TN: Some Wines @ Steve's....(long/boring)

We tried a few wines at SteveCostigan’s last night:

  1. Idlewild Cortese LostHillsRanch/MendoCnty (12.1%) 2019: Light gold color; rather stony/chalky/earthy classic Cortese some floral/Cortese/apple/quince lightly spicy lovely fragrant nose; bit soft some tangy/metallic some stony/chalky bit metallic/steely very light floral/Cortese/quince flavor; med.long bit soft some chalky/mineral/stony/perfumed talc lightly floral/Cortese finish; no signs of VM/skin-contact character that I can pick up; a wine that I suspect will put on weight & be a lot better in a yr or two; quite a pleasant expression of Cortese. $35.00

  1. Casale del Giglio Bellone Bianco IGT: Lazio (13.5%; CavatappiImprts/Seattle; www.CasaleDelGiglio.It) Paolo Tiefenthaler/Aprilla 2019: Light yellow/gold color; lovely fragrant/perfumed floral/R-like/pineapple/mango slight spicy/cardamon very slight earthy beautifully fragrant nose; lightly tart/tangy/metallic very floral/R-like/pineapple light earthy/chalky bit spicy/cardamon bright/vibrant beautiful flavor; very long/lingering bright/perfumed somewhat rich very floral/R-like/pineapple finish; a beautifully perfumed/fragrant white that resembles some an Austrian R or GV; much more character than you usually find in Lazio whites. $28.00 (vSC)

  1. Cavatappi Maddalena Nebbiolo RedWillowVnyd/ColumbiaVlly/WA (14.5%) Peter Dow/WallaWalla 2017: Med.light color; very classic Nebb/floral/lilacs/violets slight tarry/pungent/truffly somewhat complex bit earthy lovely Nebb nose; some tart/tangy bit tannic rather floral/Nebb/lilacs/violets lightly pungent/tarry/road tar/truffles some complex flavor w/ modest tangy tannins; very long/lingering classic Nebb/floral/lilacs/violets bit earthy/truffly slight pungent/road tar fairly textured some complex finish w/ modest bitey tannins; a very classic example of Nebb but not as tannic/hard/fierce as most B/B; a lovely expression of Nebb; a steal at $15.00 (vSC)

  1. Two Vintners Zin StonetreeVnyd/WahlukeSlope (16.5%; 700 cs) Maltby/WA 2018: Very dark color; quite strong blackberry/Zin/ripe/boysenberry rather alcoholic/fumey bit toasty/oak nose; rather soft/high-pH fairly rich/lush some alcoholic/fumey strong blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/very ripe bit spicy light earthy some toasty/oak flavor w/ modest ripe tannins; long rather alcoholic/fumey very ripe/blackberry/boysenberry/Zin rather alcoholic/fumey finish w/ some ripe tannins; reminds a lot of very ripe Paso Zins but not as jammy, a bit of the old Rosenblum SamselReserve Zins; a pretty tasty Zin but a bit on the overripe side. $28.00 (vSC)

  1. V.Sattui Reserve Merlot NapaVlly (Reserve Stock; #0821-of 1380 btls; 14.9%) St.Helena 2014: Very dark/near black color; rather ripe/Cab-like/blackcurranty/chocolaty rather toasty/oak fairly intense some fragrant nose; soft intense blackcurranty/Cab-like/cassis strong toasty/oak slight earthy very strong Merlot/plummy flavor w/ modest ripe tannins; very long strong cassis/blackcurranty/plummy/Merlot fairly toasty/oak rather soft/lush/textured finish w/ light ripe tannins; a bit on the soft/unstructured side but huge rich Merlot/plummy fruit. Sarah’s mystery wine gifted her by a friend.

  1. Darby Mourvedre ColumbiaVlly (14.9%) Woodinville 2012: Very dark/near black color w/ no bricking; some earthy/loamy very strong plummy/Mourv/blackberry/licorice quite perfumed some toasty/oak lovely big fruit nose; soft some earthy/loamy strong Mourv/plummy/blackberry/boysenberry/licorice/chocolaty some toasty/oak flavor w/ some soft tannins; very long/lingering very strong plummy/Mourv/blackberry/licorice/bit chocolaty some earthy/loamy finish w/ modest soft/ripe tannins; not showing much complexity/evolution you’d expect of a 9 yr old Mourv; reminds some of Evanghelo Mourv but a bit more structured; still can go another 5 yrs or so. $(vSC)

A wee BloodyPulpit:

  1. Idlewild: I’ve loved the past Idlewild Cortese from the FoxHillVnyd. The rows are East/West, so the grapes on the south-facing side receive more sunlight & develop more phenolics. He harvests the south-facing grapes separately and makes a ViniMacerati/skin-contact wine. The less-ripe north-facing grapes are then harvested and made direct-to-press. A blend is then made of the two wines.
    This wine, IMHO, has been a world-class Cortese. Yet distinctly different from the Piemonte Corteses. The slight phenolic/VM character that you don’t find in Piemontese version makes for a very interesting wine and one that ages into something quite interesting.
    Sam says that the LostHills Cortese is made by the same technique. But, because of the differing sun exposure from FoxHill, a less-dominate sun side, the wine shows no VM character that I could pick up. It, to me, showed a much stronger resemblance to Piemontese Cortese. But it is quite a pretty expression of Cortese that I suspect will get a lot better. This btl we had last night was right off the boat, so it may have been suffering from the trip out.

  1. Bellone: This is an ancient grape variety cultivated in Lazio near the village of Rome. It is allegedly the grape used by Pliny the Elder in his Falerium wine. Alas, I’ve lost my TN’s on his wines. The grape is usually found in blends and not often made as a varietal.
    This was my first experience w/ Bellone. I was pretty much blown away by the wine. Much more perfume & fragrance than you usually find from Lazio.
    Berardino Santarelli has planted a lot of non-traditional varieties in the area & I’d love to try more of his wines. ​

  1. Steve got two of these wines from FullPull in Seattle. Their blurb:

  1. Cavatappi: This is primarily a wine importing operation under the Precept Wines brand. It was originally the brand name for the Nebbiolo that Peter Dow made for his CafeJuanita restaurant in Kirkland. When I first tasted his Nebb way back when, I made an appt to visit Peter in his cellar in the basement of the restaurant. I believe Peter is still alive but no longer owns tthe CafeJuanita restaurant and focuses on making his Nebb. When we’ve served his Nebb in the NEB events, it has always been one of the standouts.

Tom

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