Barolo and Barbaresco

 2004 Paitin Barbaresco Sorì Paitin

Slow o'd for several hours before dinner.  This bottle showed extremely well ... perhaps exhibiting a bit more refinement than a bottle we enjoyed a couple of weeks ago. Make no mistake, this wine is a fruit forward mouthful of delicious dark berry framed by tannins softened by age. I could forsee delicious tertiary development over the next twenty years. Always a delight to drink one of these wines from any vintage. Paired nicely with blackened catfish filet served over grits and covered with a shrimp and spicy andouille sausage étouffée.

2012 Pecchenino Barolo Bussia
Drinking deliciously now.... a mid-weight wine exhibiting delightfully balanced character with mouthwatering acidity framing the fruit. I think this will age elegantly. Historically,  a producer more known for their Dogliani, they've cracked the code with decent Barolo as well. 

2005 Martinelli Pinot Noir Blue Slide Ridge Vineyard

 Couldn't resist opening my last of these .... what a bottle and what a wine! 👍🍷

2018 Castellare Chianti Classico

 95% Sangioveto, 5% Canaiolo

If I remember correctly,  I swear this was reviewed as a "don't miss it" wine and that opinion is spot on based on this bottle. 
Double decant... no sediment... really a beautiful little wine and a screaming value, especially nowadays... drank superbly with prosciutto and goat cheese pizza... yum! 🍕🍷

2018 Melville Pinot Noir Sandy's Block

 

Semi-awkward young phase. But you can taste the whole cluster pedigree.... slightly distracting jauntiness on the palate when first poured.... it will likely settle down (or just wait five years) ... the savoriness and sappy-ness are reminiscent of a Vosne-Romanee Les Beaux Monts .. I don't drink a lot of Santa Barbara Pinot Noir anymore, so this is quite fascinating...

Although the soils in Les Beaux Monts are shallow, stony, red-brown clay-limestone, often featuring iron-rich clay and chert nodules (chailles) in contrast to the sandy loam soils of Sandy’s Block.

this gets exponentially more elegant after a couple of hours of air in situ .. the savory notes get yummy...

Producer notes:
"... The Sandy’s block is named in honor of Ron Melville’s sister and was deliberately planted on the extremely sandy northwest section of our east vineyard. This block also contains clonal material representative of our new era of plantings and includes selections from Calera (Clone 90) and clones 37, 459 and 114. These four selections, when planted on sand, produce wildly intense and pretty aromatics with a very ethereal and harmonic palate impression. 50% of the fruit was gently de-stemmed, with 50% remaining as whole clusters, and was fermented in small 1.5 ton open top fermenters. Total skin and stem contact averaged 30 days (7-day cold soak, 2+ weeks of fermentation and 1+ week extended maceration). After spending 8 hours in the basket press, the wine was transferred directly to neutral barrels where it remained sur lie without disturbance and with no sulfur ..."

2016 Čotar Metodo Classico Crna

 Producer notes from @"Eric Guido"

"....Čotar is located just over the Italian border in Slovenia in an area known as Kras, which is actually an extension of Friuli’s Carso district, a region that is well known for its production of Refosco. However, here in Kras, Refosco takes on the name Terrano, a variety that father-son team Branko and Vajsa Čotar excel with...."

100% Terrano (Refosco)

Based on the label, it appears the disgorgement may have occurred in 2022.

Only a slight effervescence on the palate. Bone dry. Excellent minerality. Shockingly purple yet fairly deft in the mouth. A food wine with the stoniness.  Paired with grilled shrimp and filet mignon, creamed spinach and sautéed shrooms...

I'm looking forward to trying the 2013 Čotar Crna still red wine. 
This is really my first experience, I think, with Slovenian wine...

Interesting!

---------

Additional note courtesy Michele Gargani:

Terrano and Refosco are not synonymous or interchangeable. Refosco refers to a family of grapes, often called "refoschi", so it's important to specify which one you're discussing. These aren't just different clones or biotypes; they're distinct varieties altogether, much like Cabernet Franc is separate from Cabernet Sauvignon, and the wines they produce can be quite different. When people mention Refosco, they generally mean Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso, which is more prevalent in the Colli Orientali. Within the broader Refosco world, there are also minor varieties like Refosco di Faedis and Refoscone, but remember, these are entirely different grapes. In fact, there's no Terrano in the Colli Orientali, and very little Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso in the Carso (Kras)

2009 Burgundy and 2009 Barolo

 2009 Jadot Beaune Clos des Ursules

This bottle is in a lovely spot for enjoying now. Attractive perfume... delicious balance of classically styled fruit and acidity that is just right. Will continue to develop favorably. This was decanted for aeration for about 90 minutes, then poured back into bottle. No sediment to speak of. 

2009 Brovia Barolo
Importer's notes:
"...Brovia’s formidable Barolo "Brovia" epitomizes their classically built yet elegant house style and expresses the full breadth of their enviable holdings. While its composition varies slightly each year depending on yields, it always comprises the following sources: (1) From their holdings in Castiglione Falletto, Brovia produces but one single cask of each cru-designated wine per vintage, directing any extra volume into the Barolo "Brovia." Accounting for 20-30% of the wine's final blend, this spillover comes from vines exceeding 50 years of age in the crus of Rocche di Castiglione, Villero, and Garblet Sue. (2) 70-80% of the Barolo "Brovia" comes from holdings in Serralunga d’Alba, primarily in the cru of Brea with smaller amounts (beginning in 2020) in Gianetto, an east-facing cru which is a natural extension of Brea and yields a wine of similar character. These vines are 20 to 30 years of age on average, the oldest parcels of Brea being used for the single-cru bottling. The Barolo "Brovia" undergoes spontaneous fermentation in a variety of vessels—cement, open-top wood, and stainless steel—and is raised 24 to 30 months in oak botti between 30 and 100 hectoliters in capacity. Afterward, the wine is assembled in a combination of steel and wood for an additional year, being bottled no sooner than 40 months after harvest. This aging process, which is longer than that of the crus (aged solely in 30- to 40-hectoliter casks and bottled after 30 months), allows for a wine slightly more open-knit upon release by design..."
This bottle showed beautifully. It was slow-o'd for several hours and opened wonderfully over dinner being poured from bottle. 

A word about drinking these wines side by side. My early favorite was the Burgundy. Over the course of several hours, I gravitated more to the Barolo, with the main reason being the lengthy,  very tasty and complex finish. In the end, I even preferred the Barolo with my main course of grilled branzino over the Burgundy... go figure.  I'm not taking anything away from the Burgundy.... it was indeed one of the most elegant 2009 vintage Cote de Beaune wines I've had recently.  I suspect that additional cellar time for the Burgundy will be favorable for tertiary development and increasing complexity on the finish.

These wines were enjoyed at a pre-show dinner for Railroad Earth, which is one of those bands that's best appreciated at a live performance. A joyous concert. 

2005 Martinelli Pinot Noir Blue Slide Ridge Vineyard

 This turned out to be quite delicious after several hours of air in decanter first to deal with the heavy amount of sediment (typical of this bottling in this time period) and then back into bottle to transport to restaurant. I admit that the abv is scary for a pinot noir but whatever Helen Turley was doing back then at Martinelli, it worked, well especially with regard to age-ability of the wine. I tend to enjoy these wines also from a nostalgic perspective. 

Still, of the 2001 - 2005 vintages of Martinelli BSR, the 2005 is the standout for sheer beauty if not balance.