Community Tasting Notes 2

• forceberry wrote: 81 points

  April 30, 2022 - A field blend of Timorasso, Verdea, Bosco, Welschriesling and Chasselas from a biodynamically farmed 90 years old vineyard. Fermented spontaneously with indigenous yeasts, macerated with the skins in oak casks using submerged cap technique over a period of 9 months. Racked off the skins and aged on the lees for a further 2 months. Bottled without filtration or any added sulfites. 13,5% alcohol.
  
  Luminous, clear amber color. Sweet, waxy and rather volatile nose with aromas of Play-Doh and and medicinal ether, some honeyed tones, a little bit of honeydew melon, light bruised apple notes, a hint of paint thinner and a touch of Oolong tea. The wine feels volatile, somewhat oily and moderately natty on the palate with a quite full body and rather wild flavors of honeydew melon and freshly pressed apple juice, some lifted notes of nail polish and acetic VA, a little bit of exotic spice, light spicy notes of phenolic bitterness, a hint of bretty funk and a touch of Sultana raisins. The wine is moderately high in acidity with gentle, textural tannins that slowly grow in grip. The finish is dry, gently grippy and quite lively with rather natty flavors of acetic VA, some honeydew melon, a little bit of apple peel bitterness, light spicy phenolic nuances, a hint of oolong tea and a touch of nail polish. The elevated level of VA makes the wine end on a somewhat rough, vinegary note.
  
  Just like the previous bottle of this wine, this was just way too volatile for me. I suppose there's a nice and textural orange wine underneath, but the wine is so heavily volatile that it is hard to get a full picture how the wine is when it just smells of ether and nail polish and tastes like vinegar with tea and honey. I have a hunch this wine would've been noticeably better if the winery had just used a little bit of SO2 during the winemaking - now the completely hands-off winemaking has resulted in a wine that is interesting, but despite being drinkable, not particularly enjoyable. Feels somewhat overpriced for the quality at 23€.

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• forceberry wrote: 82 points

  January 25, 2020 - A field blend of Timorasso, Verdea, Bosco, Welschriesling and Chasselas from a biodynamically farmed 90 years old vineyard. Fermented spontaneously with indigenous yeasts, macerated with the skins in oak casks using submerged cap technique over a period of 9 months. Racked off the skins and aged on the lees for a further 2 months. Bottled without filtration or any added sulfites. 13,5% alcohol.
  
  Luminous, clear reddish bronze color. Very wild, noticeably bretty and quite volatile nose with aromas of orange marmalade, some acetic notes of balsamico, light bruised apple tones, a little bit of nail polish, a hint of oolong tea and a touch of bretty funk. The wine is full-bodied, ripe and oily on the palate with dry yet subtly sweet-toned flavors of golden raisins, some volatile notes of nail polish and medicinal ether character, a little bit of acetic roughness, light resinous phenolic tones, a hint of oolong tea and a funky touch of bretty leather. The overall feel is firm and quite structured with the moderately high acidity and textural, gently grippy tannins, but the wine is somewhat lacking in freshness. The finish is rich, funky and quite volatile with intense flavors of sweet balsamic VA, some raisiny tones, a little bit of acetic roughness, light honeyed richness, a funky, barnyardy hint of pu'erh tea and a resinous touch of phenolic spice. The tannins make the wine end on a subtly grippy note.
  
  An interesting orange wine that unfortunately fails to fully deliver. I really don't have any problems with the rather prominent bretty funk, but the elevated levels of volatile acidity here are just too much for me. The nose itself is heavily volatile with quite pronounced nail polish lift and the most of the taste gets quite overrun by the sweet, somewhat medicinal flavors of VA and honestly somewhat vinegary acetic roughness that only grows in intensity in throat. There's a lovely, balanced and textural wine underneath all the VA with impressive depth of flavor, but it's just impossible to appreciate it due to the obfuscating acetic character. Such a shame. I certainly hope that the other vintages aren't as acetic as this was. Perhaps a bit pricey for the style at 23€.

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Wine Definition

• Vintage 2015
• Type Orange
• Producer Cascina Degli Ulivi
• Varietal White Blend
• Designation A Demûa
• Vineyard n/a
• Country Italy
• Region Piedmont
• SubRegion Monferrato
• Appellation Monferrato

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• Pending Delivery 0 (0%)
• In Cellars 6 (60%)
• Consumed 4 (40%)

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