Browse Tag

scholium project

Nau free

Scholium Project 2008 “Naucratis” Lost Slough (California) – 16.3% California verdejo, and isn’t there just bound to be a massive potential market for such a thing? Very spicy. Perfumed roses, lots of skin to the structure, huge, and very hot. This is served blind, and I get nowhere even vaguely close. (3/10)

Sly

[barrel & tank]Scholium Project 2006 “San Floriano del Collio” Rocky Hill (Sonoma Mountain) – The reddest of all the wines; this could easily pass for a dark rosé, rather than an orange wine, and at 16.9% alcohol it’s pushing what few boundaries remain. Par for the Scholium course, I guess. Grassy and greasy, yet with sharp-edged pistachios, some fatness, and (big surprise) noticeable alcohol. Anise, as well, plus maraschino cherries and rather intense minerality. In its less admirable moments, it also smells more than a bit like a fetid poire william eau de vie, but I don’t mean to be overly discouraging; I like this more than I’ve ever liked a Scholium Project wine (granted, the competition for this title has not been fierce). (7/09)

1999

Scholium Project 2006 “The Prince in His Caves” Farina (California) – Sauvignon blanc, and for a change with this producer the cépage is actually reflected in the wine, which smells of sweat and asparagus, tastes like green pepper, and is dominated by a fierce, off-putting acidity. (12/08)

Slough it off

Scholium Project 2007 “Naucratis” Lost Slough (California) – Verdelho. Given a sufficiently open mind, this actually seems like it might be wine: sweet mango and persimmon, albeit with the texture of a smoothie. Drinkable, but you won’t want much of it. (12/08)

A roll of the Eurydice

Scholium Project 2007 “Eurydice” Rocky Hill (California) – Pinot gris, according to the web site. I’ll take their word for it. All I can get out of this wine is wax and fat…and not the “fat” that critics use to suggest a lack of balancing acidity. No, I mean actual fat. Stale fat, too. But mostly, it smells and tastes of wax. This is a practical joke, right? Some sort of oenological funnin’? (12/08)

Aprés moi, le Delu

[diagram]Scholium Project 2006 “Heliopolis” Delu (Suisun Valley) – Utterly fascinating. It’s got the blast door-crashing-down weight of some of the nuttier Friulian wines (which I like), a cyclone of minerality and dried-past-individuality “fruit,” and a long, claypot finish. I wouldn’t want to drink a whole bottle of it, because it’s just too much, but it’s really compelling in smaller quantities. (5/08)