Annual Tasting Group Holiday Party
I Nonni, St. Paul, MN
Tasted December 21, 2018 by rocknroller with 287 views
Introduction
This was our annual tasting group holiday party. This is always one of my favorite events of the year. We always have a great group and a lot of significant others attend. This year we had a nice group of 34. The social hour with tons of Champagne is a great time . Our food and service at I Nonni was top notch as well.
I have listed wines at our table which got some decent examination and at least something of a tasting note. We had a ton of wines making their way around the room from other tables and the pours get really small to try to give as many a chance to taste as possible. Thise notes are limited by that and the reality of this being a major social event. But I tried to give some sense of those wines as well.
Flight 1 - Wine from our table (13 notes)
White - Sparkling
1999 Deutz Champagne Cuvée William Deutz
France, Champagne
Light gold color. Drank a glass over 30 minutes. Very good and a hit at our table. There's a good amount of toast on this, apple peel, limestone minerality, creamy texture and fine mousse, walnuts, medium plus finish. Good to go now.
Rosé - Sparkling
2014 Maso Martis Trento Extra Brut Rosé Riserva
Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Trentino, Trento
This is an interesting wine, and for me hits the 90pt mark, though I don't know that everyone will find this to their liking. Deeply earthy on the nose and palate with red cherry, full bodied and somewhat bold, but it really grew on me.
White
2016 Luigi Baudana Langhe Bianco Dragon
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
Another interesting wine, a field blend with about 70% Chard, 20% Sauv Blanc, and 10% Nascetta, tart, razor acidity, the Sauv Blanc shows through, but does not totally dominate, citrus, light apple notes, mineral.
Red
2010 Vecchie Terre di Montefili Chianti Classico Riserva
Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG
Dark red color. Splash double decant. Drank a glass over an hour. Very good, dried cherry, dried flowers on the nose. Tart, cherry, medium doby, gets better in glass, well balanced, moderate tannins, super with our Cavatelli. 91+pts.
Red
2001 Il Marroneto Brunello di Montalcino
Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
Dark red color. PNP, drank a glass over an hour. We drank the '01 BdM next to the '06 BdM MdG. This was a step better, probably both in readiness and complexity. Red cherry, a slightly candied buttery note, soil and dried earth, spice and dusty dry tannins.
Red
2006 Il Marroneto Brunello di Montalcino Madonna delle Grazie
Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
Dark red plus color. This had been opened the night before and slow-O'd with a quick double decant as well; drank a glass over an hour. We drank the '01 BdM next to the '06 BdM MdG. This '01 was a step better, probably both in readiness and complexity. This was also quite good though; bigger and grittier, tart cherry and currants, soil and wood, firm tannins, dense with mushroom and fuller body.
Red
2003 Isole e Olena Cepparello Toscana IGT
Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT
Very dark red color. Drank a glass over 45 minutes. This had a soaring nose of dried cedar, crushed flowers, deep cherry, and anise with damp earth. The palate shows red cherry, black cherry liqueur, anise and nice texture, but it is tempered by the wood showing and heat on the finish. Still very good, though personally, I would not be inclined to age this further and suggest drinking now.
Red
1961 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Medium dark red color, minimal color dilution. Opened this at home to check it before leaving and found it was in good shape. This was a direct ex-cellar bottle with a reconditioned cork with only about 1/4 saturation. Pulled the cork to let it sit on the table and got it into to glass for 30 minutes before drinking. It's always nice when these older wines show their colors and since this was a birth year wine for several of us, it was even more special. This really had a nice core of fairly bright red cherry fruit, fine ground tobacco, rose petals, dried peat moss and truffle, dried spices and a leathery note with dried cherry and red currants and a bit of sauvage character too. This has that featherweight feel on the palate with a satiny texture and fine tannins that are still alive but nicely tamed. There's a little vegetal note that emerges after this is in glass about an hour as it drops off a bit. A really fun bottle, 93+ to 94pts.
Red
2001 Massolino Barolo Margheria
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Drank a small glass over 30 minutes. Unfortunately, I didn't take any notes on this and kind of lost track of it. Good, but don't recall it being remarkable. 90ish pts.
Flight 2 - Wines from the other tables - small pours (18 notes)
Red
2004 Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino
Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
Small taste. Sure,, this is big and ripe, call it modern if you will, but it is flat out delicious, and more importantly it is very well balanced with some grip but really silky texture. 92+pts.
White
2010 Olivier Leflaive Corton-Charlemagne
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
Small taste. I really like this, still has some youthful oak to integrate fully, but delicious; a full bodied and vibrant, intense CC, lemon, saline and mineral drivien.
Red
2000 Antinori Tignanello
Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT
Ssmall taste. I can't read most of what I wrote, but I can tell you I really enjoyed the smidge I had. Really earthy with a dank, mushroom and truffle perfume of potpourri and red fruits, silky, excellent.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2005 Château Doisy-Daëne
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
A tiny taste, fairly typical, good, bright, not too sweet, has the '05 acidity, bright, not so tropical, peach and mandarin orange, moderate spice. 91+pts.
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