Wine Musings Vol#102

Wine of Merit: ****Domaine Roumier, Ruchottes Chambertin, Gran Cru, Cote D’Or, 2008: Stunning. An elegant wine with poise, texture, structure and nuance. Wonderful depth and complexity for such a young wine. Berries, forest floor, potpourri…wonderfully integrated and nuanced. Length and grip on the seamless palate. Surprisingly approachable. A lovely wine.

****Domaine Ramonet, Bienvenues Batard Montrachet, Grand Cru, Cote D’Or, 2007: Once again, a stunning wine. Laser-like focus and clarity. Marzipan, linseed oil, candied citrus zest, a nuance of North African spices…wow. Mineral and citrus infused palate front to back. Endless finish. Simply a great wine.

****Tenuta San Guido, Sassicaia, Toscana, IGT, 2007: A capable successor to the awesome 2006. A four square wine with big structure and still very primary elements, but clearly everything is there and in the right proportions. Perhaps not quite as ripe as 2006, but perhaps also better proportioned. For fans of this wine and this estate, 2007 looks like another must own vintage. Outstanding!

***++Renato Ratti, Marcenasco, Langhe, Barolo, 2005: I loved this wine. Approachable yet complex, perfectly balanced and a wonderful example of wines from La Morra. Strawberries and cherry liqueur, espresso, damp earth. Great balance, lovely concentration front to back, a powerful yet supple finish. A delicious and promising wine and a price that makes a lot of sense to me. Has Barolo replaced Bordeaux as the go-to red wine for the cellar?

***+Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke, Riesling Spätlese, 2004: Drinking perfectly right now. Rich and textured. Nose of white flowers, Asian pear, yellow peach, ginger, honeysuckle. Undertones of slate. Unctuous palate, lovely balance, medium, spicy finish. Just delicious.

***+Cargasacchi, Santa Rita Hills, pinot noir, 2005: Delicious! Bright, zingy strawberry rhubarb, cranberry, baking spices. Palate is nicely toned, lithe and seamless front to back, adding bright acids and some pink peppercorn notes. Generous oak, but well integrated. With extended air the oak becomes more prevalent and less enjoyable. An easy drinking SRH pinot that was great with food and a real crowd pleaser.

***Paolo Bea, San Valentino, Umbria, IGT, sagrantino, 2006: Fruit-tastic! Prominent notes of blueberry, blackberry, plum, black licorice and mint. With more air, cardamom and tar. A bit one dimensional. Palate is coating, a bit grapey and well structured, with lots of grip. Finishes with drying tannins. Lacks the sophistication and savoir faire of the more serious Bea bottlings...but delicious nonetheless.

Wine Musings Vol#58: Marche, Maremma and More

While vacationing in both the Marche and the Maremma (western Tuscany) I had the opportunity to visit a few wineries and try more than my fair share of local wines. Some were not DOC wines and while pleasant more foodstuff than wine. Others are well known and imported to the United States. The following are the highlights of the trip:

Wine of Merit: ***++ Fattoria delle Terrazze, Planet Waves, Numana, Marche, Rosso, 2004: This is a fabulous wine made by a wonderfully eccentric vintner. While it is not the highest scoring wine of the posting, it is a new benchmark for Marchigiana wines and thus merits serious attention. Numana is best known for its beaches – northern Europeans descend down upon the area every summer like Wagner’s Neibelungs, with their pasty white skin, addidas bathing suits and sandals with socks – not for its wines. The Rosso Conero that comes from there (named after Monte Conero) tends to be red fruit driven, floral and nice if somewhat generic. Not so Planet Waves. This wine is very much of the international style (the varietal blend includes Merlot in addition to the Montepulciano)…and yet it still sings of coastal Italy. Warm, effusive, generous, this wine is laden with berry fruit, violets, gaurrigues, church incense, black pepper and tagine spices. Lovely, velveteen mouth feel with excellent depth and lavish if well integrated oak. With so much going on, “Planet Waves” (the name is taken from a Bob Dylan song) is still very much in voice, all harmony and dulcet tones. I loved it and will search it out for future consumption. Che bella!!!

****Tenuta San Guido, Guidalberto, Bolgheri, IGT, 2006: While touring Tenuta San Guido in Bolgheri we had the opportunity to taste the newly minted 2006 Guidalberto. This is the Tenuta’s second wine, though it is NOT a baby Sassicaia (often a second wine is from young vines or from barrels that do not make first wine cut – this is not the case for Guidalberto). This is a wine of its own merits from different parts of the Tenuta (Tenuta San Guido is enormous – it includes an entire village). While in previous vintages Guidalberto (named for an early ancestor of the Marchese Incisa’s family) contained some component of Sangiovese, 2006 saw for the first time a wine made up purely of Bordeaux varietals. I will tell you I was mightily impressed. The wine possesses superb, serious depth, a knock out nose of black fruits, chalk, cassis, earth and briar. Great minerlaity, oak integration, balance and fine, silky length. I would put this wine up against most anyone’s cabernet based 1st wines. Wonderful and worth seeking out.

****Tenuta San Guido, Sassicaia, Bolgheri, IGT, 2005: The best cabernet based wine made in Italy. 2005 made for warm, more open knit wines and that shows here. Much more sauvage than the cool Guidalberto, this wine almost reminds me of an 89 Montrose, with ripe red and black fruit, violet, smoke, scorched earth, grilled meats and blood aromas. A wild wine, though perhaps not as vibrant and powerful as great vintages of the past. I loved it at once but guess it will not be a classic Sassicaia. Still, a wonderful, serious wine with great body and length. Dynamite.

***+Tenuta Ornellaia, Ornellaia, Bolgheri, DOC Superiore, 2005: Tenuta Ornellaia is a gem, a beauty to behold. The Frescobaldi’s have done it up right. The tour of the grounds reminds me very much of the tour at Peter Michael Winery…the beauty, the grace, the manicured vines. Of course, the tour at Ornellaia is $75 a person, PMW does it for free(and pours more wine to boot)! Anyway to the wines. The flagship Ornellaia is made 100% from estate vines (though the Fescobaldis did buy a second vineyard, about 5 minutes away from the original Tenuta to double the area under vines). It is as always a Bordeaux oriented blend, mostly cabernet sauvignon, with blended Merlot, Petite Verdot and cab franc. This is a lovely, sophisticated, finesse wine. The vintage has mellowed it a bit and lessened the vibrancy and verve of this wine, making it in my opinion not quite up to the standard created by many of its amazing predecessors. Mostly, red fruit driven, I sense elements of violet, truffle and herb tea in this wine. The palate offers excellent minerlaity and a medium body and medium, nicely integrated length. A very pleasing wine that I will not be buying at $130 a pop.

**+++Tenuta Ornellaia, Le Serre Nuove, Bolgheri, Rosso DOC, 2006: I was not a big fan of the 2006 Le Serre Nuove. This wine is a traditional 2nd label, culled from the lesser barrels. The make up (more merlot and cab franc I think) makes this an even warmer, more open knit wine. I found it yummy but obvious, lacking that third dimension that gives a wine body, shape and nuance. A nice table wine that I think aspires to greater accolades but comes up short.

**++Tenuta Ornellaia, Le Volte, Toscana, IGT, 2006: The fighting varietal table wine of Ornellaia. I was not impressed with this wine either. It is made mostly of purchased, non estate Sangiovese. It offers a mouthful of plumy red fruit, black pepper, new saddle leather and spice box. Round, lush, unassuming…it is simply a good, not great glass of wine. Nice with food I am sure and fine to be served in a tumbler. A bit generic but correct in every way. I just think when you are trading on the Ornellaia name you should deliver more…

While in Montescudaio (PI) we also had the opportunity to try the wines of Cantina Fortitudo. These wines are not imported to the US but are nonetheless worthy of praise as they are delicious. I will not offer detailed notes as again they are generally not for sale but I will tell you that if in Italy (and Germany I think) they are worthy of your consideration. The 2 that I tried were the 100% cabernet sauvignon ***2005 Aurea IGT that was all blue fruit with complementary herbs and cassis, nice length and depth for under $15 bucks (a screaming bargain) and the very stately and sophisticated ***++2004 Caput Mundi, their Brunello di Montalcino (they own vineyards there) that was wonderfully elegant, mature red stone fruit, cigar leaf tobacco, floral violets and tisane…great lithe palate feel and lovely, long, silky finish (under $45). Really wonderful. If I were a wine importer I would find a way to bring these wines to the states. They would be received with enthusiasm!

Wine Musings Vol#57

Wine of Merit: ****++Tenuta San Guido, Sassicaia, Bolgheri, rosso, 1988: A classic to be savored. Wonderful. Many have considered the 1985 Sassicaia to be one of the best Italian wines ever made…I have always thought the 1988 to be just as good if not even a better wine. Mature color, bricking around the rim. Initial nose of chocolate, raisins, mature plums and soy sauce. With time this wine opens and becomes more vibrant and expressive. Perfectly ripe blackberries, grilled game, a touch of garrigue and lavender, wonderful minerals, espresso, sooo…Italian. The wine, in my opinion, defines the “Super” in Super Tuscan. Velvety, fine, enveloping palate, seamless, perfectly resolved, lingering finish. I do not believe it is getting better per se, but is definitely riding a high. Superb.

****Barnett Vineyards, Rattlesnake Hill Vineyard, Spring Mountain, cabernet sauvignon, 1995: Big, bold and beautiful! I have had bottles of this wine that seemed more advanced. This one seems youthful, sinewy and vibrant. Big, black and blue fruit. Cassis, mint/eucalyptus, smoke, vahlrona chocolate. Very, very deep. A big mouthful of wine, it is coating and furry front to back. Long, spicy, mineral finish. Black Malabar pepper. Wonderful!

***+Cedric Bouchard, Roses de Jeanne, Blanc de Noirs, Champagne, non vintage: Wow. Really lovely, bright exuberant sparkler. Ebullient mousse, fine bead, great nose of key lime, green apple, watermelon and ginger. Orange blossom. Brioche. Very vinous. Bracing, full and fresh on the palate. More citrus and strawberry fruit. Wonderful balance and integration start to finish. Just brilliant!

***Kathryn Kennedy, Estate Vineyard, Santa Cruz, cabernet sauvignon, 1992: Interesting and over all very nice. This winery has always marched to the beat of a different drummer. As such, it is no surprise that the notes on this wine are unique: bright pomegranate/rhubarb, tagine-stewed meats, exotic, Indian spices, moka harar coffee. Palate coating and at the same time a bit racy, blind I would not have guessed California cabernet (and it is 100% cab). Finish is silky and integrated. Delicious both for its unique signature and for its wide, open style.

**+Louis M. Martini, Monte Rosso vineyard, Sonoma Valley, zinfandel, 1987: A science experiment and…It’s alive! This was a commemorative bottling, celebrating the 100th birthday (1887-1987) of Louis Martini (who passed away in 1974). Honestly, I expected this wine to have passed away as well. And while no one will confuse it with the most recent Turley release, it is worth drinking. Surprisingly bright ruby hue, with bricking on the rim. Somewhat reduced nose of red fruit, rose petals, licorice with tell tale soy, tomato skin and a balsamic quality. Still, surprisingly fresh and clean. Bright palate with more red fruit, chocolate, black pepper, stewed meats. The finish still offers fine, furry tannic structure which finishes with a touch of sweetness. A nice, quaffable, easy going red.