I guess once in awhile it has to be like this.
2006 Ameztoi Getariako Txakolina
This was an off bottle, seemingly refermented. It wasn't just lightly sparkling or ptillant, it was foaming and bubbling violently like a cheap sparkling wine. Surprisingly it was drinkable (after many rounds of violent shaking to vent the CO2), with chicken stock aromas that horrified my girlfriend but actually reminded me of some of the funkier Chablis that I've tasted. But it was soft and sadly lacking the verve and freshness I expect from Txakolina.
2006 Castello di Corbara Orvito Podere Il Caio
This was a gift from a relative who hand-carried it back from Italy, and it was corked. I will head off the inevitable question of why would someone hand-carry a bottle of Orvito back from Italy by noting that it was indeed all about the gesture.
2004 Rainoldi Valtellina Superiore - Sassella
A rather different experience than my last bottle, which was delicious. Nose was just loaded with chickenshit and band-aid. A bit better on the palate but then a metallic and bitter finish takes over. Really a disappointment as you could sense lovely ripe nebbiolo fruit underneath. I don't say this often, but this was not drinkable due to the brett. Perhaps a strain I'm particularly sensitive to. More palatable when retasted a couple of days later, but not by much.
2000 Allegrini Palazzo della Torre Veronese IGT *
Mixed feelings on this one. For the record, well-stored bottles are nowhere near being past their prime. Didn't take notes, but this bottle was still vibrant in color with only a hint of bricking at the rim, and needed a couple of hours of decanting to come out of its shell. Some leftovers held well into the second day. But, I wasn't really crazy about what was in the glass. The nose was super ripe and tomato-y, nearly volatile. Plenty of sweet, rich cherry fruit on the palate with a bit of chewy structure, but again there's this grenache-like tomato-y ripeness that I didn't care for.
2005 Filliatreau Saumur-Champigny La Grande Vignolle
This bottle was very tight and perhaps even a bit unclean out of the blocks, but improved with a day or two of air. There's nice brown tobacco, and clearly quite a bit of depth here, for S-C. But.... yeah there's a but. I've probably been drinking too much Breton lately, but I guess I found this a little thick and ripe, and wanting for more lift, freshness, etc. It lacks the alive feeling I get with a good Breton, Clos Roche Blanche, etc. Sure, you don't get that so much in 2005 but even Joguet's 2005s seemed a little fresher than this. May have just been a bad wine weekend for me, not to mention S-C and Bourgueil/Chinon being apples and oranges. I should also probably note that I've had this a few times before and found more to enjoy.
* I shouldn't be too surprised that perhaps the oldest wine in my cellar (in terms of when it was purchased) was a disappointment. After all I've made at least 5 left turns since then in terms of which wines get me interested, excited. Still, I can't help but be a little wistful about this one.
2006 Ameztoi Getariako Txakolina
This was an off bottle, seemingly refermented. It wasn't just lightly sparkling or ptillant, it was foaming and bubbling violently like a cheap sparkling wine. Surprisingly it was drinkable (after many rounds of violent shaking to vent the CO2), with chicken stock aromas that horrified my girlfriend but actually reminded me of some of the funkier Chablis that I've tasted. But it was soft and sadly lacking the verve and freshness I expect from Txakolina.
2006 Castello di Corbara Orvito Podere Il Caio
This was a gift from a relative who hand-carried it back from Italy, and it was corked. I will head off the inevitable question of why would someone hand-carry a bottle of Orvito back from Italy by noting that it was indeed all about the gesture.
2004 Rainoldi Valtellina Superiore - Sassella
A rather different experience than my last bottle, which was delicious. Nose was just loaded with chickenshit and band-aid. A bit better on the palate but then a metallic and bitter finish takes over. Really a disappointment as you could sense lovely ripe nebbiolo fruit underneath. I don't say this often, but this was not drinkable due to the brett. Perhaps a strain I'm particularly sensitive to. More palatable when retasted a couple of days later, but not by much.
2000 Allegrini Palazzo della Torre Veronese IGT *
Mixed feelings on this one. For the record, well-stored bottles are nowhere near being past their prime. Didn't take notes, but this bottle was still vibrant in color with only a hint of bricking at the rim, and needed a couple of hours of decanting to come out of its shell. Some leftovers held well into the second day. But, I wasn't really crazy about what was in the glass. The nose was super ripe and tomato-y, nearly volatile. Plenty of sweet, rich cherry fruit on the palate with a bit of chewy structure, but again there's this grenache-like tomato-y ripeness that I didn't care for.
2005 Filliatreau Saumur-Champigny La Grande Vignolle
This bottle was very tight and perhaps even a bit unclean out of the blocks, but improved with a day or two of air. There's nice brown tobacco, and clearly quite a bit of depth here, for S-C. But.... yeah there's a but. I've probably been drinking too much Breton lately, but I guess I found this a little thick and ripe, and wanting for more lift, freshness, etc. It lacks the alive feeling I get with a good Breton, Clos Roche Blanche, etc. Sure, you don't get that so much in 2005 but even Joguet's 2005s seemed a little fresher than this. May have just been a bad wine weekend for me, not to mention S-C and Bourgueil/Chinon being apples and oranges. I should also probably note that I've had this a few times before and found more to enjoy.
* I shouldn't be too surprised that perhaps the oldest wine in my cellar (in terms of when it was purchased) was a disappointment. After all I've made at least 5 left turns since then in terms of which wines get me interested, excited. Still, I can't help but be a little wistful about this one.