Rainoldi 2005 Valtellina Superiore Prugnolo (Lombardy) Sapid and hexagonal, then spiraling into a gravitational tesseract of appealing oddity. Red fruit? Flowers? Gritty soil? Yeah, sure. And then again, not so much. Theres having a dialogue with your wine, and then listening to it deliver a Dadaist lecture. And you either like that kind of thing or you dont. I do, sometimesand this is one of those times. (8/10)
La Kiuva 2007 Valle dAosta Arnad Montjovet (Valle dAoste) Wow. Jittery alpine-red berries, tiny and bitingly crisp, chilly, and quivering into a nervous finish. Breathtaking in the fashion of a brisk downflow from icy peaks. Fantastic. (8/10)
Cave du Vin Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle 2008 Morgex et de La Salle Blanc (Valle dAoste) An adventure in recursivity. 100% pri blanc (I think), but as to the percentage of the wine thats delicious, Im much more certain. Like drinking glacial moraine. Reserved generosity, a texture at once waxed and alive, bright and chiaroscuro. (11/10)
Nera La Novella 2008 Terrazze Retiche di Sondrio Chiavennasca Bianco (Lombardy) Im trying to drink up what is rather a quantity of this, given the lurid neon white closure. Absent that abomination, Id be aging this. Who wouldnt age nebbiolo, even if its white and nearly unrecognizable? It might be a disaster, but the experiment would have been fun. Alas, not under plastic dildo. And so: a little more tropical in flavor while less tropical in form, if that makes sense. The wine, in other words, has faded just a touch. Maybe my imagination. In any case, its still crisp, aromatic, zippy, and appealing. (10/10)
Nera La Novella 2008 Terrazze Retiche di Sondrio Chiavennasca Bianco (Lombardy) The most nebbiolo-like bottle yet, by which I almost certainly mean that I am fooling myself into thinking so and would never even approach the word nebbiolo were it not on the label. But the aromatics are, with the benefit of knowledge, turning rose-ish. Otherwise, theres the vibrant peach honey fruit and lively acidity. And yes, theres just a little bit of fraying, for which I blame the closure rather than the wine. But its still quite good. (10/10)
Verdi 2007 Oltrep Pavese Bonarda Possessione di Vergombera (Lombardy) Geez, is this the opposite of prosaic or what? Like some of the brittle northern Piedmontese reds, this makes a case for being a tinted version of riesling, but then subverts it with straps and lashes of tannin and an incisored chomp of reddish fruit. Now, Ive gotten to this point in the note without mentioning its two dominant characteristics: residual sugar and aggressive, somewhat sloppy (like an overeager dog slobbering on your face) fizz. For me, honestly, theres far too much distraction and flail in this wine for actual enjoyment, but at least the ride is on the breathtaking side. At a festive gathering, this might be a lot more appropriate than it was at my dinner table. (10/10)
Pratello 2004 Rebo (Lombardy) Fairly anonymous worldbeat rosso, indistinct as to grape, region, and intent (other than making money without trying very hard), but with a little more acid than usual. Um, yay? Sharp, dark fruit. Yeah, yeah, yeah. (10/10)
La Kiuva 2007 Valle dAosta Arnad Montjovet (Valle dAoste) Wow. Jittery alpine-red berries, tiny and bitingly crisp, chilly, and quivering into a nervous finish. Breathtaking in the fashion of a brisk downflow from icy peaks. Fantastic. (8/10)
Cave du Vin Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle 2008 Morgex et de La Salle Blanc (Valle dAoste) An adventure in recursivity. 100% pri blanc (I think), but as to the percentage of the wine thats delicious, Im much more certain. Like drinking glacial moraine. Reserved generosity, a texture at once waxed and alive, bright and chiaroscuro. (11/10)
Nera La Novella 2008 Terrazze Retiche di Sondrio Chiavennasca Bianco (Lombardy) Im trying to drink up what is rather a quantity of this, given the lurid neon white closure. Absent that abomination, Id be aging this. Who wouldnt age nebbiolo, even if its white and nearly unrecognizable? It might be a disaster, but the experiment would have been fun. Alas, not under plastic dildo. And so: a little more tropical in flavor while less tropical in form, if that makes sense. The wine, in other words, has faded just a touch. Maybe my imagination. In any case, its still crisp, aromatic, zippy, and appealing. (10/10)
Nera La Novella 2008 Terrazze Retiche di Sondrio Chiavennasca Bianco (Lombardy) The most nebbiolo-like bottle yet, by which I almost certainly mean that I am fooling myself into thinking so and would never even approach the word nebbiolo were it not on the label. But the aromatics are, with the benefit of knowledge, turning rose-ish. Otherwise, theres the vibrant peach honey fruit and lively acidity. And yes, theres just a little bit of fraying, for which I blame the closure rather than the wine. But its still quite good. (10/10)
Verdi 2007 Oltrep Pavese Bonarda Possessione di Vergombera (Lombardy) Geez, is this the opposite of prosaic or what? Like some of the brittle northern Piedmontese reds, this makes a case for being a tinted version of riesling, but then subverts it with straps and lashes of tannin and an incisored chomp of reddish fruit. Now, Ive gotten to this point in the note without mentioning its two dominant characteristics: residual sugar and aggressive, somewhat sloppy (like an overeager dog slobbering on your face) fizz. For me, honestly, theres far too much distraction and flail in this wine for actual enjoyment, but at least the ride is on the breathtaking side. At a festive gathering, this might be a lot more appropriate than it was at my dinner table. (10/10)
Pratello 2004 Rebo (Lombardy) Fairly anonymous worldbeat rosso, indistinct as to grape, region, and intent (other than making money without trying very hard), but with a little more acid than usual. Um, yay? Sharp, dark fruit. Yeah, yeah, yeah. (10/10)