TN: Three Whites @ Dinner...(short/boring)

WINE TALK
1

Had these three whites over the last two dinners:

  1. PuntaCrena Mataossu Vigneto Reine IGT: Colline Savonesi/Liguria (12.5%; Kermit-LynchImports; Plntd: 1930) Az.Agr. PuntaCrena/famiglia Ruffino/Savona/Liguria 2018: Med.light gold color; rather fragrant floral/carnations/spicy/perfumed talc light chalky/mineral slight apple/pear lovely fragrant nose; lightly tart/slight metallic rather floral/carnations/gardenias/spicy some mineral/perfumed talc/chalky fairly taut/wirey quite interesting flavor; very long/lingering rather floral/gardenias/carnations/spicy ligt chalky/perfumed talc totally dry finish; a lovely spicy/floral aromatic white w/ nice minerality; reminds a lot of Ligurian Pigato but a bit less aromatics & more chalky minerality; quite a pretty white. $30.00 (K-L)
  1. TerroirDrivenWines Quinta Essentia CheninBlanc Stellenbosch/Cape of Good Hope/SouthAfrica (14.0%; www.QuintaEssentiaWinery.com; Importer: BetzFamilyWines/Redmond; RS: 0.27 gm/100 mlDrk: 2017-2027-2032) Stellenbosch 2017: Med.light yellow color; clean/bright/crisp floral/pear/CB/slight herbal some mineral/chalky quite aromatic/perfumed rather dusty/OV lovely nose; very tart/tangy crisp/vibrant floral/apple/pear/CB bit spicy/thyme rather dusty/OV quite mineral/chalky/perfumed talc complex flavor; very long/lingering very tart/tangy/slight metallic strong CB/pear/apple/quince fairly mineral/chalky/perfumed talc rather dusty/mineral/OV some complex finish; a vibrant/wirey/crisp expression of OV CB w/ lots of minerality; pricey at $40.00 (KK)
  1. Unico Zelo Esoterico AmberWine Riverland & ClareVlly (12.5%; Fiano/Zibbibo/MoscatoGiallo/GWT/Greco; Epicurean Wines/Seattle) Brendan & Laura 2020: Med.gold color w/ some bubbles; rather cloudy/murky color; strong resiny/quite cidery/phenolic/ViniMacerati very light floral/muscatty/fragrant/aromatic bit earthy/loamy nose; very tart/tangy/metallic very strong VM/cidery/phenolic lightly floral/muscatty slight metallic/orangey/earthy bit austere/tannic flavor; very long/lingering rather VM/cidery/resiny/phenolic very light floral/muscatty fairly earthy/coarse finish; pretty much dominated by the cidery/VM character & not particularly attractive on the palate; needs more age; a natural wine but no particular natty character; an interesting amber wine. $20.00 (KK)

A wee BloodyPulpit:

  1. Mataossu: This is a native grape in Liguria that was rescued from extinction by the Ruffino family. A synonym for the Lumassina grape.
  1. OldVines White: I think I’m starting to get a handle on what OV whites taste like. This CB had a chalky minerality that I find in the Bedrock WirzVnyd R and the Bedrock MonteRosso Semillon. It’s not the dusty character I get in OV Zin, but a bit similiar. Doubt that I could recognize OV White character blind, though.
  1. Esoterico: I liked this wine a lot more than I expected to. It’s a natural wine, so I was expecting a lot of natty/unclean character. It was not there. But it was dominated by the cidery/resiny character that was not particularly attractive.
    Tom