Orange Sunshine (skin-fermented white wines)
La Ciccia, San Francisco
Tasted Thursday, July 30, 2009 by 5laton with 2,275 views
Introduction
Introduction
I organized this tasting for the Wine Disorder board as a smaller, west coast version of Levi Dalton's nearly-comprehensive "orange wine" event in NYC, which took place on the previous evening. New York Times wine writer Eric Asimov and Thor Iverson have both blogged about the NYC tasting.
All wines were tasted blind, although I personally knew which wines were in each flight. I tried to put the most structured, tannic wines in the second flight, but in retrospect I'd have swapped the Lunar and Ageno. While Ageno is the most tannic of all of these wines, stylistically (not to mention geographically) the Lunar more closely resembles the Friulano wines in the second flight.
For additional notes on our San Francisco tasting, Joe Manekin has blogged about it, and Richard Jennings has posted his own writeup on CellarTracker.
Flight 1 - 1st flight (6 Notes)
Flight 2 - 2nd flight (6 Notes)
Closing
Postscript
Many thanks to Jim Cowan and Kevin Kelley for their generous donations of wine samples.
While I appreciated the opportunity to taste many of these alongside each other, I think the exercise was of somewhat limited utility. Given the dramatic evolution most of these wines exhibit over many hours, I simply don't think they are great candidates for this kind of comparative tasting.
A few of the wines really stood out for me, however, and I'd love to have the opportunity to drink them again - preferably alone next time: '02 Radikon Ribolla Gialla, '05 Movia Lunar, and '06 Paolo Bea Santa Chiara.
I really needed more time with the '07 Rusticum and '04 Vodopivec Vitovska. I found these difficult to assess, even with an hour plus per flight.
The '08 Cowan Cellars sauvignon blanc, '08 NPA chardonnay, and '00 Zidarich Vitovska may have been fermented on their skins but they were not orange, not in color nor style. This probably did them no favors in the context of an orange wine themed dinner and tasting; these wines would have been better-appreciated on their own. Live and learn.
-slaton
NV Frank Cornelissen MunJebel Bianco 3
Italy, Sicily, Sicilia
Very cloudy. Intense Gueze / Kombucha / cider vinegar character, but also some red wine personality. But just so very severe; even in an orange wine lineup this is furthest to left field. Can't imagine drinking this in a normal wine context, but I could see enjoying it in a similar vein to Isastegi Cidre: slightly chilled, on a hot summer evening. (tasted blind)
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2006 Paolo Bea Santa Chiara
Italy, Umbria
Frequently shifting aromas, at times floral and stone fruit, other tipes ripe mandarin and exotic spice. Nice rich mouthfeel, some caramel. Probably the most generous wine in the flight, but there's some really nice complexity here. Fascinating evolution in the glass as well. (tasted blind)
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2007 Monastero Suore Cistercensi Lazio Coenobium Rusticum
Italy, Latium, Lazio
Very distinctive, borderline strange nose, and a generous palate and mouthfeel, but trickier for me than the Santa Chiara. Seemed to want more attention than I could spare, and as organizer I just didn't have enough time with each wine. I was charmed initially but then found more to like in the Lunar and Santa Chiara. (tasted blind)
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2005 Movia Lunar 8.
Slovenia, Primorska, Goriška Brda
Somewhat cloudy. High acidity. Initially difficult, but man did this open up with time in the glass. Layers of flavors, and just great purity to the fruit. My favorite of the flight. (tasted blind)
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2008 Cowan Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Silver Pines Vineyard
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Mountain
Starbright, pale yellow color. Not at all oxidative or in the orange vein. Pear skin, spice aromas. Very young and green-fruited. The skin contact shows here as a very slightly tactile, very subtle tannin effect on the palate. Shows potential, but for me this was too young and tight to really enjoy at this time. (tasted blind, though obvious from appearance what it was.)
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2008 Natural Process Alliance Chardonnay "Skin Fermented" Sonoma Coast
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Almond, green and stone fruits, subtle spice cake, bright acidity but with a touch of richness. Nice core of concentration and intensity. Just a faint hint of kombucha, barely above threshold for me. Tasty but even as one of the more restrained wines here, I wonder what you would eat with this? (tasted blind)
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