See ya

Florida Jim

Florida Jim
I head to the leftcoast tomorrow but thought I'd post these before I fly . . .

2007 Do Ferreiro, Albario Cepas Vellas:
13.5% alcohol from 200+ year old, own-rooted vines; white fruit and spice nose, full and appealing; medium bodied but considerable concentration, intense flavors follow the nose, fresh, bright, spicy, balanced and long. Excellent by itself but, with rustic shrimp bisque, off the charts.

2006 Silver, Chardonnay:
14.2%, unoaked (all stainless and cement) and made by Mer Soleil; clean, varietally correct and balanced, not a lot of character but some and a medium length finish. Better then expected so often the unoaked chards. seem hollow this does not. I understand this is about $23, which seems about right for its quality.

2007 T. et P. Matrot, Meursault (375 ml):
13% under screwcap; impressive for its character and individuality as well as its sense of place; probably needs a few years to peak but drinks well now and, no matter what one thinks of the closure, having a Meursault in 375 under screwcap makes this a great country.

1999 Juge, Cornas Cuve SC:
13.5%; Burgundy weight but wonderful syrah intensity with Cornas scents and flavors; black fruit, bright, grippy, smoky, nervous wine that seems barely contained in its structure; from turned earth to grilled fruit to floral tones, the nose alone is worth the price of admission. Along side homemade bean with bacon soup and corn bread, as good a match as there will ever be.

2006 E. Prissette, Cteaux de Languedoc:
14% and 50/50 syrah/carignan; smells of cured meat and red fruit (reminds me a little of CdP) but it also has a nice mineral streak in both the nose and palate, very nice balance and a certain elegance. Not especially intense or concentrated but quite drinkable.

2004 Giacosa, Nebbiolo dAlba Valmaggiore:
13.5%; much more typical of the grape then a recent 2003; overall impression is a more four-square version of Barbaresco good aromatics, wonderful texture, slightly rustic and blocky but solid, concentrated and with a considerable finish. I like this far better than the 2003 and it should cellar well.

Best, Jim
 
I think unoaked Chardonnay that's raised in steel only tends more in that hollow direction; I think the reductive effect tends to compromise texture and depth. No science there, just intuition, but it seems right to me.
 
I've had a lot of tasty, chuggable INOX chardonnay in New Zealand, where it does well with that treatment. Even under screwcap, I haven't noticed undue problems with reduction. But there is always something missing. Based on a few score examples from around the world, I'm not sure it can be more than an ice bucket on the beach wine...though of course there will now be a series of counter-examples.
 
originally posted by Florida Jim:
See ya
I head to the leftcoast tomorrow but thought I'd post these before I fly . . .

2007 Do Ferreiro, Albario Cepas Vellas:
13.5% alcohol from 200+ year old, own-rooted vines; white fruit and spice nose, full and appealing; medium bodied but considerable concentration, intense flavors follow the nose, fresh, bright, spicy, balanced and long. Excellent by itself but, with rustic shrimp bisque, off the charts.
Best, Jim
I loves me some Cepas Vellas pretty hardcore. I shared a bottle of this with Putnam about six months ago, and agree with your descriptors completely. Would love to try it with that bisque. Homemade? Recipe perhaps?
 
Lars,
Recipe from the NY Times of recent date.

Mark,
Sonoma, CA.

Steve,
Yeah, something missing.
BTW, I bottle the 2008 on March 2nd.

Best, Jim
 
2007 Do Ferreiro, Albario Cepas Vellas:
13.5% alcohol from 200+ year old, own-rooted vines; white fruit and spice nose, full and appealing; medium bodied but considerable concentration, intense flavors follow the nose, fresh, bright, spicy, balanced and long. Excellent by itself but, with rustic shrimp bisque, off the charts.

Trying to age this...any idea for an aging regimen? (I'd like the acid to mellow out a bit and the wine to fill-in a bit. I'm thinking 5-6 years at least. What do you think?)

Have fun in the redwoods!
 
originally posted by MarkS:
2007 Do Ferreiro, Albario Cepas Vellas:
13.5% alcohol from 200+ year old, own-rooted vines; white fruit and spice nose, full and appealing; medium bodied but considerable concentration, intense flavors follow the nose, fresh, bright, spicy, balanced and long. Excellent by itself but, with rustic shrimp bisque, off the charts.

Trying to age this...any idea for an aging regimen? (I'd like the acid to mellow out a bit and the wine to fill-in a bit. I'm thinking 5-6 years at least. What do you think?)

Have fun in the redwoods!

Tough call as no one really knows.

Every now and then Andre will pull an older one, but I'm not sure they develop in particularly interesting ways beyond a few years. I suspect that there could be vintages that are outliers to this. It is sort of the same take as I have on Briords.
 
Have almost a case of it, we'll have something to drink when you're here. Is your better half coming with you or later? Get in touch after the first when we get our sh-- together after being in the desert. I still have CPA to see and try to halt the recession.
 
Okay Nathan, I'll take the bait. Except for the '97which I think will surprise us eventuallyall vintages of Clos de Briords have been wonderful and aged very well. Everybody thought the '99 was weird (I was going to say fucked but that would be impolite) and now it is sublime and one of my favorites.

Do you have a specific complaint about the wine? Don't like the vineyard? What?
 
originally posted by Kay Bixler:
Okay Nathan, I'll take the bait. Except for the '97which I think will surprise us eventuallyall vintages of Clos de Briords have been wonderful and aged very well. Everybody thought the '99 was weird (I was going to say fucked but that would be impolite) and now it is sublime and one of my favorites.

Do you have a specific complaint about the wine? Don't like the vineyard? What?

Mark...my...words.... (cue ominous music)

Time to drink '97s.
 
originally posted by Kay Bixler:
It'll take more than a little scary music to convince me.
Well, I've played that tune every year for the last 4 or 5 after the vertical tasting at Marc's, and I'm even more persuaded than I was. The '97 used to be Marc and Joe's favorite vintage (never mine), but I don't hear that any more.

Well, come over and drink mine now, and you can lord it over me with yours later.
 
originally posted by VLM:
Tough call as no one really knows.
We do know. Back in 2000, I was visiting Gerardo Mndez with Jancis Robinson, and he opened a bottle of 1976 (!) wine which we tasted right under those old vines, and it was quite alive. Does it improve for 25 years? Not so sure. But I've tasted remarkably complex 10 to 15 year-old Cepas Vellas, and even the regular cuve ages well. Other albario producers, particularly Pazo de Seorans with its Seleccin de Aada, Palacio de Fefianes with its 1583, Pazos de Lusco with its Pazo Pieiro, Fillaboa with its Finca Monte Alto and La Val with its Sobre Las, are making remarkably ageworthy wines.
 
originally posted by VS:
originally posted by VLM:
Tough call as no one really knows.
We do know. Back in 2000, I was visiting Gerardo Mndez with Jancis Robinson, and he opened a bottle of 1976 (!) wine which we tasted right under those old vines, and it was quite alive. Does it improve for 25 years? Not so sure. But I've tasted remarkably complex 10 to 15 year-old Cepas Vellas, and even the regular cuve ages well. Other albario producers, particularly Pazo de Seorans with its Seleccin de Aada, Palacio de Fefianes with its 1583, Pazos de Lusco with its Pazo Pieiro, Fillaboa with its Finca Monte Alto and La Val with its Sobre Las, are making remarkably ageworthy wines.

Thanks VS, that's what I was looking for. I was kinda hoping it would have aging characteristics akin to good Muscadet. Hate buying whites that cannot stand being laid down for awhile. I'm a bit anal that way.
 
originally posted by Kay Bixler:
Okay Nathan, I'll take the bait. Except for the '97which I think will surprise us eventuallyall vintages of Clos de Briords have been wonderful and aged very well. Everybody thought the '99 was weird (I was going to say fucked but that would be impolite) and now it is sublime and one of my favorites.

Do you have a specific complaint about the wine? Don't like the vineyard? What?

Love the wine and the vinyard, just don't think it really improves and gets more interesting past 5-7 or so in every vintage. My big exceptions to that are 1996 and 2002. I don't like the 1999 as much as everyone else seems to, not that I dislike it.
 
originally posted by VS:
originally posted by VLM:
Tough call as no one really knows.
We do know. Back in 2000, I was visiting Gerardo Mndez with Jancis Robinson, and he opened a bottle of 1976 (!) wine which we tasted right under those old vines, and it was quite alive. Does it improve for 25 years? Not so sure. But I've tasted remarkably complex 10 to 15 year-old Cepas Vellas, and even the regular cuve ages well. Other albario producers, particularly Pazo de Seorans with its Seleccin de Aada, Palacio de Fefianes with its 1583, Pazos de Lusco with its Pazo Pieiro, Fillaboa with its Finca Monte Alto and La Val with its Sobre Las, are making remarkably ageworthy wines.

Thanks Victor, good to know. I don't even know if even Andre has tasted them that old.

For me the question with whether to cellar a wine is if it ages in ways that improve my experience with it (more complexity, whatever). It doesn't diminish, to my way of thinking, how profound and enjoyable a wine can be when younger.
 
The '96 Briords is insanely good.

David has told me that Luneau, Bossard, and whoever else was at the dinner to honor David in the Nantais gave Marc an ovation for the '96. I forget the details, maybe David can be persuaded to remind us.
 
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