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WTN: Buncha Wines w/ Josh...(long/boring)

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TomHill

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WTN: Buncha Wines w/ Josh...(long/boring)

by TomHill » Tue Oct 15, 2013 12:39 pm

Josh Kates was in town to give a lecture at StJohn'sCollege in SantaFe. We had him over to try a few things:
1. Dom.Bott-Geyl GWT Sonnenglanz AC: AlsaceGrandCru (VieillesVignes; 12%; MeBalP) Jean-Christophe Bott/Beblenheim 1994: Rather brown/oxidized/murky color; some GWT/spicy rather oxidized/nutty/waxy nose; off-dry some oxidized/nutty/appley slight GWT/oily/hair oil/spicy/cinammon rather complex flavor; long slight GWT/hair oil rather oxidized/nutty/apple cider finish; rather oxidized & old before its time but not unpleasant to drink. $29.00
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2. Forlorn-Hope Batiscafo Verdelho DeWittVnyd/AmadorCnty (27 cs; 14.7%) MatthewRorick/Fairfield 2011: Med.gold/yellow color; rather stony/mineral/bit earthy some melony/lemony/citrusy/floral/apple blossom perfumed lovely nose; fairly rich/lush bit tangy/tart somewhat stony/mineral ripe/appley/apple blossom/floral bit metallic/tangy/steely very attractive flavor; very long lean/tangy/grapefruity some stony/metallic strong/ripe/lush/apple/floral finish; one of the best Amador whites I can recall.
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3. RosenblumCllrs PetiteSirah Calistoga&StHelena/NapaVlly (TW) Alameda 1989: Med.color w/ some browning; rather cedary/pencilly/old Calif red bit tired some peppery/PS nose; soft rather cedary/pencilly/old red bit tangy/dried out/metallic/astringent flavor w/ very little fruit; long cedary/pencilly/old red tangy/astringent/dried-out/metallic finish; not unpleasant but pretty dried out & tired.
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4. EdmundsStJohn Syrah Calif (14.2%) Emeryville 1995: Med. somewhat brown color; rather wet wool/funky/earthy slight Rhonish/roasted/cedary/smokey slight blackberry/Syrah fairly complex nose; some smokey/cedary/roasted/Rhonish rather astringent/dried-out/tired/tangy/metallic slight blackberry flavor; med.long tangy/metallic/cedary/pencilly slight roasted/Rhonish rather astringent/hard/dried-out finish; some interesting things therein but pretty much on its last legs. $16.00
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5. Kenneth-Crawford Syrah LaFondVnyd/SantaRitaHills (15.3%; www.KennethCrawford.com) Buellton 2004: Very dark color w/ slight bricking; somewhat reduced/stinky/sewer gas/H2S/skinky strong peppery/cold-climate Syrah pungent/blackberry/Syrah/licorice some smokey/charred/oak complex nose; quite tart some hard/tannic/dried-out/astringent intense blackberry/Syrah/black olive/tapenade some peppery/cold-climate Syrah some toasted/charred/oak flavor w/ some astringent/drying tannins; long rather hard/tannic strong blackberry/Syrah/cold-climate/peppery rather charred/smokey oak finish; rather a reductive funk in the nose that had blown off pretty much by the next day.
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6. CreekbendVnyd Traminette (EB; 12.0%; semi-dry; www.OliverWinery.com) GP&B by OliverWnry/Bloomington/IN 2012: Light gold color; very strong aromatic/perfumy/bit GWT-like/hair-oil-like slight earthy/musky/valve oil /herbal slight sweetish/muscatty nose; off-dry/sweet soft hair-oil/GWT-like/muscatty bit cloying/watery slight tangy/grapefruity flavor; short somewhat sweet rather watery/cloying some GWT-like/muscatty/tutti-fruti/hair-oil light melony/tangy finish; quite attractive aromatics but rather sweet/simple/watery on the palate; would be interesting to see this made like an Moscato d'Asti to give it some zing on the palate. Josh's contribution
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7. Jongieux Mondeuse AC: Vin de Savoie (12.5%; MeBalP) EugeneCarrel et Fils/Jongieux/Savoie 2010: Dark color; very strong plummy/black cherry/Mondeuse some herbal/earthy/rosemary/thyme rather rustic very interesting nose; rather tart/earthy/rustic strong black cherry/plummy/licorice/Mondeuse bit tangy/metallic/mineral/graphite some tannic/hard/rough flavor; long strong plummy/black cherry/Mondeuse rather rough/rustic/earthy/herbal/mineral finish; not sure what age will do for this wine; a classic earthy/rustic Savoie Mondeuse.
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8. Vietti Barolo Castiglione DOCG: Barolo (14.5%; www.Vietti.com) DallaTerra/Napa 2008: Med.color; rather strong/classic Nebb/lilacs/violets/floral bit pungent/tarry/licorice/earthy fairly intense classic Barolo nose; fairly tart very strong floral/violets/lilacs/Nebb slight tarry/pungent quite hard/lean/astringent/tannic/bitey/hurty flavor; long strong floral/lilacs/violets/classic Nebb slight tarry/pungent finish w/ hard/bitey/astringent/hurty tannins; not showing a whole lot and badly needs age.$64.00 (AV)
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. I had known Josh casually out on the WB wine board. He is a professor in the EnglishDept at IndianaUniv in philosophy. He was planning on returning to SantaFe to give a lecture at StJohns and reached out to me about getting together over a glass of wine. It was a good excuse for mme to open up some interesting things and get to know Josh a bit better. Joining us was another local wine friend, JoeSpinden, for over 3 hrs of spirited conversation, adequate wines, and apps.
Turns out that Josh was ahead a year at StJohn's/Annapolis of AbeSchoener/ScholiumProject.
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2. Bott-Geyl: As soon as I poured the wine, I knew it was a goner from the color. There was about 2/3'rd of the btl left over and the next day, at room temperature, most of the oxidized character had blown off and it was quite a nice example of an old Alsatian GWT and a real joy to drink.
Tom
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Re: WTN: Buncha Wines w/ Josh...(long/boring)

by Joshua Kates » Tue Oct 15, 2013 8:58 pm

Amazing late afternoon at Tom's,

And he did not even mention the food: a wonderful pumpkin, sage, and onion galette, which he had prepared himself, was the highlight among the savories. I won't try to rival the notes, and I did not take any detailed ones in any case, but here a couple of further comments.

On the skin-contact wines (see Tom's previous post for these), I had drunk some before, more that were usually also oxidative, like the Lopez de Heredia Rioja Tondonia Blanco Reserva, but also some of Abe's Scholium wines. I take Tom's general point that some of the varietal character is lost under the circumstances, but, as he also noted, both were very fine. The Novy had almost the plumpness of white burg at the outset, which the skin contact balanced and complexified. And I thought the Cowan Cellars was fantastic: taut, mouthfilling,well-balanced, a long finish where more of the tannins came in--just very interesting all the way through, a great glass of wine.

The syrahs, as Tom mentioned, were a touch over the hill, though the nose on Edmund St.J was a joy, and I think I got to the Crawford after some of the less savory favors blew off; it gave off a nice note of green olive. I think I liked the Petite Sirah, better than either Tom or Joe; at least the first sip was mouthfulling, still with some distinct fruit; the tannins were nicely resolved, somewhere between cab and zin. (It did die over time, however, in the glass.) Tom totally nails it on the head, IMHO, on the Vietti Barolo--the finish was very shut down, very tannic. Though not doing a lot for me at the moment, the strong well-delineated flavors up front might indicate some promise. (The Altare Barolo Normale 07 I had the night before, purchased at about the same price from the same store Tom got the Vietti, was a more enjoyable quaff at the moment. Loved the delicacy and nuance, though a touch simpler than I had expected.)

The Mondeuse was my first, and maybe for this reason Tom (and I think Joe) were more taken with it than I. Just a little too rustic, too tannic-y and tart for me, at least right now. Finally, Tom neglected to mention the Phelps 1994 Semillon Late Harvest that he opened, which was drinking beautifully. Tom totally nailed it at table when he said it was simpler, less complex and showed less secondary characteristics than a similarly aged Sauterne. Still fresh, long, lively and deep, and went beautifully with Tom's lemon curd and chevre cookies!

It was really a pleasure to taste with Tom, not only because he is such a gracious and generous host, but also such a knowledgeable one. I was genuinely honored to join him.

Josh
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TomHill

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Thank You

by TomHill » Wed Oct 16, 2013 8:40 am

Josh,
Very much enjoyed the chance to meet you & share food & wine. I love doing small get-togethers like that.Glad you liked the Cowan.
I've been drinking that over the last two days and it just keeps getting more & more interesting, at room temp.
And thanks for your take on the wines. Indeed, the Mondeuse was pretty much on the rustic side. You should try the Lagier-Meredith
Mondeuse if you can find it.
Just be glad I didn't spring some really weird stuff on you. I had a Calif Freisa I almost cracked.
We can do it again when you come to SantaFe.
Tom
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Re: WTN: Buncha Wines w/ Josh...(long/boring)

by Joshua Kates » Sat Oct 19, 2013 4:49 pm

Great, Tom,

I am already looking forward to it! On Freisa, I had one at Lupa (Batali place in NYC) last Xmas, from Piedmont; I forgot the producer. Both Jen and I enjoyed it a lot (and it was beautiful w.that food).

Best,
Josh
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Re: WTN: Buncha Wines w/ Josh...(long/boring)

by JC (NC) » Sat Oct 19, 2013 6:30 pm

On #8 I got confused by Vietti (with which I have slight familiarity owning some of their Barbera) and a reference to Napa. A little searching showed that Dalla Terra is an importer of Italian wines based in Napa.

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