Winemaker Notes
This wine has depths of a light red or orange wine, but it drinks more like a white. Chamomile, persimmon, cardamom, citrus peel, and white pepper highlight the aromas. The mouthfeel is saline and viscous followed by a touch of firm tannin and driving acidity. 75% directly pressed and barrel fermented / 25% fermented on skins with a total maceration of nearly three months.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: Wine consumers, just like us wine professionals, often look for new wines to try. In the white wine realm, one of the grape varieties that often gets overlooked is Cortese. The 2016 Idlewild is an excellent example of this grape grown in the New World. TASTING NOTES: This wine is complex and appealing. Its aromas and flavors of dried citrus peel, hazelnut, and earth should pair it well with a mushroom-accented white-sauced pasta. (Tasted: September 25, 2018, San Francisco, CA)
First recorded in the early 17th century in the province of Alessandria in SE Piedmont, Cortese today is most highly regarded from Gavi where soils are limestone-rich. It also grows well in the surrounding zones, namely Monferrato and Colli Tortonesi. Somm Secret—Because of its freshness and chalky minerality, this white wine commonly populates the fish restaurants’ wine lists of the Ligurian coast so practically owes more allegiance to this neighboring region than its home.
A large and diverse appellation within California’s North Coast AVA, Mendocino is home to several smaller sub-regions—most notably the Anderson Valley. This scenic region, with rolling hills covered in redwood forests as well as vineyards, is one of the world’s top producers of certified organically-grown grapes. Due to wide geographical and climatic variation, a vast array of wine styles can be found here.