Wine Ratings & Wine Tasting Notes
Cru Club Dinner
Just a quick post about last night’s Cru Club dinner at Marigold Kitchen. Great group of people showed up (as always), and we not only drank a number of exceptional wines, but enjoyed them alongside some great dishes. Wine highlights included the Olivier Leflaive 2006 Chassagne-Montrachet, Duhart-Milon 2000, Vernay Condrieu 2007, Shinn Estate 2007 Bordeaux-style blend, and a 2007 St. Laurent. The best pairing of the night, though, had to have been the Graham’s 40-Year-Old Port with the chocolate terrine. I’m ruined for dessert for the next several days, at least. Anything else will seem somehow unfair to my tastebuds.
Wine Tasting Corner: Italian Wines
Casata Monfort 2006 “Blanc de Sers” Vigneti Dolomiti IGT
Only in a region as culturally bisected as Trentino would you find a funky blend of the obscure – Wanderbara, Vernaza, Nosiola, Veltliner rosato – and the familiar – Chardonnay, Moscato. Like the region itself, the wine represents a meeting ground of Teutonic and Italian varietals.
The Monfort cantina supports and buys from local growers in order to maintain the profile of indigenous grapes that would otherwise become extinct.
This wine, sourced from a dozen vintners, has a fruity nose of red grapefruit, pineapple and orange blossoms backed by musky scents of forest greenery and a distinct arome of sage. Crisp on the palate, it delivers lively peach, pear and green apple flavors invigorated by tangy saline minerals. Solid, well defined finish that adds sensations of citrus.
Interesting, decidedly eccentric, not easy to categorize – in other words, definately Italian.
Chateau D’Alzon 1949 Saint Emilion
The story behind this bottle is intriguing. Discovered in a basement in Philadelphia recently, it was part of a cache of French wines that had been cellared and apparently forgotten about 60 years ago. A great friend of the School, Miguel L, acquired the collection and brought this bottle to class last week.
Tasting Notes:
The wine was remarkably vibrant, despite a minor cork issue. Copper-hued, the palate was still alive with very little oxidization showing.The nose was rich with burnt cedar, cured sausage and naphthalene. Dusty fruit was followed by cream and caramel on the midpalate. In the finish, faded fruits turned into toast and orange rind.
The Transparent Company
Here is the TRUTH about the Wine School of Philadelphia: we are a school and we teach folks about wine. This apparently obvious concept was tested recently by a student of ours.
The fellow in question attended a cooking class at the school. He was shocked SHOCKED to discover that he was attending a class and NOT a four-course dinner with linen and a sommelier in a tuxedo. Strange, but true.
A series of emails went back and forth between him and myself. Rather than do the usual customer service thing, I opted for something a bit radical: I posted the email exchange on our blog and asked for suggestions. Boy, did I get them! Read more
Hunting the Keith Monster
A classy film from our recent trip to Bordeaux. I could have posted tasting notes, but that wouldn’t be nearly as fun.
Italian Pick of The Week, 6/08/09
Botromagno 2005 Primitivo, Gravina DOC
The Botromagno winery is located in an area more known for white wines from a grab bag of Malvasia, Trebbiano Toscana and Greco di Tufo among others. The source for this varietal Primitivo is an ancient vineyard near the centrally positioned town of Gioia del Colle in the upper Murgia. The soils are a mixture of terra rossa over limestone (as in Australia’s Coonawarra), giving the wines power without sacrificing acidity.
This wine has a classic Mezzogiorno nose of earth, tar and woodsy fruit. Don’t expect finesse in this rough and rustic package that fills the mouth with dark cherries and blackberries. Earthy herbs and spices form a background for soft tannins that turn just mildly bitter at the end.
There’s no mistaking this for its DNA cousin Zinfandel, especially when paired with hardy local pastas topped with vegetables and spices, dusted with ricotta salata. Or tangy lamb based dishes.
A Most Unusual Zinfandel
Blueberries and spice and everything boozy and nice, right? I mean, that’s Zinfandel, isn’t it?
Well, not always.
Last weekend, at the Barossa and Beyond class, we tasted a most unusual Zinfandel–the Glaymond 2003 “Krause’s Berg” Single Vineyard from the Barossa Valley. Instead of rich, ripe fruit and gently mouth-tingling alcohol and spice, this bottling showed tar and black fruit and the slightest hint of flowers in the background. Kind of like what the lovechild of Cali Zin and Northern Rhone Syrah would taste like.
Unexpected? Perhaps. Addictively delicious? Without a doubt.
Italian Pick of The Week, June 1, ‘09
Mesa 2006 “Buio”, Carignano di Sulcis DOC, Sardinia
Those Sardinian wines that don’t compromise cultural fidelity have a feral, not-for-everyone quality that evokes their rocky, wind swept terroir. A sense of mystery, intrigue, the unknown – which is a translation of buio.
Mesa’a carignano may not hold dark secrets but it will satisfy those looking for full bodied, earthy authenticity. Aromas of game and woodsmoke surround dark cherries and berries, with hints of macchia, that island mix of wild herbs and flowers.
The decision to forego malolactic fermentation has left rough edges, making this an unapologetically rustic wine. Concentrated and solid on the palate, it picks up some warmth on the finish.
It has the stuffing to complement an insular cuisine more influenced by its rugged interior than its coastline.
The Billionaire’s Vinegar out in Paperback
Per The New York Times Book Review (Sunday, May 17, 2009), Benjamin Wallace’s excellent The Billionaire’s Vinegar: The Mystery of the World’s Most Expensive Bottle of Wine is out in paperback. As I wrote here, Wallace’s book is entertaining, insightful, and definitely a worthwhile read. I recommend adding it to your summer reading list.
I stand corrected
A couple days back I writ a quickie post regarding George Taber’s original “Judgement of Paris” article published in TIME magazine, 1976. I pointed out that it is now available on TIME’s website in their archives. My apologies to Dale Cruse, as, in my haste, I thoughtlessly left out that I had first learned of the article on his excellent website Drinks Are On Me.
Dale not only sticks to his “no B.S.” policy when it comes to writing on wine, he also offers up Great Guy Food recipes from time to time that I have more than once prepared at home. A good example of this is the amazing Shrimp Clemenceau recipe that has become an instant favorite around our house. It makes great surf to a perfectly grilled turf. Thanks Dale, and again, apologies.
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