TN: Four Natural & Skin-Contact Whites...(short/boring)

WINE TALK
1

Tried these 4 over the last couple of days:

  1. Forlorn-Hope GemischterSatz MokelumneGlenVnyd/Lodi WW (77 cs; 12.83%; www.ForlornHopeWines.com) 2015: Light gold somewhat hazy color; rather strong phenolic/resiny/skin-contact light floral/carnations/appley/apple blossom/orangey bit saline/savory slight stony some complex nose; quite tart/tangy strong phenolic/resiny/skin-contact/bit cidery light floral/carnations bit earthy/stony rather lean/severe/savory/saline bit complex flavor; very long quite tart/tangy/severe/savory/saline strong phenolic/resiny/skin-contact slight floral/carnations/appley finish; interesting nose but dominated by the phenolic character on the palate; not much fun to taste on its own but much better w/ food.
  1. DreiFreunde 2Naturkinder Deutscher Landwein (11%; 25% Silvaner/50% Bacchus/25% Muller-Thurgau; www.2NaturKinder.De; 1 week skin-contact; Jenny&Francois Slctns) Melanie Drese and Michael Völker/Franconia 2017: Med.gold quite hazy/cloudy color; slight funky/toe jam some floral/carnations/grapey bit earthy/mucilage/natty interesting/strange nose w/ slight resiny/phenolic content; quite tart/tangy/grapefruity some phenolic/resiny/natty light grapey/floral/carnations slight earthy/chalky bit funky/toe jam bit strange flavor; long some phenolic/resiny light grapey/floral some funky/toe-jam/natty/earthy quite tart/tangy/savory finish; a rather interesting rather skin-contact/phenolic low-fruit quite natty wine; not altogether pleasurable because of the natty/phenolic character but not altogether unpleasant either; goes fine w/ the weenies & kraut. $22.00 (UD)
  1. Vignobles Simian Jeu de Rolle Vin de France White Rhone Wine (12.5%; Demeter certified; Jenny&Francois Slctns; EB; www.Chateau-Simian.Fr; Certified BioDynamic) Chateau Simian/Piolenc 2018: Light gold color w/ lots of bubbles that dissapate; very fragrant Vermentino/floral/gardenias/spicy slight earthy quite lovely nose; rather tart/tangy/metallic very strong floral/gardenias/Vermen light earthy quite clean/fragrant very pretty flavor; very long fairly tart/tangy very floral/Vermen/gardenias slight earthy finish; a bit on the light side but quite pretty/clean/floral; reminds a lot of a Tuscan Vermentino; very fairly priuced at $15.00 (UD)
  1. UnionSacre Belle de Nuit GWT RiboliVnyd/SantaLuciaHighlands/Monterey/CentralCoast (12.7%; 1350 cs; 12 hrs skin-contact) XavierArnaudin/France & PhilipMuzzy/Michigan TinCity/PasoRobles 2018: Light gold/pink color; strong GWT/lychee/spicy/slight hair oil very slight resiny/phenolic quite interesting/attractive nose; lightly tart/tangy/metallic dry some GWT/lychee/spicy very light phenolic/skin-contact light earthy/metallic flavor; long light GWT/lychee/spicy slight phenolic/skin-contact bit quiet finish; an altogether pleasant/quiet GWT but just that; reminds some of mid-range Sudtirol GWT. $15.00 (UD)

A wee BloodyPulpit:

  1. Three of these wines I found at RyanSciara’s UnderDog Wine in KansasCity last weekend in his “natural” section. I’d heard there were some experiments w/ skin-contact whites in Germany, but this was the first one I’d tried. It was not altogether unpleasurable and the kind of wine that stretches your mind; which is oftentimes worth doing.
    Tom
2

This is the first time I’ve seen “natty” as an adjective in your wine notes, Tom – care to give a definition?

3

Sure, Larry. But not a precise definition that would meet your standards of excellence.
“Natty” is like “phenolic”…comes from “natural”…it describes a certain identifiable funky character, a bit unclean, a bit mousey, character that
I sometimes (not always) get in “natural” wines. It’s not an original term from me, but one that is often used in the “natural” wine community.
I’ve been using it for over a yr now.
Tom