Decant Stop Tasting Wine Blog

This is the first white wine that I’ve had no complaints about for as long as I can remember.  This is quality stuff indeed.  The nose is more or less the same as the flavor – grassy, with citrus and a little cantaloupe.    It has medium acidity and is pretty flexible for food pairing.  The finish is pretty long and pleasant too.  I guess I actually do have one complaint, which is the price.  Not that it is crazy expensive, but to me this is at the same level as many 10-13 dollar reds that I’ve had, but at twice the price.  Certainly there are wines this good at a better price point.  The search continues.  I would recommend this wine though, because it is quite good compared to other whites I’ve tried.  It probably is quite different than the California Chardonnays a lot of people are drinking too, or all of the other wines from labels that produce millions of cases per season.

Rating:  89

Price:  $22 (K&L)

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Full name Ermocora Colli Orientali Del Friuli Tocai Friuliano.  This is one of the better white wines we’ve had so far… not that we’ve had a lot.  Neither of us have been particularly fond of whites, mostly because we haven’t had one we really liked.  We’re on a mission though, to find at least one we do like.  I’ve heard good things about Friuli wines and so we’ve made a concerted attempt to try a variety of them.  We had one that we bought from Wine Expo first.  Wine Expo is this nice wine shop in Santa Monica that specializes in Italian wines.  It was pretty good, maybe a point or two less than this one though.  Not good enough to buy again.

Let’s cut to the chase about this particular wine though.  From what I have learned about Friuli wines, this one is probably pretty classic in style.  It is well balanced with minerals, floral, fruit, and acidity.  Its a lot like a good Champagne, without the bubbles.  This would probably be great with strawberries… maybe tomorrow night when we finish off the bottle, maybe with desert.  It is highest in citrus and apple.  Maybe like you squeezed a little lemon juice onto a slice of apple and ate it… but your plate was made of limestone or something.  To be honest I’m not big on “the great” Champagnes, I actually prefer a cheaper taste – I want to taste white grape with a squirt of lemon and either a melon or apple basis, and can do without the honey, butter, and minerality.  In a white wine I prefer heavy florals with lemon grass and a little white grape flavor… with or without the apple.  What I hate is the tendency for them to have an aftertaste that is like a sweettart without all the sugar.  I find that in most Rosés as well.  This wine is actually a good balance of the lot.  The downside is that I feel it isn’t really a great value at its price.  We have another, more expensive Friuli waiting for us in the cellar, so maybe we’ll have better luck with that one.  It probably would never be a “daily drinker” at these prices though.  We’ll probably have to revisit the Pinot Grigios and possibly something for Australia, Chile, South America, etc.

Rating:  88

Price $16 (K&L)

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