First experience with a 100% Poulsard from Jura. Very nice bottle, but needs another handful of years in the cellar to round out. Initial pop and pour revealed a high strung, youthful exuberance dominated by bright red fruit, leaning more toward strawberry, complemented by a melange of tart acidity and spices on the back end. Took the rest of the bottle to dinner a few days later, and now we see where this wine is headed... calmed down a lot and could be inserted as a ringer into a blind new world pinot noir tasting. ..paired at dinner with fried pickles and spicy wood fired seared shrimp. Delicious 👍🍷
Pages
Monday, May 6, 2024
Friday, May 3, 2024
2020 Manni Nössing Kerner (Alto Adige)
My first foray with Kerner. What a revelation. Purchased more immediately.
Beautiful nose with subtle hint of peach flowers. Palate already exhibits lots of fruit complexity with a tasty finish and mid weight acidity. Quite drinkable now. I think this wine is produced using only stainless steel. Excellent QPR. Damned impressive.Paired with blackened catfish with crawfish etouffee.
Saturday, April 20, 2024
2016 Silver Oak Alexander Valley
Day One Notes:
This is a meh example, and appears to be quite overpriced. Pop and pour with light decant for aeration. Astringency gets in the way of the fruit. Will check in on it in a few days to see if anything improves...
The chargrilled steak with caprese salad were tasty, though!
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
2000 Paolo Scavino Bric dël Fiasc and 2016 Muraje Sumié
Interesting pair of wines from Castiglione Falletto and Carema. Thanks to @"Werner Van Damme" for introducing me to the wines from Muraje!
I haven't had the best experiences with the 2000 vintage Barolos, however this Fiasc showed extremely well, and will likely continue to age well for another few years. Delicious fruit on the palate supported by filigreed structure and a savory complexity on the finish.The Muraje needs another 5 years or so to really get into a sweet spot for drinking. Brisk acidity and higher altitude structure up front buffer tasty fruit. The finish is still somewhat simple at this juncture, but I'll wager this wine will develop into a beauty. Definitely a good candidate for cellaring.
2006 and 2008 Mastroberardino Taurasi Radici Riserva
I've followed the evolution of the 2006 Riserva for the past ten years. The positive development of the wine - gaining weight, presence and complexity - has been phenomenal. This bottle showed extraordinarily well. While I haven't had the famous 1968 vintage, I could envision the 2006 aging into hallowed status. It has become increasingly difficult to source the 2006 Riserva. If you find some, snatch it up for sure. I have a couple of bottles left and will continue to hold them.
The 2008 Riserva vintage is a very pleasant, balanced wine with loads of fruit and elegant structure. It lacks the classicism of the 2006. It will continue to improve.The 2008 Mastroberardino Riserva was produced to commemorate the life of Antonio Mastroberardino who passed away in 2014.
These wines demonstrate the winemaking heights that can be achieved in Campania with the noble Aglianico varietal.
Sunday, April 14, 2024
2017 Bordega Jorge Ordonez (Malaga) Moscatel Victoria #2
100% Moscatel de Alexandria varietal ...
Tropical honeyed palate with nice early complexity evidenced by slightly bitter accent and pleasing spice on the finish. Nice QPR.
Collaborative effort between Ordonez and Kracher!
2020 Tenuta di Salviano Rigogoli
Really enjoyable Umbrian blend of Grechetto di Todi and Viognier.
Tasting blind, I thought Malvasia was part of the mix, but it's not.
Wonderful balance of salinity, acidity and fruit ... a truly intriguing blend.
Rigogoli = golden orioles
Paired with tempura fried lobster tails. Yum
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
2016 Le Cinciole Chianti Classico
Quite approachable now. Tannins have mellowed. Tasty red and blue fruits followed by a deliciously intriguing finish of allspice. The only weakness with this bottle was lack of nose. This should be good for another decade. Interested in what tertiary characteristics develop on the finish. Paired with ravioli stuffed with ground beef, pork and lamb.
Saturday, April 6, 2024
Flying Dog "Double Dog" Double IPA
With Murray's heritage sourced Calabrese style salami... heavenly... just in time for a norther....brrrr..
Friday, April 5, 2024
2020 Cellar del Roure Cullerot
Interesting very cost effective amphorae white from Valencia....
Paired with blackened catfish etouffee and hushpuppies ... yum..
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
Cru tasting, February 2024
2001 Chauteu Rieussec Sauternes
2004 Muga Prado Enea Gran Reserva
2007 Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes
2010 Quintarelli Cá del Merlo
2011 Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet
2013 Cayeuse God Only Knows Grenache
2015 Mas de Boislauzon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Le Tintot
2016 Clos Mogador
2016 Vina Diezmo RV Reserva
2019 Double Diamond Schrader Cabernet
2020 Sine Qua Non Grenache Distenta II
Saturday, February 24, 2024
2013 Cordero di Montezemolo Monfalletto
Paired scrumptiously with prime chateaubriand...
Friday, January 19, 2024
2018 Borgo del Tiglio Studio di Bianco
50% Friulano
25% Sauvignon
25% Riesling
14.5% abv
Very nice development over the past couple of years and starting to show the potential of the tasty sorcery when these varietals integrate
in the blend... bravo!
Drink one now if you have some. Save the rest for future long term appreciation and enjoyment....👍
must include the wonderful Producer notes from Eric Guido for reference...
"...Speaking with Mattia Manferrari, of Borgo del Tiglio, inevitably resulted in a long and thorough conversation about terroir. The reason being that this top-level Friuli producer ultimately places the most importance upon location and the vines that grow there. The Manferrari family tends three vineyards throughout the Collio region. The Brazzano cru is located around the winery, and it’s also one of the first parcels acquired four generations ago. This is the warmest of the Borgo del Tiglio sources with ponca soils, a layered mix of marl, sandstone and marine fossils, making it ideal for the Friulano that produces the Ronco della Chiesa and the Merlot that creates the Rosso della Centa. This location is also home to ancient Malvasia vines that inform the Italo & Bruno. Further into the hills, near the small village of Ruttars, we find a cooler climate with ponca soils laced with limestone, which creates the perfect environment for aromatic white varieties. This is the source of the Collio Bianco and the single-vineyard Studio di Bianco, a field blend of Friulano, Sauvignon and Riesling. Then there is Ca delle Vallade, the coolest section of the Collio, where Borgo del Tiglio sources their Chardonnay from red, iron-rich soils. In order to highlight the specific characteristics of each of these vineyards, a low-impact process is followed in the winery. Fruit is pre-sorted in the vineyards and pressed gently, where only free-flow juice is used to retain acidity and finesse, and just 50% of the weight of the grapes actually makes it into two-to-five-year-old barrels for fermentation and refinement over nine months (with the exception of about 20% new oak for the Chardonnay). As for the vintage in front of us, primarily 2018, it ended up being an early yet extended harvest. Early due to a warm spring, yet cool and dry temperatures through September allowed the vineyard teams to pick at the most opportune times. Unfortunately, hail in July drastically lowered yields in the cooler-climate vineyards, as much as 50% for the Studio di Bianco and Chardonnay. In most cases, I found the 2018s to have more textural girth than expected, yet they were balanced and energetic. This mix provides a bit more upfront appeal to the new releases, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that these won’t mature beautifully over medium-term cellaring. -- Eric Guido, January 2021..."