Loren Sonkin
Loren Sonkin
Last night was my mothers 87th birthday. We went to a very nice local restaurant that allowed corkage. As the restaurant was Italian, I went with the flow.
2007 Raccaro Malvasia (Collio, Italy)
I love the Friulian whites and this one was no exception. It was not an oddball in the sense of Gravner or Damijan. Pale silvery gold in color, clear and bright. What a gorgeous nose that filled the room with about ten minutes of air and kept growing all night long. Scents of limes, oranges and honey with floral notes as well. Full bodied. On the palate, this has so much going on. It is not a crisp white but not for the lack of acidity. Quite round with great citrus and honeyed notes. Layers of complexity. This is a world class white that blew away the sommelier and us.
2004 Endrizzi Gran Masetto (Trentino, Italy)
This is from Teroldego grapes but made in the style of Amarone, that is to say, the grapes are picked and then dried and allowed to raisin before making it into wine. Ruby in color, mostly clear and bright. This was quite tight on opening and really needs a few hours of decanting. The nose shows cherries, dried cherries and raisins. It also has an intriguing chalk quality. On the palate, this is very smooth with just a trace of alcohol noticeable on the finish. The label lists 15%. Lots of cherries and some raisins. Good acidity. The last glass was the best although it did have just the slightest port like notes at the end.
2007 Raccaro Malvasia (Collio, Italy)
I love the Friulian whites and this one was no exception. It was not an oddball in the sense of Gravner or Damijan. Pale silvery gold in color, clear and bright. What a gorgeous nose that filled the room with about ten minutes of air and kept growing all night long. Scents of limes, oranges and honey with floral notes as well. Full bodied. On the palate, this has so much going on. It is not a crisp white but not for the lack of acidity. Quite round with great citrus and honeyed notes. Layers of complexity. This is a world class white that blew away the sommelier and us.
2004 Endrizzi Gran Masetto (Trentino, Italy)
This is from Teroldego grapes but made in the style of Amarone, that is to say, the grapes are picked and then dried and allowed to raisin before making it into wine. Ruby in color, mostly clear and bright. This was quite tight on opening and really needs a few hours of decanting. The nose shows cherries, dried cherries and raisins. It also has an intriguing chalk quality. On the palate, this is very smooth with just a trace of alcohol noticeable on the finish. The label lists 15%. Lots of cherries and some raisins. Good acidity. The last glass was the best although it did have just the slightest port like notes at the end.
