WBW #37 Go Native: Charphony and Picpoul de Pineau

I know it's Thursday. I did get a day grace period from the good Dr. Vino, host of Wine Blogging Wednesday this month, and originator of this month's theme, Go Native. Grapes from whence they originated. I dug out two curiosities from my cellar for this one.

2005 Charphony, Thomas Coyne, Livermore Valley

First up, is a blend. I know that may be stretching the rule, but hear me out on this one. Livermore mainstay, Thomas Coyne, had one bottle of this left last time I visited, and I had to buy it. The blend is 75% Symphony (from Lodi) and 25% Chardonnay (from Livermore). Yes, Symphony is a grape and this particular lot of grapes came from a vineyard only 49 miles from the wine alchemists at U.C. Davis that created it, so I would certainly consider it a native. Every grape was once something else, no? Vignerons have been cross-breeding grapes for thousands of years.

Symphony is a cross of Grenache Gris and Muscat of Alexandria. According to Jancis' "Guide to Wine Grapes" it had a brief period of being vogue as an off-dry wine in the 1990s. I guess I missed those  in-vogue parties.  It's not 100% Symphony because it is such a heady Muscat-like wine that it would just be too much if it wasn't blended with something. The scent is like fresh orange peels and newly cut golden delicious apples, mixed with beeswax. It's fully dry, and not unpleasant, but really more of a novelty.

2005 Chateau Saint Martin de la Garrigue Picpoul de Pinet

Made from an ancient grape in the Languedoc, Picpoul Blanc, Picpoul de Pinet is full-bodied and oily, much like your average Marsanne or Rousanne from the area, but doesn't have any of the beautiful floral characters of those two noble grapes. Picpoul means "lip-stinger" in French, and it does have a bit of a bite. The main scents are of gunpowder, flint, and petrol so along with the high alcohol content, you would think it would have an explosion of flavor. Unfortunately, this is another novelty wine, this time imported from Kermit Lynch (never one to shy from being able to sell the weird by his prose). The flavors are super-minerally and a little lemony, sort of like a Greco de Tuffo or Falanghina. Repeat buy? Nope not this one.