Havana South Wine Club - Wines of Veneto
Havana South
Tasted February 16, 2011 by RajivAyyangar with 573 views
Introduction
Very nice setup at Havana South, with hors d'ouevres that unfortunately were anything but neutral (flakey empanadas filled with adobo-like meat), so they had to wait until the end. Ezra, the wine director, organized the event, which was led by Scott, the National rep.
Flight 1 - Whites (3 notes)
White - Sparkling
N.V. Zardetto Prosecco Brut
Italy, Veneto / Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Prosecco
Light straw-green in the glass. Fresh, light nose of faint apples and faint baguette. Palate: light body, med- mousse, clean with good acid. nice. $14
White
2009 Zenato Lugana San Benedetto
Italy, Lombardia / Veneto, Lugana
Light straw in the glass. Low+ intensity nose of rose petals and melon. A bit like moscato in the mouth (detergent-candy-melon) with med- bitterness, light body, low alcohol, dry, med acid. nice. $14
White
2007 Masi Delle Venezie Pinot Grigio Verduzzo Masianco
Italy, Delle Venezie
Very interesting nose of cantal cheese and mushroom. Surprising that there's no oak given the earthier aromas (I've seen oak present this way in Cali chards, Stefania...). Palate. Notable lack of sweetness with an interesting character and a rather sauerkraut-y flavor and tartness. Light body, low alcohol, med+ acid, tart. Good and interesting. $14
Flight 2 - Reds (8 notes)
Red
2008 Allegrini Valpolicella
Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella
Medium ruby in the glass. Nost of dusty raisin. Light body, low+ alcoho, med+ acid, faint cherry flavors in the mouth - not much fruit. Overall pretty thin. $17
Red
2008 Zenato Valpolicella Classico Superiore
Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Valpolicella Classico Superiore
Medium garnet in the glass, the nose is musty, barely skirting the land of oxidative flavors. There's some funk, a light brett presence, all wrapped around a mouth-watering black-currant-liquorice core. In the mouth: medium body, medium tannins, ripe fruit, med+ acid, med alcohol. Very nicely balanced, with subtle but arresting fruit presence. $14
Red
2007 Masi Campofiorin
Italy, Veneto, Veronese IGT
First bottle: corked (I picked up something wrong, but didn't immediately identify it as TCA). Doug then confirmed that it was corked. Pretty obvious on first sniff, but harder to detect (as expected b/c of habituation) on subsequent sniffs).
Red
2007 Masi Campofiorin
Italy, Veneto, Veronese IGT
Second bottle: Unimpressive nose of mild fruit. In the mouth, medium body, med- acid, low brett. $18
Red
2007 Zenato Ripassa
Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Ripasso della Valpolicella Superiore
Medium+ ruby in the glass. Very funky nose of huitlacoche. Not much fruit. Med tannins. Med+ body, med alcohol. nice. $32
Red
2007 Allegrini Palazzo della Torre Veronese IGT
Italy, Veneto, Veronese IGT
Med+ ruby in the glass. Med intensity nose of dark raisiny fruit. Ripe. Palate: rich, ripe, and delicious, with med+ body, med+ alcohol, med+ acid, and a firm grippy med+ tannins. $20
Red
2003 Santi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico
Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico
med- garnet in the glass. Weird nutty stemmy nose, not much here. Oxidative-ish. Palate: ripe, rich, med+ body, med+ alcohol, med+ acid. $50
Closing
Overall I wasn't too impressed with the concentration/extraction achieved by the ripasso technique. As far as my palate was concerned, these were still within Old-World levels of ripeness, concentration, alcohol, and acidity. There were several reds where I found myself unimpressed with the acidity, which I'd thought would be preserved and even enhanced by ripasso. There was a lot of pleasant dust and raisiny flavors on the nose, which might be associated with the ripasso technique, but I'd be hard-pressed to pick it out in future blind tastings. I guess I need more experience with ripasso. Overall the show-stealer was the $14 Zenato Valpolicella that succeeded mainly on the basis of an arresting, attention-getting, but classic nose, with a well-balanced palate to back it up.
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