Ian Fitzsimmons
Ian Fitzsimmons
Is this a group or consensus view, or just Pato's?
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2006 Sella Lessona 13.0%
- Thread starter Oswaldo Costa
- Start date
Oswaldo Costa
Oswaldo Costa
Sebastien David (Bourgueil), as consensus.
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
The Cab family has long shown it does ok with oak, like Latour for example.
Or Cheval blanc, still staying in the family.
Oliver McCrum
Oliver McCrum
originally posted by Yixin:
Too young, too young. I'm sure Mr McCrum would say the same. And according to many better qualified than me, Lessona goes through many phases in its youth.
I find Sella's Lessona to be curiously drinkable when young, which is one of the thing that sets the wine so clearly aside from Nebbiolos from the Langhe. The freshness of the '06 is very promising, though.
For immediate drinking the '07 'Casteltorto' is a better bet, it's declassified Bramaterra and very drinkable (07 in general seems more forward, too).
As far as Oswaldo's initial post is concerned, tasting one bottle of anything and making a judgement of the wine is tricky due to bottle variability due to cork. I tasted 3 bottles of a potential new Grignolino yesterday and they were all different.
Oliver McCrum
Oliver McCrum
originally posted by SFJoe:
I ask in all sincerity, are there Barolo producers who exposed their wines briefly (say, 8 months?) to oak and then bottled?
But the literature I read was not Cab Franc. It was in English, probably from UCD, and probably about CS.
I'll look if I get some time.
The legal minimum in wood is 2 years, but that said I think oak does get more obvious, then less obvious, at least where Nebbiolo is concerned.
Oliver McCrum
Oliver McCrum
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
originally posted by Cliff:
I loved the 2001 Lessona on release and for a few years afterwords. My stash was not that big, but the few I had from about 2008 until last year didn't move me the same way. Maybe I just didn't hold them long enough, or maybe I just didn't get lucky.
Huh. Cause I'm pretty sure 2001 is the year some people think is overoaked, owing to Dante's being away from Sella as duty called at Giacosa. The wine was left in barrels longer than normal.
The straight Lessona is aged in botti these days, and I believe the '01 was too. The top cuvees have a small amount of new wood on them but last I heard Cristiano was moving towards only using large wood. He's a pistol, maybe 26 years old, a great taster, very good broad knowlege of French wines...
Oliver McCrum
Oliver McCrum
originally posted by MarkS:
Excitement? Are we jaded or what?
What exactly does vespolina add to Lessona besides softening the nebb?
Cristiano from Sella is showed me a varietal Vespolina sample that I thought very good, relatively pale in color, very aromatic, quite fresh acidity, delicious. Not that far from Nebbiolo from Lessona, in fact.
Croatina (which comprises quite a bit of the Bramaterra wines) is coarser, dark and blocky, OK in a blend but not really my cup of tea by itself.
originally posted by Oliver McCrum:
He's a pistol, maybe 26 years old, a great taster, very good broad knowlege of French wines...
Not quite, I believe. Hilarious chap, very earnest.
Oliver McCrum
Oliver McCrum
At any rate I've been longer in the wine business than he's been alive, which makes me feel old.
Arnt Egil Nordlien
Arnt Egil Nordlien
originally posted by Oliver McCrum:
The straight Lessona is aged in botti these days, and I believe the '01 was too. The top cuvees have a small amount of new wood on them but last I heard Cristiano was moving towards only using large wood. He's a pistol, maybe 26 years old, a great taster, very good broad knowlege of French wines...
What is the elevage nowadays for the top bottlings (Zoppo, I porfidi, Quintino)? I heard some journlist in Norway said that Sella had increased the oaking and was making the wine in a more modern style lately. I have not found that in the wines I have tasted myself.
Oliver McCrum
Oliver McCrum
The most current technical sheets I have show that the '05 Lessona is aged entirely in 25hl botti, the San Sebastiano allo Zoppo is 36 m in botti and 12 in puncheons, and the Quintino Sella is all botti. Since I've been importing the wines the only wines that have seen any new wood at all are the SS and the equivalent cuvee of Bramaterra, which is called I Porfidi; which is to say that those of us who tend to avoid small wood should look for the straight Lessona and Bramaterra and the Quintino Sella (which is a blend of the best botti, made only in exceptional vintages).
My understanding is that the use of new wood will diminish with newer vintages. I will ask Cristiano to chime in. At any rate that journalist was mistaken. I will say that the striking spice notes one finds in these wines, particularly those from Lessona, could easily be mistaken for new wood; I have never found such a clear cinnamon or nutmeg note in a wine unsullied by barrique before.
My understanding is that the use of new wood will diminish with newer vintages. I will ask Cristiano to chime in. At any rate that journalist was mistaken. I will say that the striking spice notes one finds in these wines, particularly those from Lessona, could easily be mistaken for new wood; I have never found such a clear cinnamon or nutmeg note in a wine unsullied by barrique before.
Oliver McCrum
Oliver McCrum
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
Is his idea regarding interaction with oxygen that of new wood pores are more fully open than old wood pores?
Yes, the more a barrel is used, the more its pores get clogged. Opinions seem to vary on how long it takes to fully clog them, but they tend to cluster around third usage.
Some users of large barrels shave the insides every year or two, I think for this reason (and to ensure good hygiene).