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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 More New Wines - February 6, 2013

We tried last night (2/6/13) Some More New Wines:

  1. UBY IGP: Cotes de Gascogne (80% Colombard/20% UgniBlanc; 11.5%) Domaine d'Uby/Cazaubon 2012: Pale yellow almost colorless; strong cat pee/SB-like/pungent/herbal/almost fecal bit grapefruity/ floral very aromatic nose; soft strong herbal/cat-pee/SB-like rather metallic/grapefruity/steely/ tangy flavor; med. rather tangy/grapefruity metallic/steely somewhat herbal/cat-pee finish; a strong/assertive white much like a NZ SauvBlanc w/ a lot of other weird stuff; strange wine but much more interesting than most wines at this price. $9.00 (BWM)
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  2. Campi di Fratta DOC: Pagadebit di Romagna (12.5%; www.Celli-Vini.com; wwwMatinicusWines.com) Soc.Agr. Celli/Bertinoro 2010: Light gold color; very light grapefruity/ earthy/citrusy/appley/perfumed talc rather simple nose; soft light grapefruity/earthy/citrusy/perfumed talc bit metallic/tangy rather light/ simple/dull flavor; soft med.long light grapefruity/earthy/fennel/ perfumed talc simple finish; a pleasant enough wine but rather on the dull/unthrilling side. $12.00 (BWM)
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  3. ClaudioMorelli DOC: Bianchello del Metauro (la vigna delle terrazze; 13%) Fano/Marche 2010: Light gold color; quite attractive floral/carnations/dandelions light earthy very perfumed/aromatic nose; fairly tart very attractive floral/carnations/dandelions some spicy/perfumed light earthy flavor; long very
    floral/carnations/dandelions rather spicy light earthy finish; a lovely perfumed/aromatic wine that
    reminds me a bit of GruVee at a great price. $15.00 (DaV)
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  4. Feliciana Felugan DOC: Lugana (13%; www.Feliciana.It; www.MatinicusWines.com) Az.Agr.Feliciana/Brescia 2011: Med.light gold color; some honeyed/mead-like/very ripe bit musky/marigolds light earthy fairly intense nose; some tart bit honeyed/mead-like/ripe some musky/floral/spicy/pungent/marigolds flavor; fairly long some tart light honeyed/mead/earthy somewhat musky/floral/marigolds slight spicy finish; a quite rich/ripe/lush attractive/interesting white at a good price. $15.00 (BWM)
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  5. Soarda Vespaiolo DOC: Breganze Vespaiolo (13.5%; www.ContraSoarda.It; www.VolioVino.com) Vignaioli Contra Soarda/Bassano del Grappa 2011: Light gold color; attractive strong/musky/ marigoldssome honeyed/peach/spicy slight cheesy/spoiled milk/lactic rather interesting nose; soft rather musky/rich/lush/ripe some honeyed   almost botrytis/peachy some cheesy/spoiled milk fairly dry or off-dry flavor; very long/lingering some musky/honeyed/spicy/very ripe bit cheesy/spoiled milk finish; quite an unusual and a bit late-harvesty/honeyed wine but quite attractive & interesting at a very good price. $18.00 (DaV)
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  6. Vigneti Massa Derthona (100% Timorasso; 14%; www.PortoVinoItaliano.com) Marca Obertenga/Monleale/Piemonte 2010: Med.gold color; beautiful floral/aromatic/pineapply/very spicy/guava almost R/GWT-like wonderfully perfumed nose; somewhat tart very spicy/floral/pineapple/ mango/honeysuckle very spicy bit perfumed talc almost R-like flavor; very long/lingering very spicy/floral/honeysuckle/pineapple/mango/fruit cocktail some angel food cake pretty dry/rich/lush finish; powerfully aromatic/perfumey and very exotic; not at all overpriced at $35.00 (DaV)
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  7. Cuvee Faustine Ajaccio (100% Vermentino; 13%) Jean-Charles Abbatucci/Casalabriva/Corsica 2011: Very pale yellow conor; rather low-key earthy bit floral slight musky/pungent/piney some stoney/mineral rather interesting/complex nose; soft/fat/lush spicy/musky/earthy some floral/piney bit stony/mineral flavor; slight bitey/bitter ripe/lush musky/piney/pungent/floral/earthy some complex finish; a rather low-key/quiet sort of wine but easily the best Corsican white I've had; bit pricey for what it is at $39.00 (BWM)
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  8. Manincor MoscatoGiallo DOC: MuscatoGiallo AltoAdige (13%; www.Manincor.com) ConteEnzenberg/Kaltern/Alto Adige 2007: Med.dark gold color; beautifully bright/muscatty/floral/hair-oil/orange blossom/cheap perfumed soap/bergamot very exotic/perfumey nose; dry slightly bitter very perfumed/aromatic/muscatty/cheap perfumed soap/orange blossom/delicate very exotic flavor; very long/lingering intense/perfumed/orange blossom/apple blossom/cheap perfumed soap/muscatty dry fairly tart beautiful finish; a very exotic rendition of Muscat at a very good price. $28.00 (DaV)
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  9. Ridge Zin PasoRobles BenitoDusiRanch/SLOCnty (14.4%; Bttld: Dec 2011; Drk: 8/11-8/16-8/18: EB) 2010: Dark color; very strong blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/PR jammy some pencilly/vanilla/oak slight herbal/peppery/rosemary powerful lovely nose; lightly tart very strong blackberry/boysenberry/PR Zin strong vanilla/Am.oak flavor w/ modest tannins; long very strong PR/jammy/boysenberry/blackberry/Zin strong Am.oak/vannila finish w/ light tannins; huge boysenberry fruit but very nice balance & structure. $32.00 (KK)
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  10. Ridge Zin DusiRanch/PasoRobles/SLOCnty (14.8%; Bttld: Dec 2011; Drk: 8/11-8/18-8/19: EB) 2020: Very dark color; strong blackberry/boysenberry/Zin less PR/jammy more spicy/classic Zin bit more toasty/oak and less vanilla somewhat more interesting nose; tarter/leaner rich intense blackberry/ boysenberry/Zin/slight PR jammy more spicy/peppery flavor w/ bit more tannins and structure; long strong blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/some PR jammy more restrained toasty/smokey/vanilla/Am.oak finish w/ a bit more tannic structure; a bit more complex/interesting than the regular PR Zin. $32.00 (ATP)
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  11. Ottimino Zin vonWeidlichVnyd/RRV (14.8%; 6098 btls) Occidental 2002: Dark color w/ no bricking; very spicy bit herbal/thyme some blackberry/Zin bit toasty/pencilly/oak/BBQ sauce some dusty/OV rather complex nose; somewhat tart bright/very spicy/blackberry/Zin light pencilly/toasty/oak bit dusty/OV slightly dried out/tannic rather complex flavor; very long smokey/pungent/pencilly/BBQ sauce/oak some blackberry/Zin/very spicy slightly tannic/dried out finish; really lovely mature Zin nose but starting to dry out a bit on the palate. $28.00
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  12. Radio-Coteau Zin vonWeidlichVnyd/RRV (15.6%; 265 cs; U/U) EricSussman/Sebastapol 2005: Very dark color w/ no bricking; very strong blackberry/Zin/very spicy rather pungent/ozone/burning graphite/ very strange strong toasty/charred/oak slight volatile/pickle juice/carnations/garlic some earthy/herbal kinda weird nose; soft slight hot/ alcoholic/volatile/pickle juice/dill strong ripe/blackberry/ Zin/herbal rather pencilly/toasty/charred/oak flavor w/ some tannins; very long ripe/blackberry/ Zin/herbal strong toasty/ charred/oak bit volatile/pickle juice some pungent/ozone/graphite/WWII beacon finish w/ some modest tannins; lots of ripe Zin fruit but a bunch of other strange things in there as wel; seems to be evolving in a very weird way. $34.00
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  13. VenteuxVnyds PetiteSyrah PasoRobles (14.6%; www.VenteuxVineyards.com) Templeton 2007: Very dark color; very strong toasty/charred/oak/vanilla very perfumey blackberry/boysenberry/blueberry/PS slight earthy nose; soft/fat very strong toasty/charred/oak/vanilla strong blackberry/blueberry/PS bit PR jammy some hot/alcoholic flavor w/ light tannins; med.long strong blackberry/blueberry/PS strong toasty/charred/burnt/vanilla/oak rather soft/fat finish w/ light tannins; a bit of PR jammy character and a lot of oak and lacking structure but pretty decent PS for the price. $25.00


And the usual pontification from the BloodyPulpit:

1. Pagadebit: This Emilia-Romagna wine is made from a grape technically known as BombinoBianco. The Pagadebit name comes from "debt payer" because the yields were so high the poor farmers could pay off their debts. The grape is also widely grown in Puglia. According to RobTebeau's FringeWine Site, some of the Pagadebit grown in Emilia-Romagna may actually be the much rarer Mostosa grape.  Whatever the heck the grape, this wine was singularly unthrilling. Guess I can throw Pagadebit off my bucket list.
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2. Bianchello: This Marche wine comes from a grape variety known as Biancame. Supposedly related to Trebbiano..but I have my doubts. This wine was far/far better than any Trebbiano I've had. This was an incredibly perfumed wine that I liked quite a lot.
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3. Lugana: This Marche wine does not specifically identify the grape used.  Presumably made from Trebbiano di Lugana, which is not a member of the Trebbiano family, but a grape known as Turbiana or VerdicchioBianco.
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4. Vespaiolo: This variety is grown in the Veneto and often gets very ripe and made into dessert or passito wines, particularly in the Torcolato wine. This is the first dry version I recall tasting. You can sorta see its predeliction for being a dessert wine.
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5. Derthona: This is a variety also known as Timorasso, a variety that was nearly extinct in the '80's until single-handedly revived by WalterMassa in the CollineTortonesi of the Piedmonte. I was first introduced to this grape about 10 yrs ago by DarrellCorti and don't remember being particularly impressed. We had the LaColombera some three yrs ago and I was mightly impressed. This Massa was an even more impressive wine. They should be planting more of this in the Piedmonte and all up&down the coast of Calif.
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6. MoscatoGiallo: Also known a Yellow Muscat or GoldMuskateller in the AltoAdige. JancisRobinson seems to indicate that this is the same as Fior d'Arancio (Orange Muscat) of the CollioEuganie, but one grapvine nursery site refutes this claim. This wine certainly resembled other Orange Muscats I've tried.

This wine was very/very exotic and perfumed. Muscats can, like Concord, ofttimes be too much of a good thing and sorta overpowering, both in the nose & on the palate. This wine was powerfully aromatic but had a bright/gentle/delicate character that kept it from being overpowering or cloying. When I was little (which was not all that long ago) and we'd go grocery shopping on payday, my parents would buy bags of the cheapest bath soap at A&P. They had this very intense cheap perfumey character to them that I loved to smell. This wine rekindled those childhood memories of carrying in that bag of cheap soap. As NealRosenthal writes in his book: "The finest of wines pave the path to memory". Very true.
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7. Ridge Dusi: When I had the Ridge PasoRobles almost a yr ago, I thought it was one of the best Ridge Pasos of late. When the Ridge Dusi arrived in early Jan; I tried it, fresh off the boat, and thought it was a nice Paso Zin, but just that, no more. So I decided to pair the two of them in this tasting. This time I somewhat preferred the Ridge Dusi. It was less PR jammy, displayed more classic Zin spice, and the oak was not as vanilla-ey but more toasty/smokey in character; those still distinctly PR Zin. Just a bit more interesting and less simple.
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8. vonWeidlich: This is a beautiful old-vine vnyd up on Occidental ridge near the GreenVlly AVA. Back in the '70's, Ridge used to take these grapes to make their legendary Occidental Zin. It was a vnyd I was very sorry to see Ridge give up, put Paul felts they had so much trouble getting the grapes to ripen that it wasn't worth holding on to. He recounts the story of driving up there one harvest and seeing RobertWeidlich (the "von" is a self-awarded title) standing there beside the picking bins and tossing handfuls of C&H onto the grapes.

The vnyd was planted in 1937 and originally owned by the Morelli family. vonWeidlich purchased it in 1969. The grapes originally went to Radio-Coteau, but Eric no longer gets those grapes. The Ottimino is a cooperation between BradAlper and BillKnuttle. I believe Brad now does the farming of that vnyd. Deloach also gets vonWeidlich Zin grapes but I've never tasted that wine. I would love to see some of those grapes go to MikeOfficer and Morgan Twain-Peterson.

TomHill

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