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WTN: Wacky White Night II

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Bill Buitenhuys

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WTN: Wacky White Night II

by Bill Buitenhuys » Wed May 23, 2007 11:34 am

The 2nd edition of Wacky White Night focused on "Foods From Your Childhood". The wines were all white (nearly) and had to pass some stringent Joe Perry Wack-Scale screening. Wines were selected from wacky varietals, wacky wine makers, or some combination of both.

2003 Silver Springs Winery (Don Giovanni) Delaware (Seneca Lake) Spritzy, lemon-lime, saccharin Pixie Stick.

1997 Château de Fieuzal Blanc (Pessac-Léognan) Drinking extremely well. Ripe pineapple with waxy lemon. Very rich, very tasty and so much more complex and bright than the ’94 that we had at WWN I.

1998 Pierre Overnoy Arbois Pupillin (Jura) Dirty asphalt, bright flashes of flavor, musty old wood, stinky but keeps me sipping and the rough edges soften with time leaving something that I can’t characterize but sure is interesting.

Pedro Domecq Amontillado 51-1a VORS Sherry (Jerez) Super aromatic and incredibly yummy. Rich nutmeg, sweet roasted nut entry, great acidity, with a dried citrus, nutty, seasalty dry finish. Dee-licious with the oyster/uni chowdah.

1996 Kalin Cellars Sémillon (Livermore Valley) Rich melange of melted butterscotch and roasted pears. Bone dry with decent acidity.

1998 Domaine Guillemot-Michel Mâcon-Clessé Quintaine (Mâcon-Clessé) Chardonnay is pretty wacky for us and this is a chard that I really like. Rich, almost unctuous, aged fruit (oak free?) with plenty of acidity. A little hot on the finish but overall quite good.

2001 Gravner Ribolla Anfora (Venezia Giula) Extremely interesting, complex and yummy wine. First wave is mango, followed by black cherry, a really bright flavor profile, then these fine tannins drift in, and I’m left with a sense of superb overall balance. Love it.

1994 Tyrell’s Hunter Sémillon Vat 1 (Hunter Valley) As much as I enjoyed the Kalin, this semillon is even better. Intoxicating honeyed-lemon nose, medium waxy body that is all nicely balanced with an aged lemon finish.

1990 Kalin Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Reserve Potter Valley (Livermore Valley) Hands down the best sauvignon blanc I’ve ever had. Ripe yellow fruit, very flavorful, excellent balance with a clean lingering finish.

1990 Marco de Bartoli Joséphine [strike]Rouge[/strike] Duré Vino da Tavola Samperi Marsala (Sicily) Wow, my first non cooking-grade marsala. This would have paired even better with the chowder. All the flavor of fino marsala but ramped up 100 fold. Quite an eye-opener and worth looking for. Very complex, very aromatic, great taste. 100% grillo if it’s really the Dure. (Unsure about the exact designation of this wine as there was a gold label stuck over the word “Rouge” and it didnt say Duré on the label.)

1999 Heitz Wine Cellars Grignolino Port (Napa Valley) The lone non-white. Fortified grignolino makes it wacky enough. This was surprisingly good for a California “port”. Ripe cherry and raspberry nose, medium bodied, rich nutty caramel fruit flavors, and well balanced sweet nutty finish. Nothing too compex but very fun.
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Re: WTN: Wacky White Night II

by Jenise » Wed May 23, 2007 11:47 am

Kalin wines are fascinating, aren't they? The wines seem to be immortal. Wonder how that's done?
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov
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Re: WTN: Wacky White Night II

by Bill Buitenhuys » Wed May 23, 2007 11:52 am

I had never had a Kalin wine prior to this, Jenise. The '96 semillon was released only last year or so. They remind me of wines like the R. Lopez de Heredia whites (current release 1996 for the crianza) in immortal feel but still carry so much fruit for such a late release.

Their website looks like it was last updated c.1985.
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Re: WTN: Wacky White Night II

by JoePerry » Wed May 23, 2007 8:39 pm

I've been stunned by the three Kalin I've had this year. I can't believe it took me this long to find out about them.

Amazingly enough, they're priced well below what they deserve.
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Re: WTN: Wacky White Night II

by Marc D » Thu May 24, 2007 12:30 pm

Did I miss Wacky night part I or was it the same as Joe's post on the Cull party?

1998 Pierre Overnoy Arbois Pupillin (Jura) Dirty asphalt, bright flashes of flavor, musty old wood, stinky but keeps me sipping and the rough edges soften with time leaving something that I can’t characterize but sure is interesting.


Any idea of what the grape is in this one?

Thanks for the tip on Kalin, I've never tried these either.
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Michael Malinoski

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Re: WTN: Wacky White Night II

by Michael Malinoski » Thu May 24, 2007 1:05 pm

Bill, thanks for a fun and informative read!

I've been eyeing some Gravners at a local shop for some time now, but they seem pretty pricey. But your note sounds so interesting that I might have to bite the bullet to see what the fuss is all about.

-Michael
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Re: WTN: Wacky White Night II

by JoePerry » Thu May 24, 2007 1:14 pm

Marc D wrote:Did I miss Wacky night part I or was it the same as Joe's post on the Cull party?


Wacky White Night started last year. I just did a search on a few forums for TNs and didn't find anything, so I guess it wasn't written up(?).

Maybe the internet wasn't ready yet. Off the top of my head, we had 1989 Gravonia, 1987 Tondonia Reserva Blanco, 1976 Tondonia Gran Reserva Blanco, 1993 Fieuzal Blanc, 1989 Chapoutier Aluette, a NV Mumm from 25 years ago and a few other things that I'm forgetting.

Best,
Joe
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Bill Buitenhuys

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Re: WTN: Wacky White Night II

by Bill Buitenhuys » Thu May 24, 2007 1:53 pm

I've been eyeing some Gravners at a local shop for some time now
I got this bottle in the W. Concord shop, Michael. They also have a Lispida Anfora for half the price that Eric is quite high on.
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Re: WTN: Wacky White Night II

by Bill Buitenhuys » Thu May 24, 2007 2:05 pm

Wacky White Night started last year. I just did a search on a few forums for TNs and didn't find anything, so I guess it wasn't written up(?).

WWN:I was documented here
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David M. Bueker

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Re: WTN: Wacky White Night II

by David M. Bueker » Thu May 24, 2007 2:06 pm

How do you have a Wacky White Night that I am not invited to? :cry:
Decisions are made by those who show up
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Bill Buitenhuys

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Re: WTN: Wacky White Night II

by Bill Buitenhuys » Thu May 24, 2007 2:09 pm

Any idea of what the grape is in this one?
Marc, I believe it is mostly chard.
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Michael Malinoski

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Re: WTN: Wacky White Night II

by Michael Malinoski » Thu May 24, 2007 2:11 pm

Bill Buitenhuys wrote:
I've been eyeing some Gravners at a local shop for some time now
I got this bottle in the W. Concord shop, Michael. They also have a Lispida Anfora for half the price that Eric is quite high on.


Yeah, that is the place, Bill. Maybe I'll start with the Lispida and work my way up!
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Re: WTN: Wacky White Night II

by JoePerry » Thu May 24, 2007 2:26 pm

David M. Bueker wrote:How do you have a Wacky White Night that I am not invited to? :cry:


You'd drive all the way to South Hamilton? As it is, Thor and Bill are the closest geeks around (Watertown and Andover) to come up to the North Shore.

My current mini-abode only fits 6, and that's with people sitting in a rocking chair, folding chair, couch and computer chair.

Amy and I are looking to get a bigger place next year that will accommodate more folks, and maybe a more central location.

Best,
Joe

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