Italians with Friends (Gaja, Giacosa, Biondi-Santi Etc.)

Last night, my wife and I were joined by Dave and Pat, at one of our favorite University Circle are (Cleveland) Italian restaurants. It was a slow and casual night lasting about 3 hours or so of great conversation, wonderful food and some nice wines. The wines were on the (side) table with plenty of glassware so we could revisit the wines as the night went on.

A "starter" to end the day, and begin the night.

• 2004 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 96 Points

  France, Champagne

  Came out of the bottle great and just kept getting better IMO. Went back at the end of the evening and still stunning. My wife loved it as well. Light golden in color. Lots of small bubbles. The nose has some lemons and orange peel. Also a bit of sea air. With air, it gets rounder, picks up some earthiness and even some floral notes. On the palate, tight and concentrated, it just keeps opening up but never loses that focus. Great citrus and minerals. Great acidity with food. Long finish. Gorgeous wine in a great place but no hurry.

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Always nice to have a white before the reds

• 2010 Mastroberardino Fiano di Avellino Radici 94 Points

  Italy, Campania, Fiano di Avellino DOCG

  My last bottle of this and I wish I had more. This one started quite tight on pop and pour but also kept improving all night long. I was stunned how good it had gotten tasting it at the end of the night. Golden in color. The nose has a creamy peach quality but with age it has picked up a nice mineral/slate (think German Riesling) quality I did not notice in its youth. The palate show a layering not often seen in whites especially under $30. Still some peaches but the fruit is slightly less pronounced and gets less so with air. That is a good thing as the minerals and even a bit of char fill in seamlessly. If you have any, check in, but give it a few hours of air first.

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A Brunello Flight (actually, we drank one then the other)

• 2004 Cerbaiona (Molinari) Brunello di Montalcino 94 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Dave opened this to slow-ox for a few hours and then a quick splash double decant. Not enough air. Don't get me wrong, it was good on serving but still young, tight and quite tannic. Over the next few hours it opened much more. That said, I would still be holding this for another decade (at least 7 or 8 years). OTOH, it was my wife's WOTN, so there you go. She likes them young and fruity (not sure where I fit in as I am neither I don't think). Ruby in color, lighter than expected. The nose has cherries, slight raspberries, a bit of green tea. On the palate, there is a lot here. Big cherry fruit, slight dark cherry, a bit of smoke, thick tannins, and very deep. With air, it sorts out nicely into layers of fruits and earth as the tannins cling on. Great acidity. Worked well with food. Just delicious. As my palate tired, this still demanded great attention. Easily a few points of upside possible.

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• 1998 Tenuta Greppo (Biondi-Santi) Brunello di Montalcino 96 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  I brought this back, from Italy a long time ago. It sat in the cellar as i waited for it to age. during that time, I heard poor reports on it and given the producer, I wanted whomever we shared it with to at least have some historical appreciation for the winery as I got less confident in the wine in the bottle. Take us to last night, the wine should be ready at 18 years from vintage, Dave and Pat are geeky and polite enough to appreciate the wine. I opened it a few hours before and it slow-oxed for about 5 hours before pouring. Purple in color no real browning and still shimmering bright. It took a few minutes to put on some weight in the glass and then seemed good to go for the rest of the night. Ok, first, it is older. My wife, who doesn't like old wines, did not appreciate it. I loved it and I think Dave did as well. The nose has lots of cherry fruit. fresh, dark and dried cherries all show up. Some sandalwood and a bit of dried black tea. On the palate, just a wonderful soft texture. The tannins are fully resolved with plenty of fruit left. A nice backbone of acidity. Layers of complexity with fruit, forest floor and spice. Good finish. Worked great with food. Everything I want from aged BdM. Did knowing the history of the winery and this bottle influence me? I hope so, but this was a damn nice bottle of wine anyway. It was a treat to share with friends.

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And the Barolo sequence

• 1996 Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo Sperss 93 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC

  Hard to believe but this was my last place wine. Such an unfair term when all of the wines are great, but clearly this was a preseason favorite but amazingly enough, at age 20, it is just not quite ready yet. Dave gave this a few hours of air before double decanting back into the bottle and bringing. Tight as a drum on opening. With some vigorous swirling it starts to open up. While it continues to open up, we left the last glass in the bottle for the server with instruction to drink it the following day. Ruby in color. The nose has nice cherries, some tar and plums. On the palate, firm tannins. Tightly packed fruit. It is drinking ok and very enjoyable, there is just a feeling that there is so much more going on under the the lid, so to speak. If you own any, give it five more or a ton more air.

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• 2005 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Le Rocche del Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba 94 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  This was decanted at home for three hours and then back into the bottle where it got another hour of air. It needed every bit and probably a bit more. Ruby in color. The nose is very nice with cherries, smoke, and cinnamon. On the palate, there is a nice complexity here at this point. Still loads of life left, but this is not a monster wine. More elegant than other vintages but with enough power to continue to develop. Soft but present tannins. Layers of cherries, dried cherries dried roses, and a slight spice and tar quality. very satisfying and complete if that makes sense. I doubt this is a 30 year wine but at 11 years from vintage, it seems to be entering peak territory. Great with food.

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I had a bottle of dessert wine, but we just didn't get to it. At the end of a long week with a lot of travel, yard work and work, it was great to relax and just slow down.
Nice wine, excellent food, and great friends. It doesn't get any better than that for us!