tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82714547153339871142024-03-11T12:08:20.416+02:00FORCEBERRY - A wine blog from the dark side of the bunchA thorough wine blog on wines, regions and varieties that don't get the recognition they deserve.Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410132544589500796noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8271454715333987114.post-57594180045372115582017-09-14T15:42:00.001+03:002017-09-14T15:51:14.920+03:00Juhfark<div style="text-align: justify;">One of the greatest treasures of Hungarian wine is one that is not very well-known outside the Hungarian borders. No, it's not <b>Tokaji</b> wine – that is probably the greatest treasure in Hungary, but you have to remember that it is also a Slovak wine as well, as the borders of the Tokaj wine region extend to Slovakia as well. The wine I have in my mind is instead something very Hungarian, but also something so scarce you might have difficulties finding it – even in Hungary!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This treasure I speak of is – of course – <b>Juhfark</b>! That spectacular white grape variety that holds its spiritual home in the <b>Somlói</b> hills, capable of producing some stunning, world-class wines!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Juhfark</i>, you say? <i>Somló</i>? Uh-huh. I think a little introduction might be in order here?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Do you know why the <i>Rieslings </i>from <b>Rangen Grand Cru</b> are so much more tightly-knit than those of other Grands Crus of Alsace? Do you know why <b>Soave Classicos</b> feel so much more focused and mineral compared to the wines from the surrounding Soave region? Do you know the saline tang in <b>Canary Island</b> wines or the <i>Assyrtikos </i>from <b>Santorini</b>? Do you know that piercing texture you can find in reds and whites of <b>Etna</b>? These aforementioned characteristics have very little to nothing to do with the vineyard slope, grape clones or winemaking techniques. What is the common denominator in these regions is the <i>volcanic soil</i>: vines grown on volcanic soil just tend to produce grapes with much more mineral, acid-driven and tight-textured – at times even austere – character.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Nagy-Somló</b> or just <b>Somló</b> (pronounced <i>shomlo</i>) is one of the rare spots in Europe – along with the aforementioned regions – where you can find vines planted on purely volcanic soil. This wine region consists mainly of a dome-shaped hill, <b>Somlóhegy</b>, rising in isolation from the vast expanse of Pannonian plain like a colossal (1,5 km long; 1 km across) potato cut in half. This is because millions of years ago the basin, in which this hill is located, was a shallow Pannonian Sea and what currently is the Somló hill used to be an underwater volcanic vent, spewing volcanic matter out from the earth. What little geological contours the seabed – or the plain that followed as the sea dried up – have eroded away with time, but the harder volcanic soil of Somló has resisted erosion, still rising more than 400 meters above the surrounding plain. There are also smaller volcanic hills of <b>Sághegy</b> and <b>Kissomlyó</b> nearby that belong to the Somlói wine region, but all the wine produced in these lesser-known hills is sold through cellar doors and consumed locally.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Vines have been cultivated on the Somló hill for close to 2000 years with documents describing specific grape varieties to the region dating back to the 8th century, so the reputation of the wines from this unique region isn't exactly a new thing. The vines are planted all over the hill, with the southern vineyards getting more sun exposure, producing fleshier wines, and the northern vineyards producing lighter and more acid-driven wines. The region currently consists of no more than 820 hectares (2050 acres) but these vineyards are farmed by a whopping 1200 farmers – a huge number of them only very small producers, selling their crop to the bigger producers. The biggest producers here are <b>Kreinbacher </b>(40 ha / 100 acres) and <b>Tornai </b>(50 ha / 125 acres), together owning more than 10% of the plantings in Somló and purchasing grapes from a further 20-40 ha farmed by local small growers. Out of the more than a thousand growers, there are only some 50 who own more than a hectare (2,5 acres) of vineyards and only 42 are actually registered to sell bottled wine.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Historically there have been numerous grape varieties grown on the Somló hill – up to 46 different varieties – and the traditional way of making wine was to make precisely calculated, interplanted field blends of these different varieties so that a vineyard could consist of up to 40 different varieties per hectare. The old-school way of making so-called <i>Somlai Bor</i> was to harvest these field blends together and age the resulting wine for a long time (several years) in large oak vats. However, this style was lost upon the arrival of <i>phylloxera</i> and the remaining local varieties were lost forever when the remaining vineyards were uprooted under the communist rule and replanted with higher-yielding varieties. Today most of the low-quality varieties have been once again uprooted and replanted with the varieties traditionally grown in the region: <i>Furming</i>, <i>Hárslevelű</i>, <i>Olaszrizling</i>, <i>Tramini</i>, and – our theme variety of this post – <i>Juhfark</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Juhfark</b> (<i>yuh-farck</i>) is said to be one of the rather few varieties that are capable of expressing the <i>terroir</i> remarkably well, along with such classic (and often very mineral and high-acid) varieties such as <i>Chenin Blanc</i>, <i>Nebbiolo</i>, <i>Pinot Noir</i> and <i>Riesling</i>. It is hard to say how true this is, as there are only 170 hectares (430 acres) of Juhfark in existence, a great majority (150 hectares / 380 acres) of that in Hungary, with a lion's share located in Somló. This means that Juhfark might be very <i>terroir</i>-specific variety, but finding any Juhfark outside the <i>terroirs</i> of Somló for a comparative tasting can turn out to be a most difficult task. However, if the Juhfarks of Somló, aka. <i>Somlói Juhfark</i> are considered to be the best examples of this variety, I really don't think there is no need to really search for examples from elsewhere.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">What makes these wines so unique is the aforementioned volcanic soil of Somló, which gives the wines both high acidity (which is evident if compared to the duller, lower-acid wines made from the grapes grown in the plains around the Somló hill) and very noticeable mineral character, giving the wines of Somló – especially Juhfark – tremendous structure and stunning aging capability. Although Hungarian white wines can often be high in acidity, this is all too often the result of a very early harvest. Instead in Somló, the grapes can be harvested much later, resulting in wines which have higher potential alcohol, higher level of ripeness and much more body with no loss of acidity. This, combined with the traditional – sometimes even quite rustic – winemaking practices, even including some degree of skin contact, can lead to wines with lots of power, mineral bitterness and noticeable amount of dry extract. These kinds of wines can be forbiddingly harsh and robust while they are young, but they often come together if given enough cellar age. It is no wonder that Somlói wines were so popular centuries ago: wines with this much structure and acidity could actually survive transportation across Europe, whereas the other Hungarian white wines could barely survive transportation beyond the neighboring village. Historically the traditional Somlói wine was one that was aged for years in old oak casks (still before the World War II the minimum aging dictated by the law was 5 years in oak) which not only contributed to the body and richness of the wine, but also gave them good defense against premature aging through slow, controlled oxidation. Such long aging regimes most likely gave the wines slightly oxidative – perhaps even a bit Sherry-like – character, but also tremendous cellaring potential. Unfortunately such wines are not made any longer, as stainless steel tanks and small, new oak barrels have replaced the big oak casks and the long cellaring is now at the hands of the consumer, not the producer.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, a few anecdotes about Juhfark before moving on to the wines. First of all, "Juhfark" translates to "sheep's tail" – this is because the conical grape bunches supposedly are reminiscent of a sheep's tail. Secondly, the Somlói wine – and Juhfark in particular – have been thought to have various medicinal properties including help for blood pressure or stomach problems. The wines are also widely known as "wedding night wines" because of the belief that the wine helps in conceiving a baby boy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here is a small selection of different Juhfark wines that I have tasted, in no particular order:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjikHi9iKzztIaPUZxRjzCe5wFHc6zgmLT61T02C36lpsjVT1vhNG5O-kgO_vUd4Y1SJPp5AH_1dUxboEXbHEuVZbEPYgggaHEsDvFWJOGbSf8KmC5WJlIBlHV8-wRvEyXqq9oCv0xnVyU/s1600/juhfarkj2009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="575" data-original-width="125" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjikHi9iKzztIaPUZxRjzCe5wFHc6zgmLT61T02C36lpsjVT1vhNG5O-kgO_vUd4Y1SJPp5AH_1dUxboEXbHEuVZbEPYgggaHEsDvFWJOGbSf8KmC5WJlIBlHV8-wRvEyXqq9oCv0xnVyU/s200/juhfarkj2009.jpg" title="" width="43" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Royal Somló Nagy-Somló J 2011</b></span></div><ul><li><a href="http://www.royalsomlo.com/" target="-">Royal Somló</a></li>
<li>Country: Hungary</li>
<li>Region: Nagy-Somló</li>
<li>Grape(s): Juhfark (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 5900 HUF (19,15€) / 0,75 </li>
<li>Tasted on: 16th of September, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://borarum.hu/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: borårum</span></a></div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The <b>Royal Somló</b> winery was founded in 2006 by <b>Omar </b>and <b>Peter Csizmadia-Honigh</b> when they purchased a 1 ha (2,5 acres) plot on the southern slope of Somló. Although these two Dutch-Hungarian guys live in London, they help with the viticultural tasks when needed. The winery itself is run by Peter's father, <b>Károly Czismadia</b>, who takes care of the winery and the vineyards year round. The Juhfark plot they own is still quite young and normally it produces enough fruit for 500-1,500 bottles of wine. However, in less-than-optimal vintages no wine is released. The winemaking is pretty hands-off and natural in style.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The "J" in the name stands for Juhfark. The grapes are normally harvested between late September and mid-October, depending on the vintage – in 2011 the grapes were harvested on 24th of September. The must had brief skin contact after the crush, followed by a transfer to three, old neutral oak barrels of 800, 630 and 150 litres, in which the wines were fermented with natural yeasts. The wines were bottled in July 2012, after 10 months of barrel aging.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Slightly grassy neon-green color.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Steely, green and somewhat vegetal – even musty – nose with somewhat funky aromas of beet, sheepish and slightly Chenin-esque notes of lanolin and wool socks, some unripe green apple and a vague hint of something waxy. Overall the nose doesn't feel that attractive.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine is surprisingly light-bodied, lively and vibrant on the palate, yet showing surprisingly much richness and concentration, contradicting the overall light feel of the wine. There are really bright and youthful, yet still quite neutral flavors of steely minerality, ripe green apples, some bitterness, a little bit of leesy yeast character and a hint of pithy grapefruit flesh with an overarching streak of woolly lanolin. Overall this kind of wine epitomizes the mineral neutrality of Somlói wines.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The finish is long, juicy and somewhat neutral with a woolly lanolin note and flavors of tangy green apples, steely minerality, wet stones, some smoke and a hint of bitterness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Even though Royal Somló is a newcomer in the Somló wine scene, their wine is pretty much a typical example of Somlói Juhfark: the wine is steely, very mineral and somewhat very neutral while still being almost an antithesis to austere, with its obvious sense of concentration. What's noticeable, though, is that even after 5 years the wine seems very youthful with some noticeable sense of concentration.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>86/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Despite being a very classic, structured and mineral example of Somlói Juhfark, I was pretty put off by those rather sheepish aromas of lanolin and wool socks. In Chenin Blancs they can be quite attractive, but I've had some older Chablis wines with that same note and it can be quite off-putting is it too prominent. It really didn't make this wine unapproachable, but it certainly detracted from its enjoyability. This is a good wine, but definitely not in the top tier.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZSCYsWKYOLzqQuHxRGHD3inGZ5ZTlI5WtZ7mXUwnO-QEYipcx085bi-o8r0oM5yCprsBJ8fYUXlHzh0tDq7TzZIO8p1KQGffP3pSNuPhyHGwoY35OkFJDa8lLDe7QMJJQLsfY0BNrAdI/s1600/juhfark2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="121" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZSCYsWKYOLzqQuHxRGHD3inGZ5ZTlI5WtZ7mXUwnO-QEYipcx085bi-o8r0oM5yCprsBJ8fYUXlHzh0tDq7TzZIO8p1KQGffP3pSNuPhyHGwoY35OkFJDa8lLDe7QMJJQLsfY0BNrAdI/s200/juhfark2011.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="" width="45" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Spiegelberg Nagy-Somlói Juhfark 2012</b></span></div><ul><li><a href="http://www.spiegelberg.hu/" target="-">Borpince István Spiegelberg</a></li>
<li>Country: Hungary</li>
<li>Region: Nagy-Somló</li>
<li>Grape(s): Juhfark (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 5900 HUF (19,15€) / 0,75 </li>
<li>Tasted on: 16th of September, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://www.bluedanubewine.com/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: blue danube wine</span></a></div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>István Spiegelberg</b> is as unique a producer as you can find in Somló. In his previous life this German-born Hungarian fellow was a DJ and a test driver for BWV. In 1993 his parents bought a farm in Somló for a summer cottage and Spiegelberg started making wine from the grapes grown on the property for a hobby. However, in 2007 Spiegelberg moved from Germany to this old farmhouse (with 2 hectares (5 acres) of vineyards but no electricity or running water) for good, just to make wine. He has studied under <b>Béla Fekete</b>, the Grand Old man of Somló, and makes his wines in somewhat similar ways: Spiegelberg's wines are made in a very non-interventionist fashion in Hungarian 500-liter oak barrels. The wines are fermented spontaneously with the aid of natural yeasts and aged for a long time in these oak barrels. The long aging period is pretty much a requirement, as Spiegelberg aims for a dry style, but as his cellars are cool and the natural yeasts can be finicky, the fermentation times can sometimes go well into spring, even take a whole year. During the aging Spiegelberg plays Gregorian chant music for the wine 24/7, as he believes this benefits the wine.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">True to Spiegelberg's tyle, this wine is fermented with natural yeasts and aged for some 16 months in used 500-liter Hungarian oak barrels to the tunes of Gregorian chant music. 12,4% alcohol, 1,4 g/l of residual sugar and 5,1 g/l acidity. Only 1330 bottles produced.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pale lemon yellow color.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ripe, rich and perfumed nose with attractive, juicy aromatics of sweet florals, beeswax and some understated exotic fruit – yet the nose seems to suggest high acidity, cool climate and steeliness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ripe, rich and succulent in the mouth with flavors of lemon marmalade, steely minerality, some sweet exotic fruits, a little salinity, hints of honeydew melon and a touch of white peach. Quite full body with lots of intensity, moderate acidity and almost oily mouthfeel.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Quite long and lively finish with sweet flavors of ripe apple, some honey, hints of exotic spices and a touch of salinity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A delightful, concentrated example of Juhfark from a warm vintage – and it shows. This wine is almost atypical in its abundance of ripe, sweet and yellow fruit in the stead of high acid and minerality. Yet these more austere characteristics show as well, giving the wine impressive structure and freshness. Still I can't help but thinking that this wine would be even more attractive with less ripeness and higher acidity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>92/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Drinking wonderfully now, this wine will keep easily for some years – probably even for a decade. Worth its price at 19€, recommended.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK306LNzzuU9CiJ_Go4Og8_uZfrS7wxGbDm2TPr38EDyLhLAx9r8w7qK56nMo6oCihawmdtGOA_WyOfGdf3aVGcMDmnv4IA_pPqIjJfZR0XdGVesY2kjIFwN0jyvy_ArXHyvQE2Mrrwoo/s1600/grofijuhfark2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="486" data-original-width="147" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK306LNzzuU9CiJ_Go4Og8_uZfrS7wxGbDm2TPr38EDyLhLAx9r8w7qK56nMo6oCihawmdtGOA_WyOfGdf3aVGcMDmnv4IA_pPqIjJfZR0XdGVesY2kjIFwN0jyvy_ArXHyvQE2Mrrwoo/s200/grofijuhfark2013.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="" width="60" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Tornai Top Selection Grófi Juhfark 2013</b></span></div><ul><li><a href="http://www.tornaipince.hu/" target="-">Tornai Pincészet</a></li>
<li>Country: Hungary</li>
<li>Region: Nagy-Somló</li>
<li>Grape(s): Juhfark (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 4600 HUF (14,93€) / 0,75 </li>
<li>Tasted on: 16th of September, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.tornaipince.hu/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: tornai</span></a></div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">At 50 hectares, <b>Tornai </b>is the biggest producer of Somlói wines. Founded in 1946, it is one of the very few private wineries to survive the communist rule. Often Tornai's wines are described as being very well-made and balanced, but perhaps a bit commercial and, thus, uninteresting if compared to the more traditionalist examples offered by the smaller producers. Tornai produces numerous varietal and blended wines at various tiers of quality; this Top Selection Grófi Juhfark is their flagship Juhfark wine produced only from their best Juhfark plot in minuscule quantities. The vintage of 2013 produced quite weighty and concentrated wines in Somló; this wine is rather powerful at 14,76% alcohol with 7,8 g/l of residual sugar and 7,6 g/l of acidity. The grapes were harvested as late as the end of October and the wine was aged for more than a year in 500-liter oak barrels. Bottled in early March 2015. Total production 3,650 bottles.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Medium-deep yellow color with faint green highlights.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The nose feels quite powerful, concentrated and complex with layered, kaleidoscopic aromas of star fruit, ripe peaches and apricots, stony minerality, some trebly vegetal overtones, a little bit of waxy character and creaminess from the barrel aging, light tropical fruit characteristics (that remind me of Austrian Zierfandler and Rotgipfler wines), a hint of nuttiness and a touch of sweet smoke. An impressive mélange of aromas.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine feels – as one would expect – rich, full-bodied and weighty with concentrated, almost chewy mouthfeel and intense flavors of stony minerality, star fruit, sour yellow plums, some nuttiness, a little bit of bright citrus fruits, a hint of dried pineapple and a touch of saline tang. Despite the oak aging, the wine really does not taste of oak; the barrel seems to have granted the wine lovely creamy and nutty undertones without becoming too overwhelming. True to the variety, the wine is remarkably high in acidity and, thus, very structured – despite coming across as noticeably ripe and weighty.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The finish is lively, long and rich with quite waxy character and complex flavors of stony minerality, dried apricots, some sweet smoke, a little bit of blood orange and a hint of nutty spice.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although Tornai might get bad rap for making reductively made commercial and fruit-forward wines, this is anything but. The waxy, ever-so-slightly oxidative and impressively weighty flavors of the wine show perfectly how Juhfark can get very ripe yet still retain very impressive acid structure that shows no signs of faltering under such weight.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>93/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Although there are some delicate tertiary characteristics in the wine, the wine is still now, at 3 years of age, still a baby and obviously a long way away from its apogee. With its rich, weighty fruit, bright acidity and a balancing touch of residual sugar, it is easy to promise good aging potential for the wine. Expect this one change into something very Burgundian with a volcanic twist after 7-10 years of cellaring. Quite expensive for a Somló wine at 14,93€, but still a steal. Very highly recommended.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_czeF-AeLkeLJ4pnDznTkoz3B6dTNZASzbtH2zeoDmDfOa_9VZfAUqgFEeoeDsc2ZhBpHnnd1eFsGLdWCqOHAJwRmCzMpwInXaMw5v4bXtyyxJJ6INMv2IlV2JXhUa-NhMyp1UaKcvo4/s1600/feketesomloijuhfark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="439" data-original-width="101" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_czeF-AeLkeLJ4pnDznTkoz3B6dTNZASzbtH2zeoDmDfOa_9VZfAUqgFEeoeDsc2ZhBpHnnd1eFsGLdWCqOHAJwRmCzMpwInXaMw5v4bXtyyxJJ6INMv2IlV2JXhUa-NhMyp1UaKcvo4/s200/feketesomloijuhfark.jpg" title="" width="45" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Fekete Somlói Juhfark 2009</b></span></div><ul><li><a href="http://feketepincesomlo.hu/en/wines/" target="-">Fekete Pince</a></li>
<li>Country: Hungary</li>
<li>Region: Nagy-Somló</li>
<li>Grape(s): Juhfark (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 6500 HUF (21,10€) / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: 26th of August, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://feketepincesomlo.hu/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: fekete</span></a></div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Béla Fekete</b>, born in 1926 and over 90 years old at the time of writing, is considered to be the godfather of Somló. He has been making wine since the late 1960's from purchased must and running his own winery since the early 70's, always with traditional methods. He has both increased his vineyard holdings (now at 3,5 hectares / 9 acres) and changed a bit his winemaking techniques with time – for example by introducing stainless steel tanks to the winery – but never at the expense of the classic style of his wines. The key characteristics of his wines are late harvest, natural fermentation and long aging regimes. Fekete made practically all the vineyard work by himself, only occasionally getting help from his son, until he retired in 2014 and sold his winery to three promising producers who have no intentions of changing the style mastered by Fekete.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine is made from specially selected grapes which are fermented spontaneously in old 1100-liter Hungarian oak casks with the help natural of natural yeasts. The wines are racked off their lees and left to age in these casks for 18 months, after which they are transferred to stainless steel tanks to avoid further oxidation and aged for a further 18 months. The wines are released to the market 3½ years after the vintage. 13,1% alcohol; 0,3 g/l of residual sugar; 5,7 g/l acidity; pH 3,22. Total production 4220 bottles.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Medium-deep golden yellow color.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ripe, opulent and concentrated nose, although showing a light undertone of something green and grassy. Although the nose is more nuanced and subtle than intense and expressive, the overall feeling you get is very aromatic with really complex aromas of honeydew melon, ripe apple, some wizened yellow stone fruits, a little sappy greenness, a touch of dark cherry and a hint of mature oxidation giving the bouquet a slightly nutty edge..</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The nose creates expectations of a big, full-bodied and heavy wine, but on the palate the wine is – as Juhfark so often is – ridiculously mineral and tightly-knit with piercing steely character, quite noticeable bitterness and bracing acidity. There are intense flavors of dried peach, iron, some stone dust, a little bit of aged waxy character and a hint of saline tang. The juicy flavors contrast the tightly-knit texture very nicely, although they get pretty much overwhelmed by the racy acidity and minerality.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The finish is really crisp, steely and sharp with pronounced, electric acidity and tangy flavors of stony, volcanic minerality, lemony citrus fruits, a little bit honeyed beeswax and hints of dried stone fruits.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A textbook example of a volcanic wine: the wine is a real acid powerhouse and almost quinine in its steely, mineral bitterness. However, very sharp and tightly-knit it may be, the wine still isn't austere and undrinkable. On the contrary, the ripeness and sense of concentration balance the structure very nicely – although the acid and minerality are still in the lead for now.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>95/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: True to the Fekete style, this wine is still almost forbiddingly tightly wound and structure driven – even at almost 7 years of age – and will need years more to realize its full potential. This is something like drinking a 1er Cru Classé Bordeaux or a Champagne Prestige Cuvée right after it is released; it might be interesting, but you can get only a tiny glimpse of the potential the wine holds. If you really want to understand the Fekete wines fully, you need to start stocking them now and start drinking them not earlier than a decade into the future. These wines are spectacular, but definitely not for instant enjoyment.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvywgl2uPfAWTo9mdstLTKV-1GlxcYY932zYLOCsT8HR10EZvzH31goLrkrLJF8d2T5QW9u903UiE7jPKB1mMNwIg6XfoAHHCf9M-3sb2nAP0O-9LVbaWeoveAUIbrSsD0XVDxCaS6EiI/s1600/feketesomloijuhfark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="439" data-original-width="101" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvywgl2uPfAWTo9mdstLTKV-1GlxcYY932zYLOCsT8HR10EZvzH31goLrkrLJF8d2T5QW9u903UiE7jPKB1mMNwIg6XfoAHHCf9M-3sb2nAP0O-9LVbaWeoveAUIbrSsD0XVDxCaS6EiI/s200/feketesomloijuhfark.jpg" title="" width="45" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Fekete Somlói Juhfark 2011</b></span></div><ul><li><a href="http://feketepincesomlo.hu/en/wines/" target="-">Fekete Pince</a></li>
<li>Country: Hungary</li>
<li>Region: Nagy-Somló</li>
<li>Grape(s): Juhfark (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 3500 HUF (13,36€) / 0,75 </li>
<li>Tasted on: 16th of September, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://feketepincesomlo.hu/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: fekete</span></a></div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This wine is one of the last vintages ever made by<b> Béla Fekete</b>, the Grand Old Man of Somló. The wine is made from specially selected grapes which are fermented spontaneously in old 1100-liter Hungarian oak casks with the help natural of natural yeasts. The wines are racked off their lees and left to age in these casks for 18 months, after which they are transferred to stainless steel tanks to avoid further oxidation and aged for a further 18 months. The wines are released to the market 4 years after the vintage. 14,56% alcohol; 2,5 g/l of residual sugar; 5,7 g/l acidity; pH 3,55. Total production 3950 bottles.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Medium-deep yellow color with faint green highlights.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The nose is ridiculously complex with a stunning array of aromas, ranging from ripe and sweet notes of dried stone fruits, pineapple, banana and apricots to more complex aromas of smoky volcanic character, rhubarb jam and light hints of mushroomy earth.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Contrasting the sweet nose, the wine feels ridiculously tightly-knit, stern and mineral on the palate with bracing acidity and piercing steely minerality. Despite its harsh and almost austere texture, the wine still feels obviously very ripe with slightly oily mouthfeel and somewhat concentrated flavors of dried peach, green apples, subtle and complex spiciness, a little bit of salinity and a hint of candied lemon zest. The wine feels as tight as a piano wire.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Just like the midpalate, the finish is as steely, mineral and tightly-knit with austere texture and contrasting flavors of ripe yellow fruits, some beeswax, a little bit of ripe citrus fruits and a hint of saline tang.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">You can often read how Fekete Juhfarks can be forbiddingly austere, rustic and almost aggressive when they are young, but you really have to taste one to believe. And they sure are. The wine is a stunning juxtaposition of acid-and-mineral-driven freshness and ridiculously complex, weighty ripeness. Even though it is quite hard to appreciate a wine this tightly wound, it doesn't take a genius to realize there is something otherworldly here.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>95/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: This is a stunning wine by any standards, but it is and will be unapproachable for years. A wine like this needs years – perhaps even decades – to unwind, let the structure resolve and release the tertiary notes underneath. If opened now, the wine will need copious amounts of decanting to coax some fruit out. In a nutshell, this is one of the greatest Hungarian dry wines I've ever tasted, but will need extended cellaring to fully realize its potential. Ridiculous value at only 13,36€.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhztDWcjjwP8psLy0lrFR6rpHLJ52dFTehBX_doMpJONw1fZH7pXcuTpFk2Yqf_un8jZwkZ3iBw4Ju7kjZqyRiL8s3D-70ZtWdtUXkuDEugqleWWu3uqmBBYrlpZAXOtVsgSAfs1-3gIGI/s1600/somloijuhfark2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="725" data-original-width="159" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhztDWcjjwP8psLy0lrFR6rpHLJ52dFTehBX_doMpJONw1fZH7pXcuTpFk2Yqf_un8jZwkZ3iBw4Ju7kjZqyRiL8s3D-70ZtWdtUXkuDEugqleWWu3uqmBBYrlpZAXOtVsgSAfs1-3gIGI/s200/somloijuhfark2013.jpg" title="" width="43" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Kolonics Pinceszet Somlói Juhfark 2013</b></span></div><ul><li><a href="http://www.kolonicspinceszet.hu/" target="-">Kolonics Pinceszet</a></li>
<li>Country: Hungary</li>
<li>Region: Nagy-Somló</li>
<li>Grape(s): Juhfark (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 3200 HUF (10,35€) / 0,75 </li>
<li>Tasted on: 22nd of March, 2017</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://borarum.hu/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: borårum</span></a></div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I really had hard time looking for information on <b>Kolonics</b>, because the winery's home pages tell so very little. Basically all I could find out that this is a family winery, led by the 4th generation grower <b>Károly Kolonics</b>, they cultivate 3 hectares (7,5 acres) – of which 0,5 hectares (1,3 acres) is Juhfark – and they produce their wines in the traditional way: fermenting the wines with indigenous yeasts and aging them for prolonged periods of time (up to 3 years) in old oak and acacia barrels.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Apparently Kolonics makes several different bottlings of Juhfark – based on the information found on their website – but I really found no other way to distinguish these wines from each other, other than the faint, vertically repeating pictures left to the text in the bottle's label. I didn't find any information on how the wines differ from each other. This wine has 13% of alcohol and it was served blind to me.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Quite intense lime green color.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The nose is definitely characterful, yet also somewhat stuffy, with most curious aromas of steely minerality, lanolin, some wet wool socks, a little bit of wizened yellow fruits, a hint of spices and a touch of lager beer-like herbal character. First I think that this might be older Chenin Blanc or Chablis (the wool!), but then I remember that Royal Somló wine I had had a year earlier.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine feels medium-to-moderately full-bodied, powerful and remarkably concentrated with intense flavors of steely minerality, wool socks, wet stones, ripe apples, some dried peach and a hint of smoke. The wine is bone-dry and rather high in acidity. At this point I'm fairly sure this is Juhfark, because so very few Chenin and Chablis wines can reproduce such power and concentration – the odds are for Juhfark.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The finish is crisp, intense and very acid-driven with long flavors of stony minerality, some dried peach, a little bit of sandy soil and a hint of creaminess suggesting oak aging.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">My first guess was correct: I said that this is pretty likely from Hungary, most likely from Somló and quite certainly a Juhfark, if my previous guesses were correct. The person who presented me this wine only said "correct", and seemingly unsurprised, revealed the bottle to be this Kolonics Juhfark. The other people, on the other hand, went completely wild on my deduction, because their guesses had been all the time completely wrong and, to add to their surprise, they had never heard of Somló, let alone of Juhfark.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>88/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: All in all this wine is very similar to the Royal Somló J 2011 I mentioned earlier – only this time the woolly notes weren't as dominating and the wine came across more complex, balanced and interesting. Still I'd say that this wine was far behind those greatest Juhfarks I've had – although it might be just a matter of age. So many producers say Juhfark is not a wine meant to be enjoyed young, so maybe this was just too young and in dire need of cellaring? If I had a bottle of this, I'd play it sure and open it not earlier than after 5 more years of further aging.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDAPAYHrVKAT5D8Q7-enk8C_iYmoJXkWo5PhEmL_qGmFSpSN1btcosHBiInMMU2al-QxEbMHp8HTjihENibvpSXvjqINS71m8Tchmh5hiM76KE1u0hkF3AAzfJnvJXDZfDEBHx597-Xkk/s1600/juhfark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="804" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDAPAYHrVKAT5D8Q7-enk8C_iYmoJXkWo5PhEmL_qGmFSpSN1btcosHBiInMMU2al-QxEbMHp8HTjihENibvpSXvjqINS71m8Tchmh5hiM76KE1u0hkF3AAzfJnvJXDZfDEBHx597-Xkk/s400/juhfark.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our tasting of Somlói wines; three Juhfarks to the fore.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">If these wines didn't say it clearly enough, Juhfark has been a true revelation to me. I had been hearing a lot of positive things about this rare, magical variety for many years, but it wasn't until in 2016 when I finally got to taste one! Well, several.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, as it is often said about Juhfark, it truly seems like a variety that really needs age. Based on the examples above, when young, the less impressive examples of Juhfark can be quite austere in their pronounced, stony minerality so that they offer very little enjoyment, whereas the better examples tend to be so freakishly tightly-knit and structured that they can be quite forbidding and aggressive. Although the styles can differ from wine to wine, all the wines seem to share some common traits: rather high acidity; very pronounced mineral character; and texture and structure that really screams for cellar aging!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">After having tasted through these different wines I'm all the more convinced that I need to start sourcing some Juhfark bottles into my cellar and start aging them patiently. These wines finally showed me a world I had heard of before and now I need to go deeper and see what it really has to offer! Seeing how hard it is to find even young Juhfark wines, I really don't expect to come across an aged bottle – that's why I need to start taking some action if I ever want to taste an older Juhfark myself.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I strongly recommend you to follow my example.</div>Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410132544589500796noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8271454715333987114.post-70670461284047033652017-08-20T21:46:00.003+03:002017-08-20T21:46:51.773+03:00Vertical of the month: Duc de Larsan Madiran 2005-2011<div style="text-align: justify;">I hope my post on Tannat is still fresh in your memory! (<a href="http://forceberry.blogspot.fi/2017/06/tannat.html">If it isn't, you can always read it from here</a>.) This is because this post is again on Tannat, that wonderful tannic monster from the Southwest France. This time, however, I'm not going to delve deep into the history of this grape variety nor discuss about the different styles it can be made into. Instead, as this is another one of my Monthly Vertical posts, I'm going to look into the specific Madiran wine <b>Duc de Larsan</b> and how it can stand up to the test of time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">First, a foreword. Duc de Larsan has been sold for a long time here in Finland in Alko, our state monopoly of alcohol. At approximately 10€ ($12 or £9) the wine is relatively inexpensive – taking into account that the cheapest available plonk here currently costs about 7€ ($8 or £6) – which does not give much promise aging-wise. It's just a lowly entry-level Madiran wine made by a huge (owning 1,400 hectares / 3,500 acres!) producer <b>Castel Frères</b> and – judging by a little bit of googling – its main market is most likely just Finland, because you're really hard-pressed to find any non-Finnish mentions of the wine. This also explains why there is no mention of the wine in the Castel Frères home page and why it is impossible to find any information whatsoever on the wine, bar the product profile in Alko's pages.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, back to my original point point. Normally wines sold here for 10€ are just basic entry-level wines, only a notch above the horrendous nigh-drinkable plonk, definitely not wines that could be aged in a cellar. For the most part, these 10€ wines are meant to be drunk within the year and the best ones can age perhaps a year or two more. That's why I was surprised positively when I tasted Duc de Larsan for the first time – granted, it wasn't an outstanding wine by any means, but instead a quite typical for a French wine that's sold for 10€ here. However, it showed such high acidity and impressive tannins that I was stunned how it was possible to make such a seriously structured at that price point – normally what you'd get at that price point is either dilute Valpolicella or then just jammy, soft new world plonk where the acidity is replaced with residual sugar.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">That's why I was understandably thrilled when I heard my friend had a bunch of different vintages of Duc de Larsan stashed away and offered me a seat in this vertical tasting of his. Now I could finally verify if my hunch was correct and this inexpensive little wine was actually capable of not just surviving, but actually developing in the cellar!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2fdwl5RgXWLc2itlORG1z3K9AIJ-od9tgjbxeZ2OxwM-Laj0Y1tjk1JXp-nUZm9v6bZjpjOYe481ByZiZjOXv7uGfF-7ddsaNmx1CLnkA6ffAMyh8RUoMSaT3wc7HZiR4drL99tJdiss/s1600/madiran1999.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="423" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2fdwl5RgXWLc2itlORG1z3K9AIJ-od9tgjbxeZ2OxwM-Laj0Y1tjk1JXp-nUZm9v6bZjpjOYe481ByZiZjOXv7uGfF-7ddsaNmx1CLnkA6ffAMyh8RUoMSaT3wc7HZiR4drL99tJdiss/s200/madiran1999.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="" width="52" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Duc de Larsan Madiran</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">AOC Madiran</span></div><ul><li><a href="http://www.groupe-castel.com/en/" target="-">Groupe Castel</a></li>
<li>Country: France</li>
<li>Region: Le Sud-Ouest, Madiran</li>
<li>Grape(s): Tannat, Cabernet Sauvignon</li>
<li>Price: 9,99€ / 0,75</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.alko.fi/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: alko</span></a></div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine is made predominantly from Tannat, as dictated by the Appellation rules, with some Cabernet Sauvignon in the mix to soften up the wine a bit (it always cracks me up how there is a region where you can actually soften the wines with relatively the tannic Cabernet Sauvignon). The wine is aged in oak barrels – as pointed out by the label, stating <i>elevé en fûts de chêne</i>. Precise varietal compositions or aging times are not available, as I couldn't locate a single technical file on the wine.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Duc de Larsan Madiran 2011</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">AOC Madiran</span></div><ul><li>Tasted on: 9th of January 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">14% of alcohol.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Very dense and concentrated pitch-black color with ruby red highlights, true to the Tannat style. The nose feels very youthful, rich and concentrated with aromas of freshly picked dark berries, dark chocolate shavings, some sweet mocha character, a little bit of leather and a hint of raisin. The wine is very ripe, rich and full-bodied on the palate with extracted, chewy feel. There are flavors of ripe blackberries, sweet dark plums, chocolate oak, some juicy blackcurrants and a little bit of cocoa richness, offset by a touch of astringent bitterness. Overall the wine feels quite modern with pronounced oak character and lots of so ripe fruit flavors the wine comes across almost sweet, yet the wine is also tremendously structured with moderately high acidity and massive, tremendously grippy tannins. The finish is long, rich and juicy, yet also quite bitter and really mouth-drying. There are succulent flavors of sweet dark berries, fresh blackcurrants, some plummy fruit, a little bit of oak chocolate and a hint of smoke.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">All in all this wine feels very modern, oak-heavy take on Madiran, yet also one that isn't stripped of its massive tannins – which isn't that commonplace with modern Madiran wines. Relatively ripe and sweet example of the Duc de Larsan style.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>86/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: I'm really not thrilled about this wine's prominent oak character, as it feels like the wood is drowning most of the finer nuances of fruit underneath. Still the wine shows great promise with its concentrated fruit and tightly-knit structure, making it feels much younger than what it is now, at 4 years of age. Hence, with enough cellaring one might find a lovely wine underneath all that oak and ripeness in the future. Really great value for 9,99€.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Duc de Larsan Madiran 2009</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">AOC Madiran</span></div><ul><li>Tasted on: 9th of January 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">13,5% of alcohol.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Opaque black-red color. Somewhat closed nose with reticent aromas of dark plums, some sweet and slightly chocolatey oak character, a little bit of crunchy blackcurrant and hints of ripe dark berries. The wine feels concentrated, full-bodied and chewy on the palate with very dry and quite dense flavors of dark plums, plush dark berry character, tannic bitterness, some tart cranberry, a little bit of iron and a hint of cocoa oak. The wine is medium-to-moderate in acidity with abundant yet surprisingly ripe and powdery tannins. The finish is rich and quite oaky with long, ripe flavors of sweet plums, crunchy blackcurrants, some blackberries and a hint of cocoa. The tannins give the aftertaste a little bit of chewy, even a hint of mealy feel and make the wine end on a somewhat mouthdrying note.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was expecting quite a massive wine for a 2009, but this was surprisingly well-proportioned an effort for such a warm vintage wine. Fortunately even the alcohol levels were quite moderate. Perhaps the warm vintage was the reason why the tannins were this time relatively smooth and mellow?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>87/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: A nice and surprisingly balanced example of the Duc de Larsan style. The oak seems to be integrating with the fruit pretty nicely, but there is still quite a bit of it left, so even though the wine is starting to drink nicely, there are no hurries with this one. Great value at 9,99€.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Duc de Larsan Madiran 2008</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">AOC Madiran</span></div><ul><li>Tasted on: 9th of January 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">13% of alcohol.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Somewhat translucent, yet still quite opaque and surprisingly youthful, purple-hued cherry color. The opacity is starting to give way, if compared to more opaque vintages 2009 and 2011. The nose seems somewhat developed and a bit sharp with aromas of smoke, dusty earth and some herbal greenness with some plummy dark fruit, a little bit of sweet oak and a hint of minty coolness. There is some obvious sense of weight and concentration on the palate and the body is full and chewy. Flavor-wise the wine is dominated by minty herbal character, some spicy oak and notes of dusty cellar. The fruit department feels a bit subdued, but still pretty much alive with flavors of sweet dark fruits, crunchy blackcurrants and ripe red berries. The structure is still very impressive and tightly-knit with abundant, grippy tannins and high acidity that feels noticeably higher than in vintages 2009 or 2011. The finish is rich, long and very astringent with massive, mouth-drying tannins and fruit flavors of ripe plums and blackcurrants. The oak character feels much more noticeable than in midpalate, giving the aftertaste a rather sweet note of oak spice and chocolate milkshake.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">There was some discussion whether this wine suffered from TCA or not, but we decided on the wine being OK, seeing how the dusty aromas really didn't smell that corky and there was still pretty much fruit left to the wine. The fruit department seemed rather subdued and thin when compared to the surrounding vintages, however.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>86/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: All in all, this is one of the most seriously structured Duc de Larsan wines in the past handful of vintages. Still very concentrated and brooding in style, yet starting to shows subtle signs of age as well. Hopefully the reticent fruit character can be chalked up to bottle variation, as the structure still needs some more aging in a cellar to resolve. Good, but nothing outstanding here. Priced according to its quality at 9,99€.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Duc de Larsan Madiran 2007</b></span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;">AOC Madiran</span><br />
<ul><li>Tasted on: 9th of January 2016</li>
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">13,5% of alcohol.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Somewhat translucent, slightly developed dark cherry color with a hint of mature figgy hue towards the rim. Somewhat closed and reticent nose with aromas of dusty earth, some dark plummy fruit, a little bit of savory, dark-toned oak spice and hints of crunchy dark berries. The wine is full-bodied, weighty and super-juicy on the palate with rich, chewy flavors of ripe dark plums, some developed notes of sweet dates, a little bit of juicy blackberries and a hint of bitterness. Even at 8 years of age the dark-toned mocha oak character seems quite prominent, although the tannins start to feel a bit resolved and less grippy than in the younger vintages. The wine is modest-to-medium in acidity, further emphasizing the richness and juicy quality of the fruit. The aftertaste feels more tannic and mouthdryingly astringent than the midpalate. There are long, rich and complex flavors of sweet oak, ripe dark berries, some blood, a little bit of dill and an umami hint of beef consommé in the slightly developed aftertaste.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In our tasting this was the favorite wine of many, but not for me – the wine was still too oaky for my taste and the acidity felt less than adequate here, making the wine feel somewhat tired and flabby. However, there was still lots of very nice qualities to the wine, so despite being quite a bruiser, this was overall a positive experience.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>87/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: At 8 years of age, the wine is starting to show some mature qualities, but as it still feels relatively youthful I can't help wondering how long-lived wines these 10€ wines can really be and how on earth they age at a glacial pace? I guess that's the Tannat doing its magic tricks.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Duc de Larsan Madiran 2005</b></span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;">AOC Madiran</span><br />
<ul><li>Tasted on: 9th of January 2016</li>
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">13% of alcohol. The oldest wine in our tasting of vintages 2005–2011. This is supposed to be a warm vintage, but the alcohol level is the lowest among these vintages.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dark, luminous cherry color with some transparency – obviously the least opaque wine in our tasting. The nose is complex and starting to show some developed character with aromas of plums, ripe dark berries, some nuanced mocha oak, a little bit of dried figs, a hint of chocolatey oak spice, a whiff of dusty earth and a touch of dill.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine is medium-bodied on the palate with velvety mouthfeel. There are nuanced flavors of ripe dark fruits, some sweet oak spice, a little bit of succulent, sweet dark berries, a hint of tangy, fresh blackcurrant and a nice, balancing streak of sour cherry bitterness. The tannins feel quite ample, but they have become surprisingly soft and mellow with age, letting the quite high acidity take care of the structure. The finish is long, complex and developed with ripe dark berries, sweet mocha oak, some dried fig aromatics, a little bit of leather and a hint of tobacco. The tannins give only a little bit of astringency to the aftertaste, but they give a lot of chewy, grainy texture to it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Definitely the most developed wine in our tasting, but still it feels it is going up – there is quite much of life to the wine left (and some oak to integrate). Many people in the tasting felt like it was past its peak or just otherwise less impressive, but I enjoyed the lighter body of this wine, letting the acidity shine through nicely.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>89/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: I do wonder, however, that how long-lived these wines really are? After all, at 9,99€ they are among the cheapest drinkable wines you can buy in Finland, and these kinds of wines usually drink well for 2–3 years. This wine, on the other hand, feels like it is still going up at over 10 years of age. This might not be the most complex or otherwise impressive of wines, but in its price point it is quite peerless. Worth 90 points if the oak ever integrates with the fruit before the wine falls apart with age. Among the Duc de Larsan wines we tasted, this was my wine of the night.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE8Bn8W0oIbg7yc3jqLmEr5BX6B2St39ythGozp87TPbpSfFCf80kn_iXNICGF420ztlkLqJ-YwYc3nFNS43EMUOK8Xap3fP0XQGcputrNfJh2E24mJvyldCE8oVhB9tNn_9DoXD-CoH0/s1600/ducdelarsan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1496" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE8Bn8W0oIbg7yc3jqLmEr5BX6B2St39ythGozp87TPbpSfFCf80kn_iXNICGF420ztlkLqJ-YwYc3nFNS43EMUOK8Xap3fP0XQGcputrNfJh2E24mJvyldCE8oVhB9tNn_9DoXD-CoH0/s400/ducdelarsan.jpg" title="" width="373" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Wheel of Madiran from out Tannat tasting with the Duc de Larsan wines on the fore.</td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The bottom line is this: even in Finland there are wines under 10€ you can stash away in your cellar and enjoy them when they are 10 years old, or even older! Granted, these wines aren't spectacular wines in any way, but one really shouldn't expect that at this price point – and they turn out surprisingly enjoyable, given enough age.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although the modern, oak-heavy style of Duc de Larsan didn't impress me that much, I was still nonplussed how nicely the wines performed at 10 years of age! Perhaps I will need to keep an eye of the better vintages in the future and stash away a case of them? At least this vertical tasting convinced me of the aging potential of this little big wine. One should also remember how it is possible to find tremendous value in wines of lesser-known regions, if one is only willing to do a little bit of researching.</div>Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410132544589500796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8271454715333987114.post-4868917997313875922017-07-22T09:15:00.002+03:002017-09-14T15:43:35.397+03:00Devín<div style="text-align: justify;">
Slovakia (NB: not Slovenia – that is further down south) is not particularly well-known as a wine country. Or, to put it more accurately; Slovakia is definitely one of the least known wine countries in Europe, mainly its wines known only in the neighboring countries. But unlike in the other unknown European wine countries, winemaking in Slovakia is not a recent trend: grapes have been grown in Slovakia for centuries, if not millennia, and – believe it or not – the historical wine region of Tokaj is partly located in Slovakia!</div>
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Historically the Slovak wine has been made from varieties that are also cultivated in the neighboring countries; the most widely grown variety is <b>Grüner Veltliner</b> of Austrian fame (known locally as <i>Veltlínské Zelené</i>), while some other popular varieties are <b>Welschriesling </b>(<i>Rizling Vlašský</i>), <b>Blaufränkisch </b>(<i>Frankovka Modrá</i>), <b>Müller-Thurgau</b>, <b>St. Laurent</b> (<i>Svätovavrinecké</i>), <b>Pinot Blanc</b> (<i>Rulandské Biele</i> and <b>Riesling </b>(<i>Rizling Rýnsky</i>). Also <b>Cabernet Sauvignon</b> has been gaining fame, but as Slovakia is a rather northerly country (latitudes comparable to Alsace, Baden or Wien), the variety often fails to ripen fully – rather than attempting to make thin and unimpressive red wine, the variety is usually vinified here into a dry or off-dry rosé wine that is light, refreshing and often exhibiting those vegetal bell pepper note of pyrazines found in Cabernet Sauvignon wines that have been picked very (or even too) early.</div>
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One thing that is a more recent trend in Slovakia is the emergence of grape crossings. And not just any crossings, but instead new ones that have been crossed in viticultural research centers in Slovakia during the past 50 or so years (although there are also a handful of crossings from other Eastern European countries in cultivation). In Slovakia, one can come across such varieties as <b>Alibernet</b> (a crossing of Alicante Bouschet and Cabernet Sauvignon), <b>Neronet</b> ((St. Laurent x Portugieser) x Alibernet)and <b>Rimava</b> (Abouriou x Castets). Some of the most popular Slovak crossings are red <b>Dunaj</b> ((Muscat Bouschet x Blaufränkisch) x St. Laurent) and white <b>Devín</b> (Gewürztraminer x Roter Veltliner), the latter of which we will look more into detail in this post.</div>
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Although the Slovak crossings currently contribute to only some 3% of the cultivated vine area in Slovakia, they are steadily becoming more popular. This is mainly because they have been specifically crossed from varieties that have been cultivated in Slovakia for long and thus are known to be well-suited for the local climate. However, their recent upsurge has most likely stemmed for the recent wine trend of interest in lesser-known varieties; people around the world don't want another Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay anymore, but instead something with a local flair – a trend many Slovak wine growers are now trying to capitalize on. One should also remember that unlike those German crossings that are falling out of favor (like <i>Dornfelder</i> or <i>Müller-Thurgau</i>), these Slovak varieties have not been crossed to make incredibly high yields of uninteresting plonk, but instead wines of high quality and unique character.</div>
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The aforementioned Devín is currently the most popular white variety among these new Slovak crossings. This variety was crossed in 1958 in Modra, Slovakia, but cultivated on the Czech side of Czechoslovakia under the name <i>Ryvola</i>. Later on, the variety was renamed <i>Devín</i>, after the Devín castle, which is one of the oldest castles in Slovakia, located in Bratislava, close to the Austrian border. The variety became officially authorized in Slovakia in 1997 and in Czech Republic in 1998. As a cross of Gewürztraminer and Roter Veltliner, this variety normally reveals many characteristics of its parentage; the wines often sport those floral terpene notes from which Gewürztraminer is so well-known of, and it can get as weighty and bold as Roter Veltliners. Normally the wines show moderate to relatively high acidity, although they are prone to producing flabby, low-acid wines if harvested overripe. Currently there approximately 150 ha (375 acres) of Devín grown in Slovakia (less than 1% of the 19,600 ha (49,000 acres) of the total vineyard area) and only 20 ha (50 acres) in Czech Republic, but these number are predicted to grow in the future.</div>
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This spring I was invited to the Slovakian embassy in Helsinki to taste a selection of Slovak wines – truly a chance one wouldn't want to miss! Here is a selection of Devín wines I tasted there:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim-eLNKpAEjQRDlLuKtwmpmHL2S16G5Ir5dccuXSS_Mc-peGtQjlOZes7UQ73akXheqLLmYYsy5UsYHxW8BZuyCcaQ0UeKwZKZsrdbhexFI1ED-vIQnyflzOdWK0YfUNLuxZa7c2vw2z8/s1600/chateunoirdevin2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="124" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim-eLNKpAEjQRDlLuKtwmpmHL2S16G5Ir5dccuXSS_Mc-peGtQjlOZes7UQ73akXheqLLmYYsy5UsYHxW8BZuyCcaQ0UeKwZKZsrdbhexFI1ED-vIQnyflzOdWK0YfUNLuxZa7c2vw2z8/s200/chateunoirdevin2015.jpg" title="" width="43" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Topoľčianky Château Noir Devín 2016</b></span></div>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.vinotop.sk/" target="-">Château Topoľčianky</a></li>
<li>Country: Slovakia</li>
<li>Region: Južnoslovenská</li>
<li>Grape(s): Devín (100%)</li>
<li>Tasted on: 30th of March, 2017</li>
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<a href="https://www.vinotop.sk/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: topol'cianky</span></a></div>
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With its 420 ha (1,050 acres) of vineyards and annual production of over 5,000,000 bottles, <b>Château Topoľčianky</b> is the biggest producer in Slovakia. The winery was founded in 1933 in the village of Topoľčianky, which is situated in the Nitra region, located in the central parts of the southwestern Slovakia. The winery naturally has vineyards in the Nitra region, but also in the wine region of "Southern Slovakia" (Južnoslovenská), south from Nitra. This 100% Devín wine is fermented and aged in stainless steel.</div>
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Pale green color. The nose betrays is parentage with very Gewürztraminer-like aromas of rosewater and succulent, ripe pear with some sweet underlying hints of apricot candies. On the palate the wine feels quite full-bodied and slightly oily with moderately high acidity. There are flavors of somewhat Gewürztraminer-like floral complexity, juicy pear, some stony minerality and a curious hint of salty licorice. The wine finishes on a bright and refreshing note of acid-driven citrus fruits, stony minerality, sweet peach, some salty licorice and a hint of balancing bitterness.</div>
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Here we have a balanced and well-made Devín that shows the typical richness and floral qualities of the variety without coming across heavy, flabby or too low in acidity. On the contrary, the wine feels relatively high in acidity, especially towards the end of the aftertaste, balancing out the full body very nicely.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>86/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: Overall this is a nice, easy-drinking everyday white from the weightier end. Not really the most complex effort, nor one that one should cellar for a long time, but one that can be easily paired with a great variety of different dishes, ranging from entrées to lighter main courses. A reliable entry-level Devín.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Karpatská Perla Varieto Devín 2015</b></span></div>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.karpatskaperla.sk/" target="-">Karpatská Perla</a></li>
<li>Country: Slovakia</li>
<li>Region: Malokarpatská</li>
<li>Grape(s): Devín (100%)</li>
<li>Tasted on: 30th of March, 2017</li>
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<a href="http://www.karpatskaperla.sk/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: karpatska perla</span></a></div>
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<b>Karpatská Perla</b>, founded in 1991, is a rather small winery cultivating their 50 ha of vineyards in the Malokarpatská ("Lesser Carpathian") wine region, located at the westernmost extreme of Slovakian border. On 2011, after 20 years of work, the winery won the Slovak Winery of the Year award, awarded by the association of Slovak wineries and winemakers. This single-vineyard Devín from their Varieto range is a wine made to show the typical characteristics of the variety, fermented and aged in stainless steel. 8,5 g/l of residual sugar and 7 g/l of acidity.</div>
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Pale yellow-green color. Youthful, fragrant and a bit restrained nose with delicate perfumed rose aromas and nuances of ripe apple. The wine feels ripe and moderately full-bodied on the palate with somewhat rich yet still rather delicate and nuanced flavors of sweet red apples, white flowers, some rosewater and a hint of apple peel bitterness. The acidity feels quite high, offsetting the residual sugar sweetness effortlessly. The refreshing finish is quite long and lively with flavors drier than on the midpalate; green apples, some apple peel bitterness and a hint of rosewater.</div>
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At close to 10 g/l of sugar I expected this wine to be something of a simple crowdpleaser, but it turned out to be a surprisingly balanced and nuanced effort. It isn't a fruit-forward entry-level wine, but instead a surprisingly sophisticated and elegant one.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>90/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: Overall this wine reminds me of a well-made dry Muscat or Gewürztraminer, but with less exuberant floral character. Instead of making the wine feel simple and dull, the residual sugar here simply boosts the fruit and accentuates the richness, never really making the wine feel particularly sweet, not even off-dry. Very nice, recommended.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Nichta Devín 2015</b></span></div>
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<li><a href="http://www.vinonichta.sk/" target="-">Vino Nichta</a></li>
<li>Country: Slovakia</li>
<li>Region: Nitrianska</li>
<li>Grape(s): Devín (100%)</li>
<li>Tasted on: 30th of March, 2017</li>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://www.vinonichta.sk/">source: nichta</a></span></div>
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<b>Vino Nichta</b>, founded in 1997, is a family winery located in the Nitra wine region, situated in the southwest part of Slovakia. They cultivate a wide selection of different grape varieties over their 30 ha of vineyards, but Blaufränkisch, Devín, Gewürztraminer and Welschriesling cover a noticeable portion of their holdings. The Devín in their "Nichta" range is medium-sweet – a style that supposedly suits well this variety capable of accumulating high sugar levels – having 32 g/l of residual sugar, 6,6 g/l of acidity and 12% of alcohol.</div>
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Instead of the normal pale green Devín color, this wine is more deeper yellow with a pale golden hue. Unsurprisingly, the nose is quite sweet, but also rather restrained with delicate floral aromas, some ripe pear, hints of apple jam and a whiff of perfumed rosewater. On the palate the wine feels rich and half-sweet, yet surprisingly fresh and balanced. There are flavors of apple jam, exotic flowers, some steely minerality and a hint of cantaloupe. The residual sugar pushes the acidity down a little bit, making the wine come across medium in acidity with somewhat oily mouthfeel. The finish is pretty sweet, but also surprisingly long and refreshing with perfumed flavors of flowers, very ripe citrus fruits – even lemon marmalade, some cantaloupe and hints of rosewater.</div>
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Just like one of its parents, Gewürztraminer, Devín seems to carry even relatively high levels of residual sugar pretty well. The floral notes suit the sweetness pretty well and the acidity keeps the wine from coming across too sweet or flabby.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>88/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: For a medium-sweet white wine (a style not really my cup of tea, unless it's a Mosel Riesling) this Devín felt like a very balanced and enjoyable effort, reminding me quite a lot of sweeter Alsatian Gewürztraminers. I can imagine a wine like this would suit a variety of hot Asian dishes prepared with chilies particularly well.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEjMEwNVM4R9tvNRhvhQcR4OqafaE8yiJe0QT-wDKd-ZvNA0FW1MChXj2TEeBJ_DxNWW9VTvNwJQ-FefvvS33J5JXUlzoS-_NgsKXpc3wM2xd4ZfZjdSoosoZM-5lWTwYPzRs898DbLoo/s1600/cuveedevin2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1356" data-original-width="336" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEjMEwNVM4R9tvNRhvhQcR4OqafaE8yiJe0QT-wDKd-ZvNA0FW1MChXj2TEeBJ_DxNWW9VTvNwJQ-FefvvS33J5JXUlzoS-_NgsKXpc3wM2xd4ZfZjdSoosoZM-5lWTwYPzRs898DbLoo/s200/cuveedevin2014.jpg" title="" width="49" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Editio Vinifera Cuvée Devín 2015</b></span></div>
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<li><a href="http://www.vinalma.sk/english" target="-">Vinalma</a> with <a href="http://www.karpatskaperla.sk/" target="-">Karpatská Perla</a> and Pavelka</li>
<li>Country: Slovakia</li>
<li>Region: Malokarpatská</li>
<li>Grape(s): Devín (80%), Gewürztraminer + Pálava (20%)</li>
<li>Tasted on: 30th of March, 2017</li>
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<a href="http://www.vinalma.sk/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: vinalma</span></a></div>
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<b>Vinalma </b>is a Slovakian wine merchant specializing on Slovak and Spanish fine wines and Editio Vinifera is their own special line of fine wines that are made by Vinalma's oenologist <b>Edita Ďurčová</b> in collaboration with a ahndful high-quality Slovak wine producers. The Editio Vinifera wines aim to highlight the typical characteristics of the best Slovak wines through the use of the high-quality fruit, harvested in the regions these varieties perform the best, and sensible, pretty hands-off winemaking. I had a chance to discuss with mrs. Ďurčová on these wines and she explained to me among other things that the Devín grapes in this wine were sourced from Karpatská Perla, whereas the Gewürztraminer and Pálava grapes are sourced from the Pavelka & son winery. As the Slovakian Devín wines tend to be made in off-dry rather than bone-dry style, this wine has 9 g/l of residual sugar. Acidity is 7 g/l and alcohol 12,7%. To keep the floral characteristics of Devín on the fore, the wine sees no oak nor aging on the lees. The wine is bottled with minimal sulfite addition of 30 mg/l. Total production of this wine is only 1,000 bottles and 2% of the proceedings from Editio Vinifera sales go to support creative activities of mentally challenged people.</div>
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Pale lemon color. The sophisticated, fragrant nose shows perfumed meadow flower aromas, some ripe apple, a little bit of exotic spice and hints of honeydew melon. On the palate the wine feels full-bodied and rather ripe, borderline off-dry, with very Gewürztraminer-esque flavors of roses, meadow flowers and ripe apple, along with a nice streak of steely minerality and a hint of mirabelle plums. The acidity lingers in the background, giving the wine good structure and freshness and offsetting the sweetness from the residual sugar. The lively aftertaste follows the midpalate quite verbatim with fresh flavors of green apples, yellow plums, some meadow flowers and a hint of steely minerality.</div>
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Overall this is a lovely, balanced white wine that seems to capture the essence of Slovak Devín wines: sophisticated and balanced floral character; fruity flavors that are not quite bone-dry yet not off-dry either; round, moderately full body with balanced acidity; good richness with some weight but without any plump character or sense of heaviness.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>91/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: Although not a 100% varietal Devín, this wine is a terrific example of the style that this variety is normally made in. It feels very versatile, so there's no need to overthink what to pair it with. However, I'd recommend to drink the wine within a few years, as it really doesn't feel particularly cellarworthy.</div>
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***</div>
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Overall it was both very fun and enlightening to taste through the different styles of Slovakian wines and out of the different local crossings I tasted, Devín definitely seemed one of the most promising! Stylistically it feels surprisingly versatile, making lovely, floral dry wines, yet carrying even relatively high levels of residual sugar with ease. Apparently the variety is also very popular with sweet dessert wines, but I've yet to taste any.</div>
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Although I tasted some pretty impressive Rizling Rýnsky (Riesling), Veltlínské Zelené (Grüner Veltliner) and Frankovka Modrá (Blaufränkisch) wines there as well, I really think that the future of Slovak wine might actually be in these Slovakian crossings. In my view, the wines made from these aforementioned "well-known" varieties face some serious challenges, the most notable being the Slovakian names for these varieties – which are both alien and quite difficult to pronounce for foreign consumers – and the competition with the neighboring countries. After all, is an average consumer more likely to pick up a Slovakian Rizling Rýnsky over a German Riesling? Or a Slovakian Veltlínské Zelené over an Austrian Grüner Veltliner? My guess is that 9 out of 10 wouldn't.</div>
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However, these new Slovak crossings are named quite smartly with short, marketable names that are easy to remember for even a foreign consumer, yet the names are also very Slovakian, so that the vine growers can easily relate to them. As this tasting showed me these crossings can produce wines of unique, but obviously high-quality character, they are a great choice for making wines that are both interesting to a consumer looking for wines that show local color, yet have no problems fitting the fine wine niche – at least after the Slovakian wine market evolves. The biggest challenge obviously is to communicate and create awareness of these wines in the global market, which isn't going to be an easy task – but I am certain that it will still be much easier than to compete with Rizling Rýnsky against German Riesling.</div>
Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410132544589500796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8271454715333987114.post-71820183523120780022017-07-04T20:18:00.002+03:002017-07-04T21:52:23.950+03:00Vertical of the month: Château Musar 2000-2009<div style="text-align: justify;">As my <a href="http://forceberry.blogspot.fi/2017/01/vertical-of-month-chateau-musar-blanc.html">Vertical of the Month post on white Musar</a> proved to be such a popular piece, it wasn't hard to decide writing a similar post on red Musar as well. However, I wanted a more concise theme this time so I decided on concentrating solely on the vintages of the 00's instead of a huge post on every red Musar I had tasted. The problem was that the belated vintage 2006 was yet to hit the market. However, in the late March 2017 the 2006 Musars finally arrived to the market, so all I needed to do was to acquire a bottle, taste it and write a piece on the 10 first Musars of this millennium. It took me a few more months to do this arduous task, but here we finally are.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0M1XYkPWfzLBQ42PWByfRInliwMAE0KgDR7X8AkGwMiY-uixIk4QIyR1HUH3sPuYLqI60ReK7HiG-x_7od1tFtMsr0O8pi6O_1XU_DIKF2p9p6akNVD_puUSr-0OQIqfWrPVEuiJPPRw/s1600/musars1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0M1XYkPWfzLBQ42PWByfRInliwMAE0KgDR7X8AkGwMiY-uixIk4QIyR1HUH3sPuYLqI60ReK7HiG-x_7od1tFtMsr0O8pi6O_1XU_DIKF2p9p6akNVD_puUSr-0OQIqfWrPVEuiJPPRw/s400/musars1.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our lineup from 28th of May, 2016</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Lebanese <b>Château Musar</b> (often written without the circumflex as <i>Chateau Musar</i>) is by far the best-known winery in the Levant and also among the best-known wineries in the natural wine movement. Unlike so many wineries of the modern natural wine movement who have started to produce wines more naturally around or after the turn of the millennium, Château Musar has produced their wines with minimal intervention since 1977, predating the vast majority of natural wine producers by a decade or a lot more. The method of production is quite simple at Château Musar: the grapes are crushed and left to ferment on the natural yeasts. No yeast inoculations, nutrients or other additives are used and the use of sulfur is kept at minimum, letting the nature go its course without winemaker's manipulation. The resulting wines are very often rustic and exhibiting characteristics like <i>brettanomyces</i> or pronounced volatile acidity – traits often considered as unwanted, even faults – yet also remarkably balanced and capable of aging easily for decades.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Chateau Musar</b> is the top tier of the winery's range, above the simple, early-drinking <b>Musar Jeune</b> range and the single-vineyard <b>Hochar Pére et Fils</b>. Out of the wines in the Chateau Musar range, the red one comprises the great majority of production (from a third to almost half of the winery's total production of some 700–800,000 bottles), whereas the white's production normally hovers around the 10–30,000 bottle mark . The rosé is by far the rarest wine in the Chateau Musar range as it is not made every year – and in those years when it is made, the amount of bottles produced is only some thousands.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">What is remarkable in Musar wines is that they have always been produced in a geopolitically highly volatile area, where tensions and shoot-outs are not uncommon. Despite these difficulties, the wines were produced systematically even during the Lebanese civil war (1975–1990), when tensions were at their highest and bombshells were exploding all the way from <b>Beirut</b>, where the winery is located, to <b>Beqaa valley</b>, where the vineyards lie, and even in the vineyards. However, occasionally the grapes could not be transported directly via roads (some 70 km / 45 miles) from the Beqaa valley to the winery due to the unstable situations; in some cases the grapes had to be transported by taking a longer (250 km / 150 miles) detour, and once even by driving to the seaside and shipping them from port to port. Against all odds, there have been only two vintages that have not been released to this date:</div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The vintage of <b>1976</b> was lost due to the civil war: unstable situations prevented the workers to reach the vineyards and the crop was lost.</li>
<li>The vintage of <b>1984</b> was made, but there were great difficulties reaching the vineyards and transporting the fruit back to the winery – as it was impossible to reach the winery by land due to roads being closed, it was necessary to ship the fruit by sea. Due to this, the grapes were very overripe and started fermenting on their own before the winery was reached. The wine was practically undrinkable due to heavy flaws for years, even decades, but recent tastings have confirmed that the wine has changed into something remarkable after having been cellared for more than 30 years. The wine, however, still remains unreleased at the time of writing.</li>
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you are interested on reading more in-depth introduction to the history and philosophy of Château Musar, I highly suggest you to read <a href="http://forceberry.blogspot.fi/2017/01/vertical-of-month-chateau-musar-blanc.html">my other Vertical of the Month on Musar Blanc 1991–2007</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZz94euVgUv5CbGdfj_DdJkg5oX2fGWi8JeakggHmpmuj-obZvtXFZoBQ-u9He0sS_Xln-ax8GYi7GIttBbw9KdvpytWGTqQl5x-bbiXwycNqfMvboDC4OzOvZrno0ujlLqLWAI6yZ_rc/s1600/musar1997.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="418" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZz94euVgUv5CbGdfj_DdJkg5oX2fGWi8JeakggHmpmuj-obZvtXFZoBQ-u9He0sS_Xln-ax8GYi7GIttBbw9KdvpytWGTqQl5x-bbiXwycNqfMvboDC4OzOvZrno0ujlLqLWAI6yZ_rc/s200/musar1997.jpg" title="" width="51" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Chateau Musar</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.chateaumusar.com/" target="-">Château Musar</a></li>
<li>Country: Lebanon</li>
<li>Region: Beqaa</li>
<li>Grape(s): Cabernet Sauvignon (1/3), Carignan (1/3), Cinsaut (1/3)</li>
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</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.alko.fi/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: alko</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The red Musar is the wine this winery is best known for. It is traditionally a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan and Cinsaut in more or less equal proportions, left to ferment in cement tanks on indigenous yeasts. After the fermentation, the wine is aged for 1 year in oak barrels (approx. 25–35% new), after which the wine is normally blended together and then returned back to marry in the concrete vats. After a suitable period of aging (1–2 years) the wine blend is bottled without any fining or filtration. What makes this wine so unique is that according to the winery's philosophy it is not released until the winery deems it ready, a process which normally takes 7–10 years – the vintage 2006 was released only after the vintage 2009, after more than ten years of aging! Furthermore, Musar normally keeps up to 25% of the annual production stored in their cellars for later release.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Chateau Musar 2009</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Price: 35,70€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: 20th of January, 2017</li>
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The 2009 vintage was particularly good, remaining quite dry through the whole growing season and keeping all the difficulties at bay. The only particularly wet moment before the harvest was in the late March, giving the vines much-needed water after the dry first three months. Due to the hot summer, the harvest was brought on exceptionally early, starting on the 2nd of September with Cabernet Sauvignon and finishing on the 8th of September with Cinsaut. The wines were blended together only after 3 years of aging. 14% alcohol.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The color seems rather concentrated with dark, almost black red color showing only very little translucency. There are initial aromas of ripe, sunny fruit and lighter, sweeter VA notes of nail polish on the nose, with more subtle notes of very dark forest berries, some raisined fruit, a little hint of sweet oak spice and a touch of Assam tea. On the palate this full-bodied wine feels very youthful, quite dry and rather fruit-forward with flavors of ripe red berries, exotic spices, some strawberry sweetness, light meaty notes and a hint of savory wood. The typical animal and barnyard notes of Musar are practically nonexistent and even the volatility feels quite restrained. There is a sense of firmness along with good structure resulting from the relatively noticeable tannins and moderately high acidity. The finish is opulent and juicy with ripe, plummy flavors of sunny dark and red fruits, some cassis notes, light Middle Eastern spice hints and a touch of dry, savory wood. The tannins give the sweet, supple finish some positive sense of grip and grit.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lovely balance, structure and focus here. Although I often enjoy purity of fruit in wines, this vintage of Musar feels remarkably polished and fruit-forward, making me miss some of those more quirky characteristics of some of the older vintages.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>92/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Overall this is a really juicy and supple red Musar where the warm, sunny growing conditions are very obvious and which is lacking those rustic and funky notes typical of Musar. Nevertheless, the wine shows good aging potential and hopefully it will gain some more complexity and more interesting characteristics with age. Recommended, especially for cellaring.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Chateau Musar 2008</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Price: 23,00€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: 28th of May, 2016</li>
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first few months of 2008 weren't particularly good with rain and snow, but after the late February no rains reached Beqaa for the rest of the season. The March was moderate followed by sunny spring, keeping the humidity (and the amount of weeds) very low. In mid-August a heat wave arrived, making the grapes reach maturity at the same moment, creating some logistical problems on the harvesting of grape varieties – normally the grapes mature at different times, so there is no need to worry whether some varieties would turn overripe while picking the others. Especially Cinsaut seemed to only benefit from the heat wave. The wines were blended together after 3 years of aging. 14% alcohol.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Youthful, dark, almost black cherry color with faint purple hues and moderate translucency. Lovely, complex and wild nose so typical of Musar: sweet volatile notes, rich kirsch-driven fruit, ripe and succulent red berries, sunny dark fruit, some acetone, a little prune and a hint of bretty funk. Very intense, structured and quite full-bodied palate with surprisingly concentrated flavors of ripe dark berries, toasted spices, some sweet plummy fruit, a little sour cherry and a hint of acetaldehyde salinity – all counterpointed by moderately pronounced bitterness. The wine is held together beautifully with moderate acidity and quite chewy, grainy tannins. The wine finishes on a moderately long, spicy and slightly bitter note with a bit of alcohol warmth and flavors of sour cherry, tart lingonberry and a hint of salinity in the aftertaste.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This vintage is a surprisingly concentrated and structured for a Musar, which is nice change after the weaker and somewhat disappointing 2007.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>93/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: The wine feels very imposing with its brooding, dark-toned fruit and those typical volatile-and-funky Musar notes; although promising, it seems to be in a bit awkward phase right now. Currently it requires easily more than just 2 hours of decanting which we had; however, I recommend giving the wine at least a decade more before opening it. Very, very recommended; definitely one of the most promising Musars in a while with good possibility of hitting a much higher score with age.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Chateau Musar 2007</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Price: 35,70€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: 28th of January, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">2007 was an uneven vintage with a sudden spring frost disturbing the growth cycle, cloudy and rainy May preventing 30% of flowering and a three-week heat wave in August hastening the ripening process before the harvest. All the three grape varieties matured very quickly and at the same time, creating some logistical problems to and in the winery. 14% alcohol.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Quite opaque, dark cherry color with figgy purple overtones. Slightly reticent and quite dry nose with slight greenness that lacks the typical sweeter sunny fruit character of Musar; there are aromas of ripe red berries, slightly unripe blue- and blackberries, some vaguely off-putting, chemical VA aromas, a little bit of cedary wood and hints of raisined fruit. Medium-to-full-bodied on the palate, coming across as quite austere and tannic for a Musar. There are youthful, but more dry than sweet flavors of ripe dark fruit, juicy yet bitter red forest berries, some volatility and a hint of sour cherry. Although the acidity is modest at best, the wine seems both quite tightly wound and a bit muted, even backward. The rather pronounced bitterness gives the wine some sense of structure, but also emphasizes the tannins in a not altogether pleasant way. Quite long, bitter and complex finish with juicy flavors of ripe dark berries, peppery spice and some tannic astringency with a bit of alcohol heat.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This might be an enjoyable and drinkable Musar, but compared to the usual house style, the wine seems rather austere, unresolved and backward. Although I'm a big fan of Musar, this time it just doesn't make the cut. I am not sure whether the wine is in some very awkward phase, or if it is just an off vintage.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>87/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Definitely a hard fellow now in its youth, but also seeming to lack focus and balance: there is a lot of structure – especially tannin-wise – and also some pronounced bitterness, but very little fruit to balance them out. I hope that the wine is in an awkward phase and it will resolve beautifully, but it can be that this is just an off vintage and it will never turn out to be anything truly memorable. Quite good and interesting for a red wine, but a disappointment for a young Musar. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the 2007's I have in my cellar.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Chateau Musar 2006</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Price: 31,95€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: 23rd of June, 2017</li>
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A very difficult vintage, but not that much because of the climatic conditions – which were remarkable by themselves, feeling like a never-ending spring with only 10 days of summer weather – but due to the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. Although it seemed that there wouldn't be a harvest at all, everybody still carried on normally despite the volatile conditions and fortunately a ceasefire came before the harvest. However, unlike the vintages that normally feel ready to be released after 7 years of aging, this wine was still in shambles in 2013, which is why the winery decided to postpone the release for a year. And then another. And yet another. Finally, the wine was ready for release in the spring of 2017. 14% alcohol.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Somewhat translucent dark cherry color that doesn't look that youthful anymore, but doesn't betray the +10 years of age either. Quite opulent, ripe and juicy nose which isn't that funky, but showing some acetic VA notes along with aromas of very ripe plums, even prunes, overripe blackberries, some sun-baked earth and hints of raisined fruit. Full-bodied on the palate with moderately high acidity but rather mellow tannins. There are flavors of fresh blackberries, overripe dark plums, exotic spice, some blackcurrant jam and hints of acetic volatility. Although the wine tastes quite dry, notes of dried prunes and raisins create an illusion of sweetness, giving the wine more juiciness and rounding its corners. The finish is medium-long with supple flavors of ripe and sweet dark forest fruits, black cherries, some plums, a bit of tannic bitterness and hints of peppery spice. The acidity makes the wine finish on a more tart lingonberry note along with a lightly gritty tannic grip.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A vintage that was anticipated for a long time, but which ultimately fails to captivate upon release. The wine might be quite balanced and enjoyable, but it is also quite mellow and rather tame effort for a Musar with a surprisingly noticeable raisiny character, especially given the cooler vintage.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>90/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Overall this wine feels, quite surprisingly, like a lighter take on those very ripe, raisiny and high-alcohol Plavac Mali wines grown in the southern Croatia. This soon after release the wine doesn't feel a remarkable vintage, but neither is this a disappointment like the 2007. Perhaps – and hopefully – the wine will gain some welcome complexity with age.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Chateau Musar 2005</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Price: 35,90€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: 28th of January, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Unlike in most European wine countries, the 2005 was an atypically cool and humid vintage in Lebanon, resulting in harvest delayed more than a week from normal schedule (the harvest of red varieties was finished on 18th of September) and with wines showing lower than average alcohol and higher acidity. 14% alcohol.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Slightly translucent dark cherry color. Opulent, complex and ever so slightly volatile nose with lovely richness. Sweet, sunny aromas of plummy fruit, ripe figs, lilac, some red cherry, mature floral nuances, a little acetone VA and a touch of funky brett – although the succulent fruit tends to drown out the bretty barnyard character. Supple, full-bodied palate with good tannin structure and balanced, moderately high acidity. Ripe, succulent flavors of ripe plums, sweet figs, some rustic, bretty character, a little sun-baked earth, hints of jammy dark-skinned berries and a touch of dried prunes and raisins. Surprisingly robust and bold effort for a Musar, yet with fruit and body to match. Long and complex finish with a bit rustic and slightly astringent aftertaste of leather, bitter spices, ripe plummy fruit, some dried dark berries and a hint of bretty barnyard notes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall 2005 feels a remarkable vintage for a red Musar (and white as well) resulting in a stunning combination of robust structure of both acidity and tannins and ripe, succulent fruit.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>95/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Lacking the finesse and delicate balance of the finer vintages, the red 2005 is all about power, intensity and – above all – cellaring potential. With fruit, body and structure as remarkable as these, I have no doubts that the wine wouldn't survive at least a quarter of a century in a good wine cellar. Drinking this wine now would be a travesty – try to get this stuff as many as you can and open the first one only after a decade. It will be worthwhile.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Chateau Musar 2004</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: 28th of January, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A very cool vintage: snow didn't melt until March, spring lasted until June and the ripening period was slowed down by constant cooler breezes. The grapes never developed much acidity and the first grapes arriving to the winery were rather low in sugar as well. However, a two-week heat wave that arrived during the harvest boosted the sugar levels in the remaining grapes. The wine was made in the traditional method: 9 months of aging in cement vats, 1 year in oak barrels, blending and maturation for 9 months in cement vats, finished with bottling and extended bottle aging before release. 14% alcohol.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Almost black cherry color with slightly maroon rim and only a little translucency. Ripe and sunny yet a bit understated nose with a bit sweet aromas of crushed ripe forest berries, some succulent plummy fruit and a hint of car paint volatility. Moderately full-bodied and velvety palate with soft medium acidity. Rich, opulent flavors of sweet dark cherries, dark-skinned berries, some kirsch and a hint of acetic volatility. Moderately tannic, but still showing suave smoothness without any coarse character. Long, complex and a bit grippy finish with quite light flavors of peppery spice and allspice and turmeric, ripe dark cherry, some tart lingonberry, alittle bit of sour cherry bitterness and a hint of dusty earthiness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A smooth and classy Musar with hints of sweetness and less emphasis on the tannic structure. Shows hints of volatility, but is far from the funkiest end of Musars.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>91/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Not as open and expressive as many vintages before and after this, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing; also, the wine seems to have resolved from the clunky phase it was earlier this year (January 2016). Drinking nicely now, will keep easily for many years. Not the most typical Musar with its sweet, fruit-forward character and rather low acidity, but still very beautiful. Recommended.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Chateau Musar 2003</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Price: 31,40€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: 15th of February, 2013</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The winter of 2003 was the rainiest in 15 years in Beqaa, but after April, no rain fell. A long heat wave in May decreased yields by 30%, concentrating the acidity and sugar levels in the remaining grapes substantially. However, July and August were cooler than normal, delaying the ripening process. Still, the harvest was carried out by normal schedule. The maceration was carried out over 3 weeks with maceration, resulting in firm, structured wines. The wines were aged for 9 months in cement vats, 12 months in Nevers oak barrels, blended together and matured for a further 6 months in cement vats before bottling. First released in 2010. 14% alcohol.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Quite translucent, dark ruby color with a slightly maroon hue. Very rich, expressive and aromatic nose with complex and even somewhat animal aromas of leather, tobacco, dried figs, wizened dark berries, some barnyard funk and a hint of sunny dark fruit. With some air, the bouquet gains also some nuances of floral perfume, licorice root and the faintest touch of cedar. The wine is quite rich, full-bodied and powerful on the palate with ripe, slightly sweet and intense flavors of sunny dark fruit, roasted spices, ripe red cherries, figs, some tobacco, a little sweaty saddle leather and a hint of cigar box. Though the flavors are quite sweet, overall the wine still tastes dry and relatively robust. The structure relies mainly on good, bright acidity, as the ample but fine tannins are rather mellow and friendly, giving the wine more sense of firmness than noticeable grip. Only the high-ish alcohol shows a little through. The finish is very long, complex and quite powerful with flavors of leather, cedar, dried figs, some dark chocolate chips, a hint of tobacco and a touch of rough animal funk.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is truly a textbook example of a superb vintage Musar. Although starting to show some developed character at 10 years of age, this vintage has still a lot more to go before reaching its peak. At only 31,40€ this wine shows incredible value.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>95/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Even by Musar standards this vintage shines above its peers, being an incredibly attractive, complex and elegant effort. Not challenging by any means, but still showing quite much of that hallmark funk of the house – although this was not overtly dirty or super-volatile, it showed more of that attractive leathery and animal character than your average Musar. Still a baby with plenty of miles ahead, so no need to open this now – this'll age gracefully for decades.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Chateau Musar 2002</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: 28th of January, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 2002 long, cold and rainy weather pushed the ends of the winter and the spring back, all the way into late June, followed by a mild July and, suddenly, hot August. The ripening process was delayed accordingly, the harvest starting two weeks behind the normal schedule, starting on 15th of September. The maturity of grapes was extremely varied from vineyard to vineyard, so instead of picking the varieties one by one, the harvest had to be done vineyard by vineyard, according to the maturity. The fermentation and maceration times were much longer than normal this year. After 6 months of aging in concrete vats, the wines were racked into oak barrels for one year. After the oak aging the wines were blended together and matured for a further year in oak casks before bottling. 14% alcohol.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rather translucent, yet a bit hazy, dark cherry color with some orange bricking towards the rim. A bit restrained nose with delicate aromas of sweet, dark-skinned berries, figs, some car paint VA, something a little biscuity, a hint of plum marmalade and prunes with a whiff of powdery oak. Ripe, medium-bodied and surprisingly acid-driven palate with complex, savory flavors of ripe plummy fruit, dark-skinned forest berries, peppery, bitter spiciness, some aromatic and sweet clove spice, a little balsamic volatility and a hint of sweet red cherry. Quite soft and ripe but firm enough tannins. The lengthy finish carries the bitter, spicy note while turning the fruity notes into something more earthy and savory; along with the flavors of ripe and sweet dark-skinned berries, complex flavors of clove, funky brett, some sun-baked earth and hints of sweaty leather become more pronounced.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This vintage is a bit atypical for Musar, but still in a lovely way: the wine is not that open and expressive as some, yet still it shows lots of those typical, Musary notes of sunny fruit, animal, volatility and earth. It is actually surprisingly delicate and sophisticated in its expression compared to many other, more voluminous vintages with bigger fruit, yet still sporting a surprisingly pronounced wild-and-funky side as well. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>92/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Perhaps this is not a vintage that'll keep for several decades like the best ones – although I wouldn't be that surprised even if it actually did! At least the wine is not showing any real signs of maturity now, only some depth and complexity that the wine gains with bottle age, giving the wine good cellaring potential for at least a decade more. An attractive example of a more subtle expression of Musar.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Chateau Musar 2001</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: 28th of January, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A very hot and dry vintage: by mid-February the weather turned to much more warmer than usual with almost nonexistent rains. After relatively normal weather during the flowering, the weather turned hotter than normal for July and August, resulting in 15% reduction in yield. The harvest was carried ahead of the schedule, starting already on 3rd of September. The Cinsaut suffered from the hot weather, losing some of its color; thus, the percentage of Cinsaut is somewhat lower in this year's blend compared to other vintages. As normal, the wine was fermented and aged in cement vats for 9 months, aged in oak for 12 months, blended together and matured for a further year in cement vats before bottling. 13,5% alcohol.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rather translucent dark cherry color with some orange bricking towards the almost clear rim. Lovely and attractive nose, with lovely depth and complexity – although the volatile acidity aromas so typical of Musar seem to be more pungent, chemical and glue-like instead of those sweeter, nuanced balsamico notes more typical of the house. Modestly developed aromas of savory dark berries, tart red berries, sunny dark fruit and some dark cherry with a little earthy sous-bois and a hint of dried, dusty leather. On the palate the wine is a lot sweeter, rich and suave than the nose suggests, with a supple, full body. Ripe, complex and dark-toned flavors of plummy fruit, aromatic spice, some fig, a little cherry, hints of leathery brett and a touch of paint thinner VA – intermingled with juicy, meaty notes. Moderately grippy, firm, dusty tannins and relatively high acidity give the wine good structure. Rich, quite robust and slightly grippy finish with savory flavors of ripe, dark-toned fruit, sour cherry, bitterness, some leather, a little salty acetaldehyde tang and a slightest touch of herbal greenness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is a delightful and surprisingly imposing – even somewhat brooding – vintage of Musar with surprisingly powerful structure and lots of depth and complexity but very little of that bretty barnyard funk. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>93/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall the 2001 does not seem as elegant and sophisticated as some vintages (some might consider calling a wine as wild and funky as Musar as "sophisticated" or "elegant" a travesty) with its roughness, occasionally slightly glue-like and more off-putting than attractive VA characteristics and slight greenness, but it still manages to hit many sweet spots with its combination of mature nuances and powerful, grippy character. Although starting to show some more developed notes, the structure seems quite unresolved even after 15 years – this is definitely a keeper with possibility for a higher score with more age. Tasty stuff now with right food, but a wine to be aged a lot more if enjoyed on its own. Very recommended.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Chateau Musar 2000</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: 28th of January, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A warm and dry summer with hot July and temperatures above average in August. Released in 2007, alcohol 13,5%.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Translucent, medium deep red color tending to maroon. Rather reticent and restrained, but also nicely matured and savory nose with aromas of cherry, roasted spices, pencil shavings, dusty sun-baked earth, some developed and wizened dark fruit, a hint of reductive gunpowder smoke and a whiff of bretty funk. Full-bodied, noticeably spicy and structured palate with moderately developed, ripe and savory flavors of dark forest fruits, ripe red cherry, sweet sunny fruit, aromatic spices, some dried fig, a little pipe tobacco and a hint of bitter, sour cherry. The midpalate has a slightly pungent, saline streak giving the wine a bright, aldehydic Fino Sherry-esque overtone, supported by moderately high acidity. The wine has firm, ripe and slightly grippy tannins, giving it sense of firmness and good structure. The long, complex and generous finish is full of layered, interweaving notes of roasted spices, bitter sour cherry, dark sunny fruit, some dusty earth and a hint of dried figs. In the end, there is a lovely, slightly saline acetaldehyde lift.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Somehow this vintage of Musar seems a bit difficult one with atypical smoky and saline notes, yet still the wine does not come across as awkward or clumsy, but very delightful and tasty. Although these atypical notes give the wine some unique complexity, they also distract a little bit from the honest Musary core of sunny dark fruit and nuanced, earthy tones. Additionally, this is one of the less bretty and volatile vintages, with almost none of those leathery, barnyardy and balsamico notes apparent.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>91/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: A Musar that is starting to exhibit some aged complexity in addition to the primary, fruity characteristics. The wine will most likely keep for a good while, but I'm not 100% sure whether it'll keep for a decade more – structure-wise there is a lot of aging potential, but the wine seems to lack focus and I hope it will not start to fall apart with more age. Despite of its lack of typicity, still recommended. This is a good and enjoyable Musar, but not among the great vintages.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For long I had a mnemonic for Musar vintages that odd ones are the ones you want to keep and even ones the ones you'll probably want to skip. Not that you'd want to skip any vintage of Musar, but pushed to make a choice over two vintages, I'd go for an odd vintage.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, 2007 and 2008 changed this pattern: having tasted the 2007 in three different occasions over a six-month time span I must admit, it has turned out to be a disappointment of sorts. 2008, on the contrary, was a really tightly-knit and promising one, feeling almost too young but still full of cellaring potential. Most likely both of them will get better with age, but I expect a lot more from 2008 than from 2007 now.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The vintages 2009 and 2006 that followed, in that order, followed the logic of my mnemonic; although not as impressive as the vintages 2003 or 2005 were, the 2009 was still more lush and opulent effort, whereas the 2006 felt a bit more restrained and underwhelming, true to the even-numbered vintage style – which was also a bit disappointing, seeing how every Musarophile was waiting for its release for more than three years after it wasn't released according to the normal release schedule of Musar.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT1t4rOHW908Lgmk2m2KezqHSMpvRo6yZGlkptmaXHJWDUy-F4qfjklfWEzheKFZcVMthzcsrHJKcBY5V4ecgbS0qeNUnce7mdLyVPPWG6HsxkMQ9hM5wC_pkOSDb-9P3eJoMwuX08l5k/s1600/musars2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="653" data-original-width="1600" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT1t4rOHW908Lgmk2m2KezqHSMpvRo6yZGlkptmaXHJWDUy-F4qfjklfWEzheKFZcVMthzcsrHJKcBY5V4ecgbS0qeNUnce7mdLyVPPWG6HsxkMQ9hM5wC_pkOSDb-9P3eJoMwuX08l5k/s400/musars2.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our lineup from 28th of January, 2016</td></tr>
</tbody></table>All in all, I hope that this guide through a decade of Musars will be of some help if you ever come across of multiple vintages of Musars and you are pressed to choose only one or some among them. Overall the first 10 years of the 21st century seem to have produced some very attractive and delightful wines, practically all of them capable of surviving at least 10 years of cellaring, some of them even multiple decades. Only the vintage 2007 seems to be a bit of an underachiever now, but perhaps with some age it can turn out all right. Practically all the other vintages are more or less safe bets: some are drinking nicely now and some only after some years, even a decade in the cellar, but most of the wines are actually really lovely now yet they sport remarkable cellaring potential – true to the classic Musar style.</div>Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410132544589500796noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8271454715333987114.post-13942340773929395912017-06-09T21:30:00.000+03:002017-07-04T20:05:36.227+03:00Tannat<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There is a handful of grape varieties that are great contenders on the title of the world's most tannic variety, but none of them are as aptly titled for such a nomination as <b>Tannat</b>, that red and fiercely tannic variety originating from the Southwest France.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This dark variety is first mentioned in the late 18th century as a variety grown in <b>Madiran</b>, the wine region in Southwest France, which still is considered the spiritual home of Tannat and one of the few regions which cultivate this rather unapproachable variety extensively. The name of the variety means "tanned" in the local dialect, but it could also refer to the ridiculously high tannin content of the variety as well. This very deeply colored variety produces usually rather small grapes in which the skin-to-pulp-ratio is rather high, meaning that the amount of grape skins (one of the main sources of tannins) is noticeably high in relation to the juice. Normally Tannat produces wines that are not only remarkably tannic, but also very high in acidity as well. This means that traditional Tannat wines can be extremely ageworthy – the key components in the cellaring potential of wines are high acidity, prominent tannins, high sugar content and high alcohol content – but also very unapproachable (even undrinkable) in their youth. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The old school Madiran wines were made with moderately long maceration times resulting in wines often so tough and tannic it could take even more than decade to soften the wines enough to get them drinkable – something not unlike traditional wines of <b>Barolo </b>and <b>Barbaresco </b>region. However, as wine drinkers at some point started to favor softer wines suitable for early consumption, Madiran producers started to look for ways to make their wines softer and more approachable – aging the wine bottles for decades in the cellars of the wineries was not a viable option nor was aging for years in large oak <i>foudres</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The classic method to reduce the tough character of Madiran and other wines based on Tannat has always been blending the variety with some other local varieties, like Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Fér Servadou – all quite tannic varieties in their own right, which only serves to show how tannic Tannat is. After all, normally, in other parts of the world, other softer varieties are blended with Cabernet Sauvignon to soften its tannic character!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">At some point wine producers realized that oxygen promotes polymerization of the tannins, meaning they bind together, forming larger (thus less astringent) molecules and even falling out of the solution, reducing the total tannin content of the wine. The logical method for introducing oxygen more effectively to the wine was to change the large oak <i>foudres</i>, often containing even thousands of liter of wine, to smaller <i>barrique</i> barrels of only 225 liters, thus increasing the "breathing" surface in relation to the wine. Furthermore, by using only new oak barrels, whose pores weren't yet clogged by wine deposit and crystallized acid, even more oxygen could be introduced to the wines, resulting even softer and rounder wines. The downside of this oak treatment is that the wines would also be often full of sweet and spicy new oak flavors and aromas. By keeping the barrel aging time short, the wines could keep the fruity characteristics of Tannat pretty much in the front. However, as many of the wines often required prolonged oak aging to let the oxygen have some softening effect, keeping the wine 2 years or even more in new oak barrels often resulted in wines that were quite dominated by new oak characteristics up to the point that the varietal characteristics were masked away and only the firm tannins would be what was left of the variety.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A more recent method to reduce the astringency from the tannins is <i>microbullage</i>, better known as "micro-oxygenation", developed (quite unsurprisingly) in Madiran by <b>Patrick DuCournau</b> of <b>Château Aydie</b>. This process uses a very small vent at the bottom of a wine tank, through which oxygen is introduced at very high pressure. This way the oxygen is introduced into the wine as very fine, minuscule and easily soluble bubbles that mimic the oxygenation that happens in small oak barrels. However, instead of taking several months, this process takes only some minutes. Furthermore, this process does not impart any new oak aromatics to the wine, so after the micro-oxygenation, it is possible to move the wine into old, large oak casks – or even keep the wine in the stainless steel tanks – while still reaping the softening benefits of oxygenation one would normally acquire only through aging the wine in new, small oak barrels. This process hasn't came about without controversies, however. Although adapted widely through the winemaking world, especially in Bordeaux, some people still regard micro-oxygenation as too manipulative a method and steer well away from it. For example <b>Alain Brumont</b> of Madiran Châteaux <b>Montus</b> and <b>Bouscassé</b>, the man who is widely recognized as bringing Madiran into wider recognition, never uses micro-oxygenation with his wines, but instead favors long oak aging periods in small oak barrels to soften his wines.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although Madiran is the wine region best known for Tannat, it is not the only region where this variety can be found. Tannat is quite well-spread throughout the Southwest France, covering some 2,900 ha (7,250 acres) in total and is a key component in the neighboring regions of <b>Tursan </b>(reds can be up to 40% Tannat) and <b>Saint-Mont</b> as well in the Basque wine regions of <b>Béarn </b>and <b>Irouléguy</b>. From the Southwest France the variety has spread throughout the winemaking world, often with Basque migrants. The variety has found its spiritual new world home in <b>Uruguay</b>, where it was introduced back in the 1870's and is known by its local name, <i>Harriague</i>. Currently the variety covers approximately 1,800 ha (4,400 acres) of vineyards there, which is over 1/5 of the whole vineyard area in Uruguay! The variety is also relatively popular in <b>Argentina </b>(550 ha / 1,350 acres), <b>Brazil </b>(420 ha / 1,050 acres) and <b>USA </b>(100 ha / 250 acres).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here is a rather large and diverse selection of different Tannat wines that I have tasted through these years, in the order of tasting:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlS0b0pF0vBWeqPj1sd0tROtopQ44gjU8sutiKQxPeFGr6XapwAFyELgEKp7NPW5LOUk19wcGuQTpKEcTQ8rx5Rsw7tuGiLr_Cc4dQHzG2_0hz6HSG3Lu_mPFP0K6omeeXVb_qU6jbPYw/s1600/madiran2008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="115" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlS0b0pF0vBWeqPj1sd0tROtopQ44gjU8sutiKQxPeFGr6XapwAFyELgEKp7NPW5LOUk19wcGuQTpKEcTQ8rx5Rsw7tuGiLr_Cc4dQHzG2_0hz6HSG3Lu_mPFP0K6omeeXVb_qU6jbPYw/s200/madiran2008.jpg" title="" width="50" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Domaine Labranche-Laffont Madiran 2008</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">AOC Madiran</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Domaine Labranche-Laffont</li>
<li>Country: France</li>
<li>Region: Le Sud-Ouest, Madiran</li>
<li>Grape(s): Tannat (60%), Cabernet Franc (20%), Cabernet Sauvignon (20%)</li>
<li>Price: 7,00€ / 0,12</li>
<li>Tasted on: 30th of March, 2013</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine is produced by <b>Domaine Labranche-Laffont</b> a small family winery owning 19 hectares in the northern parts of the Madiran region. The hand-picked grapes that are partly from centenarian pre-phylloxera vines go through 18 days of maceration. After the malolactic fermentation the wine is aged for 18 months (1/3 in oak barrels, 2/3 in vats).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Opaque black-red color that reminds me more of blackcurrant juice concentrate than anything vinous!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The nose is quite rich and expressive with aromas of blackcurrants, some leather, a little ripe red fruit and integrated hints of vanilla and spicy oak character.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the palate the wine feels very fresh, youthful and concentrated with flavors of blackcurrant, dark cherry, black forest fruits and some tannic astringency with toasty hints of oak looming in the background. Acidity is quite modest here, but instead the tannins are very prominent, aggressive even, keeping the wine very tightly-knit, structured and dry-tasting.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The astringent, tightly-wound finish is quite long with long-lingering flavors of toasted spicy oak, tannic bitterness, some bright minerality and hints of savory forest fruits.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is a classic, tannin-driven Madiran that feels very tight and structured despite its modest acidity. Probably not the best choice for a wine bar wine, because this feels still very primary and even with more bottle age, you'd need something hearty to go along with this.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>89/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: This is definitely stuff I'd leave in a cellar for a decade or more. Not recommended for people who are afraid of tannins. Very good value at 7€ for a 12 cl glass.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMHRsadZUBThaBL_TJWetCEoDWQT1MkiBprN3O53sbGHDMlyjjxvBjHowszFXVgSk0tz1ATSMOhTmogwnbuAdK0Y_y92Ky3ZHizQ_RhWwfv9jbaFQ9o-5ZR_nNG-ob9WCSxYHt-sVMAiA/s1600/rosedenfer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="988" data-original-width="233" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMHRsadZUBThaBL_TJWetCEoDWQT1MkiBprN3O53sbGHDMlyjjxvBjHowszFXVgSk0tz1ATSMOhTmogwnbuAdK0Y_y92Ky3ZHizQ_RhWwfv9jbaFQ9o-5ZR_nNG-ob9WCSxYHt-sVMAiA/s200/rosedenfer.jpg" title="" width="46" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Plaimont Rosé d'Enfer 2012</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">AOC Saint-Mont</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.plaimont.com/en/" target="-">Plaimont Producteurs</a></li>
<li>Country: France</li>
<li>Region: Le Sud-Ouest, Saint-Mont</li>
<li>Grape(s): Tannat (60%), Fér Servadou (25%), Cabernet Sauvignon (15%)</li>
<li>Price: 7,50€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: 15th of October, 2013</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.plaimont.com/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: plaimont</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although the Southwest France is pretty much a red wine region (with some white wine appellations here and there, like Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh and Jurançon), there are some regions with considerable rosé wine output – like Saint-Mont over here. This wine is made by <b>Plaimont</b>, a noticeably large co-operative of 800 members and 5,300 ha (13,750 acres) of plantings. They produce approximately half of the total output of Madiran and Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh and almost 98% of the small appellation of Saint-Mont. It must be noted, that even though Plaimont is a big co-op, they are generally considered a very good one and also one of the saviors of the forgotten wine regions of the Southwest France.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pale, pink color.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Juicy and somewhat meaty nose with a pretty straightforward, fruity character with mainly aromas of ripe red berries and yellow plums.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Contrasting the juicy nose, the wine is surprisingly light and even quite thin on the palate with vague, nondescript flavors of red currants and other red berries along with a little bitterness. The taste is rather bland and even boring. Moderate acidity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The finish is somewhat bitter and rather short with flavors of steely minerality, some herbal notes, a little thin red fruit character and a bit of alcohol warmth. There seems to be a hint of tannic grip to the aftertaste.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall Rosé d'Enfer proves that you can also make rosé wines out of Tannat, but at least this wine wasn't so impressive that I would recommend anyone to change their Tannat wine production from red to rosé.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>79/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: It's a rather bland and mediocre rosé wine lacking body and character. Definitely nothing special to write home about. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEMsM9mw2DZxzwPFlwuk0DnhM52ooSDMfVKpexvLFxATzeIa94t1jXWwql0BmY3LdlGjhiO0l12jR3tbVTdPwrW3SCPOCnF_jVmi_rEPR0465VoTZQ2TRkVuFffcAi5jBVbY8ZeaxJsvg/s1600/maestria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="115" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEMsM9mw2DZxzwPFlwuk0DnhM52ooSDMfVKpexvLFxATzeIa94t1jXWwql0BmY3LdlGjhiO0l12jR3tbVTdPwrW3SCPOCnF_jVmi_rEPR0465VoTZQ2TRkVuFffcAi5jBVbY8ZeaxJsvg/s200/maestria.jpg" title="" width="47" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Plaimont Maestria Madiran 2011</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">AOC Madiran</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.plaimont.com/en/" target="-">Plaimont Producteurs</a></li>
<li>Country: France</li>
<li>Region: Le Sud-Ouest, Madiran</li>
<li>Grape(s): Tannat (70%), Cabernet Sauvignon (25%), Cabernet Franc (5%)</li>
<li>Price: 8,00€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: 15th of October, 2013</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.plaimont.com/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: plaimont</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A red wine made by <b>Plaimont</b>, the same co-op behind the rosé wine above. This is a classic, mainly Tannat-based Madiran that is mainly fermented and aged for 8–12 months in stainless steel (80%) with only a small portion (20%) seeing old oak barrels. The idea is to preserve the vibrant fruit flavors, not to overwhelm them with oak.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine is quite opaque red with a noticeable, youthful purple hue.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The nose is somewhat restrained with aromas of ripe dark fruits and sweet berries, some smoked meat notes and a hint of earthiness. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine is medium-bodied and very structured on the palate with moderately firm tannins and high acidity. The rather spicy flavors are pure, well-delineated and youthful with notes of tart dark berries, ripe dark fruits, exotic spices, some earthiness and quite noticeable bitterness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The finish is medium-long and very grippy with quite angular tannins and savory flavors of dark berries, aromatic herbal bitterness and roasted spices. The wine finishes on a light, slightly sappy vegetal hint.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This wine is a rather by-the-book modern Madiran with a lot of emphasis on the bright fruit flavors of Tannat. The variety's tightly-knit structure is obviously there, but not in as hard and forbidding shape as it could be.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>87/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: For a young Madiran, this is a relatively "soft" and approachable effort, although still quite tannic and astringent, like a good Tannat should be. Stylistically this is pretty straightforward effort, so most likely this wine will never be a big and impressive one, but I can imagine it will develop nicely over the following 3–5 years and keep for a decade. Superb value at only 8€.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4dc_QMmMh1jLSjPWBaH2-P9nVa8y1QZte54X18JeMsS4m4cxeojQUs1k_908788Lj9Ql3fN_p8hIoxDC4VspwzsR-W3OfnlCEkdUYek_0Xe38qGjmI1QsYGMcyjn76ZQo42cAHMqE_uo/s1600/tannat201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="421" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4dc_QMmMh1jLSjPWBaH2-P9nVa8y1QZte54X18JeMsS4m4cxeojQUs1k_908788Lj9Ql3fN_p8hIoxDC4VspwzsR-W3OfnlCEkdUYek_0Xe38qGjmI1QsYGMcyjn76ZQo42cAHMqE_uo/s200/tannat201.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="" width="52" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Garzón Varietales Tannat 2012</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://bodegagarzon.com/en/" target="-">Bodega Garzón</a></li>
<li>Country: Uruguay</li>
<li>Region: Garzón</li>
<li>Grape(s): Tannat (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 13,48€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: 4th of November, 2014</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://www.alko.fi/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: alko</span></a></div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Bodega Garzón</b>, founded in 1999, is a Uruguayan winery located in the small village of Garzón. According to their home pages, the winery prefers natural yeasts over commercial ones and cement tanks or untoasted oak barrels over more aromatic, toasted ones. I really couldn't find any information on this wine, because it couldn't be found on the winery's home pages.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine's opaque color is very dark, youthful plummy purple.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The nose is dark-toned and very sweet with ripe aromas of cooked plums, some bilberries and hints of ripe strawberries.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine is rich, ripe and full-bodied on the palate with intense and somewhat sweet flavors of bilberries, blackcurrant jam, cooked strawberries, some iron, a little vanilla, a bit of balancing bitterness and a hint of milk chocolate. The wine is medium in acidity, making it come across rather mellow and plump, but its moderately firm tannins give it some welcome structure. Alcohol gives the palate a bit of warmth.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine finishes with a warm and chewy aftertaste with quite robust flavors of ripe cassis, stewed plums, some rough spiciness and a bit of earth. The wine ends on a quite bitter, astringent and pretty mouthdrying note.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although a moderately firm and structured effort for a South-American red wine, I find it rather hard to believe this was made with natural yeasts or neutral oak; the oak characteristics of vanilla and other sweet spices are noticeable and there is also an obvious streak of sweet blackcurrant – a tell-tale sign I associate with South-American reds and assume is coming from a locally popular commercial yeast strain.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>83/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Overall this is a mildly positive example of South-American wine, but I still find it too sweet and plump to suit my taste. Perhaps a good choice for a fan of South-American wines who needs some tannins? Priced according to its quality at 13,48€.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiywwFaN3_7ExlutjRtjXUnNQgeAlFcfa2cr7X40AJyw4YWLVdE3NVcXUdRoqWKB000g6t_fUS1aQ7PAJcGmIUHhdnM_8jWQE740Vl4rA_x1wPSur3Zs4cdk6XN-bA3ixqvvKg21ibQaoc/s1600/latyre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="432" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiywwFaN3_7ExlutjRtjXUnNQgeAlFcfa2cr7X40AJyw4YWLVdE3NVcXUdRoqWKB000g6t_fUS1aQ7PAJcGmIUHhdnM_8jWQE740Vl4rA_x1wPSur3Zs4cdk6XN-bA3ixqvvKg21ibQaoc/s200/latyre.jpg" title="" width="53" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Château Montus La Tyre 2001</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">AOC Madiran</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.brumont.fr/fr/#/Accueil" target="-">Vignobles Alain Brumont</a>, Château Montus</li>
<li>Country: France</li>
<li>Region: Le Sud-Ouest, Madiran</li>
<li>Grape(s): Tannat (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 100,30€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: 1st of December, 2014</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.brumont.fr/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: montus</span></a></div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">As I wrote above, <b>Alain Brumont</b>, the man behind Châteaux <b>Montus </b>and <b>Bouscassé</b>, is the man who is considered to be the one who brought Madiran into wider recognition. He does not believe in the micro-oxidation, otherwise so prevalent throughout Madiran, but instead prefers to use new, small oak barrels to soften the tannins of his wine.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">His flagship wine is La Tyre, a single-vineyard Tannat made from a steep, stony plot Brumont discovered in 1990. The grapes for La Tyre were harvested for the first time in 2000, when the vines were 10 years old, so this is the second vintage of this wine. The wine undergoes 3–6 weeks of maceration with the grape skins, depending on the variety, parcel and vintage. After the fermentation the wine is aged for 14–16 months in <i>barriques</i>, of which 100% are new. Bottled with a minimal dose of sulfites.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The age of wine is betrayed by the concentrated, dense black color with a hint of deposit and a slightly orange burnt clay rim.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine shows somewhat developed and quite oak-heavy nose with powerful aromas of smoke, tar, dry wood, sweet milk chocolate, dried prunes and some ripe blackcurrant.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the palate the wine is extremely concentrated, mouthfilling and chewy with massive, mouth-coating, grainy tannins. There are monolithic and rich flavors of smoke, tar, milk chocolate, wood spice, some blackcurrant, maraschino cherry, a hint of licorice and nuances of prunes. Acidity can't really cut through the massive midpalate. The structure is, simply put, immense.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are no discernible fruit flavors in the long, oaky, extracted and slightly bitter finish, but instead lingering flavors of dark chocolate, cocoa and sweet wood spice. The tannins leave your mouth bone-dry and gritty.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Holy Hannah this wine is full of oak and extraction – this must be one of the most massive wines I've ever tasted! It has impeccable structure to go with the mouthfilling flavors, but unfortunately there is very little left of the original Tannat flavors, as they are replaced by swathes of anonymous sweet wood characteristics. Nose- and flavor-wise this is like any new world super red wine; the dense tannic structure remaining is the only thing that points out to the direction of Madiran.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>88/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: I have no idea whether this wine will ever reach a nice plateau of maturity where the tannins are smoother and more approachable and the fruit flavors and the oak characteristics might be in balance. I have no problems with the black-hole-esque density of the wine that much, more instead with the overdone, obfuscating oakiness. This is a good wine for those who enjoy extremely big and oaky reds, but definitely not for me. I probably need to revisit this in (or after) 15-20 years. Definitely not worth the 100,30€.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbsnIP-DlynccB4hOK51gzCtzoVmH1qRs_NCfrCPalh3r0YAgXF3TEnxt4rNxkyXLjBCeHSmIB9HGITwh2Fs34b5Ft23hmGlqDwJa2oEhGutt5tLnWgnuRX6PidbPOWY-qqCalycO6lMI/s1600/montus2008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="410" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbsnIP-DlynccB4hOK51gzCtzoVmH1qRs_NCfrCPalh3r0YAgXF3TEnxt4rNxkyXLjBCeHSmIB9HGITwh2Fs34b5Ft23hmGlqDwJa2oEhGutt5tLnWgnuRX6PidbPOWY-qqCalycO6lMI/s200/montus2008.jpg" title="" width="51" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Château Montus 2010</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">AOC Madiran</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.brumont.fr/fr/#/Accueil" target="-">Vignobles Alain Brumont</a>, Château Montus</li>
<li>Country: France</li>
<li>Region: Le Sud-Ouest, Madiran</li>
<li>Grape(s): Tannat, Cabernet Sauvignon</li>
<li>Price: 33,85€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: 4th of November, 2015</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://www.alko.fi/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: alko</span></a></div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is the standard Madiran of the Montus winery – the "calling card" wine of the winery, in a sense –one that is composed mainly of Tannat but with some Cabernet Sauvignon to soften up the structure (I know that sounds silly, but that's just the way Tannat is). The grapes undergo 3–6 weeks of maceration with the skins, depending on the variety, parcel and vintage. The wine is aged for 12–14 months in <i>barriques</i>, of which 60–80% are new.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Opaque, deep black ruby color with a slightly blueish hue.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Quite dry, savory and not particularly "big" nose with aromas of dark plums, blackcurrant, bloody meat, dark grapey fruit, some iron, a little milk chocolate oak, light dried herbal hints and a hint of dry, savory wood.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine is very full-bodied and extracted on the palate with balanced acidity, but surprisingly smooth and mellow tannins. Well, sure, there are a lot of tannins, giving the wine a very textural feel, but they are not grippy or aggressive one little bit. The flavors are very ripe and quite sweet with notes of dark cherries, plummy fruit, blackcurrant-driven forest fruits, moderately noticeable, sweet milk chocolate oak and a bit of spicy oak bitterness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The finish is quite long, slightly warm and rather spicy with chewy, extracted flavors of cocoa-driven oak spice, red cherries, ripe plums, some bloody iron and bit of tannic bitterness. For a Tannat, the aftertaste is surprisingly mellow and easy, lacking the mouth-drying astringency typical for the variety.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall this is quite oak-driven and modern Madiran with great balance and a somewhat crowd-pleasing, easy-to-drink character. Although the wine is drinking very nicely now and is definitely not in need of any cellaring, I personally would age the wine for 7–10 more years in the hopes the excessive oak character would get integrated with the fruit better.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>87/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There is a distinctively Bordelais / Southwest French quality to the wine, giving it nice sense of sophistication and elegance, but it is also so polished, modern and round in style I really can't get grips with the wine. It is good and, in its own sense, pretty tasty, but I look for more rustic and unpolished character in Madiran. A wine this polished feels just too dull and predictable for me – and too expensive for its quality at 33,85€.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAcyEV3Q0E6oPgDVVse4C4yfXAS9_Djy1GrkbSe_wiKPBItqDlwGCT4sAWRTxDsrR4fRmC6r6p6Cpm1UOelsU-X3ehAzzHltyNaTQZwJdwpXzJR_l805g1D7kXa3XqdWQmFmBTr18c8gE/s1600/vieillesvignesmadiran2008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1571" data-original-width="392" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAcyEV3Q0E6oPgDVVse4C4yfXAS9_Djy1GrkbSe_wiKPBItqDlwGCT4sAWRTxDsrR4fRmC6r6p6Cpm1UOelsU-X3ehAzzHltyNaTQZwJdwpXzJR_l805g1D7kXa3XqdWQmFmBTr18c8gE/s200/vieillesvignesmadiran2008.jpg" title="" width="49" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Capmartin Vieilles Vignes 2012</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">AOC Madiran</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.domaine-capmartin.com/" target="-">Domaine Capmartin</a></li>
<li>Country: France</li>
<li>Region: Le Sud-Ouest, Madiran</li>
<li>Grape(s): Tannat (80%), Cabernet Sauvignon (20%)</li>
<li>Price: ~10,00€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: 9th of January, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.domaine-capmartin.com/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: capmartin</span></a></div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Capmartin </b>is a Madiran-based winery founded by <b>Guy Capmartin</b> in 1985, focusing on more terroir-oriented, traditional examples of the regional style. In 2007 the winery started adopting organic and biodynamic practices and in 2010 the winery obtained an organic AB certification.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Capmartin Vieilles Vignes is made from very old vines: the youngest vines are approximately 60 years old, whereas the oldest ones are pre-phylloxera – centenarian vines with their own, original rootstocks. The wine is first fermented in 7,000-liter open-top cement fermenters, after which the wine is transferred into oak barrels for 12 months of aging. Then the wines are blended into stainless steel for further 6 months of aging before light filtration and bottling.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Very dark, opaque black-red color.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">There is a sense of weight and density in the nose that is somewhat very cool and savory – not suggesting much sweetness – with aromas of somewhat ripe dark, plummy fruits, red forest fruits, some chokeberries and a hint of understated complexity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine is full-bodied, concentrated and chewy on the palate with moderately acidity and firm, ample tannins that grip the insides of your mouth quite eagerly. The flavor department offers licorice, ripe dark berries, some more savory chokeberry character, a little bit of raspberry and a faint spicy streak of old woody oak. The wine feels quite weighty and structured, but surprisingly gentle for a Madiran this young.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The finish is dense and concentrated with ripe yet mouthdrying and grippy tannins and long, intense flavors of blackberries, crowberries, some licorice and hints of fresh, almost tart blackcurrants.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is a classic, pure and well-delineated Madiran with wonderful, chewy texture and grippy tannins, yet surprisingly gentle and easily approachable character.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>92/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Although the wine is surprisingly drinkable right now, the acidity and the ample tannins especially give it good potential for further cellaring. I can imagine the wine will mellow out and lose some of its baby fat with some 10 years of cellar age in favor of elegance and complexity – characteristics, which the wine is still lacking a bit in its current state. At only 10€, this wine shows simply stunning value. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWN7hw7G8nYNWsByM2uSIs1mt4IesdSYR63weHks9bSHB17fbFjJA5W4ccUjevLhvZBI7-Uqay5oKNwWd86sagVaHWdeWKtuoCwpPeAVFO6MXxO27hFeAypZuWOzGuRzfymmvy7wzTRIA/s1600/cauveeducouvent2008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="391" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWN7hw7G8nYNWsByM2uSIs1mt4IesdSYR63weHks9bSHB17fbFjJA5W4ccUjevLhvZBI7-Uqay5oKNwWd86sagVaHWdeWKtuoCwpPeAVFO6MXxO27hFeAypZuWOzGuRzfymmvy7wzTRIA/s200/cauveeducouvent2008.jpg" title="" width="48" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Capmartin Cuvée du Couvent 2011</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">AOC Madiran</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.domaine-capmartin.com/" target="-">Domaine Capmartin</a></li>
<li>Country: France</li>
<li>Region: Le Sud-Ouest, Madiran</li>
<li>Grape(s): Tannat (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 12,90€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: 9th of January, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.domaine-capmartin.com/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: capmartin</span></a></div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Couvée du Couvent is the top red wine of the aforementioned <b>Capmartin </b>and composed completely of organically grown Tannat. The long fermentation period is carried out in 70hl open-top cement fermenters, after which the wine is moved into new <i>barrique</i> for MLF. The wine is first aged in these oak barrels for 12 months, after which the wine is aged for further 6 months in stainless steel. The wine is very light filtered before bottling.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Very dark and concentrated purple-red color that is opaque up to the rim.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The nose is quite restrained with some bloody iron notes on the fore, supported by notes of concentrated dark berries, dark plummy fruit and a light hint of leather.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine is remarkably full-bodied, concentrated and weighty on the palate with chewy texture, moderately high acidity and ripe but tightly-knit, firm and grippy tannins. There are intense flavors of bitter spices, licorice root, blood, dark plummy fruit and tart dark-skinned berries. The wine feels ripe, yet very dry instead of sweetishly ripe. The concentrated fruit masks the oak aging characteristics remarkably well, wood peeking through in the light, slightly bitter spiciness underneath.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The finish is mouth-drying and meaty with pronounced spicy bitterness, some salty dried beef notes and remarkably crunchy flavors of crowberries and chokeberries with hints of sweet licorice and ripe plummy fruit bringing in some balancing richness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cuvée du Couvent is overall a rich, intense and very impressive red wine with remarkable structure and gravitas without being one bit too imposing or forbiddingly tannic – although the wine is still very tannic to say the very least. The key word here is impeccable balance between the concentration, structure and intensity – the wine has heaps of these components, yet nothing in excess.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>93/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm surprised how well this wine carries its oak – and by that I mean it is barely noticeable by the concentrated yet still very well-proportioned and structured fruit. Although drinking surprisingly nicely already, this wine is still a baby and I can imagine 10 years in a cellar will only benefit it. Lovely stuff and a steal at only 12,90€.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIQ-drqUGA69OM7VQi9DkcWd3KiAoE6opgzDArEcJTRUTZet27aY5tDoUPa8ey_QzoKrYYbArxLiap0__CJl7WE4Ow34jyN_SnuO_kyekLN82vzzN-H3crE22bPJZiMLHugXBd83pk0Hw/s1600/tannatpetitverdot20008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="370" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIQ-drqUGA69OM7VQi9DkcWd3KiAoE6opgzDArEcJTRUTZet27aY5tDoUPa8ey_QzoKrYYbArxLiap0__CJl7WE4Ow34jyN_SnuO_kyekLN82vzzN-H3crE22bPJZiMLHugXBd83pk0Hw/s200/tannatpetitverdot20008.jpg" title="" width="45" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pisano Tannat / Petit Verdot 2008</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.pisanowines.com/" target="-">Bodegas Pisano</a></li>
<li>Country: Uruguay</li>
<li>Region: Progreso</li>
<li>Grape(s): Tannat, Petit Verdot</li>
<li>Price: 12,89€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: 9th of January, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://www.alko.fi/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: alko</span></a></div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Pisano </b>is a winery located in Progreso, some 30 kilometers north from Montevideo, the capital city of Uruguay. It was founded in 1914 by an Italian family who moved from Italy to Uruguay in the start of the 20th century. The winery is still owned by the Pisano family and they aim to produce wines expressing the local <i>terroir</i> and style with as natural winemaking practices as possible.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I really couldn't find much information on this wine, because it wasn't featured on the Pisano website. From its name one can quite easily guess it is a blend of the local favorite, Tannat, with Petit Verdot – a variety equally notorious for its deep color and tannins.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Very dense dark ruby color with only a hint of translucency and, despite its 8 years of age, faint highlights of youthful purple hue.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The nose is fruity and opulent with intense aromas of almost overripe plums and blackcurrant jam with sweet oak spice, some alcohol and a hint of acetone VA.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine is full-bodied and quite soft and supple on the palate with moderately ample yet ripe and soft tannins and quite modest acidity. Although not that concentrated, the wine comes across as pretty big, easy and juicy with relatively soft structure. There are flavors of ripe plummy fruit, savory spice, blackberry-driven sweet dark berry notes, some slightly bitter wood spice and a slightest hint of acetone.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The spicy medium-long finish is slightly mouth-drying and a bit coarse with flavors of sweet dark fruit, roasted spice, some oak bitterness and a hint of sour plums.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Though there is a wild edge to this wine, giving it some welcome character to set it apart from many sweetishly ripe South American reds, this still doesn't really manage to impress me. The wine is just too ripe, sweet and straightforward with too mellow and easy tannins to give the wine the structure its big fruit calls for.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>84/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Although a relatively well-made effort for a Uruguay red, the wine still leaves much to be hoped for. With more emphasis on structure and less on oak, the wine could show more finesse and potential. I suppose the wine could hold – even develop a little – in a cellar for some years, but I doubt there's room for much development. Priced according to its quality at 12,89€.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUk_exmvpMoMt_GEdo2PxV3BLj5Pjcgyu-IcB2lOiOTxdzPR4cT4Q4z9PNRARbPMeh47819I2UeA4oxw_uzfZAaiaj5KhwhODlq8t0KPy3IAJr1WH-cGLhRxe1D7aJO3ICoz2J6DrlwKk/s1600/tannatreserva2009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="141" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUk_exmvpMoMt_GEdo2PxV3BLj5Pjcgyu-IcB2lOiOTxdzPR4cT4Q4z9PNRARbPMeh47819I2UeA4oxw_uzfZAaiaj5KhwhODlq8t0KPy3IAJr1WH-cGLhRxe1D7aJO3ICoz2J6DrlwKk/s200/tannatreserva2009.jpg" title="" width="50" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Miolo Tannat Reserva 2012</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.miolo.com.br/" target="-">Miolo</a></li>
<li>Country: Brazil</li>
<li>Region: Rio Grande do Sul, Campanha Gaúcha</li>
<li>Grape(s): Tannat (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 8,90€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: 9th of January, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.wine-searcher.com/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: wine-searcher</span></a></div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Miolo </b>is a young Brazilian winery with a long history: although the company was founded only in 1990, the people behind it had been cultivating vines since 1897 – almost for a hundred years – and supplying the local producers with fruit. Currently the company cultivates 450 ha (1125 acres) of vineyards, of which the company owns 120 hectares (300 acres) and the rest are cultivated through contract growers. World-famous winemaker <b>Michel Rolland</b> works as a viticultural and oenological consultant with Miolo.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Quite opaque and moderately purple-tinted black-red color.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">At first the nose of the wine feels somewhat odd with restrained aromas of bloody meat, dark-skinned forest fruits, some lactic blueberry yoghurt character and herbaceous green hints. With air, however, the nose turns much more anonymous with sweet aromas of cooked red fruits and strawberry jam.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Surprisingly for a Tannat, the wine feels more medium- than full-bodied with lively acidity with rather light and easy tannins. The taste department is full of rich, extracted flavors of youthful red fruits, forest strawberries, ripe raspberries, some meaty notes and blood, a little bit of alcohol and a hint of strawberry jam. Especially after some breathing the wine starts to taste quite much like a generic, inexpensive Aussie red.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The long aftertaste is spicy, quite bitter and somewhat green with flavors of tart lingonberries, ripe blackberries, some coarse peppery character, a little bit of odd, candied raspberry candy flavor and a slightly vegetal sappy hint.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm really confused by this wine. At first it felt surprisingly interesting, lighter and more refreshing take on Tannat with some odd – but not fully negative – aromas and flavors. However, with air, the wine lost most of its exciting character and transformed into a regular, thirteen-in-a-dozen red wine, not quite plonk but not far from it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>82/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: If the wine had remained how it was first, it would've easily scored a handful of extra points. However, in the end there was very little to set this wine apart from any inexpensive new world red and even less to suggest that the wine in question was made from Tannat. So I guess the wine was priced more or less according to its quality at 8,90€ and one shouldn't really expect more.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqXFXTQEYp2XggQ0M6PQbLCYrGpzzI3TB93cur8oY7VCI-MkNRzRrFR5XE_iX80jcIVMNZfAvRW6QnSConfnb48GA54LDfgJkQAbdYfiUGaPkRyNUkaOb6Wj5QzCUYutjvZi77KdqA0qo/s1600/tannatfincalasmercedes2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="524" data-original-width="120" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqXFXTQEYp2XggQ0M6PQbLCYrGpzzI3TB93cur8oY7VCI-MkNRzRrFR5XE_iX80jcIVMNZfAvRW6QnSConfnb48GA54LDfgJkQAbdYfiUGaPkRyNUkaOb6Wj5QzCUYutjvZi77KdqA0qo/s200/tannatfincalasmercedes2011.jpg" width="45" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Don David Finca Las Mercedes #6 Tannat 2011</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.micheltorino.com.ar/" target="-">Michel Torino</a> / <a href="http://www.elesteco.com/en/inicio/" target="-">Bodega El Esteco</a></li>
<li>Country: Argentina</li>
<li>Region: Salta, Cafayate</li>
<li>Grape(s): Tannat (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 17,12€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: 9th of January, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.alko.fi/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: alko</span></a></div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This wine is made by the old Argentinian wine company <b>Bodega El Esteco / Michel Torino</b> (founded already in 1892) and it represents the single vineyard end of their popular Don David range – named after the company's founder, David Michel. Normally the winery produces only Don David Reserve series wines, but occasionally they release single vineyard wines showing the potential of their finest plots. The plot #6, called <i>Las Mercedes</i> was planted in 1997 with Tannat and from that single plot are all grapes sourced for this wine.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pitch-black, opaque color with slightly purple highlights in the rim.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The dark-toned nose feels very rich, concentrated and powerful with really intense aromas of almost overripe plummy fruit, juicy blackberry notes, rather dominant aromas of coffee chocolate, some spicy and savory wood and hints of vanilla.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the palate the wine is really full-bodied, rich and textural with grainy tannins that are both chewy and grippy. The wine is dominated by powerful, sweet oak notes with some fruity notes of blackberry and crowberry jam and juicy dark plums, supported with a light, sweet hint of licorice. Although there most likely isn't much (or at all) residual sugar in the wine, it comes across quite sweet and really ripe – a characteristic further emphasized by the sweet vanilla and chocolate notes of oak. Although the tannins are ample, the wine feels pretty soft, thanks to its rather modest acidity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The finish is long, powerful and somewhat warm with a little tannic astringency and persistent, sweet flavors of ripe blackberries, plums, mocha, some bitter wood notes, a little bit of dark chocolate and a hint of dried figs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well this was a disappointment. Apparently the winery had set out to produce a modern masterpiece with a lot of extraction, more alcohol and even more oak, but to me, they resulted only in a wine showing sloppy (yet expensive) winemaking that masks away all the fruit. I really can't say anything about the quality of the Las Mercedes vineyard, because all I can taste here is oak and fruit preserves.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>86/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: I really do hope that long cellaring can integrate the oak underneath the fruit – there is a lot of fruit, but also a lot of oak to hide. The wine at least shows some cellaring potential with its concentrated fruit and ample tannins, so I guess the wine might show better at 10–15 of age. However, I guess this wine will never be one to suit my tastes. Priced more or less according to its quality at 17,12€.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgap9aDaSdUt-lAjQfYsg77-gVARw-G4rNCMD4Yz7NVA8xSdboZSw42saw926ityYvsKdaKoKmro5kfmQVg93Yik9xVin4ssmrnjJqjHpBiRS9bzzIZOg-g1NdDJNAqw4vV1yoR-NKu8yk/s1600/odedaydie2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="405" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgap9aDaSdUt-lAjQfYsg77-gVARw-G4rNCMD4Yz7NVA8xSdboZSw42saw926ityYvsKdaKoKmro5kfmQVg93Yik9xVin4ssmrnjJqjHpBiRS9bzzIZOg-g1NdDJNAqw4vV1yoR-NKu8yk/s200/odedaydie2012.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="" width="50" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Odé d'Aydie Madiran 2012</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">AOC Madiran</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.famillelaplace.com/en/" target="-">Vignobles Laplace</a>, Château Aydie</li>
<li>Country: France</li>
<li>Region: Le Sud-Ouest, Madiran</li>
<li>Grape(s): Tannat (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 10,20€ / 0,12</li>
<li>Tasted on: 21st of August, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.alko.fi/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: alko</span></a></div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Not having an Aydie wine on an article about Tannat would be blasphemy. That's because it was <b>Château Aydie</b> where the now-so-prevalent micro-oxygenation was originally invented and the winery employs it quite systematically with their red wines. The winery was founded in 1927 by Frédéric Laplace and now it is run by the 3rd generation of the Laplace family. The Laplaces own some 58 hectares (145 acres) of vines, of which 49 ha (120 acres) are planted with red varieties for Madiran and 9 ha (22 acres) with white varieties for Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Odé is the second wine of the estate, made completely from Tannat. The grapes are macerated with the fermenting wine for 30 days, after which the wine is aged for 12–15 months in oak tuns and vats. Then the wine is blended together and finally bottled after 20 months of aging.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine is dark-cherry colored with a bit of translucency.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The nose is rich and expressive with opulent and rather sweet aromas of freshly picked, ripe forest fruits, some cocoa oak, a little bit of plum jam and a hint of milk chocolate.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine is full-bodied and quite textural with moderately high acidity and very ample, yet surprisingly soft and friendly tannins. Although obviously quite ripe, the wine is surprisingly savory and bitter with flavors of bloody iron, sappy greenness, astringent berry skin notes, some tangy chokeberry and crowberry notes and a bit of woody bitterness, counterpointed by sweeter oak notes of milk chocolate and cocoa.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The finish is as coarse and bitter as the midpalate with flavors of chokeberries, quite rich, complex and somewhat sweet oak character, a bit of bitter milk chocolate, a little bit of ripe dark plums and a hint of sappy greenness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Obviously Odé d'Aydie is a modern Madiran, with its very noticeable, sweet oak characteristics and surprisingly mellow and easy tannins. Yet the wine is very true to the Madiran style with its noticeably bitter flavor profile – most likely due to the sheer volume of tannins in the wine. Normally you really don't taste tannins – they just show some level of mouth-drying astringency – but if there is enough of tannins in the wine, you start to taste them as a bitter flavor. What's remarkable here is how the tannins have been cleaned out into the background, yet they obviously are there.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>88/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: In conclusion, this is really not my style of wine – I like my Madirans more tannic and less oaky, thank you very much – but for a relatively easy-drinking Tannat this was a decent effort. Nothing groundbreaking, but a decent wine for a modern Southwesterner. The winery promises 8–10 of aging potential for the wine, maybe that kind of cellar time could help the oak integrate a little bit. Priced according to its quality at 10,20€ for a 12 cl glass in a restaurant.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzYDMAMQDs335CiExmC9jEU7T_QQySk_ZHyN8GzbeUQ-4rEESvXIIjAZjPvg1i9O5IQ5Vv5b5EfQlVEwO6ITKQgp7E7YAXOy8muS7uQh2dN-hXBc1HyAWIlmcIRA1rWUO6o-Xh5JApMCs/s1600/bouscasse2005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="491" data-original-width="127" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzYDMAMQDs335CiExmC9jEU7T_QQySk_ZHyN8GzbeUQ-4rEESvXIIjAZjPvg1i9O5IQ5Vv5b5EfQlVEwO6ITKQgp7E7YAXOy8muS7uQh2dN-hXBc1HyAWIlmcIRA1rWUO6o-Xh5JApMCs/s200/bouscasse2005.jpg" title="" width="51" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Château Bouscassé Madiran 1995 </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">AOC Madiran </span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.brumont.fr/fr/#/Accueil" target="-">Vignobles Alain Brumont</a>, Château Bouscassé</li>
<li>Country: France</li>
<li>Region: Le Sud-Ouest, Madiran</li>
<li>Grape(s): Tannat, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon</li>
<li>Tasted on: 14th of April, 2017</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://www.1jour1vin.com/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: 1jour1vin</span></a></div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, a wine from <b>Château Bouscassé</b>, the original family winery of <b>Alain Brumont</b> of Château Montus fame. This +20 years old wine is here to show how Madiran is capable of aging in a cellar.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Based on the tech sheet of more recent Bouscassé wines, this wine has probably undergone 3–6 weeks of maceration, depending on the variety, parcel and vintage and then aged for 12–14 months in <i>barriques</i>, of which 30–50% were new.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine's color is still quite opaque, but obviously developed with a slightly maroon hue and noticeable bricking in the rim.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The nose is quite robust with powerful rustic notes of barnyard and manure, ripe blackcurrants, brambly black berries and a hint of sweaty leather saddle.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the palate the wine feels medium-bodied, textural and very structured with lively acidity and generous, still very grippy tannins. The flavors are quite developed and savory with dry, tertiary notes of wizened dark berries, leather, some manure and a bit of umami. The sheer amount of tannins give the taste a slightly bitter edge.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The long aftertaste is very lively but also mouthdryingly astringent with firm, grippy tannins. The finish leaves persistent flavors of dried dark berries, wizened plums, some leather, a little barnyard and a delicate hint of bitterness in the mouth.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now this is what Madiran is all about! I have no idea how much (or if at all) new oak the wine has seen, but at this age there is none to be noticed. The wine is all about very nicely developed Tannat fruit with really captivating tertiary characteristics and lovely textural feel.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>95/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: I don't know if Brumont's wines have been less "modern" back in the 1990's or if the wines just need 20 years in a cellar to show their best. Whatever the case is, this is a truly wonderful Madiran with tremendous character that speaks volumes of the region's wines' aging potential. Very highly recommended.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Having tasted a bunch of Tannat wines through these years has taught me something: although the variety itself is quite tannic, the wines surprisingly often aren't. Sure, you can notice that there might be quite a lot of tannins in the wines (giving them this tell-tale bitterness), but more often than not the winemaking has made sure the tannins are very smooth, mellow and unobtrusive. Especially in the new world the wines can be remarkably silky with barely noticeable tannic grip.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Madiran things are a bit different. Quite often you encounter wines that have their tannins manicured to some extent, but often leaving the wines with firmness and chewy texture. However, it is also possible to find more rustic old-school Tannat wines in the Southwest France where they don't try to mellow down the forbiddingly tannic nature of the wine, but instead embrace it with open arms. These are the wines I usually love the most – after all, if the variety is known to be really tannic and structured, that is also what I expect of the wine! If I wanted something soft and easy, I'd grab a bottle of new world Merlot.</div>Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410132544589500796noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8271454715333987114.post-60638158550267091202017-05-18T18:37:00.003+03:002017-07-04T20:02:59.167+03:00Vertical of the month: Colonnara Cuprese 2011-1991<div style="text-align: justify;">In my <a href="http://forceberry.blogspot.com/2017/04/verdicchio.html">last blog post I discussed about my love of Verdicchio</a>, that white variety which is capable of producing some of the most spectacular and long-lived white wines in Italy, yet having very little of the respect it deserves. That is why I'm going to extend that previous post a little, just to show a little bit more how long-lived a well-made Verdicchio really can be. To emphasize that point, I've chosen Cuprese Verdicchio by <b>Colonnara</b> to be the subject of this month's monthly vertical.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Co-operatives are often regarded as inferior wine producers compared to small wineries, but every now and then one can come across some really good co-ops that are about quality, not quantity. Marche's own Colonnara is one of such co-operatives – a producer known for interesting, high-quality wines that not only show the classic regional style, but can also age remarkably long in cellars.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Originally Colonnara was a small co-operative that was founded in 1959 by 19 small vinegrowers located in and around Cupramontana, a <i>comune</i> of some 5,000 people in Marche. The name Colonnara did not emerge until 1985 – before that the co-op was simply known as <b>Cantina Sociale di Cupramontana</b>, meaning "the co-operative of Cupramontana". In 1966 the co-op started producing bottled wines in addition to selling the wines in bulk, resulting in rapid growth and wider recognition. This co-op was also one of the key elements in the emergence of sparkling Verdicchio – the first sparkling Verdicchio by Colonnara was produced already back in 1970 and the first <i>metodo classico</i> Verdicchio in 1980. Currently Colonnara consists of more than 110 growers and with its 120 hectares of vineyards it is one biggest producers in the <b>Castelli di Jesi</b> wine region – if not the biggest – yet a winery considered to be among the very best of the region as well.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Colonnara Cuprese is probably the best-known wine by the co-op. The first vintage of Cuprese was made in 1985, the same year the co-op's new name "Colonnara" was introduced. The wine's name means "From Cupra", reflecting its identity perfectly.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">These are my tasting notes on the Colonnara Cuprese wines I have tasted.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-pfFUKxUEkXGn1WJT7Qrp9UUktCQ_oM1LqoWfJXbcB_ZKtUEpAZm4ZlbmMhCmvF9f5JGHQWTEvzW6TNnuWdsQsaJfa37U0BX8cBVGfGPoX10bBRya2ny0h1Njdj5Ks_StmMWgiccziGI/s1600/cuprese2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-pfFUKxUEkXGn1WJT7Qrp9UUktCQ_oM1LqoWfJXbcB_ZKtUEpAZm4ZlbmMhCmvF9f5JGHQWTEvzW6TNnuWdsQsaJfa37U0BX8cBVGfGPoX10bBRya2ny0h1Njdj5Ks_StmMWgiccziGI/s200/cuprese2011.jpg" title="" width="53" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Colonnara Cuprese</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">DOC Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.colonnara.it/" target="-">Colonnara</a></li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Marche, Castelli di Jesi </li>
<li>Grape(s): Verdicchio (100%)</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: right;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.alko.fi/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: alko</span></a></div><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Cuprese </b>is the flagship white of the winery and its appellation DOC Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore means that the grapes are sourced only from the original heartland of the wine region (aka the <i>classico</i> part) and the grapes are of better quality and higher ripeness, resulting in higher-alcohol <i>superiore</i> wine.<br />
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The wine is made from the hand-picked, specially selected highest-quality grapes sourced from the Cupramontana area. The must acquired from these grapes is fermented and aged in steel tanks and the wine is bottled in the spring following the harvest. Normally the wine is released after some months after the bottling, but occasionally, in the best vintages, the bottled wines can be aged much longer before the release and labeled as "Riserva" wines to denote the superior quality of these wines.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Colonnara Cuprese 2011</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Price: ~15,00€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on 20th of March, 2014</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Moderately deep yellow-green color tending towards pale yellow.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The nose is slightly restrained, but very sophisticated and attractive despite its lack of overt intensity. The most noticeable aromas are of ripe citrus fruits and delicate spiciness, but even though the nose is quite fruit-forward and rather ripe, there is still a rather dry and savory air to its. Underneath, there are lighter nuances of almonds, mirabelle plums, red apples, lemon curd and even a touch of honey.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the palate the wine feels rich and full-bodied with a hint of oiliness in the mouthfeel, yet with good, bright and balanced acidity. There are complex flavors of ripe red apple, apricot, some spiciness, a little floral complexity and hints of almonds and honey along with a light touch of fresh pear. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The finish is long, bright and tasty with refreshing flavors of ripe stone fruits, fresh yellow apple, some delicate almond notes and hints of citrus fruits. The aftertaste persists for quite a while, tending towards sweeter tropical notes and ending on a somewhat bitter and very slightly saline note.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall Cuprese performs obviously a notch or two above an average Verdicchio with good weight, balance and even some sense of concentration. It is thoroughly enjoyable this young, but it shows good potential to age further for at least five more years.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>91/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: This is easily one of my favorite Verdicchios, being full of varietally typical characteristics, yet also being big enough to stand up to some cellaring. A really impressive effort for a co-operative white and at 15€ shows really good value.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Colonnara Cuprese Riserva 1997</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Price: ~30,00€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on 12th of October, 2015</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Surprisingly youthful, pale yellow color with faint green highlights.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The nose is ripe and juicy, yet quite subtle and restrained with nuanced aromas of dried stone fruits, some almonds and a little hay. With air, the nose starts to exhibit delicate mature aromas of slightly bready oxidation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the palate the wine is medium-bodied and lively with rather high acidity and bright minerality. There are flavors of fresh citrus fruits, wet stones, some mature nuttiness, light toasty hints of bread and a hint of tart Granny Smith apple.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The medium-long finish is really long and surprisingly youthful with bright fruit flavors and only very little more developed qualities. There are notes of ripe citrus fruits, ripe apples, some hay, a little mature nuttiness and a hint of dried peach in the aftertaste.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall Cuprese Riserva 1997 is surprisingly youthful and definitely not showing its 18 years of age much – although there is some of that developed nuttiness and hints of toasty bread, the fruit is remarkably bright and youthful.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>92/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: When some producers say Verdicchio can be more age-worthy than Chardonnay, they really mean it. It is remarkable how very slowly these best Verdicchios can age, when at close to 20 years of age the wine seems somewhat mature, yet still going upwards. The cellaring potential here is enormous. Well worth the 30€ and more.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Colonnara Cuprese Riserva 1995</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Price: ~35,00€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on 12th of October, 2015</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Very developed, pale orange color.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Powerful, but obviously quite oxidative nose with noticeable nutty aromas with robust notes of syrup, roasted spices and toast crumbs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine feels quite withered on the palate with only medium body and its high-ish acidity sticking out amidst aged notes of crushed nuts, wizened citrus fruits and roasted spices.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The finish is very oxidative with persistent flavors of toasted bread, nuts, some bruised apple and hints of smoke. However, the aftertaste is surprisingly fresh, thanks to the rather high acidity and a nice streak of bright minerality.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This wine was obviously past its prime.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>FLAWED</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: It is hard to say whether this vintage couldn't handle 20 years of aging or whether the wine was cellared poorly or if the cork had failed. Whatever the case, this wine didn't falter my belief in the aging capabilities of Verdicchio – one bad bottle doesn't ruin the reputation of the whole bunch.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Colonnara Cuprese Riserva 1994</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Price: ~40,00€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on 12th of October, 2015</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Deep, luminous golden yellow color.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Very rich and unctuous nose with nuanced aromas of succulent yellow fruits, orchard blossoms, some wine gum candies and hints of developed characteristics of sweet peanut butter.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine feels rich, full-bodied and quite dry on the palate with moderately high acidity and much sense of concentration brought on by age. There are complex, layered flavors of peach, apricot, noticeable spiciness, some mature nuttiness, a hint of aged bready character and a touch of succulent honeydew melon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The finish is really complex and feels even a bit younger than the midpalate with lively acidity, stony minerality, fresh citrus fruit notes and light herbal hints with underlying developed nuances of nuttiness and slightly oxidative spiciness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This vintage of Cuprese is easily one of the most impressive Verdicchios I've had, if not the best – Riserva Vigna delle Oche by San Lorenzo might be the only one that could challenge this wine.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>96/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Not only has this wine survived more than 20 years in a cellar, but it is quite likely to survive a handful of years more – although probably without much further development. It has reached its plateau of maturity, exhibiting some very impressive Burgundian characteristics and incredible depth, showcasing how the best Verdicchios can be some of the most impressive white wines in the world.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Colonnara Cuprese Riserva 1991</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Price: ~60,00€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on 12th of October, 2015</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Luminous, but surprisingly youthful pale lemon yellow color.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The nose feels rather subdued and restrained with subtle yet somewhat concentrated aromas of white flowers, yellow stone fruits, white peach, some honey and beeswax, a little stony minerality and a slightest hint of petrol tones, reminiscent of aged Riesling.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine is remarkably fresh, lively and youthful on the palate with medium body and high, almost bracing acidity. There are complex, somewhat concentrated and slightly mature flavors of juicy, ripe citrus fruits, green apples, some grapefruit and even a little pithy bitterness with hints of almonds and a touch of beeswax.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The finish is really crisp, bright and quite long with remarkably youthful flavors of citrus fruits, green apples, some mature spicy notes and a hint of almonds and light oxidative nuttiness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's hard to believe this is a white wine at 24 years of age – it drinks more like a wine no more than 10 years old! Apparently the best Verdicchios age at a glacial pace.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>94/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Although in its current condition this wine is not as impressive and complex as Cuprese Riserva 1994, it still shows potential to not only reach that level, but perhaps even surpass it! Although this wine is starting to show some signs of age, it feels it is still going uphill and its plateau of maturity is at least a decade away. If you happen to have a bottle of this with perfect cellar provenance, you definitely have no hurry whatsoever opening it!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin5ivuOZrCz7QgFG92eKgo0GkIdyRK9JfpTYK4zzz467IojOnA_hYjWxcL1xqvy7dTN_JOgK16HvXjsc-776IQy4FcT2fXVtB0s0InM6MjCMepTGg3_wzhKO7FDbDKponJTeKkEsEbUDg/s1600/cupreseriserva.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin5ivuOZrCz7QgFG92eKgo0GkIdyRK9JfpTYK4zzz467IojOnA_hYjWxcL1xqvy7dTN_JOgK16HvXjsc-776IQy4FcT2fXVtB0s0InM6MjCMepTGg3_wzhKO7FDbDKponJTeKkEsEbUDg/s400/cupreseriserva.jpg" title="" width="358" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cuprese Riservas 1997-1991</td></tr>
</tbody></table>***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Every so often you hear Verdicchio producers and Italian wine professionals say how aged Verdicchio can acquire very Burgundian characteristics as it ages – even when aged only in stainless steel – and how the best Verdicchios can be as ageworthy as the best Chardonnays and even more so. I don't blame you if you think that these statements are nothing more than marketing talk – I did, myself, too. However, once you have tasted wonderfully rich, nutty and complex Verdicchio with more than 20 years of age, and still very much alive, you start to think that maybe there is something to those Burgundian talks. And when you get to taste a wine that is over a quarter of century old, yet drinks like a youngster, you can't but agree that yes, Verdicchios can be pretty damn long-lived wines in good vintages.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I hope that by showcasing these remarkable wines I've managed to make you take Verdicchio wines more seriously than before. Although there are millions of liters of simple, mediocre Verdicchio produced every day, the best ones can easily be not only some of the greatest white wines of Italy, but also some of the most remarkable and impressive white wines in the whole world. So next time when you're browsing for white wines to fill your cellar with, remember to keep also Verdicchios in mind!</div>Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410132544589500796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8271454715333987114.post-12005488712645495872017-04-29T14:41:00.002+03:002017-04-29T15:02:12.580+03:00Verdicchio<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Verdicchio</b> is a white grape that is grown pretty much throughout the Italy, although the variety is found most often across the eastern coast of Italy, close to the Adriatic Sea. The variety has found its spiritual home in <b>Marche</b>, a small region on the eastern coast of Italy where <i>Matelica</i> and <i>Castelli di Jesi</i> – two of the most celebrated Verdicchio wine regions – are located. Out of these two, Castelli di Jesi is the bigger one and better known, capable of producing impressive wines in larger quantities, whereas the hillier Matelica is much smaller, resulting in equally smaller production, but also thought to be capable of producing wines of even more finesse and higher quality.</div>
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In addition to Marche, Verdicchio is grown to some extent in Umbria (the region between Marche and Tuscany) and Lazio (the region south from Tuscany, where Rome is located). Furthermore, at some point ampelographers realized that <b>Trebbiano di Lugana</b> (aka. <b>Trebbiano di Soave</b> aka. <b>Trebbiano Valtenesi</b> aka. <b>Turbiana</b>) isn't a Veronese high-quality clone of the normally rather neutral <b>Trebbiano</b>, but instead a variety that is genetically identical to Verdicchio. Apparently Verdicchio actually originated around the Garda lake and at some point during the 15th century winegrowers migrated south from Veneto to cultivate vines in Marche, bringing Verdicchio cuttings along with them. Currently there are over 5,300 ha (over 13,000 acres) of Verdicchio grown in Italy, of which 1,800 ha (4,450 acres) in and around Veneto.</div>
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The grapes from Veneto produce wines that are slightly different from those produced in Marche, yet with that unmistakably weighty yet refreshing character of Verdicchio. In Marche varietal Verdicchio wines are the norm, whereas in Veneto the variety is normally encountered as a varietal wine mainly in the Lugana wine region; in Soave the variety is used as an accessory grape to bring in more structure, body and perfume to the more neutral Garganega variety – although the <b>Suavia</b> winery produces a wonderful 100% Trebbiano di Soave called <i>Massifitti</i> in Soave Classico.</div>
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Although Verdicchio is not a variety that well-known and hasn't garnered much attention, it is still one of the most highly regarded Italian white varieties amongst critics and those who have at least some knowledge of Italian white wines. This is because not only are these wines delicious with their often lemony acidity and intriguing flavors suggestive of almonds and even bitter spices, but the best ones can be really impressive, serious and even capable of aging for decades.</div>
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Here is a selection of different Verdicchio wines that I have tasted through these years:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5XXLEi7ED-XSrao56oSrwq1bXHawEAQg_Mk9XUodcz2lWUsKQ6lm3DFd5EvnKo5l7tm2QQ77U0-pzrbISoNiEOFV-HLo0273b3rVKBbmi2jzwHgPE7qHF_QHAfhjag14TQpYb_W0LuLY/s1600/cambrugiano.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5XXLEi7ED-XSrao56oSrwq1bXHawEAQg_Mk9XUodcz2lWUsKQ6lm3DFd5EvnKo5l7tm2QQ77U0-pzrbISoNiEOFV-HLo0273b3rVKBbmi2jzwHgPE7qHF_QHAfhjag14TQpYb_W0LuLY/s200/cambrugiano.jpg" title="" width="57" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Belisario Verdicchio di Matelica Riserva Cambrugiano 2008</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">DOCG Verdicchio di Matelica Riserva</span></div>
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<li><a href="https://www.belisario.it/home" target="-">Belisario</a></li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Marche, Matelica</li>
<li>Grape(s): Verdicchio (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 15,00€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: 29th of December, 2012</li>
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<a href="http://www.belisario.it/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: belisario</span></a></div>
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With 300 ha (750 acres) of vineyards, <b>Belisario </b>is the biggest Verdicchio producer in Matelica. Cambrugiano, in turn, is the world's first <i>Riserva</i>-quality Verdicchio, produced since 1988. The grapes are sourced from vineyards located at the altitude of 400 meters and only the best grapes are selected. The wine is aged for 12 months in stainless steel (80%) and in 225-liter oak <i>barriques</i> (20%) and another 12 months in bottles.</div>
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Deep yellow color with pale green highlights, slightly oily appearance.</div>
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The wine has an elegant, balanced and quite expressive nose with aromas of honeydew melon, pear, some yellow damson, a little almond, a hint of hay and a touch of herbal notes.</div>
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It is dry, moderately full-bodied and broad on the palate with slightly oily mouthfeel counterpointed by bright, racy acidity. There are complex flavors of dried herbs, acid-driven citrus fruits, some floral nuances, a little yellow damson and a hint of almonds with a vague undertone of vanilla.</div>
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Finally the wine finishes with a ripe, fruity and medium-long finish with harmonious flavors of exotic spices, yellow stone fruits, some minerality and a hint of almond-driven nuttiness.</div>
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In a sense this is not a "big, voluptuous and impressive" Riserva white, but instead a balanced and well-made Verdicchio, where the difference between Riserva and "normale" is evident in the addition of depth, complexity and elegance, not in bigger concentration, more ripe fruit or heavier oak influence.</div>
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;"><b>91/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: Cambrugiano is a very stylish and sophisticated Verdicchio di Matelica, thoroughly enjoyable on its own, but also a lovely and versatile food wine. Definitely one of the better Verdicchios in the market and shows obvious aging potential for at least 5 years more. Tremendous value at 15€.</div>
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***</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Bucci Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore 2009</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">DOC Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore</span></div>
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<li><a href="http://www.villabucci.com/">Azienda Agricola Villa Bucci</a></li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Marche, Castelli di Jesi</li>
<li>Grape(s): Verdicchio (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 15,25€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: 27th of October, 2012</li>
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<a href="http://www.alko.fi/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: alko</span></a></div>
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The entry-level Verdicchio of the winery. Made from organically grown grapes sourced from different parcels, all vinified separately. The <i>Classico</i> in the name tells that these parcels are located in the classic heartland of the Castelli di Jesi wine region, whereas the <i>Superiore</i> refers to the higher-than-normal alcohol content, translating to grapes of more ripeness.</div>
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Lovely golden yellow color.</div>
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A bit reticent nose with typical Verdicchio aromas of ripe citrus fruits, some pineapple-driven yellow fruit, a little almondy nuttiness, a hint of elderflower and a touch of ripe yellow damson.</div>
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Although the wine is modestly medium-bodied on the palate, it is still surprisingly broad and intense with almost oily mouthfeel. There are powerful and quite spicy flavors of almonds, fennel, aromatic herbs, some tropical and yellow fruits like mirabelle plum, unripe tangerine and starfruit, and hints of cookie dough. Good structure with racy acidity.</div>
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Very dry and quite complex finish with intense herbal notes, almond-driven nuttiness, a little hay, hints of peachy yellow fruit and a touch of steely minerality.</div>
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Overall this is a balanced, but surprisingly intense and powerful Verdicchio with lots of youthful energy. Definitely a food wine, as the wine might be too overwhelming on its own; it also needs food hearty enough to withstand the structure and the intensity of the flavor.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>91/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: Drinking nicely now, but will easily develop for several years in the cellar. Recommended and a wonderful purchase at 15,25€.</div>
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***</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Colonnara Ubaldo Rosi Riserva Spumante Metodo Classico 2007</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">DOC Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Superiore Spumante Riserva</span></div>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li><a href="http://www.colonnara.it/" target="-">Colonnara</a></li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Marche, Castelli di Jesi</li>
<li>Grape(s): Verdicchio (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 19,00€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: 30th of April, 2014</li>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://www.colonnara.it/" target="-">source: colonnara</a></span></div>
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A méthode traditionelle sparkling wine made with Verdicchio grapes made by the local quality-oriented co-operative founded in 1959. Bottle-aged for a minimum 5 years before disgorging. Hand-riddling. This bottle was disgorged in 2013.</div>
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Luminous pale green color.</div>
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Aromas of ripe apple, honeydew melon, lemon curd, some aged honeyed nuttiness, hints of floral nuances and a touch of that Verdicchio spiciness. Also, with some air, an autolytic note of French bread emerges.</div>
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On the palate the wine is very dry and really fresh with very fine, creamy mousse and medium body. There are complex flavors of fresh apple, lemon peel, some almond notes, a hint of spiciness and a touch of bitterness. Good acidity that gives the wine structure and intensity.</div>
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The finish is long, mouth-cleansing and somewhat bitter with flavors of almonds, lemon-driven citrus fruits and an autolytic hint of yeasty leesiness.</div>
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Overall this is a really attractive, albeit a very youthful and primary Spumante Riserva – I assume this wine would develop really nicely over medium-to-long term in a cellar.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>92/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: Really tremendous stuff and will pair really good with light, oily dishes. Despite the age, there is definitely no hurry opening this one. Great value at 19€ – sourced straight from the winery in Marche.</div>
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***</div>
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<b> <span style="font-size: large;">San Lorenzo Vigneto delle Oche Riserva 2004</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">DOCG Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Riserva</span></div>
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<li>Fattoria San Lorenzo</li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Marche, Castelli di Jesi</li>
<li>Grape(s): Verdicchio (100%)</li>
<li>Price: ~23€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: 12th of October, 2015</li>
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<a href="http://www.winebol.com/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: winebol</span></a></div>
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Fattoria San Lorenzo is regarded some of the best producers in the Jesi region, if not the best. Although coming from a family that has grown vines and made wine for generations, San Lorenzo is a relatively newcomer, having been founded only in 1995. They make three Verdicchio wines, all that have been named by the geese (<i>le oche</i>) that roam in the vineyards: the entry-level wine <b>Le Oche</b>, the mid-tier <i>superiore</i> wine <b>Campo delle Oche</b> and the single-vineyard <i>riserva</i> wine, <b>Vigneto delle Oche</b>. This Riserva is made from organically grown grapes and it is aged first for a whopping 2 years in concrete tanks and then a further 12 months in stainless steel before it is bottled unfiltered.</div>
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Deep, moderately developed honeyed yellow color.</div>
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After having been aged for more than 10 years, the wine's bouquet betrays the age with layered aromas of nutty complexity, matured toasty notes, honeyed roasted almonds, rich candy aromas of wine gums, some cantaloupe, a hint of smoky minerality and a touch of dried apricots.</div>
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On the palate the wine feels full-bodied, obviously quite developed and very textural, yet remarkably bright and structured due to its lively acidity. The flavors are dominated by mature nutty flavors, but there are also complex notes of wildhoney, stony minerality, nectarine and some spiciness. The mouthfeel is quite weighty, waxy and somewhat concentrated by the age.</div>
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The finish is incredibly powerful, complex and developed with mature, layered nuances of roasted exotic spices, developed nuttiness, some stony minerality, a little dried peach and a hint of honey. The acidity becomes even more pronounced towards the end of the aftertaste, making the wine end on a bright, lively and mouthwatering note.</div>
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This might just be the most impressive Verdicchio I've ever tasted, stylistically getting very close to an aged high-quality Burgundy white, yet still with unmistakably Italian flair. Stunning, really.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>96/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: This wine is really a testament to how the best Verdicchios (riservas, usually) not only age really well, but actually require surprisingly much age just to show their potential. This wine also shows how oak aging isn't really necessary to make impressive, weighty and age-worthy whites. Young vintages of this wine can be found for as low as 15€, but with any luck one might be able to source these older vintages for approx 25€. At less than 25€ this wine shows simply ridiculous value.</div>
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***</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Sartarelli Balciana 2009</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">DOC Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore</span></div>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li><a href="http://www.sartarelli.it/" target="-">Sartarelli</a></li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Marche, Castelli di Jesi</li>
<li>Grape(s): Verdicchio (100%)</li>
<li>Price: ~30,00€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: 12th of October, 2015</li>
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<a href="http://www.sartarelli.it/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: sartarelli</span></a></div>
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The flagship wine of the Sartarelli range, made from the grapes sourced from the highly esteemed vineyard located in Contrada Balciana. The grapes here ripen extremely slowly and the harvest can go on as late as mid-November in some years. In the coolest years the grapes can't reach optimum ripeness at all and the vintage is completely skipped. The wine sees only stainless steel and glass bottles during the aging, total annual production can reach approx. 15,000 bottles at the highest.</div>
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Moderately developed, pale golden yellow color.</div>
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Surprisingly dry and savory nose with some smoky aged character, revealing layered nuances of bruised cider apple, exotic spices, ripe stone fruits, some toasty matured notes and hints of aged nuttiness.</div>
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Despite the vintage 2009, which is generally regarded as pretty hot throughout Europe, the wine feels medium-to-moderately full-bodied on the palate with balanced, racy acidity that cuts nicely through the rich fruit. Overall the wine feels remarkably fresh and crisp with intense, but surprisingly little-developed flavors of citrus fruits, ripe red apple, cantaloupe, some spicy almondy character and sweeter hints of exotic fruits and apricots.</div>
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The wine finishes on a tightly-knit and structured, but more developed note with flavors of yellow stone fruits, some red apple, a little honeydew melon, a hint of exotic spices and a touch of roasted almonds.</div>
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For a Verdicchio at 6 years of age, Balciana 2009 feels remarkably young and fresh, apparently aging only at a glacial pace. A remarkable powerhouse for a Verdicchio.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>94/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: You can really taste the concentration, power and potential here and, as this vintage testifies, there is no point opening a wine this impressive yet. Most likely the wine will start to exhibit more mature character only after 10 or so years and hits its stride really at 15–20 years of age, so there is no point opening these wines yet. Truly a remarkable example of what Verdicchio can produce in Marche.</div>
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***</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Sartarelli Tralivio 2010</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">DOC Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore</span></div>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li><a href="http://www.sartarelli.it/" target="-">Sartarelli</a></li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Marche, Castelli di Jesi</li>
<li>Grape(s): Verdicchio (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 13,00€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: 12th of October, 2015</li>
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<a href="http://www.sartarelli.it/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: sartarelli</span></a></div>
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The mid-tier Verdicchio of Sartarelli, made solely from selected grapes of their oldest vineyards. Fermented and aged in stainless steel. Annual production approx. 90,000 bottles.</div>
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Somewhat developed peachy yellow color.</div>
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Quite rich and complex nose with aromas of ripe yellow stone fruits, yellow gummy bear candies, some developed waxy notes with fruit that is taking on a sweet marmalade edge, hints of almondy nuttiness and a touch of mature creamy / buttery character.</div>
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On the palate the wine feels moderately full-bodied and even a bit oily, yet also high in acidity giving the wine even somewhat crisp bite and good, robust structure. There are flavors of citrusy fruit, some exotic spice, modest stony minerality, a little developed honey character and light hints of crushed almonds. Overall the wine feels that is has concentrated a bit with the age, becoming somewhat weighty and rich, yet still carrying that lemony acidity typical of the variety.</div>
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The wine finishes with a long, rich and powerful aftertaste of ripe citrus fruits, sweet red apple, some stony minerality, a little exotic spice and hints of almond. </div>
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Overall this is a surprisingly serious, rich and structured Verdicchio that is already starting to show some signs of age with some sense of concentration and honeyed fruit, yet the wine is remarkably fresh and taut like a wine that was bottled only yesterday.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>93/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: Very impressive effort that is at 5 years of age only suggesting of the potential the wine can show with age. Obviously a white meant for the long haul. No reason to open any time soon, even though the wine is drinking quite nicely already – it would be just waste of potential. Stunning value at only 13€.</div>
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***</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Suavia Massifitti 2010</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">IGT Bianco Veronese</span></div>
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<li><a href="http://www.suavia.it/" target="-">Suavia</a></li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Veneto, Soave Classico</li>
<li>Grape(s): Trebbiano di Soave (Verdicchio) (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 11,90€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: 24th of April, 2014</li>
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<a href="http://www.weinhandel-italien.de/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: weinhandel italien</span></a></div>
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Often people seem to think that Massifitti is a Soave Classico, but as it is a 100% Trebbiano di Soave aka. Turbiana aka. Verdicchio, it can't be labeled as such – instead this is an IGT Bianco Veronese. Its first vintage was 2008, so this is only the 3rd vintage of the wine ever made. Aged for 15 months sur lie in stainless steel with a part of wine undergoing MLF. After the tank aging the wine is lightly filtered and then bottled in these distinctive potato masher bottles in which the wine is aged for a further 15 months. Annual production is only 3000 bottles.</div>
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Luminous youthful green color.</div>
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Very expressive, rich and attractive nose with lots of ripe fruits such as sweet citrus fruits, honeydew melon, peach and apple purée along with pronounced notes of wet stone minerality, some understated spiciness and a touch of floral aromatics.</div>
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On the palate the wine is quite full-bodied and rich with moderate concentration, but almost bone-dry and very structured as well, thanks to its bracing, focused acidity and rough stony minerality that supports the weighty core of ripe apple, pronounced spiciness and pithy lemon notes. Great freshness with very modest alcohol (12,5%) – the wine feels surprisingly light for such a big wine.</div>
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The finish is full of apple and stony minerality, but with more focus on tart, green apple notes that turn towards quinine mineral bitterness towards the end.</div>
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Although not technically a Soave, this is hands down one of the most impressive wines produced in the Soave Classico region. Truly a showcase of the potential what Trebbiano di Soave can attain in right <i>terroir</i> with sensible winemaking.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>95/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: Massifitti shows a tremendous combination of richness and focused freshness. This is most likely a wine that'll age nicely for years, but it is drinking so nicely right now that keeping bottles in a cellar and not touching them would be a chore! Ridiculously amazing value at only 11,90€.</div>
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***</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Zenato Lugana Riserva Sergio Zenato 2008</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">DOC Lugana Riserva</span></div>
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<li><a href="http://www.zenato.it/en/" target="-">Zenato</a></li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Lombardy / Veneto, Lugana</li>
<li>Grape(s): Trebbiano di Lugana (Verdicchio) (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 23,90€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: 17th of October, 2011</li>
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<a href="http://www.zenato.it/en/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: zenato</span></a></div>
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The flagship white wine of Zenato, a famed producer located by the Garda lake. Made from the best Trebbiano di Lugana grapes sourced from the Lugana wine region, located at the border of Lombardy and Veneto at the southern shore of the lake Garda; the wine is fermented in 5,000-liter oak casks and 300-liter <i>tonneaux</i> (70%) and stainless steel (30%). Aged for 6 months in oak <i>tonneaux</i> and 12 months in bottles before release.</div>
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Deep golden yellow color.</div>
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Very open, floral and fruity nose with notes of honey, butterscotch and ripe tropical fruits – especially pear and overripe pineapple.</div>
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The taste is somewhat lighter and more restrained after the generous nose. On the palate the wine is round, supple and full-bodied, toasted and slightly spicy with some alcoholic heat. Oak is well integrated with brief notes of vanilla and butterscotch complementing the ripe apple notes of the mid-palate. Wine seems to lack acidity, resulting in very full body and sensation of sweetness with the ripe fruits, but also resulting in some lack of structure, energy and focus.</div>
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The wine finishes pretty short with notes of spicy oak and ripe tropical fruits.</div>
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Overall the wine is pleasant with an elegant taste and and complex aromatics, but it is also a bit heavy and unstructured – for example with its modest acidity, I don't know how well the wine can survive heavier dishes.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>89/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: Though quite weighty and serious for a Lugana wine, the wine is somewhat lacking focus and brightness, feeling a bit too modern and overdone. To me, the wine is best served quite well chilled, paired with spicy Asian kitchen, or enjoyed on its own. I think it feels a tad too pricey at 23,90€.</div>
Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410132544589500796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8271454715333987114.post-44731839335454438602017-04-19T23:40:00.004+03:002017-07-04T20:02:35.065+03:00Vertical of the month: Pian del Ciampolo 2012–2002<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Montevertine</b>, located in <i>Radda in Chianti</i>, the heartland of the famed <i>Chianti Classico</i> region, is hailed as one of the greatest producers of classically styled Chianti Classico.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Or they would be, if they happened to produce any.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Let's start off with the mandatory introduction to the winery, so everyone knows what's the stuff we're talking about today. Montevertine started off as a hobby of Sergio Manetti, a steel product manufacturer. In 1967 he bought a dilapitated house in Chianti – that was to become the Montevertine winery – as his holiday house, restored it and planted two hectares (5 acres) of vines to the newly acquired lands, just to produce some wine for his family and friends. In 1971 Manetti produced his first vintage and after some encouraging feedback he also presented his wines in Vinitaly fair in Verona. The wines were so welcomed there that only after few years Manetti decided to leave his day job and concentrate fully on creating high quality wine in Montevertine, planting and acquiring new vineyards and installing winemaking facilities more appropriate for a real winery. Since the first vintage of 1971, Montevertine has produced wine in every single vintage – not counting the remarkably poor and rainy vintage 1984, when no Montevertine wines were produced from the estate's fruit.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Montevertine was originally a Chianti producer, but in 1981 the winery's top wine <b>Le Pergole Torte</b>, a 100% varietal Sangiovese, was denied rights for the Chianti Classico appellation, as the appellation laws back then (and until 1996) stipulated that the CC wines should be blends of white and red grapes instead of varietal wines, and thus the wine was deemed unsuitable for bottling. As a countermeasure, Manetti decided to bottle all his wines as basic table wine bottlings from that on, be they eligible for the appellation or not. Even though all of the winery's labels could now be eligible for DOCG Chianti Classico, Montevertine steadfastly still labels all of their wines under the lower-tier IGT Toscana appellation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Montevertine's core range consists of only three wines: two top-tier reds and one entry-level red. The aforementioned <b>Le Pergole Torte</b> is not only a more modern take on the Tuscan reds (being a 100% Sangiovese from selected fruit that is aged for a years in large Slavonian oak casks and another year in small Allier oak <i>barriques</i>), but also the wine better known as the world's first single-vineyard Chianti Classico –albeit never having been labeled as such – from the original 2 ha vineyard planted by Manetti. The wine known only as <b>Montevertine</b> is the standard bearer of the winery, made from the classic Chianti grapes of Sangiovese, Canaiolo and Colorino, and aged for 2 years in the traditional Slavonian oak casks. The entry-level wine <b>Pian del Ciampolo</b> is the little sibling of Montevertine, made from the Sangiovese, Canaiolo and Colorino wines that were not used for the higher-quality Montevertine and aged for only 12 months in large Slavonian oak casks. Despite bearing the IGT Toscana appellation, both Montevertine and Pian del Ciampolo are through-and-through Chianti Classico wines at their heart.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In addition to these three wines, there are also a handful wines that are produced only in best vintages, otherwise sporadically or have just went out of production. These include the Vin Santo that goes by the name <b>Ambradolce</b>; the white wines <b>Bianco di Montevertine</b> and <b>M</b>; and the single-vineyard wines <b>Il Sodaccio</b> and <b>Il Cannaio</b> – of which the latter one is a special wine made for the three Michelin star-restaurant <b>Enoteca Pinchiorri</b> in Florence. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">As the wines have since 1981 boasted only <i>Vino da Tavola</i> and – from 1992 onwards – <i>IGT Toscana</i> in their labels, many people think that Montevertine is a Super-Tuscan producer. Yet nothing could be further from the truth: the winery has never planted anything but the local, traditional varieties in their vineyards and their winemaking reflects the traditions of the regions. Thus, the wines are not mouthfillingly voluptuous and powerful blockbusters as one might associate with the IGT Toscana wines, but instead very sophisticated, harmonious and classically styled Chianti Classico reds with much emphasis on the balance between the fruit and the structure.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Of the core range, <b>Montevertine</b> and <b>Le Pergole Torte</b> wines are usually considered to be good choices if one wants to have excellent, ageworthy Chianti wines in the cellar, whereas the <b>Pian del Ciampolo</b> wines are considered to be great alternatives if one is thinking of getting into the Montevertine style with more younger-drinking wines. Normally this entry-level wine is considered to be a nice, more pedestrian example of both Chianti Classico and Montevertine, suitable mainly for early consumption and less for cellaring. However, I recently attended a Montevertine tasting that aimed to show that even this least ambitious wine of the range is not just a simple, easy-drinking red meant for early consumption, but also a serious Chianti Classico on its own, capable of withstanding a decade of cellaring.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">These are my tasting notes on the Pian del Ciampolo wines we tasted through that evening.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCuwbnMMUo-vX0Si-TKtmgWmpOOZGncIsz9H5pU1CPObkni6CNwnn5SAn2JDmvhtgO0eQPCFTEMGsKt-YVI__2xCJUW02m_G_ZLWo-byT1XUtmLHAFvFOne1aXjFSTERUGeu71aGBLRL8/s1600/piandelciampolo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCuwbnMMUo-vX0Si-TKtmgWmpOOZGncIsz9H5pU1CPObkni6CNwnn5SAn2JDmvhtgO0eQPCFTEMGsKt-YVI__2xCJUW02m_G_ZLWo-byT1XUtmLHAFvFOne1aXjFSTERUGeu71aGBLRL8/s200/piandelciampolo.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="51" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Montevertine Pian del Ciampolo</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">IGT Toscana</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.montevertine.it/" target="-">Montevertine</a></li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Toscana, Chianti Classico, Radda in Chianti</li>
<li>Grape(s): Sangiovese (90%), Canaiolo, Colorino</li>
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</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.montevertine.it/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: montevertine</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The entry-level red of Montevertine, made from a Sangiovese-driven blend of local red varietals. The wine is first fermented and macerated with the grape skins for 25 days in cement vats. The wine also goes through the malolactic fermentation in the cement vats before it is transferred to large Slavonian oak casks, in which the wine ages for a minimum of 12 months. After the wine is bottled, it is aged for a further 3 months in bottles before it is released to the market. Since 2009 the wines have been made from organically grown grapes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Oh, and if you are wondering about the pronunciation, it is <i>PYAn del CHUM-polo</i> (ending with two short o's, not <i>pow-low</i>).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pian del Ciampolo 2012</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Size: 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on 4th of January, 2016</li>
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A vintage evaluated as 3/5 by Montevertine. This year there was no real winter nor were there any spring rains. The summer was very warm to even hot, especially towards the July-August, halting the ripening process in many vines. However, the rains arrived in late August, resuming the growth and ripening in the vines.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Youthful, dark yet moderately translucent ruby red appearance.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Somewhat restrained but fragrant and surprisingly sweet nose with fruit-forward primary aromas of red cherry, rose petals, some boysenberry aromatics and a hint of raspberry marmalade.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the palate the wine feels quite youthful and easygoing, albeit drier than what the nose suggests with juicy flavors of ripe cherry, dark-toned forest fruits and some sour cherry crunchiness. Overall the wine feels moderately acid-driven, bright and quite structured with medium-to-moderate tannins.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine finishes with flavors of sour cherry bitterness and sweeter flavors of ripe dark berries. The aftertaste is medium-long, juicy and quite straightforward with some tannic grip.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall this young vintage of Pian del Ciampolo seems rather simple and easygoing basic-level Chianti Classico with more emphasis in sweet but rather one-dimensional fruit than complexity. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>87/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Although the wine seems structured enough, I fail to see much aging potential here and most likely the wine is best for earlier consumption – although if this wine is representative of the house's young style, the older Pian del Ciampolo vintages have proven me quite wrong with this prediction.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pian del Ciampolo 2011</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Size: 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on 4th of January, 2016</li>
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A vintage evaluated as 4/5 by Montevertine. Overall not considered a great vintage, starting with a warm spring, followed by extended spring rains well into the summer. The rains were followed by a record-breaking heat wave in August that not just ripened the grapes, but also shut down some vines and raisined some grapes in the vines. Due to the very irregular weather, careful selection of fruit yielded best results.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Quite translucent and luminous, but also pretty dark ruby red color.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Very dark-toned and somewhat earthy nose with aromas of juicy and quite sweet dark cherries, some plummy fruit, hints of dried prunes and an underlying nuance of leather.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rich, supple and full-bodied on the palate with lots of ripe, well-delineated fruit on the fore: dark cherries, plummy dark fruit, some sour cherry bitterness and hints of peppery spice. The warm vintage is quite evident in the sweet edge of the fruit. The structure feels in balance with the fruit, the wine having moderate acidity and moderate, firm but not that grippy tannins.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The finish is long, juicy and quite opulent with somewhat less sweet and more savory flavors of peppery spice, dark cherries, some tart sour cherry character, a hint of earth and a little tannic astringency.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A classy and sophisticated Chianti Classico with more weight than in 2012 or 2010 and with much emphasis on the pure, slightly sweet and very ripe, dark-toned fruit. Although somewhat big and pretty ripe, the structure feels well-balanced with the rest of the wine.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>88/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: This is an enjoyable and nice Chianti Classico from the sweeter and obviously more ripe end, drinking very nicely right now. Although the wine shows potential to short-to-medium-term cellaring, I wouldn't hold on to this vintage for too long.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pian del Ciampolo 2010</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Size: 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on 4th of January, 2016</li>
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A vintage evaluated as 5/5 by Montevertine and one that is also considered as one of the best (but also very difficult) in Tuscany in some while – especially so in Montalcino. The vintage started off pretty wet and remained rather cool until July, when the temperatures started to rise. The wet and cool start reduced yields and kept the ripening about 2 weeks behind the normal schedule. The grapes ripened very late, well into October, and many producers had to pick their grapes in may tiers in order not to harvest grapes that weren't ripe enough or not to let some go overripe. In many cases the resulting fruit quality was outstanding.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Quite translucent and luminous, but also pretty dark ruby red color.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The nose feels somewhat dark-toned and even a bit reticent with ripe red cherry fruit on the fore, supported by a blanket of earthy and dusty tones and hints of tart dark berries. However, there also lingers a slightly green undertone of bell pepper and celery behind the brighter fruit notes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the palate the wine feels a bit restrained as well, but with pure and bright flavors of plums, sour cherries, darker berries, some dusty earth notes and nice, subtle bitterness. The mouthfeel is full-bodied with moderate acidity and moderate, ever-so-slightly grippy tannins.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The medium-long finish follows the midpalate with slightly rough-edged flavors of roasted spices, brambly blackberries, ripe plums, some tannic grip and hints of sour cherry bitterness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">As I've had lots of tremendous Tuscan reds from 2010, I had high expectations for this wine. However, they were met only partially; the wine was pure and lovely with a bit more tightly-knit texture than in 2009 or 2011, but it fell a bit short on the depth and complexity department.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>89/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Overall this is a nice, bright and balanced Chianti Classico-style red with lovely purity of fruit and one that is obviously still on its way up, but most likely this is not going to be one of the great Pian del Ciampolos despite the great vintage.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pian del Ciampolo 2009</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Size: 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on 4th of January, 2016</li>
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A vintage evaluated as 5/5 by Montevertine. The year began with a normal spring, followed first by an exceptionally hot May and then a month of more or less nonstop rain. After the rains, the summer was warm and got pretty hot towards the end of the summer – culminating in a heat wave that arrived during the time when the temperatures normally start to decline. The summer nights were somewhat cool, preserving some of the acidity, but most of this year's wines bear the mark of the hot vintage in their sweet, somewhat jammy or cooked fruit.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Quite translucent and luminous, but also pretty dark ruby red color.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For a 2009, the nose is quite sophisticated and nuanced, albeit very fruity and juicy. The aromas are quite dark-toned and brooding with obviously sweet edge, betraying succulent aromas of dark cherries, blackberries, even some strawberries – and a hint of alcohol.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the palate this wine feels a bit richer, fruitier and more plump than the surrounding vintages with its full body and pure but somewhat rich and obviously very ripe flavors of dark forest berries, earthy spices, some red cherries and even a hint of syrup. However, there is a hint of bitterness and sour cherry tartness to offset the sweetest edge. Due to its modest acidity and suave, mellow tannins, the mouthfeel is noticeably silky, but lacking that certain Tuscan brightness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine finishes with a spicy, dark-fruited medium-long aftertaste that shows a bit more bitterness and sour cherry character than the midpalate, yet remains rather sweet and soft.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This vintage feels excessively mellow and easy for a Pian del Ciampolo, as if the hot vintage just had polished away all the rough edges and personality from the wine.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>87/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: This is an enjoyable Chianti Classico-style red, albeit one a bit too ripe and sweet for my taste. The wine is drinking really nicely now, but although the wine might keep for a handful of years in a cellar easily, I fail to see much potential for development here. Most likely a vintage for earlier enjoyment.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pian del Ciampolo 2008</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Size: 0,75</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Tasted on 4th of January, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A vintage evaluated as 4/5 by Montevertine. Overall a cooler vintage with high diurnal temperature variation, resulting in lighter, structured and more serious wines. In Chianti Classico the vintage was less successful than in other Tuscan regions, with only the very best vineyards producing fruit for the truly remarkable wines.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Remarkably dark, almost opaque black cherry color.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Somewhat restrained nose that shows that slightly darker-toned aroma profile of Montevertine, but lacking all that sweetness which was so evident in the vintages that followed. The nose is pure and fresh with aromas of red berries, sour cherries and crunchy – not that sweet – dark cherries with some earthy spice tones.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine is very dry, fresh and savory on the palate with moderately full body, balanced high acidity and rather pronounced, firm but not angular tannins. The fruit feels ripe, but intense instead of sweet, showing flavors of juicy dark berries, dark cherries, roasted Moroccan spices, some fresh red forest berries, a little smoke and a hint of aged, slightly raisined dark fruit.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine leaves a long, spicy and crunchy finish with some astringent, tannic grip and bright flavors of plummy dark fruit, tart cranberry, some Middle-Eastern spice and a hint of sour cherry.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This vintage shows exactly those characteristics I look for in a Chianti Classico: sour cherry, spice, intense structure of acidity and firm tannins, great finesse and no distracting sweetness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>91/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: This is a wine that still, at almost 8 years of age, shows good potential for further cellaring – yet also starting to drink very nicely as well. Seeing how this one feels much more serious, leaner and less sweet than the younger vintages, this is definitely a food wine. No hurry to open this one now, but if you do, let it breathe for a while. A terrific example how the best vintages of Pian del Ciampolo can be actually quite ageworthy and truly worth the buck.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pian del Ciampolo 2006</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Size: 0,75</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Tasted on 4th of January, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A vintage evaluated as 4/5 by Montevertine. Generally hailed as one of the greatest vintages of the the millennium along with the superb 2004, resulting in very serious wines. The weather conditions were very variable, ranging from the heat waves of June and July to the cooler days of Autumn, and from the hot Indian summer to the rains that closed the harvest.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine's appearance is translucent, yet moderately dark cherry red with a limpid, almost colorless rim.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The rich and nuanced nose is starting to show some hints of maturity in its dark-toned aromas of dark cherries, slightly tart plums, boysenberry marmalade, light earthiness and floral hints of aged Sangiovese. Overall the fragrant nose feels really beautiful and attractive.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine has full body and lovely, textural mouthfeel on the palate. There are somewhat developed, but remarkably intense and focused flavors of dark cherries, dried dark berries, some roasted exotic spices and umami hints of soy sauce and game. The flavors are juicy and succulent, but more dry and savory than ripe and sweet. The structure is remarkably good with moderately high acidity and ample, but ripe tannins that feel round yet still firm.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine finishes with a really long and slightly aged aftertaste of earthy spices, slightly wizened red cherries, some dark berries, a little sour cherry bitterness and a hint of rocky minerality.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now this is the stuff, really! Judging by this bottle, 2006 is by far the best vintage of Pian del Ciampolo I've had. Not only it is a textbook example of a high-quality Chianti Classico, it is also an entry-level red that is capable to putting many flagship reds to shame!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>95/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: This is really a remarkable example of the Montevertine style – even at 10 years of age, this wine feels like it was opened 10–15 years too early. Definitely a beautiful Chianti Classico that is all about aging potential. Just wow.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pian del Ciampolo 2002</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Size: 0,75</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Tasted on 4th of January, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A vintage evaluated as 3/5 by Montevertine, which is surprisingly high considering how horrible this vintage was on average: it was cool and wet, resulting mainly in grapes that were either unripe or rotten – or both. Definitely not a vintage that made keepers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Somewhat translucent and somewhat hazy cherry red appearance with a matured maroon hue.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The obviously developed nose is really complex and attractive with fascinating aromas of dried cherries, dark forest fruits, some leather, a little mushroomy earthiness and hints of smoke.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the palate the wine feels medium-bodied and moderately high in acidity with very mellow and fully resolved tannins. The fruit seems to have dried out a little, resulting in a quite developed, but rather unassuming taste with flavors of wizened red cherry, some raisiny dark fruit, a little syrupy, a hint of figs and a touch of dried dates. The wine's structure is in balance with the fruit, so it hasn't become yet overtly austere nor has it fallen apart yet either.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The finish is rich, albeit somewhat unfocused and lacking cohesion. There are pretty light yet still rather sweet flavors of dried dark fruits, wizened red cherries, some caramel and a hint of dried dates with some sensation of soft, powdery tannins gripping the gums very lightly.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Unsurprisingly, as a wine from a vintage universally recognized as poor, this was on a decline already. The wine was still quite alive and thoroughly enjoyable, but obviously it had never been a remarkable wine and its peak years were already in the past.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>83/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Perhaps the wine would have had a few points more, if enjoyed some years ago. Now most of its charm was reduced to only a shadow of its former self and those syrupy-raisiny notes of old wine had started to take over. It's high time to drink up these.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWSwSVrfvuZsUghwtxth4UC-GIYtPnPoG8ATDkEkp__KZv5fZ0l3qSvVc5ZziTlLCETz5tbkssgRxVMqp8wtNSNQquGxUNK4evDl1NA6ZRTo3qgSSxwiiZyPyTzqlJfrAJ7-9jin6S2g8/s1600/piandelciampolo1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWSwSVrfvuZsUghwtxth4UC-GIYtPnPoG8ATDkEkp__KZv5fZ0l3qSvVc5ZziTlLCETz5tbkssgRxVMqp8wtNSNQquGxUNK4evDl1NA6ZRTo3qgSSxwiiZyPyTzqlJfrAJ7-9jin6S2g8/s400/piandelciampolo1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wines of our tasting, pt. 1</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi223cLuEUE-mMKWyednUy0V2qvmUs46nsAPQZaQdjxp6yA93uVLNYlWP2g_f8d5NPNX5rObeOaNO-5vUvEkJ61UYeQ0Ir_sySOQyfE3pkx2A5jdB1of24LhNwY7tUr0rLETuR-OYP4mYM/s1600/piandelciampolo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi223cLuEUE-mMKWyednUy0V2qvmUs46nsAPQZaQdjxp6yA93uVLNYlWP2g_f8d5NPNX5rObeOaNO-5vUvEkJ61UYeQ0Ir_sySOQyfE3pkx2A5jdB1of24LhNwY7tUr0rLETuR-OYP4mYM/s400/piandelciampolo2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wines of our tasting, pt. 2</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although only an entry-level wine, this vertical successfully challenged the widely regarded view that Pian del Ciampolo is a wine for early consumption. Of course not all of the vintages are meant for the long haul, and quite certainly even the better ones won't outlive any good Montevertine or Le Pergole Torte, but it's quite plain to see that even the less impressive vintages are not just early drinkers, but also capable of benefiting from cellar age, whereas the best vintages can easily develop for decades.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Above all, this vertical really showcased the lovely, sophisticated style of the Montevertine winery that obviously emphasizes clarity and purity over power and concentration. You don't need to spend bucketfuls of bucks in order to get stunning, classically styled Tuscan reds – all you have to do, is study which vintages were really good in Chianti Classico and look for Pian del Ciampolos from those years!</div>Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410132544589500796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8271454715333987114.post-30739093997949684902017-03-31T10:34:00.000+03:002017-03-31T11:53:06.165+03:00Ruchè<div style="text-align: justify;">
Italy is an inexhaustible horn of plenty for wine geeks looking for obscure grape varieties: some say there are over one thousand different grape varieties in Italy alone – which might be a little bit of an exaggeration, seeing how there are many varieties that are actually just one single variety with numerous synonyms. But even if we group up all the different synonyms under their respective varieties, we still end up with hundreds and hundreds of different varieties, red pink and white. Of course this means that a handful of varieties (like <i>Sangiovese</i> or <i>Trebbiano</i>) account for a great majority of plantings whereas more than 9 out of 10 of the varieties found in Italy are so obscure they aren't produced anywhere else but within their native home region – and even then usually totaling for less than 10 hectares (25 acres).</div>
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<b>Ruchè</b> (pronounced <i>ru-KEH</i>; also written as <i>Ruché</i>, with an acute accent, or <i>Rouchet</i>) is one such variety. It is a unique red grape variety indigenous to Piedmont, Northern Italy, and to my best knowledge not encountered anywhere else. Even within Piedmont the variety is very rare, grown mainly around the <i>comune</i> of <b>Castagnole Monferrato</b> and, to a lesser extent, in the neighboring province of Alessandria (where it is known as <i>Moscatellina</i> or <i>Romitagi</i>). The variety became into limelight for the first time in 1987, when Castagnole Monferrato, the region where most of the Italy's some 40 hectares (100 acres) of Ruchè are cultivated, acquired the variety-specific DOC appellation. The variety got further recognition in 2010, when the appellation was promoted to DOCG Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato.</div>
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What makes Ruchè so unique is its aroma and flavor profile. I often see it compared to <i>Nebbiolo</i> due to its aromatic, floral character, but in my opinion this comparison does no justice whatsoever to the variety; Nebbiolo might be somewhat aromatic and have faint characteristic aromas of roses, but this is to no extent what one can experience with Ruchè! What I would compare Ruchè to would be the other local aromatic red variety, <i>Brachetto</i>, or maybe <i>Muscat Rouge</i>, or then just the heady <i>Gewürztraminer </i>– only with red color. The aroma of a Ruchè wine can be very close to the explosively floral aroma of Gewürztraminers, which is a whole different ballpark from that of Nebbiolo. </div>
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How Ruchè wines differ from these aforementioned varieties is that normally these aromatic red varieties are usually vinified into sweet and (especially Brachetto) often lightly to moderately sparkling wines, whereas Ruchè is normally vinified into more serious and completely dry red wines, with the tannins and all. The variety is normally quite tannic and moderate in acidity, so producers often want to pick the variety early enough to retain as much acidity as possible (especially in warmer vintages), yet late enough for the variety to develop its unique, aromatic profile. Another difficulty is to avoid too much extraction, because otherwise the wines can end up forbiddingly tannic. </div>
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The resulting wines are often very Nebbiolo-like in appearance with their clear and luminous, pale red color and they often smell like rosewater and raspberries with subtle grapey hints. Some wines can be light and refreshing with high acidity, whereas some can be softer and more mellow; some can be very easy on the tannins, whereas others can have surprisingly much tannic grip and bitter astringency, something not unlike Nebbiolo or <i>Freisa</i>, another Piedmontese variety. These wines often finish on a slightly bitter note, something similar to many dry Muscats and Gewürztraminers. Traditionally these wines have been paired with cold cuts and other local dishes in their origin of Asti province, with very little consumption outside its area of cultivation. However, in the past decade or so, the variety has gained wider recognition and is slowly making its way to other parts of Piedmont and the rest of Italy and even an occasional bottle making its way out of Italy altogether. </div>
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Here is a small selection of some Ruchè wines I have sampled. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDwfeKSdnPiBYOGkf40JMiO0NM-ZGLqdYCuuyBH-xnR6GWLColDtnxRye3vo1y6DZnEy5ZoEFOg7bmJ_Li-SsUQNHncf59h61l-vzfig5ytSeM3ut3qcK6RZR_zlAqQxzrXJxN_xxIZ-E/s1600/ruchedicastagnolemonferrato.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDwfeKSdnPiBYOGkf40JMiO0NM-ZGLqdYCuuyBH-xnR6GWLColDtnxRye3vo1y6DZnEy5ZoEFOg7bmJ_Li-SsUQNHncf59h61l-vzfig5ytSeM3ut3qcK6RZR_zlAqQxzrXJxN_xxIZ-E/s200/ruchedicastagnolemonferrato.jpg" width="56" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Enrico Morando Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato 2013</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">DOCG Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato</span></div>
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<li><a href="http://www.vinienricomorando.it/" target="-">Vigneti e Cantine Enrico Morando</a></li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Piedmont, Asti, Castagnole Monferrato</li>
<li>Grape(s): Ruchè (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 7,69€ / 0,75 l</li>
<li>Tasted on: April 26th, 2015</li>
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<a href="http://www.vinienricomorando.it/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: enrico morando</span></a></div>
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At 130 hectares (320 acres), <b>Enrico Morando</b> is not only one of the biggest producers in the Monferrato region, but also one of the most prominent producers of Ruchè.</div>
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The wine has a translucent, thin raspberry color with a faint purple hue.</div>
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The wine shows heady, floral and really aromatic bouquet with rich aromas of Brachetto / Gewürztraminer rose and rosewater, ripe raspberry sweetness, some strawberry jam and hints of grapey notes, even a bit of raisin.</div>
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Though velvety smooth in the mouth, the wine is surprisingly high in acidity with good, peppery spiciness. The wine has medium-sized body, yet it feels almost mouthfilling with its rich flavors of intense spiciness, sweet raspberry notes, ripe strawberry fruit and nuances of rosewater. Very soft and mellow tannins that are barely noticeable.</div>
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The wine ends with a juicy, powerful finish with pronounced black pepper spice, some bitter herbs, sweet raspberry notes and hints of strawberry juice.</div>
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It might be hard to take a wine this rich and aromatic seriously, yet I must admit that this wine is surprisingly serious and balanced with remarkable poise.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>87/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: Very interesting and complex a red wine that is really fun to drink. Not the most remarkable Ruché, but at only 7,69€ this wine gives good bang for the buck.</div>
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***</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Produttori di Portacomaro Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato 2014</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">DOCG Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato</span></div>
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<li>Produttori di Govone</li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Piedmont, Asti, Portacomaro</li>
<li>Grape(s): Ruchè (100%)</li>
<li>Price: ~10€ / 0,75 l</li>
<li>Tasted on: September 9th, 2015</li>
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<a href="https://whiskyworld.ru/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: whiskyworld</span></a></div>
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This wine is produced by <b>Produttori di Portacomaro</b>, a sub-division of a bigger co-op, Produttori di Govone – a producer known for making simple but reliable, well-made traditionalist wines true to the Piedmontese style. Portacomaro is a small village of some 2000 people in the province of Asti, neighboring Castagnole Monferrato and included in the local appellation of Ruchè.</div>
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Deep, translucent cherry red.</div>
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Very expressive, rich and perfumed nose with intense aromas of roses and rosewater, some cherry and hints of lingonberry.</div>
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Rich and juicy on the palate with light body – yet the wine doesn't feel so light, due to the rich and juicy character of the fruit. There are bright, expressive and characterful flavors of red cherry, rosewater, some raspberry jam and hints of sour cherry bitterness. The tannins are pretty light and mellow.</div>
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The wine finishes on a dry yet curiously sweet note that encapsulates the varietal characteristics perfectly. There are intense notes of perfumed rosewater, sweet raspberry, cocktail cherry, some sour cherry bitterness and a hint of tannic grip in the aftertaste.</div>
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This is really a textbook Ruchè that is dry, yet fools one into thinking that this wine is sweeter than it actually is due to its rich, aromatic flavors of roses and raspberries.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>88/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: Not a big and impressive wine by any standards, but definitely one that is easily remembered due to its almost Gewürztraminer-like aromas and flavors of roses and rosewater. Well-balanced stuff that is really interesting to sip just on its own, but also easy to pair with many lighter dishes, be they vegetarian, white meat or red meat.</div>
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***</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Giuseppe Rinaldi Rosae 2014</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Vino Rosso</span></div>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li>Giuseppe Rinaldi</li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Piedmont, Langhe</li>
<li>Grape(s): Ruchè (100%)</li>
<li>Price: ~15€ / 0,75 l</li>
<li>Tasted on: August 11th, 2016</li>
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<a href="http://www.ethelvine.com/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: ethelvine</span></a></div>
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A wine by the traditionalist Barolo producer, <b>Giuseppe Rinaldi</b>, spearheaded by the grandson of the winery's founder Giuseppe Rinaldi, also named Giuseppe Rinaldi – better known as 'Beppe' in order to avoid confusion. As Ruchè (or Rouchet, as it is known there) is not an allowed variety in the Barolo region, this wine doesn't bear any designation of appellation, but is simply 'Vino Rosso'.</div>
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Luminous, translucent ruby color with faint purple highlights and colorless rim.</div>
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Really exuberant and even somewhat funky nose with pronounced aromas of sweet dark berries, plums, roses, leather, bretty manure notes, some earthy tones and hints of cranberry. Pretty rustic and atypically complex nose that isn't just about the varietally typical rose aromas.</div>
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Very light and remarkably acid-driven – even crisp on the palate with fresh and really juicy, albeit surprisingly concentrated flavors of lingonberries, cranberries and crowberries with some floral complexity and hints of dirty brett. The wine feels very structured with its high acidity and moderate, slightly grippy tannins.</div>
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The finish is really long and very complex with lively and slightly funky flavors of tart lingonberries, sour cherry bitterness, juicy raspberries, some bretty manure notes and light hints of sous bois along with gentle tug of tannins.</div>
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This wine is just perfect for my taste. I can imagine not many people will be seduced with a wine that is light, bracingly acidic and quite noticeably bretty, but I'm sold. This is just perfect stuff.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>95/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: I'm not sure if the wine (or this vintage) is actually supposed to be bretty or if this is an off bottle, but I don't mind one bit. This is like good, funky, old-school Burgundy Pinot with a unique, floral character of Ruchè. Higher in acidity and more tannic than an average example of the variety. Probably the best example of Ruchè there is.</div>
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***</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Scarpa Rouchet Briccorosa 2008</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">DOC Monferrato Rosso</span></div>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li><a href="http://scarpavini.it/en/" target="-">Antica Casa Vinicola Scarpa</a></li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Piedmont, Monferrato</li>
<li>Grape(s): Ruchè (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 23,50€ / 0,75 l</li>
<li>Tasted on: August 11th, 2016</li>
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<a href="http://suedhang.com/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: südhang</span></a></div>
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<b>Scarpa</b> is a winery located in Nizza Monferrato, well-known for their back vintages; since the 1950's the winery has always held on to their best vintages and stashed them away in the cellar. And this is not just Nebbiolo wines, but wines from other Piedmontese varieties as well. Furthermore, the winery is known to age even their entry-level wines much longer than other wineries of their region. This single-vineyard Ruchè (labeled as <i>Rouchet</i>) is fermented and aged completely in stainless steel in order to preserve the varietal characteristics best.</div>
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Luminous and obviously more deeper dark cherry red than what is usual for Ruchè; only a little translucent.</div>
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Quite sweet and very complex nose with rather dark-toned and slightly developed aromas of dark cherry, chokeberry, some perfumed rose notes, a little licorice, minty herbal notes, a hint of ink and a touch of something slightly green.</div>
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True to the variety, the wine feels even somewhat sweet on the palate, despite being technically bone-dry, yet also very light and racy due to the lively acidity. There are ripe flavors of dark forest berries, juicy dark fruits, tart cranberries, some licorice, a little dark cherry, autumnal leafy hints of <i>sous-bois</i> and a touch of salinity. The age has made the mouthfeel very smooth and velvety and the tannins are quite mellow and easy.</div>
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The juicy finish is remarkably long with bright acidity, tart cranberry flavors, ripe and almost sweet dark berries and dark cherries, some rough, robust spiciness and hints of floral complexity. The unusually high alcohol (14,5%) shows a little and the tannins give the finish slight grip.</div>
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This slightly aged Ruchè is a stunning experience and easily one of the most impressive examples of the variety I've ever tasted.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>94/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: Unusually ripe, rich and concentrated, with age having faded away the more expressive primary characteristics and replaced them with more tertiary notes, Scarpa's Briccorosa 2008 might be an atypical Ruchè, yet also it is a testament to the variety's aging capabilities. Although Ruchè seems like a variety that'll drink only while still young, this wine shows that it can obviously withstand some age when made into this bigger, more serious style.</div>
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***</div>
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As these wines I have described here show, Ruchè is truly a fascinating and versatile grape variety that often feels like it is a blend of Gewürztraminer and a light-bodied yet also quite structured red wine. Only the aforementioned varieties Brachetto and Muscat Rouge are the only red varieties I can think of that show this kind of explosive aromas of roses, yet even these varieties are set apart from Ruchè seeing how the don't have the tannins Ruchè does nor do they reach such high levels of acidity. In a nutshell, this is truly a characterful variety, that not only drinks nicely when young, but is also capable of developing nicely in the cellar – although perhaps the best way to get into Ruchè is to enjoy one that is still very young and full of that unique, floral character.</div>
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Of course such perfumed wines might be an acquired taste and pairing such aromatic wines with food might first be difficult, but perhaps one shouldn't overthink the unique character of Ruchè when planning on pairing it with food; most likely the best way to approach this strange bird is the way people in and around Castagnole Monferrato do – by thinking of it as nothing special, but instead just a regular red wine.</div>
Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410132544589500796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8271454715333987114.post-79862542851657580242017-03-12T23:37:00.002+02:002017-03-13T09:04:29.146+02:00Vertical of the month: Produttori di Carema 2012-1964<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFVIfOqI3jHvLhrmOW2JQ-2lPfeu9MK4zJYg2GR3nGznCt2yHLCyexwO9OmyIhEHYPWKWdz0eJAuduck_YlR7xeMq_ajsOZ1cV_wpstc43aXlyn9WyiRW_DI8BP_wygRQGRy0ay5Nlctc/s1600/carema1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFVIfOqI3jHvLhrmOW2JQ-2lPfeu9MK4zJYg2GR3nGznCt2yHLCyexwO9OmyIhEHYPWKWdz0eJAuduck_YlR7xeMq_ajsOZ1cV_wpstc43aXlyn9WyiRW_DI8BP_wygRQGRy0ay5Nlctc/s400/carema1.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The most tender place in my heart is for Northern Piedmont Nebbiolo, when it comes to Italian wines. Sure, wines from Barolo and Barbaresco are often stunning and some producers can make some really attractive Chiavennasca in Lombardy, too. However, I find Nebbiolo to be at its most thrilling when tasting these small, virtually unknown appellations that can produce just astounding Nebbioli at prices so low you would never imagine! These wines are not as burly and brooding as those from Barolo or Barbaresco, but instead much lighter and noticeably higher in acidity – some almost painfully so. Some wines might show very restrained and mellow tannins, more comparable to Pinot Noir from Burgundy, whereas the others can be even as tannic as the most grippiest of Barolos! But what matters the most to me is that practically all of the producers in these appellations are so-called "classicists": new <i>barriques</i>, extended hang times and other modern practices have never gained much foothold – unlike in Barolo and Barbaresco – and instead wines are made more or less the same way they were made a hundred years ago. The equipments have been replaced with newer ones, but the core recipe of the wines remains unchanged.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I heard of Carema the first time about three years ago when I stumpled upon a 1964 Carema by <b>Luigi Ferrando</b> in a small tasting of sorts. I wanted to know more about this appellation, so the next spring, in April 2015, we visited all the producers of Carema, just to get the hang of the region. I want to point here that this wasn't much of a feat, because there are only two producers in the region: the aforementioned Luigi Ferrando and the local co-operative, <b>Cantina Produttori Nebbiolo di Carema</b>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0cKGowl8gg_oLIdudpbXXNSEc8o6_6ten9rGkEZ9SR-N3Bh0YvHAWm-ntHHpaSx7LDnEwSh0ZUTon2pXPKgGHkH52o_75PRWvHAdgQeFIbXmAI5Qn3J2lAFO79jULCLXDcRVeF680kMQ/s1600/carema2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0cKGowl8gg_oLIdudpbXXNSEc8o6_6ten9rGkEZ9SR-N3Bh0YvHAWm-ntHHpaSx7LDnEwSh0ZUTon2pXPKgGHkH52o_75PRWvHAdgQeFIbXmAI5Qn3J2lAFO79jULCLXDcRVeF680kMQ/s400/carema2.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nebbiolo wines trained in <i>pergolas</i>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Carema, located in the northern part of Piedmont, is easily one of the smallest appellations in Italy. Unlike all the other Nebbiolo-regions of northern Piedmont that are located north from Barolo and Barbaresco, close to the Lombardian border to the east, Carema is a lonely little spot right at the mouth of Aosta Valley in the northwestern corner of Piedmont – closer to the French and Swiss border, at the foothills of the Alps. It is an appellation centered around the village of Carema – a place so small you can drive through it in less than a minute or two – and although virtually unknown, it is amongst some of the oldest appellations in Italy, having been created already back in 1967. Although this appellation is situated in Piedmont, it shares much more <i>terroir</i> character with the neighboring appellations of the valley of Aosta, instead of with any of the other Piedmontese regions. The main variety of Carema is Nebbiolo, which must compose at least 85% of the local red wines; the rest can be filled out with other local varieties. The vines are often trained in traditional <i>pergolas</i>, which were used historically in the region in order to maximize the sparse arable land in the Alpine hills: the wines would grow high above the ground in this wooden framework, <i>pergola</i>, whereas the ground itself was reserved for the cultivation of vegetables. The vineyards are planted in the hills of the Alps – the lowest of the vineyards located at 300 meters above the sea level, whereas the highest ones could reach up to 600 m a.s.l. – in terraces built of stone. Not only can these stone terraces increase the acreage of arable land, they also store up the Sun's warmth during the day to keep the vineyards warmer at night – a real benefit for the wines so up north.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_KI-Mz61VIBBa3Qg2lKXGWuc9BVoJ48mngqpjtp0yWYkFIkpuWTmIr2kT_i-p0sLYvFWgosppnjD0MmG3qd_QdG-Z3nTDKgeO6bQY9uASDTVzZtfroplwFrEv90B7HzgWuruhMtvL6Sk/s1600/IMG_20150421_093455.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_KI-Mz61VIBBa3Qg2lKXGWuc9BVoJ48mngqpjtp0yWYkFIkpuWTmIr2kT_i-p0sLYvFWgosppnjD0MmG3qd_QdG-Z3nTDKgeO6bQY9uASDTVzZtfroplwFrEv90B7HzgWuruhMtvL6Sk/s400/IMG_20150421_093455.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It is Aosta valley up there.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Although Carema might not seem so small by the appellation's allowed land area for cultivation – some 120 ha / 300 acres – the area under cultivation is actually really small, composed of only some 16 ha / 40 acres, making it easily one of the smallest appellations in Italy. For example even the relatively small Gattinara region covers 100 ha / 250 acres! And not only is Carema still a virtually unknown wine region, it is really easy one to miss too! The main road that goes past Carema doesn't pass through the village, but instead past it, so unless one is aware where this region really is, it is too easy drive past the village never noticing it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Not that there is much to see in Carema. It's a small village of some 800 people and only the local co-op is situated there, pretty little anything else. The appellation laws stipulate that Carema wine must be made within the wine region, so Luigi Ferrando – a winery not situated in Carema but instead in the nearby city of Ivrea – responded to this stipulation by building small vinification premises and a cellar in the village just to make the wines according to the appellation rules. For those interested, this means that to visit Ferrando one mustn't actually go to Carema, but instead to Ivrea.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Out of the 16 hectares / 40 acres, the local co-operative <b>Cantina Produttori Nebbiolo di Carema</b> owns a great majority at 14 ha / 35 acres through the approx. 80 members of the co-op. They produce a handful of wines, three of which are local Nebbiolo wines of Carema: the regular <i>Carema Classico</i>, the flagship wine <i>Carema Riserva</i> (known as <i>Carema di Carema</i> before the revision of the appellation law) and the more modern <i>Carema Selezione Barricato</i>. What I find really adorable is how humbly the co-op understates the aging capabilities of their wines: they say in their home pages how the wines can <i>age well (for over 10 years) and are likely to age more.</i> Well, having tasted several of their vintages from the past 50 years, I can easily say that the wines are capable of developing for decades and holding for more than half a century!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here are my tasting notes on the Carema / Carema Classico wines I have tasted.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiftUaO8KhDEEU7_ByyHmt-idOejhvs2aJZtyFeByPdPxTGPZuu06Pa5ipcB6HCXpiHFWKjEPfu4HAwYgSN6RQKxT-YPEvWUqpRPQp-EiYGp2KfP3u3ALdiQ0fymQ5Oj1F9nSdGVTrECfY/s1600/caremaclassico.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiftUaO8KhDEEU7_ByyHmt-idOejhvs2aJZtyFeByPdPxTGPZuu06Pa5ipcB6HCXpiHFWKjEPfu4HAwYgSN6RQKxT-YPEvWUqpRPQp-EiYGp2KfP3u3ALdiQ0fymQ5Oj1F9nSdGVTrECfY/s200/caremaclassico.jpg" title="" width="51" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Produttori di Carema Carema Classico</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">DOC Carema</span></div><ul><li>Cantina Produttori Nebbiolo di Carema</li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Piedmont, Carema</li>
<li>Grape(s): Nebbiolo</li>
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</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.caremadoc.it/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: produttori di carema</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is the wine that composes the backbone of the co-operative's production. The wine is 100% Nebbiolo from the hills of Carema. After having been fermented and macerated with the grape skins for 12 days, the wine is aged for 12 months in old, large <i>botti</i> casks, followed by another 12 months of aging in bottles before release. Due to the relatively cool climate of Carema, the wines very rarely reach higher alcohol levels of 12,5%, but instead the acidity levels are very high – normally around 5,5 to 6 g/l, but occasionally capable of reaching levels even close to 9 g/l.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Produttori di Carema Carema Classico 2012</b></span></div><ul><li>Size: 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: 22nd of April, 2015</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pale cranberry marmalade color that is light even by Nebbiolo standards; this is more like a dark rosé wine than something remotely red wine. It has pure, crystalline nose with that attractive, really tart edge of a cool-climate Nebbiolo. There are aromas of crunchy, tart red berries, cranberries, some smoky and slightly tarry Nebbiolo aromatics, hints of dried flowers and a whiff of rose petals. The wine is very dry, but surprisingly full-bodied and silky on the palate with moderate acidity. There are spicy flavors of sour cherry, cranberry marmalade, some crunchy red currant notes and a hint of smoke. There doesn't seem to be much in the way of tannins, but they are still obviously quite young, tightly-knit and grippy. The wine leaves a dry, astringent and persistent aftertaste of crunchy redcurrants, raspberry marmalade, ripe cranberries, some smoke, a little roasted spices and a hint of sour cherry bitterness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is a really attractive little Nebbiolo that somehow combines the relatively simple and easy-drinking style with a very delicate, serious and almost Burgundian character.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>91/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Maybe not the most complex effort, this still is a lot better than almost any of the Langhe Nebbiolos with its superb balance and great focus. Probably won't develop much in the cellar, but will easily keep for years if not even for several decades. Very recommended and a steal at approx. 10€ at the co-op's cellar door.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Produttori di Carema Carema 1983</b></span></div><ul><li>Size: 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: 10th of September, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Translucent but quite dark ruby red color with a mature maroon hue. The nose seems to show some signs of oxidation – there are mature notes of dried dates, nutty tawny port, sweet raisins, pungent smokiness and some sharp, Fino Sherry-like green apple notes of acetaldehyde. Especially the nutty tawny port aroma seems to become pronounced as the wine breathes. On the palate the wine seems more enjoyable, although somewhat over-matured with flavors of raisins, dried prunes, christmas spices, raisin soup, some sharp smoky notes and a little sharp aldehydic tang of salinity. The structure is very grippy with high acidity and moderately high tannins. The finish is quite long with very aged characteristics of nutty tawny port, raisins, dried dates, some aldehydic green apple notes and a little astringent tannic grip.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although this wine wasn't completely dead, it was pretty obvious it was way too much developed for its age. It was still quite enjoyable, although the longer it stayed in the glass, the more aged it got – and it was pretty over-aged already – so this really wasn't the kind of experience I hoped it would be.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>FLAW</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: As the wine wasn't showing like it should've, I'm scoring it as flawed. Although still drinkable, this wine was too oxidized to be actually worth rating.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Produttori di Carema Carema 1980</b></span></div><ul><li>Size: 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: 10th of September, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">By its appearance this wine is very similar to the vintage 1983, although with a bit deeper and darker hue. The savory nose doesn't seem to be oxidized, but somehow the aromas seem to have withered up; there are dark-toned and slightly pungent aromas of dried dark berries, some sour cherries, light notes of dried mushrooms, a little earthiness and a volatile lift of acetone. On the palate the wine feels dry, medium-bodied and focused with savory, acid-driven flavors of sour cherry bitterness, dried plums, peppery spiciness, some crowberry notes and a hint of minerality and iron. The tannins are moderate and somewhat grippy. The finish is dry and a bit thin with angular tannins and acid-driven flavors of crowberries, lingonberries, some dried blackberry notes and a hint of sour cherries.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although the wine seemed past its prime according to its nose, it actually turned out to be quite nice – but only for a while. After only some moments of breathing, the wine seemed to sort of fall apart and die: having been in the glass for some 15-20 minutes, the nose became almost mute and the flavors dull, so most likely the wine had reached the end of its plateau of maturity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>83/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: The wine was pretty nice, but only for a little while, and even then it wasn't anything special. After the wine got some air, there wasn't much to savor. If you own bottles of this wine by some happenstance, I heartily recommend you to open them sooner than later.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Produttori di Carema Carema 1978</b></span></div><ul><li>Size: 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: 10th of September, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Remarkably youthful appearance: the wine is almost completely opaque with its bright black cherry color. The slightly reticent nose is savory and moderately developed, but still in wonderful condition, exhibiting earthy aromas of sour cherries, loamy sous-bois, some meaty notes, a little withered flowers and a hint of volatile acetone lift. On the palate the wine feels quite light-bodied, but bright and focused with crunchy acidity and nice, light tannic bite. There are quite ripe flavors of juicy dark cherries, tart lingonberries and cranberries, some sour cherries, light rainy forest notes and a hint of crowberries. The wine finishes with a medium-long, acid-driven and somewhat bitter aftertaste with dry flavors of crowberries, some cranberries and a hint of sour cherries.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This wine is a really lovely example of the aged Nebbiolo of Carema: it seems pretty hard to catch these wines in the optimum drinking window, as they either seem to be still on their way up, or long past their prime. This wine, however, was in really wonderful phase, showing some obviously mature characteristics, yet no oxidation or anything other overmature.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>94/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: In short, this is just perfectly balanced Carema Nebbiolo; light in body, yet showing great depth and complexity of fruit and enough body to make its acid-and-tannin structure feel noticeable, yet not overwhelming. Probably will keep for years, even decades, but most likely won't develop any further from this.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Produttori di Carema Carema 1974</b></span></div><ul><li>Size: 0,70</li>
<li>Tasted on: 1st of February, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Moderately dark, somewhat translucent dark cherry color with maroon highlights. The nose feels somewhat restrained, yet pleasantly juicy with aromas of ripe sour cherry, a little dried fig and some autumnal forest floor notes with underlying hints of smoke, roasted spices and even some salty licorice; there is also the slightest touch of volatile acetone lift. On the palate the wine feels surprisingly full-bodied for a Carema, yet with lovely high acidity, giving the taste a tart edge. There are flavors of sour cherry, lingonberry, cranberry, some aged pruney character and a little sweet spice. Although the wine has moderately high tannins and bright acidity, its mouthfeel is pretty velvety due to the concentration brought by age. The wine finishes with a rather long, sharp and bone-dry aftertaste with even more pronounced acidity and bright flavors of tart dark berries, lingonberries, cranberry skins, some sweet pruney fruit and a lot of tannic grip.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This wine shows remarkable power and concentration for a Carema, being almost atypically full-bodied and tannic. Yet it is very obviously so Carema, with its sharp, acid-driven and almost austere character that is more about tart red berries than anything really fruity. Almost like a Bourgogne Grand Cru but made from Nebbiolo.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>95/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: The 1974 vintage of this wine is remarkably youthful for its age and probably still on its way up, even at the age of 41 years! Very tart, sharp and acid-driven stuff but with lots of concentration and depth to back it up. Simply stunning wine, most likely the best co-op's Carema I've tasted.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Produttori di Carema Carema 1973</b></span></div><ul><li>Size: 0,70</li>
<li>Tasted on: 1st of February, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Moderately dark, somewhat translucent dark cherry color with modest bricking. Quite reticent, dark-toned nose with light but attractive aromas of red cherry, some tart plummy notes, a little sours-bois and a hint of wizened dark berries. On the palate the wine feels medium-bodied, dry and very acid-driven, almost bracingly tart with flavors of sour cherries, dark cherries, lingonberries and some tart dark berries. There is also a sweeter undertone of developed darker fruits. The tannins are quite ample and pretty grippy, but still not overtly aggressive. The wine finishes on a long, mouth-puckeringly tart note with acid-driven flavors of lingonberries and sour cherries and a hint of mouth-drying tannins.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Taking into account how tannic and high in acid this wine is, it is remarkably smooth and velvety – it feels it has some obvious grip, but all the rough edges have been polished away by the age. Stylistically this wine feels very close to the young vintage 2012, but only concentrated with the age.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>92/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Really lovely stuff, this. Not the best Carema I've had, the fruit being so austere and acid-driven taking all the focus and not letting the more developed nuances to shine through, yet this is still enormously attractive and drinkable. It is still so tightly-knit it definitely needs some food to be paired with.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Produttori di Carema Carema 1972</b></span></div><ul><li>Size: 0,70</li>
<li>Tasted on: 1st of February, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Developed, translucent maroon red color with a slightly tawny yellow-brown rim. Initially there's a very light, musty note of TCA and after that not much else. The wine is quite tannic and really tart with high acidity on the palate, but completely mute flavor-wise.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Probably a mild case of TCA: the wine really didn't smell or taste like corked, it was just completely dead.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>FLAW</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Produttori di Carema Carema 1971</b></span></div><ul><li>Size: 0,70</li>
<li>Tasted on: 1st of February, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Translucent, luminous Burgundy red color with some obvious developed maroon highlights. Juicy, developed nose with complex aromas of ripe red cherry, some developed red fruit notes, a light touch of acetone volatility, a floral hint of rose petals, a touch of barnyard and a whiff of potpourri. The wine is medium-bodied, quite tannic and moderately high in acidity – meaning that it is a bit less acidic than Caremas on average. The lively flavors exhibit mainly surprisingly youthful red fruit flavors of sour cherry and ripe cranberry with underlying hints of sous-bois. Overall the wine feels very balanced: there is a crisp streak of acidity, yet the wine is still very smooth and pleasant. The wine finishes on a pretty long and quite tart note of sour cherries, acidic red berries and some stony minerality – although the developed flavors kick in towards the end of the aftertaste, introducing a slightly sweeter suggestion of wizened red fruit.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall the 1971 vintage of Carema was surprisingly enjoyable on its own; even though it sported high acidity, true to the region's style, it was slightly lower than in Caremas on average, making the wine feel quite balanced, even on its own – which is not always the case. Someone in the tasting described the wine pretty well as a "fillet knife in velvet".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>93/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: For a wine close to 45 years of age, this is remarkably youthful effort, only showing very slight signs of age. Most likely the wine has reached its plateau of maturity already some time ago, but it doesn't show any signs of giving up, so probably this can still keep for several decades more. I suppose there won't be much development, but it doesn't matter as the wine is drinking so nicely now.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Produttori di Carema Carema 1970</b></span></div><ul><li>Size: 0,7</li>
<li>Tasted on: 1st of February</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine's color is quite dark and almost completely opaque, but obviously rather developed with its orange-black hue. The nose is quite all over the place with no sense of focus; there are aromas sous-bois, chokeberry, pickles, some dried cherry, light inky notes and a hint of phenolic smokiness. Most likely the wine has gotten a little bit too much oxygen over the years, letting a possible <i>acetobacter</i> run amok; there aren't any vinegary notes per se, but the briney-vinegary hints of pickle suggest that way. On the palate the wine is very light-bodied with pronounced, sharp acidity and moderate, grippy tannins. The flavors here are pure – tart lingonberries, cranberries, herbal greenness and some sour cherry – but the wine feels excessively sour and quite thin. The wine finishes on a thin and tart note with flavors of lingonberries and a hint of aldehydic salinity (think of Fino Sherry).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Most likely the cork has given up at some point; although the cork seemed to be OK, some oxygen might have seeped in, resulting in the pickle aromas and a hint of acetaldehyde noticeable in the finish.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>FLAW</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Although the wine was drinkable, it really wasn't that enjoyable, but instead pretty much lacking in balance and focus. Based on the other Carema wines of similar age, I doubt that the wine should have been like this, thus I rate this one "flawed".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Produttori di Carema Carema 1968</b></span></div><ul><li>Size: 0,7</li>
<li>Tasted on: 1st of February, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Luminous, moderately dark cherry red; doesn't look that old. Somewhat developed and slightly restrained nose with aromas of ripe dark cherry, earthiness, some dried fig notes, light hints of loamy sous-bois, a touch of sour cherry and a whiff of something sharp, perhaps acetaldehyde? Despite its dark-toned flavors, the wine feels light-to-medium-bodied and almost thin on the palate with very pronounced, bracing acidity. There are flavors of tart dark berries and lingonberries, some sour plums, a little leather and a hint of bitter cranberry skin. There doesn't seem to be much tannins, but the tannins themselves feel rather sharp and angular. The wine finishes with a tart, acid-driven and pretty lengthy aftertaste with flavors of sour cherries, lingonberries, some earth and a hint of leather.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">While sipping this wine I started to wonder whether these wines age at all? Although there were some light suggestions what would be signs of age, this wine really didn't differ that much from a vintage that was 40 years younger! The flavors were still remarkably pure and even somewhat youthful, whereas the tannins felt almost unchanged by the years.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>84/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Although this wine was remarkably young for its age, I must admit it really didn't offer much of anything interesting. It is always an experience to taste wine close to 50 years of age, but I really don't think the wine should be awarded much extra points if it has actually failed to age – or then these wines just age on a geologic time scale and this wine was just opened too young! Go figure. There isn't much fruit to develop, so most likely any development that might happen will be rather marginal.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Produttori di Carema Carema 1966</b></span></div><ul><li>Size: 0,7</li>
<li>Tasted on: 1st of February, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dark, but very translucent and luminous brick red color. Very complex, but obviously very developed and not that pleasant nose with aromas of acrid smoke, gunpowder, manure, pencil shavings, dried orange peel, some nutty oxidative notes, a little old furniture, hints of rust and a touch of candle wax. On the palate the wine feels very light-bodied, even thin, with sharp, bracing acidity and rather pronounced, angular tannins. The fruit seems to have withered away, leaving just flavors of cranberry skin, sour cherry bitterness and lichen. The finish is pretty short; sharp, yet dull. There are thin, brief and quite tart flavors of cranberries and lingonberries, nothing much else.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Most likely this is what a Carema that has lived beyond its years tastes like. The nose shows lots of developed notes – mainly quite unpleasant ones – and the palate feels like it has withered up.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>FLAW</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: As the wine feels like it is more or less dead at this stage, I feel there's no point scoring it. There is very little flavor left, but the structure still remains pretty unchanged. Apparently these wines can develop after all in the cellar, but only fruit-wise; the structure just doesn't soften up even after 50 years! So remember this if you have a bottle of Carema and you are planning on aging it: if you don't like its tart, acid-driven structure when the wine is young, you most likely won't like it when the wine is old.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Produttori di Carema Carema 1964</b></span></div><ul><li>Size: 0,7</li>
<li>Tasted on: 1st of February, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine has remarkably youthful appearance; dark, translucent red with even a slightest hint of purple hue. The nose suggests that the wine has seen a bit too much oxygen before opening the bottle: in addition to aromas of sweet red cherry, plum compote and some floral notes of violets, there are sharp and pungent aldehyde notes of Oloroso Sherry, some syrupy, oxidative notes of caramel and a hint of balsamic volatility. On the palate the wine is bone-dry and light-bodied, but instead of showing really bracing acidity, the flavors are full of sharp, Fino-Sherry like aldehydic notes of salinity and green apples. The tannins seem to have resolved away. The finish is sharp, tart and quite rough with green apple notes and saline flavors of acetaldehyde.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Probably the wine's cork has started letting in oxygen at some point. The wine wasn't oxidized like some wines I've had, making it come across very nutty and obviously oxidized, but instead letting the alcohol become oxidized into aldehydes, yet not making the wine come across nutty or much caramelized.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>FLAW</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: It is really hard to say whether the wine would've been OK if it hadn't been so aldehydic. Now it just tasted like Fino Sherry made from red wine and it was impossible to assess the wine underneath all its sharp aldehydic notes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5EMS3SJomNpo5ZSpzQv2QDUwSctYwL04ta6CR5w3_wJ2Cp3OAuqKbtIs0ROf-Dm8_mqP-TZDaVBabGNsUwUHJIRAPNjwNxqlYcP3UMIo_2AzppTIYDbTHPWfO_k0ENNI8IJPaQXbRaFE/s1600/produttoridicarema.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5EMS3SJomNpo5ZSpzQv2QDUwSctYwL04ta6CR5w3_wJ2Cp3OAuqKbtIs0ROf-Dm8_mqP-TZDaVBabGNsUwUHJIRAPNjwNxqlYcP3UMIo_2AzppTIYDbTHPWfO_k0ENNI8IJPaQXbRaFE/s400/produttoridicarema.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lineup from one of our tastings: the vintages 1964–1974.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall it has been really interesting and enlightening to taste through 50 years' worth of Carema Nebbiolo wines. What my experiences drinking these has revealed is that: a) These wines are truly capable of aging at a glacial pace – often even several decades of cellaring hasn't done much; b) These wines often don't age much! They are pretty light-bodied, high in acidity and focused on tart fruit when they are young, and they aren't much more when they are old, perhaps a little more complex and earthy; c) The drinking window of these wines is erratic and moves in a span of decades: whereas one wine can be past its prime at 30 years of age, another can be still young and in need of more cellaring even at 40 years of age!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Having drunk more than 10 of these wines, I still see no clear picture what is the perfect aging regime for a Produttori Carema. However, what I can say for certain is that these wines always tend to need to be paired with some food – they are light, tart and austere with high acidity, so they can be quite forbidding on their own, but instead paired with right food they can be outright spectacular.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So if the wines really don't age that much in the cellar, is there any point in aging them? Well, yes and no. On one hand, you can drink a bottle now, not worrying how much more interesting it would've been in 5 more years, because the chances are that it wouldn't have been. On the other hand, it is always nice to have a pure, smashing Nebbiolo at hand anytime, with no need to worry whether the wine is past its peak or not – unless you are planning on keeping on to those bottles for more than half a century. So if you are looking for truly wonderful, bright, and light-bodied, <i>terroir</i>-driven Nebbiolo-wines, the Carema wines must be up your alley; however, if you are looking for that specific, aged Nebbiolo character of long-cellared wines, probably the other Piedmontese regions will suit you better.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Wherever your interests lie, Carema is still a region you most certainly don't want to miss out.</div>Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410132544589500796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8271454715333987114.post-6424734818562999062017-02-25T19:42:00.001+02:002017-02-26T00:22:50.027+02:00Morenillo<div style="text-align: justify;">One of the most intriguing discoveries I've done during the past few years is <b>Morenillo</b>, which I was introduced to during a trip to the wine region of <b>Terra Alta</b>, Catalonia. This is a variety so unheard of that even the most recent version of Wine Grapes by Jancis Robinson et al. doesn't include it! However, I don't blame them, because currently the variety is on the brink of extinction with only some 15 ha (37 acres) in cultivation. Please note that despite the similarity in the name, Morenillo is not the same thing as <i>Morellino</i>, which is a synonym for Sangiovese in DOC Morellino di Scansano, Tuscany.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Morenillo is most likely a native variety from Terra Alta, where it has been cultivated for centuries. However, it fell out of favor during the 20th century, because the variety is relatively difficult to cultivate compared to the local favorites <i>Garnatxa Negra</i> (aka. Grenache) and <i>Garnatxa Blanca</i> (aka. Grenache Blanc) and normally it produces thin wines of pale color compared in comparison to the wines produced from other local red varieties. You have to remember, of course, that this was during the time when the determining quality factors of red wine were its color and concentration.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Juanjo Galcera Piñol</b> of Celler Piñol, from the small village of Batea, Terra Alta, introduced us to this unknown variety during our visit to the winery in 2014. Historically the variety was widely cultivated, but now it is cultivated only by a handful of winegrowers – their number somewhere between 10 and 20 – and there is an even small number producers actually making Morenillo wines. Some of them use Morenillo in wine blends, whereas others make varietal wines. The reason behind the diminishing number of Morenillo producers is the local Consejo Regulador of DO Terra Alta, having decreed that Morenillo isn't only a non-recommended grape variety in the wine appellation of Terra Alta, but also an unauthorized variety as well. This means that there can't be no new plantings of Morenillo anywhere, nor has there been any for the past decades. All this is because the appellation consortium regards Morenillo an inferior variety and they try their best to keep the quality of the wine region up, emphasizing especially the high-quality white variety of the region Garnatxa Blanca.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Based on the Morenillo wines I've tasted I've realized how wrong the consortium is.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">When Juanjo introduced us to Morenillo, he likened it to Pinot Noir. This is because both of these varieties have thin skins, resulting in wines with relatively pale, translucent color, and high acidity is typical for both of the varieties – only that Morenillo has adapted to survive in the warmer climate of Terra Alta* and thus is capable of retaining high acidity even in quite hot weather. The Morenillo plant itself is often pretty big: the trunks grow large, the trunks are long, the leaves are big and the grapes are often big with pretty small skin:juice ratio.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: x-small;">*Even though Terra Alta is bordering the hot wine region of Priorat, notable for its massive and concentrated red wines, it is not as hot a place as you might imagine. The wines of Terra Alta are often lighter and more delicate due to the high altitude of the region – after all, the name means "high land" – of 400 meters above sea level on average, keeping the climate relatively mild (and this is why Terra Alta's bright, sophisticated, crystalline and often remarkably high-acid Garnatxa Blancas are held in such high esteem!) </span></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">From what I have gathered based on my experiences, there are two main styles of Morenillo wines:</div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The lighter ones are made with fruit sourced from younger vineyards. These are often very Burgundian or even (Cru) Beaujolais in character, with pale color, high acidity and lovely freshness.</li>
<li>The more concentrated ones are made with fruit sourced very old, even vineyards. As new Morenillo plantings are scarce, most of the Morenillo vineyards are very old. However, it takes decades, even close to 100 years before the vines begin to bear fruit that is so small and concentrated that the resulting wines are very deep and feel a lot weightier than their lightier counterparts.</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now here are all the Morenillo wines I've had to this date:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJkBax-SfGrn68tBE-ByYFB24w1L6TUO-ZIqmetObuUpFYiBq1FFvjeiTFZacqRstQg7slIDC6P1ow1vrBRJgMWciKzA90MGcZOW-gkgLo5zYiZOIyVVViIIQZgtqG-sg-xC87qxsyd3o/s1600/fincamorenillo2009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJkBax-SfGrn68tBE-ByYFB24w1L6TUO-ZIqmetObuUpFYiBq1FFvjeiTFZacqRstQg7slIDC6P1ow1vrBRJgMWciKzA90MGcZOW-gkgLo5zYiZOIyVVViIIQZgtqG-sg-xC87qxsyd3o/s200/fincamorenillo2009.jpg" title="" width="55" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Celler Piñol Finca Morenillo 2011</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">DO Terra Alta</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.cellerpinol.com/en/">Celler Piñol</a></li>
<li>Country: Spain</li>
<li>Region: Catalonia, Terra Alta</li>
<li>Grape(s): Morenillo (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 29,00€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: September 25th, 2014</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.cellerpinol.com/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: celler piñol</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Celler Piñol</b> is a family winery that has been operating in the village of Batea, Terra Alta, since 1945 and is also the winery where we working for some time during the harvest 2014. As Celler Piñol is probably the biggest winery producing Morenillo wines, Finca Morenillo is most likely the wine the people (who have heard of Morenillo) know. The wine is made with grapes from organically cultivated 75 yo vines and aged for 15 months in 500 liter French oak casks. Annual production is about 3,000 bottles.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dark, almost completely opaque garnet color shows much more concentration than what is typical for the variety.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine has very open and aromatic nose with fragrant floral nuances veering towards violets and rich blackberry-driven fruit aromas, with elegant hints of fresh dark fruits and a touch of wild strawberry in the background.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the palate the wine is medium-to-moderately full-bodied with lively acidity and lovely brightness. The wine feels moderately concentrated – probably due to the intense fruit produced by the old vines – but still very balanced and far from being heavy or ponderous. There are juicy, vibrant flavors of rich dark berries, some plummy fruit, a little tart cranberry character and a hint of leather. The mouthfeel is velvety smooth due to the rather modest, ripe and pretty mellow tannins.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The finish is long, nuanced and delicate with layered aromas of ripe blackberries, sour plums, some violet floral hints, a touch of vanilla and a light volatile lift towards the end. The alcohol lends a little warmth towards the finish.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This wine is really lovely stuff – it is by far the most elegant and delicate expression of Terra Alta in Celler Piñol's premium range. For a Morenillo, however, this Finca Morenillo is very dark-toned, concentrated and robust an example; normally Morenillo wines show much less concentration and extraction, are paler in color and higher in acidity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>91/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Although not my favorite Morenillo, with its bit too ripe fruit flavors and somewhat too obvious oak character, Finca Morenillo is still one of the best examples of Terra Alta winemaking and definitely one of the best wines in Celler Piñol range, if not the best. At 29€ the wine is priced according to its quality, making it somewhat of a "cult wine" of Terra Alta. I can imagine the wine will age nicely in the cellar, especially if it loses some of its baby fat with the years.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl1PyCB0rg5IS5GWnEqxP83SHoSQCHGaybGeYmlXHN13OLvmxbUeynr5zhAdbcuUpkXqoZ-yw25aVfSh5_-QewcAaTx0E67-nxe3VrgTCGpr3FuwsUAXFYjKye_xSA-wKUFsWsHepAj_M/s1600/elsender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl1PyCB0rg5IS5GWnEqxP83SHoSQCHGaybGeYmlXHN13OLvmxbUeynr5zhAdbcuUpkXqoZ-yw25aVfSh5_-QewcAaTx0E67-nxe3VrgTCGpr3FuwsUAXFYjKye_xSA-wKUFsWsHepAj_M/s200/elsender.jpg" title="" width="58" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Lafou El Sender 2012</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">DO Terra Alta</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.lafou.net/">Lafou Celler</a></li>
<li>Country: Spain</li>
<li>Region: Catalonia, Terra Alta</li>
<li>Grape(s): Grenache (60%), Syrah (20-25%), Morenillo (15-20%)</li>
<li>Price: 8,90€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: September 28th, 2014</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.lafou.net/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: lafou celler</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Lafou Celler</b> is from Batea, Terra Alta, just like Celler Piñol, and also one of the very few producers making a varietal Morenillo. I haven't had the Morenillo wine from this relatively new winery (founded in 2007), so here's a tasting note on a wine with a small portion of Morenillo instead.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dark, slightly translucent cherry color.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Juicy, succulent nose full of fruit-forward aromas of ripe strawberries, dark cherries, cherry marmalade and some brambly raspberry.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine is juicy, fruit-forward and medium-bodied on the palate with succulent and spicy but somewhat one-dimensional flavors of ripe strawberry, some sweet oak spice and a hint of plummy dark fruit. The wine is rather low in acidity, but has moderately firm, ripe tannins.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The finish is juicy and quite long with nuanced flavors of cherry, roasted spice, some coffee notes, a little bitterness and a touch of sweet raspberry juice.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>87/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: El Sender is a fruity, enjoyable and quite balanced blended wine typical of the region, where the small addition of Morenillo adds nice brightness and a little sense of crunchy red fruit. The wine is, however, a bit simple, easy and pretty straightforward and lacking a little in the structure department. With higher acidity and grippier tannins the wine might come across more serious and intense. Might hold on for some years in the cellar, but is not in need of further cellaring. OK QPR at 8,90€.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaEXCLZYagiqEYMGAjmIaId9FTpaioEMH4Mv0cQQ6eHg787pnZam68zeX-dpR2_n2dwODBIyZYsJxTcwOk951XRrVhnImOiCKZIYMaCReCoOLqs-haeeTvnMldF29SBK9lK406VZnVC3c/s1600/morenilloamfora.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaEXCLZYagiqEYMGAjmIaId9FTpaioEMH4Mv0cQQ6eHg787pnZam68zeX-dpR2_n2dwODBIyZYsJxTcwOk951XRrVhnImOiCKZIYMaCReCoOLqs-haeeTvnMldF29SBK9lK406VZnVC3c/s200/morenilloamfora.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="" width="54" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Vins del Tros Morenillo Àmfora 2013 </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">DO Terra Alta</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.vinsdeltros.com/">Vins del Tros</a></li>
<li>Country: Spain</li>
<li>Region: Catalonia, Terra Alta</li>
<li>Grape(s): Morenillo (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 12,20€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: September 27th, 2014</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.vinsdeltros.com/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: vins del tros</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Vins del Tros</b> is a winery founded in 2009 with an aim to produce <i>terroir</i>-driven wines that are very typical for the Terra Alta region. Their winemaking philosophy is pretty much based on minimal intervention. This is a 100% Morenillo fermented with natural yeasts in stainless steel tanks and aged for 5 months in 450 liter terracotta amphorae. Total production 3,102 bottles.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine has translucent dark cherry color with a hint of youthful purple to it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Youthful, pure and aromatic nose full of crunchy red berries like wild strawberries, ripe raspberries, tart cranberries and sweet redcurrants with a light, herbal undertone of blackcurrant.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine is youthful, refreshing and medium-bodied on the palate with velvety texture, bright acidity and modest, fine-grained tannins. There are pure and fresh flavors of wild strawberry, cherry, crunchy red fruits like raspberries and redcurrants with some earthy spice, a hint of bitterness and a touch of slatey minerality. Wonderful focus and balanced structure.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Long, fresh and clean finish with flavors of cranberries, bilberries, stony minerality, some wild strawberries and a hint of herbal bitterness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall we have here a wonderful, pure, bright and easy-drinking example of Morenillo. Truly a lovely and attractive little wine that drinks wonderfully on its own, but shows great potential as a versatile food wine.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>92/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Stylistically this is very close to a well-made Pinot Noir or Cru Beaujolais. Incredibly moreish stuff with tremendous drinkability. Most likely this is best enjoyed young, when the wine is full of youthful vigor. Simply exceptional value at 12,20€.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX9g0xWmIe0_ECb5NsZIfFybkcE-tV_4CdP7bWR9EO_kBUU7nBYRPz-MCN27z7ia_o0B8f7T1PQe2pk_9JF6LHb-Crz7VpJVp4jj4ddoqs23tEkg2F-Quqi78xGrABgNW8rZ4eDwNdc6o/s1600/lomorenillo2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX9g0xWmIe0_ECb5NsZIfFybkcE-tV_4CdP7bWR9EO_kBUU7nBYRPz-MCN27z7ia_o0B8f7T1PQe2pk_9JF6LHb-Crz7VpJVp4jj4ddoqs23tEkg2F-Quqi78xGrABgNW8rZ4eDwNdc6o/s200/lomorenillo2012.jpg" title="" width="55" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Vins del Tros Morenillo Lo Morenillo 2011</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">DO Terra Alta</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.vinsdeltros.com/">Vins del Tros</a></li>
<li>Country: Spain</li>
<li>Region: Catalonia, Terra Alta</li>
<li>Grape(s): Morenillo (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 23,45€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: October 25th, 2015</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.vinsdeltros.com/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: vins del tros</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is a wine made from the grapes of century-old Morenillo vines, the oldest vines owned by Vins del Tros. The wine is fermented and aged partly in old barrels, partly in amphorae and bottled unfiltered and unfined. Annual production of 1,140 bottles.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the glass the wine has dense, opaque and concentrated blackcurrant color with a hint of haziness from the sediment.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It has incredibly rich, charming and expressive nose that is just deliciously juicy and clean; there are aromas of pure, juicy red grapes, prunes and fresh blackcurrants with nuances of balsamico volatility and animality in the background.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the mouth the wine follows the aromas of the nose with its intense, pure and super-juicy flavors of ripe dark fruits, plum juice, bitter spiciness, some wild florals and a hint of honey. It has dry, concentrated and savory overall appearance with high-ish acidity and moderate tannins.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ripe and pure finish with flavors of bitter spice, plum juice, florality and hints of volatile rusticity – and a slightest hint of alcohol heat (14,5%). Very long, pure, honest and complex aftertaste.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Boy oh boy this was good! More than good! Just incredibly pure, charming and juicy stuff – it is so much like its younger sibling, <b>Àmfora Morenillo</b>, but with a lot more oomph and concentration!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>94/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Not only is this perhaps the greatest Morenillo I've had, this is also one of the greatest modern Spanish red I've ever drunk. I'd love to see how this stuff ages, but it's very hard to cellar a wine like this, because this is so incredibly delicious and thus has incredibly high evaporation rate – my glass just emptied itself in mere seconds after it was filled, every time! An excellent buy at 23,45€.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Ec-kX-h78BbC-ToamLbsM-hyF17CU9MxgI-xydPVY032F98a-h4dE1aaaVG3gLAtf3N2wakhJhUc_BtTjxH8jbSSPXWXZZ9A9_GlBwCXoknl3rxjdioKYKJGv-WVVQ_-SmMJHJlfrNw/s1600/eltemplari.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Ec-kX-h78BbC-ToamLbsM-hyF17CU9MxgI-xydPVY032F98a-h4dE1aaaVG3gLAtf3N2wakhJhUc_BtTjxH8jbSSPXWXZZ9A9_GlBwCXoknl3rxjdioKYKJGv-WVVQ_-SmMJHJlfrNw/s200/eltemplari.jpg" title="" width="56" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Bàrbara Forés El Templari 2012</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">DO Terra Alta</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.cellerbarbarafores.com/">Celler Bàrbara Forés</a></li>
<li>Country: Spain</li>
<li>Region: Catalonia, Terra Alta</li>
<li>Grape(s): Morenillo (70%), Grenache (30%)</li>
<li>Tasted on: October 25th, 2014</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.novicellar.com/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: novicellar</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Celler Bàrbara Forés</b> is a winery that has produced wine since the late 19th century in Gandesa, Terra Alta, and is currently spearheaded by Carme Ferrer and her husband Manuel Sanmartín. They cultivate 22 ha of vineyards organically and they are one of the wineries trying their best to revive larger interest in Morenillo. However, curiously, their Morenillo wine, El Templari, isn't a 100% varietal Morenillo, but instead a Morenillo-dominant blended wine with some Garnatxa Negra (aka <i>Grenache</i>) in the mix.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Morenillo is fermented and macerated for 35 days in stainless steel whereas Grenache is fermented and macerated for 28 days in stainless steel. After the fermentation is complete, the wines are transferred to French Allier oak <i>barriques</i>, where they remain for 13–14 months before blending and bottling.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dark, translucent color.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine exhibits a bit reticent nose dominated by sweet strawberry notes of Grenache with some alcohol and hints of oak spice.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is quite full-bodied and sweet on the palate with relatively low acidity, resulting in a slightly flat and flabby mouthfeel. There are really ripe and rich flavors of strawberry, bitter spices, some fresh red berries and a hint of chocolate oak spice. The fine tannins are rather mellow and gentle and alcohol shows a little.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The finish is rich, juicy and a bit warm with flavors of strawberry, some oak spice and a hint of plums.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was really curious to check out this new, Morenillo-dominant wine, but in this case the moderately small proportion of Garnacha seemed to dominate the blend with the oak influence overwhelming the rest of the Morenillo character. Normally Morenillos that I have tasted have been quite light, delicate and bright, but this was more about richness and sweet, ripe fruit – the wine actually tasted like a normal, average Grenache wine, with very little unique character.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>85/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was a bit disappointed with El Templari. Probably the wine suffered from being served a bit above the optimum drinking temperature, making the acidity appear lower, fruit sweeter and alcohol more prominent, but it really felt that even in optimum drinking conditions it would have been an underachiever for a Morenillo wine. I guess I should return to this, but serve it cooler. This time the wine just didn't manage to impress.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi78jWX4CIrJbbUe6oqPdRzVwf_ZMy1veHWhZeSbyEtPpYgKGc7VtmFwlckQOoaWtOU00VXWwU3SDW8BIo0lfPRp5qm4OPCPWJffUinP07arvQU9rNVgbsrdoyjui0R_EHA1AV3hjC5qfI/s1600/eltemplari.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi78jWX4CIrJbbUe6oqPdRzVwf_ZMy1veHWhZeSbyEtPpYgKGc7VtmFwlckQOoaWtOU00VXWwU3SDW8BIo0lfPRp5qm4OPCPWJffUinP07arvQU9rNVgbsrdoyjui0R_EHA1AV3hjC5qfI/s200/eltemplari.jpg" width="56" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Bàrbara Forés El Templari 2014</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">DO Terra Alta</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.cellerbarbarafores.com/">Celler Bàrbara Forés</a></li>
<li>Country: Spain</li>
<li>Region: Catalonia, Terra Alta</li>
<li>Grape(s): Morenillo (70%), Grenache (30%)</li>
<li>Price: 13,00€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: July 16th, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.novicellar.com/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: novicellar</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well, as the vintage 2012 of El Templari felt such an underachiever, I decided to give it another go. A few years later I returned to the vintage 2014, which should be similar in style – a Morenillo-dominant blended wine.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine's appearance is a bit lighter than that of 2012's, with translucent and rather pale cranberry red color, turning almost clear towards the rim.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The nose is pretty nuanced and bright, but also rather reticent and restrained, even. However, the nose exhibits more savory than sweet red tones with aromas of cranberries, some crowberries, faint wild notes and faint nuances of sweeter, ripe raspberry. The alcohol (13,5%) and the oak character seem to be well integrated.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the palate the wine feels pretty full-bodied and moderate at most in the acid department, although showing a bit more freshness and brightness than the 2012 vintage. There are ripe but attractive and lively flavors of sweet dark berries, red cherries, some wild strawberries, a little dark-toned oak spice and a hint of rough, stony minerality. The tannins are still pretty mellow and keep out of the way unless you go looking for a fight.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine finishes with a medium-long, dark-toned and pretty pure aftertaste that is mostly about ripe fruit, not oak character. There are juicy and lively flavors of sweet red berries, some dark forest fruits and a little bitter spiciness with a hint of aromatic oak spiciness towards the end of the aftertaste.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well, after the rather nondescript vintage 2012, it really did good to return to this wine again with another vintage! The 2014 vintage of El Templari felt brighter and more pure with more emphasis on the fruit than on the oak department. Still, I wouldn't say El Templari shows much competition against the best Morenillo wines on the market – this wine is a simple, unpretentious, easy-drinking red with very little to set it apart from a multitude of other Catalan reds.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>88/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Apparently Morenillo is so delicate it gets pretty easily overwhelmed under more powerful varieties. Both times I've tasted El Templari it felt I was drinking a Garnacha wine – even though Garnacha was only a minor component there composing only approximately 30% of the blend. I guess if you want to make a good Morenillo, you should treat it as the delicate variety it is, not something that needs "bigger" varieties to bolster up its "weaknesses".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsMuGuZOSnDtx54Yp5J0CxrqtJzZELZylkkVlZd9aRWpSHMZb2TKMwgwq0ZBs5YKs_mIQh61ltd8bQ51XUgt4FHXFKcC_uBYntBMQdBZp5K2Q4dwLJ692uTAOWaQPd1YC6q0i3P2QrdWg/s1600/dario.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsMuGuZOSnDtx54Yp5J0CxrqtJzZELZylkkVlZd9aRWpSHMZb2TKMwgwq0ZBs5YKs_mIQh61ltd8bQ51XUgt4FHXFKcC_uBYntBMQdBZp5K2Q4dwLJ692uTAOWaQPd1YC6q0i3P2QrdWg/s200/dario.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="" width="55" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Bodega Marañones Darío 2015</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">DO Madrid</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.bodegamaranones.com/es/introduccion.html">Bodega Marañones</a></li>
<li>Country: Spain</li>
<li>Region: Madrid</li>
<li>Grape(s): Morenillo (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 15,40€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted: February 17th, 2017</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.decantalo.com/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: decántalo</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Before I heard about <b>Bodega Marañones</b>' Darío I thought Morenillo was a variety found exclusively in Terra Alta, but lo and behold, somehow they've got some Morenillo in Madrid as well! I have no idea how and why Morenillo ended up in Madrid, or whether this Morenillo is even the same variety than the one in Terra Alta. But take note that this isn't just a recent thing – this Darío is made with grapes sourced from a vineyard 60 years old! Anyhow, this is definitely the only Morenillo wine I've seen coming from outside Terra Alta – at least for now.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The bottle itself doesn't declare it is made from Morenillo, only <i>variedades locales</i>; furthermore, the home pages of Bodega Marañones don't even recognize Darío's existence! It's all the other sources that claim this is a Morenillo, and I guess I just have to take their word for it. The vineyard in question is situated on granite soil and the resulting wine is aged for 9-10 months in very old (more than 10 years of age) oak barrels of 500-700 liters. The total production is 2,500 bottles.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine is dark cherry-colored and quite translucent.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The fragrant nose is utterly beautiful and attractive with pronounced aromas of crushed lingonberries, supported by more delicate notes of cranberries, raspberries, some dusty earth and a hint of animal. The nose actually has a strong sense of Pinosity, really, with a slightly wild undercurrent.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">True to the nose, the wine is very light-bodied, fresh and super-crunchy on the palate with bright, lively flavors of raspberries, cranberries, redcurrants, some sour cherry and a hint of sour plums. Some lighter nuances of earthy spices and something wild linger in the background. Overall the wine shows remarkable focus and purity of flavor; if this was served to me blind, I'd go automatically for a Loire or Jura Pinot Noir, nothing Spanish! There isn't much in the way of tannins, yet the wine shows nice little grip and even a slight sense of astringency, just to emphasize the tart and savory red fruit flavors.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The finish is somewhat more bitter than the midpalate with quite pronounced sour cherry character, complemented by savory nuances of ripe dark-skinned berries, some slightly leafy green notes, a little plummy fruit and hints of animal and leather. The aftertaste that remains on the tongue is really long with pronounced lingonberry tartness and slightly grippy tannins.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">As a whole, this is an immensely attractive, tasty and delicate red wine that is nothing what you would expect from a wine coming from Madrid! As a huge fan of well-made Pinot Noir and other red wines showing same kind of poise and verve, this wine shows huge appeal to me. Along with Lo Morenillo by Vins del Tros, this is definitely the best Morenillo on the market currently.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>94/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Whereas Lo Morenillo shows a lot more concentrated and brooding character with tremendous focus and balance, this wine is only about elegance and sophistication. Definitely one of the most Burgundian red wines I've had from Spain. Although drinking really wonderfully now, I wouldn't be surprised if this wine would age as gracefully as the best Pinot Noirs from Burgundy. Simply astounding value at 15,40€.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><br />
To me, Morenillo is an undiscovered treasure of Spanish wine, capable of producing tremendously attractive wines of some real character and wonderful drinkability. The thing of utmost importance is that the Consejo Regulador of DO Terra Alta would start promoting the variety, instead of talking the growers out of cultivating it! Of course I understand they want to promote their Garnatxa Blanca, which is definitely their trump card and a variety cultivated there for ages, but if they also have this red variety of remarkable character that no other region else has (well, apart from Madrid, it seems), I can't understand for the life of me why they wouldn't want to take advantage of it!<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lucky for us, there are still some producers who are intent on making wines of real local color out of Morenillo and I really do hope that they will keep on doing them in the future. With this blog post I hope to raise some awareness of this virtually unknown and almost extinct variety; this way we can signal the producers that there is demand for this unique variety and that they are doing the right thing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fortunately, as both light and delicate wines and wines made out of unheard-of indigenous varieties are currently popular, the wine trends seem to be on Morenillo's side for once. Let's hope it stays that way.</div>Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410132544589500796noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8271454715333987114.post-45770387916308610222017-02-18T14:14:00.002+02:002018-02-11T11:56:58.329+02:00Vertical of the month: Renato Ratti Barolo Marcenasco 2007–1970<div style="text-align: justify;">When speaking about <i>terroir</i>, Burgundy is without a question <u>The</u> Place: here the vineyards are mapped with stupefying detail by their potential to produce wines of extraordinary quality, based on their soil, climatic conditions and gradient of the slope. Nowhere else in the world have the different vineyards been so meticulously mapped and qualified by their capability in producing grapes of the highest quality. However, there are a handful of places in the world where the <i>terroir's</i> potential is acknowledged not only in regional, but also at more specific vineyard level: in Germany especially in <b>Mosel</b>, but also to some extent in other German regions as well, are famous vineyards that are known to produce better fruit than the others; <b>Alsace</b> adopted a Grand Cru system for their best vineyards in 1975; also some other French wine regions, like <b>Northern Rhône</b> and <b>Loire</b> have a small number of unique vineyards that are recognized even at the appellation level – most prominent ones being the <i>monopoles</i> of <b>Château Grillet</b> in Rhône and <b>Clos de la Coulée de Serrant</b> in Savennières, Loire. However, I argue that <b>Barolo</b> and <b>Barbaresco</b> are those two regions that would be in most urgent need of Burgundian level overhaul of their classification due to their geographical complexity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the 20th century the wine regions of Barolo and Barbaresco gained widespread recognition and currently are considered to be in the top echelon of both Italy's and the whole world's wine regions. Both of these regions have specific vineyards – the so-called <i>Barolo Crus</i> and <i>Barbaresco Crus</i> – where the effect of <i>terroir</i> is more pronounced and the grapes from these vineyards (especially Nebbiolo, the noble grape of the region capable of expressing the <i>terroir</i> noticeably) can produce wines of distinction and high quality. However, these regional Crus are not recognized at the appellation level nor is there even any widespread agreement on which vineyards are better than the others. This is despite the fact that many wine professionals agree how some vineyards just are not up to the level of the others, even though most of the <i>Cru</i> vineyards can produce distinctive wines – something not unlike the distinction between the <i>Premier Crus</i> and <i>Grands Crus</i> of Burgundy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the biggest problems is that in Barolo and Barbaresco the vineyards can often span an entire face of a hill, from the top to the bottom; this is in stark contrast to Burgundy, where the Grand Cru level vineyards are normally situated mid-slope, often surrounded by Premier Cru vineyards towards the upper and lower parts of the hill and the hilltop and valley floor vineyards belonging only to the regional appellation. This means that in Barolo or Barbaresco some vineyards can produce spectacular wines from one specific part, but not from the others. A more detailed study of the vineyards with vineyard designations according to their quality could remedy this, but I understand why there are also producers vehemently against this: you might now have holdings in prestigious vineyards, but if this kind of study concluded that your specific part of vineyard wouldn't be eligible for a status equal to "Grand Cru" or "Premier Cru" (or whatever terms they might come up with), the value of your holdings could plummet considerably overnight. This kind of re-evaluation of the local <i>terroir</i> would undoubtedly benefit the consumer, but for a local producer this kind of vineyard research could be a serious gamble.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">When talking about Barolo Crus, one can't leave <b>Renato Ratti</b> (1935–1988) unmentioned. This pioneering winemaker from Barolo's La Morra set out in the 70's and 80's to map the vineyards of Barolo. Not only did he map out the historic viticultural sub-regions and the Cru-level vineyards of Barolo, but also highlighted those relatively few vineyards (Brunate, Cannubi, Cerequio, Gabutti-Parafada, Lazzarito, Marenca-Rivette, Monprivato, Rocche dell'Annunziata, Rocche di Castiglione, Villero) he considered to be of the highest quality; the <i>Grands Crus</i> of Barolo, if you may. This "Cru map" of Barolo was vital to local producers in pointing out the most important regions of the region and it is still used extensively even today. Later on many have elaborated Ratti's map further, highlighting many more vineyards and other regions with several people trying to come up with their own "top tier of the best vineyards" – yet with noticeably little consensus on which vineyards truly are the best.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">As a step toward officializing the Barolo Crus, the Barolo Consorzio introduced as late as in 2010 their own system of designating the sub-regions of Barolo as <i>menzioni geografiche aggiuntive</i>, or MEGA. However, with close to 200 different vineyards or village designations without any system for designating the possible differences in quality, this system might in the end be more confusing than beneficial for the consumer.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then, back to Renato Ratti. In addition to creating the aforementioned first "Cru map" of Barolo, he also created one of the world's first single-vineyard Barolos, <b>Marcenasco</b>, already back in 1965. He set out to create a Barolo that would showcase the elegance and purity of Nebbiolo, yet with such longevity he believed only the grapes sourced from the <i>Marcenasco</i> sub-region could produce. By producing a remarkable Barolo of true distinction from a specific vineyard, many producers followed in suit, and now Barolo wines made from grapes sourced exclusively from a single, designated vineyard have become a staple of the region's wines. Apart for the youngest Marcenasco (vintage 2007), the following wines were enjoyed in a vertical tasting almost exactly two years ago and they showcase perfectly the remarkable longevity of Ratti's Marcenasco.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJjTMxneYsn0Mf6jXnmCLCzEabkY9F-CTwH13X2qmEpVuC_CnC4lwS4oxbX2ivSCzbm6hOFPvYWbUcRsAfKs8Or70aU2ctjBzCuhAbNzVGfukQFIBGNPCw3lG54yWyDINEDK8LpEfJTbM/s1600/barolomarcenasco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJjTMxneYsn0Mf6jXnmCLCzEabkY9F-CTwH13X2qmEpVuC_CnC4lwS4oxbX2ivSCzbm6hOFPvYWbUcRsAfKs8Or70aU2ctjBzCuhAbNzVGfukQFIBGNPCw3lG54yWyDINEDK8LpEfJTbM/s200/barolomarcenasco.jpg" title="" width="52" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Renato Ratti Barolo Marcenasco</b></span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;">DOCG Barolo</span><br />
<ul><li><a href="http://www.renatoratti.com/" target="-">Renato Ratti</a></li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Piedmont, Barolo</li>
<li>Grape(s): Nebbiolo (100%)</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: right;"><br />
<a href="http://www.renatoratti.com/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: renato ratti</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Introduced with the vintage 1965, this is one of the original single-vineyard Barolos, although not the very first one (as Vietti's Barolo Rocche di Castiglione and Prunotto's Barolo Bussia were already made from the vintage 1961). Originally Barolo Marcenasco was a single-vineyard Barolo made from a vineyard located in the historic <i>Marcenasco</i> sub-region, next to the hamlet of La Morra. However, after Ratti increased his holdings in this sub-region during the 1970's, including plots in the famed vineyards of <i>Rocche dell'Annunziata</i> and <i>Conda dell'Abbazia</i>, the wine was no longer a single-vineyard Barolo, but instead an "imaginary Cru", made from the best grapes harvested from several different vineyards in the <i>Marcenasco</i> sub-region, yet still considered as a Cru Barolo.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 1969, Ratti's nephew, Massimo Martinelli, joined the winery and they perfected the vinification of Marcenasco. As opposed to the <i>zeitgeist</i>, when maceration times were long and aging regimes even longer (in an attempt to tone down the harsh tannins resulting from the prolonged maceration times) in Barolo, Marcenasco's fermentation was hastened, maceration time cut shorter and pre-release bottle aging was favored over long oak aging. Currently the maceration time of the wine is about 7–10 days, which is very short compared to the traditional maceration period that could last well over a month. After having completed the maceration and fermentation, the wine is first aged for 24 months in oak casks of 2500 and 5000 liters and finally for at least another 24 months more in bottles before release.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Renato Ratti Barolo Marcenasco 2007</b></span></div><ul><li>Tasted on: 17th of February, 2017</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A very warm vintage that begun with a mild and dry winter, followed by an atypically warm spring. The second half of the year was hottest for the past two centuries, resulting in one of the earliest harvests in the region. Some regions suffered from the hot weather resulting in grapes that were picked too early to keep them from becoming overripe, but the best (aka coolest) Barolo sites fared tremendously well, letting the grapes reach optimum physiological ripeness and develop their flavors fully. At Renato Ratti winery the vintage is considered as <i>annata eccenzionale</i> ("exceptional vintage"), resulting in wines of remarkable complexity, concentration and longevity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine's concentrated, almost opaque dark cherry color has a slightly developed maroon hue. The nose is incredibly rich, complex and profound with rather pronounced sweet oak character of cola, chocolate and cocoa nibs, but enough fruit to offset the oak with juicy aromas of ripe dark cherry, some floral rose petal notes, some smoke and a hint of sweet volatile acidity. Unlike the sweet nose, the wine is a lot drier on the palate with full body and very ample, but also very ripe and slowly gripping tannins. There are rich flavors of dark cherry, sour cherry, sweet oak spice, some sweet tar notes, a little cola and chocolate, a floral hint of roses and a touch of sweet volatile lift towards the aftertaste. The acidity is pretty high, which is really vital for a wine showing such concentration. The finish is very rich, ripe and concentrated with pretty lengthy and rather oak-driven flavors of tar, sweet oak spice, dark plummy fruit, a little dark cherry and a hint of volatility.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall Marcenasco 2007 seems very big, rich and impressive wine, but its oak characteristics still seem too pronounced – 10 years of age have done pretty little to the oak, so most likely it will need at least 10–15 more years to integrate the wood character better with the fruit. But even though I am not a fan of oak-driven wines, I found this wine surprisingly enjoyable and satisfying, all due to its impressive structure and that wonderful harmony between the body, the acidity and the tannins.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>92/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: I have never understood why some people are so eager to describe wines "masculine" or "feminine", but if one were to use this kind of sexist terminology, I can imagine this wine would be a stereotypical example of a "masculine" Nebbiolo: big, rich, concentrated and rather oak-heavy with muscular tannins and imposing presence. Although the wine feels rather modern with its polished new oak sheen, it still shows that good Barolo structure beneath its glossy surface. I can imagine this wine will turn out to be tremendous with enough age (at least 10 more years), but currently it's quite a bit too heavily oaked for my taste. Still, the high quality of the wine is obvious even under all that new wood.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Renato Ratti Barolo Marcenasco 1989</b></span></div><ul><li>Tasted on: 12th of February, 2015</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A superb vintage regarded as <i>annata grande</i> ("great vintage") in Marcenasco by the Ratti winery. Considered as one of the classic Barolo vintages of the past few decades, although often overshadowed by the exceptional and noticeably warmer vintage 1990 that followed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pale, translucent cherry red color that is already slightly bricking with a deep orange hue. Quite dry, savory and rather restrained nose with complex aromas of red cherry, tart cranberry, some dusty earth, a little leather, hints of sweet rosy floral nuances and a touch of something slightly animal. Although the nose lacks a bit power, it really doesn't lack depth. On the palate the wine is full-bodied with rather soft acidity and quite modest, even a bit mellow tannins. The flavors are quite dry, although revealing attractive ripe red cherry notes and some tarry earthiness, supported by understated nuances of leather, stony minerality, some rather bitter spiciness and a touch of very sweet strawberry. The finish is very gentle and more sweeter than the midpalate with very complex of cherry marmalade, Asian spices, ripe strawberry, some smoke and tar and a hint of bitterness. The tannins give a slight tug to the aftertaste.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">No wonder 1989 is considered as a fantastic vintage of Barolo: this wine showcased all the characteristics of an aged Barolo with remarkable fruit concentration – although the wine showed some signs of age, it would've been very easy to guess it as a lot younger vintage, if served blind!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>93/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: As the wine was more about developed, sweet fruit and remarkable complexity than about stern, tightly-knit structure, this wine was definitely a treat on its own, but much less so with food – it lacks the brightness to cut through. Bear this mind, if you happen to come across this wine. Even though I love the sharp acidity and grippy tannins of Nebbiolo this wine didn't really showcase, it was still nothing short of fantastic to me.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Renato Ratti Barolo Marcenasco 1985</b></span></div><ul><li>Tasted on: 12th of February, 2015</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall this hot year is not considered as one of the region's better vintages, as both the yields and alcohol levels were high, 1985 was considered as <i>annata eccezionale</i> ("exceptional vintage") by Renato Ratti, producing wines of remarkable character, structure, length and intensity in Marcenasco.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine's color is translucent but quite dark cherry red with slightly maroon hue towards the rim. The nose betrays slight hints of oxidative characters like raisin and stewed fruit, yet it also shows lots of life and nicely aged notes of red cherry, dried dates, sweet floral aromatics, a little almond and a hint of strawberry jam. The wine is quite rich and full-bodied on the palate, but even though the overall flavors suggest quite a lot of sweetness, overall the wine still feels quite dry, spicy and savory. There are flavors of cherry and even cherry marmalade, powerful exotic spice character, some raisin and a hint of dried dates. The structure is really impressive due to the high acidity and very firm tannins that still show quite some grip after 30 years. The wine finishes with a really long, complex and developed aftertaste of exotic spices, dried red berries, sour cherry, syrupy molasses, some nuttiness and faint mushroomy tones. The tannins give the aftertaste good, somewhat astringent grip.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The vintage 1985 hasn't stood up to the test of time as nicely as many of the other vintages tasted here, but it still drinks very nicely, eventually turning out to be a lot nicer than what the somewhat over-developed notes initially suggested.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>92/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: This is definitely a lot more impressive wine on the palate than what the nose led to expect. The wine shows remarkable acid and tannin structure, so even though this is a 30-year old wine, it's still more of a food wine than a smooth and silky meditation wine. Very lovely effort, but somewhat overshadowed by the two surrounding vintages.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Renato Ratti Barolo Marcenasco 1983</b></span></div><ul><li>Tasted on: 12th of February, 2015</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A vintage Renato Ratti considered (only) as an <i>annata buona</i>, "a good vintage", for Marcenasco, whereas it is otherwise considered as quite a weak vintage in Barolo, due to cool spring, uneven weather during the early summer and high humidity throughout the growing season, resulting in high occurrences of rot. The wines aren't normally considered as ageworthy due to their modest acidity and tannin levels. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Translucent, but quite dark cherry color with somewhat developed, maroon hue and rather obvious bricking towards the rim. The nose is really fragrant, surprisingly sweet and immensely attractive with deep, rich and floral aromas of roses, cherry marmalade, beautiful and elegant volatile lift, a little smoke and lovely, developed fruit aromas of raisin, caramel and plum marmalade. The nose has even a slightly sticky quality to it, giving it almost a red Beerenauslese-kind of character. On the palate the wine feels full-bodied and velvety with quite intense flavors of sweet spices, dried cherries, leather, sweet plummy fruit, some tangy sour cherry and a hint of raisin. Despite the modest vintage the wine shows good, balanced acidity and ample, but quite ripe and mellow tannins. The finish is long, complex and delicate with a kaleidoscope of developed flavors: cherry juice, prunes, bitter sour cherry, tart cranberry, some earthy tones, a little exotic spices, a hint of raisin and a touch of mushroomy character.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Despite not being a vintage that'll set no hopes up, Marcenasco 1983 manages to seriously impress. I mean really. Wow. Incredible complexity, depth and harmony. Although the age has concentrated the fruit so that it starts to veer into that quite sweet, dried fruit territory, that sweetness is wonderfully offset by the wine's balanced structure.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>95/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: One of the best Marcenascos I've had, easily. The wine is drinking really nicely right now with its completely resolved tannins and although the wine will probably keep still for some good years, the developed dried fruit character is starting to signal that it should be drunk preferably sooner than later. Infinitely attractive effort and really a positive surprise from a generally poorly regarded vintage.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Renato Ratti Barolo Marcenasco 1979</b></span></div><ul><li>Tasted on: 12th of February, 2015</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">An above average vintage: the spring had some frosts and the late summer and early autumn light rains, but overall the weather was quite warm and pretty easy for the growers. The biggest problem was rainy October, diluting especially the later-harvested wines (ie. the majority of Nebbiolo). The best wines from this vintage were harvested early enough before the rains fell. According to Renato Ratti, 1979 was an <i>annata ottima</i> ("optimum (very good) vintage") – a bit better than just "good", but nothing really stunning. 1979 Marcenascos should show both elegance and intensity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine has a translucent and rather pale red color with a luminous Campari hue. The nose isn't that expressive, but instead very elegant and attractive with nuanced aromas of dried cherry, orange peel, some oxidative nutty notes – even borderline hints of bread – and dusty earth with a slightly funky animal undertone. On the palate the wine feels full-bodied, smooth and rich with rather modest acidity and ripe, mellow tannins. The flavors are starting to veer into that rather sweet, aged fruit territory, revealing interweaving nuances of red berry marmalade, dried figs, some sweet spiciness and hints of sour cherry bitterness. Just like the nose, also the flavors are quite subtle and mellow, lacking the youthful intensity. The finish is quite soft and round as well, yet lengthy enough, with flavors velvety, slightly sweet flavors of cherry marmalade, allspice, some leather and a hint of dried figs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Compared to some of the other vintages tasted in this vertical, the 1979 vintage was obviously lighter and more delicate in flavor, yet showing really lovely, aged complexity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>91/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: I guess this is the kind of vintage some people would love to describe as "feminine" – it is more delicate and mellow than many of the other vintages tasted. Although the wine shows lovely balance and captivating flavors, it is reaching the far end of its peak and probably will fall apart – probably sooner than later. As the structure has resolved itself to the point of feeling very soft and round, this wine is obviously one to be enjoyed on itself, not with any dishes requiring wines of great structure.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Renato Ratti Barolo Marcenasco 1974</b></span></div><ul><li>Tasted on: 12th of February, 2015</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">After a late spring, 1974 was a quite optimal vintage for the winegrowers, with warm, steady weather allowing the grapes to mature easily throughout the region. On average the wines showed less acidity than normal with ripe, rich fruit and firm tannins. Renato Ratti agreed that 1974 was also an <i>annata ottima</i> ("very good vintage") for the Marcenasco wines. The grapes for Marcenasco 1974 were sourced exclusively from the Cru vineyard Rocche dell'Annunziata.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Despite the wine's cherry red color is quite dark-hued, it is also remarkably translucent and almost watery clear towards the rim. The nose shows quite powerful, funky and dirty aromas suggesting that the wine might have seen a bit too much oxygen over the years; there are intense and quite naughty aromas of animal rusticity, moist soil, root vegetables, some mushroomy notes, a little bit of rainy forest and a hint of dried salt-cured meat. On the palate the continues down the funk road with robust and also somewhat sweet flavors of cherries, dried figs, pronounced bitterness, some Mediterranean spices and a little smoky earth. The wine has full body and quite stern and grippy structure with good acidity and very ample, although somewhat resolved tannins. Overall the wine seems slightly musty and it takes a slightly volatile turn to "wild" aromas with air. The finish is very bitter and acid-driven with robust tannic grip and long, rough flavors of sour cherries, loamy soil, some toasted spices, light animal notes and a hint of old furniture.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Despite the good vintage, 1974 Marcenasco failed to impress. Most likely it's more about bottle variation than how the vintage should be drinking right now, so the score is not really representative of the vintage, but only this bottle.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>86/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Probably marred by some oxidation, this wine wasn't that impressive as the best vintages. You could easily taste the power, the concentration and the tightly knit tannic structure, but the funky and even somewhat unpleasant off notes distracted so much that the experience was actually rather modest.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Renato Ratti Barolo Marcenasco 1971</b></span></div><ul><li>Tasted on: 12th of February, 2015</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Usually 1971 is considered to be the vintage of the decade: both cold winter lasting long into spring and intermittent spring hails reduced the yields noticeably, whereas long, hot summer and dry, warm autumn ripened the remaining Nebbiolo grapes easily to perfect ripeness. Renato Ratti also considered 1971 to be <i>annata eccezionale</i>, an "exceptional vintage", for Marcenasco, resulting in incredibly perfumed and harmonious wines. The grapes for Marcenasco 1971 were sourced exclusively from the Cru vineyard Rocche dell'Annunziata.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Quite dark and ever so slightly hazy maroon-hued cherry color with lovely copper highlights and the appearance turning from orange to almost completely limpid towards the rim. Incredibly attractive nose with stunning depth and complexity; there are developed, perfumed aromas of leather, dried figs, wizened cherries, mocha, some oxidative sweet syrup notes and a little roasted nut character with a hint of Middle Eastern spice market. On the palate the wine is lively, full-bodied and incredibly rich with intense flavors of surprising power; there are notes of sweet red cherries, ripe red fruits, some exotic spices, a little leather and a hint of dried dark fruit. The structure is remarkable with both bright acidity and still quite firm and grippy tannins. The remarkably long finish is surprisingly lively and even youthful with complex, developed flavors of sweet red cherries, dark-toned fruit, sour cherry bitterness, some cranberry-driven tart red berries, a little exotic spices and a hint of peppery spice.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is simply stunning stuff. 1971 Marcenasco is easily one of the greatest old Baroli I've had, offering a dumbfounding mélange of flavors both developed and remarkably youthful. Even at over 40 years of age, the wine seems that it hasn't reached its plateau of maturity, but instead it is still going up.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>97/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Obviously 1971 was capable of producing wines for the long haul in Barbaresco. Based on how this bottle was drinking, this fella is not going anywhere anytime soon. Definitely a wine you'll want to get your hands on – an archetype of a well-made Nebbiolo that has aged just like they should.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Renato Ratti Barolo Marcenasco 1970</b></span></div><ul><li>Tasted on: 12th of February, 2015</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another stunning vintage that was very similar to the following year. However, 1970 is often overshadowed by 1971, which produced more opulent and structured wines. According to Renato Ratti, this was an <i>annata grande</i> ("great vintage") – the best kind of vintage there is, bar the few exceptional years you might have once every decade or two. The grapes for Marcenasco 1970 were sourced exclusively from the Cru vineyard Rocche dell'Annunziata.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">By the appearance this 1970 is very similar to the 1971 next to it, only with very slightly paler hue; with its maroon highlights this looks like caramel-colored water with a reddish hue. The nose betrays some signs of oxidation, meaning that this specific wine isn't in optimal condition – if Marcenasco 1971 was so stunning, Marcenasco 1970 shouldn't be like a polar opposite to it. The nose is quite subdued and there are rather sharp and savory aromas of raisin, dried figs, sweet Tawny port, some dark-roasted coffee and hints of withered flowers. On the palate the wine feels full-bodied with grainy, resolved tannins and moderate acidity. The very developed, complex flavors reveal oxidative notes of dark syrup, sour cherry, dried dates, exotic spices, some raisin and a hint of nuttiness. The taste oxidizes quite quickly, becoming more dull and stylistically closer to tawny port with air. The finish is quite restrained and rather short with <i>dépassé</i> flavors of withered cherry, black tea, stony minerality, some roasted nuts and a hint of Oloroso Sherry tang.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Unfortunately this wine couldn't match the expectations; Marcenasco 1970 should be still going strong, but unfortunately after more than 40 years, bottle variations are an unfortunate fact. Obviously either the wine had been cellared in poor conditions at some point or the cork had started to let oxygen through, because although the wine wasn't completely dead and spoiled, it was obviously past its peak, lacking the fruit it still should show.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>88/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Although this wine has seen better days, it was still somewhat alive and pretty drinkable. If drunk without any other Baroli to compare to, it would have been easily a very enjoyable wine, but now, with stunning Marcenasco 1971 in a glass next to it, this wine failed to move me in any meaningful way. I'd still love to revisit the wine in the hopes of having a better bottle, because I've heard several times that Marcenasco 1970 is still drinking wonderfully – some people even say that they prefer this vintage over the 1971!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNfX_rbMf_J-RjUvwj5qLEez9d9PXWKt-ZnpMekJtewfvWHGG-9TkRx_s4gRafA8WPJyWdM20pBNsE7sMr8ALp_2qI662LL3jQ2rfZgpEs3lSKv0U1RMtbQJrgf5E-4jO56VgBCnRVZBw/s1600/marcenasco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNfX_rbMf_J-RjUvwj5qLEez9d9PXWKt-ZnpMekJtewfvWHGG-9TkRx_s4gRafA8WPJyWdM20pBNsE7sMr8ALp_2qI662LL3jQ2rfZgpEs3lSKv0U1RMtbQJrgf5E-4jO56VgBCnRVZBw/s400/marcenasco.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wines: Marcenascos 1970–1989 with Rocche 1996.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410132544589500796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8271454715333987114.post-18604710666804283452017-01-22T20:38:00.000+02:002017-07-03T15:32:24.595+03:00Vertical of the month: Château Musar Blanc 1991-2007<div style="text-align: justify;">Château Musar is definitely a winery not in need of introductions: although having been on the UK market since the 1960's, this Lebanese winery first sprang into limelight back in 1979 when Christie's auctioneer and wine professional <b>Michael Broadbent</b> discovered Musar Red 1967. Not long thereafter the winery started to gain appreciation from all around the globe and Musar's <b>Serge Hochar</b> was even the first ever <i>Man of the Year</i> of the respected <b>Decanter</b> magazine in 1984. Although the Musar wines are known far and wide, they still manage to somewhat remain in the underground: they have never gained the same kind of mainstream recognition like the biggest Chateaux of Bordeaux, the greatest Domaines of Burgundy, or the most hyped wineries of California. It might of course have something to do with the very natural style of Musar, which often results in wines very irregular and even some obvious bottle variations between bottlings of one vintage. For some this can be an insurmountable obstacle, whereas for others – ones like me – this means only an increase in the wine's curiosity value: every vintage and even every bottle of Musar can be an adventure!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNLkhRDsohw1xsE1Cwe-tiVj2ePoQBa7est__vXD9K1JmBC_zDk1jERPEfyyhtqy1ngpCCIE5ri4sv-HuNspU0s9HAqDItjLjbRjhR8PT8Qibujdbu3BTiq2kI3A-_igeE1Bai4Te-o5o/s1600/musars1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNLkhRDsohw1xsE1Cwe-tiVj2ePoQBa7est__vXD9K1JmBC_zDk1jERPEfyyhtqy1ngpCCIE5ri4sv-HuNspU0s9HAqDItjLjbRjhR8PT8Qibujdbu3BTiq2kI3A-_igeE1Bai4Te-o5o/s400/musars1.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our lineup from May 28th, 2016</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">But in the off chance that one hadn't heard about Musar before, I suppose an introduction of sorts is in place. If you know Musar beforehand, there's probably nothing new here, so please skip the following paragraphs and check out the wine reviews.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Château Musar (stylized <i>Chateau Musar</i> in the labels), founded in 1930 by Gaston Hochar in Castle Mzar from the 18 th century, is located close to Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. The vines are not grown next to the winery, but instead in <b>Beqaa valley</b>, a particularly fertile region some 40 km (24 miles) east from Beirut. Here, from an altitude of 900 meters (3,000 feet), always up to 1,200 meters (4,000 feet), the Musar winery cultivates their grapes, which are a array of French varieties mainly grown in Mediterranean. The red varieties are <i>Cabernet Sauvignon</i>, <i>Carignan</i>, <i>Cinsaut</i>, <i>Grenache</i>, <i>Mourvèdre</i> and <i>Syrah</i>, whereas the whites are lesser known local varieties of <i>Merwah</i> and <i>Obaideh</i>. However, in truth, these two white varieties are Sémillon (Merwah) and Chardonnay (Obaideh) – only they are clones that have been brought to Lebanon centuries ago, becoming somewhat distinct local clones from the original French ones, regarded as indigenous white varieties of Lebanon, yet genetically identical to the original varieties. The Merwah and Obaideh vines of Musar are still ungrafted (growing on their own root systems) and extremely old, some over 100 years of age, growing in the highest vineyards of Musar, at 1,400 meters (4,600 feet) above sea level.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 1959 Serge Hochar, son of Gaston Hochar, took over the winery, after having finished his winemaking studies in Bordeaux. As he took over, he started developing his own style of the wine: Serge didn't want to make the wines like the other wineries were making, but instead found inspiration from more traditional way of winemaking, where wine more or less just "happened" without much intervention from the winemaker. Since 1977 the wines have been made in an unchanged style: the grapes are just crushed and left to ferment on their own with indigenous yeasts. No yeast inoculations or additives are used and the use of sulfur is kept at minimum, letting the nature go its course without winemaker's manipulation. The resulting wines are very unique, often very rustic and exhibiting characteristics like <i>brettanomyces</i> or pronounced volatile acidity – traits often considered as unwanted, even faults – yet also remarkably balanced and capable of aging easily for decades.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Unfortunately, on the last day of 2014, Serge Hochar died in Mexico, at the age of 75. When the news broke out of this great loss, long obituaries were released throughout the global wine media, affirming the impact Serge had made with his uncompromising wines. Although it will take many years before the post-Serge wines are released to the market, the winery has assured that nothing in their winemaking will change: the wines will still be made in Serge's minimalist style that made the wines so popular.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The standard wine range of Musar comprises of three tiers, with total seven wines.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><ul><li>In the bottom tier is the <b>Musar Jeune</b> range, which are made from the fruit of younger vineyards or from the grapes that didn't go into the wines of the better two tiers. This range comprises a red, a rosé and a white wine. They are simple, unoaked and inexpensive wines meant to be consumed young and aimed at the restaurant market.</li>
<li>The middle range includes only one wine, the single-vineyard red wine <b>Hochar Père et Fils</b>. The vineyard from which the grapes are sourced for this wine is younger, located a bit lower than the main Musar vineyards and they produce a wine somewhat distinctive from the Musar red – one that is a little less concentrated, more mellow and easier to approach in its youth. The wine is fermented partially in cement and partially in oak vats, after which it is aged in French oak barrels for 9 months, bottled unfined and unfiltered and aged for a further two years. This wine is often regarded as the "second wine" of the winery and as it is usually released earlier than the Musar red, it is often used as an indicator of the vintage's quality.</li>
<li>The top tier includes the three wines labeled as <b>Chateau Musar</b>; the red, the rosé and the white. Out of these wines, the red one comprises the great majority of production (from a third to almost half of the winery's total production of some 700–800,000 bottles), whereas the white's production normally hovers around the 10–30,000 bottle mark . The rosé is by far the rarest Musar, as it is not made every year – and in those years when it is made, the amount of bottles produced is only some thousands. The red Musar is the wine the winery is best known for. It is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan and Cinsaut, left to ferment in cement tanks on indigenous yeasts. After the fermentation, the wine is aged for 1 year in oak barrels (approx. 25%–35% new), after which the wine is returned back to the concrete vats. During the next year, the wine blend is assembled, bottled, unfined and unfiltered. What makes the wine so unique is that it is not released until the winery deems it ready, a process which normally takes 7–10 years – the 2009 vintage was released only recently and the vintage 2006 is still aging in the cellars. Furthermore, Musar normally keeps up to 25% of the annual production stored in their cellars for later release.</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The whites, although not as well-known as the reds (most likely due to their scarcity), are the wines Serge Hochar held in highest regard. He often claimed that his whites were his true red wines, as they are so rich, concentrated and unique compared to regular white wines, often overshadowing even the remarkable red wines. The centenarian Obaideh and Merwah vineyards produce extremely small yields (10–20 hl/ha) of concentrated fruit, fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged in French oak <i>barriques</i> for 9 months, after which the wines are bottled. Even the whites are aged for a minimum of 7 years before release.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">What is remarkable in Musar wines that they have been produced in a politically highly volatile area, where tensions and shoot-outs are not uncommon. Despite these difficulties, the wines were produced systematically even during the Lebanese civil war (1975–1990), when tensions were at their highest and bombshells were exploding all the way from Beirut to Beqaa and even in the vineyards. However, occasionally the grapes could not be transported directly via roads (some 70 km / 45 miles) from the Beqaa valley to the winery due to the unstable situations; in some cases the grapes had to be transported by taking a longer (250 km / 150 miles) detour, and once even by driving to the seaside and shipping them from port to port. To this date there have been only three vintages that have not been released:</div><ul><li>The vintage of <b>1976 </b>was lost due to the civil war: unstable situations prevented the workers to reach the vineyards and the crop was lost.</li>
<li>The vintage of <b>1984 </b>was made, but there were great difficulties reaching the vineyards and transporting the fruit back to the winery – as it was impossible to reach the winery by land due to roads being closed, it was necessary to ship the fruit by sea. Due to this, the grapes were very overripe and started fermenting on their own before the winery was reached. The wine was practically undrinkable due to heavy flaws for years, even decades, but recent tastings have confirmed that the wine has changed into something remarkable after having been cellared for more than 30 years. The wine, however, still remains unreleased.</li>
<li>There were big uncertainties whether it was even possible to make the vintage <b>2006 </b>due to the conflicts between Hezbollah and Israel. However, a ceasefire was announced shortly before the harvest and the grapes could be recovered from the vineyards. Although other 2006 wines have been released, the Musar Red 2006 still remains unreleased at the time of writing for more or less undisclosed reasons.</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well, I guess that includes what one should really know about Musar. Now, let's move on to the tasting notes. During 2016, I attended three different Musar verticals and enjoyed Musars both red and white in numerous other occasions. Some of these wines are enjoyed while contrasting them to other vintages, others are enjoyed purely on their own. Whatever the occasion, I always tried my best not to just evaluate the wine, but also to reflect back to the vintages, seeing how the wine performed against the other vintages.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Gw8cNc7lcWsBlFcjtFJ2I1vjivdcGaP9hzVzDIP4Tk6djoUVrsBnRLzE6_zyB9X1DNxdom5h1pW2SgtGw4BTzb9n5i0otnrHSmlpprnn_n59zLDaJXF7pQxe0GIM2DJnYHR1qoQ3h6A/s1600/musarblanc2005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Gw8cNc7lcWsBlFcjtFJ2I1vjivdcGaP9hzVzDIP4Tk6djoUVrsBnRLzE6_zyB9X1DNxdom5h1pW2SgtGw4BTzb9n5i0otnrHSmlpprnn_n59zLDaJXF7pQxe0GIM2DJnYHR1qoQ3h6A/s200/musarblanc2005.jpg" title="" width="49" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Château Musar Blanc</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.chateaumusar.com/">Château Musar</a></li>
<li>Country: Lebanon</li>
<li>Region: Beqaa</li>
<li>Grape(s): Obaideh (Chardonnay), Merwah (Sémillon)</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.wine-searcher.com/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: wine-searcher</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Background: The top white wine of Château Musar and the favorite wine of late Serge Hochar. Made from the Merwah and Obaideh grapes (old Lebanes clones of Sémillon and Chardonnay) sourced from ungrafted, low-yielding vineyards over 50 years of age, located at the altitude of 1,400 meters (4,600 feet) above sea level. Due to the high altitude, the wines are remarkably fresh and relatively low in alcohol (normally 12–12,5%) – up in the mountains the climate is remarkably cool, comparable to eg. Bordeaux, France, even though Lebanon is otherwise a rather hot Mediterranean country. Normally the base blend for the white is approximately 2/3 of Obaideh and 1/3 of Merwah, but the proportions might vary according to the vintage. The wine is fermented on indigenous yeasts in French 225-liter <i>barriques</i> and left to age for 9 months before bottling<span style="font-size: xx-small;">. </span> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Château Musar Blanc 2007</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: 28th of May, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">An uneven vintage with a sudden spring frost disturbing the growth cycle and a heat wave in August hastening the ripening process before the harvest.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine shows pale yellow color – frankly rather youthful for a white Musar. The creamy nose is a bit reticent with aromas of beeswax, green and yellow apples, some coconut oil, a little vanilla and a hint of crushed nuts. On the palate the wine is quite full-bodied and somewhat oily with succulent flavors of ripe citrus and lemon curd, creaminess, some coconut, a little stony minerality, a hint of vanilla and a touch of smoke. Overall the wine shows good freshness and structure with moderately high acidity. The finish is pretty long and somewhat bitter with an aftertaste of ripe apple, creamy complexity, stony minerality, a little coconut and a hint of vanilla.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Tthis is a delightful and balanced white, but also painfully primary for a white Musar, lacking the depth and complexity of the older vintages. Although it is drinking wonderfully now, the wine lacks all the things an older Musar can offer. Definitely not in need to be opened anytime soon. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>89/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Overall this is a very recommended Musar, but only to be cellared extensively; probably this is never going to be a top vintage of Musar White, but it has all the necessary pieces to turn into something beautiful with age. The score reflects its current status; probably the wine will gain a handful of points more once it reaches maturity. No need to open these at least in the next 5-10 years. Remarkably better than the red 2007.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Château Musar Blanc 2006</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: 28th of January, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A very difficult vintage, but not that much because of the climatic conditions, but due to the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. Fortunately a ceasefire came before the harvest and Merwah was particularly late-ripening this year, harvested after mid-October.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Medium deep honeyed yellow color. The wine has a bit reticent and somewhat waxy nose with aromas of cloudberry, dried peach, overripe yellow apple, some leather and a hint of beeswax; the nose seems to evolve constantly, no sniff being the same. On the palate the wine is dry and moderately full-bodied with high acidity. There are rich and supple yet slightly angular flavors of citrus fruits, waxy lanolin, beeswax, umami, some cream, a little aromatic herbs and a hint of stony minerality. The finish is dry, crisp and refreshing with quite prominent bitterness and a long aftertaste of ripe citrus fruits, green apple, some creaminess and a hint of spicy wildhoney.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is a crisp, bright and refreshing Musar Blanc that is still way too primary. For any other wine, the above description of aromas and flavors might suggest some maturity, but this wine is still so simple and one-dimensional for a Musar; it shows very youthful, crisp, fruit-forward characteristics without any of the depth and concentration an aged Musar develops. However, it sports lovely structure and freshness, speaking volumes about its cellaring potential.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>91/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: I imagine this one will never be one of those stupendous Musar super whites, even with extended cellaring, but instead one of those more delicate and elegant Burgundian Musar whites. Although it is too young to be truly enjoyed now, the wine shows some truly beautiful character already and will without a doubt develop really nicely in a cellar. A bargain at only ~30€.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Château Musar Blanc 2005</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: 23rd of October, 2015</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Unlike in most European wine countries, the 2005 was an atypically cool and humid vintage in Lebanon, resulting in harvest delayed more than a week from normal schedule and with wines showing lower than average alcohol and higher acidity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Medium deep, developed golden yellow color. Elegant nose that is dry and savory, yet not something unlike a sweet dessert wine, being slightly oxidized in a lovely way and complemented with aromas of freshly pressed apple juice, honeydew melon, apricot, vanillin, some nuts , a little bit of Corn Flakes-y aromatics and a delicate hints of orange blossom. The dry, complex and developed taste has transcended the youthful fruit phase into the tertiary caleidoscope of beeswax, dried herbs, some oxidized nuts, a little vanilla and a hint of bergamot; a streak of Amontillado-like salinity lingers underneath the palate. The mouthfeel is full and waxy yet remarkably fresh, lively and acidic at the same time. The structure is truly wonderful. Juicy, nuanced and complex finish with flavors of nuts, honey, vanilla, salty minerality and a hint of green apples.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall this is an incredible white combining the lush Musar White complexity with incredible freshness and structure. It is incredible already now, but it also shows lots of potential for further development, being a testament to how 2005 is a wonderful vintage not only for the red Musar, but for the white as well.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>96/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: This is very far removed from those simple, fresh and fruity modern whites, making this wine even more unique – although it would be wonderful in its own right, no matter what kind of wines it would be compared against. I find it hard to imagine a better wine, unless it is a wine like this, only with even more age and complexity. That means I can hardly wait for this wine to reach its maturity. This is hands down one of the best Musar White vintages I've tasted and definitely one of the best whites you can buy for 30,90€.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Château Musar Blanc 2004</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: 28th of May, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A very cool vintage: snow didn't melt until March, spring lasted until June and the ripening period was slowed down by constant cooler breezes. This resulted in wines with remarkably high acidity and low alcohol levels.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Deep golden yellow with a lighter, lemony hue. Very developed nose with aromas of wet dog, nuttiness and some smoke. Very developed, intense and even concentrated flavors of beeswax, bitter spiciness, some smoke, a little nuttiness and a hint of saline minerality. Overall the wine seems lively and surprisingly opulent regarding its low alcohol, with moderately high acidity. The midpalate segues into long and spicy finish with developed flavors of wax, ground roasted nuts, some old wood and a hint of vanilla.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>88/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: This vintage is an elegant white Musar that is showing much more mature character than a white Musar should at this age, making me question the wine's provenance. It is lovely on its own with interesting complexity, but suffers greatly in a vertical of white Musars from 2007 to 1998, with many older vintages showing a lot more youth. It might be that this is a faster-developing vintage, but it also might be that this is probably not the most representative bottle of this vintage, which is why you might want to take my score with a grain of salt.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Château Musar Blanc 2003</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: 28th of May, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The winter of 2003 was the rainiest in 15 years in Beqaa, but after April, no rain fell. A long heat wave in May decreased yields by 30%, concentrating the remaining grapes substantially. However, July and August were cooler than normal, delaying the ripening process. The harvest was carried out by normal schedule. The wine blend has a bigger proportion of Merwah than normal.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The color is rather deep, developed golden yellow. The wine shows an attractive, waxy bouquet with complex, savory and developed aromas of beeswax, almond, dusty furniture, wizened apricots, cream, some nutty oxidation, a little orange blossom and a hint of sweet white peach. On the palate it is full-bodied and oily with pure, intense flavors of fresh apple, ripe citrus fruit, stony minerality, some cream, a little orange peel and a touch of honey without any honeyed sweetness. The palate is a lot less developed than the nose, lacking the nutty characteristics almost completely, and although it feels quite voluminous, the palate still comes across as surprisingly light with remarkable freshness and good, bright acidity. The wine finishes with a very long, complex and intriguing aftertaste with persistent, layered flavors of peach, dried pineapple, cream, some wizened peach, a little almond, a hint of orange peel and a touch of something wild and a bit funky.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>97/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: A truly remarkable vintage of white Musar and hands down one of the best white wines I've ever had; in its current state, this one surpasses even the truly wonderful Musar Blanc 2005 – although only time will tell which one will ultimately be better with extended cellar age. This is drinking wonderfully right now, but the palate has still a lot of youth, vigor and freshness left in it, so there is no need to hurry – this wine is all about cellaring potential. Profound stuff, extremely recommended.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Château Musar Blanc 2002</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A hailstorm annihilated all the Merwah crops, so Musar Blanc 2002 was never released.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Château Musar Blanc 2001</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: 28th of January, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A very hot and dry vintage: by mid-February the weather turned to much more warmer than usual with almost nonexistent rains. After relatively normal weather during the flowering, the weather turned hotter than normal for July and August. The harvest was carried by normal schedule in October with the harvested fruit being lower in acidity than normal.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine has a dark honeyed yellow color with pale copper hue. Upon opening the nose is surprisingly pungent and smoky with rather dominant aromas of burnt wood and mocha. However, these aromas blow off as the wine aereates, revealing an utterly complex, developed bouquet of pineapple, waxy lanolin, orange peel, autumnal leafy aromas, some vanilla, developed floral nuances and faint oxidized hints of hazelnuts. In the mouth the wine is rich, concentrated and opulent with full body; even though the wine comes across as quite big, it doesn't feel heavy nor flabby. There are intense and very complex flavors of beeswax, dried peach, stony minerality, creaminess, some aromatic herbal notes and a hint of developed nuttiness. There's medium acidity that gives some freshness to the wine when cool, but fades into the background as the wine gets warmer. The wine ends with a very complex and persistent, developed finish with concentrated, honeyed notes, dried yellow stone fruits, creaminess, stony minerality, some vanilla, a little almond or hazelnut and a touch of saline tang.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2001 is truly an extraordinary vintage of white Musar that transcends the state of being just white wine and becomes something more profound; an ideal of what a wine can be. It shows remarkable depth, complexity, power and concentration with impeccable balance. It also requires moderately long aeration of several hours and needs to be served cool enough just to push the modest acidity up a little.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>98/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: A true masterpiece with otherworldly QPR at 35 to 40€. Despite its lower-than-normal acidity, this is not only one of the greatest white Musars I've had, but also one of the most profound white wines I've ever drunk.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Château Musar Blanc 2000</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: 28th of January, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Deep golden yellow color. Heavy, musty aromas of TCA. Shucks.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Flawed</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Château Musar Blanc 1999</b></span></div><ul><li>Tasted on: 28th of May, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A great vintage that had mild weather throughout the growing season, keeping the growth in check, until weather warmed slowly but steadily towards the harvest, resulting in remarkable power and concentration.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Golden yellow with a copper hue with a slightest bit of residue. Dry, spicy and developed nose with peculiar aromas of bruised cider apples, funky cheese rind, some mature honeyed character, a little nuttiness and a hint of smoke. On the palate the wine is dry, full-bodied and rich and it seems a lot younger than the mature and slightly smoky nose suggested. Intense, concentrated and ripe flavors of lemony citrus fruits, beeswax, cream, sweet cantaloupe, saline Fino Sherry tang, some browned apple core, a little stony minerality, a hint of almond, a hint of saffron and faint nuances of bretty leather. Rich, ripe and a bit heavy finish with complex, persistent flavors of ripe citrus fruit, candied ginger, stony minerality, some old wood spice, a little leather and a touch of wildhoney. There is also a faint sense of tannic grip and also a suggestion of coarse sensation in the throat, hinting perhaps for a faint touch of mousiness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A wonderful, complex and delightful Musar with lots of aged Musar depth and complexity. However, the wine does not reach the profound levels of 2001 and 2003, as it feels a bit too heavy and ponderous at times.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>92/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Although the wine is starting to show some aged characteristics, there is still a lot of life to the wine with cellaring potential of several more years, maybe a decade. However, I suspect that this wine will not age as gracefully as some of the other great vintages. It might be that this wine was not in pristine condition, but in the case it was, apparently in 1999 the red version fared a bit better.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Château Musar Blanc 1998</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: 28th of May, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A cooler-than-normal vintage resulting in lighter and more delicate wines with less oomph and more precision.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mature deep golden color with a copper hue. Mature, but quite reticent and a bit muted nose with developed floral aromatics, sweet apple puree, some almond paste, a little dried yellow stone fruits and a hint of leather. Full-bodied and velvety smooth, even a bit oily mouthfeel with developed, complex and quite concentrated flavors that show pretty much ripeness. Rich, succulent notes of apple marmalade, ripe yellow plums, wizened peach, some vanilla, a little mature honeyed character and a hint of saline acetaldehyde tang. Moderate acidity that is in good balance with the body. Ripe, fruity and moderately long finish with flavors of pineapple, apple jam, wizened apricot, some dried peach, a little leathery brett character and a faint hint of saline tang.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is a wonderful, balanced old white Musar with lots of elegance, showing a bit more ripeness than white Musars normally do with more emphasis on the sweet fruit than the depth and complexity that emerge with bottle age – or then it's just the concentrated richness that emerges with bottle age. Whatever the case, we have here really tasty and attractive stuff, albeit not as impressive as the best ones can be. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>91/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: This is a surprisingly youthful and supple effort with many years – possibly even decades – ahead and with good room for development. Although not as impressive as the best vintages, I wouldn't be surprised if this wine showed beautifully after another decade.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Château Musar Blanc 1995</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: 28th of January, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A really high-quality vintage with great concentration of high-quality fruit, although the quantity of fruit was relatively low due to hailstorms that brought the amount of harvested fruit down by 30%.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine's luminous pale bronze color is showing some signs of age. Somewhat developed and incredibly complex nose exhibiting aromas of dried orange, roasted nuts, volatile notes of nail polish remover and balsamico, some tawny-ish oxidation, a little savory wood character, a hint of overripe apricot and a whiff of brett. It is full-bodied and rich on the palate, yet with tight and paradoxically almost austere structure. Layered, complex and mature flavors of surprisingly pronounced bitterness, wet rock minerality, wizened peach, some dry honey, notes of orange pith, a little browned butter and a hint of vanilla. Although the wine feels rich and developed, the racy acidity is surprisingly high and gives the wine a lot of freshness and focus. The finish is extremely long and layered with pronounced bitterness and very persistent aftertaste of wildhoney, dried pineapple, some beeswax, a little tangy salinity and a hint of nutty oxidation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now this is a fascinating example of a 20 years old white Musar showing some signs of age, but only in the nose and in the flavors – not in the tightly wound, almost austere structure, that seems to have remarkably long life ahead. If the wine is this tight and nervous after all this cellaring, I doubt that the wine will ever resolve into something more relaxed, even with extended aging. However, the wine is drinking beautifully now and will most likely keep for a number of years, probably even over a decade.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>93/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: A very attractive and enjoyable effort; one of the better vintages of white Musar. However, the wine is starting to get a bit expensive at 65–75€ or even more.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Château Musar Blanc 1992</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: 24th of February, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A difficult, super-wet vintage when especially the red grapes fared poorly and no red Musar was released, as the grapes were declassified to be used in lower-tier bottlings. Almost all of the Merwah crop was lost, so this is supposedly a 100% Obaideh.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine appears deep golden yellow with a deep bronze hue. It has incredibly complex, concentrated nose with aromas of dried aromatic herbs, nut paste, dried pineapple, peach marmalade, some créme brûlèe, a little vanilla, a hint of smoke, nuances of Amaretto and a touch of carrot purée. You don't even want to proceed to tasting the wine, as the nose is simply so absorbing. The wine is full-bodied, textural and slightly oily on the palate with obvious concentration from the age. There are layered, intermingling flavors of yellow apple, creaminess, some wizened peach, a little vanilla, a hint of bitter almond extract and a touch of spicy wildhoney without any of that honeyed sweetness. That good, bright acidity gives the wine terrific focus and structure. The midpalate segues into long, lively and mineral finish with complex, layered flavors of dried apricot, honey, some cream, a little vanilla, a hint of ripe citrus and a touch of sweet woody caramel. The aftertaste lingers on the tongue for minutes, evolving constantly into something new and intriguing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although the 1992 was not a vintage for the red Musar, it's white counterpart is truly a perfect example of this unique style. At this point the wine shows incredible complexity, texture, structure and depth without any signs of going past its peak anytime soon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>99/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Perhaps the greatest white Musar (or any white wine for that matter) I've had to this date. Truly a dumbfounding experience. Simply spectacular.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Château Musar Blanc 1991</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: 28th of January, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I couldn't find any background information about how the conditions were like in this year, but supposedly 1991 is a very highly-rated vintage. According to some sources, 1991 was a vintage in which the winery experimented with new French oak barrels when making the white.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Luminous bronze color with deeper, developed, slightly reddish copper hues. Developed and incredibly complex, yet slightly restrained nose that shows some signs of age in lightly oxidized nuances. Aromas of tangerine peel, dried orange, smoke, some wood bark, a little lanolin waxiness, hints of honeyed beeswax, a touch of hazelnut oxidation and a whiff of caramel; lots of everything. Rich and powerful on the palate, showing some concentration that comes with age. Developed flavors showing enormous complexity; even robust notes of Asian spices, roasted nuts, moderate bitterness, beeswax, some smoke, a little wildhoney, a hint of stony minerality and a touch of candied orange peel. With some aeration the wine seems to settle down in the glass. Good acid brightness and focus. Complex, intense, almost taut and very persistent finish with layered, intermingling flavors of ripe citrus fruits, raw red apple, pronounced bitterness, stony minerality, lanolin waxiness, some dry wildhoney, a little peanut butter and a hint of roasted chestnuts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is truly a brilliant old Musar that shows lots of mature characteristics, yet with remarkable freshness and energy. Hard to say whether the wine has already reached its plateau of maturity, or if it is still going up, but nevertheless it is drinking beautifully right now.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>95/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Wonderful balance, structure and depth; this is what old Musar is all about. Will keep easily for years, probably even decades. Not the greatest white Musar I've had, but very close. Truly spectacular. Priced according to its quality at 95€.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOOVv-dD1TEzTqaeRxqc2sU9Vk_T5f8SXpljuAaxKHi8l4RYCiugDZt-E0abug57zP9zzAEs0Iwmqp6FpOArG2l3atTvETryLQyeuQ_3AzyrzZS0A9SiZcHC5tYFD6VdV9zyfdcbPF3ZI/s1600/musars2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOOVv-dD1TEzTqaeRxqc2sU9Vk_T5f8SXpljuAaxKHi8l4RYCiugDZt-E0abug57zP9zzAEs0Iwmqp6FpOArG2l3atTvETryLQyeuQ_3AzyrzZS0A9SiZcHC5tYFD6VdV9zyfdcbPF3ZI/s400/musars2.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our lineup from January 28th, 2016</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Having tasted through these wines I've reached the conclusion so many Musarists have done before me: the white Musars really are some of the most distinctive white wines in the world, and with remarkable aging capability as well! Even though these wines are aged for a good number of years in Château Musar's cellars before release, they are still painfully young when they hit the market. Even though the best vintages can offer some immediate enjoyment upon release, tasting through these older vintages has shown me that the sweet spot of these wines does arrives not until some 15 years after the vintage, when the wines have passed the fruit-forward phase of youth and start to exhibit the waxy, concentrated complexity of an aged white Musar. It is no wonder Serge Hochar called the white Musars his "real red wines", and an oft-seen comparison of aged white Musar to a "dry Sauternes" actually does justice to this wine. After all, these wines do acquire remarkable richness, complexity and even hints of honeyed sweetness with long cellaring, making them feel very much like a good, old Sauternes – only without any of their residual sugar sweetness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, if you have never experienced a white Musar, I strongly advise you to get a few bottles in your hands! One does not suffice: you need to get one just to have a general idea of the wine, but let the rest of the bottles age long enough in the cellar! And if you have tasted only young white Musars, don't think you know much – although the best whites can be really lovely when young, the whole idea of these wines is to enjoy them when they start to show their true colors with enough bottle age.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But instead if you have tasted older white Musars and didn't like them – I honestly don't know what's wrong with you.</div>Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410132544589500796noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8271454715333987114.post-33950194301028982932016-12-15T20:34:00.002+02:002016-12-15T23:06:37.970+02:00Nascetta<div style="text-align: justify;">
A few years back I ran into this energetic, wild-haired wine producer who introduced me to <b>Nascetta</b>, one of the most intriguing things from Piedmont to find its way into the wine market in the past few years. This talkative producer was <b>Enrico Rivetto</b> from <i>Serralunga d'Alba</i> (in the <i>Barolo</i> wine region), one of the greatest proponents of Nascetta, the forgotten white gem of the Langhe region.</div>
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Although Nascetta wines seem to be a recent thing in today's wine market, Nascetta itself isn't. It's a variety that has been long cultivated in the Barolo region – verified by documents that prove its history with the Langhe region at least until mid 1850's. In the past it was used in sweet quality wines, blended with local <i>Favorita</i> (aka. <i>Vermentino</i>) and <i>Moscato</i> (aka. <i>Muscat à Petit Grains</i>) varieties, but little by little its popularity waned. As a variety difficult to cultivate with unpredictable yields, its plantings were reduced drastically after the <i>phylloxera</i> hit the region and the variety was virtually extinct in Langhe after the WWII, surviving in only a few rows of vines grown sporadically here and there.</div>
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However, in 1990's things started to change as the variety was rediscovered in 1991 by <b>Elvio Cogno</b>, a wine producer from <i>Novello</i> (also in the <i>Barolo </i>wine region), when he tasted a freak Nascetta bottling from 1986. He started to experiment with this curious, forgotten variety and, little by little, it started to gather some following. In 2010 the efforts by the strong-willed Nascetta-growers were paid off as the variety was finally accepted as an official variety of DOC Langhe so that the wines needn't be labeled as <i>vino da tavola</i> with no designation of vintage or origin.</div>
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Nascetta might be a variety difficult to cultivate with unpredictable yields, but since its discovery over a century ago the variety has been noted from the high-quality wines it produces. Although not a particularly expressive variety, it is categorized as a semi-aromatic variety due to the high content of terpenes, especially linalool – the compound responsible for the floral aromas also found in Muscat grapes. The variety is known for its good structure, rather high acidity and great balance between the fruitier notes and the bitterness that seems to be a defining characteristic of the variety. Though many producers age their Nascetta wines in stainless steel, the grape seems to adapt well to both longer skin contact maceration and aging in oak barrels. What the variety lacks is a good marketing force behind it: last time I met with Enrico Rivetto he said that many producers believe in the high quality of Nascetta and also believe that it might be the next big thing to come out of Langhe region, but unfortunately there is very little co-operation among the producers of Nascetta. If the producers would co-operate, they could have their voices heard better, instead of being just lone singular voices lost in the noise. Seeing both how vehemently Rivetto believes in his Nascetta wines and how great his wines really are, I can do nothing but agree. Nascetta really seems to be that white variety that could bring in some welcome difference in the Nebbiolo-Barbera-Dolcetto-driven red landscape of Langhe hills.</div>
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I have tasted a handful of Nascetta wines over the past few years. Here are my notes on them:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga47mD2lBaXoIP4v4VL8td9Jmghr-m-jehZIjZ5kga7gOM7R6NwGTw_Ym7vg5ka56ITB1OcccGFkYOlT30QtpHGMFfehmj4I9f7gSvHFEXjWGidhRGNGu4PfmZzu9kbIpwmKNXf5OTp28/s1600/langhenascetta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga47mD2lBaXoIP4v4VL8td9Jmghr-m-jehZIjZ5kga7gOM7R6NwGTw_Ym7vg5ka56ITB1OcccGFkYOlT30QtpHGMFfehmj4I9f7gSvHFEXjWGidhRGNGu4PfmZzu9kbIpwmKNXf5OTp28/s200/langhenascetta.jpg" title="" width="56" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Rivetto Langhe Nascetta 2013</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">DOC Langhe</span></div>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li><a href="http://rivetto.it/en/" target="-">Rivetto</a></li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Piedmont, Langhe</li>
<li>Grape(s): Nascetta (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 20€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: October 16th, 2014</li>
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<a href="http://winestyleonline.com/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: winestyle</span></a></div>
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3 days of maceration with skins. Vinified with natural yeasts over 9 months in steel tanks.</div>
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In the glass the wine shows intense lemon color with pale green highlights.</div>
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The wine feels open and quite aromatic with aromas of red apple, hay, almond and honeydew melon. Underneath there are nuances of green herbs, some yellow plums and a slightest lifted touch of nail polish.</div>
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On the palate the wine feels quite full-bodied and supple, yet also dry and nicely structured. There are flavors of ripe red apple, yellow plums, some herbs, a little honeydew melon, a touch of honey and some rather intense, chalky minerality that turns a bit to salinity towards the finish. Overall the mouthfeel of the wine is soft and easily approachable, yet also really fresh and far from flabby or tired.</div>
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The wine finishes with a mid-length to lengthy, dry aftertaste with flavors of herbs, wet stones, sea salinity, some quinine bitterness and fruity hints of apple, yellow stone fruits and lemony citrus fruits.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>91/100</b></span></div>
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Although my description might make it sound that this is a rich and fruity white, this is not. Rivetto Nascetta is more of a dry, bitter and mineral white only with notably large presence. The flavor profile is surprisingly stony and dry, with less emphasis on the fruit side, making the wine feel unexpectedly complex, balanced and intriguing. Not a big and showy grape variety, Nascetta is in turned here into a lovely, interesting and gastronomic wine that can be not only easily paired with a different variety of foods, but cellared for mid-term as well. Sophisticated and balanced effort, showing good value at 20€.</div>
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***</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxJsqRr-D5w0_zzcqx4_AjpK41k5a3ET_zBKP_7HeVMlytxImind9rni86am9ypRZFSp9Wecrlmv3BoCJCPYGZJXlJFOB07kNZB83cusVXcu6iY6x1Ffryu-ge7EeCZU7mqdzQafsUiA8/s1600/nascetta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxJsqRr-D5w0_zzcqx4_AjpK41k5a3ET_zBKP_7HeVMlytxImind9rni86am9ypRZFSp9Wecrlmv3BoCJCPYGZJXlJFOB07kNZB83cusVXcu6iY6x1Ffryu-ge7EeCZU7mqdzQafsUiA8/s200/nascetta.jpg" title="" width="51" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>San Silvestro Ghercina Nas-Cëtta 2013</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">DOC Langhe</span></div>
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<li><a href="http://www.sansilvestrovini.com/" target="-">Cantine San Silvestro</a></li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Piedmont, Langhe</li>
<li>Grape(s): Nascetta (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 14€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: April 20th, 2015</li>
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<a href="http://www.sansilvestrovini.com/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: sansilvestro</span></a></div>
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A wine made from the grapes sourced from the <i>comune</i> of Novello, the birthplace of Nascetta at the heart of the Barolo wine region. </div>
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The wine has a yellow-green lemon color.</div>
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In the glass the wine has a youthful and a bit reticent nose with fruity aromas of yellow plums, sweet apples, some floral acacia notes and a hint of peach.</div>
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On the palate the wine feels full-bodied, but with good acidity that gives the wine a lot of structure and even some tart crispness. Flavor-wise there are dry, pure flavors of apple, stony minerality and some apple peel bitterness.</div>
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The finish is medium-long, slightly warm and even more bitter than the midpalate with flavors of aromatic herbs, fresh yellow apples, some apple peel notes and faint floral hints.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>85/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: Overall this "Nas-Cëtta" is a nice little wine that works perfectly as an aperitif sipper and a food wine with light antipasti. Despite showing the semiaromatic and slightly bitter characteristics typical of the variety, this seems to be at the end of the day a quite simple and one-dimensional effort compared to the better Nascettas. Though I must admit, the wine was very moderately priced at only 14€ in a restaurant in Castiglione Falletto.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6gA34PWxJPovZSQR-H7ugdZ-OrDYktXJS6IrwXlECi-yzxqIJu4kqTJ1t6Sx0zESzRxJ8lPbozjyL8hJbQ0QiRE39u8Mu51DA6SxN3n423TaRzt-p3bmUUuBU9efYBPPQO42J4jDGDKg/s1600/langhenascetta2009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6gA34PWxJPovZSQR-H7ugdZ-OrDYktXJS6IrwXlECi-yzxqIJu4kqTJ1t6Sx0zESzRxJ8lPbozjyL8hJbQ0QiRE39u8Mu51DA6SxN3n423TaRzt-p3bmUUuBU9efYBPPQO42J4jDGDKg/s200/langhenascetta2009.jpg" title="" width="53" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Ettore Germano Langhe Nascetta 2013</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">DOC Langhe</span></div>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li><a href="http://www.ettoregermano.com/en/">Ettore Germano</a></li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Piedmont, Langhe</li>
<li>Grape(s): Nascetta (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 14€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: April 23rd, 2015</li>
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<a href="http://www.ettoregermano.com/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: ettore germano</span></a></div>
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The grapes are sourced from a 0,4 ha (1 acre) plot in Alta Langa, planted in 2004. The wine is macerated for an impressive period 5 days with the skins to extract more depth, complexity and structure from this semi-aromatic, yet often rather austere variety. Aged for 6 months in stainless steel and further 5 months in bottles. No malolactic fermentation. Annual production of only 2,000 bottles.</div>
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The wine has a deep green-yellow color of a barely ripe lemon.</div>
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Slightly reticent, cool nose with lots of understated complecity; aromas of honey, yellow stone fruits, some wet stones, a little ripe lemons and a hint of herbal greenness.</div>
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On the palate the wine feels full-bodied and rich with high, structured acidity, yet also with almost oily mouthfeel. Dry, quite intense and complex flavors of minerality, sweet stone fruits, succulent White Transparent apple, mirabelle plums, some spicy complexity, light ripe pear notes and a hint of smoke. Also a slightest touch of tannic grip can be felt, contributing to the structure of the wine.</div>
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The wine finishes with a crisp, tightly wound and rather mineral-driven aftertaste with dry flavors of tart green apple and lemon-driven citrus fruits, some greengage, a little astringent bitterness and a touch of wax.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>93/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: This is easily the most impressive Langhe Nascetta I've tasted with remarkable depth, complexity and structure. Apparently the prolonged skin contact seems to suit this variety well. Germano's Nascetta is truly delicious stuff with a lot of cellaring potential. At only 14€ this is a real find. Highly recommended.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_-mXndbp-vvxDdfHR4oDVPvnWPetuL-TCWPKvzeaXckiizov5AXHW9XTfHyJKCkrVmBj9rh4NNrtk6nucx1hyrALCymsoUyfTsMiOE2vWnTOg2hoVAPnoPpenzbpUKUBJekTGHsbFEKo/s1600/nascetta2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_-mXndbp-vvxDdfHR4oDVPvnWPetuL-TCWPKvzeaXckiizov5AXHW9XTfHyJKCkrVmBj9rh4NNrtk6nucx1hyrALCymsoUyfTsMiOE2vWnTOg2hoVAPnoPpenzbpUKUBJekTGHsbFEKo/s200/nascetta2013.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="" width="50" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Diego Conterno Langhe Nascetta 2013</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">DOC Langhe</span></div>
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<li><a href="http://www.diegoconterno.it/" target="-">Diego Conterno</a></li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Piedmont, Langhe</li>
<li>Grape(s): Nascetta (100%)</li>
<li>Tasted on: April 25th, 2015</li>
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<a href="http://www.diegoconterno.it/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: diego conterno</span></a></div>
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This wine is made from grapes sourced from plots located at the altitude of 400 meters a.s.l.; the wine is aged for 6 months in stainless steel tanks.</div>
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The color is pale watery green.</div>
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The nose exhibits bright, fragrant aromas of sweet yellow apple, grass, hay, some stony minerality and hints of gooseberry.</div>
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On the palate the wine is quite full-bodied yet nicely refreshing and high in acidity. The flavors are rich, yet not particularly ripe, with notes of wet stones, crisp lemony citrus fruits, sweeter red apple notes with less emphasized nuances of tart green apple, some steely minerality, a little vegetal greenness and a hint of bitterness. There is also a hint of sweeter stone fruit at the tip of the tongue.</div>
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The finish is dry and quite austere, but pretty lengthy as well with understated complexity. There are flavors of herbs, stony minerality, almost quinine bitterness, grassy greenness, some grapefuit pith and a little granite minerality.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>91/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: In a nutshell, this is a really attractive little white with very dry, rather bitter and somewhat austere flavors, yet with nice weight and sense of complexity. A wine like this that seems to be lacking in fruit might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I really did enjoy the refreshing qualities, good structure and layered nuances this wine offered. It is a good food wine, but its austere flavors with at times rather pronounced bitterness may take toll on its versatility – it might not be easy to pair a wine like this so that it wouldn't either clash with the food or overwhelm it. Still, a nice little drop that might even age nicely for short-to-medium term. Recommended.</div>
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Overall Nascetta has taken me by quite a surprise: just two years ago it was a variety I had never even heard before, but only within a year I had managed to find a handful of very different, yet overall positive examples of the variety, reinforcing my positive impression of it. I've yet to taste a barrel-aged version, as they seem rather hard to come by – many producers feel that Nascetta fares best when aged in neutral vessels which don't come into the way of the aromatics of the variety. As this is a notion I can agree with, I'm actually not that keen on searching specifically for a barrel-aged Nascetta; however, should I ever come across a barrel-aged example of the variety, I would gladly taste it – in the name of science, wine journalism and curiosity!</div>
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I couldn't help but notice how some producers seem to favor skin maceration times that are rather long in traditional white wine vinification – most likely due to the fact that even though Nascetta is a semi-aromatic variety, a great part of its aromatic compounds are in its skins, not in the juice. This has made me wonder whether Nascetta could be a suitable variety in making orange wine as well? Something not unlike how Ribolla Gialla – occasionally considered a rather undistinguished white variety – turned into something profoundly complex and unique with extended skin maceration in the hands of such people like <b>Josko Gravner</b> and <b>Stanko Radikon</b>. Maybe amber Nascetta wines could be the next "outside the box" wine of Piedmont?</div>
Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410132544589500796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8271454715333987114.post-81242850193638711132016-12-07T12:19:00.001+02:002016-12-08T12:00:53.192+02:00Vertical of the month: Burgaud Côte du Py 2006-2012<div style="text-align: justify;">Beaujolais made great work in gaining worldwide recognition in 1970s to 1990s by creating the Beaujolais Nouveau phenomenon. However, at the same time they effectively managed to ruin their reputation of a respected region capable of producing tremendous, serious wine. When people started to associate the name Beaujolais only with that simple, inexpensive, fruit-forward swill redolent of banana and bubblegum aromas, no-one in their right minds touched a bottle of Beaujolais anymore.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">And that is a great shame, because many of the best Beaujolais wines – especially many of those coming from the 10 specific Crus located in the northern part of Beaujolais – can easily match (and even surpass) the power, depth, poise and elegance of the esteemed Côte de Nuits reds from the neighboring region of Burgundy – and often at only a small fraction of their prices! Fortunately the serious Beaujolais reds are now regaining their recognition, but it has taken the quality-oriented producers several decades and a lot of effort to remedy the bad publicity rounded up by the Nouveau wines.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Beaujolais is also a region known not only of the Nouveau wines, but as one of the birthplaces of the so-called <i>natural wine</i> movement. Many natural wine producers follow the non-interventionist philosophies that originated some 50 years ago from a handful of Beaujolais producers and winemakers, spearheaded by a winemaker-scientist <b>Jules Chauvet</b>, and since developed further by prolific names like <b>Guy Breton</b>, <b>Jean-Paul Brun</b>, <b>Joseph Chamonard</b>, <b>Jean Foillard</b>, <b>Marcel Lapierre</b>, and <b>Jean-Paul Thévenet</b>. These are producers many new natural winemakers look up to and also names often associated with the best Beaujolais wines.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the members belonging to the top echelon of Beaujolais's natural winemakers is <b>Jean-Marc Burgaud</b>, the head of his eponymous winery, Domaine Jean-Marc Burgaud, founded in 1989. A great majority of his holdings spanning 17,5 ha are located in the Beaujolais Cru region of Morgon, known to be the sub-region capable of producing the most concentrated and cellarworthy examples of Beaujolais wines – along with the equally impressive Cru of Moulin-à-Vent. Furthermore, a big part (approx. 8 ha) of these Morgon vineyards of Burgaud are located in sub-sub-region of Côte du Py, generally regarded as the best location within Morgon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Burgaud's approach to vinegrowing and winemaking is quite simplistic one: his extremely densely cultivated vineyards see no synthetic fertilizers or repellents and they are tended by hand, whereas the wines are vinified naturally with strict hands-off policy and they receive only a small dose of sulfites upon bottling. The wines are vinified in a "Burgundian" fashion: instead of using the traditional carbonic maceration-fermentation process so commonplace in Beaujolais, Burgaud vinifies his wines with traditional method of crushing the grapes and letting the skins, seeds and pips macerate in the fermenting juice. The wines are vinified and aged either in concrete vats or old, neutral 228-liter <i>pièce</i> barrels. Due to these methods, Burgaud's wines are obviously tougher, more brooding and concentrated than the Beaujolais wines are in general. As Burgaud's winemaking is quite reductive, his wines can be a bit muted or reductive upon opening a bottle – especially a young one – but they are also remarkably long-lived, capable of aging effortlessly for several decades.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now here is a comparative vertical of Burgaud's Côte du Py wine spanning 7 consecutive vintages, shedding some light on how these wines age.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin1eBLC5lFmrrAb72F0H3hTebcLK0Tr8CdRDCFR1Ooloper0ZvDdUDMmDVR25SZmMAT-u4YyOxvqwbEMrz7YraIe6rg2R5FtETFHHYEIxQRy74KRV-tCIjaWJp8nIejTWKulLlFD9RN-c/s1600/cotedupy2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin1eBLC5lFmrrAb72F0H3hTebcLK0Tr8CdRDCFR1Ooloper0ZvDdUDMmDVR25SZmMAT-u4YyOxvqwbEMrz7YraIe6rg2R5FtETFHHYEIxQRy74KRV-tCIjaWJp8nIejTWKulLlFD9RN-c/s200/cotedupy2012.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="" width="55" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Burgaud Côte du Py</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">AOC Morgon</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Domaine Jean-Marc Burgaud</li>
<li>Region: Bourgogne, Beaujolais, Morgon, Côte du Py</li>
<li>Grape(s): Gamay (100%)</li>
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</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://haywines.co.uk/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: haywines</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The mid-tier wine in the range of Burgaud: this is definitely more concentrated and serious than a great majority of his production, but still a notch or two under the few, more serious "reserve" bottlings. The grapes come from very old vineyards (approx. 50 yo) located in the famous Côte du Py subregion within the famed Morgon Cru. The grapes are macerated with the fermenting must for 12–14 days and the aging takes place exclusively in concrete vats, keeping such elements as oxygen and oak from muddling the purity of the fruit. The wine is always bottled after some 6 months of aging, in spring following the harvest, normally around April. One of the Burgaud's longer-lived wines.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Burgaud Côte du Py 2012</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: 15th of December, 2014</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A difficult vintage, plagued by continuous rains. As the grapes struggled to ripen, the yields were on average the lowest in 40 years, resulting in very structured and concentrated reds.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Translucent black-red color. Quite sturdy nose with complex and a bit wild aromas of bitter orange peel (think of Campari), brooding dark fruit, sweet kirsch and hints of fresh blueberries. Full-bodied, rich and structured on the palate with moderate tannins and high acidity that seems to grow in the mouth. Very youthful and intense flavors of ripe red fruits, some cherry and a little bitterness that might partially be just tannic astringency. The long and persistent finish is full of focused, complex flavors like barely ripe blueberries, pronounced stony minerality, some sharp cranberry skin notes and a little tannic bitterness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>91/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: A very serious, stern and, most of all, very youthful Morgon wine that shows tremendous cellaring potential, but is still so very tightly-knit that it doesn't really show much yet. Even with long air time the wine seems very forbidding, and although not austere per se, still something along those lines. Probably will be really beautiful as the wine unfolds and starts to resolve after some years in the cellar. The score is a bit on the conservative side now and will probably go up as the wine ages. Highly recommended.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Burgaud Côte du Py 2011</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: 15th of December, 2014</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Generally regarded as a good, warm vintage resulting in quite big but balanced wines showing great ripeness. Especially the wines from Morgon and Moulin-à-Vent were very succesful.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Translucent black-red color. Very youthful, ripe and almost sweet nose with very red-fruit driven aromas of cranberry, lingonberry, some brambly notes and a little wild Campari notes with a darker-toned earthy undertone. Quite full-bodied, stern and even tough on the palate with very muscular and grippy tannins and high acidity. Darker-toned flavors of dark cherry, sour cherry, concentrated ripe dark berries, some savory crowberry notes and a little cranberry tartness. Very dense, chewy and robust finish with flavors of concentrated dark cherry, brambly blackberries, earthy spice and some stemmy notes with pronounced tannic bitterness and astringency.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>92/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: A lot bigger, heavier and more muscular effort than the 2012 vintage showing very much cellaring potential, but also being almost inapproachable now. Super-concentrated and tough on the palate with the grippy tannins and high acidity keeping the fruit in a stranglehold. A very impressive effort, but in dire need of extended cellaring – probably will show beautifully after 10 years or so.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Burgaud Côte du Py 2010</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: 15th of December, 2014</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A difficult vintage resulting in really impressive wines: the flowering started out poorly, reducing yield noticeably, and the whole summer in Beaujolais was very cool and the grapes struggled to ripen. However, the weather during the harvest warmed up considerably, ripening the grapes later than normally. Thus many of the wines show great balance and concentrated with remarkable depth of flavors as a result from the long growing cycle and late ripening.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Translucent black-red color. Very aromatic, perfumed and slightly wild, fragrant nose with aromas of crushed red berries, cherries, some plums and hints of dark-skinned berries. Medium-bodied and surprisingly dense and concentrated on the palate with very ripe, juicy and even slightly sweet fruit flavors of ripe cherries, crunchy dark berries, some meatiness and light aromatic hints of dried herbs. Moderately high in acidity with firm, structured tannins. Quite long, stern and very mineral finish with flavors of wet rocks, sour cherries, tart cranberries and some rough tannic astringency.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>93/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Not as forbidding and austere as the vintages 2011 and 2012, but nowhere as mellow and easy as the 2009 either. This wine is quite serious and structured, but shows some approachability as well: although the wine will easily hold for a decade or even more, it is also starting to drink nicely right now. It shows great balance between the ripe, crunchy fruit and firm structure. A textbook example of wonderful Morgon, very highly recommended.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Burgaud Côte du Py 2009</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: 15th of December, 2014</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A very warm vintage throughout Europe. The producers in Beaujolais had no problem seeing their grapes attained full maturity and harvest was relatively early as many producers felt it was necessary to pick the grapes before they became overripe, losing their vital acidity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Very deep, concentrated dark cherry color showing only very little translucency. Obviously very sweet and ripe nose showing highly aromatic, fragrant aromas of juicy red fruits, red cherries, some plum liqueur, a little raisin and a slight volatile hint of balsamico lift. On the palate the wine is very full-bodied for a Gamay with dense, spicy and almost chewy texture. Despite the sweet nose, the wine feels quite dry with flavors of ripe dark cherry, floral complexity and some juicy damson. Contrasting to the normal Burgaud's style, the structure here is rather mellow with moderate acidity and ripe, rather modest tannins. The finish is only medium in length with quite ripe, fruit-forward notes of dark plums, earth and a hint of stony minerality.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>89/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Overall this vintage is surprisingly easy and mellow in style – and not just for a Burgaud, but for a Morgon. The very warm vintage is very evident not just in the modest acidity and mellow tannins, but also in the sweet, almost raisined aromas. Although on the palate the wine is not as soft and sweet as the nose suggests, it is still feels a rather low point in this vertical. This is a thoroughly good high-quality Beaujolais, but still very far removed from the best vintages of Burgaud. It will probably age nicely and probably become more enjoyable with more age, but this is not a vintage I would age extensively.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Burgaud Côte du Py 2008</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: 15th of December, 2014</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A really difficult vintage plagued by rain, hailstorms and diseases. Due to the cool conditions, the grapes ripened very late and often not in a good condition. Wines made in this vintage demanded a lot of work in the vineyard and lots of grape sorting in order to do any high-quality wine. Good wines from this vintage are few.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Quite deep and dark color of cherry marmalade, showing rather little translucency. The fragrant nose feels quite cool, yet suggesting a lot of sweet notes with ripe red cherry on the fore, supported by sharper notes of tart red berries and some green herbs. Noticeably light and ethereal on the palate; I'd even call it delicate and elegant, were it not for the robust tannins and angular flavors of sour and also slightly sweet cherry, some tart cranberry notes and a hint of iron. The tannins are not as ample as they can be, but they feel unpolished with quite noticeable grip. The acidity is quite modest not only for Burgaud style but overall for a Morgon wine. The finish is rather reticent and medium in length with flavors of ripe red fruit, fragrant floral nuances and a little pepper-driven spiciness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>88/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: A very restrained example of Burgaud, yet showing some unpolished roughness despite its lithe body and understated expression. Perfectly enjoyable, but definitely not a good example of Burgaud's style: probably won't develop that nicely in the cellar, but will instead just fade away with years. Although the wine is not as tightly-knit as most Burgaud's Morgons are, the structure feels a bit unbalanced in relation to the fruit. A wine better enjoyed during the next few years.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Burgaud Côte du Py 2007</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: 15th of December, 2014</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A difficult vintage in Beaujolais with very cool conditions throughout the summer, reducing the yields under the average. However, the northern Cru regions fared a lot better with the warm and dry autumnal weather letting the grapes ripen fully, although very late.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Luminous dark ruby red color with moderate translucency. A fragrant and slightly developed, but also somewhat understated nose with aromas of dusty cherry, purple and dark berries, some sweeter cherry marmalade notes, a little meatiness and a hint of sappy green notes suggesting stemminess. Dry, quite full-bodied and rather acid-driven on the palate with focused and quite ripe flavors of ripe dark cherry, juicy red fruit, some herbal green notes, a little peppery spice and a hint of supple plummy fruit. Moderately pronounced, firm tannins. The finish is dry and rather taut with pronounced tannic grip, giving the aftertaste a bitter and slightly astringent feel, supported with acid-driven, tart flavors of lingonberries and cranberries with a slightly stemmy note of green wood.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>91/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Well, the difficult vintage shows here a little bit. Although there is good sense of ripeness to the fruit, the wine seems to suffer a bit from lack of focus and not altogether pleasant green notes peek through both in the nose and on the palate. Overall this is a very good and enjoyable Cru Beaujolais, but even with some bottle age it does not show that rough-hewn finesse of the best Burgaud reds. Probably will age nicely and develop further with age.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Burgaud Côte du Py 2006</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: 15th of December, 2014</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A very uneven vintage of extreme weathers. On average not a vintage considered to be that ageworthy, although many producers have produced tremendous wines that still are in their youth.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Translucent dark cherry color. Sweet, aromatic and fragrant nose that is the first of these vintages that actually is starting to show faint signs of age: aromas of ripe dark cherry, blue- and dark skinned berries, some stony dust, light and ever-so-slightly sweet hints of red fruit marmalade and prunes concentrated by the age, and a faint nuance of wild, slightly lifted aromatics. Medium-bodied on the palate and obviously very concentrated for a Beaujolais; the complex flavors are dominated by a rather pronounced bitter, mineral and somewhat spicy tone with layered fruit flavors of ripe cherry and lighter hints of dark fruit. The structure is quite firm with balanced, high acidity and ample tannins. Although the tannins feel rather mellow and resolved at first, they gain power on the palate, becoming very grippy and powerful. Overall the wine shows nice, chewy texture. The finish is quite long and almost mouth-puckering with its firm, grippy tannins and high-ish acidity that emphasizes the flavors of bitter spices and sour cherries and the underlying stony mineral hints.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>94/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: A superb example of Burgaud's style that shows his wines apparently start hitting their stride only at the age of approximately 8 years. The wine is obviously still on its way up with a lot of further improvement, but the wine isn't as stern and forbidding as the young Burgaud's so easily are. The fruit, that is showing very balanced and not excessive ripeness, isn't choked down by the structure, but instead is in wonderful balance as the structure has resolved a bit. With also some slightly developed nuances showing as well this is one of the greatest Burgaud's Côte de Py wines I've had. Highly recommended, a great testament to the benefit of cellaring these Cru Bojos.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC2f3XoQPsmwsk2wZwluDx-CR6gx00pHpfdXEnUX4dSMl6KvoumKp_bsU78ixUNR7wTn8eBtddDm7DWO77pM1kwPE6aNGxTHVkS0daQBl_XTXhzcg-uzgDRo7hqGPGq26QL6fbEcd8CHs/s1600/burgaud.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC2f3XoQPsmwsk2wZwluDx-CR6gx00pHpfdXEnUX4dSMl6KvoumKp_bsU78ixUNR7wTn8eBtddDm7DWO77pM1kwPE6aNGxTHVkS0daQBl_XTXhzcg-uzgDRo7hqGPGq26QL6fbEcd8CHs/s400/burgaud.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wines, from 2006 to 2012.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm so very happy that the Beaujolais wines are regaining the recognition they deserve. For such a long time a great wine-drinking majority thought that Beaujolais was nothing but simple, juice-like swill that smells of banana candies; as this vertical here shows, the best wines of Beaujolais are anything but! Especially the best Cru Bojo wines (<b>Morgon</b> and <b>Moulin-à-Vent</b> are names you might want to remember, if you enjoy stern and structured reds) from the best producers – like Burgaud here – can be really impressive and cellar-worthy, easily comparable to the great Burgundy reds, although, with a completely different, local character altogether. So, if you previously had misconceptions about the region, the next time you see a Beaujolais wine on the shelves of a wine store, don't just think of it as a simple, easy-and-early-drinking little red. It might be one of those stern and structured beauties you should be filling your cellar with.</div>Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410132544589500796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8271454715333987114.post-29867827535333107272016-11-26T22:12:00.004+02:002017-03-12T23:39:45.780+02:00Vertical of the month: Frank Cornelissen<div style="text-align: justify;">In this day and age, when so-called <i>natural wines</i> are apparently all the rage, it seems that the people who haven't heard of <b>Frank Cornelissen</b> and his unique wines are quite hard to come by. But in the off chance that somebody unaware of him is reading my blog now, I thought it would be a good thing to start with an introduction of sorts on him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Frank Cornelissen is a Belgian winemaker from Mount Etna, Sicily, Italy, whose wines have been popping up in articles and features here and there for the past decade or so. Before becoming a winemaker, he worked as a wine agent; however, in 2000, after having discovered the wines of Etna, he moved to Sicily, rented some vineyards and started making wine in a small cottage. Fast-forward a few years and Cornelissen has bought himself some very old, ungrafted vineyards from the volcano of Etna and is starting to make some name with his winery <b>Azienda Agricola Frank Cornelissen</b> and its characterful wines.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">What makes Cornelissen's wines unique is his style of winemaking – or, perhaps more accurately, what the winemaking is lacking. Because even within these <i>natural wine</i> circles (where people make wines with as minimal interventions as possible) Cornelissen is regarded as an extremist of sorts. This is because he really doesn't do pretty much anything at all with his wines – the grapes are just crushed, the must is left to ferment and the final result is bottled, warts and all. Even within the natural wine circles this kind of total non-interventionism is quite rare. But despite being regarded as an extremist in relation to his winemaking, Cornelissen is hardly a fundamentalist. He is not making wines with a strictly set of rules, but instead with an attempt to learn from previous mistakes and constantly improve his end results. The only thing what is not changed is the principle that nature must run its own course with the wines, without any human intervention. Anything beyond that is improved year by year: whereas the older vintages of Cornelissen might have been notoriously unpredictable with heavy bottle variation, the more recent vintages are quite uniform with more precision and focus.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The 15 hectares of Cornelissen's low-yielding vineyards are cultivated in a non-interventionist fashion as well. The vineyards are planted with low density in order to ensure good ventilation and enough water for each plant. Cornelissen strives to use no treatments at all in the vineyard – a practice he has actually succeeded in with some vintages. Concerning the winemaking, the great majority of Cornelissen's wines are fermented and often also aged in fiberglass tubs while the most tannic and concentrated red and amber wines are fermented and aged in large, epoxy-coated clay amphorae that are buried in volcanic soil up to their necks. Cornelissen lets the wines ferment with indigenous yeasts and often employs very long skin maceration times – the crushed grapes are left to macerate with the fermenting must and the resulting wine is separated from the skins only after both the fermentation and the malolactic fermentation have run their course, normally after several weeks or even months. When the wines are finally bottled, they are bottled completely unfined and unfiltered. Cornelissen does not use sulfites at any point in the winemaking, not at the crush, not during or after fermentation nor upon bottling. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wines of Cornelissen fall into four different tiers.</div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><b>Contadino</b> is the basic-level wine of the Cornelissen range. Originally this wine was a pale red or a funky rosé of sorts. It was – and still is – a multi-vineyard, multi-varietal field blend wine, into which Cornelissen uses all the grapes that do not go into his other wines. This includes both red and white grapes; originally the final varietal composition was about 70% reds, 30% whites, which explained the pale red color. However, nowadays the wine is almost exclusively composed of red grapes (mainly Nerello Mascalese) and from 2015 onwards the wine has actually been labeled as DOC Etna Rosso, instead of previous IGT Terre Siciliane. Although only "basic level" and the least expensive, Contadinos are still wines of remarkable depth, easily capable of aging for at least a decade. Annual production is 24,000 bottles.</li>
<li><b>Susucaru</b> is another basic-level wine produced for the first time in 2007 and it has taken the place of old Contadino, in a sense. It is the "rosé" wine of Cornelissen and labeled as IGT Terre Siciliane Rosato, but in effect it is an orange wine (aka. skin contact white) composed of Catarratto, Inzolia, Malvasia and Moscadella with some red Nerello Mascalese to give the wine a red hue. Annual production is 18,000 bottles.</li>
<li><b>Munjebel</b> is the mid-tier wine series of Cornelissen and includes wines both red and white. The red <b>Munjebel Rosso </b>is a pure Nerello Mascalese from four different, old (60 yo) vineyards, whereas the white is currently a blend of Grecanico (60%) and Carricante (40%) from four different, old (40 yo) vineyards. The white is made exactly the same way as the red wine, including prolonged skin contact until the fermentation and malolactic fermentation have finished, letting the wine age in clay amphorae for 15 months and bottling the wine unfined and unfiltered, resulting in a amber / orange wine with lots of visible sediment in the bottle. The annual production is 11,000 bottles for the red Munjebel and 4,000 bottles for the white Munjebel.</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;">The penultimate tier spans one skin contact white and four red wines, all of them special bottlings of the regular Munjebel:</div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><b>Munjebel Bianco VA</b> ("Vigne Alte"; Grecanico 60%, Coda di Volpe 30%, Catarratto 10%) is produced only from the best grapes sourced from a single vineyard where almost centenarian ungrafted vines are cultivated at the altitude of 1,000 meters. Annual production is 500 bottles.</li>
<li><b>Munjebel Rosso VA</b> ("Vigne Alte"; Nerello Mascalese 100%) is produced only from the best grapes sourced from three vineyards where almost centenarian ungrafted vines are cultivated at the altitude of 1,000 meters. Annual production is 1,800 bottles.</li>
<li><b>Munjebel Rosso CS</b> ("Chiusa Spagnolo"; Nerello Mascalese 100%) is a single vineyard MunJebel from an almost centenarian, ungrafted vineyard located rather low ("only" 620 meters above the sea level). Annual production is 1,800 bottles.</li>
<li><b>Munjebel Rosso MC</b> ("Monte Colla"; Nerello Mascalese 100%) is a single vineyard MunJebel from a very steep, terraced vineyard located at the altitude of 760 meters, where vines with 70 years of age are cultivated. Annual production is 1,800 bottles.</li>
<li><b>Munjebel Rosso PA</b> ("Porcaria"; Nerello Mascalese 100%) is a single vineyard MunJebel from a vineyard located at the altitude of 640 meters, where the grapes often struggle to reach optimum level of ripeness. Annual production is 1,800 bottles.</li>
<li><b>Magma</b> is the legendary flagship wine of Frank Cornelissen, produced only in the best vintages. Previously it has been produced from a variety of vineyards, but now it is produced from a single Barbabecchi vineyard, located at the altitude of 1,000 meters above the sea level, where ungrafted, centenarian vines are cultivated. Only the best, hand-selected, ripe (but not overripe) grapes from this vineyard go into Magma, whereas the rest are used in MunJebel Rosso. The grapes are foot-crushed and fermented in wooden containers, then moved into buried terracotta amphorae to age and finish malolactic fermentation naturally. After the MLF is finished the wine is racked off the lees and then aged in amphorae for 15 months. Annual production 1,300 bottles.</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;">Curiously, most of the Cornelissen's wines are priced at less what their actual value should be, if production costs and all that should be taken into account. As Cornelissen realized that the MunJebel wines would be prohibitively expensive for a great majority of wine drinkers – an idea which he didn't like – he raised noticeably the price of Magma and lowered respectively the prices of MunJebel wines. The reasoning behind this was that there will always be people who can afford wines they want to drink, whatever their prices are, he could price his extremely limited flagship wine accordingly – not to make money, but instead make the rest of his production more affordable to the greater public!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">*** </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Contadino 4</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Vino da Tavola</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.frankcornelissen.it/" target="-">Azienda Agricola Frank Cornelissen</a></li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Sicily, Etna</li>
<li>Grapes: Alicante, Carricante, Catarratto, Inzolia, Nerello Cappuccio, Nerello Mascalese </li>
<li>Price: ~30,00€ / 0,75 l</li>
<li>Tasted: February 26th, 2014</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A field blend of different white and red varieties, based on the vintage 2006, made completely without sulfites.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Initially cloudy, almost murky pink color with purple highlights, but quickly settles into a pale, translucent cranberry juice red color. Rather subtle, but very complex, lifted nose of leathery funk, sweet volatile notes, dried prunes, some <i>lambic</i>-like sourness and a hint of diethyl ether from the alcohol (15%). The nose is definitely sweet and ripe, but far from overripe and jammy. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, but unlike the nose, also bone-dry and really bracing with high, racy acidity. There are flavors of sunny red fruits, juicy figs, tart lingonberries and a hint of leather. The slightly grippy tannins are quite modest, but the high alcohol remains completely hidden. Only in the finish the alcohol becomes rather evident with quite pronounced warmth. There are long, juicy flavors of crunchy cranberries and lingonberries, some robust animal notes and hints of dusty, sun-baked earth and rocky minerality.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">All in all, this wine is an interesting paradox: you'd expect something heavy and sweet by the nose, but the wine is surprisingly dry and structured on the palate. It is also quite full-bodied and high in alcohol, yet it drinks like a cool-climate Pinot Noir or Gamay with high drinkability! I'm confused, but also very charmed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>90/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Despite being the "basic" wine of Cornelissen, there is nothing "basic" in this one! Definitely an antipole to the modern, industrial wines. Considering that the wine was over 7 years old at the time of tasting, this wine has held together remarkably well, not showing the least bit signs of tiring – or even aging, for that matter!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLGIeFCr3_VORHlmXt8xuP5HF0fU8Ngiz6fjiTeQV8pOG5k6dr-iHHpAH8QGtuGpAPISiV2sKSve0cGzxjK_rPX8za_58ZPrfao52CgQnxSFU-8q0Dad6J25LsOeMx9gUL6TrdLuY5_4s/s1600/contadino6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLGIeFCr3_VORHlmXt8xuP5HF0fU8Ngiz6fjiTeQV8pOG5k6dr-iHHpAH8QGtuGpAPISiV2sKSve0cGzxjK_rPX8za_58ZPrfao52CgQnxSFU-8q0Dad6J25LsOeMx9gUL6TrdLuY5_4s/s200/contadino6.jpg" title="" width="57" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Contadino 6</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Vino da Tavola</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.frankcornelissen.it/" target="-">Azienda Agricola Frank Cornelissen</a></li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Sicily, Etna</li>
<li>Grapes: Alicante, Carricante, Catarratto, Inzolia, Nerello Cappuccio, Nerello Mascalese </li>
<li>Price: ~30,00€ / 0,75 l</li>
<li>Tasted: February 26th, 2014</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.dallmayr-versand.de/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: dallmayr </span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A field blend of different white and red varieties, made completely without sulfites. The bottle does not state the vintage, but I'd assume the wine is either based completely on the vintage 2008, or then it is a blend of 2008 and 2007.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The color is very similar to the Contadino 4 – initially cloudy, murky pink with a purple hue, but settling quickly into pale, translucent cranberry juice red. I'd say the hue of this one is a bit darker, perhaps veering slightly into brown or pomegranate. Very unique and characterful lifted nose, that feels more darker-toned than that of Contadino 4. Lots of brooding VA notes bringing aromas of cough medicine and floral "violet marmalade" (yes, I couldn't get more precise than this) that are backed up of ripe, plummy fruit, something almost porty and a hint of perfume. On the palate there is striking similarity to Contadino 4: this is full-bodied and packed with sunny fruit, not unlike an Australian Shiraz, but with poise and acidity of a cool-climate Pinot Noir. There are flavors of wild strawberries and sweet red cherries, but with some sour cherry bitterness and something that I'd describe as "malty". Although the tannins are not very ample, they are quite grippy, giving the wine stern structure along with the high-ish acidity. The finish is dry and somewhat coarse, but with delicate and persistent flavors of tart lingonberries, wet forestland, some earthy spice and again that curious hint of maltiness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Contadino 6 is very similar to Contadino 4, but still very different by its aromas and flavors. Despite having some age to them, they are still very youthful and energetic wines – a testament to the aging capabilities of non-sulfited wines.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>90/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: A bright and youthful "basic" Cornelissen wine with almost Kriek lambic -kind of character with its wild and malty notes and bracing, mouth-puckering acidity. Probably not the easiest wine to pair with food, but definitely very enjoyable with its through-the-roof drinkability!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgdoWMJk78e8PvZu7JMX2ssR4SX_l1su811rGMCaOS25PSXxl73z1uf0K6JE9r_upcRUao5CDaby_jdfdP1sseeFmq7x8I7YpwoI4jgBMgTtiiLCpO7vsa9LHgYnhwN7GW6K0GzWsjMlo/s1600/contadino8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgdoWMJk78e8PvZu7JMX2ssR4SX_l1su811rGMCaOS25PSXxl73z1uf0K6JE9r_upcRUao5CDaby_jdfdP1sseeFmq7x8I7YpwoI4jgBMgTtiiLCpO7vsa9LHgYnhwN7GW6K0GzWsjMlo/s200/contadino8.jpg" title="" width="55" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Contadino 8</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Vino da Tavola</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.frankcornelissen.it/" target="-">Azienda Agricola Frank Cornelissen</a></li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Sicily, Etna</li>
<li>Grapes: Alicante, Carricante, Catarratto, Inzolia, Nerello Cappuccio, Nerello Mascalese </li>
<li>Price: ~30,00€ / 0,75 l</li>
<li>Tasted: February 26th, 2014</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.vininaturali.it/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: vininaturali</span></a> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Based on the 2010 vintage.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the glass the wine is pale pomegranate red with some haziness; in the rims the wine is quite clear. With a little wait, the haziness settles down as sediment in the bottom of the glass and the hue of the wine turns a bit darker. The nose is more open and fruit-forward than with Contadinos 4 and 6 with very ripe and sunny aromas of sweet strawberries, floral notes of violet and jasmine, crushed forest fruits, some smoky, volcanic minerality and a hint of tree bark. On the palate the wine is quite full-bodied, but also rather tightly knit with pronounced bitterness and good tannic grip. The juicy flavor department is dominated by crunchy red berries like cranberries and goji berries, but there is also a quite prominent streak of almost jammy red fruit and a hint of sweet volatility, giving the wine a really sweet edge, almost making it appear off-dry. This sweetness is, however, offset by very pronounced, racy acidity of almost lambic-like tartness and quite modest yet somewhat angular and astringent tannins. The alcohol level is a bit lower (13,5%) than those of Contadinos 4 and 6, yet it shows through ever so slightly. The finish is somewhat warm and medium in length with juicy flavors of cranberry-driven fruit, some dusty earth and hints of slightly bitter, sooty volcanic minerality.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall Contadino 8 is an attractive, succulent and highly drinkable little red(ish) wine, but paradoxically this wine seems a bit hotter than Contadinos 4 and 6, even though the alcohol is lower here. This was obviously a bit sweeter than the two previous ones, but it really didn't matter, as the acid-driven tart red fruit character served as a great counterpoint to the sweetness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>89/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: It is funny how often one can hear how wines made without sulfites can't survive for long, whereas these Contadinos – the "simplest", least expensive wines in the Cornelissen range – seem to hit their stride only around 5 years of age! This is based on how this wine seemed to be a bit less complex and more awkward than the Contadinos 4 and 6 tasted right before this – although this is really nice and interesting as well, I'd say it is very slightly behind these two older efforts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Contadino 9</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Vino da Tavola</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.frankcornelissen.it/" target="-">Azienda Agricola Frank Cornelissen</a></li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Sicily, Etna</li>
<li>Grapes: Alicante, Carricante, Catarratto, Inzolia, Nerello Cappuccio, Nerello Mascalese </li>
<li>Price: ~30,00€ / 0,75 l</li>
<li>Tasted: February 26th, 2014</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Based on the 2011 vintage.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The color is very similar to the Contadino 8, but both with a bit darker hue and with slightly less haziness. Overall Contadino 9 seems a bit more clear and less hazy than Contadinos 4, 6 and 8. Amongst these four Contadinos, number 9 is the richest and most expressive one with very fruit-forward aromas of sunny red fruit, ground green herbs, some alcohol, a little volcanic smokiness and a hint of chinotto orange (think of Campari). On the palate the wine first shows a hint of CO2 prickle, which blows away almost instantly. Flavor-wise Contadino 9 seems a lot more youthful than the three earlier iterations with quite juicy, succulent and even a bit sweet flavors of wild strawberries, tart cranberries and a hint of malt. The acidity is quite high, keeping the sweetness and structure in check, but compared to the earlier Contadinos, the acidity seems slightly lower than what is normal. The wine is moderately high in tannins, giving the palate some chewy texture and also a hint of astringency, that offsets the sweetness nicely. 15% of alcohol stays away nicely. The finish is dominated by rich, sunny red fruit flavors with hints of alcohol warmth, some tart lingonberry character and a little hints of leather and animal. However, there seems to linger a slight note of mousiness towards the end of aftertaste, giving the finish a slightly unpleasant note. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A wild, lively and vibrant natural wine, but also a bit softer and easier-to-approach than the Contadinos 4, 6 and 8.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>87/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Definitely an interesting and unique wine, but somehow this one feels a little unpolished compared to the Contadinos 4, 6 and 8 (how on earth can wines as natural as these feel polished?) and showing some not-only -enjoyable funkiness. This is quite complex and interesting, but definitely not the best one of Contadinos. It might shed some of that excess sweetness and baby fat with some years in the cellar, so probably the wine will show better after a few more years in the cellar.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Munjebel Bianco 4</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Vino da Tavola</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.frankcornelissen.it/" target="-">Azienda Agricola Frank Cornelissen</a></li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Sicily, Etna</li>
<li>Grapes: Carricante, Catarratto, Garganega</li>
<li>Price: ~35,00€ / 0,75 l</li>
<li>Tasted: February 26th, 2014</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Based on the vintage 2007. Made from Carricante, Cataratto and Grecanico Dorato – a variety better known as <i>Garganega</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A slightly hazy, honeyed yellow color with a hint of pale brown – by its appearance this wine reminds me more of IPA beers than anything vinous. Lots of sediment in the bottle. Quite reticent nose with rather subdued aromas of ripe apricot, some matured honeyed notes, a little hint of candied orange peel and a whiff of nutmeg with an elegant, minty lift. On the palate there is an initial prickle of CO2, that dissipates almost instantaneously . Flavor-wise the wine reminds me quite much of lambic beers – not just because of this prickle, but also because of the funky and somewhat earthy, wild flavors and pronounced, high acidity. The flavors are somehow quite neutral, yet still full of power and depth – there are nuances of green apples, tart green gooseberries, some balsamico vinegar volatility, a little unripe peaches and a hint of nutty oxidation. Despite its acidity, the wine feels quite full-bodied with almost oily mouthfeel. Tannins are quite light, but they still give nice bite. The finish is quite light in flavor, but rather long and remarkably fresh with flavors of green, bitter herbs, some lambic-ish green apple sourness, faint animal hints and a touch of tart lingonberries.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">At over 6 years of age, this completely sulfite-free wine is in pristine condition and full of life! Only the slightest hints of oxidation suggest that maybe the wine has some years under its belt.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>93/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: A wonderful skin contact white that has already some age to it and seems to be drinking wonderfully now, although – based how the wine seemed to just evolve in the glass – I can imagine it will develop further at least for a handful of years. Decanting is recommended; not only does the wine become more expressive with air, the bottle is also packed with deposit. All in all, this is not an easy wine, but instead one that has more in common with gueuze lambic beers than a great majority of modern white wines. Some might consider this wine faulty and undrinkable, but for me, this was a thoroughly tasty and refreshing experience. Recommended for acid-loving adventure-seekers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0tc9Tprh_iA3GpCjknVFYblO0w7RDjcAoe-tB3zqnMv4Me-RD-cQ7WyipZfDSnsfdqTKz3HEJGUBKAfyh3MjAvXN2LdGRCRSvnlAYUqJhOMfCaiD7fEs4sWtUQIOL-plBDB4Kvu_sbIA/s1600/munjebelbianco7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0tc9Tprh_iA3GpCjknVFYblO0w7RDjcAoe-tB3zqnMv4Me-RD-cQ7WyipZfDSnsfdqTKz3HEJGUBKAfyh3MjAvXN2LdGRCRSvnlAYUqJhOMfCaiD7fEs4sWtUQIOL-plBDB4Kvu_sbIA/s200/munjebelbianco7.jpg" title="" width="56" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Munjebel Bianco 7</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Vino da Tavola</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.frankcornelissen.it/" target="-">Azienda Agricola Frank Cornelissen</a></li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Sicily, Etna</li>
<li>Grapes: Carricante, Catarratto, Garganega</li>
<li>Price: ~35,00€ / 0,75 l</li>
<li>Tasted: February 26th, 2014</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.aisitalia.it/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: AIS</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Based on the vintage 2010. Made from Carricante, Cataratto and Grecanico Dorato – a variety better known as <i>Garganega</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">By its appearance Munjebel Bianco 7 is almost identical to Munjebel Bianco 4: this is as hazy yellow with a similar pale brown hue. Decanting recommended due to the big amount of sediment. However, nose-wise Munjebel Bianco 7 is completely different: this wine is quite expressive and rather funky with somewhat waxy aromas of peach, farmhouse cider, some herbal thyme notes, a little pepper-driven spice, some volcanic smoke, a little of chinotto (think of Campari) and a slightest hint of honeyed dessert wine notes. With some air, the nose gains even further complexity, starting to exhibit nuances of fresh tomatoes and slight vinegary VA, giving the nose a slightly ketchup-y tone. The nose department is so complex it feels almost silly and you really don't want to move on actually drinking the wine – not because the nose would be off-putting, but because it is so interesting you just want to keep sniffing the wine! On the palate the wine is – like so many Cornelissen wines are – bone dry with bracing acidity. There are flavors or really tart Granny Smith apples, some whitecurrants, light grapey hints of Sultana, a little saline minerality and a slightest touch of cherry-driven red fruit. The finish is really refreshing with very high, mouth-puckering acidity and with gueuze lambic-like flavors of whitecurrants, aromatic green herbs, some wet stone minerality, a little green apple and a hint of coarse bitterness. The bright and crisp aftertaste persists for moderately long.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The white Munjebel 7 seems to be a lot tighter-wound, rougher in the edges and overall more youthful than Munjebel Bianco 4 – although without the CO2 prickle. Probably some age would soften the wine a little bit and bring some more complexity to it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>91/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Overall this is remarkably fresh and charming a wine, but probably quite hard one to approach as well; after all, this wine is mainly about acidity and structure with very little of anything fruit-related. Probably this wine will suit best the fans of <i>lambic</i> beers. Judging how the Munjebels are capable of aging, I could see this wine benefiting from 4–5 more years in the cellar.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Munjebel Bianco 8</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Vino da Tavola</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.frankcornelissen.it/" target="-">Azienda Agricola Frank Cornelissen</a></li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Sicily, Etna</li>
<li>Grapes: Carricante, Catarratto, Garganega</li>
<li>Price: ~35,00€ / 0,75 l</li>
<li>Tasted: February 26th, 2014</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Based on the vintage 2011. Made from Carricante, Cataratto and Grecanico Dorato – a variety better known as <i>Garganega</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">By its appearance this wine is a bit more pale than Munjebel Biancos 4 and 7; if these two previously tasted wines looked more like IPA beers (without the head), this wine looked more like a Belgian tripel beer (also without the head). Whereas the aromas of Munjebel Biancos 4 and 7 were more restrained and herbal, this wine is more expressive and fruit-forward with aromas of bruised apple, peach, some pithy grapefruit and a hint of passion fruit, with some volatile, minty lift and something resinous, reminding me of new world hops. With some air, faint nuances of wildhoney and autolytic brioche emerge. By the nose one might expect the wine to be very ripe and full-bodied; instead it is lithe, bone-dry and bracing in its high acidity. Although the flavors exhibit generous tropical fruit aromas, they still feel austere and mouth-puckering, supported by notes of herbal greenness, freshly pressed apple juice, some bitter orange peel, a little bretty leather character and a tart hint of something like Weissbier. The light tannic grip further emphasizes the already tightly knit structure of the wine. The aftertaste is really crisp and tart with intense flavors of green apples, dried herbs, tart passion fruits, some wildhoney and bitterness that turns towards something malty and slightly nutty in a slightly rancid kind of way, maybe a hint of mousiness going on here?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Whereas the white Munjebels 4 and 7 were quite lambic-like, this wine seems to diffuse that line between white wines and beers even further, not just being really tart in a lambic-kind of way, but also showing some malty characteristics more reminiscent of some wheat beer than white wine! Although some of that malty character turns to slight roughness towards the end of the aftertaste, making me wonder whether the wine is suffering from a mild case of mousiness?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>92/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Mousy or not, this wine is an extreme wine by any standards – and extremely tasty at it! Most likely this is not a wine for most of wine drinkers, because understanding this wine fully requires you not to understand just natural wines, but also appreciate Belgian sour ales and dry farmhouse ciders. I can understand that because of these characteristics many people can deem this one outright faulty, but maybe this is like a clever pun – some people just don't get it. With its fruit-forward aromas and flavors, Munjebel Bianco 8 is more approachable than many other, less fruity iterations, but still I wouldn't consider this easily approachable wine. This is an adventure and experience of the extreme sort.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwuqTYDYPQde1DHjCp2AsYCo4YQDnLbxoKOEOgjd_GFMLmaK_i1Pv2jMY5cHh6Pq5OTvDOLsX3uXE8j6yOgG9QhgEg7SCUUjInCbH9BpqU2HVsg-74_sAvq7UCzKdNNFNzxLidXPNk0ic/s1600/munjebel4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwuqTYDYPQde1DHjCp2AsYCo4YQDnLbxoKOEOgjd_GFMLmaK_i1Pv2jMY5cHh6Pq5OTvDOLsX3uXE8j6yOgG9QhgEg7SCUUjInCbH9BpqU2HVsg-74_sAvq7UCzKdNNFNzxLidXPNk0ic/s200/munjebel4.jpg" title="" width="55" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Munjebel 4</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Vino da Tavola</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.frankcornelissen.it/" target="-">Azienda Agricola Frank Cornelissen</a></li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Sicily, Etna</li>
<li>Grapes: Nerello Mascalese</li>
<li>Price: ~40,00€ / 0,75 l</li>
<li>Tasted: February 26th, 2014</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.dallmayr-versand.de/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: dallmayr</span></a> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Based on vintages 2006 and 2007, blended together. Aged in underground clay amphorae.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">There is more than an inch of deposit in the bottom of the bottle, thus the wine is decanted carefully into a decanter. The color is translucent, medium-deep pomegranate red. Quite restrained, but really attractive nose full of character: initial aromas of sour cherries, sweet maraschino cherries and red fruit preserves, with more nuanced hints of dried flowers, sun-baked earth, pungent volcanic smoke notes, a little pipe tobacco and a lifted touch of ginger underneath. Like so many times before, the nose and the palate are at odds against each other: even though the nose is sweet and juicy, the wine is however bone-dry, bitter and tightly-wound on the palate with the purest of flavors of sour cherries and tart cranberries on the fore, followed by notes of sun-baked earth, stalky and woody herbal notes and hints of minerality. The mouthfeel is quite full-bodied, but also very well-defined and muscular, thanks to the high acidity and pronounced tannins. However, the midpalate seems to lack some intensity to balance out the full body – it feels as though the wine is a big, lean and robust framework, which is filled only halfway through by the rather austere fruit. Despite its quite light flavors, the 14% of alcohol remains perfectly hidden. The finish is very grippy and almost unforgiving with its pronounced herbal bitterness, astringent tannins, very tart lingonberry and sour cherry flavors and hints of vegetal greenness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Munjebel 4 shows lovely focus and purity, and it also is a lot less rustic and "wild" than many other Cornelissen wines with focus on pure, sour cherry-driven fruit and racy acidity. However, the wine feels like it is lacking a bit intensity, thus making the wine feel a bit out of balance.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>89/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Despite its great focus and purity, the wine lacks a little power and oomph: even though the flavors have laser-like precision, it feels they don't show the intensity one would expect from a wine like this. Even though the wine doesn't show any bit of tiredness or oxidation, the fruit might has diminished a bit, leaving behind a wild Etna red that is more about just structure without much fruit. Although Cornelissen wines tend to age tremendously well (especially considering they contain no sulfites), I wouldn't hold on to this much longer. Drink up.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHEgFEhtngxlJJLApjiRbYXfLbcRCi88rrnZmOMTvSP53P-EaqqrPLSnwgoEgEAUvaF5YWobEfV_y9UInBNuGLemGGZW-EIXHiHIxZulJeIhWkkW0t58OwL9KfmPt7z6CowkLy2-hsevs/s1600/munjebel5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHEgFEhtngxlJJLApjiRbYXfLbcRCi88rrnZmOMTvSP53P-EaqqrPLSnwgoEgEAUvaF5YWobEfV_y9UInBNuGLemGGZW-EIXHiHIxZulJeIhWkkW0t58OwL9KfmPt7z6CowkLy2-hsevs/s200/munjebel5.jpg" title="" width="60" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Munjebel 5</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Vino da Tavola</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.frankcornelissen.it/" target="-">Azienda Agricola Frank Cornelissen</a></li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Sicily, Etna</li>
<li>Grapes: Nerello Mascalese</li>
<li>Price: ~40,00€ / 0,75 l</li>
<li>Tasted: February 26th, 2014</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.dallmayr-versand.de/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: dallmayr</span></a> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Based on vintages 2007 and 2008, blended together. Aged in underground clay amphorae.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">There is more than an inch of deposit in the bottom of the bottle, thus the wine is decanted carefully into a decanter. The color is clear, pale pomegranate red with almost colorless rims; by its appearance this is obviously lighter in color than Munjebel 4. The nose is not that expressive, but instead quite complex, expressing aromas of sweet, sunny dark cherry aromas, cherry marmalade and some bretty farmyard funk. Also the alcohol (14%) shows a little. On the palate the wine is quite intense, vibrant and sinewy with bone-dry flavors of raspberries, sour plums, tart red fruits and very acid-driven lingonberry brightness. Underneath all that red and dark fruit, there is some complex spiciness and bitterness from the rather prominent tannins. The wine seems a bit smaller than Munjebel 4, with only medium-bodied mouthfeel, but also showing more power and robust character with great balance between the fruit, the body and the structure. The finish is not that long, but it is clean as a whistle with mouth-cleansing acidity and intense, vibrant flavors of tart red berries, sour cherries, some volcanic smoke and hints of complex, roasted spiciness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Even though might one expect this one to be markedly lighter than the previous Munjebel, this one actually shows a lot more focus, balance and intensity. All in all, this is something not unlike a big, vinous kriek lambic – only without the carbonation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>93/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: A quite tightly knit, grippy and structured Munjebel with high acidity and grippy tannins, resulting in a bone-dry wine that might be quite hard-to-approach for many. As the wine still seems very fresh and youthful, more years in the cellar definitely couldn't hurt. I suggest not only giving the wine more age and decanting it carefully (because of the big amount of deposit) before serving, but also pairing it with something hearty enough to let the acidity and the tannins mellow down a bit.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEucsIQFPX_TER9A50Kjo84zcu4X13EtcgnpXsGJRj-rOf6WZ8u1IHQpU9uJnJGI1W4NmIU51A7qzgBxylrU3AhBZ-08WOfJAg6BUE9CyjWEieeE9fPPgqyPKFRVztHUUol9tzdJp_Dds/s1600/munjebel6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEucsIQFPX_TER9A50Kjo84zcu4X13EtcgnpXsGJRj-rOf6WZ8u1IHQpU9uJnJGI1W4NmIU51A7qzgBxylrU3AhBZ-08WOfJAg6BUE9CyjWEieeE9fPPgqyPKFRVztHUUol9tzdJp_Dds/s200/munjebel6.jpg" title="" width="60" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Munjebel 6</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Vino da Tavola</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.frankcornelissen.it/" target="-">Azienda Agricola Frank Cornelissen</a></li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Sicily, Etna</li>
<li>Grapes: Nerello Mascalese</li>
<li>Price: ~40,00€ / 0,75 l</li>
<li>Tasted: February 26th, 2014</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.dallmayr-versand.de/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: dallmayr</span></a> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Based on vintages 2008 and 2009, blended together. Aged in underground clay amphorae.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Slightly hazy, pale pomegranate red color. Whereas all the other Munjebels I've had have been aroma-wise more or less sweet and fruity, the nose here feels burned, with somewhat acrid aromas of burnt sugar, smoked meat, something resinous, a little burnt rubber and a hint of sour cherry. Something must be off here. On the palate the wine is bone-dry and rather bitter with flavors of sour cherries, earthiness, peppery spice, some acrid smoke and tannic astringency. The flavors really don't feel lively and vibrant, but instead quite dull and the wine feels lacking balance with its withered fruit character, high acidity and prominent tannins. The finish is short with flavors of tart cranberries and lingonberries, some dusty earth and hints of acetone VA, giving the aftertaste a somewhat chemical feel. The high alcohol (14,5%) gives a lot of warmth to the aftertaste.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In a flight of four different red Munjebels, this definitely wasn't on par with the three others – probably there was something off with this bottle, as the wine was so very much unlike any other Munjebel. Probably the wine had been stored in not-so-optimal conditions at one point or another.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>84/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: I really can't say for certain whether the wine was really off, or if this was only a bad vintage (well, two vintages), so you really need to take the score here with a pinch of salt. In this wine the nose and the palate were dominated by rather overwhelming (and not really that pleasant) smoke character and the fruit really didn't offer much challenge for the high tannins and acidity. I heartily recommend enjoying this wine with some food, just to tone down the acidity and the tannins down to the level of the fruit – although it might be that this really was an off bottle and in a pristine bottle the fruit is much more expressive and better in balance with the structure!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX2fTOc0lVxN6LyIs80QFkqjrUvQ1D6fuuk16kTvnNHhXbVqcNvcTzoEAE8yyD60mNK333knqd72eX5N_SVvre09IyVMYZr1QYFYpE0_0UqGudArfotLUjhUdbpA6tmfwl1a4cGylmgXs/s1600/munjebel8mc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX2fTOc0lVxN6LyIs80QFkqjrUvQ1D6fuuk16kTvnNHhXbVqcNvcTzoEAE8yyD60mNK333knqd72eX5N_SVvre09IyVMYZr1QYFYpE0_0UqGudArfotLUjhUdbpA6tmfwl1a4cGylmgXs/s200/munjebel8mc.jpg" title="" width="55" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Munjebel 8 MC</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Vino da Tavola</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.frankcornelissen.it/" target="-">Azienda Agricola Frank Cornelissen</a></li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Sicily, Etna</li>
<li>Grapes: Nerello Mascalese</li>
<li>Price: ~55,00€ / 0,75 l</li>
<li>Tasted: February 26th, 2014</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://flatiron-wines.com/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: flatiron wines</span></a> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Based on vintage 2011 with grapes sourced exclusively from Monte Colla vineyard. Aged in underground clay amphorae.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Translucent, but very deep dark cherry color, giving rise to speculation whether the "MC" actually stands for "Much Concentration". The nose is not very expressive, but instead quite restrained, but also obviously more brooding compared to the other red Munjebels, that have been brighter and lighter in style – there are dark-toned aromas of dark cherries, cranberries, some wild and funky notes, a little meatiness, a hint of exotic spice and a floral whiff of violets. Alcohol (15%) shows a little, and with some air, a lifted hint of VA starts to show as well. On the palate the wine is very intense, full-bodied and concentrated; even though the wine is very bright and high in acidity, this wine is obviously heavier, more concentrated and more brooding than normal Munjebels are. There are flavors of plummy dark fruit, peppery spice, some tart lingonberry and perfumed hints of violet. Even though the wine is obviously very ripe and succulent, with almost sweet fruit flavors, it does not feel one bit too ripe or heavy, all thanks to the high acidity and rather prominent tannic bitterness. Wonderful focus, freshness, purity and energy. The high alcohol (15%) gives some obvious heat to the midpalate and aftertaste. The finish is very long, dark-toned and robust with brooding flavors of sunny plums, blackberries, acid-driven red berries and almost quinine tannic bitterness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This Munjebel 8 MC is was very primary and extremely youthful compared to the older, regular bottlings of Munjebel. Even though the pronounced fruit character and concentration might make this wine a bit more approachable than those lighter Munjebels, this is still quite relentless in its racy acidity and firm, mouth-coating tannins. Overall this is really delicious and pure stuff that really calls for long aging.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>95/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: This is obviously a lot richer and more concentrated a wine than the regular Munjebels with lots of ripe, dark-toned fruit and weight – yet the wine feels remarkably balanced, thanks to its high acidity and grippy tannins. Although very drinkable already with food heavy enough to tone down the grippy tannins, this wine seems to be mainly about aging potential – no need to open this one within the next 10 years, if you happen to have a good, cool cellar. By far the most impressive wine in our Cornelissen tasting of 11 wines.</div>Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410132544589500796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8271454715333987114.post-70871059738691454532016-10-27T22:33:00.003+03:002016-10-27T22:33:52.698+03:00Côtes du Marmandais and Abouriou<div style="text-align: justify;">Bordeaux still seems to enjoy its status as the sovereign of the quality wines (although Burgundy seems to be challenging the status quo vintage after vintage). But as the prices of the best Châteaux of Bordeaux have risen above the monetary pain threshold of normal consumer, people have started to turn their focus away from Bordeaux in search for more affordable alternatives – to the dismay of the Bordelais. Some people have realized that you can find tremendous value from the "satellites" of Bordeaux – those small, relatively unknown appellations outside the esteemed four-piece heart of Bordeaux, Médoc, Graves, Saint-Émilion and Pomerol – whereas others have given up Bordeaux completely in favor of other wine regions more in vogue. After all, Bordeaux has not been "trendy" for a few decades, no matter how valued their best wines might be.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The region most people forget when thinking outside the box that is Bordeaux, is <i>Le Sud-Ouest</i>, the southwest corner of France. Sure, many people might recognize the best-known appellations of Cahors or Madiran, but this vast region is teeming with small, completely unheard-of little appellations, many of which make – and have been making for decades, if not centuries – very Bordeaux-like wines of both tremendous quality and value. In modern times, when it is harder and harder to differentiate Bordeaux wines from similar style of wines made in, say, <b>Napa Valley</b> or <b>Western Australia</b> or <b>Colchagua</b>, it is always really nice to taste wines that actually speak of the place; wines you can instantly recognize that are coming from Bordeaux or very nearby. Although there are many producers making really bland and boring modern wine with no real character in the Southwest France, there are still lots and lots of producers making wines that are not about extended hang time and excessive new oak, but instead bright fruit, good structure and <i>terroir</i>. If you are looking good but affordable alternatives to Bordeaux, Côtes du Marmandais is one terrific region that comes into my mind.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Côte du Marmandais</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">As a wine region, Côtes du Marmandais is a curious one: of its 1300 hectares of vineyards, the local co-operative, <b>Cave du Marmandais</b>, owns well over 90% via its growers; the remaining 100 ha are shared by some 10 small growers – many of them considered to be among some of the best producers in Southwest France. This aforementioned co-op, however, is not one set on churning anonymous bulk wine, but instead quality wines of real character. Unlike many other co-operatives, Cave du Marmandais actually allows its members to vinify their grapes separately so that they can also produce single-grower wines in addition to the co-op's own wines.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The vineyards of Côtes du Marmandais are spread over the commune of Marmande and 26 other villages, on both sides of the river <i>Garonne</i> – the very same river that flows past famed Sauternes, Barsac and Péssac-Leognan appellations just 20–30 kilometers downstream. As the Côtes du Marmandais wine region borders the outskirts of Bordeaux, its presence is felt heavily in the wines that are often made from the classic blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc with occasional Côt (Malbec) or Fér Servadou thrown in the mix. The whites – though rather rare at only 10% of the whole production – are also very Bordeaux-like with Sauvignons Blanc and Gris, Sémillon and Muscadelle. There are, however, some things that set Côtes du Marmandais apart from Bordeaux: you can occasionally encounter wines also made from Gamay or Syrah – grapes totally unheard of in the prestigious neighboring region. Furthermore, there is one special grape variety grown in Côtes du Marmandais that is very rarely found outside the region: <b>Abouriou</b>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Abouriou</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Abouriou is an early-ripening red variety that used to be a widely spread variety throughout the northern part of Southwest France wine region in the past, but little by little dwindled out by mid-1800's. It was thought to be an extinct variety when a breeder presented it again in the late 1800's as a chance seedling found growing up a castle wall some 40 years earlier and replanted in a local vineyard.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">After its rediscovery, Abouriou planting started to grow again, reaching its high point of up to 600 hectares (1500 acres) in the mid 1900's. Currently there are about half of that left, of which a great majority planted in the Côtes du Marmandais region with some sparse plantings also in the neighboring appellations and in the Loire valley.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Abouriou, "early" in the local dialect, reflecting its tendency to ripen fully quite early, is a tannic but low-acid variety. It used to be favored for its good resistance to pests and diseases and its early ripening – the grapes could be safely picked long before unpredictable autumnal weathers arrived. Historically it was rarely used in making varietal wines, as Abouriou wines tended to be rather rustic with hard, aggressive tannins and very low acidity, resulting in unbalanced, short and dull wines with angular, astringent character. Instead, the variety fared well as a blending component – either it was used to give color and firm tannins to softer wines, or then just lighter and more acidic varieties were added to give Abouriou wines more life and to soften them a little. With modernizations in winemaking and vinification equipments, it is now possible to see 100% varietal Abouriou wines in the market, but they are still rather rare to come by, as they often are quite coarse and tannic wines.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>The wines</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I encountered these wines a few years ago when I was attending a small wine fair where Cave du Marmandais, the local co-operative, was presenting their wines. I was poured five different wines: three of them were single-producer wines from two members of the co-op, whose grapes are vinified separately and one a regional blend by the co-op. The final wine was a tentative one, not yet released and only labeled with a hand-written label with the text "AOC Côtes du Marmandais 2013". I didn't catch the specifics, but I have a vague memory telling me that this one was not a single-producer wine, but instead a co-op's own blended wine. Here are my notes on these wines so close to being Bordeaux, yet still worlds apart.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Cave du Marmandais Rosé 2012</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">AOC Côtes du Marmandais</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://cave-du-marmandais.fr/en">Cave du Marmandais</a></li>
<li>Country: France</li>
<li>Region: Southwest France, Côtes du Marmandais</li>
<li>Grape(s): Merlot (70%), Cabernet Sauvignon (20%), Cabernet Franc (10%)</li>
<li>Tasted on: February 4th, 2014</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Very pale, luminous pink color.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sweet and fruity nose with pronounced strawberry notes and a hint of melon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dry, refreshing and quite light-bodied palate with flavors of ripe berries, namely raspberry with lighter cassis notes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dry, positively taut and refreshing finish with flavors of acid-driven red berries like red currants and cranberries.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>85/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: An enjoyable basic-level rosé wine. Good balance, structure and refreshing character, but pretty little of any character. Tasty stuff, but nothing special to write home about.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGr9bk5PUmr99n0aflZZBA8opwbcQduzZMCwjTDxRObMVLGyK2zDH-D-FP0lOp3je5nKorPBOylFhrBkiTwQ4z2PYIuzKkvR_rEDVdMKSGopRAMDG6B5wgkZirspcQ9QDXc_Ndmc2yfFY/s1600/chateaucotedefrance2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGr9bk5PUmr99n0aflZZBA8opwbcQduzZMCwjTDxRObMVLGyK2zDH-D-FP0lOp3je5nKorPBOylFhrBkiTwQ4z2PYIuzKkvR_rEDVdMKSGopRAMDG6B5wgkZirspcQ9QDXc_Ndmc2yfFY/s200/chateaucotedefrance2014.jpg" title="" width="55" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Château Côte de France Rouge 2012</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">AOC Côtes du Marmandais</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://cave-du-marmandais.fr/en">Cave du Marmandais</a></li>
<li>Country: France</li>
<li>Region: Southwest France, Côtes du Marmandais</li>
<li>Grape(s): Merlot (70%), Cabernet Sauvignon (30%)</li>
<li>Tasted on: February 4th, 2014</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://cave-du-marmandais.fr/en"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: cave du marmandais</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">An organic grower wine by the region's co-operative. The grapes for the wine are sourced from Château Côte de France, run by family Simonnet – farmers in the region since 1959. This winery was founded in Beyssac, the northern end of the Marmandais region by Jean-Jacques and Francoise Simonnet, the second generation of farmers. Currently the winery is run by the 2nd and 3rd generations of Simonnet family. The production has been certified organic since 2012 and this wine here is fermented and aged completely in stainless steel.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine has a concentrated, youthful purple-red appearance.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The nose feels rather muted and slightly reductive at first with understated fruit and notes of gunpowder smoke. However, the reduction blows up quite quickly, revealing a lovely nose with aromas of tobacco, crushed cassis, smoke, some sour cherry and hints of red currant.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the palate the wine feels quite dry and medium-to-moderately full-bodied. It has good focus with bright, fruit-driven flavors of cassis and red currant with some herbal notes and a hint of pipe tobacco. The acidity is moderately high, but the pronounced tannins really call for something fatty on the plate.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are flavors of tart cranberries, sour plums, smoke and hints of cassis in the aftertaste. The wine finishes with a tightly wound and tannic note, coating and drying the insides of your mouth.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>88/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: A nice, positively simple red wine, that combines lovely rustic roughness with modern, fruit-forward character. The fruit is, however, more about freshness, structure and balance, than about ripeness and extraction. I'd give the wine a few more years just to resolve the tannins a bit, but not much to keep that bright fruit alive. Let the wine breathe to blow away the reduction.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl4rW-ppTGSR4ZHdZ5MWkytnhNsvGqdvxNW6zzVtf3xpUX9szWT-T1oL3dOH-f883aOXy0hveFpmRelXlAUTIvGwF1etcLnnUfAh_jTdJqtd5NhyphenhyphengMkjX8x-EL6CXt3lx4Qlg8OvtFMys/s1600/chateaucotedefrance2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl4rW-ppTGSR4ZHdZ5MWkytnhNsvGqdvxNW6zzVtf3xpUX9szWT-T1oL3dOH-f883aOXy0hveFpmRelXlAUTIvGwF1etcLnnUfAh_jTdJqtd5NhyphenhyphengMkjX8x-EL6CXt3lx4Qlg8OvtFMys/s200/chateaucotedefrance2014.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="" width="55" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Château Côte de France Rouge 2013</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">AOC Côtes du Marmandais</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://cave-du-marmandais.fr/en">Cave du Marmandais</a></li>
<li>Country: France</li>
<li>Region: Southwest France, Côtes du Marmandais</li>
<li>Grape(s): Merlot (80%), Cabernet Sauvignon (20%)</li>
<li>Tasted on: February 4th, 2014</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://cave-du-marmandais.fr/en"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: cave du marmandais</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the paper, the newer vintage of the Château Côte de France does not differ much from the previous one, only having more emphasis on Merlot than Cabernet Sauvignon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine's appearance is as opaque and concentrated as was the vintage 2012.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The dry and very intense nose does not show reduction per se, but it feels still quite smoky, with vibrant aromas redcurrant, blackcurrant and fresh red fruits.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Unlike one would expect from a wine with even higher proportion of Merlot, this wine even more tannic than the previous vintage. Though quite tough with very tightly strung tannin structure and moderately high acidity, this medium-bodied wine feels surprisingly balanced with lovely, fruity texture. That is all because of its pure, vibrant and intense fruit full of plummy sweetness, cranberry tartness and peppery spice. Even though there is some obvious ripeness to the fruit, the wine itself feels very dry with its acid brightness and mouth-drying tannins.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine finishes with a dry, bright and juicy aftertaste of peppery spice, redcurrants, some ripe cranberries and a hint of tart, red plums. The structured and grippy finish is quite persistent, as are the clen fruit flavors.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>90/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: This wine was very much like the previous vintage, but with even more fruit, structure and intensity. Very impressive wine for a "simple" basic-level red – because of its unforgiving tannic grip, I'd let it relax some years in the cellar before approaching it again. Not the easiest of wines, but I like this very much.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Cave du Marmandais AOC Côtes du Marmandais 2013</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">AOC Côtes du Marmandais</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://cave-du-marmandais.fr/en">Cave du Marmandais</a></li>
<li>Country: France</li>
<li>Region: Southwest France, Côtes du Marmandais</li>
<li>Grape(s): Merlot (70%), Abouriou (30%)</li>
<li>Tasted on: February 4th, 2014</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is the wine I had no idea what it actually is – if I remember correctly, it was not bottled / released by the time I sampled it and I was not provided an actual name for the wine. It is a Merlot-based red wine blend, where Abouriou is used to add color and tannic structure. I have nothing on the vinification.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Deep, concentrated purple color.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Deep, concentrated and fruity nose with lovely rustic character: there are aromas of red fruits both sweet and tart, some violet floral nuances and hints of leather and sous-bois.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the mouth the wine feels rather full-bodied and very rich and fruity at first, but then come the tannins a-rumbling, drying your mouth completely and making the wine appear a lot more spicy with pronounced peppery character. There are bright and quite concentrated flavors of sour plums, ripe cherry, brambly blackberry and wild strawberry along with hints of peppery spice and leather. The acidity is rather high, keeping the wine from tasting dull or unbalanced.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The high acidity becomes even more prominent in the finish, where the concentration of the fruit disappears, leaving behind bright, dry flavors of cranberries, raspberries and sour cherries along with rustic hints of saddle leather and farmyard. The wine leaves a long-lasting, rough and very tannic aftertaste, that is not as forbidding as it is delicious.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>93/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Well, this wine might actually be more of an acquired taste – I've never been afraid of tannins, if they are in balance with the fruit. Some might say that this wine is lacking balance, with its pronounced tannic character, but I don't; the tannins might be prominent, but they don't feel excessively astringent nor any green, and I feel that with good, hearty food the wine can be stripped of most of its tannins, leaving behind a wine of lovely purity, focus and concentration. Easily one of the best and most characterful Merlot-based wines I have tasted. I just wish I knew what this wine was!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil9CvJsOg6Xqc5QrYw6Fzzm3-hvQ2xJ96wkU8xsEqD5FDpxysgVIiFhAEOmBzPhzUmP5B9YzbBfpeenGzOSPwHwyms5MrHliP0w2K-fLYBCfJjoDbRvSWtHXpefMLKJTDDE-yAslvE8Zs/s1600/chateaubazin2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil9CvJsOg6Xqc5QrYw6Fzzm3-hvQ2xJ96wkU8xsEqD5FDpxysgVIiFhAEOmBzPhzUmP5B9YzbBfpeenGzOSPwHwyms5MrHliP0w2K-fLYBCfJjoDbRvSWtHXpefMLKJTDDE-yAslvE8Zs/s200/chateaubazin2011.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="" width="55" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Château Bazin 2012</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">AOC Côtes du Marmandais</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://cave-du-marmandais.fr/en">Cave du Marmandais</a></li>
<li>Country: France</li>
<li>Region: Southwest France, Côtes du Marmandais</li>
<li>Grape(s): Merlot (60%), Malbec (20%), Cabernet Sauvignon (15%), Abouriou (5%)</li>
<li>Tasted on: February 4th, 2014</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: right;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://cave-du-marmandais.fr/en"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: cave du marmandais</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another one of those grower wines from the Marmandais co-operative: though produced by the co-op, the grapes are sourced from only one single supplier, Château Bazin. This winery –considered to be the crown jewel of the Marmandais co-op – is currently owned by family Simonnet, the same people who founded Château Côte de France. This winery is located in the village of Magdelaine, some kilometers away from the hamlet of Marmande, and its 9 hectares (22 acres) of vineyards are farmed organically. This particular wine is made in close-but-not-quite Bordelais fashion from a Merlot-Malbec-dominant blend (you knew that Malbec is an allowed variety in Bordeaux, right?) and aged for 12–15 months in oak <i>barriques</i> (one third of the barrels new, one third 2nd use and one third 3rd use).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The rich color of the wine is red-to-black opaque, most likely thanks to Malbec and Abouriou.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The nose is ripe and rich, but with a looming sense of tightly-knit structure and spice. There are aromas of dark-toned, plummy fruit, brambly blackberries, chokeberries, some savory aromatic oak spices, a hint of peppery Abouriou spice and a hint of sweeter oak chocolate.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine is plush and full-bodied in the mouth, but there is quite a lot of underlying, tightly wound structure to counter the opulence of fruit. Flavor-wise this powerful wine is dominated by notes of blackberries, cassis, peppery spice, some plummy dark fruit and sweeter hints of oak, but underneath these flavors there is a kaleidoscope of different nuances. The wine is high in acidity and even more so with ripe but very grippy and ample tannins.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The finish is long and complex with rich, savory and slightly bitter flavors of blackberries, blackcurrants, peppery spice, leather, some sour plums and hints of cloves and dark chocolate. The grippy, somewhat astringent tannins add much to the power and intensity to the aftertaste.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>93/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: This is really an impressive red, easily overshadowing many of the better Bordeaux reds from the vintage 2012 – but still I am not sure whether I like the mysterious "AOC Côtes du Marmandais" red more. This is flavor-wise more "classic" Bordeaux-style wine with more spicier, more brooding and more concentrated character, whereas the previous one was definitely something more unique, speaking more about the unique local style than something Bordelais. This, however, is only a matter of personal preference – both of these wines were tremendous examples of the local style and they definitely had one thing in common: the tannins. Just like the previous wine, also Château Bazin requires something really heavy on the plate to soften up the wine. If I had this wine in my cellar, I'd let it sit for at least 10 years before planning on opening it – not because it wouldn't be ready now, but because the wine just shows incredible potential for cellaring. The current vintage (2013) is now selling at 14,95€ at the winery, making this wine a real bargain.</div>Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410132544589500796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8271454715333987114.post-79692123100135135282016-10-15T14:13:00.003+03:002016-10-24T21:06:48.413+03:00Vertical of the month: Nervi Gattinara / Spanna 2012-1950<div style="text-align: justify;">The <b>Gattinara</b> region at the foot of the Alps in Piedmont, some hour-and-a-half's drive away from the prestigious Barolo region, has had its ups and downs in the past. Back when the Barolo wines were rustic, simple and sweet red wines, the perfumed Gattinara wines were the best wine Piedmont could offer. The fame of Gattinara's wines was peaking by the end of the 19th century, until the <i>phylloxera</i> struck the region and the vineyards were finally decimated by a series of hailstorms at the beginning of the 20th century. The vineyard area (then some 600 hectares) in Gattinara was diminished and the wines were all but forgotten. However, the region gained sudden popularity in the 1960's, followed by their own DOC appellation in 1967. Even though the wines never reached the levels of their past fame, the region was awarded with a DOCG appellation in 1990.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now Gattinara seems to be once again regaining its fame; as the popularity (and the bottle prices) of Barolo and Barbaresco wines climb higher and higher, people who have developed a taste for Nebbiolo grape are looking for more reasonably priced alternatives. It's no big wonder these people usually find Gattinara first.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gattinara is not a big region by any standards: whereas the world-acclaimed wine regions often cover hundreds – or even thousands – of hectares (for example Bordeaux 120,000 ha; Burgundy 30,000 ha; Barolo 1,700 ha; and even Barbaresco some 650 ha), Gattinara covers only 100 ha. That's even less than what a medium-to-large-sized winery could own on its own! Although there are some 10 producers in Gattinara, the lion's share of the region's production comes from three wineries.</div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The biggest of them is <b>Travaglini</b> – a family winery often considered synonymous with Gattinara, as they own about half of the region's vineyards with their ~50 hectares' worth of holdings</li>
<li>The third biggest is <b>Antoniolo</b>, also a family producer with some 14 hectares of vines.</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;">As the wines were traditionally aged for extended times in large <i>botti</i> casks, both of these families are considered as "modernists" (a term associated with wineries using small <i>barrique</i> oak barrels, especially in Barolo and Barbaresco); after all, as opposed to the local style of aging wines in big <i>botti</i> casks, Travaglini ages a 10% portion of their wines in <i>barrique</i> casks, of which 10% are new – that's really "modernist" for you! Antoniolo, on the other hand, is the winery that originally brought <i>barriques</i> to the region, although the winery has now reverted back to the <i>botti</i> casks with occasional use of larger <i>tonneaux</i> barrels.</div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><b>Nervi</b>, on the other hand, has never been considered a modernist winery, but instead the standard bearer of the traditional style of the region. Having been founded over a hundred years ago, Nervi is the oldest winery of the region, and with some 25 hectares under vine, it is also the second biggest.</li>
<li>The rest of the regional vineyards – spanning less than 10 ha – are shared by a small handful of small local producers and a group of local smallgrowers who sell their crop to the local co-operative.</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">What differentiates Gattinara from Barolo and Barbaresco is not only the cooler climate the region enjoys further up north, but also the volcanic soil (unique to Gattinara amongst all Nebbiolo-producing regions) that in best <i>terroirs</i> of the region can grant bright acidity and a slightly smoky note to the wines. The wines are always made from <b>Spanna</b>, the local synonym for the world-famous <b>Nebbiolo</b> – although up to 10% of local varieties of Bonarda and Vespolina are allowed – and aged for at least 3 years (with minimum one year in oak) before release. The wines often show the perfume, complexity and the poise – and, of course, the grippy tannins – the Nebbiolo variety is renowned for, but they are often less ripe than Baroli or Barbareschi, making the Gattinara wines light-to-medium-bodied and higher in acidity, whereas the Nebbiolos of Barolo and Barbaresco are often medium-to-full-bodied and exhibit sweeter, more ripe fruit aromas and flavors.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For a long time, <b>Nervi </b>was considered to be at the top of the game in Gattinara; the old, traditional producer making stellar Nebbiolos at this relatively northerly location. This house was founded in 1906 by <b>Luigi Nervi</b>, a wine grower in a family who had produced wine in the Gattinara region since the 16th century. Luigi originally did not own any vineyards, but instead produced wine from his father's vineyards and worked as a <i>négociant</i>, buying wine from other local producers. The business started running well quite quickly and not long after having opened the winery, the Nervi winery had acquired its own vineyards as well. After Luigi died in 1953, his son, <b>Italo Nervi</b> took care of the business, and during his time the popularity of Nervi wines boomed – thanks to his friendship with director Mario Soldati, who advertised the Gattinara wines extensively. After Italo passed away in 1975 with no heirs, the winery was split up between five of his cousins and two workers at the winery, who ran the winery for 16 years, until selling the winery to the steel magnate <b>Germano Bocciolone</b> in 1991.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bocciolone had high hopes for the winery, but before he could realize his dreams fully, he died in a car accident in 1992. The steel company Bocciolone took over the winery via Bocciolone's four children, who recruited oenologist Donato Lanati to make the wines. For some time the business was good, but towards the 21st century, the markets shriveled and the winery started to fall into disuse. Finally, in 2011, four Norwegian families keen on restoring the winery into its former glory bought the dilapidated winery with the Astrup family buying the majority and taking the lead. During their time the winery has started to regain footing and once again people are hailing Nervi as the top winery in Gattinara, one specializing only in strictly traditionalist style Nebbiolos.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigUtNo9b2aI9zJpPzTuujeSNEK0qcZOsqjpVnjSOIeOzx-gE5CqfHDevBN2DpAdut-1OZ7KKkiXFQ_RRuZmZDhB62HiusN6anNlRXj8olREB8ed6Zqy6H0LGPOHLCrvTt1UDC3uK5ezhg/s1600/nervigattinara.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigUtNo9b2aI9zJpPzTuujeSNEK0qcZOsqjpVnjSOIeOzx-gE5CqfHDevBN2DpAdut-1OZ7KKkiXFQ_RRuZmZDhB62HiusN6anNlRXj8olREB8ed6Zqy6H0LGPOHLCrvTt1UDC3uK5ezhg/s200/nervigattinara.jpg" title="" width="54" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Nervi Gattinara</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">DOCG Gattinara</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.nervicantine.it/">Nervi</a></li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Piedmont, Gattinara</li>
<li>Grape(s): Nebbiolo (100%)</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.nervicantine.it/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: nervi</span></a> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The technical specifications for older Nervi Gattinaras are impossible to find, but as Nervi is considered to be a traditionalist, their methods of winemaking have changed relatively little during the past century – the biggest differences are not in the winemaking methods but in the equipment that have been modernized to suit the winery's needs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although it is allowed to blend Bonarda and Vespolina into the Gattinara wines, Nervi Gattinaras are normally pure varietal Spanna (i.e. Nebbiolo) – although it might have been a whole different story half a century ago. The wines made today spend first 3 years in large oak <i>botti</i> casks, after which the wines are blended into cement vats, where they are left to settle. After short maturation period, the wines are bottled and left to age for a further year. Normally Nervi Gattinaras are not released until minimum 4 years after the vintage. This long aging before release is stipulated in the Gattinara DOCG appellation rules – minimum 3 years with one in oak for <i>normale</i> and minimum 4 years with two in oak for <i>riserva</i> – in order to smoothen down the often racy acidity and grippy tannins, that in the past might have been quite green and harsh in the coolest vintages. Nowadays the local producers don't have to worry about too cool vintages in which the grapes fail to ripen properly, but the wines still benefit from the extra aging, giving them extraordinary aging capability. Nervi prefers to use exclusively old, large oak casks of several thousands of litres so that the wine benefits from the slow, oxidative oak aging, but does not receive any oak flavors or aromatics from the aging process. Most likely the older vintages have been produced more or less the same way the winery does now under the new, Norwegian ownership.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here are my notes over the past few years spanning several decades' worth of Nervi wines.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Nervi Gattinara 2012</b></span><br />
<ul><li>Tasted on: October 17th, 2016</li>
</ul>Translucent pomegranate color. Thoroughly attractive, even somewhat rustic and funky nose with aromas of cherry, smoke, some dried flowers, a little leather and a hint of something barnyardy – perhaps a faint touch of <i>brettanomyces</i>, adding some of that slightly animal and slightly phenolic complexity? The palate is dry, medium-bodied and rather acid-driven with positively rough and unpolished flavors of cherry, leather, smoke, gravelly minerality, some sour cherry, a little lingonberry and a hint of manure. The wine is quite ripe with rather prominent, but not overtly grippy tannins, resulting in quite smooth and very balanced mouthfeel. The wine finishes with a spicy and somewhat astringent note with complex flavors of ripe cherry, smoke, some gravelly earth, a little farmyard and a touch of cumin.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>93/100</b></span><br />
Summary: I got a feeling from drinking this wine that after the Norwegians took over the house, the style of the wine has shifted from more fruit-forward and polished style to one less polished and more rustic – a direction most welcome! This wine showed lovely brightness, structure and complexity, but also that nervous character too young lighter Nebbiolos tend to exhibit. Though very drinkable right now with few hours of aeration, this wine really is one that is meant to be cellared. This is all about cellaring potential. I'm thrilled by the style the new owners. Highly recommended.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">***</div><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Nervi Gattinara 2009</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: March 17th, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;">Translucent, dark cherry color with a light maroon hue. Rich, ripe and expressive nose with sweet but quite brooding aromas of dark and slightly wizened cherry, dusty earth, some tar and a hint of raisin. You can notice the sweet nuances of a hot vintage even in a northerly wine like this. The moderately full-bodied palate feels ripe, but much less so than the nose. There are dark-toned, ever so slightly sweet flavors of cherry, dusty earth, some wizened cherry, a little exotic spice, a hint of tar and nuances of pruney and slightly raisiny fruit. The structure is really wonderful and quite tightly wound with moderately high acidity and firm, quite grippy tannins. The wine finishes with a very long, dark-toned and pretty tannic finish with flavors of ripe plums, slightly wizened cherries, some dusty earth, a little stony minerality and hints of exotic spices.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>91/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: In Piedmont, it is rare to come by a Nebbiolo from the vintage 2009 that I'd enjoy – this hot vintage resulted in wines that tend to show some excessive ripeness and raisiny fruit in addition to often rather moderate and soft structure. Well, apparently even Nervi didn't escape this fate completely, because even in the cooler climates of Gattinara the temperatures rose that year so high that these wines tend to show some dried fruit character. Fortunately, this wine is otherwise really lovely with dry and structured palate that tends more towards austerity than richness, even though the wine is quite fruit-forward for a young Gattinara. It is drinking quite well now, but (unlike many 2009 Baroli and Barbareschi) I'd give it some more years in the cellar to give it some additional complexity. Probably not the best wine for really long haul, but one that will easily survive at least a decade, maybe even two. Definitely one of the best 2009 Nebbioli I've had.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Nervi Gattinara 2005</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: April 23rd, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;">Translucent, luminous ruby color with a slightly maroon hue. A bit reticent and slightly dusty, developed nose with aromas of ripe, dark berries, some cherry, a little raspberry, a hint of hay and a whiff of smoke. There seems to be a slightly dirty overtone here suggesting that something's not entirely right. The wine is rather full-bodied, rich and surprisingly soft with ripe flavors of red cherry, dark-toned fruit, some sweeter red-toned notes of strawberry and raspberry marmalade and a hint of gamey meat. The acidity is quite soft and gentle and the tannins seem rather modest as well. The wine seems surprisingly ripe and fruit-forward for a Gattinara. The wine finishes with a ripe, somewhat sweet and medium-length finish with supple flavors of ripe red cherry, sweet dark berry-driven fruit and hints of sour cherry bitterness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>87/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: An enjoyable, but overall a bit pedestrian example of Nervi's style. Perhaps the wine hasn't been kept properly, as I picked this specific bottle from a supermarket in the valley of Aosta a year back – I doubt the wine had been waiting for me for a half a decade on the shelves, but probably it hadn't been aged in optimal conditions before reaching the supermarket. The nose didn't promise much, suggesting poor provenance, but fortunately the palate was a lot better and at the end of the day, this Gattinara was perfectly enjoyable. However, the wine didn't reach the level one would expect from Nervi – thus, the score here is not really representative of the vintage wholly.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Nervi Gattinara 1978</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: December 18th, 2013</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;">Moderately translucent and slightly hazy cherry red color with a hint of orange bricking towards the rim. Lovely, complex and layered nose with attractive, fragrant aromas of barnyard funk, cherry marmalade, tar, some perfumed rose aromatics, a little iron and hints of leather. With some air, the wine develops a sweeter, slightly syrupy or caramel undertone. The palate is light-to-medium-bodied with bright, racy acidity. There are dry, developed and quite intense flavors of sour cherry, tart lingonberry, some cranberry, a little tar, hints of stony minerality and a touch of leather. The wine turns even drier towards the tightly wound and slightly tannic finish, which is dominated by tart lingonberry, sour cherry and cranberry-driven red fruit character along with hints of dried herbs, some fragrant floral nuances and smoky tar.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>94/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: At 35 years of age, this Nebbiolo is only starting to show some developed character, but is obviously far from going downhill – probably the wine is peaking now, or still on its way up. The age has mellowed some of its tannins, but its acidity is high as ever, giving the wine a rather light, bright and focused appearance. Wonderful structure, balance and depth with still a little bit of room for development. The wine is drinking nicely now, but will keep for some decades more.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Nervi Gattinara 1971</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: September 19th, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;">Translucent garnet color with a slightly maroon hue. Complex, fragrant and very attractive bouquet that feels slightly concentrated by the years. Developed aromas of sweet plummy fruit, some characterful and rustic animal notes, a little bit of meat stock, minty herbal nuances, a little cigar smoke, a hint of perfumed rose aromatics and a touch of peppermint or eucalyptus. The palate is quite light-bodied and very acid-driven with flavors of ripe cherry, some minerality and hints of tobacco; there is also a faint overtone of iron or something metallic. Even though there is some sense of concentration, the wine does not feel rich one bit. The long finish is quite bitter with tannic astringency and flavors of sour cherry, medicinal herbs and gravelly earth, with sweeter and more mellow nuances of ripe cherry and hints of tar – even slightly candied touch of Finnish <i>tervaleijona</i> tar candy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>93/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: These Nervi wines seem to be aging at a pretty glacial pace, as even this 45-year old wine seems more youthful than old with the main mature characteristics being the sense of concentration brought by age – not any really developed aromas or flavors. Sure, you can sniff or taste the wine and realize, it is old, but more like 10–15 years old than something closer to half a century! Wonderful example of the lighter, more lithe style. This wine has some lovely complexity, but at the end of the day, it is not as stunning as some other vintages. Very good, perhaps even excellent, but still not something exceptional.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Nervi Gattinara Riserva 1970</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: September 19th, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;">Surprisingly concentrated and even rather opaque dark-to-black cherry color with some deposit in the glass. Dry, savory and a bit closed nose with somewhat developed, fragrant aromas of wizened cherry, peppery spice, perfumed floral notes, some dried mushrooms, a little licorice and a hint of ink. The wine feels quite full-bodied and concentrated on the palate with impressive structure of high acidity and firm, grippy tannins. There are dry, concentrated and complex flavors of dark cherry, dried herbs, licorice, tobacco, some chokeberry, a little blueberry and a hint of tar. The long, dry finish seems as concentrated and intense as the midpalate with ripe flavors of dark cherry, sour cherry bitterness, some cranberry tartness and hints of smoke, tobacco and tar.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>97/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: At 45 years of age, this wine really doesn't make any sense. You should show at least some maturity, but no, not this one. There is some hints of development, but overall this could be a wine with 10 years of age for all I know. The concentration and intensity is remarkable, and the fruit is obviously on the ripe side, yet the wine feels very sleek, sinewy and bone-dry – there is no sense of weight or fatness nor there is any sweetness either from the ripeness or from what happens when the fruit gets "dried" with age. This is just really focused, complex and vibrant Nebbiolo fruit of stunning purity and beauty. One of the greatest Nebbiolo wines I've had and the wine is still remarkably youthful – I feel this wine is not peaking yet but there is room for further development. Very highly recommended.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Nervi Gattinara 1967</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: February 4th, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;">Surprisingly dark, borderline opaque bloody red color with slightly purple-brown figgy rims. Really exciting and a bit funky nose with mature aromas of dried figs, dried roses, prunes, cherry pit, dusty earth, some leather, a little acetone, a hint of smoke, a touch of raisin sweetness and a faint whiff of balsamic volatility. There's just layers upon layers of aromas, really! The palate is rich and quite full-bodied with complex, developed, succulent flavors of sweet dark cherry, wizened forest fruits, some pruney fruit and dried dates and a little raisin with sweet volatile hints of acetone and balsamico. The mouthfeel is really silky with completely resolved, gentle tannins, yet the wine feels structured and balanced with its bright acidity. The finish is long and complex with developed flavors of plummy dark fruit, dark cherry, some allspice-driven spiciness, a hint of earth and nice tug of tannic astringency.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>96/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: A gorgeous, aged Gattinara that shows some signs of both age and funky volatility, yet the first and foremost impression of this one is a wine of true elegance and sophistication. There is a lot of complexity to it and you could just sit there for hours on end just sniffing the wine and savoring small sips. Spectacular stuff that shows just how nicely Nebbiolos can age – and not just those from Barolo or Barbaresco.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Nervi Gattinara 1965</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: February 4th, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;">Dark, slightly translucent cherry color with somewhat pale and slightly figgy purple-maroon rims. Developed, ripe and somewhat sweet nose betraying hints of oxidation and the faintest touch of volatility. Aromas of sweet figs, <i>ginjinha</i> (Portuguese sour cherry liqueur), some damson liqueur and farmyard hints of leather and manure. The wine feels quite concentrated and substantial in the mouth with juicy but rather dry, robust flavors of sour cherry, ripe dark cherry, dried figs, dates and a hint of earth. The tannins are there, but they feel very soft and resolved; the structure relies mainly on the balanced acidity. The wine finishes with powerful and slightly sweeter aftertaste of dried dark cherries, prunes, some raisins and damson liqueur – flavors concentrated by the age.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>95/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: A really beautiful aged Gattinara that is starting to show some quite mature character, but surprisingly there is very little to none of any really aged or oxidized character – the wine mainly feels that its flavors have become really concentrated with the years, taking on a bit sweeter edge. The wine maintains wonderful clarity and focus, but has become rather smooth and mellow with age: a wine to be savored primarily on its own, not with food.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Nervi Gattinara 1964</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: February 4th, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">NB: This is the first DOC Gattinara labeled vintage, retroactively granted in 1967 when DOC Gattinara appellation came into effect. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Surprisingly dark and rather opaque dark cherry color with a slightly figgy hue. Developed, crunchy and characterful nose with attractive aromas of mature figgy fruit, some prune, a little wizened cherry, a hint of raisin and a whiff of bruised apple. The full-bodied, succulent palate feels a lot younger than the nose suggests with dry but very juicy and rich flavors of dark cherry, plummy fruit, some sour plum bitterness, a hint of ripe forest berries and a touch of dried herbs. There is also a faint undertone of sweet volatility. The wine feels surprisingly ripe and rich with an almost chewy texture, yet it does not feel heavy one little bit, thanks to the balanced acidity. The wine finishes with a coarse, tannic, mouth-drying grip and with a complex aftertaste of dark cherries, ripe plums, some exotic spices, a little chokeberry, a hint of fig marmalade and a touch of sour cherry bitterness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>97/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Stunning, just beautiful. Really a Gattinara at its peak: showing lots of developed character, yet also retaining some suggestion on youthful vigor. At 50 years of age, this wine feels remarkably young and I wouldn't be surprised if it kept for another decade or two. No additional aging necessary, however.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Nervi Vino Rosso Spanna Stravecchio 1964</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: February 4th, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;">Pale, translucent cherry color with moderate bricking and wide, clear rim. Old, meaty and developed bouquet that has dried up with age a little bit. Aromas of rich red fruits, floral perfume, something leathery or even slightly shitty barnyard aromas, a little truffle-esque mushroom notes and hints of pine needles. The nose seems to be alive, shifting its focus every second. Lively, medium-bodied and quite acid-driven palate with mature flavors of cherries, dried dark berries, some stony minerality, a little dried dates and hints of truffle. The flavors seem to be very mature with some dried fruit character and an undercurrent of sweet oxidative nuances and syrupy caramel notes. The mouthfeel is very silky with ample, but resolved and very mellow tannins. The finish is long, complex and developed with flavors of wizened cherry, prunes, some sour cherry bitterness and cranberry-driven tart red fruits with a hint of earthy mushroom notes. The tannins give the aftertaste a nice little grip.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>94/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: My guess is that if the wine is labeled <i>Spanna</i>, it must be a 100% Nebbiolo wine, whereas if the wine is labeled as DOC Gattinara, there must be something else in the mix – why make two different wines otherwise? Whatever the case, this wine is really wonderful example of old Nebbiolo and on par with any of the best Barolo wines capable of surviving 50 years. Though the wine seems quite mature, it is still far from being old – probably the wine has been peaking for some time and will be doing that still for some years more. No need to give the wine any more age, it is really wonderful right now and you don't want to lose that complexity under that slightly oxidative character that is starting to loom there.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Nervi Gattinara Riserva del Titolare 1964</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: February 4th, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;">Very slightly translucent black cherry color – very deep and dark for a Nebbiolo this old. Exceedingly funky nose with aromas of bloody meat, grease, bundt cake, prune marmalade, dill, some dried mint, a little dark After Eight chocolate and a hint of fish feed. It really gets no funkier than this. The quite full-bodied and rich palate is, however, very normal with juicy, developed and succulent flavors of dark-toned fruit, ripe cherry some wizened dark forest berries and a hint of leather. The mouthfeel is lively with moderately high acidity and velvety smooth with resolved, powdery tannins. The wine finishes with a long and complex aftertaste of ripe and sweet cherry, pruney fruit, a little sour cherry bitterness and a hint of oxidative character.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>93/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Despite its really characterful and honestly weird nose, the wine turned up to be really wonderful with nicely aged, complex fruit and lovely, velvet-like mouthfeel. Lovely stuff and at the farthest end of its peak – there's no way but down from here. Very tasty right now, there is no need to age it any further and I really hope that the palate stays clean and does not turn as funky as the nose. As much as I love funky wines, enough is enough.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Nervi Gattinara Vino Rosso 1962</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: February 4th, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;">Very dark and deep black cherry color with only a hint of translucency. Powerful, pungent aromas of apple vinegar, sweet kirsch, some sweet nail polish volatility, a hint of oxidative raisined fruit and a whiff of aldehydic Fino Sherry aromas. The palate is rich and moderately full-bodied with moderate acidity and modest tannins. The flavors are, however, completely off. Along with the lightly developed cherry and red berry aromas there are pronounced notes of vinegar and Rodenbach Vintage beer with elevated levels of volatile acidity. The wine finishes short with sweet, vinegary and slightly syrupy kirsch aftertaste.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>FLAW</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Well this was an obviously flawed bottle. It had not oxidized completely, as there were still a lot of moderately youthful fruit left, but apparently some bug had made it to the bottle. As yeasts and bacteria that produce acetaldehyde and acetic acid require oxygen, they probably had developed this faulty character over the decades: probably at the age of 10 years or so this wine would have been "nicely funky" with probably a hint of volatility, but after half a century's worth of getting oxygen through the cork, the bugs had rendered the wine undrinkable.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Nervi Gattinara Vino Rosso 1961</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: February 4th, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;">Luminous, translucent and quite deep dark cherry color. Developed aromas of dried prunes, some iron and blood, a little raisined sweetness, a hint of exotic spice, a touch of sour cherry and a whiff of oxidized sweetness. Dry and robust medium-bodied palate with moderately high acidity and rather prominent, grippy tannins. Pretty straightforward and a bit one-dimensional flavors of sour cherries, tart dark berries, some dried dates and a hint of raisiny oxidation. The wine finishes with a slightly grippy aftertaste of ripe red cherry, some sour cherry, a little cranberry tartness, a hint of raisin and a touch of astringent tannic bitterness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>90/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: A Nervi Gattinara that is starting to show some signs of old age. The oxidation has dried up some of the fruit, giving it a quite raisined, sweet edge. Still, the wine shows remarkably grippy and surprisingly tight structure for a wine 55 years old. Definitely not a wine that'll keep any longer: this has peaked and has started its downhill – although fortunately it has begun either quite recently or then just at extremely slow speed. Despite its slightly <i>surmaturé</i> character, the wine is thoroughly enjoyable and lovely.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Nervi Vino Gattinara Spanna 1961</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: February 4th, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;">Very similar appearance to the Nervi Gattinara sitting in the neighboring glass, although with a slightly paler and more translucent hue. Brooding, dark-toned and slightly volatile bouquet with aromas of cherry jam, bruised apple, some cloying VA, a little saline tang of acetaldehyde, a hint of rusty iron nail and a whiff of stemmy greenness. The rather full-bodied palate is slightly wild and quite tannic. Brooding flavors of ripe dark cherries, some sour cherry bitterness, a little leather and hints of acetaldehyde in the form of salinity and green apple (think of Fino Sherry). The pronounced tannins give the wine quite tightly-wound feel, whereas the moderately high acidity gives it nice brightness. The finish is medium-long with flavors of slightly wizened cherry, exotic spice, some saline tang and a hint of gravelly earth.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>91/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Whereas this wine shows less oxidized character than the Nervi Gattinara from the same vintage, this one had accumulated some acetaldehyde over the years, giving it this slightly Fino Sherry quality of salinity and green apple slices. Though a bit distracting, this character did not make the wine disagreeable in any way, and it showed a lot of lovely mature character. Nice stuff, but nothing truly memorable.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Nervi Vino Gattinara Spanna 1958</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: February 4th, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;">Luminous and remarkably youthful dark cherry color with almost no bricking typical of old Nebbiolo. Very robust, smoky bouquet with aromas of cured meat, exotic spices, plummy fruit, earth, some dried cherry, sour VA notes, hints of dust and a little something that reminds me of lambic – probably a hint of brett, combined with the earth and sour notes, giving the nose almost <i>kriek</i>-like air. On the palate the wine is rather developed with medium body, bright acidity and still quite pronounced tannins. There are juicy flavors of dark cherry, dried pruney fruit, some sour cherry bitterness, a little ripe blackberry, a hint of gravelly earth and a touch of berry marmalade sweetness concentrated by the age. The mouthfeel is really elegant and velvety smooth. The wine finishes with a long, juicy and mature aftertaste of sour cherries, plums, some gravelly earth, a little dark cherry sweetness and hints of stony minerality.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>96/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: A really spectacular example of aged Nebbiolo that really betrays its age – if this were served blind, it would be impossible to believe this wine is close to being 60 years of age! Lovely complexity, structure, freshness and poise. Incredibly attractive and elegant effort that still packs surprisingly much bite and structure. Very similar to the Barolos wines with similar age, but showing less ripe fruit and more brightness and focus. Simply stunning.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Nervi Gattinara Spanna Classico 1950</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Tasted on: February 4th, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;">Luminous dark cherry color, mostly devoid of signs that this wine is actually 65 years old. Brooding, dark-toned and charming bouquet with some oxidative, raisined sweetness, aromas of dried prunes and dried figs and an undertone of sweet volatility. However, the nose falls apart rather quickly, leaving behind a wine with a bouquet of a tawny port. The wine is rich and full-bodied in the mouth with moderate acidity and almost completely resolved, barely perceptible tannins that pack the slightest bite. Dry flavors of ripe, dark-toned berries, wizened sour plums, some oxidative sweetness, a little raisined fruit and a hint of plum pit. The finish is long and spicy with flavors of ripe sour cherry, some dried prunes and a slightest hint of tannic grip.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>92/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: This 65-year-old Gattinara is remarkably youthful for its age and a true testament to the aging capabilities of a well-made Nebbiolo – it doesn't always have to be a Barolo or Barbaresco to survive for decades! Although the color made it almost impossible to believe the age of the wine, there was no denying it, when the nose just fell apart completely within a time span of half an hour – young wines just don't do that. Not the most spectacular of Nervi wines, but still an experience on its own.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKVXc0HDWdPlRXknyJ1j52EfTj_8YeCQYgHZDvU1NyAeXJ0sPwYq9W9XaxVLk9ObQTnMZKhZ6vpHb5XsUk9ciekH5hcyG7CzeVFTiJMUgKa5cRgu2XhX0FnUjC1b8rZ_cz3s6Zzwz7gCU/s1600/nervi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKVXc0HDWdPlRXknyJ1j52EfTj_8YeCQYgHZDvU1NyAeXJ0sPwYq9W9XaxVLk9ObQTnMZKhZ6vpHb5XsUk9ciekH5hcyG7CzeVFTiJMUgKa5cRgu2XhX0FnUjC1b8rZ_cz3s6Zzwz7gCU/s400/nervi.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Nervi Gattinara / Spanna 1950-1967</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">One might think that the heft and the ripeness are the keys to the long cellaring potential of the Barolo and Barbaresco Nebbioli, but Nervi here can prove some really contradicting evidence. Gattinara wines are quite light, delicate and elegant compared to the heavier, fruitier and brawnier Nebbiolo styles of these aforementioned regions – like comparing lighter Burgundy with the more opulent Bordeaux wines – but these wines can still age easily as long, if not even longer. It obviously is not just about the fruit and the extraction, but also balance and acidity as well.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">With a sample this sizeable I started to notice a trend: these Nervi wines age at a glacial pace, with wines oven 65 years old are still in remarkably youthful condition – not young, by a long shot, but still much younger one would expect. Wines at the age of around 40 years only start to show first signs of age, making these wines extremely long-lived. This means that Nervi wines are definitely not wines for people lacking in patience – though these wines can be thoroughly drinkable and enjoyable in their youth, the wines start to show their true colors only after several decades in the cellar.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">What you might want to do, is either start sourcing the older vintages somewhere, or then just grab a case or two of the best recent vintage or vintages you can find and let them sit in your cellar for a small eternity. My suggestion is that whatever you plan to do, you might want to do it pretty soon – the Gattinara prices are still quite low as the greater public still haven't found the region yet, meaning that older vintages are often very reasonably priced and the more recent vintages are practically free for their quality. However, if and when the people realize how tremendously good stuff one can find in Gattinara, it's high time for us fans of reasonably priced quality wines to start searching for a new hidden gem.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Update Oct 24th 2016: Added Nervi Gattinara 2012</span> </div>Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410132544589500796noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8271454715333987114.post-75006438127080545502016-09-17T23:16:00.001+03:002016-09-18T14:16:02.971+03:00Blatina<div style="text-align: justify;">Europe is full of wine countries both old and new, but surprisingly many of them are ones no-one knows very little to none of. For example before the last year I would've had no problems pointing out Bosnia-Herzegovina from the map of Europe (it's the country inside the "banana" that is Croatia), but if asked what kinds of wine they produce in Bosnia-Herzegovina, I would've been dumbfounded: "They make wine in Bosnia-Herzegovina?"</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sure they do. The grapevine itself is originally from the Georgian-Armenian region and it came through Turkey to Europe, and as the vines are incapable of teleportation, they had to go through the Balkans to reach Italy, France and Spain, right? So of course they have been growing vines and making wines in the Balkans for thousands of years. If the country is not known for their wines, it does not necessarily mean that they don't make wines there.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Traditionally the wine production of Bosnia-Herzegovina has been centered on small producers making simple wine for local consumption. Only in the recent years there has been a small resurgence of interest on making wine in more commercial style. Though the wines are still mainly consumed locally, the best wines of the country show a lot of promise and potential.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine production of Bosnia-Herzegovina is centered on two regions: the more important one is situated in the southern parts of Herzegovina (and Herzegovina, in turn, is the southern half of Bosnia-Herzegovina), with most of the production centered around the city of Mostar. This region is situated very close to the Adriatic sea, only the thin, mountainous strip of Croatia standing between. The lesser wine region is situated in the northern parts of Bosnia.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The most prominent characteristic of Bosnia-Herzegovinan wine is the locals' insistence on using two local varieties: red <b>Blatina</b> and white <b>Žilavka</b>. There are some other varieties grown as well, red Vranac and Alicante Bouschet being two popular ones, but even their plantings are minuscule compared to Blatina and Žilavka. In the past Žilavka was the most popular white variety in the Yugoslavia, but after the collapse of Yugoslavia, it has been found very rarely outside Herzegovina and even then almost always as a minor constituent in wine blends. However, the variety has found its home in Herzegovina, where it is the most planted grape variety. Blatina is similarly encountered mainly in Bosnia-Herzegovina as well, with a few plantings found in Croatia. The biggest problem with Blatina is that it produces only female flowers, so the plants can't self-pollinate themselves – unlike a vast majority of world's vines. Instead, producers need to interplant their vineyards with some other varieties so that the grape flowers become pollinated by the flowers of these other varieties with the help of insects in the spring and they start to produce grapes in the summer. This is why varietal Blatina wines are often not 100% varietal wines, but so-called "field blend" wines with always a little amount of other varieties in the mix. This incapability of self-pollination makes the variety a bit unreliable – if there is no cross-pollination during the period of inflorescence, the producer is left with vines that bear no fruit, only leaves. This is why many producers have started to replant some of their Blatina vineyards with more reliable, international varieties – which is a real shame, because this variety can make really wonderful, bright and focused wines with good identity and lovely freshness, despite them coming from a relatively hot wine region.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrc30QeeMDUrDiQfb92sU2Xnb8M2LZAZknicL4Vpz4F25BKQJj2sPJILKjJS40DXa2yAFP7AZY8BALNmTr1eT1bxCPB7WrLXtNq-FzMekVp8Kfnx6QxmJjf7Jyj3V35bGi0x36XIqIyuc/s1600/carskablatina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrc30QeeMDUrDiQfb92sU2Xnb8M2LZAZknicL4Vpz4F25BKQJj2sPJILKjJS40DXa2yAFP7AZY8BALNmTr1eT1bxCPB7WrLXtNq-FzMekVp8Kfnx6QxmJjf7Jyj3V35bGi0x36XIqIyuc/s200/carskablatina.jpg" title="" width="42" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Grge Vasilja Carska Blatina 2013</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.hotel-cesarica.com/en/vinarija/" target="-">Cesarica Wine Hotel / Carska Vina (Grgo Vasilj)</a></li>
<li>Country: Bosnia-Herzegovina</li>
<li>Region: Herzegovina, Herzegovina-Neretva, Međugorje</li>
<li>Grape(s): Blatina (100%?)</li>
<li>Price: 50 Kn (6,60€) / a glass of 15 cl</li>
<li>Tasted on: July 24th, 2015</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://ljubuski.net/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: ljubuski</span></a></div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">My first contact with Bosnia-Herzegovinan red wine. I don't have much background information on the producer, because Google offered me very little help and as my Bosnian is a bit rusty (*ahem*), the few pages that I found were of rather little help. But from what I could gather, is that Grgo Vasilj operates a combined hotel-winery in the village of Međugorje, located a bit southwest from Mostar, the heart of local viticulture. I didn't find any specifications for this wine, so I don't know whether it is a 100% Blatina or a traditional field blend with some other varieties in the mix.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine's color is clear but quite dark cherry color that light passes through quite easily.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the glass the wine offers an intense and slightly wild nose with complex aromas of pronounced peppercorns, smoke, blackberry, ripe dark cherry, some tart red forest berries and a hint of earth. To be frank, this really doesn't feel that unlike a Northern Rhône Syrah.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the mouth the wine is medium-bodied with medium acidity. The palate exhibits spicy flavors of black pepper, ripe cherries, fresh blackberries, some herbs, a little cranberries and a hint of chocolate – the latter suggesting that the wine has seen a bit of oak. The tannins are very modest, and with only medium acidity, the wine hasn't got that much structure – fortunately the wine isn't a big and bold monster wine, so it never feels dull or ponderous.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The ripe and sweet finish leaves flavors of succulent dark cherries, sour cherries, some pepper and a hint of sweet oak. Towards the end a touch of tannic astringency becomes more noticeable.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">All in all, this is an interesting effort, not quite unlike a Crozes-Hermitages, but with sunnier, darker fruit flavors and less pronounced acidity and tannins. It smells and tastes like a cool-climate Syrah, but drinks like a warmer-region one.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>87/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Nice! This Blatina is a good and tasty wine that is easy to pair with a big range of different dishes. I especially enjoyed that the wine was not obfuscated by oak but the fruit was allowed to shine all the way through. Enjoyable stuff, though nothing special to write home about. My friendship with this variety started with the right foot.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzkG_99llxIg5X06xH6k5lqj_6A1Us9iJj2JQs7qUgEakVhKAXa_ojoviROkwimKeJX1c9JHhIUzhLQYbXD5FV_mYi4araMpp0h5B8iwSA3Qt5Zmqf5rK1Ka-nIiHHBUfld1759y7l_Gc/s1600/blatina2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzkG_99llxIg5X06xH6k5lqj_6A1Us9iJj2JQs7qUgEakVhKAXa_ojoviROkwimKeJX1c9JHhIUzhLQYbXD5FV_mYi4araMpp0h5B8iwSA3Qt5Zmqf5rK1Ka-nIiHHBUfld1759y7l_Gc/s200/blatina2013.jpg" title="" width="40" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Nuić Blatina 2013</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://vinogradinuic.com/" target="-">Vinogradi Nuić</a></li>
<li>Country: Bosnia-Herzegovina</li>
<li>Region: Herzegovina, Herzegovina-Neretva, Mostar</li>
<li>Grape(s): Blatina (85%), Trnjak (10%), Alicante Bouschet (5%)</li>
<li>Price: 13,00€ / 75 cl</li>
<li>Tasted on: Oct 29th, 2015</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://vinogradinuic.com/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: vinogradi nuić</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This wine comes from the Mostar wine region, where crushed calcareous rocks (or <i>karst</i>) form the soil, giving the wines good setting for growing and producing high-quality fruit. The Nuić winery was founded in 2004 and they started by planting 7 hectares worth of local Blatina, Žilavka, Bena and Krkošija varieties with Croatian Trnjak and Plavac Mali varieties and international Cabernet Sauvignon and Alicante Bouschet varieties. Currently the vineyards span some 35 hectares and now they include Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Touriga Nacional and Croatian Pošip as well. The vineyards are tended as naturally as possible with good emphasis on organic viticulture; instead the wines are made in a modern, state-of-the-art winery built partially underground. All the wines are fermented with natural yeasts in stainless steel tanks, where most of the wines are aged as well – only the best wines of the winery are moved into French oak barrels to age.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine has a youthful, slightly purple, reddish black appearance.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The bright, youthful and moderately expressive, dark-toned nose is full of aromas of blackcurrant, blackberry, sweet plum and chokeberry with some ripe grapey notes and inky and meaty nuances in the background.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the mouth the wine feels juicy and medium-to-full bodied with nice, mouthwatering acidity and very meager tannins. The palate shows ripe, fruit-forward and a bit grapey flavors of dark forest fruits, some ink, a bit of ripe damsons and a hint of raw gamey meat. There is also lovely, fresh complexity of freshly picked raspberries and toasted spices underneath. Interestingly enough, the wine has soft, smooth and surprisingly sweet overall expression – despite the wine being quite high in acidity and most likely almost-to-completely bone dry, residual sugar-wise. Unfortunately the wine loses some of its freshness and complexity when it gets warmer, so I'd suggest going for rather cool serving temperature.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine finishes with pure, juicy and bright aftertaste that leaves very lengthy, sweet flavors of ripe dark berries, black-skinned grapes, some spice, a bit of meatiness and a hint of honey. There is also a hint of tannic grip that gives some welcome roughness to the finish.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now this was a really positive surprise, even though the Grgo Vasilj's wine was pretty attractive little drop already, setting the bar rather high. Nuić still manages to go a step or two further, resulting in a very lovely, tasty and moreish Blatina with impeccable purity, brightness and drinkability. This is not overtly complex wine (and I'm not sure if Blatina can make such wines), but for an honest, straightforward little red wine this is definitely an overachiever. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>89/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: In my view this wine is not unlike the simpler wines produced by good natural Beaujolais wineries – although stylistically this is a more dark-toned, meatier wine than a good Beaujolais. All in all, Nuić Blatina is a superb everyday wine and I'd love to have some more of these in my fridge ready for some poppin' and pourin'! This "Balkan Bojo" was really a wonderful purchase at 13€.</div>Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410132544589500796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8271454715333987114.post-54724145754519460912016-09-11T21:35:00.000+03:002016-09-11T21:52:12.019+03:00Moravia Agria<div style="text-align: justify;">One of the most welcome trends in the world of wine has been the sudden interest on local, indigenous varieties throughout the wine-producing world. Only in these first decade and a half of this millennia the market has been flooded with interesting varietal wines giving an abundance of alternatives to the Cabernet Sauvignons, Chardonnays, Merlots and Sauvignon Blancs produced throughout the world.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Countries like Croatia, Georgia, Greece and Turkey are full of varieties practically no-one has ever heard of, which is why I am not surprised whenever I come across a new varietal wine from these countries. However, whenever you think you're familiar with practically all of the commercial wine grape varieties from France or Italy or Spain, somewhere appears a varietal wine made from a variety I've never heard before! These three most important wine-producing countries in the world seem to be endless cornucopias of different varieties where producers can make varietal wines from old, obscure and forgotten grape varieties whenever markets demand a new one. Every now and then you can see how these varieties were forgotten for a perfectly good reason – they can't produce wine of any interesting varietal character – but more often than not, these varieties have been just "poorly understood". This means that in the past, when people didn't know how to cultivate grapevines that they could produce fruit of high quality, these varieties were deemed lower-class ones, capable of producing only fruit for blending purposes. Now, with modern cultivation techniques and better understanding of these plants, producers can actually produce wines of immense character out of these varieties overlooked for centuries.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Moravia Agria</b>, a Spanish variety from Castilla-La Mancha is a perfect example of a case in point. This is a variety that never produces high sugar levels, even in the high temperatures of Castilla-La Mancha, the hot central region of Spain. Instead, this variety tends to retain rather high acidity, even when very ripe – hence the name <i>Moravia Agria</i>, "sour Moravia", to differentiate the variety from <i>Moravia Dulce</i>, "sweet Moravia", which is the local synonym for <b>Marufo</b> (also known as <b>Mourisco Tinto</b>). As the local wine style has been always a heft wine with lots of body, high alcohol and modest acidity, a variety capable of making thin, tannic, low-alcohol red wines with high acidity has never been a popular choice amongst the growers. However, this variety was kept alive because it could moderate the alcohol levels and bring some sense of freshness and structure to the wines when blended with the local favorite, <b>Garnacha</b>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Moravia Agria is a variety very rarely seen these days; it is cultivated here and there, but often it just gets lost in the wine blends. However, young <b>Juan Antonio Ponce</b> has been the biggest proponent of this forgotten variety – among some other local varieties as well – with his family winery located in <b>Manchuela</b>, "the smaller Mancha", the region located next to Valencia in the eastern extreme of Castilla-La Mancha. Ponce started his wine career at the famous Rioja winery <b>Remelluri</b>, tasked with winemaking and vineyard management. After five years at Remelluri he set up <b>Bodegas y Vinedos Ponce</b> with his father, aiming to highlight local, forgotten or overlooked grape varieties, like Albillo, Bobal and Moravia Agria, with very <i>terroir</i>-driven approach. The vineyards, that have been in their family for generations, are farmed biodynamically and the winemaking follows hands-off-approach with very minimum interventions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaqam2FtRib_VhEHNPbDJU-yqZUOwjBAzqrBPPlWwRl2XOMPNeiyVRRl8lyveAhVIPBp42bEzrWrnls-rul00hjZrCUjfijqZa2B6ZkFDC6rHq0O4YcnSS8mRkM6DEsw06GIGO60zBiAY/s1600/buenapinta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaqam2FtRib_VhEHNPbDJU-yqZUOwjBAzqrBPPlWwRl2XOMPNeiyVRRl8lyveAhVIPBp42bEzrWrnls-rul00hjZrCUjfijqZa2B6ZkFDC6rHq0O4YcnSS8mRkM6DEsw06GIGO60zBiAY/s200/buenapinta.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="" width="52" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Ponce Buena Pinta 2015</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">DO Manchuela</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Bodegas y Vinedos Ponce</li>
<li>Country: Spain</li>
<li>Region: Castilla-La Mancha, Manchuela</li>
<li>Grape(s): Moravia Agria (85–90%), Garnacha (15–10%)</li>
<li>Price: 12,60€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: September 10th, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.decantalo.com/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: decantalo</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Buena Pinta originally started out as a Moravia Agria-Garnacha blend, with almost equal proportions (60/40), but if I have understood correctly, the 2015 vintage is very Moravia Agria-dominant, having only a 10% addition of Garnacha to give some fruit and body to the wine. The grapes are biodynamically farmed and the grapes undergo a partial carbonic maceration and fermentation with natural yeasts as whole bunches (with stems and all that jazz), after which the wine is left to age in old, neutral French oak barrels of 600 liters. After 7 months of aging the wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered and released shortly thereafter. The annual production is some 7,000 bottles.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine's color is quite dark but thoroughly translucent ruby red with youthful highlights of pale purple.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Upon opening the wine exhibits a lovely, bright and pure berry-driven nose with almost exuberant, juicy aromas of cherry, strawberry, some ripe damson, a little lingonberry tartness<span style="font-size: xx-small;">,</span> floral hints of rose nuances and a touch of very Rhône-like garrigue nuances of thyme and rosemary. After letting the wine breathe for an hour or two, the nose has gained a lot of weight and gravitas in more rustic tones of saddle leather, dirty stable floor and even faint hints of manure – but only in the most lovely sense. It doesn't take me long to draw some kind of parallels between this wine and the most attractive natural Cru Beaujolais wines.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the mouth the wine is remarkably light, fresh and vibrant for a Castile-La Mancha red with real crunchy, red fruit-driven flavors of ripe raspberry, strawberry, very pronounced stony minerality and even chalky earthiness, with nuances of some red cherry, smoke and hints of peppery spice lingering underneath. Upon opening there was the slightest sense of carbonic prickle on the tongue, but that blew off almost intantly. With some time, those rustic animal, leather and manure characteristics that were introduced in the nose also join the lineup, only giving the wine even more depth and complexity. The acidity is high, and whereas the tannins have some good, grippy texture to them, they are rather modest and easy on the palate, becoming more pronounced only after several glasses.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The finish is really lively and crunchy with lovely precision and true sense of freshness – even with those lingering leather and stable nuances. Flavors of fresh raspberry, wild strawberry, somewhat tart cranberry, peppery spice and stony minerality linger on for a long time in the aftertaste.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This little Spanish red from an obscure, almost-forgotten variety really took my by a surprise; I had no big expectations of it, but it turned out to be really lovely and interesting an example how these overlooked varieties can sometimes produce really marvelous stuff in the right hands. Not only was this a positive surprise, but also one of the greatest red wines I have had in a while. Enormously attractive an effort!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>94/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Though often considered as an inferior variety with its low sugar levels, high acidity and pale color, Moravia Agria can also produce really stunning wines exactly because of these qualities. Bodegas Ponce's Buena Pinta is an excellent example how a "poor" grape variety can turn out to be a spectacular one once you start focusing on quality and yield reduction instead of quantity. I truly hope that this wine marks a turning point for this unknown variety.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">And if you are interested, I sourced this wine from <a href="http://www.decantalo.com/">Decantalo</a>, my favorite online shop for Spanish wines. I recommend you to take a peek. </div>Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410132544589500796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8271454715333987114.post-31145430473779443112016-09-06T08:33:00.001+03:002016-09-06T19:39:21.807+03:00Vertical of the month: Cantina Terlano Pinot Bianco Vorberg Riserva 2012-1994<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<b>Pinot Blanc</b>, that white mutation of the world-famous Pinot Noir, has never had much of attention nor following. And I am not blaming anybody for it – whereas Pinot Noir can mace delicate, immensely attractive and infinitely complex red wines capable of withstand decades of aging, Pinot Blanc normally seems capable of producing only simple, soft and fruity white wines redolent of peaches and ripe apples and never aging further than a handful of years.</div>
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However, this is not always the case. For example, the variety seems to thrive in the German region of Rheinhessen, where quality-oriented producers can make remarkable white wines of astounding depth, structure and opulence out of Pinot Blanc – or <i>Weissburgunder</i> (or <i>Weisser Burgunder</i>) as it is known there. But it might just be that there is no other winery making as astounding and ageworthy Pinot Blancs as <b>Cantina Terlano</b>, the small and well-respected co-operative from <b>South Tyrol</b>, Northern Italy.</div>
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Pinot Blanc originated from Burgundy as a white mutation of the Pinot Noir – apparently not only once, but several times during the history – but it was often confused with the other local variety, Chardonnay. From Burgundy, the variety first travelled to Alsace and Switzerland, and later on all over the world. Though cultivated in small quantities in a big number of wine-producing countries, Pinot Blanc has found its home especially in Alsace, Luxembourg, Germany, Italy and Slovakia. In Alsace and Slovakia (where the variety is known as <i>Rulandské Bílé</i>) the variety is normally seen as a simple workhorse variety – mainly for making simple and inexpensive everyday wines. In Germany and Luxembourg many producers have realized the variety's potential, producing more impressive, structured and complex wines than the neighboring Alsace.</div>
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But what makes the aforementioned <b>Cantina Terlano</b> so unique is that so often Italian <i>Pinot Bianco</i> (the local synonym for Pinot Blanc) offers nothing of interest: the vines are usually planted in locations poorly suited to the variety, resulting wines that are either thin and neutral (if picked too early) or just simple, fruity and lacking structure (if picked ripe). This is why I was a little hesitant when I was invited to a two-day vertical of Pinot Bianco Vorberg. However, I didn't need much time convincing myself on going, remembering the reputation of winery in question and the few wines I had tasted from them.</div>
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Cantina Terlano, or Kellerei Terlan, is a co-operative founded by 24 South-Tyrol winegrowers in 1893. Unlike many other producers in Südtirol / Alto Adige (the local names for the bilingual region), that are often large and quantity-oriented, Cantina Terlano is a relatively small producer with 160 hectares (400 acres) and their main focus is on long-lived quality wines, result of severe reduction of yields, rigorous selection of the healthy grapes and keen winemaking utilizing old, large wooden barrels and extended <i>sur lie</i> aging. The co-op currently has 120 members, which means that the average holding for one grower is a little less than 1,5 ha.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7gvgdqaW-9CmeAaEID3YHH6k_6wAwdQLVb-rP1GWN-88ZKnW5CWZ6NQTSFxCBbQwNraY9ZkJBRY2pdAkZW-mn1kF5itLdBxG0xdhwcjUecmjNVJjPKBO2IKhtILlh8quA15HozuAVxmw/s1600/vorbergriserva2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7gvgdqaW-9CmeAaEID3YHH6k_6wAwdQLVb-rP1GWN-88ZKnW5CWZ6NQTSFxCBbQwNraY9ZkJBRY2pdAkZW-mn1kF5itLdBxG0xdhwcjUecmjNVJjPKBO2IKhtILlh8quA15HozuAVxmw/s200/vorbergriserva2013.jpg" title="" width="63" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Cantina Terlano Pinot Bianco Vorberg Riserva</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">DOC Südtirol / Alto Adige</span></div>
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<li>Cantina Terlano / Kelleri Terlan</li>
<li>Country: Italy</li>
<li>Region: Trentino - Südtirol / Alto Adige, Alto Adige</li>
<li>Grape(s): Pinot Bianco (100%)</li>
</ul>
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<a href="http://www.alko.fi/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: alko</span></a></div>
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Pinot Bianco Vorberg Riserva (or just plain Pinot Bianco Vorberg until 2001) is one Cantina Terlano's flagship wines and considered to be one of the best (if not <i>the</i> best) Pinot Blanc wines in the world. <b>Vorberg</b> is a region of steep, south-to-southwest-facing vineyards at the altitudes between 450 and 950 meters above the sea level. In these vineyards grow the most concentrated and structured Pinot Bianco grapes of Cantina Terlano and from these grapes they make their spectacular varietal riserva wine. The wines are slowly fermented in old 3,000 liter oak casks, and after the fermentation the wines are left to age on the yeast lees (<i>sur lie aging</i>) in the same barrels for 12 months. The annual production is around 55,000 bottles.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pinot Bianco Vorberg Riserva 2012</b></span></div>
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<li>Tasted on: September 30th, 2015</li>
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Pale lime-green color. Cool, alpine and somewhat restrained nose with cool aromas of yellow apple, wet stones and hints of citrus fruit. In the mouth the wine has a lot more weight with goods sense of richness and concentration. Intense flavors of juicy peach, ripe apple, some prickly mineral bitterness and a hint of pineapple. Despite its size the wine feels firm and structured, thanks both to bright minerality and high acidity. Slightly ripe-sweet, medium-length finish with succulent yellow stone fruits, stony minerality and a hint of herbal bitterness.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>89/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: An intense, structured Pinot Blanc with a lot more depth and concentration than its peers from Alsace. However, lacks the complexity and impressiveness the best German Weissburgunders show.</div>
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***</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pinot Bianco Vorberg Riserva 2011</b></span></div>
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<li>Tasted on: September 30th, 2015</li>
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Pale lime-green color. Ripe, fruity nose showing peach-driven aromas of yellow stone fruits and some honeyed sense of maturity. Rich, lively and full-bodied palate but with surprisingly restrained flavor profile. The taste seems playful, but with fruit in the background and leaving very little on the fore; youthful flavors of apple and vague citrus fruits. With the lack of fruit, the high acidity feels a bit pronounced. Long, vibrant and more nuanced finish with ripe yellow fruit flavors, high acidity, some stony minerality and a hint of salinity.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>87/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: A very restrained example of Vorberg Riserva; this vintage seemed almost austere compared to the rest of the wines. Might be that the wine is just in a dumb phase. A good Pinot Blanc, but nothing really memorable.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pinot Bianco Vorberg Riserva 2009</b></span></div>
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<li>Tasted on September 30th, 2015</li>
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A hot vintage. Pale lime-green color with faint lemony yellow highlights. A little restrained, cool nose with aromas of sweet lemony citrus fruits and orange blossom, some vague yellow fruit, a hint of almonds and a whiff of apricot marmalade. Rich, full-bodied and concentrated palate with moderate acidity that seems to grow from underneath the succulent fruit flavors. Intense, opulent flavors of pineapple, ripe peach, some red apple and a hint of bitterness. Despite its opulence, there is definite sense of structure. The finish is as full-bodied and succulent as the midpalate, but along with flavors of sweet apple, peach and apricot, there are more pronounced notes of bitter minerality and herbs.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>90/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: Although this is obviously a very big and ripe, even massive, Pinot Blanc, the 2009 vintage shows good, balanced structure. The wine is starting to show first signs of maturity, but it will definitely hold for years – if not for decades – in a cellar. Shows a lot of promise, but does not offer much else than big body and ripeness at the moment.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pinot Bianco Vorberg Riserva 2008</b></span></div>
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<li>Tasted on September 30th, 2015</li>
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Moderately deep yellow-green color showing a hint of age. Very rich, complex and modestly developed nose with layered aromas of sweet, exotic fruits, yellow stone fruits, ripe yellow apple, some dried apricot, honeyed dessert wine nuances and a hint of vanillin. Quite full-bodied, intense and acid-driven – even a bit robust – in the mouth with powerful, concentrated flavors of ripe citrus fruits, wet rock minerality, almost ripe peaches and some green herbal nuances. The wine has impressive, almost tightly-wound structure. Though rich and opulent, the finish is also very powerful and structured with pronounced, long-lingering flavors of apricot, stony minerality, complex spice and some apple purée.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>94/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: Out of the more recent vintages, the 2008 is easily the most impressive effort with a stunning combination of focused power and ripe, opulent fruit. The wine is starting to show some mature complexity, but the emphasis is on ripe, youthful fruit and the wine still has cellaring potential worth a decade or two left in it. Striking.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pinot Bianco Vorberg Riserva 2007</b></span></div>
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<li>Tasted on September 30th, 2015</li>
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Medium-deep yellow-green color; a bit lighter than the 2008. The nose is surprisingly dry and restrained in character with aromas of steel, sweet apple, some nuttiness and a hint of bready oxidation – is the wine already past its peak? In the mouth the wine is quite light-bodied and more dry and ripe-sweet, with intense, high-acid structure. Powerful flavors of ripe red apple, peach, some lemon marmalade and hints of apple jam that show some sense of concentration. Long, vibrant and quite dry finish with more emphasis on freshness and acidity than on ripeness and opulence; flavors of citrus fruits, ripe apple, spicy minerality and some mouth-drying sense of astringency in the aftertaste.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>91/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: A lot lighter and more restrained style of Vorberg here with less ripeness and more emphasis on acidity and fresh fruit flavors. Still in pristine condition, although the nose suggested otherwise; however, I'd wager this vintage will not hold as long as the bigger. Wonderful now and still has some room for further development in the cellar.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pinot Bianco Vorberg Riserva 2005</b></span></div>
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Tasted on September 30th, 2015</div>
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Intense golden yellow color. Ripe and complex, but slightly muted nose with aromas of dried yellow fruits, some dried aromatic herbs, a little smoky nuttiness and a hint of bready oxidation. Full-bodied and moderately concentrated palate with somewhat developed flavors of ripe, succulent pear, dried yellow fruits, some spicy bitterness, sweet tangerine notes and a hint of caramel. Moderately long, lively and complex finish showing both some sweetness and freshness with bright acidity and layered flavors of lemony citrus fruits, lemon marmalade, some wizened apricot and a hint of nuttiness.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>93/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: Really lovely and attractive example of a 10-years old Vorberg that is balancing nicely with some remnants of primary fruit, more concentrated fruit flavors and more developed, non-fruit tertiary notes. This wine is starting to show why one should keep Vorbergs in a cellar for years before opening them; it's just beginning to drink nicely. Will probably develop nicely over some years and will definitely keep at least for another decade.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pinot Bianco Vorberg Riserva 2004</b></span></div>
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<li>Tasted on September 30th, 2015</li>
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Deep canary yellow color. Complex, layered bouquet redolent of developed nuances; aromas of old dry wood, powerful mirabelle plum fruit, developed spicy notes, some smoke, nuances of ripe and sweet yellow stone fruits, a little wizened apricot and a whiff of dried flowers. The wine is full in body with quite modest acidity and ample, sweet and developed fruit flavors. Notes of ripe citrus fruits, apricot, yellow plum marmalade, complex floral nuances, some stony minerality, aromatic herbal notes and a touch of lanolin waxiness. With its sense of maturity, silky texture and rather low acidity, the wine feels very smooth and restful in the mouth. The finish is very powerful, opulent and extremely lengthy with layered, intermingling nuances of yellow apple, peach, some stony minerality, a little honeyed florals and a touch of almonds.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>92/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: This Vorberg would easily be one of the most impressive vintages of the 00's, were it not for its rather low acidity, which makes the wine seem rather heavy and a bit flabby. As the wine is showing a remarkable cavalcade of more mature characteristics I can guess that the wine seems to both age and, eventually, deteriorate faster than the more acid-driven vintages. Though this 2004 has still some life left ahead, I suggest it to be drunk sooner rather than later.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pinot Bianco Vorberg Riserva 2003</b></span></div>
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<li>Tasted on: September 30th, 2015</li>
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Modestly pale lemon yellow color with fain green highlights. Rich, ripe and succulent nose with intense aromas of apricot, dried peach, some sweet fruit candy aromas and a hint of floral complexity. Full-bodied palate with rather modest acidity and velvety texture. Quite mineral-driven palate with ripe and moderately sweet flavors of red apple, peach, bitter stony minerality, some yellow plum notes and mature, slightly smoky and nutty nuances. The acidity does not really cut through the body that seems to have concentrated with age, but it gives the wine some sense of structure. Vibrant, succulent and very persistent finish with complex, long-lingering nuances of juicy peach, tangerine, ripe red apple, some wet stone minerality and a hint of almond paste.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>93/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: Stylistically very close to the 2004 vintage with rather low acidity and plump body, but the 2003 seems to show a bit more depth, complexity and structure than the 2004. Furthermore, it seems also slightly younger and more balanced, giving it better cellaring potential. No need to hurry with this one.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pinot Bianco Vorberg Riserva 2002</b></span></div>
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<li>Tasted on: June 10th, 2015</li>
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Deep golden yellow. Ripe, concentrated and developed nose with a plethora of mature nuances: dried pineapple, wizened peach, roasted nuts, some smoke and a hint of caramelized ginger. The nose leads to expect something concentrated and voluminous, but the wine is actually surprisingly light on its feet with medium body at most and high, structured acidity. Surprisingly dry and even crisp flavors for a Vorberg of this age with flavors of mature nuttiness, smoke and some complex spices, quite pronounced, stony minerality, some sweet yellow apple, a little honeydew melon and a hint of florals. Long, mineral finish with dry, refreshing flavors of ripe citrus fruits, tart Granny Smith apple, wet stones, some waxy notes and a hint of honey.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>93/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: A more delicate and lighter expression, like the vintage 2007, but with more depth, complexity and precision. I really enjoyed this one with it refreshing character, even crisp at times, marrying more developed notes with lighter, drier and more acid-driven fruit characteristics. Starting to drink really nicely now, but has years of life still left with potential to kick up its score a notch or two.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pinot Bianco Vorberg 2001</b></span></div>
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<li>Tasted on: June 10th, 2015</li>
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Deep golden yellow. A bit closed and reticent nose with developed, and even slightly dusty aromas of spicy wildhoney, dried pear slices, walnuts, some ripe green fruits and a hint of hay. Moderately aged and rather full-bodied palate with good, refreshing acidity and complex flavors of honey and spicy wildhoney, stony minerality, tart green apple, roasted nuts, almond paste, some aromatic herbs, hay notes and a hint of oxidative biscuit. Very long, rich and persistent finish with complex, mature flavors spice and wildhoney, yellow plums, some roasted almonds and a hint of hay.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>92/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: A really attractive, fully mature Vorberg that has obviously reached its plateau of maturity and most likely won't keep much longer. Though there is some sense of concentrationg brought by age, the wine is remarkably fresh and structured with a lot of vibrancy and precision. However, the wine won't most likely gain any additional complexity with further cellaring, so I'd suggest drinking up.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pinot Bianco Vorberg 2000</b></span></div>
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<li>Tasted on: June 10th, 2015</li>
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Medium golden yellow, a bit more pale than the two previous vintages, with faint green highlights. Surprisingly youthful, fruit-forward and refreshing nose with vibrant aromas of yellow stone fruits, honeydew melon, star fruit, some sweet pear marmalade and a hint of developed smoky complexity. Waxy, medium-bodied palate that is all about balance; the flavors are not young anymore, yet the wine doesn't seem to offer any mature characteristics either. The wine is bursting with ripe flavors of mirabelle plums, star fruit, pronounced spiciness, stony minerality, ripe apple, some honey and hints of sweet white peach. Though the acidity is not pronounced, it is still rather high, giving the wine good sense of structure. Finally the wine turns to its very long, spicy and acid-driven finish with ripe fruit flavors of yellow plums and apples, some orange and a hint of star fruit. The only giveaway of the wine's age is the light nutty complexity that appears towards the end of the aftertaste.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>94/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: A superb vintage of Vorberg, that is still barely halfway up – the wine is still so youthful and energetic it's hard to understand it has 15 years under its belt! Probably hitting its stride 5–10 years from now, so it would be a shame opening this now. Lots of room left for further improvement.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pinot Bianco Vorberg 1999</b></span></div>
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<li>Tasted on: June 10th, 2015</li>
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Rather pale yellow-green color; by its looks, this is something completely different from the previous, golden yellow wines. Quite rich and obviously mature nose with toasty aromas of roasted nuts, smoke, peach, dried pineapple, some orange marmalade, a hint of complex, aged spiciness and a faint, grassy, vegetal note. Surprisingly light, zippy and bright palate with light-to-medium body and pronounced acidity. Almost atypical flavors of green apples, grassy greenness, lemony citrus, walnuts, wet stone minerality, some sweeter notes of nougat and a hint of star fruit. Bright and refreshing finish with almost crisp flavors of green apple, ripe citrus fruits, something green, stony minerality, a little creaminess and a hint of herbal bitterness.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>92/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: One of those lighter vintages of Vorberg with very different aroma- and taste profile from the usual Vorberg style – light in body, high in acidity and faint nuances of grass and other greenish vegetal notes. However, the wine is also really attractive and sophisticated with more youthful palate than what the rather mature nose leads to expect. Still cellarworthy for a good number of years, although drinking nicely already.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pinot Bianco Vorberg 1998</b></span></div>
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<li>Tasted on: June 10th, 2015</li>
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Concentrated honey yellow color. Very complex, mature nose with layered aromas of yellow plums, pear marmalade, intriguing waxy notes, gummy bears, orange-flavored hard candy, some dried mushroom, a little cream, hints of basil and a whiff of dried straws. Developed dry, medium-bodied palate with dense, concentrated flavors of nuts, yellow apple, hay, some wet stone minerality, notes of dried apricots, a little apple peel bitterness and oxidized nuances of browned apple core and toasty biscuit. Good, refreshing and structured acidity. Quite long, juicy and developed finish with layered nuances of smoke, spicy matured notes, nuts, some bruised apple and hints of tart lemon.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>93/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: This one is definitely peaking now. Very mature characteristics with concentrated palate that seems to have also shed its baby fat – there is no excess ripeness or fruit, but only the linear core with good, structured acidity, balanced minerality and complex, layered tertiary flavors. Not really powerful, but still shows some lovely intensity. Not in need of further cellaring.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pinot Bianco Vorberg 1997</b></span></div>
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<li>Tasted on: June 10th, 2015</li>
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Medium-deep lemon yellow color with pale green hues. Very restrained and delicate nose showing some developed, autumnal notes of earth, porcini mushrooms and sous bois, with sweeter aromas of pear marmalade and honey beneath. Full-bodied and quite bitter palate with modest-to-low acidity. Concentrated flavors of honey, ripe yellow apple, dried peach and some nutty toasted aromas with very pronounced quinine mineral bitterness. Due to the low acidity the wine comes across a bit flatter than the other vintages. Succulent, ripe and quite long finish with flavors of peach, herbal bitterness, alpine minerality, some citrus fruits and a hint of nuttiness.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>91/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: Another fully mature Vorberg; though the wine still has quite much life left, it has not withstood the age as good as the other vintages. Either the vintage has been a very low-acid one, or the sense of acidity has diminished over time; whatever the case, the wine seems a bit dull and lacking in brightness. Peaking now, better to drink soon.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pinot Bianco Vorberg 1996</b></span></div>
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<li>Tasted on: June 10th, 2015</li>
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Luminous, greenish pale yellow color. Paradoxically both very mature and surprisingly youthful nose with aromas of smoke, wizened stone fruits, some earthy mushroom notes, a little nuttiness and a hint of leather, with bright aromas of ripe peach, fresh red apple, some pineapple and hints of minty herbs giving an interesting counterpoint. In the mouth the wine is medium-bodied, incredibly youthful, full of vigor and power and almost crisp with its remarkably high acidity. Intense flavors of yellow and green apples, steely minerality, green herbs, sweet citrus fruits, some spiciness and hints of nutty and toasty maturity. Very youthful and vibrant finish with crisp flavors of green apples, dried aromatic herbs, ripe citrus fruits, steely minerality and something grassy, with only faint hints of developed dried fruit character.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>95/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: Boy oh boy! Even at the age of 20, this wine is still a baby! Incredible structure, power and intensity with fruit that hasn't aged at all: this seems to be a white wine that will hold forever. This is like a young Vorberg, only with that depth and sense of concentration a wine gains with age, and without that ripe-fruity baby fat. Really impressive stuff, no point opening this in a while. Probably will develop much more with time.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pinot Bianco Vorberg 1995</b></span></div>
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<li>Tasted on: June 10th, 2015</li>
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Luminous, medium-deep lemon yellow color with green highlights. Restrained, quite dry and steely nose with an air of coolness; very complex aromas of steely minerality, sweet red apple, mature nuttiness, apricot, a bit of waxiness, some developed dusty and earthy notes, even a bit of pickled mushrooms, nuances of grass and a whiff smoke. Moderately full-bodied, intense and vibrant palate with high acidity giving the wine impressive structure and brightness. Lively, layered flavors of beeswax, yellow apples, mirabelle plums, stony minerality, some cream, a little white peppery spice, hints of almonds and a touch of smoke. Slightly oily mouthfeel, yet very tightly wound and almost nervous structure. Incredibly persistent, complex finish with creamy flavors of mirabelle plums, ripe yellow apples, stony minerality, some nuttiness, hints of honeydew melon and a touch of bitter herbal notes.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>96/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: Simply stunning. Probably the most impressive Vorberg I've ever had. An incredible combination of powerful, even youthful fruit, more developed, nutty notes and remarkable, acid-driven structure. Though the wine exhibits a bit more mature characteristics than the Vorberg 1996, this wine seems also very youthful; not only will this still keep in a cellar for years, even decades, but almost feels like it still needs some years to resolve its tightly wound structure. Might be that in the end the vintage 1996 takes the lead, but now this vintage is showing more beautifully. One of the most spectacular whites I've ever had.</div>
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*** </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pinot Bianco Vorberg 1994</b></span></div>
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<li>Tasted on: June 10th, 2015</li>
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Luminous, deep golden yellow – something not unlike an aged dessert wine. Rich, concentrated bouquet with a lot of maturity and opulence. Complex, developed aromas of wizened yellow stone fruits, succulent peachy fruit, toasty, oxidative nuttiness, some creamy notes, a little earthy mushroom, hints of honey and caramel and a whiff of butter. Very rich, full-bodied and almost chewy palate with moderately high acidity and good, steely mineral brightness. Layered flavors of cream, roasted nuts, smoke, mirabelle plums, some bitter herbal notes, a little stony minerality and a hint of dried pineapple. Extremely persistent, intense and complex finish with aged, constantly evolving flavors of smoke, mirabelle plums, vanilla, cream, tangerine, yellow apple, sweet apple jam, steely and stony minerality and a hint of nuttiness.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>95/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: A fantastic example of an aged Vorberg drinking more than beautifully right now. Not as youthful as the two previous vintages, but still full of life; probably won't develop much further, but will keep still for years, easily. One of the best Vorbergs I've tasted. Really lovely.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3wq2pGeOIilg_oPn4HXIJPcam5E5xXWlkZBTIGWXplZkCsvfNokpD_VSQEFeg6CctdoTZ6GMALhN5pxn2bJ9Hbn5xQ118J0SF45usojoQM0QOQPrUXPnmjO7amkV7A5U1DyJlLA4oQ7c/s1600/vorberg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3wq2pGeOIilg_oPn4HXIJPcam5E5xXWlkZBTIGWXplZkCsvfNokpD_VSQEFeg6CctdoTZ6GMALhN5pxn2bJ9Hbn5xQ118J0SF45usojoQM0QOQPrUXPnmjO7amkV7A5U1DyJlLA4oQ7c/s400/vorberg.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2002–1994</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg7P0vI4O_ztJZW12rXjA9gVTo9n9TeJAdmRVgaoOfOYXkT2u3uzghNfVbH9iDuD65aOTN7hsym7BZUYYtCl5uAUS_qhTJyA6peNeReXx6Q3vW3T64jAho6nNlLwsnLKCx7ud8gII0CmQ/s1600/vorberg2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg7P0vI4O_ztJZW12rXjA9gVTo9n9TeJAdmRVgaoOfOYXkT2u3uzghNfVbH9iDuD65aOTN7hsym7BZUYYtCl5uAUS_qhTJyA6peNeReXx6Q3vW3T64jAho6nNlLwsnLKCx7ud8gII0CmQ/s400/vorberg2.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2003–2012</td></tr>
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Apparently Vorberg Riservas require prolonged cellaring before they start showing beautifully. When young, they can be really rich, opulent and impressive wines in their own right, but nothing of true interest. At around 10 years of age they start exhibiting first developed notes and around 15 years of age they start shedding their baby fat – they don't appear as full-bodied and opulent as the younger wines, but they still retain their ripe, concentrated fruit and impressive weight. On average it seems that the poorer vintages survive around 10–15 years, better ones easily at least 20, even more. With the best vintages, I have no idea how long they will keep, as the most impressive ones seemed still remarkably young and tightly wound even at 20 years of age. I guess it's safe to declare that the best vintages of Vorberg Riserva are semi-eternal white wines that only gain depth and complexity, but they just don't seem to age.</div>
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In a nutshell, Cantina Terlano's Pinot Bianco Vorberg Riserva is not only the world's best Pinot Blanc white wine, but also one of the most spectacular white wines, no matter the varietal, with aging capability on par with the best dry German Rieslings or white Burgundies. This is truly a white wine to look for.</div>
Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410132544589500796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8271454715333987114.post-5564993729762486592016-08-27T18:24:00.003+03:002016-08-27T20:27:29.053+03:00Saperavi<div style="text-align: justify;">
Although for long the wines from Georgia (the country in Caucasus, not the US state) have been completely absent from the global wine market, they have recently started to be noticed throughout the world. This is not only because of the interesting indigenous varieties one can find there, but also because of the rising trends of orange wine and vinifications in clay amphorae – both methods that have been used in Georgia for several millennia.</div>
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The main reason why Georgian wines have been for so long unheard-of is that during the Soviet reign (1921–1991) Georgia produced the great majority of wine in the Soviet Union and the wine industry was emphasizing quantity over quality; especially the simple, semi-sweet Georgian red wines were popular in the Soviet Russia. Even after the collapse of the Soviet Union, this quantity-oriented mindset persisted, as newly reformed Russia was the biggest – practically the only – export market for the country. Only a handful of small wineries started pursuing quality over quantity after seven decades of state-controlled wine production, but with only modest results. Only after the Russian embargo on Georgian wines in 2006 the Georgian wine industry began to change: they had to look for completely new markets, and whereas the Russian always bought all the Georgian wines they produced, no matter the quality, the other markets were different. When the wineries realized that only those quality-oriented producers, who made dry high-quality wines could actually sell their products abroad, began a great shift in the Georgian wine industry as numerous producers changed their focus on dry quality wines and foreign investments started flowing into the country. By 2010's, a great paradigm shift had occurred, and many Georgian a producer had established a good market presence in the western wine market.</div>
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If there is one single grape variety that would best represent Georgia, it is definitely <b>Saperavi</b>. This old, winter-hardy and productive variety can produce remarkably different styles of wines, ranging from the mellow, semi-sweet <b>Kindzmarauli</b> wines to those often rustic, aggressively tannic and angular <i>kvevri</i> wines made in the <b>Kakheti</b> wine region.</div>
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Saperavi is often called <i>teinturier</i> variety, which means that unlike the great majority of red grapes that actually have clear pulp and juice, they have also pigmented, red pulp and juice. However, according to <b>Jancis Robinson's</b> <i>Wine Grapes</i>, Saperavi is not actually a true <i>teinturier</i>, having clear pulp, although the variety's juice is still pink-colored. But a <i>teinturier</i> or not, Saperavi is best known for its deeply-colored, often completely opaque, black-red wines that have given rise to its name, meaning "dye". With its normally high tannin levels and good acidity, Saperavi can create in skilled hands quite sweet red wines of remarkable balance, but it is also a variety well-suited for crafting structured, robust and ageworthy reds. Normally the variety does not reach remarkably high sugar levels, keeping the alcohol content at modest 12–13,5% if vinified dry, although in hottest regions of Georgia dry Saperavis can reach alcohol levels of up to 15%.</div>
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Saperavi is a very old variety that originates from the southwestern part of Georgia, close to the Turkish border. From there the variety has gradually spread throughout the country; no-one knows how old the variety really is, but the earliest documents describe the variety as early as the 13th century and there is evidence that the variety was well-spread throughout Georgia already in the 17th century. The winemaking traditions of the different parts of Georgia are strongly rooted; in the cooler and more humid parts of western Georgia producers often make smoother and sweeter reds, whereas drier and more tannic wines are favored in the warm and dry Kakheti region located in the eastern part of Georgia.</div>
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The clay amphorae – <i>kvevri</i> in Georgian – mentioned earlier are one of the most peculiar aspects of Georgian winemaking. These large, beeswax-lined clay vessels, often ranging from several hundred liters to a few thousand liters of volume, were used for thousands of years in Georgia. However, they fell out of favor in the early 20th century when the wineries started to employ modern winemaking equipment, and <i>kvevris</i> were all but abandoned for decades. But with the recent renaissance of Georgian quality wines and emergence of new quality-oriented vintners, <i>kvevris</i> are back in the game. The traditional method of making a <i>kvevri</i> wine is to crush the grape clusters into a pulp of juice, grape skins, stalks and seeds. This pulp is then moved to these clay amphorae, where the wine would then ferment with the natural yeasts, and after fermentation, the solids would then fall to the bottom of the jar. Due to the conical shape of <i>kvevri</i>kvevris before bottling, although aging times of over a year are not uncommon. Usually the resulting wine is seriously tannic, bone-dry and robust; wines made from red grapes opaque and deep-colored, and wines made from white grapes often hazy with colors ranging from luminous golden yellow to copper-tinted deep amber. These are the wines of real, unique character of Georgia. They have also been a source of inspiration for many trailblazing, open-minded winemakers; this style of winemaking seems to have resonated most with the more naturally-oriented Italian, Slovenian and Croatian producers in and around the <b>Istrian peninsula</b>.</div>
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Now here is a selection of different Georgian Saperavi reds.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJB2IksOunsQy1X_wYeM5Ip71ABZWLKbz7Z5dYbZtV11tBHBxXOshYht1PS-49oPrmACU0C8wdOCIwJnr4qpwI4W171F13XnhAFWilCb3HV3aMY7RScra1Ew5Zde1itooT3FVmkhNik6A/s1600/mukuzani.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJB2IksOunsQy1X_wYeM5Ip71ABZWLKbz7Z5dYbZtV11tBHBxXOshYht1PS-49oPrmACU0C8wdOCIwJnr4qpwI4W171F13XnhAFWilCb3HV3aMY7RScra1Ew5Zde1itooT3FVmkhNik6A/s200/mukuzani.jpg" title="" width="57" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Tbilvino Mukuzani 2012</b></span></div>
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<b>Mukuzani</b></div>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li><a href="http://www.tbilvino.com.ge/" target="">Tbilvino</a></li>
<li>Country: Georgia</li>
<li>Region: Kakheti</li>
<li>Grape(s): Saperavi (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 14,99€ / 0,75</li>
<li>Tasted on: October 24th, 2015</li>
</ul>
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<a href="http://www.alko.fi/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: alko</span></a></div>
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This wine is made by <b>Tbilvino</b>, a winery founded in 1962 that was one of the biggest "wine factories" in the Soviet Union. After the fall of Soviet Union the winery became independently owned and changed their focus from bulk wine to wines of higher quality and character. This wine is a <b>Mukuzani</b>, which means it is a dry Saperavi from the Kakheti region. Unlike regular Saperavi wines, all Mukuzanis must be aged in oak barrels – traditionally the Mukuzani wines were aged extensively in oak, often over 3 years, but currently most commercial Mukuzanis see only 9 months of barrel aging.</div>
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The wine has practically completely opaque black-red color, typical of Saperavi.</div>
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It has dry, youthful and rather modern-ish nose of prunes, jellied dark berries and ripe black currant. There is also a hint of smoky and spicy oak, but otherwise the nose is very pure and emphasis is on the fruit.</div>
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The wine has full-bodied mouthfeel with some sense of concentration, yet feeling fresh and vibrant as well. The ripe palate is dominated by sweet dark fruits, but this sweetness is nicely balanced out by tart lingonberry flavors and a good, tannic bite. There is also a nice undertone of dark cherries and red forest fruits.</div>
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The midpalate leaves a lengthy, tight-structured and slightly coarse finish in the mouth with lingering flavors of lingonberry, ink, some bitter and dry woody spice and bright mouthwatering acidity with a hint of tannic astringency in the aftertaste.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>87/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: Superficially this is a modern, polished Saperavi, but underneath its shiny and glossy surface it is a characterful and even a bit rustic red wine with a little welcome roughness in the edges. Though not the most complex effort, but it still shows nice structure and it is wonderfully in balance. I wouldn't surprise if the wine would also benefit from mid-term cellaring. A perfectly enjoyable example of Saperavi.</div>
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***</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzx-c6_LL7caMvB3xtHma1yoI65vMCnHS-RgaMjmT-zZqgDb8P9aytaPynWoJe-SBOqdZRMCbDN-rlILZpIgMB9xydgLfGEPOVqkdYBaHZaoBNTE8KzhtEeZ0sMJc1Ka7k9IKmgGs10Wo/s1600/monasterysaperavi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzx-c6_LL7caMvB3xtHma1yoI65vMCnHS-RgaMjmT-zZqgDb8P9aytaPynWoJe-SBOqdZRMCbDN-rlILZpIgMB9xydgLfGEPOVqkdYBaHZaoBNTE8KzhtEeZ0sMJc1Ka7k9IKmgGs10Wo/s200/monasterysaperavi.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="" width="63" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Monastery Wines Saperavi 2012</b></span></div>
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<li><a href="http://www.winery-khareba.com/" target="-">Winery Khareba</a></li>
<li>Country: Georgia</li>
<li>Region: Kakheti</li>
<li>Grape(s): Saperavi (100%)</li>
<li>Price: ?</li>
<li>Tasted on: March 2nd, 2016</li>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://www.winery-khareba.com/en">source: khareba</a></span></div>
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I was a bit amused by the name of the wine – <b>Monastery Wines Saperavi</b> – because the <i>kvevri</i> wines of <b>Alaverdi Monastery</b> are some of the most acclaimed ones in Georgia. As the Khareba winery started to make <i>kvevri</i> wines some 5 years ago, following the trends, they most likely decided on a name, that would not only invoke mental pictures of the Alaverdi <i>kvevri</i> wines, but also confuse the unknowing customer for the benefit of Khareba.</div>
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So this is a wine from the winery's <b>Monastery Wines</b> range, denoting wines made in the clay <i>kvevris</i>. Though the white wines of the range often see extended maceration times of several months in the earthenware vessels, the red wines are usually macerated only as long as the fermentation lasts, usually only for a few weeks.</div>
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The wine's color is youthful, slightly translucent dark ruby.</div>
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It has an interesting, characterful and very fruit-forward nose of sweet cherry, plummy fruit, some cherry pith, a little boysenberry and a hint of bog bilberry jam.</div>
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The moderately full-bodied palate does not manage to reach the interesting, fruity complexity of the nose, but instead offers a rather simple melange of ripe sour cherry, some cranberry, a little sweet dark cherry and a hint of bitterness. The wine lacks structure, as the acidity is modest at best with very unassuming, almost nonexistent tannins.</div>
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The wine finishes with a sweeter, juicy aftertaste of ripe dark berries with flavors of blackberry and hints of crowberry on the fore. A little tannic grip brings in some mouth-drying astringency and bitterness to the short-to-medium-length finish.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>80/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: A very soft and smooth example of <i>kvevri</i> Saperavi, lacking the structure and intensity one would expect from such wine. Very mellow and easily approachable; a <i>kvevri</i> wine with training wheels.</div>
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***</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5u1xQKP8hamHyTtD7n9DvrtFGq1MOneuebIQ3VM_WvkmMQEd_hVa0RpBr7ooMfnOfjmPKUxgJNH6_alzhTFAtPcNYRMpJN1IgaM9GhyWS3xn8MxPJTpXXdCjz9jwha6n-Al41k7UMC0/s1600/saperavi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5u1xQKP8hamHyTtD7n9DvrtFGq1MOneuebIQ3VM_WvkmMQEd_hVa0RpBr7ooMfnOfjmPKUxgJNH6_alzhTFAtPcNYRMpJN1IgaM9GhyWS3xn8MxPJTpXXdCjz9jwha6n-Al41k7UMC0/s200/saperavi.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="" width="51" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Orgo Saperavi 2012</b></span></div>
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<li><a href="http://www.vitavinea.ge/main/1/home" target="-">Teleda / Orgo</a></li>
<li>Country: Georgia</li>
<li>Region: Kakheti</li>
<li>Grape(s): Saperavi (100%)</li>
<li>Price: ?</li>
<li>Tasted on: March 2nd, 2016</li>
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<a href="http://georgianwinehouse.com/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: georgian wine house</span></a></div>
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The Orgo winery is spearheaded by <b>Giorgi "Gogi" Dakishvili</b>, a man better known as the winemaker of more famous <b>Schuchmann</b> and <b>Teliani Valley</b> wineries. The produce many natural-style wines exclusively from their own vineyards and they have specialized in making <i>kvevri</i> wines. All their kvevri wines are made with natural yeasts and the wines are bottled without clarification or filtration with only a minimul sulphur addition.</div>
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Luminous dark garnet color with faint purple highlights and a hint of translucency.</div>
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Sweet, rich and very unique, meaty nose with most prominent aroma being that of sausage. Yes, that's definitely sausage. Other than that, there are aromas of raw meat, dust, dry old wood, graphite, some leather, a little sweet plums, a hint of cheese and a whiff of smoke. This is definitely some weird stuff – but in a most positive way.</div>
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The wine is rich, concentrated and full-bodied in the mouth with super-juicy flavors of ripe plums, sweet dark berries and some cherry – though the nose offered anything but fruits, the palate is completely the opposite. The tannins are quite abundant, yet also very ripe and mellow. Acidity is rather low as well; the wine feels rather big and voluminous, though not fat and wanting for structure.</div>
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The moderately long finish is full of supple plummy fruit and dark fruit with some bitterness and a touch of astringency from the tannins.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>88/100</b></span></div>
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A very good, ripe and modern example of a natural <i>kvevri</i> Saperavi that has a very weird – though not that funky – nose but is flavor-wise quite ripe, smooth and easily approachable. An interesting fellow, though nothing mind-blowingly unique.</div>
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***</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh_88LNow3IJrdA_EIdaZrOdlbJz042YS_Of7_1tExYpBUHmTPxuU_SRVuIwNCA4TgVAESy2cYZ_IVp5CLU3Tx51YiHU4MdqzjDt5rgWF60fSgfYujNVf8AillIBhIAG-qvZCGeEE3W5U/s1600/saperavi2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh_88LNow3IJrdA_EIdaZrOdlbJz042YS_Of7_1tExYpBUHmTPxuU_SRVuIwNCA4TgVAESy2cYZ_IVp5CLU3Tx51YiHU4MdqzjDt5rgWF60fSgfYujNVf8AillIBhIAG-qvZCGeEE3W5U/s200/saperavi2011.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="" width="48" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pheasant's Tears Saperavi 2011</b></span></div>
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<li><a href="http://www.pheasantstears.com/index.php?id=17&lang=eng" target="-">Pheasant's Tears</a></li>
<li>Country: Georgia</li>
<li>Region: Kakheti</li>
<li>Grape(s): Saperavi (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 19,85€</li>
<li>Tasted on: October 24th, 2015</li>
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<a href="http://www.elkor.lv/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: elkor</span></a></div>
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<b>John Wurdeman</b>'s and <b>Gela Patalishvili</b>'s winery <b>Pheasant's Tears</b> is one the most-hyped natural wine producers in Georgia. This winery, led by a US-born painter and an 8th-generation grape grower, makes ambitious, structured red and amber wines of remarkable depth with completely hands-off philosophy. All the wines are vinified in <i>kvevris</i> without any kind of intervention, letting the wines ferment and macerate from several weeks to up to 6 months, depending on the variety, and finally bottling the wines without any clarifications, filtrations or sulfur additions. </div>
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The wine's color is opaque black red, without any viscous, overextracted look.</div>
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The wine has a dense and very rustic nose of dark, dry red fruits, dirt and dust, with notes of fresh blackcurrants and blackberries, meat stew, some smoke, a hint of burnt hair and a whiff of wet dog.</div>
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The tongue is greeted by a lovely, energetic palate offering intense flavors of ripe, dark berries, astringent spiciness, wild funk, some <i>sous-bois</i>, a hint of leather and a touch of smoke. The mouthfeel is dense and very full-bodied, yet flavor-wise the wine is surprisingly taut and bone-dry, giving it a paradoxical appearance of a wine that is both big and juicy, yet hard and angular at the same time. With early-picked Saperavi grapes that have been macerated for an extended time, the wine offers lots and lots of acidity with immense, grippy tannic structure.</div>
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Finally the wine moves onto its dense, inky aftertaste that leaves a lingering mixture of dark forest fruits, bitter spiciness, leather and a touch of dust. The finish is mouth-drying, astringent and flavor-wise very complex.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>92/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: This Saperavi by Pheasant's Tears is an interesting, fascinating and even challenging red wine that is very unlike any modern "soft", ripe red wine. It is an intense, structured, authentic and unforgiving effort that is definitely not for everyone's taste and it obviously needs either hearty food or lots of cellar age – most likely both; this is not a wine to be enjoyed on its own. Truly wonderful.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0OM847_tmVqbyHtjZqJbfTnZvkXkY_mNzh2UHf8XWHdUMnkol8Cb3XPcKbhQJxZorNT-v6Qdgv4LCYinV9OI037CeviaKuU7wY-o0iy9lzLCeLgLpimr0j9h6_VDneaTkgXJa3sdU52c/s1600/natavachnadze2007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0OM847_tmVqbyHtjZqJbfTnZvkXkY_mNzh2UHf8XWHdUMnkol8Cb3XPcKbhQJxZorNT-v6Qdgv4LCYinV9OI037CeviaKuU7wY-o0iy9lzLCeLgLpimr0j9h6_VDneaTkgXJa3sdU52c/s200/natavachnadze2007.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="" width="46" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Askaneli Nata Vachnadze Mukuzani 2007</b></span></div>
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<b>Mukuzani</b></div>
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<li><a href="http://askaneli.com/" target="-">Askaneli Brothers</a></li>
<li>Country: Georgia</li>
<li>Region: Kakheti</li>
<li>Grape(s): Saperavi (100%)</li>
<li>Price: ?</li>
<li>Tasted on: March 2nd, 2016</li>
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This wine was a special bottling with a label depicting Nata Vachnadze, a Georgian actress (1904–1953). Despite its special label, I assume the bottle holds the regular Askaneli Mukuzani.</div>
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The wine is dark cherry-colored and completely opaque with a hint of haziness and some deposit on the bottom of the glass.</div>
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The nose is dusty, developed and quite rich with savory aromas of dark forest berries, dusty earth, leather, plums and notes of blackcurrant and pencil shavings, giving the wine an air of Bordeaux red, with nuances of sweeter oak, some chocolate, a hint of caramel and a touch of bretty farmhouse aromas in the background.</div>
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The wine seems more Bordeaux than Saperavi in the mouth with rich, chewy and slightly matured flavors of plums, ripe dark berries, some cedar, a little tobacco and a hint of leather. The structure is intense with moderately high acidity and pronounced, grippy tannins.</div>
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The finish is quite grippy and astringent with angular tannins, spicy oak and a lovely, complex mixture of dark berry, pencil shavings, peppery spice, some leather and a hint of rustic bretty notes.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>91/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: While sipping the wine I felt that it might have been more fruit-forward, polished and "modern" in its youth, but now at 8 years of age it was drinking really wonderfully with some attractive, developed and complex characteristics. Even though the wine seemed more like a Bordeaux red than a typical Saperavi, it was really delightful stuff. Apparently a wine that rewards cellaring and will still hold for many years.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiTCUpwnIk5IoD6LJUO63BsiCf-dfWeuSektf0dlqeXvd-vdacVARD3OLkBF_QsZyTs2j51_wiSqU67DXEVT2Ik2OtcwoVZ_q4qnieQgdPPOBo-r7PjblueyPZ0889bHWQ2WvxTs2zYu0/s1600/saperavi2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiTCUpwnIk5IoD6LJUO63BsiCf-dfWeuSektf0dlqeXvd-vdacVARD3OLkBF_QsZyTs2j51_wiSqU67DXEVT2Ik2OtcwoVZ_q4qnieQgdPPOBo-r7PjblueyPZ0889bHWQ2WvxTs2zYu0/s200/saperavi2010.jpg" title="" width="54" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Winiveria Saperavi 2006</b></span></div>
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<li><a href="http://mere.ge/" target="-">Château Mere</a></li>
<li>Country: Georgia</li>
<li>Region: Kakheti</li>
<li>Grape(s): Saperavi (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 25€</li>
<li>Tasted on: October 24th, 2015</li>
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<a href="http://goodwine.com.ua/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: good wine</span></a></div>
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This wine sealed with a wax capsule is made by <b>Château Mere</b>, a winery-hotel founded in 2005. As the wine was vintage 2006, it was either the second vintage ever of this label. It is a 100% non-interventionist Saperavi vinified in <i>kvevris</i> and bottled without any clarifications or filtrations.</div>
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The appearance is completely opaque red-to-black.</div>
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It has a very rustic, developed and unforgiving nose of manure, bretty leather, ink, dusty earth, spice and a hint of savory dark berries.</div>
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Taste-wise the wine is as rustic and unrelenting as the nose leads to believe: in the mouth it is dense, concentrated and extremely tannic with complex flavors of dark and ripe forest fruits, manure, dried prunes, dust, some leather and a hint of mature raisined fruit. Fresh acidity gives the wine both structure and focus.</div>
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The very long, complex, robust and astringent finish leaves notes and nuances of ripe dark berries, dusty earth, tannic bitterness, some leather and a hint of manure in the aftertaste.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>95/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: Winiveria Saperavi 2006 is not only the best Georgian red I've had to this day, but also one of the greatest red wines I've ever had. It is incredibly structured, complex and nuanced effort that definitely calls for both hearty food and extended cellaring. Even at the age of 10 years this is definitely not for the faint of heart, with its combination of very rustic, unpolished character and incredibly tannic structure. These wines I need to seek more and age for a long time – they really do award it.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisvhhsLD7xVBUMiON0AipA7Df-j9Ovr0eoMKtAQssvo9MKI1xSIOXZGYwE8UlKzcqfQQXMDuwCmVRSBkI4c_IClmZT9Hq7OCn-OJIXteSLDUp4QR7UZagzcRJ4JWfIB2Ld-EMfl6DYPSk/s1600/tamadakindzmarauli.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisvhhsLD7xVBUMiON0AipA7Df-j9Ovr0eoMKtAQssvo9MKI1xSIOXZGYwE8UlKzcqfQQXMDuwCmVRSBkI4c_IClmZT9Hq7OCn-OJIXteSLDUp4QR7UZagzcRJ4JWfIB2Ld-EMfl6DYPSk/s200/tamadakindzmarauli.jpg" title="" width="46" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Tamada Kindzmarauli 2012</b></span></div>
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<b>Kindzmarauli</b></div>
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<li><a href="http://www.gwa.ge/?7/306/">Georgian Wines & Spirits</a></li>
<li>Country: Georgia</li>
<li>Region: Kakheti</li>
<li>Grape(s): Saperavi</li>
<li>Price: 15,49€</li>
<li>Tasted on: March 6th, 2015</li>
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<a href="http://sklep.vininova.pl/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">souce: vininova</span></a></div>
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The <b>Tamada</b> series of wine are a moderately priced range of different Georgian quality wines made by <b>Georgian Wines & Spirits</b>, a beverage company owned by the Dutch company <b>Marussia Beverages</b>. The company produces also another range of wines, <b>Old Tbilisi</b>, which are inexpensive, often sweet and offer really nothing of interest.</div>
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Kindzmarauli is an old, unique style of wine from the cooler, northern parts of the famous Kakheti valley, close to the Russian border. It is a semi-sweet red wine style made from Saperavi grapes; the sweetness usually ranges from 30 to 50 g/l with modest alcohol levels of 10–12%. Along with <b>Khvanchkara</b>, <b>Kindzmarauli</b> is considered to be the highest-quality sweet red wine in Georgia. <b>Tamada</b> means a "toastmaster" – a staplemark of Georgian culture: an outspoken person chosen before the dinner among the attendees, having a control over the flow of the dinner, the pouring of the wine and the endless series of speeches and toasts.</div>
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The appearance is very dark, almost completely opaque with a hint of higher viscosity from the residual sugar.</div>
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The nose is as dark and juicy as the wine looks with sweet, dark-toned aromas of ripe blackcurrants, some freshly picked plums, some blueberry, a hint of smoke and a touch of floral violet nuances.</div>
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The palate is obviously medium-sweet and quite full-bodied with moderate acidity and quite ample, ripe tannins that give the palate some sense of structure and firmness. The flavors are rich and expressive with notes of dark, grapey flavors, cherry marmalade, chokeberry, some ripe blackberry and a hint of clove spice.</div>
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The wine finishes with a finish that is both moderately sweet and a bit astringent from the tannins, supported by flavors of ripe dark berries, juicy cherries and some fresh blackcurrants in the aftertaste.</div>
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Having accustomed to red wines that are either completely dry to barely dry (less than 10 g/l of residual sugar) or really sweet red dessert wines, a medium-sweet red wine like this took me some time to get accustomed to. However, when you realize that this is not really that much of a regular table wine, but instead more like a port wine that drinks like a table wine, you start understanding it a little better.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>87/100</b></span></div>
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Summary: Usually people expect simple, soft and barely drinkable wines when discussing semi-sweet red wines. However, good Kindzmaraulis are anything but. Tamada Kindzmarauli is very balanced, nuanced and nicely structured semi-sweet red that is not really dessert wine, but still works perfectly like one: it is a delightful accompaniment to different cheeses or savory desserts.</div>
Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410132544589500796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8271454715333987114.post-64352030976150980902016-08-21T00:01:00.002+03:002016-08-21T00:01:54.736+03:00Aligoté<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Aligoté</b> can hardly be considered as a rare variety; with plantings spanning close to 50,000 hectares, this frost-hardy, cool-to-temperate climate grape variety is among the most planted varieties in the world. However, the thing with Aligoté is that it is planted only to a limited extent in France (some 1,900 ha) while the rest of the plantings are found in Eastern Europe, mainly in Moldova (15,800 ha), Ukraine (9,600 ha) and Romania (7,200 ha). As wines from these countries – or Burgundy, for that matter – are rarely exported, Aligoté is a rare occurrence in the international wine market, aimed mainly for local consumption.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The birthplace of Aligoté is somewhere in or near Burgundy, as its parents are <b>Pinot</b> and <b>Gouais Blanc</b> (the parents of <b>Chardonnay</b>, <b>Gamay</b> and <b>Melon de Bourgogne</b> as well, making Aligoté a sibling of these varieties), two grape varieties historically cultivated in the region. Aligoté is known for its remarkably high acid levels and usually thin, lemony flavors; this is why usually fruitier, less acidic and overall more balanced Chardonnay is planted in the best sites in Burgundy, whereas Aligoté is planted in the less prestigious sites in the top and bottom parts of hills. Historically these varieties have been cultivated together as interplanted field blends, where Aligoté's bright acidity would complement Chardonnay's bigger body and fruitier character, but as Chardonnay started to command higher prices, monovarietal Chardonnay vineyards became the norm. A great majority of France's Aligoté is planted in Burgundy (over 1,700 ha) while some plantings can be found also outside Burgundy, mainly scattered around the Rhône wine region.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">As Aligoté normally produces simple, tart and lemony wine with thin body and high acidity, it has never gained great popularity, which is why it is mainly drunk locally and rarely exported. A traditional French way to make Aligoté more drinkable is to add a little amount of <i>créme de cassis</i>, blackcurrant liqueur, to the wine to give it more flavor and mask some of the acidity with the liqueur's high sugar, creating a <b>Kir</b> cocktail. The greatest problem Aligoté faces is that it is a prisoner of its reputation; however, some of the producers in Burgundy have showed that by planting the variety in better sites, restricting yields and letting the variety reach a suitable degree of ripeness, it can create wines of remarkable quality – yet still many producers and consumers alike tend to shun away from the variety. Hopefully, as the greatest Aligoté wines start to gain recognition, the variety will receive more acceptance in the future.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the biggest recent moves towards the wider recognition of Aligoté is the creation of <b>AOC Bouzeron</b> in 1998. This village in the Côte Chalonnaise wine region (the large subregion under <b>Côte de Nuits</b>, the famed heart of Burgundy) has been producing Aligoté wines for a long time, and finally in the late 1990's, with the aid of <b>Aubert de Villaine </b>– the co-owner of the world-famous <b>Domaine de la Romanée-Conti</b> – this appellation exclusively for Aligoté was created.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Outside Bouzeron, there are also a handful of producers who vehemently believe in the quality and in the potential of well-made Aligoté. These producers in- and outside of Bouzeron can create magnificent Aligoté wines ranging from typical light and acid-driven whites with remarkable depth and steely minerality, to more concentrated and fuller-bodied examples with more fruit, weight and heft normally unseen in wines made from this variety. Typically even the better Aligotés from Burgundy still tend to be lighter than the region's Chardonnays and they are usually aged in stainless steel tanks or old, neutral barrels, letting the varietal characteristics stay on the fore. Though rarely considered to be of any importance in Burgundy, Aligoté's light, refreshingly acid-driven and more restrained style has given Aligoté some attention amongst the sommeliers and other winos who are looking for new, trendy and versatile wine styles.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhswU1BqEhSluL10GmjnX8U4qurvhsxVgaIxBsB07tisQcsiuA6dG2_HsQeN6IiRVz-gV_HlyKikkapu6eUnyg2sEw_55e0l1eXDq6xkT8AL8cp92yxSesSJYG4SR70-l6y7mmKB6vVyM/s1600/leclou34_2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhswU1BqEhSluL10GmjnX8U4qurvhsxVgaIxBsB07tisQcsiuA6dG2_HsQeN6IiRVz-gV_HlyKikkapu6eUnyg2sEw_55e0l1eXDq6xkT8AL8cp92yxSesSJYG4SR70-l6y7mmKB6vVyM/s200/leclou34_2012.jpg" title="" width="58" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Claire Naudin "Le Clou 34" 2012</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Vin de France</span> </b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.naudin-ferrand.com/en_index.asp" target="-">Domaine Naudin-Ferrand</a></li>
<li>Country: France</li>
<li>Region: Burgundy, Côte de Nuits</li>
<li>Grape(s): Aligoté (100%)</li>
<li>Price: ~16,50€ / 0,75 l</li>
<li>Tasted on: January 3rd, 2015</li>
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</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.buongiornovino.com/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: buongiornovino</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This wine here does not come from the aforementioned Bouzeron, but instead from the actual heart of world-famed Burgundy wines, Côte des Nuits. The vineyards where the wine is sourced from are located in the AOC Côte des Nuits Villages appellation, but as the wine is very atypical for a white Burgundy, it is declassified as Vin de France.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine is produced by Domaine Naudin-Ferrand, a small artisanal producer that can trace its viticultural roots back to the 16th century and the current winery has been located in its current place since 1892. The winery has been spearheaded by <b>Claire Naudin</b>, and under her control, the winery has turned stylistically to a more natural approach. Yields are very restricted, vineyards are cultivated organically and treated as living ecosystems, ideals of sustainable agriculture are followed, and whereas some wines are vinified with the philosopohy minimum intervention and with only very low (20–30 mg/l) sulfite additions, some wines are vinified completely naturally with totally hands-free approach and no sulphites. Claire Naudin has made the choice not to certify the winery organic, as she wants to have a freedom of choice: she thinks that in bad scenarios is better to use minuscule amounts of very effective synthetic weed, pest and fungus control agents instead of less effective organic ones.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Naudin-Ferrand has become famed especially for their unique Aligotés; whereas many other growers have pulled off their Aligoté plantings to make room for economically more viable Chardonnay, Naudin-Ferrand have obstinately held on to their Aligoté plantings, which are now among some of the oldest ones in the whole Burgundy. <b>Clou 34</b>, the plot that is the main source for this wine, is planted in 1934, but in some vintages grapes are also sourced from plots <b>La Croix</b> (planted in 1953), <b>Castaings</b> (1936) and <b>Vallerot</b> (1902). This wine is made completely organically: both the alcoholic fermentation and the malolactic fermentation occurred naturally, the wine has received no additions whatsoever, it was bottled unfiltered and unfined and no sulfites were used at any point. Annual production is less than 3,000 bottles.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">With its hazy, green-tinted yellow color, the wine is obviously unfiltered.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The nose is utterly delightful, vibrant and expressive with crisp and intense, fruit-forward aromas of sweet lemony citrus fruit, sunny flower meadows, red apple, some leesy notes and a hint of grapefruit.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The intense taste follows the nose with intense green apple and grapefruit-dominant citrus fruit flavors, supported by saline minerality and some leesy notes. Overall the palate is juicy, concentrated and really energetic with its pronounced, crisp acidity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The finish is really crisp, tart and acid-driven with flavors of wet stone minerality, lime-driven citrus fruit, tart Granny Smith apple and some grassy greenness. The aftertaste is very long, precise and focused with pronounced acidity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall <b>Le Clou 34</b> is an incredibly impressive example of a complex, pure and focused Aligoté with remarkable concentration and well-balanced structure. As it is a good example of completely hands-off winemaking, it might not be the first pick for people who enjoy their wines crystal-clear and squaky-clean; however those, who are looking for unique, high-quality examples of honest, pure wines, this is an extremely recommended effort. It is hands down one of the loveliest white Burgundies I've had in a while, and probably the best non-Chardonnay Burgundy white I've ever had. At 16,50€ its QPR is incredible.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>93/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For those who doubt Aligoté's potential for making high-quality wines, <b>Le Clou 34</b> can be a revelation. It is a wine of remarkable depth, complexity and concentration, but not without the typical acidity and brightness of the variety.</div>Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410132544589500796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8271454715333987114.post-16679681388397613522016-08-16T20:46:00.001+03:002016-08-16T22:57:17.747+03:00Trollinger<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Trollinger</b> is hands down the most ubiquitous speciality of Germany's southern region of <b>Württemberg</b>. This usually large-berried, thin-skinned variety is used to make vast amounts of simple, easy-drinking red that is extremely popular within the region, but rather rarely seen outside it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This variety is better known as <b>Schiava</b> outside Germany – mainly in northern Italy, which is both the variety's home region and a place where it is most often encountered. There are, however, at least four different and genetically distinct Schiava varieties: <i>Schiava Gentile</i>, <i>Schiava Grigio</i>, <i>Schiava Grosso</i> and <i>Schiava Lombarda</i>. Out of these four varieties, the smaller-berried Schiava Gentile is considered to be of the highest quality, producing wines of more depth, concentration and structure. The larger-berried Schiava Grossa is, instead, the variety that is most widely planted, thanks to its vigor, high yields and ease of cultivation. This is also the variety that has made its way to Germany, where it is known as <i>Trollinger</i> – most likely a corruption of the word <i>Tyrolinger</i>, referring to Tyrol, the home of the variety.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The more up north you are in Germany, the more you are in the beer drinking part of the country; conversely, the closer you are to the south border, the higher the wine consumption goes, at the expense of beer. Württemberg is – along with <b>Baden</b> – the most southernmost wine region of Germany, and also the region where most wine is consumed per capita. Whereas most other German wine regions have made name with their wines throughout the world, Württemberg has preferred to drink up its own wines. Traditionally the local wines were cheap and of no real character, made exclusively for local consumption, not export; one of the most popular wine styles was <b>Trollinger mit Lemberger</b> a simple, semi-sweet red wine made mostly from simple Trollinger with some <i>Lemberger</i> (aka. <i>Blaufränkisch</i>) blended in to bring the wine some notion of structure. Only recently have local producers started to make attempts at making more serious, dry varietal wines out of Trollinger, but there is still a lot of work to be done: partly because people still associate Württemberg with cheap, uninteresting, low-quality wines; partly because it is nigh impossible to make anything of real interest of this variety.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last May I had the privilege to visit many different wine producers in Württemberg, and what I learned was that Trollinger is not a variety made to shine bright: the large size of the berries results in high juice-to-skin ratio, and with its thin skins low in coloring polyphenols and tannins, the wines usually have a rather soft structure. The resulting wines are usually easy-drinking, fruity, medium-acid red wines that occasionally look more deep rosés than actual reds, with soft, easy tannins and both aromas and flavors of sweet red berries. The wines are normally fermented and aged both in stainless steel tanks and in oak casks, but usually older, bigger <i>stück </i>barrels are used because the variety does not go well with oak aromatics. Usually Trollinger's skins can be macerated quite extensively with the wine with no noticeable increase in color, tannins or extraction, which is why usually the skin maceration times are quite low.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here is a selection of different Trollingers we tried during our trip:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPUrUqcq6dMpQdFtUByRiQYw7WPNqMuVPRZREGYnULI-BXFMJCQycwirMsk_Jr-pLVjSWmJ0CjltO_CdW3pNfFOCWsEgXs0jWiYqtdh3F0zjCsbu-132pw-g4PWHpIKVvm74N1U6KGrPo/s1600/trollingertrocken.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPUrUqcq6dMpQdFtUByRiQYw7WPNqMuVPRZREGYnULI-BXFMJCQycwirMsk_Jr-pLVjSWmJ0CjltO_CdW3pNfFOCWsEgXs0jWiYqtdh3F0zjCsbu-132pw-g4PWHpIKVvm74N1U6KGrPo/s200/trollingertrocken.jpg" title="" width="44" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Staatsweingut Weinsberg Trollinger Trocken 2014</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.sw-weinsberg.de/" target="-">Staatsweingut Weinsberg</a></li>
<li>Country: Germany</li>
<li>Region: Württemberg</li>
<li>Grape(s): Trollinger (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 5,90€ / 0,75 l</li>
<li>Tasted on: May 19th, 2016 </li>
</ul><div style="text-align: right;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.sw-weinsberg.de/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: staatsweingut weinsberg</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine is made by Staatsweingut Weinsberg, the state-controlled winery and school for wine makers. This institute not only makes wines from its own vineyards and tutors future winemakers, but also makes groundbreaking work as experimenting with different varieties, creating new crossings. I have no details on the vinification of this wine, but it has 3 g/l of residual sugar and 4,9 g/l of acidity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The translucent, pale raspberry color of the wine with its almost completely clear rims seems almost closer to a rather deep rosé wine than an actual red wine, typical of the variety.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The nose is fruity with aromas of raspberry marmalade, wine gum candies and some cherry jam.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the mouth the wine has a light body with flavors of ripe red berries like raspberries, wild strawberries and some cherries with a hint of sour cherries. Smooth, medium-intense acidity with soft and easy mouthfeel.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The midpalate transitions into the fresh and somewhat lengthy finish with flavors of red berries, some sour cherries and a hint of tart lingonberries.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">All in all, this is an easy-drinking, basic-level everyday red and nothing more. Light, soft, smooth and easily approachable – like practically every single Trollinger in the world.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>78/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Nothing of real interest, but priced accordingly. A textbook example of Württemberg Trollinger that is churned in ridiculous amounts every year in the region.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiGLVxqSsp5wOwNXhlhjr-66u1EPEOHCGf_H1iQdXvakR2PiSEuQ8hepHhyphenhyphenuwprptup-ttiUZ6qmZD9g9rg2l-ynGfi1kIWAlKmqEmhvnesTG81NdNFoPQAHUwHqWtbMVExOUSuT4v7eo/s1600/trollingerstenreinacherhornle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiGLVxqSsp5wOwNXhlhjr-66u1EPEOHCGf_H1iQdXvakR2PiSEuQ8hepHhyphenhyphenuwprptup-ttiUZ6qmZD9g9rg2l-ynGfi1kIWAlKmqEmhvnesTG81NdNFoPQAHUwHqWtbMVExOUSuT4v7eo/s200/trollingerstenreinacherhornle.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="" width="48" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Weingut Singer Trollinger Steinreinacher Hörnle 2014</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.weingut-singer.de/" target="-">Weingut Singer</a></li>
<li>Country: Germany</li>
<li>Region: Württemberg</li>
<li>Grape(s): Trollinger (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 6,80€ / 0,75 l</li>
<li>Tasted on: May 20th, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.weinkorb.de/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: singer</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A bit atypical Württemberg Trollinger in the sense that this is a single vineyard Trollinger aged in old barrels. It is made by a small family winery located in the village of Korb; they cultivate 15 ha of vineyards and their annual production is in the range of only 50,000 bottles. The Singers have a <b>Weinkorb</b> ("wine basket"), a combined winery and local centre of wine culture, in Korb, that is worth seeking out if you happen to be in the vicinity. 4,7 g/l of acidity and 13% of alcohol.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Clear and translucent dark cherry color.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The nose is quite reductive with smoky aromas of ripe dark cherry, gunpowder, flint and pepper. Nothing that moderate aeration or more bottle age couldn't fix.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the mouth the wine is light-to-mid-bodied with moderate acidity and soft mouthfeel. Flavors of smoke, pepper, flint and some cranberry-lingonberry giving the wine almost Pinot Noir-like feel. Underneath, a light undercurrent cocoa oak aromatics and a touch of floral nuances. The wine shows a nice combination of intensity and Trollinger's gentle approachability.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The finish is quite long and lively with flavors of wild strawberry, bitter spice, peppercorns, some smoke and a hint of dried wood.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This wine is a bit oakier than the Trollingers of the region generally are, but still very modest with its oak aromatics. In a nutshell this is a balanced effort and definitely one of the better Trollingers I've had – it is actually surprisingly serious an effort for the variety. I am positively surprised by its intensity, and additionally the wine is very modestly priced at 6,90€.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>86/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: A bit more serious Trollinger sourced from a single vineyard, offering good intensity and faint old oak aromatics.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhj5nhDaz21O9xc1LZdcHzx-qlTMgmDntfSBlvD4e5UBLR5IlkH_DmY9tJ2VOh-ffQCaNvJnEhhUj6KPPQxDkCw6W2EmDo7Qz13N1ByKzmKBn3x_HrKVA3thlAaJs10zn2PGhsbOXhkA/s1600/trollingerpur2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhj5nhDaz21O9xc1LZdcHzx-qlTMgmDntfSBlvD4e5UBLR5IlkH_DmY9tJ2VOh-ffQCaNvJnEhhUj6KPPQxDkCw6W2EmDo7Qz13N1ByKzmKBn3x_HrKVA3thlAaJs10zn2PGhsbOXhkA/s200/trollingerpur2015.jpg" title="" width="52" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Weingut Heid Trollinger PUR Trocken 2015</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.weingut-heid.de/" target="-">Weingut Markus Heid</a></li>
<li>Country: Germany</li>
<li>Region: Württemberg</li>
<li>Grape(s): Trollinger (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 6,00€ / 0,75 l</li>
<li>Tasted on: May 20th, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A wine produced by a small producer that has converted their production to organics. In pursuit of quality and recognition, the yields are kept in check, the wines are fermented with their own natural yeasts and old oak is preferred over new whenever oak is used. The producer is also recognized by the high quality of their sparkling <i>Winzersekt</i> wines and they are a member of VDP, the German quality wine association. The Heids have a wonderful winery / tasting room / wine shop right in the middle of the city of Fellbach; it is worth seeking out just because of the quality of the wines Markus Heid produces. PUR is Heid's simple, straightforward example of Trollinger, made to be drunk within a year or two; stylistically somewhere between a rosé and a red wine. Residual sugar 4 g/l, acidity 5 g/l, alcohol 11,9%.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bottled in a clear bottle just to show the variety's typical, clear, luminous raspberry color.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine has a spicy nose with aromas of tart red berries, like cranberries and raspberries, supported by notes of red cherries and a touch of positive, herbal greenness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the mouth the wine is light, pure, lively and refreshing with lovely, bright acidity. Vibrant flavors of raspberry, wild strawberry, some gravelly minerality and a touch of sour cherry.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The finish is long and clean finish flavors of sour cherry, raspberry and tart red berries.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">PUR is a really lovely, clean, refreshing and even surprisingly structured Trollinger – it lacks the soft and gentle characteristics of a traditional Württemberg Trollinger and has replaced them with nice crispness and intensity. On the surface the wine drinks like a care-free summer wine, but in reality it is a lot more serious and impressive effort than what other producers usually make out of Trollinger. Very lovely both on its own and with food. At 6€ this is a real find. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>88/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Exceedingly tasty and balanced Trollinger that lacks the variety's typical softness. Vibrant and refreshing wine that drinks like a simple table wine, but with impressive intensity and seriousness. Thoroughly recommended.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmsphgTE_UAHeRH6szHQQgbkXEMiTjwB_UIjO53ZbQ_63VL9hjZ652qP7TCXI_3lX3bdorgotn_I-POGIpWig3RIn4BCkHIuP4tOneN9wrZmNUxPPQIkb644GEMrz4URcsp2l_Dyc6pfU/s1600/trollingerfellbacherl%25C3%25A4mmler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmsphgTE_UAHeRH6szHQQgbkXEMiTjwB_UIjO53ZbQ_63VL9hjZ652qP7TCXI_3lX3bdorgotn_I-POGIpWig3RIn4BCkHIuP4tOneN9wrZmNUxPPQIkb644GEMrz4URcsp2l_Dyc6pfU/s200/trollingerfellbacherl%25C3%25A4mmler.jpg" title="" width="60" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Weingut Heid Trollinger Erste Lage Fellbach Lämmler 2014</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.weingut-heid.de/" target="-">Weingut Markus Heid</a></li>
<li>Country: Germany</li>
<li>Region: Württemberg</li>
<li>Grape(s): Trollinger (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 9,50€ / 0,75 l</li>
<li>Tasted on: May 20th, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.weingut-heid.de/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: heid</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A wine produced by the same producer as Trollinger PUR, Markus Heid. An attempt to make something more serious of Trollinger: an Erste Lage (equal to Premier Cru) -level single vineyard Trollinger that is fermented on its own natural yeasts and aged for 6–8 months in 600 liter oak casks. Residual sugar 1g/l, acidity 5,1 g/l, alcohol 12,6%.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Clear, dark cherry color that is something not unlike a Burgundy Pinot Noir – a bit darker what you'd normally expect from a Trollinger.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A little restrained, yet charming nose of raspberry, dark cherry, wild strawberry, some kirsch and a touch of blueberry.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Light, lively and acid-driven in the mouth with such intensity and body I've yet to taste in any other Trollinger; there's even some sense of concentration here. Juicy palate with vibrant flavors of dark berries, strawberry, raspberry, some sour cherry, a little dark cherry and a touch of tart cranberry. The structure is held together not only by the lively acidity, but with a light touch of tannins as well.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dry, long, acid-driven and slightly tannic finish with focused flavors of ripe, raspberry-driven red berries and dark forest fruits.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Wow! This is really impressive and classy an effort for a Trollinger and definitely the best I've had from this usually rather bland variety. Stylistically not so far from a lighter Cru Beaujolais with similar mouthfeel, vibrancy and balance. Very serious, tasty and moreish; lovely on its own, easy to pair with a wide variety of foods. The wine has simply an incredible QPR at 9,50€. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>90/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: Most likely one of the best Trollingers there is, if not the best. Remarkable intensity, purity and structure for a Trollinger with even some welcome sense of concentration. Very recommended for the fans of Gamay, Poulsard and the likes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgePMXXCmQoWnKk17pW1m2ITbDj319XP8p9OxZbctJbBSGWlyaEnVdm8Ae8uUVjYI0LHrtOVDFgnjbeoKDiTFVHeTjxNhSk-9qHaxoPOiu1j0Dlx19fXy-Q4FXF938obaYljeEDabHQwus/s1600/trollingertrockenholzfass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgePMXXCmQoWnKk17pW1m2ITbDj319XP8p9OxZbctJbBSGWlyaEnVdm8Ae8uUVjYI0LHrtOVDFgnjbeoKDiTFVHeTjxNhSk-9qHaxoPOiu1j0Dlx19fXy-Q4FXF938obaYljeEDabHQwus/s200/trollingertrockenholzfass.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="" width="44" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Weinmanufaktur Untertürkheim Trollinger Trocken *** 2013</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://weinmanufaktur.de/" target="-">Weinmanufaktur Untertürkheim</a></li>
<li>Country: Germany</li>
<li>Region: Württemberg</li>
<li>Grape(s): Trollinger (100%)</li>
<li>Price: 14,00€ / 0,75 l</li>
<li>Tasted on: May 20th, 2016</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://weinmanufaktur.de/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: weinmanufaktur untertürkheim</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A wine made by the small, quality-oriented co-operative in the village of Untertürkheim, a hamlet of Stuttgart. This is their attempt at making something more serious out of Trollinger, designated by the stars in the label (* and ** stand for simple, basic-level wines). This is made from the grapes of approximately 25 years old vines. Extended maceration of 3 weeks with the skins, after which the wine is aged for 12 months in big, old oak casks. Residual sugar 2 g/l, acidity 4,6 g/l, alcohol 13,5%.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Clear, dark raspberry red color.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dry, pretty aromatic, savory and slightly meaty nose with aromas of ripe red berries, sour cherries and some darker berries – definitely something more interesting than your average Trollinger with just sweet red berry aromas.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the mouth the wine is medium-bodied and rather soft, but it has also some nice roughness due to somewhat pronounced spiciness and slight bitterness. Flavors of sour cherry, cranberry and hints of ripe strawberries. Low on tannins.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The palate segues into the spicy, medium length finish with flavors of dark forest fruits, allspice and some sour cherry.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is a well-made, high-quality Trollinger that seems to be above the average Trollinger quality and a testament to the quality of the Untertürkheim co-op. However, this wine does not give challenge to those wonderful Trollingers made by Weingut Heid. Otherwise it is a surprisingly lovely, balanced and enjoyable effort showing that it is possible to make serious red wines out of this often overlooked variety. If you are iffy about the quality of South German Trollingers, this is definitely a wine that is worth a shot. Priced accordingly at 14€.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>87/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: A serious and balanced Trollinger that manages to go beyond the regular Trollinger scope of soft, round mouthfeel and simple flavors of ripe red berries.</div>Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410132544589500796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8271454715333987114.post-66612238484038505222016-08-10T23:33:00.001+03:002016-08-21T00:02:10.600+03:00Žlahtina<div style="text-align: justify;">Croatian wines aren't particularly mainstream, although they have garnered moderate attention and even some international fame in the past years. However, the lion's share of the attention paid to the Croatian wines go mainly to the bright, acid-driven and mineral <i>Malvazija Istarska</i> whites from the <b>Istrian peninsula</b> located at the westernmost part of Croatia, and to the concentrated, opulent and tannic <i>Plavac Mali</i> reds from the <b>Pelješac peninsula</b>, located at the southeastern part of Croatia, close to Dubrovnik.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">These two grape varieties may basically be all that the great majority of people know about Croatian wine, but there is a whole lot more to Croatia than these two varieties. After all, as a wine country, Croatia has one of the biggest arsenal of indigenous varietals in the world, totaling a whopping 130 different local varieties. Almost all of them are varieties that have never traveled outside the country and, unfortunately, too many varieties are made in so minute quantities that producing wine in commercial quantities may be close to impossible and thus no-one will ever hear from them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, there has been a growing interest in local minor varieties in the recent years, after all kinds of different wines made from obscure grape varieties started to become more popular around the world. One of the more interesting varieties that has gained popularity in the past few years is <b>Žlahtina</b> – a variety that takes its name after the word <i>žlahtno</i>, "noble". Though this variety is allowed in the Istrian peninsula and <i>Hrvatsko Primorje</i> (Coastal Croatia), it is a specialty of the <b>Krk island</b>, as it is nowadays found nowhere outside the isle.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Krk, located between the Istrian peninsula and the Coastal Croatia, is the most populous island of the Adriatic Sea and, along with the neighboring island of Cres, the biggest one as well. Historically grapegrowing was of a lot bigger importance with over 25,000 hectares under vine (some 6% of the island's area), whereas nowadays only some 250 hectares of vineyards survive – that is only 1% of the vineyards from the vinous heyday of the island. Of these 250 hectares, Žlahtina represents some 95% of the plantings, the remaining 5% mainly planted with local, obscure varieties. Almost all of the plantings are situated close to the town of <b>Vrbnik</b>, located to the eastern shore of the island. However, most of the plantings are located somewhat inland, safe from the <i>Bura</i> wind blowing throughout the region.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Contrary to what one might expect from a variety called "noble", Žlahtina is a vigorous, high-yielding variety, from which the local producers traditionally made fruity but thin and undistinguished white wines. Though popular in the past, the variety fell from favor after the modern winemaking arrived in Croatia. Only recently has Žlahtina garnered popularity after some trailblazing local vignerons started to experiment with the variety, trying to make something more serious and ambitious out of it. One of the best characteristics of the variety is its slow and late ripening time, which suits the warm Mediterranean climate very well – even in hot summers, the variety struggles to reach high sugar levels and even when very ripe, it will keep its acidity, resulting in rich and fruity wines with low alcohol and good acid structure. The variety is often labeled as <i>Zlatna Žlahtina</i> ("golden Žlahtina") or <i>Vrbnička Žlahtina</i> ("Žlahtina from Vrbnik").</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkEolI9kz73pU96tFtPqe3r3aDAhJZOjpyq3SQPHh0AQJVvxebsQWcvRJwfpY18yCdQrlZEyiQuEXE_WgEhgH19WS3jZyuCN7vcWBSvSrzfQ721hTjPUgXs4YFEZI7Wame28N3FDXCSvY/s1600/zlahtina2004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkEolI9kz73pU96tFtPqe3r3aDAhJZOjpyq3SQPHh0AQJVvxebsQWcvRJwfpY18yCdQrlZEyiQuEXE_WgEhgH19WS3jZyuCN7vcWBSvSrzfQ721hTjPUgXs4YFEZI7Wame28N3FDXCSvY/s200/zlahtina2004.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="" width="46" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Katunar Estate Žlahtina 2013</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://katunar.hr/" target="-">Katunar Estate</a></li>
<li>Country: Croatia</li>
<li>Region: Hrvatsko Primorje (Coastal Croatia), Krk</li>
<li>Grape(s): Žlahtina</li>
<li>Price: 36 Kn (4,75€) / a glass of 15 cl</li>
<li>Tasted: July 21st, 2015</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://katunar.hr/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: katunar</span></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A 100% Žlahtina made by a local family winery. Originally the Katunar family sold their crop to the local wine co-op, as it was the only option under the communist regime. As it was possible to produce wine as a privately owned producer from the early 1990's, Katunar then quit the local co-op and started producing their own wine. They were the first winery in Krk to modernize the local winemaking by introducing temperature controlled tanks and introducing other modern winemaking techniques to the local, traditional methods of making wine.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I imagine this wine is fermented and aged in steel tanks, seeing that the winery has also a Žlahtina Barrique, but I can't say for certain. 11,5% of alcohol.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine has lemon color with greenish highlights.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the glass it has a rich, sweet and tropical nose with aromas of banana, pear, pineapple and honeydew melon. The aromas create expectations of a wine that is very fruit-forward, full-bodied and even heavy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rich flavors follow the nose, but with a lot less sweet character. Instead of being heavy and ponderous, the palate is medium bodied and quite acid-driven, yet surprisingly soft and smooth with a good sense of ripeness. Notes of fresh, lemony citrus fruits, green apple, pineapple, wet stone minerality, some cantaloupe and a touch of banana roll around the tongue.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine's long, refreshing and acid-driven finish leaves flavors of green apples, citrus fruits in the mouth, supported by good stony minerality and some sweeter honeydew melon notes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine shows an interesting marriage of very ripe and rich notes yet surprisingly modest body and good structure, giving it remarkable drinkability. By its aromas and flavors, it is definitely a warm/hot region white, but without any of that typical excessive ripeness and ponderous character. This is an enjoyable and balanced wine that drinks nicely on its own, but can be easily paired with numerous lighter, Mediterranean dishes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>89/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: A very nice and refreshing Žlahtina with a typical, heady aroma and lovely, refreshing and mineral-driven palate. An enjoyable example of this very rare Croatian variety from the isle of Krk.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLJ0mVWznu2DJM4xXZmFYarmSnZILpBbD4ApLWnGSrWAHnk1bzsf_PmroDRLVg5huWQuTkbR7AvhrlmSjTiLOgLPDaM6HkYf0FCvb-lolGJyPMght6BAY6FaAT0aF5R02wdGgXDZLAByk/s1600/zlahtina2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLJ0mVWznu2DJM4xXZmFYarmSnZILpBbD4ApLWnGSrWAHnk1bzsf_PmroDRLVg5huWQuTkbR7AvhrlmSjTiLOgLPDaM6HkYf0FCvb-lolGJyPMght6BAY6FaAT0aF5R02wdGgXDZLAByk/s200/zlahtina2014.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="" width="46" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>PZ Vrbnik Zlatna Vrbnička Žlahtina 2014</b></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.pz-vrbnik.hr/hr_index.html" target="-">Poljoprivredna Zadruga Vrbnik</a></li>
<li>Country: Croatia</li>
<li>Region: Hrvatsko Primorje (Coastal Croatia), Krk</li>
<li>Grape(s): Žlahtina</li>
<li>Price: 40 kn (5,27€) / a glass of 15 cl</li>
<li>Tasted: July 19th, 2015</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://www.konzum.hr/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source: konzum</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A wine by the local co-operative, Poljoprivredna Zadruga Vrbnik – or just PZ Vrbnik in short. The wine is made from the grapes grown by local small producers, fermented with selected yeasts and aged in steel tanks. The alcohol levels are normally 11% to 11,5%, residual sugar under 1 g/l and acidity around 5 g/l.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine has pale green color, making it appear a bit more youthful than the Katunar version.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine has rich and heady, even exuberant nose typical of Žlahtina. Attractive, fruity notes of cantaloupe, honeydew melon, ripe pear, orange blossom and freshly pressed apple juice – just lovely!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the mouth the wine is intense and a bit more fuller-bodied compared to the Katunar Žlahtina – yet sporting similar kind of fresh, lively and surprisingly acid-driven structure. The flavors follow the nose, but in drier and more savory form, expressing flavors of ripe apple, pear peel, some cantaloupe, a little rocky minerality and a touch of grass.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">After the midpalate comes the long and crisp finish with a lingering aftertaste of apple, grass, cantaloupe and some spicy bitterness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">All in all, this co-op's Žlahtina is a very lovely, ripe and interesting Krk white with very high drinkability – even more so than the Katunar one! Just like a good Žlahtina should, it combines lovely freshness and bright acid structure to ripe, juicy fruit character, resulting in an interesting, characterful white of superb balance. Unique, high-quality stuff, very recommended.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>91/100</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Summary: A terrific, balanced white that epitomizes the white wine style of the Coastal Croatia – ripe, rich and succulent tropical fruit characteristics married to wonderful bright acidity and lovely freshness.</div>Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410132544589500796noreply@blogger.com0