberry/Grenache rather earthy/dusty/OV/rustic some funky/natty/unclear not very fruity nose; lightly tart/some sour light strawberry/Grenache/grapey fairly earthy/dusty/OV some funky/natty/bit unclean/rustic flavor w/ modest rough/coarse tannins; med.short bit unclean/natty rather coarse/rustic/rough finish; overnight it becomes very coarse/rustic/very earthy very sour/no fruit wine; another Llaurador natty loser of a wine; overpriced at $22.00 (SFW&S)
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3. Dom.Jean-Claude Marsanne AC: Crozes-Hermitage (14.5%; KermitLynch) Mauves/Ardeche 2019: Very dark/near black color; beautiful intense Syrah/blackberry/boysenberry/ripe rather roasted/peppery/espresso/smokeyfairly comple Hermitage-level nose; lightly tart very strong NRhone Syrah/blackberry some roasted/earthy/espresso/peppery pretty tannic rather rugged/hard flavor w/ ample hard tannns; very long hard/tannic finish that mimics te flavor; a really hard/rugged C-H at the level of an Hermitage that badly needs age and may or may not turn into something really good. $48.00 (SFW&S)
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4. Weingut Carl Ehrhard OldSchool Riesling MediumDry Feinherb Rheingauer Landwein (10.5%; 30 yr old Estate vnyds; u; Marchetti Co/Cleveland Geights/OH) Rudesheim 2021: Pale gold color w/ loads of tiny/swirling bubbles; fairly strong R/mango/floral/pineapple quite Mosel valve oil/minerally lovely attractive classic German R nose; strong frizzante/gassy/dissolved CO2 light floral/R/mango some Mosel valve oil/minerally/flinty rather lightweight slightly sweet fairly tart/tangy bit simple pleasant enough flavor; med. some tart rather sweet light floral/R/mango light valve oil rather lightweight bit gassy finish; a pleasant enough expression of German R at a fair price; don't see it putting on weight & getting much better; pretty R that's pleasant drinking on its own; serve well-chilled to tame the sweetness. $21.00 (SFW&S)
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5. Ryme Fiano RRV/SonomaCnty (12.2%) Geyserville 2019:Light gold slightly hazy color; pleasant fruity/floral/dandelins slight chalky bit vapid pleasant bit perfumed talc rather simple/dull nose; lightly tart light floral/dandelions/fruity slight chalky rather dull/vapid flavor; med. slight tangy/chalky slight floral/dandelions/fruity finish; a pleasant rather innocuous/dull/lightly fruity white w/ rather little character; a bit too much on the dull/bland side.
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More grickerfooer from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Courbis: I was expecting a bit more aromatics from this wine. This is the only StJ Blanc from a particularly limestone block in StJ.
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2. Jean-Claude Marsanne: I tried last week his "Syrah mauves" from the CollinesRhodannies & liked it quite a lot, especially for the $40/btl pricetag. So thought I'd step up to his Crozes-Hermitage.
I liked the C-H quite a lot but thought the Collines may actually be a better wine. It's a pretty hard/rugged C-H that may develop into something great w/ age, but it's pretty massiv/extracted right now.
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3. Ryme: I was a bit disappointed in this Fiano. When I first tried it on release, I thought it rather on the bland/vapid side but was sure it would put on weight & develop into quite a nice white. Looks like I was dead wrong. It is still a rather dull/simple white & not going anywhere.
Tom