TN: Some recent drinking (March and April, 2019)

[Jeff Grossman]

Bruno Giacosa 1998 Dolcetto d'Alba - youthful color, taut and tight for several hours; then, austere and earthy/forest-floor with a whiff of blackberries somewhere off in the distance; good but this bottle was not particularly satisfying

Nada Fiorenzo 2014 Barbaresco - delicious, I could drink this often, blood orange and red candy in a light, bright package; it could use a little more earth (for which I suppose I might wait a few years) and it could use a degree less alcohol (sigh) but I am happy with the overall package

Combel La Serre 2015 Cahors "Au Cerisier" - musky and dusty red fruit, kinda claustrophobic at first but opens with a couple hours air to show a hint of sweet red cherries and the tannins become more supple

Castello di Ama 2014 Chianti Classico Riserva - a bit glossy but otherwise what I want from a chianti: medium-weight, bright, clean, vinous, very little candy/confectionary, just as good by itself as with any of the food

Maximin Grunhauser (von Schubert) 2016 Riesling "Monopol" - steady and delicious, truly glou-glou, not extraordinary but Jancis rightly calls it a 'gateway riesling', the four of us downed three bottles at dinner (plus the chianti plus some Macallan 12-year)

Falkenstein 2016 Niedermenniger Herrenberg Spatlese Feinherb #3 - the tartness is receding just a little bit and allowing a fruity perfume to take its place, still conveniently dispensed in the single-serving 750 ml bottle

Pavelot 2011 Savigny-les-Beaunes - pretty, light red, quite translucent, pure and bright red fruits, a quaff but a nice one (and a happy find on a resto list)

Cantalupo 2010 Ghemme Anno Primo - drunk over three days, unhappy to be woken up and gave just a little bit (and that grudgingly), oh well

Cleto Chiarli NV Brut Rosé "Brut de Noir" - 85% Grasparossa (whatever that is) and 15% Pinot Noir; extravagantly fragrant with strawberry and raspberry; appears quite dry though I think it has 10-12g RS; anyway, it's a glou-glou sparkler so I'm not going to take it to task for lacking minerality, etc.

Bertani 2016 Soave "Sereole" - some sweet pineapple, elderflower, and minerality on the palate; slightly long hang-time means there is a little more body (whether from RS or extra glycerol); not particularly forthcoming though

 

[Steve Guattery]

originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
Grasparossa (whatever that is)

A type of Lambrusco grape. Wines from the Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro DOC, which are darker and heavier than, e.g., Lambrusco di Sorbara, are made using that grape.

 

[Marc Hanes]

Curious if there is any general sentiment on the wines of Combel La Serre. I have tried a few and just not sure it's my cup of tea. Anyone highly impressed with the wines? And, if so, why? Thanks, tempted to buy more but finitude has its own arguments.

 

[Jeff Grossman]

originally posted by Steve Guattery:

originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
Grasparossa (whatever that is)

A type of Lambrusco grape. Wines from the Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro DOC, which are darker and heavier than, e.g., Lambrusco di Sorbara, are made using that grape.

Thanks, Steve. Are you a Lambrusco devotee?

 

[VLM]

originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
Cantalupo 2010 Ghemme Anno Primo - drunk over three days, unhappy to be woken up and gave just a little bit (and that grudgingly), oh well

Thanks, I've been eyeing a bottle of this, but I think I'll just leave it alone for now.

 

[VLM]

originally posted by Marc Hanes:
Curious if there is any general sentiment on the wines of Combel La Serre. I have tried a few and just not sure it's my cup of tea. Anyone highly impressed with the wines? And, if so, why? Thanks, tempted to buy more but finitude has its own arguments.

I like the wines well enough, I just don't often have use for Cahors at the table.

 

[mark e]

originally posted by VLM:

originally posted by Marc Hanes:
Curious if there is any general sentiment on the wines of Combel La Serre. I have tried a few and just not sure it's my cup of tea. Anyone highly impressed with the wines? And, if so, why? Thanks, tempted to buy more but finitude has its own arguments.

I like the wines well enough, I just don't often have use for Cahors at the table.

I've liked the Cahors "Le Pur Fruit du Causse." I don't buy it often, but it seems very much less rustic than other Cahors I have had.

 

[MarkS]

originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
Bruno Giacosa 1998 Dolcetto d'Alba ...good but this bottle was not particularly satisfying

Don't know many 20 year-old dolcettos that would be satisfying.

 

[Jeff Grossman]

originally posted by MarkS:

originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
Bruno Giacosa 1998 Dolcetto d'Alba ...good but this bottle was not particularly satisfying

Don't know many 20 year-old dolcettos that would be satisfying.

Chacun...

 

[MLipton]

originally posted by mark e:

originally posted by VLM:

originally posted by Marc Hanes:
Curious if there is any general sentiment on the wines of Combel La Serre. I have tried a few and just not sure it's my cup of tea. Anyone highly impressed with the wines? And, if so, why? Thanks, tempted to buy more but finitude has its own arguments.

I like the wines well enough, I just don't often have use for Cahors at the table.

I've liked the Cahors "Le Pur Fruit du Causse." I don't buy it often, but it seems very much less rustic than other Cahors I have had.

I'm just curious, but is rusticity in Côt/Malbec considered a plus or a minus? I don't buy much Cahors, either, mostly as a result of availability.

Mark Lipton

 

[MarkS]

originally posted by MLipton:

originally posted by mark e:

originally posted by VLM:

originally posted by Marc Hanes:
Curious if there is any general sentiment on the wines of Combel La Serre. I have tried a few and just not sure it's my cup of tea. Anyone highly impressed with the wines? And, if so, why? Thanks, tempted to buy more but finitude has its own arguments.

I like the wines well enough, I just don't often have use for Cahors at the table.

I've liked the Cahors "Le Pur Fruit du Causse." I don't buy it often, but it seems very much less rustic than other Cahors I have had.

I'm just curious, but is rusticity in Côt/Malbec considered a plus or a minus? I don't buy much Cahors, either, mostly as a result of availability.

Mark Lipton

I would think so? Simply because it seems inherent to the grape.

 

[robert ames]

with gentler tannin extraction and micro-oxygenation i think there's a good number of cahors on the market that are not so demanding of bottle aging in order to render the wine pleasant.

i know that, for instance, coutale cahors is a fruitier more approachable wine at release than it was say 20 years ago.

 

[Rahsaan]

Sounds feasible.

And the approachability is not because of cepage adjustments (i.e. larger percentages of merlot?)

 

[Christian Miller (CMM)]

originally posted by Rahsaan:
Sounds feasible.

And the approachability is not because of cepage adjustments (i.e. larger percentages of merlot?)

Vigouroux used to (still does?) produce a bottling titled "Gouleyant", which was pretty much as advertised.

On the other hand, my 2000 Ch. la Cousterelles are aging at a glacial pace, with deep fruit but forbidding tannin and acid when last opened a few years ago.

 

[Cole Kendall]

originally posted by Jeff Grossman:

originally posted by Steve Guattery:

originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
Grasparossa (whatever that is)

A type of Lambrusco grape. Wines from the Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro DOC, which are darker and heavier than, e.g., Lambrusco di Sorbara, are made using that grape.

Thanks, Steve. Are you a Lambrusco devotee?

Not Steve but I drink a fair amount of Grasparossa with Luca/Zul who I believe has some dealings with some producers. It is seen as a great accompaniment to fatty meats and there are some producers doing interesting things. There is a lunch spot in Union market in DC that serves it with appropriately fatty sandwiches.

E.g., https://www.vivino.com/bonluigi-scuronesgrassaporco/w/3150840

whose label translates to the extremely dark pork de-greaser.

 

[Zachary Ross]

originally posted by Marc Hanes:
Curious if there is any general sentiment on the wines of Combel La Serre. I have tried a few and just not sure it's my cup of tea. Anyone highly impressed with the wines? And, if so, why? Thanks, tempted to buy more but finitude has its own arguments.

The 2011 basic cuvee knocked my socks off. Other vintages haven't been quite as impressive but I still liked them. I really liked the 2013 vintage of the "Pur Fruit du Causse" - very fresh and lively, raised in cement. I also liked the 2015 "Au Cerisier," an upper-level old-vine cuvee happily not marked by new oak; I think it also is raised in cement.

 

[Todd Abrams]

originally posted by Jeff Grossman:

originally posted by Steve Guattery:

originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
Grasparossa (whatever that is)

A type of Lambrusco grape. Wines from the Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro DOC, which are darker and heavier than, e.g., Lambrusco di Sorbara, are made using that grape.

Thanks, Steve. Are you a Lambrusco devotee?

Also not Steve but I will give a shout out to Fattoria Moretto's Grassparossa di Castelvetro. Dark purple and fizzy, their basic bottling is a joy to drink with spicy Korean. The single vineyard bottling is more concentrated with noticeable tannin -- a bit like a fizzy Cru Beaujolais.

A recent discovery was Alberto Paltrinieri's Radice, a methode ancestrale wine made from Sorbara (another Lambrusco sub-region/variety). It's cloudy pink and electric, like salted alpine strawberries.

Good Lambrusco is on the verge of having a moment. I can feel it.

 

[Jeff Grossman]

Cole and Todd, thanks! I had this Grasparossa bubbly at a risotto restaurant so there was plenty of dairy fat for it to scour.

 

[Jeff Grossman]

originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
Cole and Todd, thanks! I had this Grasparossa bubbly at a risotto restaurant so there was plenty of dairy fat for it to scour.

I meant to say, Risotteria Melotti. They made a very big deal about growing their own rice, everything on the menu was made of rice (incl. the bread, the "polenta", etc.)

 

[Steve Guattery]

originally posted by Jeff Grossman:

originally posted by Steve Guattery:

originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
Grasparossa (whatever that is)

A type of Lambrusco grape. Wines from the Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro DOC, which are darker and heavier than, e.g., Lambrusco di Sorbara, are made using that grape.

Thanks, Steve. Are you a Lambrusco devotee?

I'd say more a fan than a devotee. My wife and I became Lambrusco fans on on a visit to Modena about ten years ago. We dined at a restaurant where we were given menus but no wine list. The place had all sorts of bottles on offer, so I walked around looking at what was available. They were mainly pointy wines from other regions of Italy - lots of Supertuscans, etc. When the proprietor came to take our order, I asked about wine. He'd observed me walking around, and disdainfully asked me if I was interested in any of the bottles on display (this in Italian - my wife and I between us were able to get most of what he said). I said we'd prefer local wines, at which point we got a lecture on Lambrusco, which was the only wine that one should drink with his cuisine. We didn't understand everything he said, but we got the basics: Of course, one should only drink Lambrusco from the Modena DOCs. Grasparossa is the densest and most tannic, Sorbara is the lightest, and Santa Croce is somewhere in between. There are three levels of sweetness: secco, amabile, and dolce. As Cole noted, Lambrusco matches well with fatty meats and salume. I ordered bollito misto that evening, and a bottle of Grasparossa Secco was excellent accompaniment.

We've been drinking Lambrusco ever since, almost exclusively secco. It's our go-to wine when we make pizza. Most of what is available in Pennsylvania is Sorbara, which I've come to prefer over Grasparossa. Sorbara is lighter and more transparent. The distinctive bitter note of Lambrusco comes through in the nose and palate of both Sorbara and Grasparossa, but to my taste Sorbara shows more complexity. I don't recall ever having had a Santa Croce Lambrusco.

Pennsylvania used to carry the Chiarli Sorbara Secco, which is quite gluggable. It hasn't been available for the last year, but we are able to get the Cavicchioli "Vigna del Cristo" Lambrusco di Sorbara. To my taste it's a little lighter but more interesting than the Chiarli. My wife prefers the Chiarli, possibly because the Cavicchioli is more acidic. I've occasionally bought Lambruschi or similar wines made from Lambrusco grapes from Chambers Street, though the selection is usually tiny. LDM brings in Ca de Noci wines; their Sottobosco is largely Lambrusco varieties, though it is labeled IGT. I recall it as being good, but haven't had it in many years.

In any case, I'm always interested in hearing recommendations for other good Lambruschi.