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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 Reds - December 3, 2014

We tasted tonight (12/3/14) Some New Reds:

  1. Forlorn-Hope Valdiguie AlFredianiVnyd/NapaVlly (45 cs; 47 cs; 12.52%) 2012: Med.light color; very fragrant grapey/strawberr/Gamay-like/alpine strawberry some herbal/thyme very spicy quite dusty/OV very perfumey nose; bit tart very bright/alpine strawberries/Gamay-like bit herbal/thyme very spicy/perfumed flavor w/ very light tannins; long perfumed/fruity/alpine strawberries bit earthy/herbal/thyme/musky w/ light tannins; doesn't have the heft of a Gamay/Beauj; a bit like a Jura/Trousseau or an AltoAdige/Schiava; quite a pretty/drinkable red. $35.00
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  2. Idlewild Valdiguie EnzenauerVnyd/DryCreekVlly/SonomaCnty (12.5%; 75 yr old vines) 2013: Very light color; more earthy/Beauj-like spicy/strawberry/grapey lightly spicy/earthy rather fragrant/perfumed nose; bit tart some earthy/dusty/Beauj-like bright grapey/fruity/strawberry flavor w/ light tannins; long bright/Gamay-like/earthy/strawberry some Beauj-like finish w/ light/gentle tannins; a bit more heft & grapiness and more Beauj-like wine; quite an attractive/easy-drinking red at a very good price. $22.00
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  3. Harrington Carignane Lover'sLaneVnyd/MendoCnty (13.5%; Planted in the '30's; 31 cs) 2012: Med.color; rather dusty/OV light black cherry/Carig somewhat spicy fairly perfumed nose; rather tart/lean light black cherry/cherry/Carig bit coarse/rustic flavor w/ light/rough tannins; med.long fairly dusty/OV light cherry/black cherry/Carig/spicy some coarse/earthy/rustic finish w/ light/coarse tannins; some like a Languedoc Carignan w/o the hard tannins; pretty light on its feet red for a Carignan. $25.00
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  4. Harrington Carignane Lover'sLaneVnyd/MendoCnty (80 yr old vines; 14.1%) 2013: Med.dark color; much richer/riper strong black cherry/boysenberry/Carig quite spicy/fragrant nose; softer rich/lush/riper strong black cherry/ boysenberry/Carig quite spicy slight Mendo tomatoey/licorice flavor w/ light/soft tannins; very long quite spicy ripe/lush black cherry/black cherry cola/boysenberry slight Mendo tomatoey/licorice finish w/ soft/gentle tannins; reminds a bit of Ridge Buchignani w/o the oak hit, some of a Priorat Carignan; doesn't show the coarse/rustic side of Carignane; maybe you can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. $25.00
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  5. Idlewild Carignan TestaVnyd/MendoCnty (14.2%) 2013: Dark color; rather fragrant/perfumed quite spicy some cherry/black cherry/black cherry cola bright very attractive nose; fairly tart bright cherry/black cherry/Carig light toasty/oak some earthy/dusty/OV finish w/ light/gentle tannins; very long bright/cherry/ black cherry/Carig/very spicy light toasty/oak some earthy/dusty finish w/ some smooth tannins; a very nice rendition of Calif Carignane that avoids the coarse/rustic character of the grape. $32.00
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  6. Shardana IGT Valli di Porto Pino/Sardinia (Carignano; 13%) 1998: Dark color w/ some browning; rather earthy/dusty/OV fairly grapey/Carignan very ripe bit funky/hot-climate/goat-pen nose; soft rather coarse/ruustic/hot-climate/funky rather earthy/loamy little fruit flavor w/ light/gentle/coarse tannins; med.short earthy/dusty pretty rustic/coarse/funky/hot-climate finish w/ light/coarse tannins; a bit on the old/tired side but much better shape than I'd expect for 15 yr-old Carignane; quite coarse/rustic/earthy. $24.00 (LM)
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  7. BedrockWineCo Carignane BedrockVnyd/SonomaVlly/SonomaCnty (14.6%; Planted in 1888; 4 brls) 2012: Dark color; strong dusty/OV light vanilla/toasty/oak deeper black cherry/black cherry cola/Carig/boysenberry ripe/lush fairly intense lovely nose; soft rich/lush quite dusty/OV strong blackberry/black cherry/boysenberry/ripe light toasty/oak flavor w/ light/smooth tannins; very long/lingering black cherry/boysenberry/Carig/ripe strong toasty/oak quite spicy/dusty/OV structured finish w/ some smooth/round tannins; lots of deep black cherry character; speaks strongly of Bedrock OV style; deep/lush lovely Carig. $34.00
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  8. Toccata Barbera LosAlamosVnyd/SBC (14.5%) 2010: Med.light color; rather pleasant/Barbera/light spicy some fruity/simple/grapey/pleasant nose; soft light Barbera/spicy/cherry light earthy some fruity/grapey flavor w/ light/gentle tannins; med. pleasant spicy/cherry/Barbera/fruity slight earthy finish w/ light tannins; a pleasant/simple/fruit red but nothing more; a pretty low-impact Barbera. $29.00
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  9. Idlewild Barbera FoxHillVnyd/MendoCnty (14.4%) 2013: Very strong TCA/corked nose that permeates the flavor; pretty much destroyed this wine; too bad. $32.00
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  10. ElioAltare Larigi DOC: Langhe (Vines planted in 1948 in LaMorra; 3-4 days in rotary fermentors; 18 mo in new Fr.barrique; 100% Barbera; L.11-07-12; 14.5%) LaMorra 2010: Very dark/near black color; strong spicy/Barbera/Italian sausage bit herbal/peppery/menthol very strong toasty/charred/Fr.oak very International-style nose; soft very lush/ripe some Barbera/spicy/Italian sausage very plummy/fruity loads of toasty/charred/smokey/Fr.oak flavor w/ some soft/ripe tannins; very long some spicy/Barbera loads of charred/toasty/Fr.oak very ripe/plummy/lush finish w/ ample soft/ripe/smooth tannins; a Piemonte Barbera that's been transmorgified into a NapaVlly Cabernet; quite a tasty/ready-to-drink wine but speaks not of Piemonte Barbera; grossly overpriced at $92.00 (AV)
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  11. Toccata Dolcetto LosAlamosVnyd/SBC (13.5%) 2010: Med.light color; pleasant grapey/plummy/fruity simple nose w/ slight Dolcetto character; soft light/fruity/grapey bit plummy/licorice simple flavor w/ very little tannins; med. lightly fruity/grapey/plummy/licorice simple finish w/ little tannins; a rather vapid/innocuous fruity little red w/ no distinguishing characteristics. $19.00
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  12. Idlewild Dolcetto FoxHillVnyd/MendoCnty (12.1%) 2013: Med.light color; quite spicy/fragrant grapey/Dolcetto/plummy/slight licorice bit earthy fairly fragrant nose; slightly tart some earthy/loamy strong grapey/Dolcetto/fruity/light licorice flavor w/ light tannins; med.long grapey/fruity/ Dolcetto/ plummy/pomengranate light licorice/pungent finish w/ light/lean tannins; an attractive Calif red that speaks quietly of Dolcetto but not the heft or intensity of Piemontese Dolcettos. $30.00


And More Stuff from TheBloodyPulpit:

1. Valdiguie: What used to be known in Calif as NapaGamay. Makes wines rather similiar to Beaujolais/Gamay. Not a whole lot of real GamayBeaujolais a jus Blanc is planted in Calif. The NapaGamay was identified in Calif in 1980 by PierreGalet as the Fench Valdiguie, which is now the accepted name for the variety.
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2. Carignane: Appears to have originated in NE Spain as a spontaneous cross in a vnyd there. No known parents. Also known in Spain as Carinena and Mazuelo. The workhorse grape in Southern France as well as in Priorat.
I'm not a big fan of Calif Carig. It often has a tart/tannic character that suggests it might age well,
but seldom seems to do so. It often has a coarse/rough/rustic character compared w/ the more high-toned character of Zin. I particularly liked this Harrington ('13), Idlewild, and Bedrock rendition as they seemed to avoid the coarse side of Carignane.
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3. Toccata: The is the Lucas&Lewellen label for their Italian varietals. These two reds were very much on the simple/innocuous side and not strongly varietal. I think they do better w/ their whites.
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4. Dolcetto: Known as "little sweet" in Italy. Its origins are unknown but suspected to be in Dogliani, where most of the better Dolcettos hail from. It is often described as the Beaujolais of Italy. I fail to see that analogy. It is usually on the dark side in color. It can sometimes have pretty hard tannins. Beaujo it ain't. The first Calif Dolcetto was made by KentRasmussen. It came in this very ugly tall cobalt-blue btl...but was actually pretty delicious. It's a variety I'd like to see more of in Calif.

TomHill

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