Now, Let's Go Run and See...

The 1999 Antinori Guado al Tasso was good, but was not the bottle I had in Tuscany last month... good and very dried leaves, cedar, tobacco and anise. Pretty, but not as spectacular as I would have liked. The 1995 Pol Roger "Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill" is a monster... a great bottle bubbles. So complex and powerful, but a streak of elegance at the same time. Really beautiful. Nice and toasty, but citrus, anise, and apricots are prevalent as well. Exceptional... Enjoyed a wonderful bottle of NV Gosset Brut Rose last night with my wife... this is not a wine to age, but rather enjoy the power in its youth. Strawberries and raspberries with dried leaves... a great pizza wine (!)...

Few More and Tuscany Continued...

I was a judge yesterday in the Florida International Wine Challenge... Tasted quite a few wines, made the palate tired (!)... had a good time though. Though the wines were blind, I know exactly what the wine of the day was... the 1995 Charles Heidsieck "Blanc de Millenieres" was tremendous... a beautiful, toasty, rich Champagne. Really a stunning wine that can be drunk now, or lay it down for a few years for the super hazelnut-butterscotch-toast notes to amplify. Had a few other decent things and some not-so-decent wines. Anyway, enough.

Back to June 7th. After getting out of bed and realizing I had a hangover to recover from, it was off to Banfi. Banfi owns 1/8 of all the land under the Brunello di Montalcino DOCG (approx 2850ha). They use French Oak, 250hl stainless tanks and make 85-90% red wine. They also use some American, Russian, Hungarian and some Chestnut wood. They have a unique barrel system as they have some bent by vapor rather than by the heat of the fire... interesting. Mostly 350hl barrels, but some 225 (Bordeaux). Do 1hr of toasting on low heat brings a mid-level toast to the barrels. Slovinean oak = Balsamic Spice in the wine.... They have 28 Poggios (small vineyards) that are blended into their Brunello di Montalcino. (As a side note, he mentioned that under DOCG law the average Poggio must be 6.5ha...) Guess the DOCG board hasn't heard of, or doesn't want to acknowledge, micro-climates. The single vineyard Poggio all'Oro is 27ha and rich in limestone w/ clay.

The 2005 Florus Moscadello was sweet, clean, 75gl/rs 14%abv with no mutage. 30% new FO, Clove, cinnamon, honeysuckle, beeswax, orange rind, apricots, orange blossoms. Needs time to come together, but delicious now. Had a special lunch at the restaurant...

The 2006 Fontanelle Chardonnay was rich with Granny Smith Apple, Ripe Anjou Pear, a hint of wet stones, apricots, honeysuckle, with toast (6 months in small FO). Had with Prosciutto e Melone. The 2003 Summus (40% CS, 20% Syrah, 40% Sangiovese) was medium-plus bodied with nose of anise, black cherries, black pepper, very dry tannin and dusty, dried fruits. Had with Tagliatelle con ragout. The 2001 Poggio Alle Mura "Brunello di Montalcino" Riserva (this is a blend of single-vineyards). Had staining tears, a light-purple to orange and brown rim, with m+ intensity. Dried leather, black cherries, black currants, raspberry, turned earth, rosemary, clove, cinnamon, very tight, m+ tannin. "Great wine. Big wine". Served with Bistecca di maiale con patate arroso e fagiolini (Cinta Sires - the breed of pig). The 1995 Poggio All'Oro Brunello di Montalcino Riserva was sick... 100% Small FO, almost opaque with notes of suppoi (sotto bosco), black olive, cedar, sweet cherries, cranberry, black currant, dried fruits, m+ tannin - less fruit driven. Loved it so much I brought a bottle home!

From there, it was a short (tongue in cheek here... I was driving 160-170km/hr) 2 hour drive to Bolgheri and Tenuta San Guido (better known as the producer of Sassicaia). A completely different experience than the overly-commercial Banfi. Bolgheri is approx, 6000ha, of which 1% is vineyards. Started in 1968, there are now approx 200,000 bottles of Sassicaia produced each year (compare to 10-20,000cs of Margaux, Latour, Lafite), 150,000 bottles of Guidalberto, and 150,000 of La Difese. The soil is sand with limestone and clay. Sassicaia means "Place with a lot of stones". They do 2wks maceration on the skins, they perform remontage, and use only natural yeasts. They do a quick Malo in stainless steel. The building itself is nothing more than a barn... very rustic, very Sassicaia. Use a touch of american oak on the Guidlaberto, otherwise 30% new on Sassicaia for 24mos, Medium Toast, Allier forest. Racked every 6 months. They use Cordon Spur as their trellis system.

The 2002 La Difese IGT (only sold in Europe), 70% CS, 30% Sangiovese showed soft raspberry (black), black currents, blackberries, black tar, black olive, clove, cinnamon, and cassis. Very good. Retails around 50 Euro. The 2005 Guidalberto (45,45 Merlot/CS, 10% Sangiovese) is a blockbuster... certainly the greatest Guidalberto I've ever tasted, notes of black currant, black cherries, cocoa, dried earth, dried leaves, soft & pretty with a long, cassis & black pepper finish. Beautiful. The 2004 Sassicaia was closed as closed can be, with almost nothing showing on the nose... black cherry, black currant, cinnamon, clove "woody), cassis, cloves, vanilla, cinnamon, long and refined with m+ tannin. This wine is going to be great when it opens... the 2006 Sassicaia was the biggest wine of the day. Black cherry, m+ tannin, black currant, cassis, cocoa, very long... twiggy.
We then went into the vineyards where we learned that they have a problem with Oidium, as they are so close to the sea If you look really hard, you can see the water in the background... was a slightly cloudy day. He told us you can usually see Corsica(!). Alas, all we saw was the footprint of a cingale (wild boar), who like to eat the grapes. Well, this concludes the winery visits (and true working portion) for the trip... I'll go into the remaining wines/etc I had while on vacation another day...

Few this week...

Been busy (not great wine busy, mind you)... The 1990 Chateau de Pez (Bordeaux) was ready to drink, but still had some nice black cherry, cedar and pencil lead. Good wine, glad I opened it. The 1990 Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste was a beauty... ready to drink, but still had lots of life in it. Loads of fruit and substantial tannins (though nicely balanced). A real beauty with dark graphite, cedar, cigar box and cassis - nice long finish.

On To Tuscany! or Italy Continued...

So after a few amazing meals, some fabulous wines, and quite a few new friends, its was off to Tuscany on Wednesday morning. We had an appointment with San Felice, but unfortunately, had to cancel. The drink should take about 5 hours or so from Alba to San Gimignano. The road it Alba to Allesandra to Genoa (one of the most stunningly beautiful cities I've ever seen... hugs the very steep mountains that come right to the sea. Beauty + traffic + most winding roads I've ever seen + speed = white knuckle driving. It was a long road) to Liverno to Firenze, and finally down to Castellechi in Chianti where we had an appointment with Cecchi (who also would be providing us with our accomadations for the next 3 nights).

The Cecchi family started producing wine in the late 19th Century (1893), and now has 4 estates and produces over 7.5 million bottles a year. There is the one in Chianti, another in Maremma, another in Umbria, and one in San Gimignano. They have 120 hectares in Chianti and Chianti Classico. Use French oak and destem. The Cecchi Estate was selected in 1989 to help in a trial of 54 Sangiovese Clones by the Conzorzio del Chianti Classico to see the differences. The Cecchi Estate (Picture below). On to the wines... The 2006 Cecchi Vermentino di Maremma IGT "Litorale", 12.5%abv, sandy soil w/limestone, 200,000 bottles, August harvest, cryomaceration. Nice with Bosc Pear, lemon rind, stoney minerals, and white flowers. The 2006 Vel dele Rose Morellino di Scansano uses cryomaceration, harvested the first 10 days of September, matured in NFO for 5 months. Clove, jammy, bubblegum (almost Beaujolais like).

After those few was a beautiful vertical of Villa Cerna Chianti Classico Riserva - 2004, 2001, 1996, 1993 and 1981. They were wonderful, with the 1996 having a more vegetal note from the poor vintage (lots of rain at harvest). The 2001 was powerful, but slightly closed. Built for the long haul. The 2004 is incredible. But the 1981 was tremendous. Garnet to orange-brown rim, moderate intensity, tar, leather, dusty dried leaves, rosemary, stewed tomatos, very fresh and lively. m+ tannin, cinnamon stick, cigar box, violets, flowers... kept getting better and better throughout the tasting. A real gem. The 1993 had bruised cherries, toast, and was past it's peak with a bit of spearmint and pine tar. Last wine was the 2003 Sagrantino di Montefalco - a beheamoth of a wine from Umbria. 16 months FO. All black fruit and clove, with dried cranberries, tar, chocolate and cinnamon with big ripe tannins, m+ acidity. Great.

After a long day of driving, it was to the Castelli di Monteuto in San Gimignano. Our own private castle, if only for a few nights. The building on the far right was the guest house, where we stayed. A 3-story, 6 bedroom, I'm going to guess 4000 sqft guest house... overlooking the town of San Gimignano. That night two of us stayed in, went to the Coop in San Gimignano, bought some great anitpasta, and made a meal of pomodoro, Insalata di Pesci (octopus, squid, yummy!), Peccorino, Proscuitto di Parma, and a few other food items. Drank a 1999 Antinori Guado al Tasso and a 2003 Gaja Ca'Marcanda (the same from the Gaja tasting...). The Guado was a steal on the shelf... beautiful and drinking well. Also had some 2006 Monteuto Vernaccia di San Gimignano as an aperitif... great night. Lots of fun and great stories.

Another Day, Another Night...

Tasted another bottle of the 1997 Mt. Eden Chardonnay - and to prove it wasn't a fluke, this one was even better!!! Also tried the 2003 Lewis Cellars Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. Simply awesome... right up there with Bond. Rich and thick with loads of vanilla, anise, cocoa, and black currants. Jammy Jammy.

Slow week...

Last night tasted the 1997 Mt. Eden Chardonnay from Paso Robles. Amazingly, it was still holding up very, very well. One of the few Cali chards that do! Lots of oak with butterscotch, honey, almonds and apricots. Nice and fat with lots of malo. That's about it.

Italy Continued...

So, after an amazing tasting at Gaja and a wonderful lunch (if not a bit full of mushrooms), we headed back to the hotel I Castelli. While functional, this hotel had zero charm. For being, what we were told anyway, the nicest hotel (heard about a few great Inns, but that didn't help us...) in Alba, it really wasn't much. Later that afternoon we had an appointment at Marchesi di Barolo. To say I was underwhelmed would be a serious misuse of the word... There was nothing wrong with it, per se, it just wasn't a "wow" experience. MdB is a very traditional Barolo producer, havin made wine for over 200 years. They age their Barolos for 1 year in smaller french oak barrels then transfer them to larger, very old Slovenean oak casks. Malo for all but the Barolo & Barbaresco is done in concrete, with fermentation in stainless steel tanks. The single vineyard Barolos get 30% new oak and the malo is done there. They rack every 3-4 days from fiberglass/concrete. They do a destemming with a 12-18 day maceration. The Barolos hit 32 degrees Celcius during fermentation. They own 10ha of the Cannubi vineyard which lines the road up to Barolo. There are two soil types - Totillano (clay) and Helveciano (sand). On to the wines... The 2006 Roero Arneis (calcareous &sand, up to 2 months for fermentation at a low temp with no skin contact, no malo) Brilliant pale straw with a greenish reflection. Granny Smith Apple, White peach, Bosc pear, less intense, very floral. High acid. 2005 Gavi (Calcareous & Clay, low Guyot) - fresh and floral, slight herbal note (green almonds). 2004 Nebbiolo d'Alba "Michetti" (Langhe & Roero, 1 yr aging (6mos Slovenean Oak) - tar, leather, dried cranberries, dried strawberries, red rasrpberry, slightly fruity. Ok, not great. As a side note, the labels says "contains sulfites" in 9 languages... The 2001 Barbaresco Riserva (2yrs Barrel, small % NFO, 2yrs bottle, Graia Vineyard, hand picked over a 15 day period.) was a dark garnet with notes of dusty dried leaves, violets, cherries, strawberries, tar & tobacco, M+ tannins, pepper. The 2003 Estate Barolo Riserva (14.5% ABV, 2yrs FO, 18mos bottles). Smoky, herbal, touch of tar, black truffles, roses. Hazelnuts, big tannin, black cherries, bl currants, bl pepper. Nice. Had a tour of their cellars (old bottles of Barolo...) Then to dinner at the winery. The 2005 Dolcetto d'Alba Boschetti was dark purple with bright fruit, bl plum and cherries, figs, prunes, light and easy to drink but almost opaque. Served with Carpaccio w/ endive balsamic vinaiger, parmesean cheese. The 2003 Paiagal Barbera d'Alba was spicy with black pepper, fresh black cherries, currants, sage, thyme, clove. Fruit and ncie - but not great. Anise and cinnamon candy. Served with an asparagas flan w/ Parmesean. The 2003 Barolo Cannubi was over the top. Black tar, cherries, herbal notes. This wine was too high in alcohol and too closed to be drunk now. Not sure why it was served. Ditto to the 2003 Barolo Sarmassa. Loads of alcohol on the nose, black tar, cherries, black plum, more open and tannin though... tar and herbs. Too young. Not great. The two Barolos were served together with Veal braised in Barolo. For dessert, the 2006 Zagara Moscato d'Asti was good and light, a nice end. The digestif was the MdB Barolo Chinato. This version is very Fernet Branca like. Medicial... I've now found upwards of 10 Chinato producers...

Patron

First, I'd like to say that tequila is a beautiful thing... too much of it is not... Four wines last night - the 2005 Alex Gambal Bourgogne Rouge "Cuvee les Deux Papis" is stellar. For a Bourgogne, the wine simple rock. Notes of mocha, cranberries, strawberries and raspberries on the impossibly long (for a Bourgogne) long finish. High acid + lively fresh fruit, well, this is a winner in my book. The 2003 Robert Craig Howell Mountain Cabernet (3L) was ok... a bit overbearing and too ripe. A moderate finish... don't waste your money. The 1985 Silver Oak Alexander Valley (3L) was slightly maderized with a burnt-caramel note. I've had this wine from three liter before and was not impressed with it then, and I'm certainly not impressed this time around either. All in all, a pretty dull evening... save for the 1994 Colgin Herb Lamb Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Without question one of the great California Cabs I've ever tried. The 1994 Bryant Family sits at number 5 for me all time... this is better. Lush ripe fruit and a richness not found in many other wines, with a beautiful (and intense) eucalyptus note. The finish goes on forever. Perfect, this wine still has lots of life in front of it though I doubt it can get any better. Always a thrill to taste one of the Cali Cults (Harlan, Bryant, Colgin, V29/Grace Family, Hillside Select, Dalla Valle Maya, Screaming Eagle, David Arthur Elevation 1147 - these are the 8 I consider the "true" cults). Forgot I tried the 2001 Terrabianca Campaccio... lovely dried-fruit-driven wine (70% Sangiovese, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon). A nice drink.

Two Favorites...

Two great wines last night... the first was the 2003 Louis Jadot/ Clos de la Chapelle Duc de Magenta Chassagne-Montrachet "Morgeot" Premier Cru... fat and rich, with loads of ground-up rocks, intense hazelnuts, ripe, rich Granny Smith Apples, and fat butterscotch, honeysuckle and white peach. Always pretty, always great. One of the great 2003's I've tried... but I wouldn't wait on this one. I doubt it's going to get much better... The 2001 Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage La Chapelle, however, will continue to improve for quite a long time. Already displaying an beautifully evolved nose of meat, bacon fat, tar, saddle leather and black pepper - this is a pure Northern Rhone nose... Loads of ripe black fruits with black cherries, plums, and figs. A beauty of a wine that is still a baby as the palate was a bit under-developed compared to the nose. It still needs quite a while. Without question the best La Chapelle I've tasting since the stunning 1989 (not had the 1990...).

Can't believe I forgot about it the other night! Tried, for the first time, the Keo St. John Commandaria Cyprus. Really cool stuff... half port, half madeira, half red grapes, half white (Mavro and Xinisteri)... generally not fortified (though the law does add a provision for adding grape spirit to get the alcohol up to the minimum level, though with the grape ripeness levels as high as they are and mandated by law, I can not imagine how or why you would want to fortify this delicious wine!!!). Lots of roasted almonds, honey, caramel and toast. A very cool wine...

Last Night...

Tried two different bottles of 1995 Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou... this wine continues to be closed, with one of the bottles slightly more open than the other - though when I tried them, one had been open for 1/2 hour, the other 3 hours. The wine is dominated by tannin, with hints of sweet fruit. My question is - is the wine simply still closed down (a lot of 1995s are still closed), or is the wine simply tannin-dominated and the fruit will never come out... only time will tell. WS WOTY in 1998, I believe.

Had a bottle of 2005 Dr. Burklin Wolf Estate Riesling... nice, just a tiny hint of sugar... pretty with loads of minerals... nice, needs a little time. Incredible value... the 2004 Chateau de Sancerre was pretty... very rich with tons of minerals, grapefruit pulp (the white part of the fruit), and lemongrass... nice and herbal.