scottreiner
scott reiner
Everyone had plenty of reds, but luckily two people brought wines. The first was a 2008 Casa dAmbra Ischia. A relatively light wine with nice chalky minerality and a sit of a spritz. I would have been happier with a bit more acidity. Great accompaniment with stuff like oysters, which is fitting as it was initially described as Muscadet-like After about an hour some fruit came out which made, for me, a more complete wine. Next up was a 2007 Ottaviano Lambruschi Sarticola Vermentino Colli di Luni. Again, a chalky minerality, but this time more pronounced, even tactile. For me it really had a great mouth feel. I would have liked a bit more fruit, but it really didnt need it. My favorite of the two whites.
On to the reds, we started with a comparison of 2 wines from Torette in the Vallee dAosta north of Piedmont. Wines from Torrette are primarily Petit Rouge with some other local grapes blended in. First up was the 2006 Les Cretes. Nice dusty, fine-grained tannins with a pleasant bitter note. At first the wine is dominate by earth notes, but with air some lovely fruit emerges, delicious berry fruit. Next the 2006 Grosjean Freres. This Torrette was lower in acid and bigger in stature, but more obvious and clumsy. The fruit was initially much more obvious, just not as fun or interesting. By no means a bad wine, simply the lesser of the two on this occasion.
For the start of the Sicilian wines we had two offerings from Arianna Occhipinti. The 2007 Frapatto was in a beautiful place. The first thing that smacked you was the lovely fruit, mostly cherries. In the mouth the fruit continued to dominate, but it was a bit more feminine, more delicate. Vibrant acidity assured that the wine was alive and in your face, even with the demure notes. And, lets not forget the tannins! Really tasty tannins, you will really want some food with this wine. After this we had the 2007 Nero dAvola. I bigger and darker wine, the Nero nevertheless had great acidity. The fruit was much darker, deeper. But, the wine was mostly closed, even after some time. Revisit in a year or two
Continuing our Sicilian jaunt, we poured a 2002 Passopisciaro Franchetti Mt Etna. This wine seemed much younger than its true age, the green oak just screamed at you. Too modern, not my thing.
Next we had our WOTN, the 2000 Paolo Bea Sagrantino di Montefalco Secco. As Bea fans will expect, this was rich and deep. It felt like a comfy couch, you just want to sit down and let the wine engulf you. Mineral, earth, fruit all in perfect balance like a coordinated swimming trio. The wine was really weightless. It was 14.6 alcohol, but you could in no way taste it! As the Vulgar Little Monkey I believe said, Bea simply has SOUL!
Next up was the 1998 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano dAbruzzo. Pepe is one of the great producers in Southern Italy, and as such it can be a bit frustrating to try when so young. It was all there, but she wasnt ready to put out. We decided to decant the remainder and revisit. While it definitely helped, it was just a tease. You get to see some cleavage, but then she turns away
Back to our previously mentioned Valle dAosta producers, we started with the 2005 Les Cretes Fumin. Nice tannins, relatively green, but nice nevertheless. The fruit is more serious than with the Torrette, but it all needs more time. The 2006 Grosjean Freres Fumin was more giving, even if the vintage would lead you to think the opposite. It just seemed riper Both wines were interesting, but neither was as interesting or fun as the Torrettes.
For our final two dry wines we had a 2005 Inama Carmenere and a 2002 Nino Negri 5 Stele Sfursat. While these wines were competently made, they were too modern for me to have any interest.
Always a nice way to end an evening, we finished with a 2001 Paolo Bea Sagrantino di Montefalco Passito. This had a decent amount of alcohol (as it was later in the evening, I did not write it down) but carried it very well. Slightly sweet, it showed very well. It was my first experience with a Bea Passito, and I must say I was not bowled over. Again, this may be solely due to the fact that we had been drinking, not necessarily tasting, wine for 4 hours
On to the reds, we started with a comparison of 2 wines from Torette in the Vallee dAosta north of Piedmont. Wines from Torrette are primarily Petit Rouge with some other local grapes blended in. First up was the 2006 Les Cretes. Nice dusty, fine-grained tannins with a pleasant bitter note. At first the wine is dominate by earth notes, but with air some lovely fruit emerges, delicious berry fruit. Next the 2006 Grosjean Freres. This Torrette was lower in acid and bigger in stature, but more obvious and clumsy. The fruit was initially much more obvious, just not as fun or interesting. By no means a bad wine, simply the lesser of the two on this occasion.
For the start of the Sicilian wines we had two offerings from Arianna Occhipinti. The 2007 Frapatto was in a beautiful place. The first thing that smacked you was the lovely fruit, mostly cherries. In the mouth the fruit continued to dominate, but it was a bit more feminine, more delicate. Vibrant acidity assured that the wine was alive and in your face, even with the demure notes. And, lets not forget the tannins! Really tasty tannins, you will really want some food with this wine. After this we had the 2007 Nero dAvola. I bigger and darker wine, the Nero nevertheless had great acidity. The fruit was much darker, deeper. But, the wine was mostly closed, even after some time. Revisit in a year or two
Continuing our Sicilian jaunt, we poured a 2002 Passopisciaro Franchetti Mt Etna. This wine seemed much younger than its true age, the green oak just screamed at you. Too modern, not my thing.
Next we had our WOTN, the 2000 Paolo Bea Sagrantino di Montefalco Secco. As Bea fans will expect, this was rich and deep. It felt like a comfy couch, you just want to sit down and let the wine engulf you. Mineral, earth, fruit all in perfect balance like a coordinated swimming trio. The wine was really weightless. It was 14.6 alcohol, but you could in no way taste it! As the Vulgar Little Monkey I believe said, Bea simply has SOUL!
Next up was the 1998 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano dAbruzzo. Pepe is one of the great producers in Southern Italy, and as such it can be a bit frustrating to try when so young. It was all there, but she wasnt ready to put out. We decided to decant the remainder and revisit. While it definitely helped, it was just a tease. You get to see some cleavage, but then she turns away
Back to our previously mentioned Valle dAosta producers, we started with the 2005 Les Cretes Fumin. Nice tannins, relatively green, but nice nevertheless. The fruit is more serious than with the Torrette, but it all needs more time. The 2006 Grosjean Freres Fumin was more giving, even if the vintage would lead you to think the opposite. It just seemed riper Both wines were interesting, but neither was as interesting or fun as the Torrettes.
For our final two dry wines we had a 2005 Inama Carmenere and a 2002 Nino Negri 5 Stele Sfursat. While these wines were competently made, they were too modern for me to have any interest.
Always a nice way to end an evening, we finished with a 2001 Paolo Bea Sagrantino di Montefalco Passito. This had a decent amount of alcohol (as it was later in the evening, I did not write it down) but carried it very well. Slightly sweet, it showed very well. It was my first experience with a Bea Passito, and I must say I was not bowled over. Again, this may be solely due to the fact that we had been drinking, not necessarily tasting, wine for 4 hours