The place for all things wine, focused on serious wine discussions.

WTN: Three from ForlornHope...(short/boring)

Moderators: Jenise, Robin Garr, David M. Bueker

no avatar
User

TomHill

Rank

Here From the Very Start

Posts

7853

Joined

Wed Mar 29, 2006 12:01 pm

WTN: Three from ForlornHope...(short/boring)

by TomHill » Sun Oct 28, 2012 8:24 pm

My ForlornHope stash hit my doorstep Thurs and I couldn't resist. I am a bad boy...no self-control whatsoever. We cracked:
1. ForlornHope Nacre Semillon YountMillVnyd/Yountville (77 cs; 11%) 2009: Med.yellow color; rather fragrant light floral/green olive/classic Semillon slight earthy/chalky rather mineral bit closed/tight nose; very tart mineral/stoney/chalky
some floral/green olive/Semillon bit earthy/dusty bit light flavor; long light floral/green olive/Semillon lean/tight rather mineral/dusty/earthy/chalky finish w/ a teeth-chattering acidity; a rather lean/tight Semillon whose glories will only come w/ 5-10 yrs of age; much like a HunterVlly Semillon w/o the oak those often show; not very exciting now but will reward greatly your patience...guaranteed. $24.00
________________________
2. ForlornHope Suspiro del Moro Alvarelhao SilvaspoonsVnyd/AltaMesa/Lodi (12.56%; 177 cs; whole cluster frmtd; 173 cs) 2011: Dark color; very strong herbal/pungent/ozone/WWII beacon rather earthy/loamy bit floral/marigolds/zinnias/sagebrush/chamisa somewhat Loire CabFranc-like fairly intense very interesting nose; fairly tart rather earthy/loamy/herbal/pungent bit plummy/floral/marigolds somewhat hard/tannic/structured bit rustic flavor; very long pungent/herbal/earthy/loamy somewhat tannic/hard some plummy/floral/marigolds finish; resembles a lot a Loire CabFranc; lots of pungent/bass-notes character; quite an interesting wine and needs some 2-6 yrs. $20.00
________________________
3. ForlornHope LesParesseux CheninBlanc NorgardVnyd/Mendocino (11%; 192 btls; 1/2 brl) 2006: Dark golden/burnished bronze color; very intense botrytis/apricotty/peachy somewhat butterscotchy/smokey/caramel slight grapefruity/tangy lovely complex nose; rather tart/bright fairly sweet intense botrytis/peachy/apricotty some caramel/creme brulee/butterscotch pudding flavor w/o straying into the sweet/sour territory; very long/lingering intense botrytis/apricotty/peachy tart/bright some creme brulee/caramel/butterscotch slight earthy finish; much like a Loire Coteaux du Layon but more botrytis infection and not quite the minerality; a stunning dessert wine at a stupid/silly price. $20.00/hlf
________________________________________
The usual stuff from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. F-H: This is, of course, the wnry of MattRorick. I have sung the praises of his wines several times here, but, like most sage prophets in their time, those accolades have been treated w/ scorn & disdain.
Matt is singular in his pursuit of wines made from obscure grape varieties..grapes that are a "forlorn hope". He makes his wine at TennbrinkWnry, near SuisunCity in SolanoCnty (where AbeSchoener makes his ScholiumProject wines); from a variety of vnyds across NorCal. The wines typically have a zingy acidity to them and modest alcohol levels....wines that don't play well in Monktown, but appeal to the AFWE.
The CheninBlanc is a stunning wine. It reminds me a lot of the Sterling Botrytis CheninBlanc '72. Therin lies a sad tale. This Sterling was made back when they were making some amazing wines...back when Sterling and quality were often spoken in the same breath...many a year ago. I had my last btl around '90, and it was a stunning wine...much like some of the old MoulinTouchais wines w/ age on them. When Constellation took over Sterling, they tasted thru most of the old wines in the cellar there. They came upon some 20 cs of hlf btls of this wine. They tasted it and...gasp....it was a sweet wine...quelle horreurs. It was forthwith dispatched to the NapaVlly dump. Friggin' dolts!!!
You can find RobTebeau's FringeWine discssion of Alvarelhao at:
Fringe/Alvarelhao
Tom
no avatar
User

Brian K Miller

Rank

Passionate Arboisphile

Posts

9340

Joined

Fri Aug 25, 2006 1:05 am

Location

Northern California

Re: WTN: Three from ForlornHope...(short/boring)

by Brian K Miller » Mon Oct 29, 2012 10:55 am

I've tended (on a small sample size) to these, like his own label wines, rather more than the wines he makes for Elizabeth Spenser, which I kinda got tired of.

I recall you have also tried the other cult wines made at Tenrbink, Scholium Project, which are fascinating if not always "good".
...(Humans) are unique in our capacity to construct realities at utter odds with reality. Dogs dream and dolphins imagine, but only humans are deluded. –Jacob Bacharach
no avatar
User

TomHill

Rank

Here From the Very Start

Posts

7853

Joined

Wed Mar 29, 2006 12:01 pm

Re: WTN: Three from ForlornHope...(short/boring)

by TomHill » Mon Oct 29, 2012 11:48 am

Brian K Miller wrote:I've tended (on a small sample size) to these, like his own label wines, rather more than the wines he makes for Elizabeth Spenser, which I kinda got tired of.
I recall you have also tried the other cult wines made at Tenrbink, Scholium Project, which are fascinating if not always "good".


Brian,
I'm pretty sure Matt doesn't work at ElizabethSpencer anymore.

I've only tried a few of Abe's ScholiumProject wines. They're hard to find. They range from outstanding to weird/bizarre...always interesting.
Abe is coming to SantaFe in late Nov to lecture the Johnnies at St.John's College on wine. Alas...no labe work (that I know of). I'm hoping
to get a chance to visit w/ Abe more extensively then.
Tom
no avatar
User

Brian K Miller

Rank

Passionate Arboisphile

Posts

9340

Joined

Fri Aug 25, 2006 1:05 am

Location

Northern California

Re: WTN: Three from ForlornHope...(short/boring)

by Brian K Miller » Mon Oct 29, 2012 11:59 am

I didn't know that. Maybe that is why we don't like their wines anymore. (Not the royal we :lol: , just some friends who, like myself, were wine club members at ES at one point).
...(Humans) are unique in our capacity to construct realities at utter odds with reality. Dogs dream and dolphins imagine, but only humans are deluded. –Jacob Bacharach

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest

Powered by phpBB ® | phpBB3 Style by KomiDesign