Alzero + misc

Terkels place
Tasted Tuesday, October 12, 2010 by canan with 617 views

Introduction

A multitude of wines prepared around the Alzero 88 + 90 from Quintarelli.

Flight 1 (1 Note)

  • 1971 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut 75 Points

    France, Champagne

    Most likely a defective bottle that at one or more points in time has been stored in a warm place.
    The color is light brown.
    Nose is filled with "brown" smells, mushrooms, brown apples and caramel.
    The palate is mostly dark/rotten apples but still quite pure in its flavors. Short aftertaste with some apple-juice acidity. Very little mousse.
    Overall impression is that it is just old and tired :-)

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Flight 2 (1 Note)

  • 1993 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Valmur 95 Points

    France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

    yellow tropical fruits on the nose with passion fruit and a little glue. Steel and minerals showing nicely.
    The palate has a lot of steel and minerals coming through with a little yellow plums and a lot of white flowers. Mostly lillis.
    Just after opening the wine is a little one-sided however but it does seem to be opening up.
    +2h:
    Has really developed nicely and is now really nice. Very pure flavors with a long complex aftertaste. Does also seem to get more tropical on the palate.

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Flight 3 (2 Notes)

  • 1988 Giuseppe Quintarelli Cabernet Franc Alzero 97 Points

    Italy, Veneto, Vino da Tavola

    A very impressive, mature and complex nose which is simply packed with impressions.. Coal, dirt, meat but also some VA.
    The nose is much more developed and mature compared directly to the Alzero 90. With more air it starts showing pine needles and white pepper.. Very impressive.

    The pine needles continues on the palate mixed with some green peppercorns and a quite fresh blackberry fruit.
    Tight and polished in the mouth and it is actually not very sweet which I had expected. There is still a solid but polished tannin structure that mixes nicely with all the flavors..
    A very long and spicy aftertaste (black pepper) brings to wine to an almost perfect level.

    A very impressive wine that I loved immensely..
    Directly compared to the 90 version it does seem to be made in a less sweet style. It could simply be something that is vintage dependent but it could also be the evolution of the wine as it start to loose its original sweetness.

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  • 1990 Giuseppe Quintarelli Cabernet Franc Alzero 99 Points

    Italy, Veneto, Vino da Tavola

    Potent and fruity nose with plenty of "warm" dark plums but still with some complexity.
    The nose is showing plenty of lavender, black pepper and a lot of other different spices, mostly rosemary.
    What a wild palate.. It is simply packed with flavors and impressions. Almost concentrated dark plum fruit that is quite sweet still.
    It has an almost crazy intensity to it that just seems to vibrate. Some coffe and spicyness showing nicely in the very long aftertaste.
    The fruit is much more tightly packed than the 88.
    Extremely well made wine but perhaps to intense for some people but personally I just love this wine.
    The wine is quite sweet but not in any kind of Recioto style or even in the way some Aussie/US wines can be almost extracted.
    The sweetness does fit in with the intensity of the fruit and flavors and even if the wine can seem extreme I still consider it a quite well balanced wine!

    What a treat to be able to taste this wine again... I simply adore it!

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Flight 4 (2 Notes)

  • 2002 Dom Pérignon Champagne 96 Points

    France, Champagne

    Aggressive nose packed with yeast and acidity and plenty of fresh lemon.
    Very powerful mousse with loads of lemon which fills the entire mouth. Slight bitterness in the end.
    Great depth and density but still quite elegant. Loved it!!
    With air it gets more floral note but also even more density and also some sweetness.

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  • 1982 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon 97 Points

    France, Champagne

    Beautiful nose packed with bread and loads of burnt butter. Also plenty of espresso and newly toasted coffee beans.
    A insanely nice palate with a lot of density of flavors. Butter and toasted bread with a little caramel in the aftertaste.
    Mid-palate has a nice structure with red/brown apples.
    Overall it is still juicy and well-rounded.
    97-98p.

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Flight 5 (1 Note)

  • 2002 Château d'Yquem 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    Delicate nose with primary apricot-kernels. Huge intensity.
    The palate is packed with apricot flavor, medium botrytis, glue and varnish. There is also some overly mature pineapple coming through.
    An okay wine with a solid performance.

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Closing

An amazing experience to taste the Quintarelli Alzero 1990 which is simply a monumental wine!!

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