Hello and welcome to my weekly dig through the pile of wine samples that show up asking to be tasted. I’m pleased to bring you the latest installment of Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better bottles that have crossed my doorstep recently.
This past week included a few nice white wines from around northern California. Let’s start with the single-vineyard Sauvignon Blanc from Merriam Vineyards, labeled as “Fumé Blanc,” with an intent to convey the Graves-style oak aging it receives. It has a nice dose of Semillon, however, which adds an extra dimension to the wine.
Speaking of Semillon, it’s pretty rare to see bottlings of the grape on its own in California, but Lopai Cellars has done just that, picking fruit from the well-known Vozelgang vineyard in Santa Barbara’s Happy Canyon. It’s nice enough but, unfortunately packaged in an environmentally unfriendly heavy bottle like most of this winery’s wines. I have about the same thing to say for the winery’s Cabernet Sauvignon, which I also tasted this week.
I’ll bang this drum as long as I need to: switching to lighter bottles is literally the easiest thing a winery can do to lower its carbon footprint while reducing long-term costs.
I’ve got a couple more wines to recommend from Eden Rift this week, including their positively thrilling “Reserve” Chardonnay as well as their lean and juicy “Terraces” Pinot Noir. Everything this winery is doing seems to point toward increasing quality for their wines.
Staying in the Chardonnay genre for a moment, Tolosa Winery offered two different interpretations of the grape this week. Their standard Estate Chardonnay should not be overlooked for its vibrant crystalline qualities. I actually preferred it to their single-vineyard “Poletti” wine from Edna Ranch which just had too much signature of barrel fermentation and battonage for my taste, though if you like your Chardonnay in a richer style, it might be for you.
Lastly, I’ve got the last two wines from the Brigaldara portfolio that was recently sent to me, both of them Amarone de Valpolicella. If you like the rich dried fruit and higher alcohol profile of Amarone, you’ll appreciate both of these wines. The Riserva is aging nicely and seems to retain more acidity than the Case Vecie bottling.
Notes on all these below.
Tasting Notes
2022 Merriam Vineyards “Fumé Blanc – Danielle’s Estate” Sauvignon Blanc, Russian River Valley, Sonoma, California
Pale gold in the glass, this wine smells of lemon juice and passionfruit. In the mouth, bright lemon and passionfruit flavors are juicy thanks to excellent acidity. Notes of vanilla and toasted nuts emerge on the finish. Includes 10% Semillon. Aged for 12 months in 35% new French oak. 175 cases made. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $42. click to buy.
2021 Lopai Cellars “Vogelzang Vineyard” Sémillon, Happy Canyon, Santa Barbara, California
Light greenish gold in color, this wine smells of lemon and struck match. In the mouth, flavors of lemon and lemon oil mix with a hint of resin and dried herbs. Decent acidity, though I wish there were more. Sweet oak dominates the finish. 13.8% alcohol. 72 cases made. Comes in an unnecessarily heavy bottle weighing 1.54 kg when full. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $55. click to buy.
2021 Eden Rift “Reserve” Chardonnay, Cienega Valley, Central Coast, California
Pale yellow gold in the glass, this wine smells of struck flint, lemon oil, and lemon pith. in the mouth, wonderfully bright flavors of lemon oil, verbena, lemon pith, and pink grapefruit have a resinous herbal tinge and slight salinity this is very compelling. Excellent acidity and a light chalky texture linger with that resinous quality in the finish. Delicious. Whole-cluster pressed, barrel fermented, and aged in 31% new French oak. 15 months of aging. Fined with bentonite and sterile filtered before bottling. 13.9% alcohol. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost:…
Source : https://www.vinography.com/2024/07/vinography-unboxed-week-of-7-21-24
