Priorats / Champagne - A Solo Vino Homework Assignment
Lake Elmo
Tasted Friday, December 11, 2009 by vanpe003 with 780 views
Introduction
Hadn't been to one of my favorite wine stores in over a year, but was interested in learning more about Priorat and knew that Chuck at Solo Vino would have me covered. Sure enough, there were about 10 to select from, not including the "basement stash". I was coached that "Priorats are hard to compare to one another, given the vast difference in varietal blending". No kidding. Of the 5 opened, they were all over the map....some light, some full....different flavor profiles across the board.
Also tried a couple of Champagnes from Duval looking for this year's house champagne for the holidays.
Flight 1 - Priorats (5 Notes)
Chuck told me that "it's really hard to compare one Priorat to another" because of the very different styles / blends / etc. The batch I tasted tonight proved that point in spades. A "country wine", a "Pinot wannabe", an Italian in disguise, these were all over the map. Perfect for me as I'm in the early stages of learning about these wines. Tonight was a great opportunity for me to learn more, and form some thoughts about my preferences. The result - richer is better, at least as it relates to this batch of wines. The winner in this group was the 1999 Finca Dofi. Probably an unfair contest given its age and resulting elegance. Runner-up for me was the Terrasses. While it needs time, it has all the right components to be a very, very nice wine in a few years. I also enjoyed the Gine Gine as a "country wine"...nothing complicated about it, but it's "comfortable". As in "pair this with comfort foods", as long as they're not too heavy. While I liked the Camins, it reminded me a lot of a pinot. And if I want to drink a pinot, I'll buy a pinot. The jury is out on the Genium. I much preferred the '04 Genium Costers to this bottle
Flight 2 - Champagne (2 Notes)
A couple of experiments, trying to find a champagne to pour for the holidays this year. Neither of these worked for me in that regard. The '96 was not to my tastes, though I'm sure many will like it. The NV is one I liked a lot after it had been open for awhile, smoothing off some of the initial rough edges. At somewhere around $30, I'm strongly considering picking up some more and putting it down for next year. Still hunting for this year's bottle pour............
2007 Alvaro Palacios Priorat Camins del Priorat 86 Points
Spain, Catalunya, Priorat
IWC/JR makes reference to the nose smelling like pinot, and I can't get that out of my head. I'd love to throw this into a Burgundy-shaped bottle and serve it blind at a pinot tasting to see how many people would bite. Kind of a dark cherry thing on the nose. On the palate, medium-bodied and "tangy". Nice flavor profile but it could be a touch more forward with the fruit. Not a lot of wood, some acidity and tannins. Another one that'd be better with food than on its own. I suspect this one could smooth out with some bottle age and hit something close to the 90 points IWC gives it. It's not there now, nor will it every be one of the bigger Priorats made.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2004 Buil & Giné Priorat Giné Giné 87 Points
Spain, Catalunya, Priorat
Very pleasant. Needs a bit of time to open up, as it's rather acidic and tangy right after the pop. Interesting nose with a lot of stuff I can't place....generally speaking dark fruit, a little wood, maybe a touch reticent in terms of aromatic power. On the palate, some depth gets added and the acidity rounds out...medium bodied. Searching for some cedar box, and its there in the background but quite faint. A nice wine without much pretense. Better with food than as a sipper.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2003 Genium Celler Priorat 88 Points
Spain, Catalunya, Priorat
Close, but not quite. Interesting nose with a brightness to the fruit that backs up against something similar to the sweaty aromas of an aged Bordeaux. Promising! The palate doesn't quite deliver, not having the depth I anticipated from the nose. Still fairly acidic, with an slightly artificial taste through the finish. Fortunately, that blows off after awhile. Still has a lot of tannins. Not convinced the fruit will outlive the acid/tannin combo, but don't have a ton of experience with wines from this area.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2006 Alvaro Palacios Priorat Les Terrasses 91 Points
Spain, Catalunya, Priorat
Now we're talking. Yea, this is too young, but it obviously has all the raw materials. Dark, great depth of fruit, concentrated but not overly so. Good structure with some acidity and fairly significant tannins. But the fruit that's lurking underneath is very, very good. Reload.....!
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1999 Alvaro Palacios Priorat Finca Dofí 91 Points
Spain, Catalunya, Priorat
I don't usually notice the cork, but this one was outrageously fine grained and smooth. So much so that I had to look twice to see if it was synthetic.....no! Opened with a big barnyard funk on the nose. 15 minutes later....that's all gone. In its place, an almost Bordeaux-like quality on the nose, mature fruit and hints of chalk. Refined palate with good depth. Largely resolved, though with some tannins remaining in the background. These become more pronounced the longer the wine sits in the glass, and the fruit seems to fade just a bit. And then it turns around, gains some depth and a subtle wood and does its best Italian imitation (like a nebbiolo on the heavier side). I think this still has some time left, and wouldn't hesitate holding for another 2-4 years, even though WS suggests that this should have been consumed by 2007 ;)
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue