18 May 2006

TN: Singing rat

Casa Vinicola “Tayerle” 2005 Vermentino “Troubadour Blanc” (Sonoma Coast) – Kiwifruit and grass, with a touch of Midori liqueur and a lot of fresh, briny and somewhat sticky textural elements. Decent acidity. Ever so slightly heavy, but a rather remarkable achievement in California vermentino.

Vermentino is grown around Italy – Liguria and Tuscany have noteworthy plantings – but the vermentino most people know is from Sardinia; a full-bodied, flavorful companion to lusty fish preparations. (There’s also a Corsican form – in fact, it’s the #1 white grape on Corsica – that’s just one Kermit Lynch-imported wine away from utterly unknown in the States.) This wine was a recommendation by Steve Edmunds of Edmunds St. John, who’s experimenting with his own plantings. Based on these and other results (a lower-key offering from Uvaggio) there’s potential in California for this overlooked grape. Alcohol: 13.2%. Closure: extruded synthetic. Web: http://www.casavinicola.net/.

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