Cole Kendall
Cole Kendall
Another trip to Italy and another visit to Bergamo to visit Luca and friends in the metropolis of Ambivere (a few miles from Bergamo) where Daniele is highly excited about Atalanta's (local mediocre soccer team) once a generation victory over Juventus (a team that seems to not win the Serie A championship around once a generation). So we all get to wear jerseys from Daniele's extensive collection for the evening, attracting odd attention from other diners in the restaurant..
Luca had scored a bottle of Heitz 1985 Martha's vineyard Napa cab from the legendary cellar of Luigi Veronelli and it was my job to explain what the wine was about. Other than the Heitz there were two bottles of Krug Grande cuvee of which the older one (perhaps purchased around 2010/11) was much richer and delicious than the 164eme. Luca then blinded the group with four ancient Frascati (from mid80s to early 90s) which were miraculously alive (thanks to the insanely great conditions of Veronelli's cellar). There was some pleasure to be had from the bottles but since no one else in the world will have kept these wines in similar conditions notes are kind of besides the point. I guess the moral of the story is leave some odd wines in your cellar and your heirs may find that some of them are of some interest.
There was an off bottle (dying?) of 99 Brezza Barolo "Sarmassa" and a wonderful 1982 Feyles Barolo Ginestra di Monforte d'Alba.
Then the Heitz. I explained that Joe Heitz had worked with André Tchelistcheff the legendary California transplant at Beaulieu and that he had started to buy fruit from Tom May (husband of eponymous Martha) in 1966. Evidently Veronelli knew Tchelistcheff at some point and so visited Heitz in the early 90s when he acquired the 1985. I learned that Heitz's son had started to make the wine in the 70s and learned that the regimen was no malo fermentation and then time in steel tanks, large barrels and finally barrique (why not try everything) before the wine was finally bottled. I also talked about the mysterious transference of the Eucalyptus aromas from the trees in the vineyard. I had advised Luca that recent notes indicated that the wine needed a lot of air and so it was opened sometime before dinner and opened slowly after pouring. One diner noted a relation to Sassicaia in the good years. Not a life-changing experience but something that was fun to try.
Things wound down with a bottle of Manuel's just bottled (not even 3 weeks and not to be released for another year) Biava 2015 Moscato di Scanzo. Manuel, his wines and 2015 are all great and it was fascinating to see what it was like so early in the cycle.
A final taste of an ancient Vin Santo (Barone Ricasoli Brolio 1966) that was positively mystical and it was time to go back to Milan.
Luca had scored a bottle of Heitz 1985 Martha's vineyard Napa cab from the legendary cellar of Luigi Veronelli and it was my job to explain what the wine was about. Other than the Heitz there were two bottles of Krug Grande cuvee of which the older one (perhaps purchased around 2010/11) was much richer and delicious than the 164eme. Luca then blinded the group with four ancient Frascati (from mid80s to early 90s) which were miraculously alive (thanks to the insanely great conditions of Veronelli's cellar). There was some pleasure to be had from the bottles but since no one else in the world will have kept these wines in similar conditions notes are kind of besides the point. I guess the moral of the story is leave some odd wines in your cellar and your heirs may find that some of them are of some interest.
There was an off bottle (dying?) of 99 Brezza Barolo "Sarmassa" and a wonderful 1982 Feyles Barolo Ginestra di Monforte d'Alba.
Then the Heitz. I explained that Joe Heitz had worked with André Tchelistcheff the legendary California transplant at Beaulieu and that he had started to buy fruit from Tom May (husband of eponymous Martha) in 1966. Evidently Veronelli knew Tchelistcheff at some point and so visited Heitz in the early 90s when he acquired the 1985. I learned that Heitz's son had started to make the wine in the 70s and learned that the regimen was no malo fermentation and then time in steel tanks, large barrels and finally barrique (why not try everything) before the wine was finally bottled. I also talked about the mysterious transference of the Eucalyptus aromas from the trees in the vineyard. I had advised Luca that recent notes indicated that the wine needed a lot of air and so it was opened sometime before dinner and opened slowly after pouring. One diner noted a relation to Sassicaia in the good years. Not a life-changing experience but something that was fun to try.
Things wound down with a bottle of Manuel's just bottled (not even 3 weeks and not to be released for another year) Biava 2015 Moscato di Scanzo. Manuel, his wines and 2015 are all great and it was fascinating to see what it was like so early in the cycle.
A final taste of an ancient Vin Santo (Barone Ricasoli Brolio 1966) that was positively mystical and it was time to go back to Milan.