#i had a lot of thoughts about new character Lanolin!

[woosh-floosh]

IDW Sonic issue 57 loose thoughts...

Lanolin finally gets to be a character, yippee!!

For those that don't know, Lanolin was first a background character designed by Adam Bryce Thomas for the second issue! Adam Bryce Thomas got attached to the design and fit her into more backgrounds, and later so did other artists! Seeing how Lanolin already had a character sheet long before her proper introduction, a name, and a general acceptance by the other artists (Evan Stanley drew her for one of her winter outfit sets one year) I wonder if her proper introduction got pushed back. I believe Sega asked some for some characters to have their introductions pushed back, but I can't think any evidence right now so I could be misremembering! Lanolin also got a bit of a redesign, now with a cool bell styled wispon to replace her cowbell, a curly tail, and a new magenta wisp friend named Maggie. Compare her old model sheet to the photo above!

Bonus trivia: Lanolin is a type wax sheep secrete that protects their wool. It's used by us in almost everything that uses wax, but mainly moisturizers!

Casual readers not investing in the background process may be surprised at just how often Lanolin shows up before this issue!

Lanolin as a character in this issue, kinda seems like a substitute for Sally Acorn. She's kind of a generic animal, has no real special skills or abilities (besides her cool bell wispon), but despite that has a rounded skill set (maybe a reference to many applications of lanolin wax?), and seems to excel at leading field work. Lanolin is to Sally Acorn as Surge is to Scourge. I know the writers are trying very hard to bring the freedom fighters back, but I'm not sure it's going to happen at this point. But I like the new characters and so far Surge has been proven to be very much more than just a Scourge clone.

I think I could see Lanolin and Jewel being co-directors like how Amy and Knuckles were in the resistance. Jewel does the paperwork, logistics, and humanitarian efforts and Lanolin leads the proactive, offensive, field efforts.

Okay enough about Lanolin, the other thing I wanted to talk about is the Eggperial city, which in this issue is revealed to be using the same tech as Eggman's vr tower in Test Run. I always though Test Run was one of the weaker arcs and felt like it had no real purpose or payoff (besides the Belle side stuff) but now it does! I'll have to revisit that arc now with a different perspective.

Also I don't know how I didn't pick up on this in Test Run but the portals Eggman is using is probably the warp topaz! Tails and him supercharged it during the Metal Virus and now it seems Eggman's found it and is supercharging it again (or maybe a convincing fake?) Having another magic rock might make the magic rock department a little bloated but I like the warp topaz, and not just because I am God's chosen Starline warrior. It will be neat to find out exactly how he is using it in the coming issues!

Adam Bryce Thomas and Matt Herms also did a wonderful job on the interior artwork as usually. I particularly like the page were Lanolin and Tangle descend into the mine, excellent paneling and excellent use of space!

My favorite cover this issue was cover A by Min Ho Kim, but unfortunately my local comic book store did not have it! Oh well! Until Next Month!!

[molinaskies]

Saw your thoughts on Lanolin and figured I should pipe in with why she tends to act that way, especially with the more recent issues she's starred in.

Lanolin, unlike all the rest of the cast, is a novice. She only seemed to have joined the Restoration during the Metal Virus, and the Eggperial City mission was her first time as leader. She even states herself that she's bossy and inexperienced in Issue 58.

The sheep's still got a lot to learn about leadership, so I think we can probably expect some more slip-ups on her part.

Hey, thanks for the ask! Sorry for the delay, but I had to catch up on the comics before I could answer this fairly.

I hear you completely, and you are correct. She IS new, and is a bit deserving of some lenience in that regard. However, I think that’s my central problem with her: she’s very new, and yet she speaks like the most experienced person in the room.

The way she critiqued Silver and chided him despite having ZERO experience with psychokinesis was incredibly irritating.

I understand she’s the “leader” of the Diamond Cutters, but she speaks with an authority that she truly hasn’t earned. If she’s so new, why is she the one taking so much charge and training people with the experience she doesn’t have? Seriously, out of all of the Diamond Cutters (core and “in training”), Lanolin has the least experience.

Also, I respect that Lanolin’s attitude and neuroticism is played for laughs, but it truly just reads as malicious to me—especially towards Tangle. It’s made clear in writing and through visual gags repetitively that not only does Lanolin has an objective problem with Tangle as a person, but she doesn’t seem to respect Tangle enough to communicate with her effectively.

It goes so far as to feel like Lanolin would prefer to outright replace Tangle if she had the choice in issue 62.

And it’s not even like it’s a silly joke for Tangle. She’s shown multiple times to actively dislike this bullying.

Again, she’s new. I get that. But if there’s a whole scene in issue 58 dedicated to the fact that she’s new and bossy and knows she should be better, why is no effort being made? It’s not cute to acknowledge your flaws only to amplify them later on.

I don’t know.

I don’t find this kind of character endearing. Lanolin comes off as an insecure girl who lacks empathy, which feels silly and mean to say about a fictional sheep, but she doesn’t even seem to be on some sort of character arc. This is just… who she is. And I find that incredibly disappointing.

(she actually might be on a character arc, and I really hope she is)

[sonic-hot-takes]

New Sonic media needs to introduce more heroic male characters to the lineup.

Normally I like my takes quick and spicy and let people come to their own conclusions with them, but out of all my thoughts on the series that I’ve shared with fellow Sonic fans, this one tends to get the most ire. Bellow the cut are my more in depth thoughts on the matter.

I may be forgetting someone but I’m pretty sure the last character the series introduced that was simultaneously a guy, a hero, and had any sort of staying power was Silver all the way back in TWO THOUSAND SIX. This applies to ALL Sonic media/canon, by the way (be it the games, comics, spin offs like Boom, etc.)

The closest character I could think of that fills this criteria is Razor from the post-reboot Archie comics—he did appear in both the main comic and Sonic Universe, and was the only new character to get his own SCO backstory—but for obvious reasons he’s not showing up again any time soon. I don’t count Chip or Yacker since they’re pretty blatantly meant to be one off characters that fill a specific niche for that game’s plot. Also let’s be real they’re both mid as hell

Compare this to the girls: Sticks, Tangle, Whisper, Sage (who is framed as more of an antihero in Frontiers than a villain), Trip, this new girl from Dream Team…

People scream sexist at me whenever I bring this up, which is ironic because I am a Girl™ myself. My favorite Sonic character, Blaze, is a Girl™. Sticks is one of my favorite additions to the series in a long time, and she’s a Girl™. I’m not against Girl™ in Sonic.

BUT it does make me raise a brow looking at the track record of new characters that have been introduced to the series, specifically when it comes to gender and morality alignment. This is a lot more prevalent in the IDW comics than in the games, but it’s present in both.

Since Colors (which signaled a shift in direction in the series), the new antagonists we’ve gotten in the games are: Orbot and Cubot, the mostly male Deadly Six, the Hardboiled Heavies (if you wanna count them), Infinite, and Sage (kind of). In the IDW comics, we’ve gotten Rough and Tumble, Dr. Starline, Mimic, Clutch, Kit, and Surge.

In the same time period, the new leading/supporting protagonists we’ve gotten in the games are Yacker, the Forces OC, Sage (kind of), Trip, and Ariem (the new girl from Dream Team). You can also squeeze Sticks in here since she’s the only Boom character to get any extra relevance or spotlight on her outside of that spin off. In the IDW comics, we’ve gotten Tangle, Whisper, Jewel, Belle, and Lanolin.

Sure, there’s a little overlap here and there. But you should notice a pattern.

Do not interpret this as me saying that Sonic Team or the writers at IDW have some kind of anti-men agenda going on. That’s not what I’m suggesting. BUT I am getting tired of every new hero being a girl and just about every new villain being a boy. Can’t we switch it up a little?

Even the most prominent female antagonists in the series have some kind of sympathetic edge to them. Surge was brainwashed and experimented on by Starline. Sage’s character arc is supposed to be the focal point of Frontiers, and she only does evil things under Eggman’s command. Trip isn’t even evil in the first place, she just ends up working with Eggman and Fang for…reasons, and ultimately turns against them and becomes a playable hero. They’re not framed the same way that most, if not all of the male villains are. Not even Merlina is fully immune of this.

Outside of the sexist allegations, I usually get one of two responses whenever I bring this up:

A lot of Sonic fans are girls, so the series should introduce more female characters in order to appeal to their female fans.

The series already has a lot of male characters, so they need to balance out the cast with more girls.

Both of these points have their merits and flaws. I think that both of them are/were true up to a certain point, but nowadays they don’t hold up as well after we HAVE gotten tons of new female characters. When Sticks and Tangle were first shown off, I was ecstatic! Sticks being a fourth wall breaking conspiracy theorist is both tons of fun and a character archetype that the series hadn’t explored until then, and Tangle has one of my favorite designs of any Sonic character. But at some point, I started to notice the trend of every new hero being a girl and every new villain being a boy, and it really started to bother me. For IDW Sonic it was around the time Belle and Clutch were introduced (with Lanolin ultimately being the straw that broke the camel’s back—she insists upon herself), and for the games it was after seeing Ariem in Dream Team (I probably would’ve been more annoyed by the Fang/Trip dichotomy if I wasn’t absolutely joyous that the Nack Is Baaaaack). The whole “we need to introduce more girls to the series” angle doesn’t hold up as well when the series seems reluctant to commit to a straight up evil girl. Sonic desperately needs to flesh out his rouges gallery in the games, so why not add an absolutely psycho female antagonist?

Also this is a more personal note but I hate hate HATE it when people allege that girls can’t relate to male characters, so franchises need to introduce the Girl™ character so the Girls™ can relate to her. Can girls not relate to boys? Can boys not relate to girls? Once again, not against female characters in general, but that particular mindset has and will always bother me.

Who knows, maybe Ariem will end up being the main villain of Dream Team. It’d be cool, but I don’t see Sonic Team taking that route, especially not on an Apple Arcade exclusive. I don’t expect any big twists in that game.

Those are my two cents. I just think it’d be cool if we got a new boy as well as all the new girls we’ve been getting.

[fazar234]

Understanding Lanolin

(First time doing an analysis, so I hope y’all like it!)

Hey all, it’s been a minute hasn’t it?

With Issues 63 and 64 of the IDW comics for the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise having released, it’s caused quite a lot of division amongst the Sonic fanbase, in regard to one new character in particular: Lanolin the Sheep.

And hoo boy, it has not been pretty.

A while back, I sent an ask to a user by the name of @molinaskies (btw go check her out if you’re into analyses of Sonic’s character and Sonamy fanfics!) about her thoughts on Lanolin, and she replied with a post stating why she wasn’t a fan of her character.

Now, I believe that everyone has the right to like, dislike, or be neutral towards whatever or whoever they want, including Sonic characters. If you don’t like Lanolin, that’s totally fine by me and I respect your opinion.

However, due to all the ridiculous hate she has been receiving lately, I feel obligated as a Lanolin fan to state my own reasoning and analysis behind her character. As such, this post will be meant to serve as an understanding towards Lanolin and her character.

Now, before we go any further…

This is not meant to come off as forcing my opinion onto molinaskyes or anyone else! We all have the right to our own opinions, and we should all be allowed to like/dislike whatever characters we want to! This is just a post stating my opinion and reasoning behind Lanolin, nothing more, nothing less!

Alright, with that out of the way, let’s begin!

Who is Lanolin?

To put it short, she’s a sheep from the IDW comics who started out as a background character in the form of another Restoration volunteer and eventually worked her way up to the rank of a primary protagonist in Issue #57, taking on the role as leader of the Restoration’s new task force, the Diamond Cutters.

Her first ever appearance in the comics is Issue #2, where Sonic and Amy are doing a formidable job defending Riverside Village (Lanolin’s hometown), which is being hoarded by badniks, until Lanolin runs in, informing them of an incoming army from the west. She’d then help evacuate the citizens into the bunker and assist in taking down the army.

Since then, she’s made plenty of background appearances throughout the comics, helping citizens, taking care of various tasks at Restoration HQ, or just chilling (which, given her character, is pretty rare).

Lanolin’s Flaw

Fast-forward all the way to Issue #57, where Lanolin gets her chance in the spotlight, and from there, along with further issues, we get a better look at her character.

She gets startled quite easily, doesn’t approve of recklessness, and prefers to operate with a proper plan. She also has a more stoic and serious personality compared to the other characters, which I feel is a nice change of pace, and can come off as bossy to others (which I’ll dive more into later.)

She wasn’t like this in her previous appearances before 57, and I believe the reason can be attributed to the trauma the Metal Virus, as well as other minor disasters seen in the comics had on her. She doesn’t want anyone to feel scared and helpless again, which is why she formed the Diamond Cutters, and why she doesn’t seem to take well to things going wrong.

In Issue #58, she looked defeated because of the scouting of Eggperial City going wrong, and in Issue #63, she snapped at Sliver because of the training mission getting out of hand with the boulder incident (more on that in a second.)

Lanolin doesn’t know how to adapt to the unexpected, and it’s a flaw she’ll need to overcome in the future, or she may meet the same fate as a certain platypus.

Lanolin’s Perspective

Now then, onto what I’ve been wanting to talk about most: her actions and perspective in 63 and 64.

In the past three issues that have released thus far, we, the readers, have full knowledge of everything that’s been happening.

We know that Mimic has joined Clutch and disguised himself as Duo the Cat to infiltrate the Restoration and join the Diamond Cutters, so that he could get close enough to get revenge on Tangle and Whisper. We know that he sabotaged the team’s training session by kicking Silver (which Whisper managed to notice) and causing the boulders and the flood. And we know that he made Silver look bad by falling off the chair he was controlling and made it look like he had attacked him.

But Lanolin doesn’t.

From her perspective, Duo is just a new recruit who wants to make a difference and is expected to make a few mistakes. She sees him as someone she used to be. It’s why she took Duo’s side in Issue 63, when Silver accused Duo of ditching him while he was struggling to restrain the Giant Chopper from consuming him whole, because to her, Duo had only been to overwhelmed by the situation to do anything, and from her view, Silver was the one responsible for the accident, someone she had expected better control from, given his experience.

Now before you all go “OH WHAT DOES LANOLIN KNOW?! SHE’S JUST A NEWBIE AND SILVER’S THE EXPERT ON PSYCHOKINESIS! HE SAVED THE WORLD MULTIPLE TIMES!” Yes, we know he’s more talented than everyone gives him credit for. But Lanolin doesn’t. She doesn’t share the same history with him that everyone else does. If she did, she’d know that Silver would never lose control that easily unless something (or in this case, someone) sabotaged him, thus leading her to also suspect Duo.

And the same applies to 64. Lanolin asked Silver and Whisper for proof, they only responded by trying to assault who to her, was just an innocent individual who felt helpless and scared, something she never wanted anyone to feel. From her perspective, a powerful psychic and an experienced mercenary were accusing a new recruit of being some shapeshifting murderer, without even bothering so much as to offer a tad smidge of evidence that Duo was indeed a shapeshifting murderer.

And before you go: “WELL THAT DOESN’T EXCUSE HER ATTACKING WHISPER AND HER ATTITUDE!” Whisper literally made the first move by grabbing Lanolin’s arm! She was simply trying to defend herself and be rational, stating that they needed to talk about her problem as a team! As for her remark calling herself a soldier, this is one of her flaws, her bossiness, coming into play here! She’s not a perfect person, none of them are! She’s a flawed character, who’s experienced in certain aspects of leadership, but is still new to being a hero.

Silver accusing people at random isn’t anything new; we’ve seen it before in Sonic 06 and the Traitor Arc in the Archie Comics (which I personally haven’t read myself), and the reason why Whisper was too quick to act was because this is Mimic, the guy that killed the closest thing she had to a family! You really think she was just going to stand there and let him do it again? Yes, she should have acted reasonably but she let her emotions get the better of her. And it’s because of that that Duo was able to remove any suspicion.

And before you ask “WELL WHY DID LANOLIN VOTE TO KICK SILVER OUT BUT NOT WHISPER?! SHE ACCUSED DUO TOO!”, I beckon you all to look at this scene here.

Duo tricked everyone into thinking that Silver was the one who attacked him, not Whisper. Had Whisper been with Silver, it’s likely she would’ve been kicked out as well.

A villain’s plan to manipulate can only work if someone’s fallen for the bait, and Lanolin is indeed one of those people. I imagine once he gets caught, Lanolin’s gonna learn from this and she and Silver will make up and all will be good.

Lanolin and Tangle

One more thing that people’s miscomprehension has annoyed me about: the dynamic between Lanolin and Tangle.

In @molinaskies' post on Lanolin, she stated that Lanolin has an objective problem with Tangle and would go as far as to replace her. And I’m going to try to not sound too harsh here, but NO? SHE DOES NOT??

In Issue #58, Tangle was the one to comfort Lanolin when she felt defeated during the Eggperial City mission, and in Issue #59, Lanolin nearly sacrificed herself to save Tangle from the dimensional traps! And that whole gag with the pong-pong ball and Lanolin swatting it away in Issue #62 was literally just that: a gag! Lanolin definitely gets irritated by Tangle, but she doesn’t outright hate her! Would someone who wants to replace a teammate nearly get themselves killed to save said teammate?!

Conclusion

Wow, that was longer than I imagined.

I’m sorry if I ever came off as harsh during my analysis, but it just irks me that most of the fanbase won’t bother trying to see scenes from different perspectives, and it feels like they don’t tolerate flawed characters at all.

In the end, though, you’re all free to like or dislike Lanolin if you want. Everyone has the right to their own opinion. But at the very least, you should learn to properly comprehend perspectives and realize that none of these characters are perfect.

I hope my analysis brought you all some insight, and I’ll catch you all later.

[crusherthedoctor]

Had a free week, so I decided to catch up with IDW Sonic (had stopped with the end of the Metal Virus Saga) and I'm particularly surprised with how much I hate Lanolin the Sheep, she made it to my top 5 hated characters from an arc to other, almost a blink.

She's easily competition for Geoffrey St. John and Mina Mongoose who I always thought would never be surpassed... I thought I would never feel such disgust in seeing a character appearing since the reboot...

The worst part is that (somehow) there are FANS of this bitch who think she's amazing?????

By all means Ian Flynn really surpassed himself in one aspect: the ability to make a female character created by other person who works/worked in the same Sonic comic an unbearable rude bitch

Btw, sorry for bringing this discourse for you (really sorry, I saw a tip of it), and hope you have a good time writing your fanfic Stellar

For me, Surge is still the worst of the lot.

You could make an argument for other characters having bigger reasons for inspiring contempt, but Surge is just so relentlessly annoying, so groan-inducing to even look at, so pathetically shilled even for IDW standards (Stanley thinking Forces would radically shift its plot for the better if Surge was in it), that I can't stand her at all. More than any other OC made for the comic, Surge best reflects everything wrong with it.

Lanolin is in the same category as Tangle, in that I just feel sad rather than angry when I think about her. Forced to become another Sally clone, with no chance to ever become her own person. And while ABT says this is all fine and on-point for his creation, I'm pressing X to doubt on that. For all the complaints directed at the games for allegedly playing it safe, the Archie chokehold is killing the opportunity for new personalities.

[blazehedgehog]

You need to reread Archie Sonic. I can assure you, it was not as nearly as good as you thought it was, and the IDW comic is not as nearly as bad as you think it is. Slow arcs doesn't mean bad arcs, and there's more character development than just "Surge attacks Sonic." And this arc clearly had an ending. Stop letting the metal plague arc overright your critical thinking skills. It was *years ago.*

My question to you is this: are you involved with the production of IDW Sonic? Because if you aren't, it sounds like you're taking something personally that was not directed at you and have saddled yourself with the responsibility of teaching me a lesson.

I'd like to point you to this post from six months ago, where I had nothing but nice things to say about IDW Sonic. I ran across it recently while digging through my blog for a different post (which I could not find, thanks Tumblr Search). Contrast that with the post where I say "the last six months have been kind of boring in retrospect."

I think I'm allowed to say that. I'm allowed to be bored. A story arc that amounts to "Eggman built a really big and scary city" feels weirdly low key and kind of bland (he's built a lot of cities), and none of the other story arcs feel like they've been paying off.

Coming at me from the angle of "WELL ARCHIE SUCKS TOO YOU JUST DON'T REMEMBER IT" is very strange to me, because that's just, like, your opinion, man. You even suggest the concept of opinion itself is fallible.

And maybe mine is. I dunno. Who I was yesterday is not who I will be tomorrow. But who I was when Archie was good thought it was great. I was practically counting the days for new issues. I was about to start a monthly comic review column for TSSZ just to have an excuse to get a subscription.

I was a different person back then. But also I was feelin' pretty high on IDW Sonic just six months ago and now it feels like they're stalling.

Yes, I said it's felt like something has been missing for a long time, and to some degree it has. The world of IDW Sonic revolves around six characters and four or five locations, and some of those locations don't have very strong identities outside of "it's like the place from the video games." The depth and the breadth of Archie isn't there.

But you at least had intent. Surge was interesting, Starline was interesting, Belle was interesting, Sonic jabbing Eggman about Mr. Tinker was interesting, everyone jabbing Sonic about letting villains go all the time was interesting, Tails was desperately trying to use the non-violent approach with Kitsunami. There was strong characterization for miles.

What have we had over the last six months?

Surge came back, and she repeated a longer, slower version of the same interaction she had with Sonic in issue #50.

It was revealed that Surge is having PTSD hallucinations of Dr. Starline.

Eggman built another city, but this builds and repairs itself, which doesn't actually mean anything given we've never drawn attention to how Eggman builds or repairs his cities before. The dude has a robot army, it's reasonable to assume he's always had cleanup and repair crews. Telling me it's "special" now isn't really exciting.

Tangle said the wrong thing, upset Whisper and they had a girlfriends moment about it. But given Tangle was just being the way Tangle always has been, this isn't exactly a major event.

We were introduced to Lanolin, who so far has very little backstory and barely established a personality besides "does not want to put up with Tangle's shenanigans." So like half the cast, then.

Team Dark was retconned back into existence, so Shadow gets to be part of stories again.

It doesn't feel like this is going anywhere right now, and the world around it isn't robust enough to pick up the slack and keep it interesting.

And you don't have to take it personally. You don't have to hit back. It isn't about you.

[theonceoverthinker]

OUAT 1X08 - Desperate Souls

Holy smokes! Not counting today’s review, I’ve racked up 30 pages worth of content for this rewatch!!! For me - someone who has barely written maybe twenty pages total for everything OUaT in the two and a half years I’ve been here - that’s pretty neat!

So, without further adieu, let’s SOUL-der on and talk about this adventure, for I know you’re DESPERATE to read my thoughts under the cut!

Press Release Regina and Mr. Gold play dirty politics and take opposite sides when Emma runs for a coveted Storybrooke public office against Sidney. Meanwhile, back in the fairytale world that was, Rumplestiltskin tries to track down the ultimate power source in order to help his son avert the horrors of a meaningless war. General Thoughts Past The intro to this episode is phenomenal. Immediately, we’re thrust into the action and everything from the writing to the storytelling tells us what we need to know about the characters and the unique setting they’re currently living in. We feel the fear that they do and it’s intense. And what’s better is that sentiment carries on through the rest of the episode. The biggest draw it got out of me over the course of the episode’s runtime was this dual feeling of sorrow and pity as the child collector madde Rumple kiss his boot. It gives the murder at the end of the episode an extreme layer of catharsis. Fuck, I gotta talk about that scene between Rumple and Zoso. This scene sets the standard for so much of Rumple’s life going forward. I love that here is where we get to hear the line “all magic comes with a price for the first time.” While Rumple won’t know that true price for some time, he clearly gets the sense that he’s in for a rough time in this moment. For someone who is so often on this series on the other side of this equation, Rumple was new to the concept at one point too, and it’s so crazy to revisit that.

The theme of being wary of how one acts in times of desperation really works in this flashback, and that’s because of consistent character writing in accordance with their stakes. Present The intro here is fantastic too. While I didn’t like the drama from the last episode, the way that this scene handles it makes it feel better. It builds on it while keeping things subtle and at the same time, furthering the storytelling from the past’s segment’s intro through the bonding point of parenthood - whether either party is conscious of it or not. Emma’s conflict in this episode is so good. It shines leagues above what it was in the last episode because it’s actually having to do with characteristics and dynamics of hers that are actually established, and what’s better is that it melts together like a fine stew. We see right from the get go - as stated before - that Graham’s death and Emma’s subsequent grief has something to do with her desire for the job, but also, Emma’s rivalry with Regina and her desire to assuage Henry of his anxieties as best as she can without playing into (what she believes to be) his delusions of the curse. I like how the ending works too. While I don’t think the reiterated wham line works the way the writers intended it to, Emma’s victory isn’t taken from her and it’s not any less earned. However, the final twist is still able to be effective and prove that while a force against Gold, Emma is still up against someone always a step ahead of her. Both There’s a fascinating couple of moments in both the past and present that I want to touch upon. First is a cool contrast between Rumple and Emma. Rumple discusses the role that Bae plays in his life, while Emma talks about the role that she plays in Henry’s life. I like how those discussions come before our leads hear about possibilities/make decisions that completely alter their current standings in life. “I know how to recognize a desperate soul.” This line works really well in the case of the flashback, but kind of feels like a round peg in a square hole in the present. Emma’s not in a dire straight the way Rumple is, despite the internal weight of the conflict. I don’t consider it a major problem, however because while very much a wham line, acting as if it’s supposed to be the central theme of the episode when it’s not, it doesn’t take away from the good story from before that moment. I love how the general theme of this episode - while the forces of good never intentionally try to incorporate evil into their endeavors, sometimes it can’t be avoided - gets shown in two ways: both consciously and unconsciously. Rumple makes the choice to use darkness in the past and Emma - while not knowledgeable of it - plays into Gold’s game in the present. Emma and Rumple/Gold are fantastic foils to each other and seeing this kind of starting point build as the series goes on is really cool! Insights I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen the intro changed up! I like how it changes depending on the focus of the episode. It’s a good blending of a uniform intro and a recap. Man, I’m gonna be sad when we lose it, though I do miss the “Previously on Once Upon a Time.” I never noticed before, but Zoso’s magic is so distinct from everyone elses. It’s like a supersonic wave rather than the puffs of smoke we’ve seen both before and since this point. “That’s the thing about children - before you know it, you lose them.” I’d be here all day if I tried to unpack that one. Breaking a toaster is the weirdest way to act out in anger. What makes it better is that we don’t see any sign of her attacking it or whatnot so how it got to be that way is up in the air and so much funnier for it! I wonder how a town charter was created. Why would Regina build a balancing system into her curse. Headcanon: Gold used his “please” clause to make it so. I take issue with the duke for not saying “Did you teach him how to run, RUNplestiltskin?” How DARE you pass on that beautiful pun opportunity? “If they take him away, I will truly become dust.” *Cuts to the Season 7 finale* Apparently, that was quite literal. Why can no one identify each other in the flashback? The Duke doesn’t recognize that the beggar is Zoso nor Rumple once he’s become the Dark One! I love how as Rumple and Bae are preparing the lanolin, we get to see hand movements that mirror Rumple’s once he becomes the Dark One. Archie, mate. Speaking from my experiences with a certain blooper reel, you might want to spend a good few seconds practicing the candidate’s names instead of your intro ;) Then again, your public speaking on the whole is just a mess. Practice your finesse. “I can’t beat Regina - not the way she fights.” Regina’s not the one fighting dirty at the moment, or less so: Gold is. Why say a line like that? You gotta wonder, were there ever plans to expand on Zoso’s points about Baelfire or were the writers aware that he was only saying that to get a rise out of Rumple? “You have to tell me what to do.” Oh he will, Rumple. He or Nimue, probably. Damn, I wish we could’ve seen that first night by the Dark One’s vault. Are there fanfics out there for it? “Glass. Swan.” Wow, ship names and hindsight makes that sign hilariously awkward! XD It’s weird how seldom we see blood on Rumple’s dagger. You would think since it’s a weapon, we’d see it more. I don’t know if it was a conscious choice on the hair stylist’s part, but Rumple’s not only blinded by his own ambitions of power in the final flashback scene, but also by his hair! Awww! Emma brings a picture of Henry into her office! I bet she got it from Mary Margaret. The way that Henry’s positioned makes it look like a school photo and she seems like the kind of teacher who would want to keep a record of her old students like photographs for sentimentality! It’s so cute!!! “You knew I’d agree.” I think she’s talking about agreeing to Gold’s initial campaign proposal? Otherwise, this line makes no sense. Arcs The power struggle against Regina - This was a major peg being taken down from Regina, and it was set up very well with Emma being positioned as deputy, which in turn was built off of her skills, and culminated here in her being elected sheriff. Through this moment, we see not only a shift in Emma, but one in Storybrooke as well. While still prone to falling for gossip, the townspeople respond to courage and we finally get to see the impact that both Regina and Gold have had on the town by how people respond to someone standing up to them. Still, going forward, Emma and Regina’s dynamic will in a much more delicate - and much more interesting because of it - place. Gold and Emma’s deal - We only get a brief mention of it here. I wonder what Gold had in mind for Emma’s favor before learning that he needed her help to find Bae outside of Storybrooke. At the very least, we know it wasn’t half of a pastrami sandwich. His loss though. Pastrami’s delicious. Favorite Dynamic Rumple and Bae. I think that the simpler characterizations of Rumple and Bae was a good way to go in this episode, with Rumple as cowardly as we’ve come to expect and Baelfire as brave to a fault. It - partnered with the parent-child power dynamics - makes for a very easy to understand, yet still nuanced conflict. Rumple comes off as more worldly, but still frustratingly stubborn and cowardly while Bae comes across as braver certainly, yet naive too. Rumple’s not wrong when he tells Bae that the call to fight in the Ogre Wars is a call to death, and it conflicts with a lot of our sensibilities that it’s honorable to die in battle. I just love as well how Bae’s faith in Rumple falls as he learns more and more about his father’s past. You can just see the lack of belief when Rumple tells him that his mother is dead, and you have to wonder what Bae’s resolve would be to the events of the end of the episode had that encounter with the Duke in the forest not occurred. But even still, while there’s a noticeable yet slight loss of trust, there’s no love lost, and that helps make the final piece of the flashback all the more tragic and give the audience an insight into what Zoso’s last words to Rumple end up truly meaning. Writer Now here’s the Jane Espenson I know and love in full form! It’s weird that with a more complex theme, she manages to tell a story leagues above her last one’s flashback in terms of quality. It makes me think of an advanced computer science professor that had to teach entry level Web Page Design class I once took. What works in this episode - as did work in the present day section of “That Still Small Voice” is an understanding of stakes. Rumple’s actions get more desperate and Emma’s decision whether to tell of the true reason for the fire get more complicated as higher stakes are revealed to these characters and build on their already present characteristics (Ex. Rumple can’t just take control of the Dark One because he’d be terrified of owning him as a slave, so he has to become the Dark One), whereas in “That Still Small Voice’s” flashback, there was no reason for Jiminy to jump to condemning his parents to a fate worse than death when he’s already conflicted about leaving them because they’re old. Here, the handling is done so much better. Rating 10/10. This episode works really well. I won’t repeat myself too much, but we’re given not one, but two very nuanced and complicated stories to work with and the characters are faced with likewise decisions. Before we end off, I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about Robert Carlyle’s acting because this man is a star here. He displays this insane range throughout his time on the series, but this episode may be one of - if not the best - depictor of it. We get to see his cowardly side, the first bits of madness from being The Dark One, and his more manipulative tendencies in Storybrooke. It’s all conveyed flawlessly through his voice’s tone, body language, and facial expressions. What’s better is that the use of props, costumes, and makeup come together alongside his acting to enhance every moment of screen time he has and show the contrast between his dynamics across the worlds.

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Sorry! Not my deepest analysis, I know, but I hope I conveyed just how much I enjoyed the episode! Sometimes, it’s hard to explain what makes something good, but I hope the more comedic “Insights” segment was enough to entertain. Thanks again to the fine folks from @watchingfairytales for putting this project together! Season Tally (66/220) Writer Tally for Season 1: A&E (23/70) Liz Tigelaar (10/20) David Goodman (9/50) Jane Espenson (16/60) Andrew Chambliss (8/10) Ian Goldberg (8/10) Operation Rewatch Archives

[y0ung-and-l0aded]

1-100 ;)

1. What is you middle name? Ew. Jiandong. It’s Chinese and I don’t even know how to pronounce it tbh2. How old are you? 223. When is your birthday? March 14, 19954. What is your zodiac sign? Pisces5. What is your favorite color? Green6. What’s your lucky number? 147. Do you have any pets? Ye. I have a cat of my own, her name is Stella, and my family has two dogs - Rosie and Tilly. Tilly is my everything8. Where are you from? China, but I grew up in upstate New York9. How tall are you? 4′11″ RIP me10. What shoe size are you? 4 kids11. How many pairs of shoes do you own? 812. What was your last dream about? Honestly I had a nightmare and all I remember about it was that it involved the Great British Baking Show, specifically Nadiya from season 613. What talents do you have? I can play the piano, but idk if it’s much of a talent14. Are you psychic in any way? Lol no15. Favorite song? I HAVE MORE THAN ONE. All time favorite - “We Are Young” Glee cast version. Close second all time favorite - “Decoration Day” by the Drive-By Truckers. And then a one of my other favorites is “High Hopes” by Kodaline16. Favorite movie? The Shining and also I recently watched Train to Busan and that’s deff one of my faves17. Who would be your ideal partner? Someone I’m in love with, can see myself spending the rest of my life with, trust, have fun with. All that good stuff18. Do you want children? Yesss19. Do you want a church wedding? Yes and no, but honestly I’m pretty indifferent about it20. Are you religious? Lol nah21. Have you ever been to the hospital? Yes. I was inpatient three times, had to go for a day another time, and had an overnight and those were for mental health issues. When I was younger I went a few times bc I had a tic disorder and had to get these weird brain tests done. I also have scoliosis so have been a few times for that. And then when I started testosterone I went every week to get my shot until I learned how to do it myself lol. And recently I went for a consultation for top surgery!22. Have you ever got in trouble with the law? Kind of. It was a complicated situation23. Have you ever met any celebrities? Yes24. Baths or showers? Showers25. What color socks are you wearing? Black. One with a grey stripe and one with a red stripe26. Have you ever been famous? LOL NO27. Would you like to be a big celebrity? Not a big one. I’d like to get a bit more popular on YouTube, but my ultimate goal is 1000 subs, so just a mediocre celebrity lol28. What type of music do you like? EDM/electronic instrumental and tropical house29. Have you ever been skinny dipping? I was in a lake when my friends skinny dipped, but I didn’t myself30. How many pillows do you sleep with? 0-2, depending on the night31. What position do you usually sleep in? On my right side32. How big is your house? I don’t even have a house lol, I have a studio apartment and it’s v small33. What do you typically have for breakfast? I usually don’t have breakfast34. Have you ever fired a gun? Yeah it was really cool tbh35. Have you ever tried archery? Yep. I sucked haha36. Favorite clean word? Porkchop37. Favorite swear word? I don’t have a favorite, but I say shit and fuck the most 38. What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep? 44 hours, that was actually a couple weeks ago39. Do you have any scars? Yes40. Have you ever had a secret admirer? Who knows, that’s why they’re called secret admirers 41. Are you a good liar? I guess I can be idrk42. Are you a good judge of character? I’d like to think so43. Can you do any other accents other than your own? Yes, I can do a British accent but I have never done it for someone44. Do you have a strong accent? Not to me and compared to the people around me, but I’m sure I do to someone else in the world45. What is your favorite accent? BRITISH 46. What is your personality type? ISFJ-T47. What is your most expensive piece of clothing? LOL I have no idea, I probably paid $30 dollars for a sweatshirt at some point in my life48. Can you curl your tongue? Nope49. Are you an innie or an outie? Innie50. Left or right handed? Right51. Are you scared of spiders? FUCK YES52. Favorite food? Mashed potatoes but I have recently been obsessed with frozen key lime pie. And I really like pork fried dumplings53. Favorite foreign food? Chinese hands down54. Are you a clean or messy person? Both but overall more clean than messy55. Most used phrased? I say what the frick a lot usually when I play video games56. Most used word? Recently it’s been dude57. How long does it take for you to get ready? Ready for what? In the morning like getting ready for work not long, maybe ten minutes58. Do you have much of an ego? Not at all59. Do you suck or bite lollipops? Suck then bite60. Do you talk to yourself? Yes61. Do you sing to yourself? I sing in the car to music I turn all the way up62. Are you a good singer? I can match pitch but I wouldn’t say I’m good63. Biggest fear? Being burnt alive64. Are you a gossip? Not really65. Best dramatic movie you’ve seen? Train to Busan (I think that can be classified as drama)66. Do you like long or short hair? Short hair on me. I’ve found I’m attracted to girls with long hair and guys with short hair67. Can you name all 50 states of America? If I thought about it and wrote them out, probably68. Favorite school subject? Music and if you don’t count that then Englsih69. Extrovert or introvert? Introvert 70. Have you ever been scuba diving? No71. What makes you nervous? Social situations72. Are you scared of the dark? Not really73. Do you correct people when they make mistakes? Not really. It’s a downfall74. Are you ticklish? No75. Have you ever started a rumor? Never76. Have you ever been in a position of authority? Not authority per se, but I’ve been in a position of leadership a couple times77. Have you ever drank underage? Yeah lol78. Have you ever done drugs? I smoke weed if you count that and I accidentally did molly one time79. Who was your first real crush? This girl Megan I went to elementary school with. When we were in eighth grade I realized that I was totally in love with her (if that’s what it even was in eighth grade, but that’s what I thought at the time) and that’s when I realized I was into girls haha80. How many piercings do you have? One81. Can you roll your Rs? Nope82. How fast can you type? Very, very fast83. How fast can you run? I used to be able to run really fast. I was a sprinter in high school for the track team. I could probably still sprint really fast but I’d be near to death after it84. What color is your hair? Black85. What color is your eyes? They is brown86. What are you allergic to? Cats, lanolin (it’s in sheep’s wool and some lotions), nickel and cobalt, and eggs but I still eat them bc it’s pretty minor87. Do you keep a journal? Yes. But I haven’t written in it for at least a year probably88. What do your parents do? My mom is a third grade teacher and my dad does some political science thing or something or other for the NYS government89. Do you like your age? I guess? I wouldn’t mind being a couple years older tbh but 22 isn’t bad90. What makes you angry? When people lie to me91. Do you like your own name? Ye92. Have you already thought of baby names, and if so what are they? I want to name my son Price if I ever have one, and I have’t really thought of girls names93. Do you want a boy a girl for a child? Both 94. What are you strengths? I don’t think of myself having strengths 95. What are your weaknesses? I’m too dependent on people96. How did you get your name? I chose it lol97. Were your ancestors royalty? I don’t know anything about my family history due to being adopted98. Do you have any scars? Yes, but not any new ones since question 3999. Color of your bedspread? Blue100. Color of your room? The walls are like tan/beige

:D

[twelvebyseventyfive]

Alternative Bordeaux (6) Dubourdieu: white wines, dry and sweet

Noble rot: ripe grapes infected with Botrytis cinarea

So far, in looking at alternative Bordeaux, I’ve explored organics and biodynamics, taken a tour around some of the less well known appellations, and also considered natural approaches to winemaking. But there’s another side to Bordeaux that needs exploring, and which is often neglected: the white wines. These include dry wines, which can be ageworthy and very fine, and of course the famous sweet wines of Sauternes and Barsac.

Denis Dubourdieu was one of the most important figures in developing the white wines of Bordeaux, both sweet and dry. I caught up with him in 2014 to interview him: he was then 65, and sadly died in July 2016 far too young at the age of 67. Two years later, I visited again, this time to spend time with his son Jean-Jacques Dubourdieu, who is now running Domaines Denis Dubourdieu.

Denis Dubourdieu

Denis was primarily a research scientist, and spent half of his time working for the University (where he was president of the Institut des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin at Bordeaux University), and half consulting and working on his own project, Domaines Denis Dubourdieu, which consists of five estates. We met at Château Doisy-Daëne in Barsac, where he was born. He lived in another of the estates, Château Reynon.

Before noble rot has hit

His consultancy business was significant and involved 70 clients, a third of whom were in Bordeaux, and as well as Denis, the team included Valérie Lavigne and Christophe Ollivier. ‘I have three lives,’ he told me, ‘but they are not so far away from each other: I teach what I do, I do what I teach.’ It is his contribution to what we know about the flavour of white wines, both dry and sweet, which will probably have the biggest legacy.

Jean-Jacques Dubourdieu

Denis’ father was the first to make a dry white wine in Sauternes in the 1950s at Doisy-Daëne, many years before Yquem began making their Y. He thought that the limestone had a lot of potential for dry whites. But there were still very few dry wines from the area before Denis began working on them. ‘At the beginning of the 1980s only a few estates made a distinctive wine at this time,’ he recalled. He became involved in the production from his family estate, and together with his wife Florence actually established a new white wine estate in the Graves, Clos Floridène, in 1982.

Limestone soils, Doisy-Daëne

‘It was crazy at the time to create an estate in the Graves areas,’ says his son Jean-Jacques. ‘It is in the same geological area, still on limestone, which keeps going to Pujol-Sur-Cerons. Clos Floridène began with some old plots of Semillon. Now it is a sizeable estate of 39 hectares, and makes red as well as white wines.

Achieving success with his own Bordeaux whites meant that Denis was in demand for his advice, which he ended up giving to most of the classified white wine estates. ‘My consultant activity started with Fieuzal in 1995, then added Malartic-Lagraviere, Pavillion Blanc of Margaux, and Carbonnieux,’ he said. From 2003 he consulted at Yquem and his colleague Christophe Ollivier worked for De Malle for 20 years. Others include Lafaurie-Peyragey and Rayne-Vigneau.

Young vines

Famously, working together with Takatoshi Tominaga, Dubourdieu discovered the role of a group of sulfur-containing compounds, the polyfunctional thiols, in the aroma of white wines. ‘It was the discovery of my life,’ he told me. ‘No one could believe that thiols could be involved in the aroma of grape varieties, and that S-cysteinylated compounds were the precursors.’ He discovered many things, including the influence of the yeast turning these precursors into thiols during fermentation.

  These thiols, particularly 3MH, 3MHA and 4MMP give the distinctive passionfruit, grapefruit and boxwood aromas that are typical of Sauvignon Blanc and botrytised wines, but which also occur in other grape varieties. This research has been followed up elsewhere, particularly in New Zealand, where Sauvignon Blancs from Marlborough show particularly high levels of 3MH and 3MHA.

Denis also worked on oxidation, and demonstrated the role of reduced glutathione in protecting the wine against oxidation. This work also had a lot of relevance to the problem of premature oxidation (premox) in white Burgundy. ‘Oxidation reactions are catalysed by phenolics,’ said Denis. ‘Good white wine everywhere in the world should have low phenolics in the skins and high levels of glutathione. In pressing, polyphenols are oxidized to quinones, and if there’s too much quinone, you lose the reductive power of glutathione. It is important to understand this phenomenon for Sauvignon, which is more sensitive to oxidation.’

Denis thought that this insight was important for white Burgundy, where there have been premox problems. ‘I worked with Jadot,’ he said, ‘and there are no more problems there. Premox is like an aircraft crash: there is never just one reason, always two or three wrong things done. Independently of the composition of the grape, sluggish fermentations are one of the worst things for white wines in terms of oxidation.’

Fermenting!

Denis liked limestone for white wines. ‘I like limestone soils because drought never exists on limestone,’ he said. ‘Phenolics are a reaction to drought and nitrogen deficiency. Phenolics give bitterness and astringency. With no anthocyanins in whites to combine with tannins the tannins are bitter and astringent.’

How do you get good levels of these nice thiols in white wines? ‘The level of the precursor is important, and the phenolic content.’ Press juice has high levels of both, and the wines are often disappointing because the precursors end up being oxidised. A good level of nitrogen in the juice is helpful (200 mg/l FAN). So the ideal juice would have low pH, high precursors and low phenolics.

Pressing is important. Denis approach was to destem, crush and press at low temperature (10 C). ‘We protect the first part of pressing against oxygen, and the second part we don’t protect.’ Normally there is no addition of SO2, unless the juice is clarified. The idea is to protect the part of the juice richest in glutathione and oxidise the phenolics for the latter part of pressing.

  When it comes to botrytis, it’s important that the fungus acts on healthy, ripe, metabolizing grapes. They need to respond actively to the infection by the fungus, and there shouldn’t be too much time between ripeness and infection. ‘Infection is not only about concentration,’ he said. ‘It is stimulation of the production of aroma precursors by the pulp. When the grapes are becoming an old guy it is difficult to be excited by the fungus.’ More mature grapes simply concentrate their flavours, with honey and citrus, when they are infected. When grapes that are metabolically active get infected, then you get the polyfunctional thiols, with flavours of apricot, mango and grapefruit. ‘You want fast ripening and fast invasion.’

‘Purity is my obsession,’ said Denis. ‘Wines should be pure, like the music: you can’t have pleasure with off notes,’

Farming across the Dubourdieu domaines is more-or-less organic. ‘We haven’t used herbicides in 35 years,’ says Jean-Jacques. ‘We plough the soils.’ Harvest of the 400 plots takes two months. They make their own compost, too. ‘We don’t want bio certification.’ He says, ‘but we want to show that we make significant effort. Everything is relative, but we are bigger than average and want to show a significant sign and message of sustainability. We plough the soil. We are not crazy about letting grass on the soil because we want high acidity.’

Limestone

‘Here in Barsac this is important because we force the roots to go into the limestone,’ he says. ‘Ploughing the soil in Barsac is tough because there are rocks everywhere. It is not a simple process. On gravel soils it is a dream. Even in completely clay soils it is easier, but there when it is wet it is slippery. We work the soil exactly like my grandfather. My father was very attached with the ploughing, especially with dry white and sweet wines to keep the acidity high.’

Sauternes isn’t all that fashionable these days, but the Dubourdieus have a strong market for their wines. ’35-40% of the market for Sauternes is France,’ says Jean-Jacques, ‘with the UK 2nd. Japan is doing well and China little by little. Production is small and market is small. In our family range, it is not the most difficult to sell. If we follow the style of freshness and great expression, there is a market for that. We sell out every year.’ Since 2009 they have sold all their Sauternes under the name of Barsac.

For Sauternes, the ‘better’ vintages in Bordeaux are not always the best. ‘In the bigger vintages with more concentration you get more VA, approaching 1 g/litre, and the wines don’t always age as well,’ says Jean-Jacques.

Science has been well applied across the Dubourdieu domaines. These are wines of precision, elegance, purity and lovely aromatic detail. It is no wonder that Denis was in such demand as a consultant, and his legacy has been a leap forward in quality for Bordeaux whites. Now the world needs to discover their qualities.

Château Doisy-Daëne Blanc 2015 Bordeaux, France 100% Sauvignon Blanc. Make 30-40 000 bottles of this each year. Normally dry whites in Bordeaux are from gravel, but this is limestone, and it gives a distinctive character to the wine. Very fine and expressive with lovely acidity underpinning the citrus and fennel fruit, with a hint of lanolin and quince. Linear with a lovely fine acid core. Lovely finesse here. 93/100

Clos Floridène Blanc 2015 Graves, France 50% Semillon from old vines and 50% Sauvignon. Semillon in barrel, 30% new, older oak for the Sauvignon. Linear and pure with lovely fresh citrus note: grapefruits and lemon peel. Hints of fennel and keen acidity with nice precision and purity. Has lovely bright acidity with nice taut complexity, and it will age well. 93/100

Clos Floridène Rouge 2012 Graves, France The Merlot is on limestone and Cabernet (70%) is on gravel. Had an incredible mildew attack and lost 50% of the production. Very fresh and stony with lovely bright cherry and plum fruit. Such pure fruit here with nice precision and structure. Such an approachable with but has some mineral, stony notes. 91/100

Château Doisy-Daëne 2012 Barsac, Bordeaux, France One third new oak, aged for a year in barrel. A difficult year when Yquem didn’t make any sweet wine, but this is really good. ‘I really believe in the ageing potential of 2012,’ says Jean-Jacques. Half of normal production. Fresh, pure and linear with nice bright, balanced sweet peach and passionfruit notes, with some citrus fruits. Midweight with nice balance between the sweetness and the acidity, with a lovely smooth texture. Fine spicy notes and a hint of vanilla. Very fresh lemony finish. Superb. 94/100

Château Doisy-Daëne 2013 Barsac, Bordeaux, France A difficult vintage for reds, but for sweet it was easy. Rain all summer and then lovely September and October. Lively and bright with lovely concentrated sweet lemon and pear fruit with some peachy richness. Melon and herb notes, too, with a linear finish. Not overly complex but with nice weight and focus and potential for development, with good acidity. 92/100

Château Doisy-Daëne 1975 Barsac, Bordeaux, France Golden/brown colour. Fresh and lemony with a hint of spice and treacle (very faint), with nice grapefruit and nut characters. Some lanolin and quince jelly characters as well as traces of coffee and tea. Still tastes quite sweet but with a delicate savouriness. Lovely complexity here. Beautiful. Elegant and driking very well now. 94/100

Château Doisy-Daëne 1991 Barsac, Bordeaux, France Marmalade and spice nose with some apricot and toast. Vivid and intense. There’s a minty edge to the palate which shows pear and peach, with good acidity and nice spiciness. Very distinctive with a savoury edge. Lovely pure spicy citrus fruits drive this with a rich toasty quality. Has some distance to go. Sweet but fresh with nice spicy detail, and a minty edge. 93/100

Château Doisy-Daëne 1990 Barsac, Bordeaux, France One of the iconic vintages. Heavily botrytised. Gold/bronze colour. Malt, apricot and peach with toast and toffee notes. Very rich and harmonious with lovely texture and depth. Combines sweet grape, toffee and apricot flavours with a savoury, slightly earthy edge, and some pastry characters. Has immense concentration and richness with real harmony. 96/100

L’Extravagant de Doisy-Daëne 2006 Sauternes, Bordeaux, France Grandfather started this cuvée in 1990. The idea is to make something more concentrated, but without feeling more concentrated – still fresh. Based mainly on Sauvignon Blanc, with 100% new oak. Complex, lemony and powerful on the nose with some grapefruit and spice. Very pure. The palate is very concentrated and rich with sweet, intense pear and melon fruit, as well as nice acidity. So linear and pure, showing great focus and power, as well as harmony. 95/100

L’Extravagant de Doisy-Daëne 2013 Sauternes, Bordeaux, France 75% Sauvignon Blanc, 25% Semillon. Since 2015 this is close to 100% Sauvignon. Lively, intense and aromatic with subtle herbal notes alongside the intense pear, grape and peach fruit. Melony and exotic, showing great concentration, but still fresh. Intense with lovely freshness on the finish. Nice power and weight here with a lovely pure, exotic fruity quality. 96/100

Alternative Bordeaux

Biodynamics at Château Palmer

Château Falfas, Côtes de Bourg

Experimenting with organics at Lafon-Rochet

Organic farming in the Cru Bourgeois

Natural wines at Château Peybonhomme

White wines with the Dubourdieus

  from Jamie Goode's wine blog http://www.wineanorak.com:/wineblog/bordeaux/alternative-bordeaux-6-dubourdieu-white-wines-dry-and-sweet For Fine Wine Investment opportunities check out Twelve by Seventy Five: http://www.twelve-by-seventy-five.com/

[reginat766352-blog]

Save the Stitches by Nordic Needle

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Again what happened to the alpacas and how long they have been static for I just don't know. They had been then transported across the channel to Dover the place they have been dealt with by the authorities, whatever which means. The driver then set off for an alpaca farm near Milton Keynes to drop off some alpacas earlier than heading for Baydon. He was stopped by the Police and the whole lot was checked. Coarser fibers have diameters of 30 plus microns. But even those so-called coarse guard hairs are on the softer side when compared with the guard hairs or scales of the sheep. A micron, by the best way, is a unit of length that is one thousandth of a millimeter or one millionth of a meter. As with alpaca fleece, llama fibers has various levels of medullation or hollowness and are therefore lightweight. Relating to diameter, llama fiber ranges from 20 to 40 microns, though some say 25 to 31 microns. Llama guard hairs are lengthy, very stiff, and powerful. Sheep scales are still tougher. Sheep wool will not be as soft, fantastic, easy, lightweight, heat, or robust as alpaca and llama fiber. It scorches simply; is prone to discoloration; will shrink in water; accommodates lanolin and subsequently should be processed and often with harsh chemicals. This is chargeable for the fleece’s itchiness and irritation against human skin (there may be present processing in place to make wool fleece more hypoallergenic). We want our alpacas to be alert, inquisitive and easy to handle. Since the first and only importation of alpacas from South America in the 1980s, American breeders have been concerned with organized advertising and marketing initiatives that concentrate on fiber. Suri have a highly lustrous, silky fibre missing in crimp. Crias normally weigh approximately 15 to 19 pounds at delivery.  I don’t need this right now. Arapaho Rose Alpacas has all the pieces you want in terms of alpacas. Who sells pet alpacas? She has vivid high-quality fleece with nice character. Our selective breeding programme concentrates exclusively on the finest quality Peruvian Alpaca inventory. We firmly consider that to purchase an alpaca from a breeder is to establish a lasting relationship with that breeder as a mentor, a pal, and a colleague. They now saw the value in its fiber. Evidence suggests sheep domestication occurred somewhere between eleven,000 and 9,000 BC within the international locations of Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Syria. In truth, the sheep is thought to be one of the primary animals domesticated by humans. Derived from three totally different lineages of the wild mouflon, sheep were initially developed for meat, milk, and skin. It was not until 6,000 BC that Iranians discovered makes use of for wool, and eventually began trading it with Africa and Europe. That interval could be thought-about the real beginning of the sheep wool trade. Sheep arrived in England and Spain with Roman conquerors in 50 Advert. From there, the trade exploded, especially within the eleventh and 12 centuries. Christopher Columbus brought sheep to the Americas in the late fifteenth century. Sheep-rearing moved westward from the North American East Coast within the early nineteenth century. The animal arrived in Australia in the late 18th century as food provide for inmates. We then splashed out on a small marquee type thing, only 3m x 3m but emblazoned with the Patou web address and in ‘Patou green’, in fact all the things was inexperienced, it was our chosen colour. Alpaca Farm New Forest Once we were equipped with all that we entered as many reveals as we may go to. I work full time and Sue works part time so we were a bit restricted however we entered every eligible animal we had into the Bath and West Show and the SWAG Spring Show, later got here the Futurity. Our show staff was mainly anybody who was eligible; it was a brief choice course of! Our first year’s cria, Lily and Henry both took rosettes as juniors, one in each show. We have been up and operating. Since then we have now taken no less than one rosette at each show now we have been to, bar one, grrrrrrrr. Testomony to the dedication we've of sticking to our breeding programme.