wine tasting | Wine Tasting Guy

Archive for the ‘wine tasting’ Category

Quick rant & “natural” wines

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

It has been too long. I miss YOU! Getting back from Israel has been exhausting. Jet-lag is kicking my butt. Furthermore, following the Vlog launch, getting back to actual writing has been tough. But fear not, I am shopping around for what I hope will be the prefect video companion and I expect to get back to Vlogging ASAP (to the delight of my friends who have enjoyed making lots of fun of me). In the meantime you will have to settle for my prose…

Let’s start with coffee. I have somehow managed not to become a regular drinker of coffee. I both fear a coffee dependency, and dislike most of the coffee around. It either tastes watered down, burnt, or otherwise just not to my taste. But there is a small NYC chain, “Joe” whose coffee I really like. I was safe as I only drink their coffee when I find myself near one of their downtown locations. But while I was out of town the good folks at Joe opened up their 5th location…a short 4 blocks away. Uh oh…looks like my caffeine intake will be increasing…

OK, getting back to wine, I have been thinking a lot about terroir, natural wines, non-manipulated (unmanipulated?) wines, etc.

I have also been thinking a lot about wines that really get me to say “wow”!

These “wow” wines, and those “terroir” OR “natural” OR “unmanipulated” wines are neither mutually exclusive nor are they necessarily related. I’ll attempt to differentiate as much as possible in a future post.

But today I bring this up as I (sort of) attended a “natural wine tasting” today. I say “sort of” as I was accused of being a party crasher at the tasting, and I was subsequently “thrown out”. While I will readily admit that I was not invited by the host, I was invited by an invited guest. Disappointed I may have been, a wise man recently told me that he does not care to be where he is not wanted.

I did however have the opportunity to taste several of these “natural wines” before my premature departure. But I found quite a few of them not only to be un-manipulated but also without any personality. No fruit or oak aromas or flavors and frankly not much of anything but an OVERLY understated and non-descript wine.

HOWEVER, as much as I may prefer not to admit it, I did find an unusually high percentage of wines that were in fact WOW wines. When I think of WOW wines I am speaking about wines that are in some way unique, often times complex, and really catch me by surprise. I tried red & white, dry and sweet, and several of them showed subtle complexity with unusual aromas and flavors. This is what gets me to go WOW. Your WOW wine can be a drastically different wine. As long as the wine excites you and get you to say WOW (or “holy crap” &/or a host of other possibilities).

Two producers whose wines I think are worth mentioning are those of Cristiano Guttarolo as well as Francois Pinon. Guttarolo poured some Primitivo’s (AKA Zinfandel), each aged in different vessels; one in Amphora (clay vessels), one in stainless steel & a third in large barriques. While the two still wines of Pinon were of interest as I picked up a hint of sweetness – that “hint” that actually turned out to be A LOT (17 grams RS) of sugar that was balanced beautifully by a terrific acidity (each with a beautiful bouquet to add to the WOW factor).

As I continue to process the often times “elitist” quest for natural and terroir driven wines I promise to discuss in greater detail. But in the meantime…

Happy “WOW” wine tasting!

WTG

Tags: Cristiano Guttarolo, Francois Pinon, Joe coffee, natural wine, terroir, unmanipulated wine
Posted in Wine STUFF, wine tasting | Comments Off on Quick rant & “natural” wines

WTG Video Blog # 1 – about tasting & Dalton Sauvignon Blanc

Monday, April 20th, 2009

Here it is ladies and gentlemen. My first VIDEO BLOG, or VLOG.

I’m still here in Israel and taking advantage of my brother’s technical expertise as well as his super cool video camera. This is THE FIRST vlog so please bare with me. I hope future VLOGs will be less rough, more concise and hopefully extraordinarily compelling.

Being that it is the first VLOG I wanted to talk a bit ABOUT TASTING or more specifically tast-ERS. There is some interesting research on the topic and I have my own little theory.

Tim Hanni Created the “BUDOMETER” briefly detailing the following:

Tolerant tasters – fewer taste buds
Sensitive tasters – more taste buds
Hypersensitive tasters
Sweet tasters

To take the Wine tasting Continuum test to determine what type of taster you are click here.

winebusiness.com article divides tasters by number/shape of taste buds as follows:

Hyper (Super) Taster
Regular Taster
NON taster

And I, WTG have my own little theory of tasters as follows:

Beginner tasters – seek out “smooth” wine
Intermediate tasters – like fruit forward oaked wine
Advanced tasters – prefer balanced wine

Following my (not too brief) discussion on tasters, I proceeded to review the 2008 Dalton Reserve Sauvignon Blanc (link to 2007 version).

In the future I will try to do less talking and more WINE TASTING.

Sooo…without further ado, WTG Video Blog #1 (and I guess #2)…

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kLhq7wK22s
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yb2wGhzr7E

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWyD7EecG9Y

Happy VIDEO Wine Tasting!

WTG

Tags: Dalton, Dalton reserve Sauvignon Blanc, hypersensitive, Regular & non tasters, super tasters, Tim Hanni, tolerant tasters, Wine tasters
Posted in Israel Wine, wine tasting, Wine VLOG | 4 Comments »

Polaner Selections’ 2009 annual portfolio tasting

Thursday, March 26th, 2009

Wow, could this year’s Polaner tasting really have been my 3rd? It is a large and diverse tasting and a portfolio with some real winner wines.

In previous years I recall tasting lots of big tooth staining wines. This year’s tasting comes at a busy time as I have been occupied with Passover wine stuff so I was only able to stop in for about an hour. I wish I had all week! So many wines to taste, analyze & ponder. Alas, it was one of the better hours spent in a long while.

I began by tasting through a bunch of whites and I then moved on to some reds. Choosing to focus more on old world wines this year I spent a great deal of time tasting Italian wines, though I did start with some real nice French whites, and finished with some well known and very unique Spanish wines.

There were a few standout wines I’d like to write about tonight. Beginning with the Foradori Myrto IGT Vigneti delle Dolomiti Bianco 2007 (pic is of 2006).

The wine, made from 60% Sauvignon Blanc and 40% Incrocio Manzoni (yes, that is apparently a grape varietal) started off a bit unusual as I thought its color was a bit deep for such a young wine. Rather than the light straw color I saw a lot of this wine seemed to have hints of gold. The nose was floral, but once again, not a floral I was accustomed to smelling. I could not quite put a finger on the specific, but the floral notes, combined with a spicy, white pepper & herb thing led to a crisp wine with a medium finish.

Next was another white, made from 100% Prie’ Blanc (“pree” is the hebrew word for fruit) by the Cave de Morgex et de la Salle winery in Valle d’Aoste, Italy.

The 2008 Vini Estremi was so light in color it was almost clear. Made with indigenous yeasts, it had a sweet, floral and bubble gum nose that was scrumptious. There was a bit of fizziness to the wine that was crisp and finished nice and long for a wine its style.

From Sicily, Italy I tried some of the wines of Calabretta.

I tried their white Carricante Sicilia 2005 which was oily, floral and nice. But it was their reds that I found most interesting. I tried both the 1999 & 2000 Etna Rosso. Each wine was a light, clear brick color. Apparently these wines are aged for 6-7 YEARS in large botti (basically traditional Italian barrels). While the botti do not impart big oak flavors they clearly do something. The wines had a unique yet admittedly appealing oxidized/medicinal quality to them. They were almost Sherry like. Quite unusual but I did enjoy.

My favorites of the day were the wines of Roagna from Piedmont Italy. I tried 2 Barbarescos and 2 Barolos. The 1999 Barbaresco Crichet Paje’ had soft red fruit and cola characteristics packaged in a wine so beautifully round, with its acid and tannins that it was the only wine I could not bring myself to spit.

BUT, it was actually the 2004 Barolo Vigna Rionda that blew me away. Where to begin with this wine. Still a baby, this wine was clear light ruby-garnet and had the most unusual aromas. Yes, there were lovely (yet restrained) ripe black cherry aromas. But the aroma that blew me away was what I can best describe as grilled veggies. It kind of had a charred-fresh-sweet-herbaceous thing going on. WOW! On the palate was smoke & black fruit brought together beautifully by soft ripe tannins, classic Italian acidity and a very long finish. My birthday is just over 4 months away. Start saving up FRIENDS… 😉

My last major stop was at the Lopez de Heredia table. This Rioja, Spain producer perplexes me in many ways. I’ve tried (and written about) their wines a few times before. I tried a white, the 1989 Tondonia Blanco Reserva that was interesting – crisp yet oxidized (intentionally). A rose, the 1998 Tondoni Rosado Gran Reserva that was a pink-orange color & showed a touch of oxidation. And I tried 5 reds, the youngest a pre-release of the 2003 Cubillo Crianza and the oldest the 1985 Tondonia Gran Reserva.

Of the 5 I actually only found one to show that traditional Heredia oxidation…and it was NOT the ’85. It was the ’91 Tondonia Gran Reserva. Interestingly enough, my favorite was the ’85 (picture above). It was brick in color with browning edges. NO OXIDIZED aromas (or maybe I was simply palate fatigued). I got tar, leather and burnt tobacco. But what impressed me most and the reason I really enjoyed this wine was its remarkable liveliness. It was light, yet bright & crisp. NOT what i was expecting. GREAT!

All that and I was only there for about an hour. OK, maybe it was an hour and a half. What a treat. The tasting was just over 48 hours ago and already I can not wait until next year!

Happy POLANER WINES wine tasting!

WTG

Tags: Calabretta, Cave de Morgex et de la Salle, Foradori, Lopez de Heredia, Polaner selections, Roagna
Posted in wine tasting | 2 Comments »

pre-Passover wine tastings

Sunday, March 22nd, 2009

So the blog header is NEW! What do you think? I have been encouraged to further tweak it, but I kinda like it…

I want to write REAL QUICKLY today about the madness that has become pre-Passover wine shopping. It is said that over 50% of kosher wines consumed throughout the entire year is purchased in the 2-3 weeks leading up to Passover. What wines should you drink this holiday?

Yeah, of course it would be nice if we could all drink Katzrin. Sadly the $150 Katzrin Red, a Bordeux style blend, is out of the price range for most of us.

I WILL be putting together my Wines for Passover post within the next few days (to supplement an article I recently wrote for a paper about Passover wines). But what I want to write about tonight is something I feel strongly that more of YOU should be doing. You should be attending one of the amazing FREE or VERY reasonable priced wine tastings taking place this month. I have already poured wine at several such events and my schedule for the next 2 weeks (leading up to the first seder) is NUTS. I have a different tasting throughout NYC (and Brooklyn) nearly EVERY NIGHT.

PLEEEASE, feel free to send me a note and ask about a tasting in your area. I’ll be happy to tell you about one I’ll be pouring at or direct you to another I may be aware of.

I state this so emphatically as; the best way to BUY wine is to first TRY wine.

I can tell you about wines that I like but you may not like the same wines.

Again, for those of you who are OH SO BUSY and can not attend a FUN and educational event, I will be writing a post with some suggestions. But for the rest of you, GO ATTEND a pre-Passover wine tasting. You will have fun and learn something too. And the best part, is that you will be assured to find a wine that you will enjoy at your Passover seder.

Happy pre-Passover Wine Tasting!

WTG

Tags: Passover wine
Posted in wine tasting | 2 Comments »

Israeli…I mean Burgundy tasting report

Monday, March 16th, 2009

With Passover right around the corner (just over 3 weeks and counting) this is my busy season. I have been attending, leading, writing about and dreaming Israeli wine tastings. I do LOVE the stuff, but I suspect that I may deviate just a tad from the typically exclusive Israeli wines at my seder this year.

I must admit however that I did take a very welcome break from Israeli wines last week to attend another in a series of Burgundy tastings with my wine tasting group. Led by our fearless leader Jeremy, and his MUCH BETTER HALF (Thanks for the pics!), we tasted through some selections from the Vougeot & Echezeaux regions of Burgundy. The quality of the vineyards in these regions are considered to be amongst the best with a great majority being classified as Grand Cru or Premier Cru.

Located in the Cote de Nuits, these wines are certainly world class and Jeremy put together a masterful selection of seven wines for this tasting. This tasting also included brief overviews of each of the wines by individual club members who each researched a wine prior to the tasting.

I found the wines common trait to be their minerality/flintiness, but otherwise they were each unique, elegant and certainly thought provoking.

We started with the 2004 Domaine Bertagna VOUGEOT “Clos de La Perriere” 1er Cru which was my least favorite. Others loved this wine, yet I found it to be a bit generic. Don’t get me wrong, it was nice, just not special (to me at least). The clear light ruby wine with pink inflections at the rim had a subtle nose of slate/stone leading to mild red berries. On the palate the fruit was subtle (I suppose some might say elegant) with nice minerality, a touch of heat and a medium length finish.

The 1999 Domaine Francois Legros VOUGEOT “Les Crais” was clear ruby with signs of bricking at the rim. HERE were those funky earthy/vegetal aromas that led to aromas of cherry pie. This was a soft & velvety wine with red fruit, a touch of heat, and a medium to long finish.

The 2002 Vincent Girardin, Clos de Vougeot GRAND CRU was clear ruby with pink & orange inflections at the rim. This wine was not shy and had a LOT going on. A collection of aromas from earth & stone to mint & baked red fruit. On the palate were big red fruit that danced in the back of my palate. This very soft and clean wine finished smooth and long.

The 1988 Clos de Vougeot, Domaine Jean Grivot GRAND CRU was a clear garnet with bricking at the rim. It had that distinct aged Burgundy “pukey” smell. A hint of rubbery aroma led to muddy earth & mulchy aromas. While this may turn some people off, I find it to be fascinating (Burgundy bias anyone?). On the palate was an amazing bracing acidity & baked cherry pie flavors with a long finish.

Moving from Vougoet to Echezeaux, the 5th wine of the night was the 1999 Domaine Laurent (negociant) Echezeaux GRAND CRU. This clear ruby colored wine faded to garnet towards the rim and appeared to be almost clear AT the rim. Initial hits of char & smoke led to an array of aromas from vegetal earth, to ripe baked fruit as well as flinty minerality and a bit of burnt rubber (surprising since it is reported that the winemaker prefers CO2 to SO2 which is what usually gives off the rubbery smell). This fresh and mouth coating wine had great acidity and a lovely minerality with a nice long finish.

The 1991 Camille Giroud Echezeaux GRAND VIN was clear garnet with bricking taking place at the rim. While smelling this wine I had a bit of a wine aroma epiphany. That familiar “pukey” smell I have mentioned on several occasions when referring to Burgundy is quite similar (to me) to canned tomatoes which I think is a much less offensive (to some) descriptor. Look out for this modified aroma descriptor in the future. SO, aromas of canned tomato and earth led to a wine that was soft and elegant with a bright acidity and pretty red fruit. It was lively and round and had a long finish.

The last wine of the night was the 1988 Mongeard-Mugneret Echezeaux GRAND CRU. This cloudy (lots of big & small sediment floating around) brown/brick-orange wine had aromas of canned tomato, minerality and cooked vegetables. On the palate it had a bracing acidity, lovely minerality, and (unbelievably at this point considering its appearance) ripe cherry flavors. It was lively yet soft and elegant and had a long finish.

Happy Pre-Passover BURGUNDY tasting!

WTG

Tags: Burgundy, Echezeaux, Vougeot
Posted in wine tasting | Comments Off on Israeli…I mean Burgundy tasting report

Parkerization??

Wednesday, March 11th, 2009

In between meetings, phone calls and several attempts at celebrating Purim today, I stopped by the “Today’s Bordeaux” wine tasting this afternoon down in Tribeca. It was a real nice tasting with lots of Bordeaux offerings, including about 15 whites (white Bordeaux is generally a blend of Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and sometimes Muscadelle), 100 reds and even 2 or 3 Sauternes (dessert).

Of the 100 or so reds were many from the now famed 2005 vintage, and several were from other vintages such as 2003, 2004 & 2006. An interesting part of the tasting was the early pre-release tastings of the 2008’s. This was a real treat and provided insight into how the wines will be once they are officially released.

But rather than writing about any specific standout wines (and there certainly were some) I want to write about an observation. I found many of the reds to be pretty big/fat/extracted … whatever you want to call it. Now they were by no means Australian inky big. Or Argentinian/Chilean big. But they were big.

Which leads to the title of this blog. Fellow writer, blogger & NY-er Alice Feiring recently wrote a book “The Battle for Wine and Love: or How I Saved the World from Parkerization“.

In a nutshell, Feiring writes about how Robert Parker and other critics favor wines made in this big, often high alcohol, extracted style. I am all for people drinking whatever style of wine they like, yet as my palate evolves I am beginning to tend to appreciate a leaner, lower alcohol wine that some will say better pairs with foods. And Feiring points out in her book a (scary) trend wherein producers are making wines that will attain high scores – more often those that fit the profile of the big, extracted, high alcohol wines. So what of the smaller, lower alcohol & generally more food friendly wines?

Today’s tasting, although thoroughly enjoyed by yours truly, might be further proof that EVEN BORDEAUX producers are falling victim to the lure of high scores and making wines that they believe will attain high scores from the aforementioned critics.

This is certainly not bad news for everyone, and frankly may be good news for many. But for those whose preference is natural, lower alcohol wines, this may indeed be further indication that Feiring is on to something.

Happy BIG/small Bordeaux wine tasting!

WTG

Tags: Alice Feiring, Bordeaux, Robert Parker
Posted in Wine STUFF, wine tasting | Comments Off on Parkerization??

Italian wine +

Sunday, March 8th, 2009

Late last week had me exploring the wine region of the world that I am least comfortable with. Italian wines. Italy has over 2,000 indigenous varietals and just about any time I attend an Italian wine tasting I am exposed to a new varietal.

So this past Thursday, between an appointment on the upper West Side and several appointments in Brooklyn I stopped by the Sub-Zero Showroom in midtown Manhattan for an intimate unveiling of the Banfi 2005 Belnero. I was quite pleased to be invited and felt badly that I was not able to stay for the entire event.

A blend primarily consisting of Sangiovese, blended with a little Cabernet and Merlot, the clear ruby wine was quite nice. On the nose, an initial hit of Eucalyptus, followed by toasty oak and then both raspberry and black cherry, the wine had nice fruit on the palate, well integrated tannins and a long finish.

But more than the wine, I was intrigued by two other things I learned at this event. The first was the statement that the Belnero was “nitrogen bottled to minimize sulfites”. I have heard of Nitrogen being inserted into the headspace of wine bottle immediately preceding the wine being bottled (to remove oxygen which could lead to premature oxidation), but I had not heard that it can help to minimize the use of sulfites. Interesting…

The other interesting tidbit shared with regards to the winemaking was that of the vessel used to age the wine. The winery has apparently been working for several years on a hybrid (patented) wood/stainless steel vessel. The way I understood it this vessel is actually a stainless steel tank with slots that fit oak staves. While the use of oak staves in stainless steel tanks is not anything new, apparently the Banfi people feel they have something special here. And judging by the wine, it seems that they do…

The other event I dropped by last week was the Tre Bicchieri (Gambo Rosso) tasting.

Long time readers may remember my less than stellar experience with this event last year. I considered passing on the event given my experience from last year but I’m happy I attended, even if it was for only about 45 minutes.

With the guidance of good friend Fred, I was able to quickly try 12 wines. The Vietti Lazzarito 2004 Barolo was lite with chunky tannins and a pretty funky label. I was told this wine needs 20 years (yeah, I’ll be waiting for this one) to show its full potential. The Lis Neris 2006 Sauvignon Picol (made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc) had a gorgeous floral and grapefruit nose, but was surprisingly (to me for an Italian wine) low on acid – though this could have something to do with my New Zealand association with Sauvignon Blanc (generally quite acidic).

The Castello Monaci 2006 Artas, made from 85% Primitovo (a close relative of Zinfandel) and 15% Negroemaro (1 of the 2000+ Italian varietals) had an interesting leather and dried fruit nose (similar to zinfandel), but was different from Zinfandel in that it was lite, food friendly, had a nice acidity to it and a long finish.

And finally, possibly the most exciting wine of the tasting for me was the Nino Negri 2005 Valtellina Sfursat. You may remember my writing about a Sfursat following the Brunello tasting a few weeks ago. Though the nose on this Sfursat was not reminiscent of the last one I tried (it was actually rather tight and pretty closed) it was the mouth feel of this wine that I thoroughly enjoyed. It was velvety and mouth coating yet was not over the top and extracted. It had a great balancing acidity, clearly a terrific food wine. And had a very long finish. Nice…

Happy Italian wine tasting…

WTG

Tags: Banfi 2005 Belnero, Gambo Rosso, Tre Bicchieri
Posted in wine tasting | Comments Off on Italian wine +

Wine Tasting Afternoon

Monday, February 23rd, 2009

I’m exhausted! After stopping in at the “Return to Terroir” tasting this afternoon (and quickly tasting about 18 whites & a sparkling wine) I made my way over (conveniently around the corner) to the 2009 Kosher Food & Wine Experience.

This tasting is put together primarily by the large kosher wine importer/distributor; Royal Wine Corp. This year was their 3rd such event and there were over 200 wines from all over the globe in addition to some lovely food catered by Michael Schick caterers.

I will be writing more specifically about the event for a nationally distributed Jewish Weekly paper, but I just want to post quickly and respond to the inquiries I’ve already gotten about the event in very general terms.

Yes, it was once again a “balagan” (hebrew slang roughly translated for our purposes here to jam-packed event).

Utilizing their third different venue in three years, these guys really know how to sell out an event. This venue was the largest and it was still quite crowded. Although I do believe the waits for pours were shorter and the space not as crowded as years past (I was only elbowed about 3 times 😉 ).

Of the 200 or so wines being poured at the event, Royal spared no expense and poured some of their best. They unveiled their own new Herzog wine, called generation VIII, made from fruit harvested from the famous To Kalon vineyard. There were top notch Spanish wines, French wines, and of course some terrific Israeli wines as well.

In addition to the wines there were spirits, but sadly I was unable to try any as I really tried to taste (or in many cases re-taste) as many of the wines as possible. Amazingly enough I only made it through 50 wines. I suppose that is what happens when you are interviewing winemakers and really trying to be as analytical as possible about the wines.

As if the food, wine & spirits wasn’t enough, they had speakers and a special guest, Daniel Rogov, the famous Israeli wine critic (and good friend) at the event. I really would have liked to have heard the speakers but was very focused on my wine tasting. I did have a brief chance to chat with “Rogov” who was as sweet as ever. And that was after he spent the evening passing out and signing several hundred copies of his “Rogov’s Guide To Israeli Wines 2009” book. The book provides a terrific overview of the industry and the specific wineries, and I recommend it to ANYONE (and everyone) with any interest in Israeli wines.

As soon as the paper permits, I will post a link to my more detailed story featuring some of the winemakers and their wines.

If you have any specific questions, as always, feel free to comment, reach out directly, or just yell real loud….

Happy Terroir driven & kosher wine tasting!

WTG

Tags: Kosher Food & Wine Experience, Return to Terroir, Royal Wine Corp
Posted in Israel Wine, wine - kosher, wine tasting | 3 Comments »

Burgundy Tasting #3

Monday, February 16th, 2009

This was the third Burgundy tasting (right?) for my wine tasting group and it was great. OK, so I am far from a Burgundy aficionado. And yes, there are sure to be people out there who will cringe to learn that I did not feel as if I had died and gone to heaven while drinking these wines. Furthermore, at times I will admit that I MUCH prefer a big, bold Cab. But Burgundy is said to be the holy grail of wine, the most terroir expressing of wines, the most exciting of wines and there are those that swear Burgundy are the most orgasmic inducing wines in the world. In my never ending (I hope) quest to learn about, enjoy and appreciate wine, I could not pass up the opportunity to partake in an extensive tour around Burgundy’s regions and top wines.

Our third Burgundy tasting focused on “Chambolle-Musigny”. Located in Eastern France in the Cote-d’Or, these wines, derived from vines planted in chalky soils, is said to produce wines that are light in color, low in tannins, and provide good concentration of fruit.

During this tasting we once again tried 7 wines. 3 were village, 3 were premier Cru, and 1 was a Grand Cru…

I really enjoyed 6 of the 7 wines. I found the first, the 2006 David Duband Chambolle-Musigny, despite its very pretty nose, to be too new world in style for my tastes. It was clean & pure – not what I think of when I think Burgundy. And it possessed that ripe almost artificial cherry flavor I get out of California Pinot. This is a style many people love, and there is nothing wrong with it, just not my bag baby!

The 2006 Philippe Jouan Chambolle-Musigny had a very appealing menthol, pine & eucalyptus thing going on that I enjoyed. It also had a very long finish.

The 2001 Leroy “les Fremieres” Chambolle-Musigny, was beginning to brown (this could be due to poor storage) and was throwing lots of sediment, both large and small pieces. It had an incredible (and very unique) orange peel aroma, with lots of great acidity and a long finish.

The 1999 Ghislaine BARTHOD “les Cras” Chambolle-Musigny (1er Cru) had a black licorice (or so others said REALLY LOUD) and cherry cola thing going on, complimented by soft tannins, cherry flavors and a medium to long finish.

My favorite of the night was a least favorite for others (amongst the things I love about wine). The 2000 Robert Groffier “Les Hauts-Diox” Chambolle-Musigny (1er Cru) had thrown small bits of sediment and a nose that I LOVED. Others felt it had aromas indicating a flaw (Brett) but I found it to be gamey, limey & minerally. I thought the wine was bright, with a firm acidity, a velvety mouth feel and a fabulously long finish.

The 1995 Robert Groffier “Les Sentiers” Chambolle-Musigny (1er Cru) had lots of sediment and a now familiar “pukey” smell. While this smell used to disturb me it has since grown on me. I’m really not sure how else to explain this aroma, but I would compare my new found affinity to it to those who reluctantly admit to enjoying the smell of gas station gasoline. Sort of a guilty pleasure. The wine itself, at about 13-14 years old still displayed nice red fruit, distinct minerality and a bright acidity. It was very light bodied and had a long finish.

The final wine, a wine we were all eagerly anticipating was the 1985 (it was older than some of the people in the group tasting it) Les Bonne Mares Chambolle-Musigny. Bonne Mares is a legendary Burgundy producer (sounded familiar enough to me) and 1985 is said to have been the best vintage in Burgundy in the 80’s. The wine was quite good, though my notes are a bit sparse. Indicating on the label an alcohol level of “12% to 13%”, the wine was light clear red, almost nearing pink with tiny specs of sediment. It showed nice red fruit and minerality and possessed a velvety mouth feel with a firm acidity. It had a medium to long finish.

In all, another fun and productive palate training evening with friends new and old. I am still not sold on the idea that Burgundy offers the worlds best or most complex wines. But I am getting there…

Happy BURGUNDY wine Tasting!

WTG

Tags: Burgundy
Posted in wine tasting | Comments Off on Burgundy Tasting #3

Vino 2009 – Italian Wine Tasting

Saturday, January 31st, 2009

This past Wednesday, January 28th, I spent my late afternoon and early evening at the NYC Hilton for Vino 2009, a HUUUGE tasting of Italian wines.

The tasting covered 2 (or was it 3?) floors and too many rooms to count (at least 6 different rooms). There were representatives pouring wines from well known regions such as Tuscany or Piedmont, and from lesser known regions such as Lombardy, Abruzzo and Veneto. Some of these producers were represented by an importer and other by the winemaker. I very much enjoy meeting winemakers but for future reference, the wineries might be better served by sending someone that actually speaks the language of those attending the tasting (although I did overhear many conversations that I assume was Italian so maybe I was in the minority of those who do not speak Italian).

Overall it was a great tasting. An opportunity for wineries already being imported to show off their goods to media and trade members, and an opportunity for those presently seeking US representation to speak and taste with potential business associates.

Making my way around at first with my friend & fellow wine club member Jeremy (who knows as little as I do about Italian wines) we went through several of the rooms and tasted lots of wines while asking questions of those pouring the wines. I then spent some time with good friend and Italian wine (and otherwise) expert Fred who introduced me to some producers and shared some knowledge with me while we tasted some wines together.

Yes, i spit out ALL (or as much as possible) of the 50+ (I counted 55 but it could have been more) wines I tasted and there was one flawed wine, some sparklers (red & white) some sweet wines (red & white) a few white wines and a whole lot of the good old red stuff. There are several hundred (or is it thousand) Italian varietals so gaining a firm grasp on Italian wines can take a lifetime.

It is now Saturday night and my girlfriend is gonna kick my butt if I spend the night in front of the computer. So without further ado, some standouts from the tasting…

Casa Sola 2000 Vin Sante. I am not very familiar with Vin Sante, but this wine reminded me a bit of sherry. It had an oxidized, sweet & nutty nose, but was a dry and interesting wine.

Collavini 2004 Ribolla Gialla Spumante Brut Millesimato was a standout sparkler. It had a nice melony nose, and upon tasting it I could think of only 1 thing; banana split. Sure it has been a while since I have had a banana split, but this had creamy banana aromas and flavors and overall was a very pleasant wine.

Cecchi’s 2005 Sagrantino di Montefalco Tenuta Alzatura made entirely from the (previously unfamiliar to me) Sagrantino varietal was a WOW-ER. The nose made me think that someone took some old musk cologne and bottled it up for consumption as wine. What a nose!! This clear ruby wine had a musky, spicy (the whole spice rack) nose with mocha and earthy flavors, all which led to a mouth coating LONG finish. GREAT WINE!

Casa Emma’s 2005 Chianti Classico Riserva, made from 95% Sangiovese and 5% Black Malvasia is made in a new world style – new oak (although only 25%) and a ripe 14% alcohol level. I had so many Chianti’s at the tasting and this one was probably my favorite. A clear ruby wine with pretty berry aromas and flavors that led to a surprisingly long and very pleasant finish.

And finally, I tasted 6 of the wines of Aldo Rainoldi with Aldo (and my friend Fred). Aldo was a very nice guy and his wines were equally nice. All produced from Nebbiolo, the standout to me was the “Sfursat”. Apparently Sfursat is ONLY produced by about 12 producers in Lombardy, Italy and roughly translated means “hold long” (or something to that effect). I think the name is derived from extra long hang time (fruit time on the vines) but don’t hold me to that.

The Aldo Rainoldi SRL 2004 Sfursat di Valtellina Fruttaio Ca’ Rizzieri had a very unique nose. Influenced by friends around me at the time of the tasting (thanks a lot Fred & Dale!) I ended up conceding that the aroma was peach pit. This clear deep red wine was very extracted and mouth coating. It had flavors of dried fruit and earth and had a nice long finish. A treat to be able to taste a wine that is only made by 12 producers in the world.

If you have any Italian wine questions – DON’T ASK ME (kidding)! Seriously though , I am happy to inquire from one of my Italian wine expert contacts. But in the meantime…

Happy Italian Wine Tasting!

WTG

Tags: Italian wines, vino 2009
Posted in wine tasting | 5 Comments »