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Levi Dalton

Levi Dalton
Vestini Campagnano Pallagrello Nero 2004 (Campania, Italia)

I enjoy this wine a great deal.

Every time I return to it, I feel like I am learning something new about the architecture of wine. About the possibilities of interweaving complexity and elegance. About presence without weight. This is a very positive note for the potential of vine growing and winemaking in the Campania.

I smile sometimes, after I get a chance to taste this vintage. It makes me happy.

Dettori Bianco 2006 (Sardegna, Italia)

My friend. Changeable, and somewhat taciturn at times, as friends can be. This doesn't always sit well with others. But in the right company: a ribald evening.

Milziade Antano Sagrantino di Montefalco Passito 2002 (Umbria, Italia)

I have no idea why the world only speaks of Bea. Here is Antano! A shallow mountain stream, frozen in the winter. Here is dark earth, formed hard underneath the pale sheen of ice. Unmoved by the wind.

So very dry with those tannins.

NV Le Brun Servenay Brut Champagne (Avize - Champagne, France)

She asked me "would I like some more?"

"Yes, yes I would, and thank you."
 
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
Recently...Vestini Campagnano Pallagrello Nero 2004 (Campania, Italia)

I enjoy this wine a great deal.

Every time I return to it, I feel like I am learning something new about the architecture of wine. About the possibilities of interweaving complexity and elegance. About presence without weight. This is a very positive note for the potential of vine growing and winemaking in the Campania.

I smile sometimes, after I get a chance to taste this vintage. It makes me happy.
Click to expand...

The '04 hasn't shown up in Illinois, but a friend recently gifted me a bottle of the '01. Any thoughts on the comparison?
 
originally posted by fillay:
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
Recently...Vestini Campagnano Pallagrello Nero 2004 (Campania, Italia)

I enjoy this wine a great deal.

Every time I return to it, I feel like I am learning something new about the architecture of wine. About the possibilities of interweaving complexity and elegance. About presence without weight. This is a very positive note for the potential of vine growing and winemaking in the Campania.

I smile sometimes, after I get a chance to taste this vintage. It makes me happy.
Click to expand...

The '04 hasn't shown up in Illinois, but a friend recently gifted me a bottle of the '01. Any thoughts on the comparison?
Click to expand...

Vastly different.

The 2001 was made by the previous winemaker, Prof. Luigi Moio. He broke from Vestini Campagnano and with one of the partners from that venture started Terre del Principe. Of course the Prof. is also the man behind the curtain at Notaio, Cantina del Taburno, and Caggiano.

Anyway, it was a nice gesture from your friend, because the 2001 is hard to obtain now. And it was quite expensive on release. I have had it several times, as is happens. It is a nice wine. Much thicker than what I described above. Noticeably full-bodied, concentrated, and weighty. It has mineral notes, if not the intricate mineral and wet earth character of the 2004.

The 2001 is what you might call an "impressive" wine. You could age it for awhile longer if you would like. Honestly, I wish I still had some. Very different than the 2004, though.
 
Thanks! I was aware of the change in winemaking regimes, but detailed notes about what to expect in the glass have been quite difficult to find. I'll report when I finally do crack it open.

There appears to be one more bottle floating around Chicago - at $50 the price of entry is a little to steep for me to buy on spec.
 
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