Important Update From the Founder Read message >
White

2013 Birichino Malvasia Bianca

Malvasia Bianca

  • USA
  • California
  • Central Coast
  • Monterey
(Add Drinking Window)
CT85.1 11 reviews
2013
Label borrowed from 2014
2014
Label borrowed from 2014
2014
Label borrowed from 2015
2015
Label borrowed from 2015
2015
Label borrowed from 2016
2016
Label borrowed from 2016
2016
Label borrowed from 2010
2010
Label borrowed from 2017
2017
Label borrowed from 2017
2017
Label borrowed from 2017
2017
Label borrowed from 2018
2018
Label borrowed from 2008
2008
Label borrowed from 2019
2019
Label borrowed from 2019
2019
Label borrowed from 2019
2019
Label borrowed from 2019
2019
Label borrowed from 2021
2021
Label borrowed from 2021
2021
Label borrowed from 2021
2021
Label borrowed from 2021
2021
Label borrowed from 2022
2022

Community Tasting Notes 7

  • t_moderne wrote: 88 points

    April 23, 2016 - Twist and pour, chilled, and served with food (chicken satay, and Thai fried rice, in case you were wondering).
    Bright fruit, showing lychee, some pear and peach notes. Pairs well with the Thai food. Good acidity that helps carry the sweetness of the fruit. Enjoyable.

  • budh wrote: 80 points

    August 27, 2015 - Light lemon-green color. Aromas of honey, lime, orange blossom, pear, stone fruit, and something a bit chemically (if that's a word). A pretty disappointing palate - a bit flabby, with some herbal notes, pear, peach, orange-oil. Medium- acidity. Fairly short unmemorable finish. Nice nose, and good typicity, but nothing special.

  • Lilja wrote: 84 points

    July 15, 2015 - Not very impressed with this. As expected a very aromatic nose with lots of flowers, perfume, lavender, grape juice and peaches.

    Not completely dry with a medium(-) acidity, medium body, medium intensity and a medium finish.

    Fun nose, but lacks freshness and structure on the palate. Not much to expect at this price though.

    1 person found this helpful Comment
  • gregg g wrote:

    May 30, 2015 - Last time I had this wine, the 2011, was about 1.5 year ago. Floral, rose water aromatically. Somewhat heavy in the mouth with rich passion fruit flavors. Lacking the acidity and nervosity that I loved in the 2010. The wine manages to still appeal but not a rebuy.

  • RajivAyyangar wrote: 80 points

    April 13, 2015 - Monday night Blinds at Nopa 4 (with KF) (Nopa SF): Summary:
    This is pretty good in aromatics and really not bad in structure. My preference is for a bit more secondary aromatics and more structure, less sweetness.
    Score: For me - around 8.

    Visual
    clear, day-bright.
    pale straw with reflections of green and gold, medium minus concentration.
    No gas or sediment.
    Moderate viscosity.

    [slight RS - just a kiss of sweetness]

    Nose
    Moderate plus intensity, clean.
    Terpenes, ripe peach, lychees (in syrup).
    Grapefruit, hint of floral tones.
    Youthful.
    Low complexity.

    Palate
    Medium plus body.
    Medium plus alcohol.
    Again lychees (small, ripe), ripe peach.
    No evidence of oak
    Medium acid
    A hint of phenolic bitterness.
    Balanced,
    Low + complexity
    medium + finish.

    Initial conclusions
    Based on the alcohol and acidity and lack of non-fruit secondaries, this is a New World style wine from a moderate climate.

    Possible varietals are:
    Gewurztraminer (I’m leaning here because of the strong lychee terpenic element and structure.
    Pinot Gris (I’d expect less aromatics and more phenolic bitterness).
    Riesling (alcohol is too high, acid too low)
    Chenin Blanc (acid too low)

    Final Conclusion
    I think this is a Gewurztraminer, from Oregon, 2013 vintage.

    Actual
    Malvasia Bianca
    Monterey, CA
    Birichino
    2013
    $16

    "Our sixth vintage under our label, this marks the second consecutive year we have sourced Malvasia from the more focused, precise and rockier block a bit further west up against the Santa Lucia Mountains. Here, the soil is a little poorer, the aromatics a shade more finely wrought.” - Producer Website

    Discussion:
    I feel pretty decent about this - It was a new-world style, and I couldn’t find the structure or secondaries to send it to Old World or even borderline New/Old. This was as much a structure call as an aromatics call.

1 - 5 of 7 More notes

Pro Reviews 2

Add a Pro Review

Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews. Learn more.

Manage Subscriptions

Vinous

  • By Josh Raynolds
    Santa Lucia Highlands: New Releases (Aug 2015), 8/1/2015 (link)

    (Birichino Malvasia Bianca Central Coast) Subscribe to see review text.

Decanter

  • By Jon Bonné
    (link)

    (Birichino, Malvasia Bianca, Monterey County, California, USA, White) Subscribe to see review text.

Wine Definition

  • Vintage 2013
  • Type White
  • Producer Birichino
  • Varietal Malvasia Bianca
  • Designation n/a
  • Vineyard n/a
  • Country USA
  • Region California
  • SubRegion Central Coast
  • Appellation Monterey
  • UPC Code 086891073361

Community Holdings

  • Pending Delivery 0 (0%)
  • In Cellars 19 (16%)
  • Consumed 100 (84%)

Food Pairing

Community Recommendations

fruits de mer en sauce, mets asiatiques, pâtes au pesto

Who Likes This Wine

100% Like It  5 votes

More About This Wine

Articles

Report a Problem

Close
© 2003-24 CellarTracker! LLC.

Report a Problem

Close