Radikon Ribolla 2007

Radikon Ribolla 2007

Popped and poured at 55F.

I’ve never smelled these smells before. Kind of nutty, something on the metallic side of mineral, a little tropical fruit but it’s fighting for every olfactory inch. With time (10 minutes) in the glass that metallic note disappears and is replaced with something soft and rubbery, almost like pencil eraser, and the tropical fruit has gone from underripe to overripe. It smells kind of like an Oloroso and kind of like a tired Spatlese, 65/35 ratio.

On the palate it is similarly bonkers. (These notes now refer to the second half of the glass, after the wine and I had a few minutes to compose ourselves.) So very alive. It tastes the way the label looks—coherent despite itself. Rich and nutty, with a transmission line of acidity defining the edges. There’s soft yellow fruit and there’s lychee. Those are things I can taste and name. There are other things that I taste that I can’t name. Imagine if Gatorade made a hazelnut flavor and you used that and a high-ester aged rum to make a punch that you soaked leftover papaya and black olives in. It’s kind of like that.

This wine is so good. It made me so happy. Even my mother liked it, which, way to go mom, yay.

All in all, highly recommend.