Seattle Offline IV - Italian Wines

Henry's House (Seattle)
Tasted Friday, September 5, 2014 by f22nickell with 798 views

Introduction

The SEA Wine Tasting Group hosted CT SEATTLE OFFLINE IV at Henry's house in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle

MAJOR THEME: Italian Wines

--Minor Themes--
1) Blind Flights:
a) Barolo/Barbaresco/Nebbiolo
b) Brunello di Montalcino
c) Veneto
d) Super Tuscan

2) Non-blind flights:
a) General - White/bubbly
b) General - Red
c) Dessert

3) General Wines - Non-Italian

Food was once again catered by Diane (Excellent as always!). Here was the menu:

Assorted Cheeses with Baguette, marinated Vegetables, asst. olives, Roasted peppers, roasted zucchini, asst. meats.
Caponata Spread with Focaccia
Parmesan Frico with Arugula
Tomato Tapenade Bruschetta
Proscuitto, Melon and Balsamic Vinegar Bruschetta
Pasta with sauces- Pesto, Bolgonese, Vodka and Tomato Cream and Creamy Walnut
Osso Bucco- shredded on Grilled Polenta
Bisteca Florentine Bites
Chicken Spiedini
Seafood Risotto
Mushroom Risotto
Pumpkin Ravioli
Cannoli
Pine Nut Cookies
Roasted Figs with honey and Goat cheese

Flight 1 - Italian Whites (2 Notes)

I didn't get an opportunity to try all the whites for a couple of reasons. 1) I spent most of the time at the beginning setting up the blind flights that I didn't get over to the wine bucket much and, 2) just not that big a white wine guy :-)

I did not get an opportunity to taste the following wines:

2011 Marcarini Moscato d'Asti
2012 Luigi Baudana Dragon

Flight 2 - Italian Reds - Piedmont (Blind) (6 Notes)

All Barolos save for the Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo.

FANTASTIC flight of wines! Only a single bottle (mine) that wasn't that memorable!

  • 1995 Renato Ratti Barolo Rocche 93 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    Distinct nose of flowers and tar and red fruit. Both Sweet and sour cherries with hints of marzipan on the palate. Soft, but apparent tannins; however, they were well balanced by sweet, juicy fruit.

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  • 2000 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba 88 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    Light nose of truffles, dried red fruit and the odd whiff of florality It shows dried red fruit, truffles, liquorice, earth, some florality, and a good length if still firm, soil-driven finish. . Medium bodied, firm tannins, and brisk acidity. Not very interesting, in truth I found it a touch thin and the fruit a little tired – Did not really enjoy this wine.

    (After reveal) – Ugh, this was my wine! Very surprised and disappointed. I put it down to bottle variation (hopefully.)

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  • 1996 Giovanni Corino Barolo Vigna Giachini 92 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    Nose of tar and violets, with some oak influence and licorice elements. Smooth and seamless on the palate with tar, strawberry, plum, and camphor on the palate with an almost glossy texture. Moderate acidity and mellowed tannins. Long finish of red plum and strawberry fruit tinged with tar and a sweet grip. Some astringency at the end with a vanilla feel, but only for a second then gone.

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  • 2001 Pio Cesare Barolo 91 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    Nose has the classic notes of tar, roses and red spices. Taut on the palate but also has a very pleasing red spice complexity on the long finish. Very refined, silky and classic red fruited Barolo. Nothing distinctive to make it stand out, but still a very nice bottle of wine. Would have probably rated it higher if not for all the other wonderful wines in this flight. This wine got a bit lost in the shuffle. Would probably have rated it higher if drank by itself over a nice Italian meal.

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  • 2003 Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo Conteisa 94 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC

    Very complex nose of fresh and dried fruit, flowers and mixed herbs. Silky mouthfeel with flavors of cherry, raisin, mushroom and earth. Medium-bodied, smooth finish. Nicely integrated and balanced. The finish is long, elegant, with many layers. Fantastic wine!

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  • 2003 Viberti Giovanni Barolo Riserva San Pietro 95 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    Nice aromatic nose with tar, black licorice and a hint of lavender. Fresh acidity on the palate, with some black cherry, black licorice and a touch of creaminess at the end with the oak. Tannins are still quite firm but sweet. Wonderful mouth coating layers of flavor. Extremely long finish.... One of those bottle that you can't get out of your head. Brilliant wine.

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Flight 3 - Italian Wines - Brunello di Montalcino (Blind) (4 Notes)

Came across a little heavy after the Piedmont flight. Would probably have been better swapped with the Super Tuscans.

  • 1997 Tenuta Fanti Brunello di Montalcino 92 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

    Complex nose dominated by spices, tobacco, chocolate, coffee, tar, and dark berries. Hint of Violet and plum. Dark berry on the palate. High acidity and integrated tannins; all in balance. Full bodied. Long finish.

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  • 2005 Poggio Antico Brunello di Montalcino Altero 89 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

    Cherry nose profile with hints of vanilla and toasted oak. More cherries and dark fruit on the palate. Light to medium bodied with mild tannins, but they just didn’t support the medium length finish. Very approachable, subtle, some finesse, but void of backbone or defined structure.

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  • 2004 Fattoria dei Barbi Brunello di Montalcino Vigna del Fiore 88 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

    Chemical nose of fennel seeds, red fruit, some barnyard, some perfume. Palate had a decent core of red fruit, nice acids, food friendly, but really not much else. Maybe some smoke and some other layers but you really had to work to find them.

    (After reveal) Ugh, my wine again! Picked this bottle up in a small shop in Sienna, Italy, earlier this year … No temperature control, standing upright … Shouldn’t be surprised there wasn’t much here.

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  • 1999 Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino 90 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

    Light nose of green roots, smokey, menthol, and eucalyptus. Red dark fruit, cherries, raspberries and cured meaty palate with a short to medium finish. A little tired, seeing some age. Not a lot going on here. A bit uninspiring.

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Flight 4 - Italian Wines - SuperTuscans (Blind) (5 Notes)

All so very different! It was so hard to rank these amongst each other! Very surprised about the Ornellaia! Perhaps just an off bottle.

  • 2007 Tenuta Sette Ponti Oreno Toscana IGT 90 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

    Clean nose of black currant and cedar. Black currant, blackberry, dark chocolate, and vanilla on palate. Dry, med acidity, med body, strong tannins. Medium finish. Wine goes well with the food tonight, but tannins are still big, should get better in a couple of years.

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  • 2001 Tua Rita Giusto di Notri Toscana IGT 92 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

    Subdued nose of damp earth, gravel and graphite. Rich and smooth, seamless, delicious palate. Sometimes when a wine is really good it is hard to pick out fruit descriptors because it is so integrated. Intense, concentrated flavors. Oak is totally integrated, tannins are resolved. Drank beautifully.

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  • 2008 Antinori Tignanello 91 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

    Young nose of black cherry, blackberry, with a bit of vanilla and earthiness. Black fruit with a touch of prune on the palate initially, softening to a mid-palate of vanilla and a slightly bitter medium length chocolate finish. Good acidity with medium tannins. A moderately long dark fruit finish. Excellent, although still a bit tannic right now.

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  • 1990 Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Ornellaia Vino da Tavola 88 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Vino da Tavola

    Underwhelming nose of sweet fruit, tobacco and herbs. Tight blackcurrant and cherry on the palate, with leafs and stalks. Nice length and balance. All the parts are here, but the vegetable note seems to make this wine slightly disjointed.

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  • 2006 Tenuta San Leonardo San Leonardo 90 Points

    Italy, Trentino Alto-Adige / Veneto, Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT

    Crisp nose of ripe dark fruits and sweet floral notes. On the palate, it showed brisk acidity lending a juicy component to its flavors of tart mixed berries and wild herbs. The finish showed hints of green with peppery notes.

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Flight 5 - Italian Wines - Veneto (Blind) (3 Notes)

Four Amarone and one Ripasso. Have to admit, my palate was fatigued by the time I hit these wines. Just couldn't bring myself to finish this line up.

I passed on tasting these wines:

(Bottle "C") 2005 Romano Dal Forno Valpolicella Superiore
(Bottle "D") 2008 Azienda Agricola Musella Amarone della Valpolicella

  • 2008 Speri Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Monte Sant'Urbano 89 Points

    Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico

    Nose of blackberry, dark plum, dark rum, chocolate, sour cherry, earthy minerality, herbal. Palate had black fruit, figs, leather, herbal, sour cherry. Full bodied, high tannin, high acidity, high alcohol? Medium finish with the sour cherry, leather and tannins lingering. Nice, but not memorable.

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  • 2007 Zenato Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 90 Points

    Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico

    Very intense. Nose of almond, prune, plums, raisins. Palate was full of fig, raisins; very fruity. Nice wine, but seemed very alcoholic - if a wine is going to be this overpowering, it had better be absolutely mind-bogglingly delicious. This doesn't meet that criteria.

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  • 2001 Masi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Campolongo di Torbe 91 Points

    Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico

    (Note: tasted after the reveal – ran out of steam on the blinds.)

    Nose of raisin, cherry, dates, and some nice floral notes. Palate had fig, prunes, raisins with a sweet, almost port like character. Very soft and balanced in the mouth. Nice structure with hefty tannins and good balancing acidity. Another high alcohol wine, but not as noticeable.

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Flight 6 - Italian Wines - General - Red (3 Notes)

A hodge podge of wines that didn't go into a blind tasting. Sadly, I missed one of my own wines.

I did not get an opportunity to taste the following wine:

1999 Dante Rivetti Barbera d'Alba Alabarda

Flight 7 - Italian Wines - Dessert (4 Notes)

Very interesting bunch of stickies here. I enjoyed all of them. Still, they all were missing one or two elements that kept them from a "wow" level.

  • 1995 Famiglia Grati Vin Santo del Chianti Rùfina 91 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Vin Santo del Chianti Rùfina

    Very interesting. Reminded me of being back in Vermont having pancakes with maple syrup. Nose of brown sugar, molasses, maple pancake syrup. Palate had maple syrup and some roasted nut flavors coming through. Nice weight. Quite viscous, but a bit heavy footed. A bit one-dimensional as well. You get the blast on the nose and tongue, but it just sits there until it fades to the end.

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  • 2003 Fattoria di Fèlsina Berardenga Vin Santo del Chianti Classico 92 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Vin Santo del Chianti Classico

    Nose of brown sugar, molasses, and maple pancake syrup, pears and dark roasted apples. Palate had the maple syrup plus caramel; yet also had some hints of dark roasted yellow pears, vanilla bean and some nice light earth. Definitely more complexity than the 1995 Vin Santo del Chianti Rufina.

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  • 2011 Donnafugata Passito di Pantelleria Ben Ryé 92 Points

    Italy, Sicily, Passito di Pantelleria

    Nose is clean, with pronounced aromas of apricots, pineapple and sweet spice such as clove and cinnamon. Flavors intensity are medium plus, and the finish is long. Palate follows the nose with additional flavors of orange rind and ginger. The palate is sweet, but (almost) balanced by the acid. Just a few more ticks of acid and this would go from a good dessert wine to a great dessert wine.

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  • 2008 Fattoria Monticino Rosso Albana di Romagna Passito 90 Points

    Italy, Emilia-Romagna, Albana di Romagna DOCG

    Restrained nose of honey. Palate had smooth/soft banana and plum flavors. Nicely sweet (not overly), discreet and elegant. Good balance. Nice wine.

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Flight 8 - General - Non-Italian (4 Notes)

Interspersed amongst the other wines ... The Vouvray in the whites, the Cabs in the General Reds, and the Coutet amongst the dessert. Good contrast.

  • 2009 Laurent Kraft Vouvray 91 Points

    France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

    Strong nose of citrus, stone fruit, honeysuckle, and green apples. Palate had stone fruit, peach skins, the expected apple and quince taste with just an echo of honey. Dry with mid to high acidity, and a delicate but definite body, leading to a huge finish. Not a white drinker but find I am really digging Chenin Blancs.

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  • 1980 Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 90 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Some earthiness left on the nose. Silky, with some traces of fruit. Tannins fully resolved, but plenty of acid left to light up the palette. Sweet macerated cherry, somewhat sappy; good weight for its age.

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  • 2005 Hewitt Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 92 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford

    Nose of a humidor with soft and round berries in back palate. Nose stronger than palate. Palate had well rounded cedar and tobacco. Could go a bit further, but drink now if you want any fruit. Lovely mouthfeel and color in glass. Nice wine.

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  • 1970 Château Coutet Barsac 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

    Nose of apricot, honey and tropical fruit notes with a hint of spice. Palate had stone fruit and honey flavors. Rich and balanced, but a bit thin. Nice enough, but not overly complex given the age.

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Closing

Once again, another success. Once again, more wine than we could shake a stick at!

LOVED the Barolos ... As Henry so eloquently put it, "the best flight of wines I've ever tasted."

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