six

C

Cliff

Cliff Rosenberg
2007 Triacca Valtellina Superiore - Sassella - Italy, Lombardia, Valtellina, Valtellina Superiore - Sassella (3/31/2011)
After airing this out and giving this a chance: a good but not great version of this. Everything is in place, but it's lacking a little personality, a little depth, a little verve.

1996 Gaston Chiquet Champagne Spécial Club 1er Cru - France, Champagne (3/31/2011)
Very nice, sure. But I'm still not getting a hint of the promise this showed on release.

2009 Marcel Lapierre Morgon - France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon (3/31/2011)
Next to the 2006, this showed like a really good vintage of Charvin, which I love, but still. Wow. Much more depth and palate presence.

2006 Marcel Lapierre Morgon - France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon (3/31/2011)
Didn't show much at first. After an hour of air the aromatics blossomed -- everything you could want -- but the palate never quite came around.

1999 Arturo Pelizzatti Valtellina Superiore - Sassella Riserva Vigna Regina - Italy, Lombardia, Valtellina, Valtellina Superiore - Sassella (3/31/2011)
Tried another 1999 Ar Pe at the Crush tasting recently but couldn't get much of a read on it, other than that I preferred the 2001. This was mute on opening, so I decanted for a few hours. It opened up to reveal a volatile mess with wintergreen overtones. I often get these notes on wines from the Valtellina, from different producers. Anyone know if its the barrels, or something else?

2009 Yvon Métras Fleurie Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie (3/29/2011)
Nice, but I was expecting more. It opens grapey and young. A little simple. It fleshes out with air and shows dark purple fruits, plums, but not much else. Maybe time will help? Or maybe that's just all there is.
 
It doesn't seem chemical or artificial, and I don't recall spotting it anywhere else. You don't think there could be a cooper popular in the area that lends a kind of signature?
 
I've only had two Ar Pe Pe wines and I liked them both. I don't have any real information on how things are done in Valtellina. Perhaps Google knows.
 
i had that 99 ar pe pe a couple monhs ago. there' a note somewhere about it. i thought the wine was wonderful. didn't get any of the notes you did. bottle variation i guess.
 
originally posted by Bill Lundstrom:
i had that 99 ar pe pe a couple monhs ago. there' a note somewhere about it. i thought the wine was wonderful. didn't get any of the notes you did. bottle variation i guess.
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I was really ready to love the Ar Pe Pe and don't normally mind VA. I'm hoping it was just the bottle.
 
originally posted by Keith Levenberg:
I know what you mean about Valtellina wintergreen, I think it just reflects the fact that these don't always quite ripen.
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That makes as much sense as anything I can come up with. But I've gotten it in bottles of Sforzato, which I guess is possible; it just doesn't seem like the most logical explanation.
 
ArPePe doesn't make forced wines any more (they experimented for a bit, with tiny production), and the '99 we had wasn't like what you described.
 
Google sez that ArPePe sez... chestnut barrels: click

Other Valtellina makers, as well as Sforzato makers, indicate oak for the barrels. (With the difference that sforzato makers dry the grapes 30-35% before pressing.)
 
originally posted by Yixin:
ArPePe doesn't make forced wines any more (they experimented for a bit, with tiny production), and the '99 we had wasn't like what you described.
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I meant I've gotten similar wintergreen notes in other wines from other producers. I was thinking of Balgera in this case.
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
Oh, yeah! Wintergreen barrels, with sassafrass ends, lightly toasted and wiped down with Lemon Pledge inside.
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Oh come on, Jeff, everyone knows that wintergreen barrels with sassafrass ends are frosted not toasted.
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
Other Valtellina makers, as well as Sforzato makers, indicate oak for the barrels. (With the difference that sforzato makers dry the grapes 30-35% before pressing.)
Click to expand...

Balgera, the wine that came first to mind, makes its barrique Sforzato in a combination of old chestnut and new French oak. Their 1996 barrique had an intense wintergreen note (like the one I noted above) combined with smokey ashtray that did not wow anyone at the table and got me thinking about the barrels. I think I've picked up hints of wintergreen, sans cendrier, in Sandro Fay, but memory is hazier there.
 
Since all six notes about were grumpy in one way or another, I thought I'd add some positive energy with this one. I've had a few times now and loved every one. A great way to finish dinner.
 
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