Stars of the Year - 2017

[Luca Mazzoleni]

originally posted by Peter Creasey:

originally posted by Luca Mazzoleni: I loved that 'consumed at home' note re: the 85 De Vogue Musigny VV...no doubt about that, I too would always consume at home, and rigorously alone I have to add, those special and highly meaningful wines sleeping in my cellar today. I am sorry to sound so Ebenezer Scrooge but it's so painful and unacceptable for me at this age (42) to waste certain highly polysemic and prysmatic wines in a noisy, smelly, distracting and simply imperfect and non-neutral environment. Sensory analysis is my priority (and almost a physical need), not social approval or sharing. Been there done that way too many times before...great 'phenomenological expectations' about that special wine tasting with your best wine fellows at this or that Michelin-star restaurant or smart bistrot / trattoria / izakaya etc etc and then...wrong glassware, wrong service sequence or wrong room temperature, annoying aromas and flavours from the food, acoustic pollution, sensory overload and social distractions. I come back home feeling sorry and guilty for having wasted the hard work of a vigneron and a treasure of fleeting volatile artworks.

Luca, I can kind of/sort of relate to what you say...with one key distinction.[] For this reason, I'm somewhat sad to say that I have numerous special wines in my cellar that are languishing because I'm loath to pull them without suitable company.

Touché. We all live in diverse and non-comparable social, geographical, generational milieux. And the milieu we live in - today vis-a-vis ten years ago or ten years now - determines how much income we invest on wine and how we decide to optimize the consumption of the finest wines in our cellar (with or without people around our bottle).

Very sorry to hear about Ma Cuisine. Yes, the husband and wife have been divorced for a good while

Do you by chance know the reason why they divorced?...

Baune is one of my very favorite cities in the world.

Oh brother!

 

[Peter Creasey]

Luca, just curious...why the "Oh brother!" with reference to Beaune.

And, no, I don't know if I ever knew why Alex and Nancy divorced.

. . . . Pete

 

[Luca Mazzoleni]

How in the world can one dislike Beaune? I just meant to second your 'like'.

 

[Marc Hanes]

originally posted by Luca Mazzoleni:
Yes...I loved that 'consumed at home' note re: the 85 De Vogue Musigny VV...no doubt about that, I too would always consume at home, and rigorously alone I have to add, those special and highly meaningful wines sleeping in my cellar today. I am sorry to sound so Ebenezer Scrooge but it's so painful and unacceptable for me at this age (42) to waste certain highly polysemic and prysmatic wines in a noisy, smelly, distracting and simply imperfect and non-neutral environment. Sensory analysis is my priority (and almost a physical need), not social approval or sharing. Been there done that way too many times before...great 'phenomenological expectations' about that special wine tasting with your best wine fellows at this or that Michelin-star restaurant or smart bistrot / trattoria / izakaya etc etc and then...wrong glassware, wrong service sequence or wrong room temperature, annoying aromas and flavours from the food, acoustic pollution, sensory overload and social distractions. I come back home feeling sorry and guilty for having wasted the hard work of a vigneron and a treasure of fleeting volatile artworks.

Ciao Luca, good to see your name on the board. I am in-between you and Pete in that I prefer to consume wine on its own without the distraction of food. But at the same time I do like to share, both to provide pleasure to others as well as for analytic discussion purposes. As food/wine pairings are so important on the board I keep my own counsel on wine notes but there's probably many kindred spirits to you out there lurking.

Hope all is well, seems so!

 

[Todd Abrams]

originally posted by Peter Creasey:

[EDITED TO ADD] On Italian wines, I had the Massolino Barolo DOCG '11 the other evening and found it to be awe-inspiring...nice softness but with ample acidity and body, superb with Caesar salad with fried oysters on top!

. . . . Pete

I am by no means a strict traditionalist when it comes to food and wine pairing -- the right Lambrusco with quality mixed nigiri is eye-opening to say the least. That said, it is difficult to imagine that a 2011 Barolo matched with oysters (even fried) and an anchovy based dressing would make a superb complement. At minimum, would not the delicate flavors of an oyster merely be lost in a mouthful of Barolo?

 

[Rahsaan]

I think we've had this exact same conversation before about the exact same pairing. The search function might reveal the details.

Needless to say, tastes vary.

 

[Todd Abrams]

Ah, to think it is the year of two thousand and eighteen and we're still having this conversation.

 

[Todd Abrams]

originally posted by Luca Mazzoleni:
Best white:
1) Valentini 1970 Trebbiano d'Abruzzo (tasted twice)
2) Pepe 1971 Trebbiano d'Abruzzo
3) Gravner 1985 Ribolla Gialla (ex-aequo Leflaive 2004 Montrachet)

Best rosé:
1) 1980 Valentini Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo
2) 1995 Valentini Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo
3) 2009 P.Cotat VdT Rosé Lot 2009

Would love to hear your impressions on these older Abruzzo wines. It seems to me a region with so much untapped potential.

 

[VLM]

originally posted by Luca Mazzoleni:
You wouldn't imagine what great shopping one can do at Michelin-star restaurants across Italy today if your pockets are full of cash. Deflation is good for the people.

Remind me to do this with you if we see each other in Italy...

 

[Luca Mazzoleni]

I may have either one or two bottles of the 85 somewhere in the basement, purchased on release...

imo you should drink one bottle now, the color is a full rich golden yellow with a lovely faint orange-ish hue. The nose is beautifully expressive, eggy, biscuity with tangerine fruit and a delicate nutty tone. If you like your Clos du Mesnil more on the nutty / dried fruit side...then wait a few more years.
What a great fortune and advantage for you to have 2 bottles in your cellar, both purchased on release (great ROI!).

 

[Luca Mazzoleni]

Ciao Luca, good to see your name on the board. I am in-between you and Pete in that I prefer to consume wine on its own without the distraction of food. But at the same time I do like to share, both to provide pleasure to others as well as for analytic discussion purposes.

Hi Marc, long time no speak!
I always enjoy reading your wine notes and find them very useful.
Hope to see you around in Milan one day; the cellar's long and life's so short...:) but we will taste the same old Biondi-Santi, Quintarelli and Valentini in two separate ULPA clean rooms (Ultra Low Particulate Air) with perfect acoustic isolation, using a set of pre-packed single-use disposable Zalto glasses...We will exchange impressions via WhatsApp audio messages only :)))

 

[Luca Mazzoleni]

Remind me to do this with you if we see each other in Italy...

you are more than welcome, Nathan.
To be honest I don't buy so much from Michelin-star restaurants, just occasionally. I mostly buy from a few time-honored 'pushers' of old & rare wines I know in Alba / Barolo and in the Veneto region, who are longtime friends and also good friends of many top Barolo / Barbaresco producers.

I can't disclose too much, but if you purchased old Barolo / Barbaresco / Gattinara / Chianti Classico / Amarone / Brunello etc from the usual reliable good stores in NYC over the past 5 or 6 years...the chance is those bottles came from one of those good 'pushers'. :)

 

[Luca Mazzoleni]

Would love to hear your impressions on these older Abruzzo wines. It seems to me a region with so much untapped potential.

oh yes, I can say 2017 is the year in which I've had the definitive revelation of the absolute greatness of Trebbiano and Montepulciano 'taken seriously' (in the vineyard and in the cellar, by the growers).
and to be honest I should have inserted in my red wines podium the fabulous 1975 Valentini Montepulciano d'Abruzzo I had this July ad a memorable lunch with friends, featuring old glories from the Veronelli Cellar.

a few photos