La Clarine Farm 2010 White (Sierra Foothills) – 14.1%, a blend of viognier, roussanne, and marsanne, partially skin-fermented and thus within the orange wine realm. Cloudy, yes…and a little bit bretty, a very slight bit volatile, plus (of course) somewhat tannic. The only real indications of the cépage here are weight-related, which is not fully separable from the effects of orange-ness; I mean, I could make up some stuff now that I know what’s in the wine and as I drink it, but really it would be post hoc description, and other than some sticky honeysuckle-like fruit there’s no real indication of what might be in this. I might also say that I wish there was more expressiveness and a little less structural identity here, because this isn’t an enormous amount of fun to drink. It’s an intellectual pleasure, yes, but “pleasure” is there used advisedly and contextually. (1/12)
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