During my jaunt back to KansasCity, I tried these two wines:
- B de E Bodega de Edgar Albarino CentralCoast (14.1%; 230 cs; www.BodegaDeEdgar.com) EdgarTorres/Cambria 2012: Light gold color; quite perfumey/fragrant/floral/Albarino light stony/mineral/chalky lovely/aromatic nose; fairly tart rich/lush balanced very perfumed/fragrant/floral/Albarino light chalky/stony/mineral flavor; very long/lingering intensely floral/Albarino light stony/chalky rather tart but rich/lush balanced finish; a lovely expression of Albarino w/o the over-the-top/fat/porky character you get in some whites from Paso; one of the better Calif Albarinos I’ve had this year & eager to try it w/ the Abrente and the Drew. $18.00 (Gom)
- B de E Bodega de Edgar Tempranillo PasoRobles (14.8%; 250 cs) 2012: Very dark color; strong bright/cherry/black cherry/blackberry/Temp/cherry cola slight herbal/rosemary quite spicy light toasty/oak lovely perfumed nose; fairly tart/tangy some tannic/hard strong cherry/black cherry/Temp/black cherry cola slight herbal/rosemary light toasty/oak flavor w/ some hard/firm/angular tannins; very long black cherry/cola/cherry/Temp/bright slight earthy/dusty/herbal finish w/ some firm/structured tannins; needs at least several yrs; no alcoholic nor PR jammy/overripe character; some like the Verdad but more depth & structure & extract; really lovely rendition of Temp. $37.00 (UdW)
A wee BloodyPulpit:
- Edgar is one EdgarTorres. Started as a waiter in Paso and segued into a winemaker via the cellar rat route. I’d never heard of his wines before until I ran into them in KansasCity. RyanSciara at UnderDogWine urged me to try both of them. He’s gone thru a fair amount of it for a single customer. So, on Ryan’s rec, I gave them a shot. I was mightly impressed, another one of my real PasoRobles discoveries this year (Paix Sur Terre being the other one). Look forward to trying Edgar’s other wines.
- CellarRat, started by RyanSciara, has always been one of my “must stops” when I’m in KansasCity (Gomer’s Mid-Town being the other; Barry’s Tannin WineBar another). I’d heard rumors that he’d left CellarRat and was very disapointed. JimColey/Gomers confirmed that story and gave me directions to Ryan’s new UnderDogWines near 55’th & Main. It’s a much smaller wine shop from CellarRat but has that same impeccable selection, covering a range of prices & styles, that he had at his former digs. Alas…no Buratta at UnderDog. But definitely a wine shop worth checking out when in KC.
- PasoRobles: Paso has long been known for it’s Zinfandels. I followed 'em from the very start when I first tried IgnacePaderewski’s Zins, then the Eberle Zins. They have a pretty good track record w/ Cabernet as well. But most famous wine critics regard Paso as the center of the Rhone Universe in Calif (I don’t…but then I’m not a famous wine critic).
Many of the Paso Rhones (and Zinfandels) I (often) find a bit over-the-top, alcoholic, and on the very ripe/jammy side; oftentimes fat & porky (Tablas, of course, being the well-known exception). Obviously, a gross generalization.
However, over the last couple of years, I’ve been finding many of the Italian and Spanish varietals out of Paso are much more exciting and to my taste. Often lovely aromatics but a structure & balance that you don’t find that much from Paso Rhones.
As an unknown/non-famous/non-wine critic; I hearby (modestly) declare Paso as the Center of the Spanish/Italian Wine Universe in Calif. Those other TomHill lemmings, Parker & Laube, will meekly follow along in a few yrs, just as they did w/ SQN.
Tom
