2013 Birichino Malvasia Bianca

Community Tasting Notes (7) Avg Score: 85.1 points

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  4/23/2016 - t_moderne wrote: 88 Points

  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.

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  8/27/2015 - budh wrote: 80 Points

  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.

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  7/15/2015 - Lilja wrote: 84 Points

  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.

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  5/30/2015 - gregg g wrote:

  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.

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  4/13/2015 - RajivAyyangar wrote: 80 Points

  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.

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