We tried last night (8/8/12) Some New Wines:
1.
Donkey&Goat Chard Lily'sCuvee AndersonVlly SparklingWine (U; 12.5%) 2011: Med.gold color; rather
yeasty/leesy/toasty/pungent bit earthy/herbal/appley/Chard slight melony quite interesting nose;
very dry/austere earthy/appley/Chard somewhat leesy/yeasty/cheesy flavor w/ only a slight
effervescence; med.long leesy/cheesy/yeasty some earthy/appley/herbal/Chard quite dry/austere
slightly bitter finish; a very dry/austere unusual sparkler. $nc (T&JB)
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2.
Movia Puro Rose Natural Dry Sparkling Wine (EB; 12.5%; 100% PinotNoir) AlexKristancic/Dobrovo/
Slovenia 2004: Lovely orange/pink/peach somewhat cloudy color; slight yeasty rather fragrant
tropical fruit/bubble gum complex/unusual nose; rather phenolic/bitter fairly spritzy watermelon/
cranberry somewhat leesy/cheesy/yeasty delicate pretty flavor; long some phenolic/bitter quite
juicy/watermelon/cranberry/bubble gum/tropical fruit leesy/yeasty finish; quite a pretty/delicate
and very interesting sparkler. $47.00 (Gom/MT)
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3.
Ferraton LesMandouls AC: Condrieu (13.5%; www.IAWines.com) 2009: Light gold color; very attractive
strong peach/pear/Viog rather minerally/smokey classic Condrieu nose; fairly tart rich/lush ripe
peach/pear/Viog glycerined structured rather mineral quite complex classic Condrieu flavor; very
long/lingering ripe peach/pear/Viog rich/glycerined fairly mineral/smokey rich/powerful
beautiful complex finish; a rich/powerful classic Condrieu; one of the best I've had in a number
of yrs; very fair price at $48.00 (Gom/MT)
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4.
FamillePeillot Mondeuse AC: Bugey (MeBalP; 12%) Montagnieu 2010: Med.color; strong earthy/mineral/
graphite strong blueberry/blackberry/smokey classic SavoieMondeuse nose; quite tart/lean rather
tannic earthy/mineral strong blackberry/blueberry/Mondeuse austere flavor; very long rather hard/
tannic strong blueberry/Mondeuse/smokey finish; needs age; some slight high-toned Mondeuse fruit
but fairle classic earthy/rustic Savoie Mondeuse. $28.00 (Gom/MT)
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5.
Nalle CuisineCinque DryCreekVlly/SonomaCnty (13.2%; 85% co-frmtd Syrah/Mourv/Durif,
10% Zin, 5% Semillon; KitchenSink FoodWine; 115 cs; www.NalleWinery.com) 2005: Med.dark color;
rather strong toasty/vanilla/oak some bretty fairly blackberry/blueberry/spicy/Syrah classic
Nalle nose; fairly tart rather lean/tannic blackberry/Zin-like slight bretty strong toasty/oak
flavor; long rather hard/tannic strong toasty/vanilla/oak some blackberry/raspberry/Zin-like
finish; speaks strongly of Nalle Zin than Syrah; unusually hard/tannic for a Nalle; interesting
wine but a bit pricey. $45.00
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6.
Odonata PetiteSirah MachadoCreekVnyd/SantaClaraCnty (14.5%) 2009: Very dark/black color;
beautiful/fragrant blueberry/blackberry/boysenberry/licorice/PS light toasty/oak slight herbal/
earthy nose w/ lovely aromatics almost like a SCM Zin; fairly tart beautiful lush/blackberry/
blueberry/spicy/PS/licorice slight alcoholic some spicy/peppery some toasty/oak flavor w/ modest
tannins; very long aromatic/perfumed lush blackberry/blueberry/PS/licorice/spicy some toasty/oak
slightly tannic finish; terrific aromatics not usually found in a PS; reminds me some of the
DavidBruce Estate PS's of yore. Very fairly priced at $28.00 (CB)
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7.
Odonata Syrah ZayanteVnyd/SantaCruzMtns (14.5%; www.OdonataWines.com) SantaCruz 2009: Very dark color;
very strong blueberry/blackberry/Syrah light earthy/peppery/Rhonish/pungent/licorice lovely aromatic
nose; strong fairly tannic blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah rather peppery/pungent some toasty/oak quite
spicy slight earthy/roasted/Rhonish flavor; rather long spicy/peppery blackberry/blueberry/Syrah light
toasty/oak slight licorice/pungent/roasted finsh w/ ample tannins; needs 2-6 yrs; much like the BigBasin
Syrahs but a bit less Rhonish and more aromatics; wonderful Syrah at a great price. $28.00 (CB)
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8.
LesPiliers Syrah AOC: Costieres de Nimes (14%) M./R. Gassier/Caissargues 2007: Very dark/black color;
very strong roasted/espresso/pungent/smoky rather blackberry/Syrah slight bretty/unclean rather Northern
Rhone lovely nose; rather bretty/unclean some roasted/espresso/NR bit tart strong blackberry/Syrah flavor
w/ some tannins; ned.long some roasted/NR/espresso/pungent fairly bretty/unclean fairly strong blackberry/
Syrah finish w/ some rough/coarse tannins; very attractive NorthernRhone character but a bit too unclean/
bretty on the palate for my taste; attractively priced at $14.60 (Gom/MT)
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9.
Power to the People Syrah SantaBarbaraCnty (Kosher; 40% Syrah ThompsonVnyd/ 50% Syrah
co-frmtd w/ 2% Viognier/McGinleyVnyd; 15%; www.ShirahWine.com) ShirahWineCo/AguaDulce
2009: Very dark/black color; slight herbal/spicy/peppery intense blackberry/Syrah/blueberrry light toasty/
oak some cool-climate/peppery/spicy lovely aromatic nose; soft rather structured/tannic intense blackberry/Syrah/
boysenberry some cool-climate/peppery light toasty/oak quite aromatic flavor; very long/lingering intense Syrah/
blackberry/boysenberry/spicy some peppery/spicy light toasty/charred/oak finish w/ ample tannins; needs 4-10
yrs of age; a very/very good classic SBC Syrah w/ classic Thompson peppery. $nc (GabrielWeiss)/$60.00
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10.
Darby PetiteSirah StonetreeVnyd/WahlukeSlope (15.6%; www.DarbyWinery.com) 2010: Very dark/black color; intense
blackberry/blueberry/boysenberry/Syrah some toasty/charred/Am.oak/vanilla some peppery/cold-climate quite
attractive nose; intense blackberry/boysenberry/ripe/Syrah-like light earthy/peppery/cold-climate fairly strong
toasty/charred/vanilla/oak slightly soft/soupy flavor w/ soft tannins; long intense blackberry/blueberry/Syrah-
like strong toasty/charred/vanilla/oak soft/earthy finish w/ strong/soft tannins; needs some 2-8 yrs; has that
classic WashState/earthy character w/ an intensity of fruit rare for PS; fairly priced at $35.00 (vSC)
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And the usual BloodyPulpit:
1. Both of these wines were non-disgorged. Which means you had to do the degorging yourself...
not an easy task unless you've experienced. Both were loaded w/ a ton of very fine sediment.
I stood the D&G upside down as Tracey recommended, but it was starting to leak around the crown
cap; so I stood it upright and didn't disgorge. It may have lost a bit of CO2 because of the
slight leak. There was a big wad of brown sediment stuck on the neck and inside of the crown
cap w/ the texture of duck liver pate or nuggets I used to find in my daughter's diapers. It
tasted a bit leesy/yeasty/grapey.
The Puro was also stood upright and not disgorged. It had a champagne-like cork locked on
w/ a narrow metal strap. When I pried the strap off, the cork hit the ceiling and sprayed wine
all over the sink & wall, losing about 1/3'rd the btl's contents. Since both were only poured for
5 people, most of the sediment stayed behind in the D&G. Not so for the Puro and the pours were
pretty cloudy.
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2. Odonata: This is Denis Hoey, from Sacramento. Makes his wine over in SantaCruz. I'd never heard of
them before and stumbled across these two when I was in DarrellCorti's back in June. I was mightly
impressed with both of them. A new wnry I'll have to keep my eye upon.
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3. PttP Syrah: This is a wine made by Shimon & Gabriel Weiss up at AguaDulceWnry in the SierraPelonaVlly,
midway between SantaClarita & Lancaster in northern LACnty. Not heard of this wnry before (AguaDolce).
Gabriel had noticed on WLDG that I tasted some ("insane amount" was his term) SantaBarbaraCnty Syrahs
and sent me a btl of this unreleased '09 Syrah to try. It is made to Kosher standards. The grapes come
from first-rate vnyds in SBC.
The wine reminded me a bit of the early SQN Syrahs w/ toned-down oak; a bit of the Jaffurs Syrahs
w/ more tannins and structure. The label is a rather strange label w/ a kind of velvet-like surface and
a bit hard to read. This is clearly a high-end Syrah and priced accordingly and not out of line on the
price, given its quality.
Tom