Alzero and the Case of Weird Verticals.

W

William Piper

William Piper
I'm in the habit of checking out wine lists for restaurants and saving a copy (usually PDF) to compare prices, availability, etc. I was looking over Union Square Cafe's list and noticed that they are pretty deep into Quintarelli's wines, most notably his Cab Franc in the appassimento style - Alzero. They have 8 vintages of it, back to '83. I've had a handful of his wines, mostly the Primofiore, but at least once the reccioto. Does anyone have any notes or experiences with the Alzero? It has been a few years since I've had the other Quintarellis' and I'm curious if my tastes have changed - I wonder if the literal concentration and barrique-iness of them will bowl me over now. I found the Primofiores complex and moving at 22...

Also, have any weirdo verticals passed your eyes lately? The Modern has 13 vintages of Mas de Daumas Gassac including solid '89-'97, for some reason that escapes me.

Also noteworthy: the price on the Alzeros on an older (maybe a year old) list for USC ranges from $475-800, while a more recent has a smaller deviation of $400-500, with the '84 dropping from $800 to $400. A sign of the times to be sure, but I'm sure they're not losing their shirts.

Not that I'm looking to buy any of this - just curious.
 
The idea that someone would drop $400-500 on a bottle of Alzero makes me nostalgic for the recently passed gilded age. Pretty nice wine. $400? AYFKM?

All the bottles of Primofiore I have tried have been fucked up by the time landed on my doorstep.
 
There are lots of deals on the list at USC, comparative to other venues further uptown.

And of course there is lots from Chadderdon, like Quintarelli and Huet.
 
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