Miscellaneous Notes from Italy (mostly Champagne and Nebbiolo)
Piemonte and Milano
Tasted Saturday, October 31, 2015 - Friday, November 6, 2015 by drwine2001 with 528 views
Introduction
These were things that we tasted or drank outside of formal producer visits, which I have noted separately. The biggest surprise was the strength and breadth of the Champagne lists in both of these places, and we took advantage of that!
2005 Michele Chiarlo Barolo Cerequio
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
(10/31/2015)
Well, what better way to begin a Piemonte visit than by drinking a wine in the vineyard where it was produced on a mild, sunny fall day? Red core with a bricked edge. Some floral and leather aromas. Lighter weight. Subtle sweetness of delicate fruit followed by some creosote and strong acidity that is its core. Very nice, reaching maturity.
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2005 Paolo Scavino Barolo Bric dël Fiasc
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
(10/31/2015)
Moderate ruby. Exciting aromas of spice, intense black cherry, and later some higher toned non-fruit elements. The material is certainly impressive; however, in contrast to the Conterno Cascina Francia, this did not grow in the glass after decanting, and it was about as good as it was going to get on the very first pour.
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2005 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
(10/31/2015)
Much lighter and evolved looking than the Scavino tasted next to it. My god, an unreal amount of olfactory complexity-at turns, rose, forest floor, and a hint of VA. Very elegant, unadorned wine with driving acidity (much more so than the Scavino). With time, it turned from lean and tight to sappier and more forthcoming while still retaining its acid core and strong minerality. Terrific bottle and much more slow, steady evolution ahead I would imagine.
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2011 La Spinetta (Rivetti) Barbera d'Asti Cà di Pian
Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Barbera d'Asti
(11/1/2015)
Deep ruby. Bright, forward cherry. Medium weight, meaty and lush with a base of wood, zippy acidity, and round, yielding tannins. Very good now.
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2008 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
(11/1/2015)
Light ruby, tawny edge. Ineffable Nebbiolo perfume with slight VA that receded, mint, red petals, and lord knows what else. The epitome of elegance and breed, it starts out on the lean side and balanced to acidity, but just grows and expands over 2 hours, gaining silkiness, subtly sweet red fruit, and a ground coffee element as well. The finish is a wonder of fine soil elements and the hidden tannin. On one hand, embryonic and a shame we could not decant it hours in advance, but on the other, a fantastic sneak peek at a wine that will be magnificent with time but is hardly painful to drink now. A complete treat-I'm so happy we found this on a restaurant list.
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2000 Pio Cesare Barolo
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
(11/1/2015)
Medium ruby, minimal lightening. Dark cherry and licorice at first, then more high toned and leathery. Fairly meaty, delicious, vibrant red fruit, anise, average acidity, and chewy tannins. Probably best at first and with an hour of air; thereafter, it really showed as though it were completely mature, and the fruit seemed drier. This wine underscored what a great, complex, elegant, almost Burgundian bottle the '08 Monfortino was earlier today, but this was an excellent wine in its own right.
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NV Jacques Selosse Initial
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
(11/2/2015)
November, 2014 disgorgement. Light yellow. Mildly frothy. Vibrant red apple skin, faint caramel notes, moderate dosage, excellent stoniness underneath. Delicious and fresh, more ready than I imagined it would be with the recent disgorgement date.
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2004 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Le Rocche del Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
(11/2/2015)
Medium ruby with gentle lightening at the very edge. Crscendo of aromatic volume and complexity-tobacco, brown spice, anise, and deep cherry fruit. This also has everything on the palate-medium weight, sappy, expansive feel, fruit that builds and sweetens over time, perfect acidity, and a good amount of hidden tannins that creep up on the finish. Very, very young, but it is in such great equilibrium that it shows wonderfully. Unquestionably great, but great in such a different way than the '08 Monfortino yesterday; that was a wonder of perfume and finesse, while this impresses with power and sheer strength of material. I envy those who will get to enjoy it at age 40, when the complexity will fully arrive.
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NV Jacques Selosse Initial
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
(11/3/2015)
Disgorged October, 2014. Who cares that we just had it yesterday? Find a bottle, drink a bottle. This was just as appley as the last bottle disgoged one month later, but this was more gingery and a bit fresher, without the slightest hint of oxidative notes. Crisp and a delicious lunchtime treat.
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2010 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo Monprivato
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
(11/3/2015)
We tried this, well, because we could not resist it when we saw it on a list. Light ruby with clearing. Intoxicating nose of tobacco, wintergreen, and licorice. Plenty of gentle, perfectly ripe strawberries upfront, silky mouth feel, herbs, superb acidity, and tannins that are just coiled and ready to pounce. Unbelievable refinement and a long finish that is filled with soil. Clearly has the balance to improve for many years, but shockingly open today. Chapeau!
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1996 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Villero di Castiglione Falletto
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
(11/3/2015)
Light center with gradual fading to tawny. I was not sure about this at first-all vinegar, earth, and screechy acidity right out of the decanter. A dead '96? No, not quite; within an hour and a half, the grand tranformation took place. The VA backed off, and rose petal, mint, and light red fruit appeared. It gained significant weight and flesh, and all of a sudden, all of that acidity seemed just right (although it was far more delicate than the unreal 2004 red label Rocche Falletto yesterday). The finish was full of earth but still a few steps away from complete harmony because of drying tannins. So that is how you change from thinking an older wine is a dried out dud on first pour to realizing that it is probably a youngish work in progress from a highly structured vintage. If I owned any, I would keep an eye on the fruit, though, to be sure it is not going away.
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2014 Fratelli Brovia Roero Arneis
Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Roero
(11/3/2015)
Yellow. Wintergreen. Light with thin glycerine. Tart citrus, touch of residual sugar, medium acidity, and some earth. Simple and fresh.
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2012 Fratelli Brovia Barbera d'Alba Ciabot del Fi
Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d'Alba
(11/3/2015)
Bright ruby. Fruit, spice, and pepper on the nose. Lighter weight and more cranberry acidity than tannin. Typical Barbera, nothing to set it apart.
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2011 Fratelli Brovia Barolo Villero
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
(11/3/2015)
Light ruby. Forward tart red fruit, licorice, and tobacco leaf. Very elegant. Forward and supple. Lovely, open now but some tannin waiting to assert itself once this settles down in bottle. Still, not for the long term.
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NV Marie Courtin Champagne Resonance Extra Brut
France, Champagne
(11/4/2015)
Yellow, light mousse. Yeast and orange peel. Full, serious black fruit, and dry finish. This really developed in the glass. Excellent stuff.
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2004 Cavallotto Barolo Riserva Bricco Boschis Vigna San Giuseppe
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
(11/4/2015)
Even, dark ruby. Serious, sweet dark fruit, and some rising spice. Big, sappy wine with some increasing herb-amazingly textural. Fine acidity and lightly grainy tannins. This is about power, although the secondary elements are arriving. Marvelous, extremely impressive wine now, and surely even better in 10+ years.
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2004 Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo Sorì San Lorenzo
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
(11/4/2015)
Deep ruby with early lightening. A panoply of aromas over the 2 hours we drank it-pine needles, sour cherries (that reminded me of some Gevreys), warm spice, and blueberry. Piercing, forward nose at all stages. Medium to full bodied with the sheen of wood. Densely packed fruit for Nebbiolo, excellent acidity, and the repetitive green wood tannins that reminded me more and more of Rioja and added astringency to the finish. I have mixed feelings about this wine. On one hand, it is fascinating, clearly has great material, and evoked many flavor and olfactory memories. However, I wish it bore more of a resemblance to classic Nebbiolo; it is a very different animal than what we have been drinking in Piemonte this week because of all the wood.
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1990 Gaja Barolo Sperss
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
(11/5/2015)
Purchased today from a Milan wine shop without any knowledge of provenance or storage. Light ruby core, browning edge; this deepened with air. Slightly musty at first, some VA, then increasing mint. Medium weight. Deep brown tobacco notes and a core of stony minerality are eventually joined by cherry fruit and earth. Moderate tannins remain. We had a chance to follow this for around 3 hours, and it continued to improve over that time, so I am confident that this was a healthy bottle, and it certainly has time in hand. I'd call it close to outstanding overall but hardly profound or as ethereal as a 25 year old wine can be. The contrast with the 2004 Sori San Lorenzo we had the other night was striking. This seemed like a much more natural, less forced and extreme expression of Nebbiolo. Was the wood treatment that different, or have the additional 14 years in bottle cured the excesses I found in the younger wine?
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NV Louis Roederer Champagne Brut Premier
France, Champagne
(11/6/2015)
I had not tasted this cuvée in years. This had a touch of yeast, and was properly dry, herbal, and stony. Very good.
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NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Grand Cru Lieux-dits Extra Brut Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Les Carelles
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
(11/6/2015)
Disgorged April, 2013. Light golden. Transient mousse. My god, so much going on aromatically here- caramel, ripe apple, vivid citrus rind, ginger, and thyme. Full bodied and creamy. A perfect balance between the mature Champagne note and incredibly lively fruit sealed by an intensely rocky finish and perfect acidity. Amazing, simply amazing.
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2004 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
(11/6/2015)
Light color throughout. Classic tar and gentle red berries. Light to medium bodied. Poised and well balanced with tobacco, fine fruit as above, melting tannins, soil,and above all, great harmony. What can I say? After a week of tasting all different expressions of great Nebbiolo, this very traditional, unobtrusive wine completely won me over with its lightness, complexity, and subtle beauty in the context of a meal.
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