Ecclectic Easter Tasting at Asti Trattoria

Asti Trattoria
Tasted Saturday, March 26, 2005 by steffenpelz with 1,018 views

Introduction

11 Texans assembled at Asti Trattoria last night, where we tasted through an ecclectic mix of wines. The players came from all ends of TX ... Houston, Dallas, Austin, and Fredericksburg. It was fun to meet everybody but let's go to the wines...

Flight 1 - Dinner Wines (9 Notes)

We really didn't drink in an official sequence, so I took the liberty of arranging the wines below in the sequence I drank them in. It should be noted that I skipped 2 wines altogether. A Champagne in the beginning and a Dutch Henry Zinfandel.

  • 2001 Sine Qua Non Albino 90 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast

    Very nice white wine. Strangely reminiscent of some White Burgundies except a bit more ecidic. Soft, a little oaky, and seemingly lots of minerality.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 2001 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 91 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

    Classic RRV flavors of Cola, dried spice, lots of cherry and cranberry fruit. Lush and velvety, yet solid acidity. Kept getting better as the night went on.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 1993 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant 96 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru

    First 100 point nose I've ever given out. Phenomenal secondary aromas. Fantastically structured wine that showed nice earth and truffle flavors that just wouldn't go away. Palate score was closer to 94pts, but this is simply the best PN I've ever had the privilege to roll over my tongue.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 1999 Behrens & Hitchcock Merlot Beckstoffer Las Amigas 92 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Superb wine. Dark purple color. Eucalyptus infused bouquet that also gave off tobacco, cigar box smells and dark chocolate. Excellent silky texture and if it hadn't ben for the DRC, this would have been my WOTN. Could be mistaken for one of the great "New-World Style" Right-Bank Bordeaux such as Monbousquet.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 1998 Sottimano Barbaresco Cotta Vigna Brichet 88 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco

    This vino is way young. Almost a shame to have opened this. The oak was rather pronounced and despite very nice layers of truffle and fruit, the high acidity and oak made this seem a bit disjointed. I think this could be great in years to come though.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 2001 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    I won't give this one a score. This wine was so shut down at first that absolutely nothing could be smelled from the glass, and the palate was all tannins. And this after 9 hours of air exposure. Although the wine kept opening up with time, it never showed as well as the classic Pauillacs I'm used to. This seems like it could be a wine for the ages. I won't even touch mine for 5+ years.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 1997 Tenute Silvio Nardi Brunello di Montalcino 91 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

    This was possibly the most ready to drink wine of the night. Showed extremely well. Incredibly open-knit with plenty if fruit and structure underneath. Matched the food perfectly.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 1993 Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon 75 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District

    A real disappointment. I had high hopes for this, but the stewed vegetable and bell pepper notes in this wine were just such a turn-off that I eventually poured it out. Add to this that the wine showed incredibly high acidity and surprisingly low fruit levels, and it was barely drinkable. Could have been an off-bottle.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 2002 Martinelli Zinfandel Giuseppe & Luisa 75 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    Undrinkable to me. The finish is so hot on this puppy that the alcohol was sensed in my nostrils while taking a sip. The amazing this is that the fruit doesn't really seem that lush. I also didn't taste anything else on this wine. I don't think this is shut down, but it seems that this is a style of wine I simply don't like.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

Flight 2 - Dessert Wines (2 Notes)

  • 1998 Château de Fargues 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    Very nice Sauternes. Still pretty young as evidenced by the pale yellow color. It does have a nice tropical fruit nose that is laced with honey. The mouthfeel is luxurious. Great viscosity in this wine. I wish I had some of these....Got to go and get some.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 1997 Quinta do Noval Porto Late Bottled Vintage 90 Points

    Portugal, Douro, Porto

    This one couldn't compete with the Chateau de Fargues, but it was very nice nevertheless. Definitely a soft and approahable LBV that shows very nice structure and lush fruit. For the price I bought this in Lisbon, it was a steal.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

Closing

It was a pleasure meeting all and I hope we can do this again sometime in the near future.

×
×