It's October! What are you drinking?

We had a chance to try three vintages (2013, 2012, 2009) of that producer's pelaverga at an "Unknown Italy" dinner at Pearl & Ash last winter. Interesting stuff. Thanks for the note.
 
originally posted by Sharon Bowman:
We had a chance to try three vintages (2013, 2012, 2009) of that producer's pelaverga at an "Unknown Italy" dinner at Pearl & Ash last winter. Interesting stuff. Thanks for the note.
Click to expand...

I was wondering what happens with some bottle age.
I guess 2009 is not all that old but maybe enough to give an idea.
 
Unfortunately, I took no notes that evening. Kirk Wallace was there with me; perhaps he can chime in. Or comrade Levi, if he sees this.
 
Sipping on 2012 Nicolas Gonin Persan with some spelt strozzapreti in a black chanterelle sauce. This wine is so pretty, I wonder why "nobody's doin' that"; where are all the great Persan vignerons?
 
originally posted by Sharon Bowman:
where are all the great Persan vignerons?
Click to expand...
Pushing up the trebbiano?

Persan has a few other names so if you can find some Becuet (grown around Torino) then you've got the same thing.
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
originally posted by Sharon Bowman:
where are all the great Persan vignerons?
Click to expand...
Pushing up the trebbiano?

Persan has a few other names so if you can find some Becuet (grown around Torino) then you've got the same thing.
Click to expand...

Saying that Becuét is grown around Torino is somewhat misleading, as the Valle di Susa is about an hour west of Torino in a mountain valley. In any case, in the almost 2 decades I lived in Torino (and grew grapes in the province of Asti), I never saw a bottled Becuét; that's not to say that there weren't any, but it is pretty obscure.
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
originally posted by Michael G. Hanchard:
Just polishing off a 2008 Produttori di Carema Classico....
Click to expand...
The only Carema in my storage now is 2007 Ferrando Etichetta Nera. Drink or hold, do you think?
Click to expand...

I would probably hold, especially if you have only one. I had the white label 07 last year and it was gorgeous, the spiny character of Alpine nebbiolo with a voluptuous overlay because of the vintage. The black label is usually more structured and closed-in with a longer life expectancy. Great vintages like 78 perch on a long drinking plateau, but I dont consider Carema an immortal or especially long lived nebbiolo in the way that Barolo and Gattinara is (or Ghemme and Sizzano can be, for that matter). I am moving onto the '10 Produttori di Carema for everyday drinking, while holding onto my riservas of earlier vintages from both Ferrando and Produttori. Hope this helps.
 
A bottle of the 2012 "s" last night was stunning. great purity and beginning to develop complexity, but still very fresh and alive. a treat for a lovely fall evening.
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
originally posted by Tom Glasgow:
Last night a bottle of the 2013 Sandlands Trosseau. It was as enjoyable as I could've hoped.
Click to expand...
Are you an optimist or a pessimist?
Click to expand...
an optimist. However, I did wait around for a fruit day to open it. If fb were around he could admonish me for only having one bottle thus not being able to trace the wine's development.
 
Francois Chidaine Grolleau & Pinot Noir Touraine rose 2014 with white pizza with crispy Brussels sprouts and balsamic glaze... Oh my.
 
Great news, Dan. I have a bottle of such queued up. After the meh bottle of '14 Raffault pink, and various reports of meh bottles of the normally reliable Baudry Pink, I wasn't holding out much hope. Now, however...

Mark Lipton
 
If you're looking for ethereal as in last year's Baudry it's not that, but the food match (the pizza had feta, mozzarella and Gruyere and the Brussels sprouts were quick sautéed with red onions then a dash of maple syrup and balsamic honey glaze drizzled on top at the end) made it sing. Much better showing than when I first bought it 4-5 months ago. I'd never had this Chidaine before.
 
I've been exploring Nebbiolo-based wines recently, and cut my Ar Pe Pe teeth last night on some glasses of the basic entry Rosso, 2012 edition.

The wine is very delicious: pure-tasting, slightly tart fruit, thin on the palate (as opposed to viscous), with just enough fine, sandy tannins to create a pleasing textural contrast.

I'm better with textures than with flavor-aroma descriptors: I'd say the dark side of cherry, not quite into the tar spectrum. 'Fresh' - the descriptor you read everywhere about these wines - is apt. At 13% abv, it kicks the brain around at a more gradual pace than do many southern-Piedmont wines made from this grape.

The Ar Pe Pe site calls this bottle a daily drinker; at $28, for me, not so much. But it's a step up from even the very good Nebbiolo de Langhes I've tried so far, which seem to start near $25, so the value is fair.

I'm looking forward to another big glass tonight and feel emboldened to reach further up into the Ar Pe Pe hierarchy for the next round.
 
This week the CRB '14 Pif arrived here. Delicious. What a wonderful last vintage for this.

Also opened the '14 Briords which was beautiful. Great with roasted garlic and herbed chicken. I think David Lillie said the aroma was 'atmospheric' which is as fine a descriptor for this as any. Muscadet and oysters are great but this wine is way more versatile at the table for me.

The other stand out this week was the new vintage for Pinon Brut. It is very good too. I am excited to try the still 2014 Vouvray from Pinon.
 
2104 Alvaro Palacios Camins del Proirat: Delicious. Some tobacco, lots of dark plum and berry, a touch of menthol that seems like it will soften over time. Thoroughly enjoyable with a pot roast, the usual trimmings and broiled Brussels sprouts. Aromatically sexier on day two.
 
originally posted by Sharon Bowman:
Verrrrry interesting. Thanks, Jim.
Click to expand...

To those interested in trying some not-messed-with, old vine Cinsault from California, Chambers Street has the 2014 Birichino. It's not quite as delicious just yet as the 2013, but may get there with a couple more months of bottle age. Their Zin and Grenache are also worth trying. There's also a lonely bottle of the 2014 Turley Bechtold Cinsault (same vineyard source). I can't remember the precise ABV, but suffice to say it's an outlier in the Turley lineup.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top