Alder Yarrow

Wine Blogger Vinography

9.4

I admit to a deeply abiding love for Etna Rosso. I’ve rarely met a Nerello Mascalese I didn’t like. But like doesn’t begin to describe my affection, nay, obsession with the single contrada wines of Passopisciaro. Guardiola stole then show last night with its usual forest berries filtered through pulverized rock and the scented with herbs and flowers. — a month ago

Alder Yarrow

Wine Blogger Vinography

9.3

I say it’s the most beautiful vineyard in the world. But that wouldn’t mean nearly as much if the wines of @ripponvineyard weren’t as honest and soulful as they are. This wine (a press sample I’m nursing) is a baby yet, still waiting to unfold into its fullness. Nonetheless, it’s damn tasty in all of its raspberry, sour cherry, and pomegranate, green herbs and dried flowers brightness, with citrus peel in the finish. — 3 months ago

Alder Yarrow

Wine Blogger Vinography

9.3

Older Riesling, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Sunshine. Citrus oil. Honeysuckle. Asian pear. Wet pavement. Beeswax. Zip. Zing. Resonance. Deliciousness. — 3 months ago

Alder Yarrow

Wine Blogger Vinography

9.3

Decided I needed a little Savoie with my dinner, which led me easily to @domainedechevillardsavoie. Apples and baked apple aromas give way to a lemon pith and crushed stone that has some butterscotch emerging along with candied grapefruit. Fantastic acidity, of course. What was liquid stone in its youth is gaining some richness as it ages. So goes Jacquere in its middle age. — 2 months ago

Alder Yarrow

Wine Blogger Vinography

8.9

“It’s spring and the little goat-footed balloonMan whistles far and wee.” - ee cummings. Far and wee indeed, with crisp saline citrus brightness mellowing with age (this is 2018 vintage). This ain’t your mama’s Muscadet, but Melon de Bourgogne it is, indeed and quite ready to embrace your oysters if you care to share. But there’s also some luxurious lemon curd coming into play here that pleases the balloonMan. — 2 months ago

Alder Yarrow

Wine Blogger Vinography

8.5

I don’t really hide the fact that I adore the wines of @jolielaidewines, so I’m particularly excited when they come out with a new one. I opened my first bottle of their Freisa on Sunday night and was surprised at how serious a wine it is. I was expecting something light and playful but man does this little number have some GRIP to it, or what? The strawberry fruit you expect is there but layered with herbs, tea, and earth and tannin, er, I mean, TANNIN. Foot-stomped, whole-cluster indeed. It will be very interesting to see how this one ages. — 3 months ago

Alder Yarrow

Wine Blogger Vinography

9.3

Please ignore the mold on the label. Or, alternatively treasure it. As I do. Decided I wanted something nice to drink with dinner tonight, and this fit the bill nicely. Aromas of pine duff and dried apples give way to dried sour cherry, cedar, dried flowers and thyme. Beautifully silky and fantastic acid balance — 4 months ago

Alder Yarrow

Wine Blogger Vinography

9.5

There are a few producers in the world about which I can say unequivocally that I adore every wine they make. Domaine Marcel Deiss is one of them. @domainemarceldeiss. I managed to get ahold of some older vintage wines recently and I’m trying very hard not to drink them too fast, but they’re just so darn good. Decided to open this one over dinner with friends last night and it was glorious. Crystallized honey, parchment, dried orange peels, and herbs, all welded to a core of crushed stone. Fantastic. This is a most unusual (though not for Deiss) field blend of Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Beurot, Muscat, and Pinot Noir. — 2 months ago

Alder Yarrow

Wine Blogger Vinography

9.3

After several years of making brilliant Friuli-inspired wines in the Napa Valley, Dan Petroski of @massicanwinery decided to return to the source and begin making a wine from Friuli that he calls Gaspare. A blend of Friulano, Ribolla Gialla, and Chardonnay, the wine has everything you’d want in a complex white wine: richness without overbearing weight, brightness without shrillness, juiciness without sweetness, and gorgeous flavors of apple, citrus, chamomile, and a hint of wax. While there is Chardonnay planted in Friuli the addition of that grape has offers a wonderfully symbolic synthesis between Italy and California. — 3 months ago

Alder Yarrow

Wine Blogger Vinography

8.1

Thought It was time to drink this one and it turns out I was wrong. 5 years ago would have been better. It’s losing some of its berry and floral pleasure to leather and dusty earth, with notes of raisins and dates. Not quite the elegance I had hoped for with dinner, but that’s the way it goes sometimes. — 3 months ago