1. Ryme Vermentino LasBrisasVnyd/Carneros ("His"; 14.2%) 2010: Med.dark gold bit orangey color; some floral/fragrant/Vermentino some savory/piney/phenolic/cidery/resiny bit dusty/earthy/mineral/spicy slight honeyed/orangey fairly complex nose; bit tart light floral/fragrant/Vermentino smooth/lush tangy some phenolic/resiny/savory light mineral/earthy flavors w/ modest/tangy tannins; very long lightly phenolic/savory/resiny some lush/honeyed light floral/Vermentino/perfumed/orangey light earthy/mineral/tangy finish w/ light/bitey tannins; quite an interesting rendition of Calif Vermentino; really developing into an interesting wine. $32.00
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Ryme is, of course, Ryan & Megan Glaab. Followed 'em from the very start, I did. Each year they make a Vermentino from FrankMahoney's LasBrisas vnyd in Carneros...probably one of the coldest Vermentino vnyds in the world. The "Hers" is made by conventional SS fermentation. The "His" is made as a skin-contact white, then raised to maturity under reductive conditions. So not an orange wine made w/ oxidative conditions. From my TN's of Nov '11:
Ryme Vermentino LasBrisasVnyd/Carneros (His; 14.2%; www.RymeCellars.com) 2010: Med.gold slight cloudy color; rather
earthy/dusty bit orangey/orange peel/orange muscat/green olive slight oxidized quite complex nose; fairly rich/lush
rather tart earthy/dusty bit tannic/bitter some orange peel/green olive quite savory very interesting flavor; very
long rather tart/saline/savory slighht floral/sunflower earthy/dusty light orange peel/green olive finish; not your
usual rendition of Vermentino; lots of savory character and not for everybody. $32.00
I've been trying a lot of the skin-contact whites from Calif over the last 4-5 yrs. They can sometimes be sorta odd-ducks. They oftentimes have this tangy/phenolic character and be downright tannic on the palate...depending upon the degree/length of skin contact. They should be served at a warmer temperature than most white wines. They can often not be very pleasurable to taste on their own and really need some food to accompany them.
The one thing that I've been curious about is how this genre is going to age. The tannin content would suggest that they might age into something pretty interesting.
So..when I spied this "His" that I hadn't tried in 3 yrs, I was curious as to where it was going. The answer is: "It's doing just fine, thank you". Back in '11, it really showed a lot of that saline/tangy/phenolic character, much like a fino sherry, and not much of a pleasure to taste. Three yrs later, it seems to be developing a lush/honeyed character, showing more Vermentino fruit, and becoming a pleasure to drink. I have no idea where it's going to go, but I suspect it'll be doing just fine in 6-10 yrs. Just a WAG, of course.
Tom
