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by Tom Hill

A self-admitted wine geek, Tom lives in Northern New Mexico and works as a computational physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory doing numerical neutron transport & large scale code development. He has been tasting wines since 1971, participates locally with a couple of large tasting groups in his area, and is practically a fixture at most California wine festivals, such as the Hospice du Rhône, Rhône Rangers, and ZAP. Other interests: Tom is heavily into competitive sport fencing (foil & epee), biking, cooking, basketball, skiing, backpacking, mountain climbing.


Some New Arrivals - December 18, 2013

We tried tonight (12/18/13) Some New Arrivals:

  1. Idlewild Arneis FoxHillVnyd/MendoCnty (14.2%) 2012: Light gold color; quite fragrant/perfumed/ pineapple/almost R-like some stony/mineral/perfumed talc slight waxy/lanolin quite lovely nose; strong floral/carnations fairly tart/lush/rich almost R-like/pineapple/apple slight waxy/hand-lotion/lanolin rather exotic/perfumed flavor; very long/lingering R-like/apple/pineapple/mango slight waxy/lanolin very perfumed/exotic finish;a powerfully aromatic Arneis somewhat like the Viettis. $28.00
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  2. Idlewild Cortese FoxHillVnyd/MendoCnty (skin-contact; 13.4%; www.IdlewildWines.com) Healdsburg 2012: Light gold color; light phenolic/savory/resiny/cider some stony/earthy/smoky/dusty rather interesting/complex nose; tart rich/lush graham cracker light phenolic/cider/savory light stony/earthy/dusty finish w/ very light tannic bite; long light savory/phenolic/resiny/cider tart/rich/lush smokey/pungent/graham cracker finish w/ light tannins; sort of a skin-contact Lite w/ a rather low-key phenolic character; quite an interesting/exotic wine; doesn't have the austere/stony character of Piemonte Cortese. $30.00
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  3. Idlewild VinGris RoseWine DryCreekVlly/SonomaCnty (100% Syrah @ 21 Brix; 13.6%) 2012: Light salmon/copper color;quite attractive spicy/perfumed/cranberry bit candied rather aromatic nose; soft/ripe/rich some candied/spicy/cranberry/watermelon tarts quite pretty flavor; long candied/cranberry/ watermelon/spicy/juicy fairly ripe/lush finish w/ little tannins; would like a bit more acidity/austerity but a quite pretty rose and everything you'd want in a summertime rose. $22.00
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  4. Idlewild GrenacheGris GibsonRanch/MendoCnty (12.6%) 2012: Med.light rose/salmon color; very strong strawberry/Grenache/floral very perfumed/aromatic light earthy/dusty lovely nose; fairly tart strong strawberry/Grenache/floral/perfumed talc slight earthy fairly rich/juicy quite interesting flavor w/ little tannin; quite long juicy/strong strawberry/Grenache/spicy perfumed/fragrant/rose petal finish w/ light tannins; quitte a pretty wine a bit more interesting than the VinGris. $26.00
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  5. Donkey&Goat Carignane OakVllyVnyd/AlexVlly (120+ yr old vines; U; 14.2%; 70 cs) 2009: Med.dark color w/ a bit of bricking; some fumey/volatile/EA/alcoholic some black cherry/Carignane rather dusty/OV some earthy/leathery bit bretty interesting nose; rather hot/fumey/volatile/EA some earthy/rustic/black cherry/Carignane slight leathery/brett flavor w/ some rough/coarse tannins; med.long hot/fumey/volatile/EA rustic/earthy/black cherry/Carignane finish w/ rough/coarse tannins; bit too unclean & volatile to my taste, but speaks of Carignane. $20.00
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  6. Donkey&Goat Carignane AlexVlly (14.2%; U) 2010: screwtop closure; Dark color; strong reductive/ fecal/sewer gas strong black cherry/blackberry/Carignane earthy/rustic/dusty/OV bit toasty/oak nose; soft earthy/dusty/OV strong cherry/black cherry/Carignane/cola bit hot/fumey/alcoholic/overripe rather sauvage/rough/coarse flavor w/ some rough tannins; long some cherry/black cherry/Carignane rather ripe/overripe some alcoholic/fumey/hot finish w/ rough/coarse tannins; the reductive nose lessens a bit but seems on the overripe/fumey side. $25.00
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  7. Idlewild Carignan TestaVnyd/MendoCnty (13.2%) 2012: Med.color; rather earthy/dusty/OV/rustic some black cherry/ blackberry/Carignane some earthy/stony/Languedoc-like bit Mendo/tomatoey fairly complex nose; bit tart/lean bright/cherry/Carignane quite dusty/OV bit earthy/Mendo-tomatoey interesting complex flavor w/ some hard/bitey tannins;long tomatoey/Mendo-red bright cherry/cranberry/Carignane rather dusty/OV/earthy/stony finish w/ some light/hardtannins; speaks strongly of Mendo w/ the tomatoey character; probably could use a few yrs age; a very interesting rather rustic/old-timey Calif red. $32.00
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  8. Ridge Carignane TriangleBlock/OldVines/GeyservilleVnyd (13.8%; 44 brls; Bttld: 2/13; 110 yr old block; Drk:12/12-12/17-12/18: EB; Yield: 3.1 tons/acre) 2011: Dark/very dark color; strong vanilla/Am.oak/toasted coconut/ZagNutBar strong black cherry/Carignane/spicy/blackberry bit Zin-like some dusty/OV/earthy interesting nose;soft strong vanilla/Am.oak/coconutty strong black cherry/Carignane/RCCola bit dusty/OV bit earthy/rustic slightcomplex flavor w/ some hard tannins; very long strong black cherry/Carignane/cola/spicy/bit Zin-like/blackberry strong coconutty/vanilla/Am.oak finish w/ some hard tannins; actually resembles Geyserville more than Buchignani Carignane in character; one of the best Ridge Carignanes I can recall but still not a silk purse. $28.00 (ATP)
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  9. Idlewild Dolcetto FoxHillVnyd/MendoCnty (13.4%) 2012: Med./med.light color; strong grapey/spicy/cherry veryattractive juicy/fruity/grapey slight earthy some perfumed nose; fairly tart/lean quite juicy/grapey/floral/Dolcetto rather pretty/bright/floral/spicy flavor w/ some lean/bitey tannins; long bright/grapey/juicy/Dolcetto/floral/cherry rather tart/lean interesting finish w/ some light/hard/bitey tannins; speaks loud & clear of Dolcetto but lighter & more elegant than most Piemontese ones. $30.00
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  10. Pecchenino SanLuigi DOCG: Dogliani (100% Dolcetto; www.Pecchenino.com; 13.5%) Borg.Valdiverti/Dogliani 2011:Dark color; very strong grapey/Dolcetto/licorice/earthy/dusty/wet pavement slight fecal/reductive/unclean Italianate fairly lush nose; slight spritz soft very lush/juicy/ grapey/black cherry/Dolcetto maybe a bit off-dry bit earthy/fecal/unclean flavor w/ light/soft tannins; long bit fecal/unclean quite juicy/Dolcetto/grapey/black cherry cola very ripe/off-dry finish w/ light/soft/plush tannins; lots like an unclean Refosco or LaCrima de Morro d'Alba; a bit on the unclean side and lacks Dolcetto typicity but some interesting things therein. $18.00 (BWM)
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  11. AguaDulceWnry Zin SierraPelonaVlly/Calif (12.5%; U P Non-MEV; www.AguaDulceWinery.com) AguaDulce; CraigWinchell/Winemaker 2010: Med.dark color; quite spicy/blackberry/Zin/mushroom/ Shinola/pungent rather peppery/bit Lodi-like rather exotic Zin nose; bit soft exotic/pungent/Shinola/ blackberry/Zin rather black pepper light pencilly flavor w/ soft/smooth/round tannins; very long peppery/blackberry/Zin/Shinola/pungent slight pencilly/mushroomy finish w/ smooth/polished tannins; a rather exotic rendition Zin that reminds me a bit of WashState Lemberger, a bit of ContraCosta old-vine Zin, some like SaucelitoCnyn Zin. $30.00
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  12. AguaDulceWnry Syrah SierraPelonaVlly/Calif (12.90%; U P Non-MEV 2010: Dark color; slight earthy/mushroomy very strong lush/blackberry/Zyrah/peppery/cracked black pepper/floral/licorice bit smokey/pungent distinctly Syrah quite lovely nose; soft rich/lush strong blackberry/Syrah/blueberry/ cracked black pepper bit smokey/pungent light earthy/dusty flavor w/ modest/smooth tannins; very long/lingering strong blackberry/blueberry/Syrah bit DrPepper/RCCola/smokey/pungent finish w/ some soft/smooth/graceful tannins; reminds me a lot of Ojai RollRanch Syrah w/o the oak; quite a lovely/interesting Syrah that can stand up to any in Calif. $35.00
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  13. AguaDulceWnry CabSauv SierraPelonaVlly/Calif (13.5%; U P Non-MEV) 2010: Dark color; strong licorice/chocolaty/blackcurranty/Cab/slight herbal light toasty/pungent/oak big fruit distinctly Cab quite interesting nose; soft/lush/rich/mouthfilling strong blackcurranty/Cab/chocolaty/ripe light toasty/oak flavor w/ modest/smooth tannins;very long big fruit/strong/blackcurranty/Cab/chocolaty/RCCola/ripe light smokey/toasty/oak finish w/ some soft/smooth/graceful tannins; lots of blackcurranty Cab fruit. $45.00


And the usual nonsense from the BloodyPulpit:

1. D&G: Not a very good showing from Donkey&Goat. With Tracey&Jared's emphasis on natural winemaking, I guess you should expect a few that don't do too well in the btl.
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2. Carignane: I'm not a big fan of this grape. I like a lot the bright cherry/black cherry/cola character the wines have in the nose; but they often seem rather earthy/coarse and tannic on the palate. Despite the tannins; it's seldom that the wines develop into anything interesting. Even some of those very old-vine Carignanes from Priorat seldom grab me by the throat. And most of the Languedoc ones epitomize the worst qualities of the grape. Maybe it's true that you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

That said, I rather liked these two Carignanes. The Idlewood had an old-timey character to it that reminded me some of the old Pedroncellis and Parducci's back in the '70's. The Ridge, I thought, was maybe the best (young) Ridge Carignane I can recall. This ATP Carignane is a new wine for Ridge.
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3. Idlewild: This is the wnry of Sam & Jessica Bilbro. If that name sounds familiar, Chris Bilbro is the owner/founder of MariettaCllrs, of Marietta OldVineRed fame. Sam's bro's, Jake & Scot, are making their mark w/ the recently acquired LimerickLaneWnry. And the family recently acquired the old BillyCrawford's GibsonRanch, up in McDowellVlly; a national treasure. Lots of stuff planted back in the late 1800's, including what is probably the oldest block of Syrah in Calif. Sam's GrenacheGris (the gris version of GrenacheBlanc&Noir) comes from very old-vine stuff on Gibson.

KenZinns had given me a head's up on Sam's Idlewild operation several yrs ago when he first tasted one, so I finally got around to ordering the tableau of Idlewild to try. I was favorably impressed. Both the Arneis and the Cortese are as good as any of those varieties I've had from the Piemonte. Of the reds, the Dolcetto was my easy favorite. Not sure what other wines Sam has in the works, but it's certainly a wnry I'me going to be following....from close to the very start.
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3. AguaDulce: I've known CraigWinchell for a number of yrs on the wine boards where he'll often post interesting comments on winemaking questions from time to time. He's the winemaker at AguaDulce (sweet water) in AguaDulce, CA. Not heard of it??? Me neither...back then. This is a town in a high desert vlly along the AntelopeVllyFrwy, midway between SantaClarita and Lancaster, in SoCal. Not at all an obvious location to be growing grapes to make fine wine. My sense is that it's pretty dry up there and irrigation is a necessity. Perhaps a bit in climate/ terroir like the UpperOjaiVlly?? Hopefully, I can make a side trip in a few weeks when I'm out there to take a look-see at the area.

A few months ago, Craig queried me if I would like some samples of his latest release and, being interested in off-beat/unusual growing areas, I jumped at the chance. These three wines were those wines. The three wines had a certain softness on the palate that suggested some high pH wines like if find in WashState Cabs or many ContraCosta reds. Craig assures me this is not the case and the pH's are in the normal range. They seemed to have ample tannins that were not at all hard or angular. Actually, the wines far exceeded my expectations for coming from a totally unknown (to me) growing area. The Zin was a bit on the strange side in that is was picking up a bit of a pungent/ Shinola character that took me back to my ROTC days when I labored mightly to polish those danged shoes for inspection. But still plenty of Zin character to make it attractive. The Cab was a big fruit wine that reminded me mostly of Lodi Cabs in ripeness. The Syrah (which recently won some award)
was my easy favorite. Lots of bass-notes of Syrah that resembled some of the RollRanch Syrahs of Adam's. All in all..I was favorably impressed by Craig's wines.

TomHill

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