JohnMcIlwain
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2007 Bartolo Mascarello Dolcetto d'Alba Vigne Monrobiolo - Ruè
4/21/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:
Now old(er) Dolcetto isn’t most decent folks’ steez by any imagination (lovers of Dogliani please don’t fret, I’m on your side) and the prospect of a bottle 2007 ain’t gonna set a lot of hearts aflutter. But when blessed with a locally raised pork chop leftover polenta and a spring vegetable ragoût that could be used up, maybe search for the good rather than great in the wine rack. And when one finds a bottle of 17 year-old Dolcetto, maybe give it a crack, especially if it’s from Bartolo Marcarello.
And while not the fizzy, fruity (Beaujolais-like) tipple promised by basic wine books, this possesses charm and earthiness that surpasses one’s expectations. The robe is lucid ruby with some garnet bricking along the meniscus. The nose is somewhat effusive with aromas of dried cherry, leather, and “church dust”—incense and dried flowers. There’s a bit of menthol and a bit of VA adding lift. The tannins are nearly resolved and this of offering more acidity than the torrid vintage would suggest. Confitted cherry and red plum and earthy notes mingle with a hint of leather and a bit of tar inhabiting the back-palate. There’s a sense that its youthful sucrosity has gained a lacy quality over time putting this in fine window for me. Good length here and nerve on the finish, even if this possesses more power (and alcohol) than I would prefer. But you take the heat along with the light sometimes. This is enjoyable, though given the weight I might opt for pork shank or maiale al latte rather than a loin chop, but that’s a quibble. Fun, unexpectedly delicious bottle, though Maria Teresa is a gifted successor to her father, so one shouldn’t be too surprised. Re-buy? Sure, though I’d drink a little earlier, truth be told. Lesson here: Save your Dolcetto, just maybe not 17 years.
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2019 Montenidoli Vernaccia di San Gimignano Fiore
4/19/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:
Brief, unscientific note: bright as a new penny, electric koolaid citrus character, vibrant herbal character. Good length. Wish I had more. Spring ragout (morels, asparagus, peas, mint, favas, perorino, shallots) over polenta. Very good.
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2021 Julian Haart Riesling Moselle
4/17/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:
I’d call this off-dry/Feinherb at 11.5% on the label. White flowers, just ripe stone fruit, hints of honeysuckle, and sorrel on the nose. The palate shows some ripeness, even richness on the attack—isn’t this the classic cold climate underripe vintage the we all clamor for? Is this Hengst or Brand? But surely enough a thread of salty bitterness and stony core emerges from within. A pithy, flinty definition begins to reveal its agenda and there’s fruit here, but it’s peeking from behind mother’s apron. Pretty shut down at the moment and a bit of a decant slams the gates. Hold for a couple years. There’s a shocking amount of material here that just needs to organize itself.
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