We tasted these wines this weekend w/ friends:
1. Paul Achs Chard Burgenland/Austria (13%; VnydBrands/Birmingham/AL) Gols 2022: Med.gold color; quite pleasant rather appley/light earthy/Chard lightly floral/marigolds slight perfumed talc attractive nose; quite tart/tangy rather metallic/steely lean/appley/Chard light stony/chalky bit PetiteChablis-like rather austere/chalky bit simple flavor; med.short appley/stony/chalky finish that tracks flavor; resembles some a Petite Chablis but not much Chard fruit; pretty ordinary Chard but does have some acidity to keep it interesting. $22.00 (KK)
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2. Vincent Girardin Bourgogne Cuvee Saint-Vincent Chard (WW; VineyardBrands) Mersault 2023: Deep yellow/light gold color; quite fragrant appley/Chard/slight melony rather Burgundian/stony/mineral fairly classic lovely WhiteBurg nose; lightly tart fairly rich strong Chard/appley lightly stony/mineral/bit chalky quite pleasant flavor; med.long classic WB clean Chard finish that mimics flavor; speaks strongly of WB but nothing particularly profound; a pleasant expression of WB; pricey in the Chard world but if you must have a WB, this will do the job. $37.00 (SFW&S)
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3. Brooks Amycas WW WillametteVlly (13%; 27% Riesling/25% Muscat/20% PinotGris/18% PinotBlanc/10% GWT; 1500 cs) BrroksWnry/Amity/OR 2024: Pale yellow near colorless; pleasant mineral/chalky rather simple OR R nose; soft some chalky/OR/R fairly sweet (3%-5% r.s.) quite simple/dull/earthy rather uninteresting flavor; med.long chalky/OR R rather dull/uninteresting finish; a pretty chalky/OR R wine thats not very interesting; needs flavor & aromatics & acidity; pretty dull white. $25.00 (SFW&S)
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4. Dehlinger Chard Estate RRV (14.2%; Unfltrd) DehlingerWnry/Sebastapol 2021: Med.light gold color; strong very melony/Chard light toasty/oak bit complex nose; strong very melony/Chard/bit almondy slight floral some pencilly/toasty/oak slight chalky/perfumed talc lovely flavor; very long rather rich/lush strong/melony/Chard finish that mimics flavor; an absolutely lovely classic Dehlinger Chard that will go another 4-8 yrs.
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5. Dom.Anderson PinotNoir AndersonVlly (13.2%; EB; www.DomaineAnderson.com) Philo 2018: Med.color; fairly strong toasty/oak fairly strong black cherry/PN/earthy classic AndersonVlly PN rather attractive bit complex/smokey/Burgundian nose; quite tartbit metallic rather earthy/PN/black cherries bit smokey/Burgundian slight cold-climate/peppery flavor w/ light brisk tannins; med.long lightly tannic finish that mocks flavor; a fairly typical AndersonVlly PN but nothing really profound; a bit on the pricey side. $39.00 (AV)
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6. Carlisle Syrah CardiacHill/BennettVlly (14.2%; 515 cs) CarlisleWnry/SantaRosa 2009: Very dark/near black color w/ little bricking; very strong blackberry/Syrah/ripe/boysenberry very c-c/black pepper rather Rhonish/smokey/roasted some pencilly/Fr.oak very spicy/peppery very Rhonish quite complex beautiful nose; rather tart/tangbit astringentdrying very rich blackberry/Syrah/peppery/spicy some pencilly/toasty/Fr.oak some roasted/c-c Syrah/black pepper complex flavor w/ ample astringent tannins; very long rather astringent/drying finish that tracks flavor; a beautiful complex very Rhonish Syrah nose but showing a bit ragged on the palate.
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More blitterspurt from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. I really liked the Carlisle Syrah. It was drying out a bit on the palate but showed lovely aromatics. Not going to improve & best to be drunk up now.
You don't hear so much about the BennettVlly on the mtn towering above SantaRosa. It should be getting more notice/respect than it does. I generally love the wines from this cold-climate area.
Tom