CWD: Does Valentini Trebbiano need time?

J

Joe Perry

Joe Perry
The other day, while sifting through the pitiful remains of my cellar in this post-marriage, high APR, recession world, I saw a bottle of Valentini Trebbiano in my cellar. Unlike most wines which I taste before buying, I have no idea what to expect (only, to say, that I very much enjoy Emidio Pepe's Trebbiano).

Does Valentini Trebbiano need time? Where should my expectations be? Will this season of "Heroes" be worth watching???

Best,
Joe
 
What year.

The wines are pretty expressive of vintage character. Some improve more with time than others but all seem to have a healthy 15-20 year evolution.
 
Would it be, maybe, more profound or less profound with age?

Does it jump out at you as being similar to anything of equal profoundness?

Best,
Joe
 
I thought it showed extremely well and wouldn't really see the need to age it longer.

But that's a question of taste. The wine was vibrant and nervous but clearly not new. At the same time, it steered clear of dryness.

If you had a case of the stuff, I would tell you to open one for the next 12 years.

One bottle is a crapshoot to age longer.
 
I beg to disagree with VLM. What the fuck does he know about this anyway? Sure, maybe you could argue the point that Joe P's question was poorly written.

Does Valentini Trebbiano need time?

Time for what? To get its hair done? Is it a drummer?

VLM did indeed answer the question. Technically you could drink Valentini Trebbiano during fermentation or you could drink it promptly after bottling or you could give it ten years in a moldy old cellar in Latvia. Each would be an educational experience but I gather that this was not the intent of the query. J

oe's question might better have been stated as:

At what stage of its development might the ---- (insert vintage) Valentini Trebbiano be most likely to show optimally?

Whatever. I'm all for tossing this one in the cellar (back with rest of your weird blanc collection: Chateau Simone, Domaine du Brana, Chave Hermitage, Gravner, et al) and forgetting about it for awhile.

About five years ago I was helping a friend move a bunch of boxes into his wine locker and I ran into a former client who said that there was some guy in the other section of the building selling a bunch of wine. I ambled over to the walk-in locker and the seller turned out to be the manager of the place. One of his clients ran into some financial problems (ie: he was in the slammer for freelance pharmaceutical sales) and hadn't paid his bill for a year or two. Wine storage facility managers aren't exactly known for their benevolent tendencies so after a time, the manager contacted a local wine shop who bought all the "good" wines (which paid off the bill) but they left behind a bunch of bottles that they felt were unsalable.

Being the adventurous sort, I bought up some 1985 Chablis ("oh, this is probably awful") and some mid-80s Hanzell and Stony Hill Chardonnays ("yuck, look at how golden brown these are!"), all for about $2 per bottle. I was also able to assist the manager in the removal of two cases of 1986 Valentini Trebbiano.

"This stuff' probably really sucks! Italian white wines aren't meant to be aged anyway, and I'll probably just toss it down the drain, but it's got an old-fashioned label that I can soak off and use for wallpaper or notepads...but $2 a bottle for crap that's probably bad and that nobody else in their right mind would buy? How about I give you $15 cash for both boxes?"

He was pleased with his sales ability (it was all cash), and the Valentini went to a good home. Just a few bottles of the 86 remain but the wine has been fantastic every time I've opened one. It changes over a couple of hours in the glass and food definitely brings out its fine points. It's got a lot of body but also shows a delicacy that young Valentini (or Pepe) Trebbiano hints at. It's not a flashy wine, but the sort of thing you want to spend time with, drinking and enjoying rather than analyzing it and compare the wine to the 17 other bottles on the table. I think of it as Italy's answer to Montrachet (assuming someone asked the question), only harder to find. If you like Pepe's Trebbiano, you'll like Valentini's, only a little more. It goes to 11.

-Eden (I like the CWD designation too, although I get it confused with the certificate initials conferred upon people by the Society of Wine Educators)
 
The vintage is important. There has been some variability of late. But as a general rule of thumb, if it is the '03, open it now. If not, and it is less than 10 years old, then waiting would probably be of benefit.

I prefer Valentini to Pepe as I prefer Raveneau to Vincent Dauvissat. The first can be supernal, while the second is quite good/excellent.
 
Joe,

Greg Mitrakas brought a bottle of 1999 Valentini Trebbiano to a little get together last week. He had decanted it before noon and we drank it probably about 8 hours later. The bouquet was fascinating, wild and ever-shifting. The wine on the palate was outstanding in a lot of ways and I really enjoyed it a lot. Still, I thought it could use more time--say 3-5 more years?

Michael
 
That sounds like a valentini though some what surprised with the 99 a very focused precise trebbiano. Sounds more like the 98 which had that oragami foldedness to it. Try and find a 91 or 93 if you want over the hill and not quite ready all stuffed into one too small bottle.
 
And by the way this idea that decanting wine for days at a time is a postive thing, though in certain cases it may be, is crazzzzzzzzzzzy.
Maybe some of that over the hillness was the the excessive decanting. What in the world are folks trying to do? Make sure the wine shows nothing, positive or negative? Whack.
 
originally posted by Michael Malinoski:
Joe,

Greg Mitrakas brought a bottle of 1999 Valentini Trebbiano to a little get together last week. He had decanted it before noon and we drank it probably about 8 hours later. The bouquet was fascinating, wild and ever-shifting. The wine on the palate was outstanding in a lot of ways and I really enjoyed it a lot. Still, I thought it could use more time--say 3-5 more years?

Michael
Click to expand...

So who will win the race to post notes on the wines from that dinner that I missed due to extenuating circumstances? MM or world traveling man?
 
originally posted by gregory dal piaz:
And by the way this idea that decanting wine for days at a time is a postive thing, though in certain cases it may be, is crazzzzzzzzzzzy.
Maybe some of that over the hillness was the the excessive decanting. What in the world are folks trying to do? Make sure the wine shows nothing, positive or negative? Whack.
Click to expand...

I think I'm with you.

All of that super long decanting stuff is complete horseshit. Those folks are whack. No one has ever been able to explain to me how that could possibly be a good thing.

All they do is report the awesomeness of their thinking in no uncertain terms.

People don't know shit, sometimes including me.

Oh, and I find Pepe a more reliable trebbiano than Valentini, but Valentini can hit higher highs, but it has phenomenally maddening bottle variation.
 
originally posted by VLM:

Oh, and I find Pepe a more reliable trebbiano than Valentini, but Valentini can hit higher highs, but it has phenomenally maddening bottle variation.
Click to expand...
All I know is, that '99 you brought out to Pop's last year remains one of the best wine experiences of my life. (Thanks.)
 
I'm shocked. I always thought trebbiano was invented to clarify the definition of the word 'contempt.' But then I used to think similar thoughts about muscadet. Live and learn.
 
Uh, Pepe is one of the least reliable wines I know. Seriously. I'm beginning to think Grandma adds a little extra saliva to certain bottles before she hand pastes those labels on.

Red or white, you never really can be sure of what you will get.
 
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