Sis-in-law Dr Pat gifted us this interesting Italian red that she discovered and acquired at the winery in Umbria, Italy during her visit to the region this fall. She brought it during our holiday get-together and we opened it with carry-out pizza for Saturday evening dinner.
Pages
Saturday, December 21, 2024
Cantina Fratelli Pardi Montefalco Rosso
Sis-in-law Dr Pat gifted us this interesting Italian red that she discovered and acquired at the winery in Umbria, Italy during her visit to the region this fall. She brought it during our holiday get-together and we opened it with carry-out pizza for Saturday evening dinner.
Tuesday, December 17, 2024
Sesta di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino Sangiovese
Sesta di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino Sangiovese with tangy homemade spaghetti
After they have been harvested, the grapes are placed in crates to protect them from damage. Arrived at the tiny winery, the grapes are fermented in temperature-controlled steel tanks according to traditional methods. The Brunello is aged in traditional Slavonian oak barrels with a capacity of 30 hectolitres. The Rosso is matured in French oak barrels.
Thursday, December 12, 2024
Montecappone Rosso Piceno Marche Italian Red Blend
This is from the Montecappone estate, founded in the late 1960s in the village of Jesi in the Ancona region of Marche in Central Italy.
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4524787
Sunday, December 8, 2024
Piedlong CDP Red Blend with BBQ Ribs
Brunier Family “Piedlong” CDP Red Blend with BBQ Ribs
With the left over BBQ ribs from the other night, as noted at the time, the best ribs I’ve had in a long time, I opened a CDP (Châteauneuf-du-Pape) from Familie Brunier. We had these ribs the other night and they were spectacular, and enjoyable a couple days later to dust up the leftovers!
I pulled this wine to take to son Alec’s last night but we arrived to find he had already opened a Big Red for pairing with our Pizza. So it was to open this for Sunday dinner with the remaining BBQ Ribs.
This is from one of favorite Rhône producers that we visited at the Vieux Télégraphe estate during our CDP appellation tour back in 1998, and then again during our 2019 visit with Alec & Viviana with owner/producer Daniel Brunier at the Estate, which was a highlight of our visit to the Luberon and Southern Rhône that year.
Also notable, pertaining to Alec and Viv, we discovered this label during a visit to New York City to visit when they were still living there. We discovered and enjoyed this label at Il Fiore Restaurant and Bar at the Langham Hotel in NYC back in 2018.
Vignobles Brunier Chateauneuf-du-Pape Piedlong 2017
As I’ve written in these pages, Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe has been in the Brunier family since 1898, it lies on the eastern edge of Châteauneuf du Pape and covers 150 acres of some of the finest terroir there on the famed “la Crau” plateau.
Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe "Piedlong" Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rhône Valley 2017
The predominant Grenache grapes are sourced from 70 year old vines on the Vieux Telegraph 27 acre site on the stony Piedlong Plateau which is in the heart of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC area.
In wine, the term garrigue suggests distinctly herbaceous, peppery or smoky tones reminiscent of the low-lying vegetation that grows wild in sun-scorched limestone soils along the Mediterranean, particularly the South of France.
Rather than a single plant or scent, garrigue refers to a variety of aromatic, resinous herbs like rosemary, sage, bay leaves and thyme. It also includes shrubs like juniper and artemisia as well as lavender and mint.
Saturday, December 7, 2024
Beau Vigne Old Rutherford Napa Cab
Beau Vigne Old Rutherford Napa Cab with Calogero’s Pizza
Son Alec and D-in-law Viviana dined in the city at Juno Sushi in Lincoln Park, so we were called to grandparent babysitter duty. Alec arranged for pizza pick-up at Calogero’s Pizza, Naperville, their neighborhood pizza shop. He also set out a nice Napa Cab from his cellar for a wine pairing.This is a producer we know well as we hold a half dozen of their labels in our cellar (s) dating back nearly a decade. I featured this producer in detail in a blogpost last summer when we took their wine along on holiday - Beau Vigne Napa Valley Proprietary Red.
While they call this wine “Old Rutherford”, the vineyard source is actually in the Napa Valley Oakville AVA. It is part of the iconic Beckstoffer Vineyard holdings.
Located north of the town of Yountville in the Oakville AVA, Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper was originally part of a large piece of land owned by George C. Yount, from whom the town of Yountville takes its name. It is name for Charles Hopper who purchased it and gave it to his daughter Missouri in 1877. The land was planted to wine grapes, prunes and walnuts.
In 2002, the property was placed under a land conservation easement that forever prohibits non-agricultural development.
The total vineyard site is 46 acres of which 36 acres are planted to vines.
Friday, December 6, 2024
Clarendon Hills Romas Vineyard Grenache 2007
Friday night dinner, Linda prepared BBQ ribs with roasted potatoes and carrots, one of my favorite meals for pairing with full bodied, bold expressive wines.
Clarendon Hills winery was founded in 1990 by Roman Bratasiuk in Clarendon, a town 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of Adelaide, part of the McLaren Vale Wine Region in South Australia. Bratasiuk, a viticulturalist as much as a winemaker, selected Clarendon as a base because of the significant number of old vine vineyards that were planted there, vineyards of 50 to 90 years.
The township of Clarendon was established in 1880 by European migrants, who brought with them pre-clonal, original French vine cuttings that they planted and propagated across the surrounding hilltops. Clarendon is home to hugely varied terrain with sandy, clay based soils in the lower elevated regions and contrasted with shattered shale and ironstone rich, quartz ridden soils in the highest areas. It is ideal growing conditions for traditional French Rhone varietals - Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre as well as Bordeaux varietals Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Clarendon Hills vineyards sources lie within the Clarendon, Blewitt Springs and Kangarilla districts. Using single vineyard designated fruits, Clarendon Hills seeks to express terroir driven varietal expression in its wines.
Today, there are many single vineyard wines in Australia, but when Roman started in 1990, he was a pioneer in this approach. In the early 1990s, Roman started becoming known for his Grenache, but today he has an extensive portfolio of premium and ultra premium quality wines across 19 single vineyard cuvee labels.
With the release of the 1994 vintage. Roman hired his first employee and rebranded his $30 Clarendon Hills Shiraz as 1994 Clarendon Hills Astralis. It was the first bottle in Australia to be priced at $100. It sold out and became his signature flagship label which remains to this day.
Robert Parker has written that "Clarendon Hills is one of the world’s elite wine estates". In 1996, Parker tasted the 1994 Astralis and wrote in his newsletter, Wine Advocate issue 110: "This is the hottest wine in Australian wine circles, as it came out ahead of two great vintages of Henschke and Penfolds’ Grange in a recent tasting. If readers can believe it, it is a bigger denser, more concentrated wine than the Grange," and in issue 108 (1996) he named Roman wine producer of the year. Thereafter, Astralis became a cult wine.
Two vintages of Astralis (1996 and 1994) were recently included within the 'Greatest 1000 Wines of all time 1727-2006" as a result of 15 international MW's collaborating with Scandinavian publisher FINE.
Clarendon Hills was awarded New World Winery of the Year in 2006 by Wine Enthusiast. To date, Astralis is either the highest or equivocally scored as the best Australian Shiraz/Syrah based wine every year according to US publications Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate.
Today, Clarendon Hills produces broad portfolio of nineteen labels; eight Syrah, six Grenache, three Cabernet Sauvignon and one Merlot and Mourvedre wine. Roman exclusively produces single vineyard wines, all single vineyard, single varietal wines, produced from low yielding, dry grown old vines which are hand pruned, hand picked. All wines are aged in high quality French oak barriques.
One of Australia's iconic producers, Clarendon Hills marches confidently to its own drum, crafting deeply flavoured, profoundly structured and often rather savoury and Old Worldly reds from shiraz and grenache from a variety of sites in the higher Clarendon subregion of McLaren Vale. Each are made and bottled separately, so a new vintage tasting of Clarendon Hills wine will take more than half an hour!
It's also home to some steadily improving cabernet sauvignons and some slightly idiosyncratic Mourvedre and Merlot. The winery's two top red wines, the Astralis Syrah and the Romas Grenache, easily justify their 5-Star status. The Domaine Clarendon Syrah is an exciting and relatively new project that should gain more standing and status as the vineyard matures. I love the ambition and attitude behind Clarendon Hills. It's pushing the envelopes of style and quality, and it's spectacular when it succeeds.
Clarendon Hills "Romas" Grenache 2007 South Australia
Grenache thrives in any warm, Mediterranean climate where ample sunlight allows its clusters to achieve full phenolic ripeness. While Grenache's birthplace is Spain (there called Garnacha), today it is more recognized as the key player in the red blends of the Southern Rhône, namely Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Côtes du Rhône and its villages. In those cases, Appellation rules require it to be included along with Syrah and Mourvèdre to be at least 70% of the blend, which can include up to thirteen specified varietals.
We held several labels of Clarendon Hills in our cellar going back two and half decades, and several vintages of this one. I selected the oldest vintage, as part of cellar/inventory management, and as a continuing fun comparison of this particular vintage release this week - Garric Cellars Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, and another, in a post coming soon.
Tuesday, December 3, 2024
Garric Cellars Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Garric Cellars Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
I wrote in a recent blogpost about wines/labels from producers who purchase grapes and have hired winemakers produce their wines. And how this practice has lead to the proliferation in the number of producers and labels. While it may produce some interesting wines, these are not wines to get ‘invested’ in since many may prove to be ‘one hit wonders’, so to speak.Monday, December 2, 2024
Juslyn Napa Valley Perry’s Blend Cabernet
With delicious grilled tenderloin beefsteaks and avocado sandwiches I pulled from the cellar this two decade old aged Napa red blend.
The Juslyn Vineyards Perry’s Blend was sourced from both their Spring Mountain estate vineyards and some of the most highly regarded vineyards in Napa Valley. The Butler’s met Andy Beckstoffer owner of several legendary vineyards in the early years during their visits to Napa, and arranged to source fruit for this wine from some of Beckstoffer’s heritage vineyards including To Kalon, Dr. Crane and Georges III.
The Justyn estate was in recent years listed for sale. It was represented as “40 + acres - 6 acres planted to very high quality vines which, due to their close spacing, produce very high quailty yields that are more like 16 acres; plus an additional 4 acres that can be planted”.
The Juslyn Vineyards Wine business at the time held approximately $7.0M in inventory (2 vintages of casked wine and current vintage wine in bottle) plus about $1m plus hanging on the vines for the then current 2021 vintage.
I both hate it and love it that while trolling down in our wine cellar for a nice red blend to enjoy with grilled tenderloin beefsteaks, I come across this vintage aged wine.
Juslyn Perry's Blend Napa Valley Red Wine 2002
This release was awarded 93 points by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, and 91 points by Wine Enthusiast.The 2002 Perry’s Blend was 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Cabernet Franc, 2% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot.
At 22 years of age, the label and foil, and most importantly the fill level and cork were in pristine condition.
Dark ruby colored with a slight grayish brownish hue settling in showing a slight diminution from aging, past its prime but sill enjoyable and should remain in drinking window for a couple more years; medium to full bodied, the black raspberry and black currant fruits were offset with notes of wood, leather, black tea and hints of cedar with moderate tannins on the lingering tangy acidic finish.
RM 91 points.
Saturday, November 30, 2024
Frisson Napa Valley Atlas Peak Cabernet Sauvignon
Frisson Napa Valley Atlas Peak Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
We were invited to son Alec and Vivianna’s for dinner on their return from their holiday with the in-laws in Naples. With pizza, to watch our Alma Mater Indiana demolish our perennial rival Purdue in what may be called the Route 66 Game (IU 66 - PU-0), Alec opened from his cellar this Napa Valley Atlas Peak Cabernet that he picked up at one of the on-line retailers.With that said, this producer, Terry Davis, writes, “Frisson is a French word meaning a moment of intense excitement, a thrill; a word which aptly describes our story and philosophy.’
“One evening we met a winemaker who shared our philosophy and vision – to make truly fine wines that exemplify the energy of the New World, honed with the sophistication of the Old World approach. Our Frisson began!’
“He met Wayne Donaldson, winemaker, (who) told him of his desire to make a great Cabernet. Terry said if he came across the right grapes he would give him a call.”
The story continues … “Next thing Terry knew, he and some friends had bought three tons of Diamond Mountain grapes. One of his partners said, “Let’s get this straight… you don’t know a damn thing about making wine, just met this guy and you want me to invest? Do you think I’m crazy? I’m in!”’
CellarTracker records show no less than fifty different labels from this producer dating back to the 2010 vintage.
The Frisson website identifies no less than three winemakers; “Morrisey, a former student of New York University’s elite film school, spent ten years in show business as an electrician and cameraman before choosing to reinvent himself and try his hand at winemaking. While attending graduate school at the University of California, Davis, he secured a harvest internship at Château Pétrus in Bordeaux in 1997. He later worked under famed Napa Valley winemaker Tony Soter, founder of Etude Winery, who helped him refine his approach.”
Another, Winemaker Paul Colantuoni crafted the Frisson 2018 Yountville Label. He gained experience at Rocca Vineyards, where he crafts their Yountville wines.
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
Pio Cesare Barolo Nebbiolo with Italian Pasta
Pio Cesare Barolo Nebbiolo with Italian Pasta
Following our dinner outing at Angeli’s Italian Restaurant, we enjoyed our pasta leftovers and opened a middle aged Italian Barolo wine for an Italian varietal / cuisine pairing.
Pio Cesare Barolo 2018
Five generations of the Pio family have followed one another in succession producing Pio Cesare’s wines for 135 years in its ancient cellars in the center of the town of Alba.
Founded in 1881 by Cesare Pio, a successful entrepreneur he was inspired to produce a small and select quantity of wines from the hills of Barolo and Barbaresco for himself, his family, friends, and customers.
In 1940, Giuseppe Pio’s only child, Rosy, married Giuseppe Boffa, a young and well-known engineer from Alba, who managed a large company in Milan at the time. When Italy began to struggle during the Second World War, Giuseppe Boffa left his job in Milan to dedicate himself to the Pio Cesare winery.
Through his efforts, the Pio Cesare brand gained fame and prominence both domestically and internationally, becoming one of the most respected names among Italian wine producers, with a special focus on its renowned Barolo.Rosy and Giuseppe Boffa named their youngest son Pio, in honor of his great-grandfather’s surname. Pio Boffa, the fourth generation, leads and directs the company today. In the early 1990’s Pio Boffa asked his cousin Augusto to join him in the company.
Today, family members travel around the world, to more than 50 countries promoting Pio Cesare wines.
As is customary with Barolo wines, this is 100% Nebbiolo, estate grown sourced from family-owned vineyards in Serralunga d’Alba (Ornato, La Serra and Briccolina), Grinzane Cavour (Gustava and Garretti), La Morra (Roncaglie), Novello (Ravera) and, since the 2015 vintage, their recently acquired vineyard in Monforte (Mosconi).
Distributor notes - A classic style Barolo. Excellent structure, harmony and elegance. Soft tannins and balanced fruit. Approachable, but with a very long ageing potential. Barolo is a great wine, which should not be described as a “basic” or “regular” Barolo, simply because it does not have any additional indication on the label.
We found this a bit disappointing with the subdued fruit overtaken by non-fruit flavors, especially given its ultra-premium price.
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
BYOB Brunello Italian Wine and Dine at Angeli’s Italian Naperville
BYOB Brunello Italian Wine and Dine at Angeli’s Italian Naperville
We dined with neighbors/friends Richard and Adessa at Angeli’s Italian, our favorite neighborhood trattoria. I took from our cellar this middle-aged Brunello Di Montalcino, a Sangiovese that be become one of our favorite varietals, especially with tangy Italian faire.
I ordered their signature comfort dish, Pasta and Peas - Ground Italian sausage simmered with sweet peas in a vodka cream sauce and tossed with rigatoni pasta. The ample portion provided a left over dinner the following night at which time this was even better!
Linda order her favorite standby dish, Angeli’s Eggplant Parmigiana - Layers of lightly floured eggplant stuffed with ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, baked in the oven, and topped with homemade marinara sauce (pictured below).
To accompany our meal, we brought BYOB from our home cellar this middle-aged Brunello di Montalcino.
I’ve written often in these pages about Brunello and what makes it so special. They are sourced from the Italian appellation of Brunello di Montalcino, regarded as one of Italy’s best appellations.
Brunello di Montalcino DOCG has to be made 100% with Sangiovese grapes alone, and made only within the Montalcino municipality area. It can only be sold in the market from January 1 of its fifth year after harvest. Prior to that, the wine cannot legally be called Brunello di Montalcino (not even in the cellar): it is simply "red wine to become Brunello di Montalcino DOCG".
Montalcino is a picturesque, hill-top town that was not especially well known for wine production until the mid-19th century, when a local vineyard owner isolated the brunello clone and planted it. Other growers followed suit. Nevertheless it wasn’t until the 1970s that wine enthusiasts started paying attention to Brunello di Montalcino, which by then was becoming an outstanding wine.
Today there are 120 estates in the DOCG, up from about 25 estates in 1975. Brunellos in general are bigger, darker, more tannic and more powerful wines than Chiantis or most other Sangioveses. By law they must be aged for four years, and two of those years must be in wooden barrels.
Altesino is located In the heart of southern Tuscany, forty kilometers south of the City of Siena amongst the north eastern hills of Montalcino. The 15th century Palazzo Altesi overlooks the estate. Built by the Tuscan family Tricerchi in 2002, Altesino has been owned by the Gnudi Angelini family with technical collaboration of Paolo Caciorgna, the company have involved the Brunello di Montalcino for forty years.
They were a forerunner with the introduction of the “Cru” concept (Brunello di Montalcino Montosoli) concept in 1975, Altesino was the first winery to use barriques in 1979. In 1977, the first Grappa di Fattoria was created and produced by Altesino with the help of the master distiller Gioacchino Nannoni.
The Altesino estate covers 250 acres, half of which are planted vineyards consisting of six plots, each of which are distinguished and represented with single vineyard designated wines in their own right.The six vineyards consisting of one parcel in the north – Altesino, one in the north east Macina, two in the north west - Cerbaia and Montosoli (first Cru in the history of Brunello di Montalcino and always famous for the production of wines of extreme elegance), one in the area of Sant’Angelo in colle – Pianezzine, and finally, one in Castelnuovo dell’Abate – Velona.
This release was awarded 95 points by James Suckling, 94 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 92 points by Wine Spectator and 90 points by Wine Enthusiast.
https://www.cellartracker.com/w?4119676
http://www.altesino.it/en/altesino/
Angeli’s Eggplant Parmagana |
Richard ordered another Angeli’s Signature dish, Shrimp Diavolo - Shrimp sautéed in a spicy red sauce with spinach and fresh tomatoes.
This wine finds its way to the Angeli's winelist as a result of owner Tony Angeli having visited the Feudo Arancio Stemmari winery estate during his visit to the region a couple years ago.
The vast Stemmari brand has a broad portfolio of wines include single varietals like nero d’avola, chardonnay, pinot grigio, moscato, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon and even a sparkling grillo. They offer a few blends including this Dalila wine.
This unique blend is comprised of the Sicilian varietal Grillo and the international Viognier, native to the French Rhone River valley. The local indigenous wine grape "Grillo" – which means "cricket" in Italian. This Sicilian white wine is composed of 80 percent Grillo and 20 percent Viognier.
The interesting branding of music as a metaphor for the harmonizing of the two elegant varietals in the Dalila blend with musical notes on the label and on the bottle foil.
Tonight they were serving the 2020 vintage release label. This is the forth vintage they've served this wine. This continues to be a sensational and a very pleasant surprise discovery. Its available at a price point that provides great QPR - Quality Price Ratio. We enjoyed this discovery such that we went out and special ordered some from a local merchant to have in our cellar for enjoyable casual sipping.
This release was awarded 90 points by Wine Enthusiast.
Consistent with earlier releases and tastings. Golden straw colored, medium-full bodied, nicely balanced acidity and smooth mouthfeel with intense, bright vibrant, nicely integrated floral and tropical fruits with notes of pear and hints of peach, mango and citrus with hints of vanilla, floral and stone fruits with bight acidity on a character and profile of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
RM 91 points.
https://www.stemmari.it/en-us/products/selections/dalila
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3521489
https://www.feudoarancio.it
Sunday, November 24, 2024
Arnaut Avenida Boushey Vineyard Columbia Valley Syrah
Arnaut Avenida Boushey Vineyard Columbia Valley Syrah
Sunday evening dinner, we dined in and eagerly opened this just acquired highly regarded Columbia Valley Syrah. I admit I’d never heard of this producer or this highly acclaimed vineyard source, hence I was curious to try this highly rated label that I picked up at Binny’s, our ‘big box’ beverage superstore.Arnaut Avenida Boushey Vineyard Columbia Valley Syrah 2017
Avennia is the partnership project of entrepreneur Marty Taucher and winemaker Chris Peterson, founded in 2009 based on core principles; “a passionate commitment to signature vineyards and natural processes in the cellar - resulting in timeless, world class wines that are solely and undeniably Washington”.
In their first year of production, 2010, they acquired 16 tons of fruit that they transformed to wine that was ultimately released in 2012, Receiving much acclaim in that inaugural release, and affirming and building upon relationships in place with several of the state’s most legendary growers, the stage was set to secure the best fruit in the region for follow-on vintages. More than a decade later, the same core principles continue to guide the direction of the winery and the business.
In 2009, Taucher signed on as a crush intern at DeLille Cellars where he met Chris Peterson and together they laid the plans for what is now Avennia.
Always inspired by new ideas and fresh thinking, Marty is an angel investor. He serves on numerous non-profit boards. When he’s not in the cellar, he’s an avid golfer, a world traveler, and a perfectly reliable
Chris Peterson, Winemaker/Partner was engaged in the Washington wine industry for more than a decade, working to make some of the state’s most heralded and award-winning wines at DeLille Cellars.
Avennia "Arnaut - Boushey Vineyard" Yakima Valley Syrah 2017
The 2017 Syrah Arnaut Boushey Vineyard is 100% Syrah from Dick Boushey's highly regarded vineyard on the western side of the Yakima Valley AVA, considered one of the state's premier Syrah vineyards.
This is a cooler site, that tends to instill Northern Rhone-like character in the fruit. Dick Boushey was the first grower with whom Avennia partnered.
From the Boushey site they source three different varieties which go into the three flagship wines. Boushey is best known for Yakima Valley Syrah and Avennia is the only winery that uses both of the oldest blocks of his coveted fruit. The combination of these two Syrah blocks makes up this Arnaut, a wine we have made since our first vintage, 2010.
The older, called Grand Côte (meaning "great hillside”), produces wine that is piercingly pure and focused, with meaty and mineral aromas backing up its deep blackberry and damson plum fruit flavors. Wines from the second block, Factory Road, show richer body and feature savory cured meat notes, along with orange peel, and a distinct iron note.
This release was awarded 95 points by Decanter, 93 pints by Jeb Dunnuck and Vinous, and 92 points by Robert Parker and Wine Enthusiast, an Editor’s Choice.
Aged 18 months in 15% new French oak. Bottled unfined and unfiltered. Case production was 354 caees
Winemaker's Tasting Notes - "This vintage brings an exceptional level of finesse to Arnaut, but no shortage of the wild, savory aspects we expect from this wine. The nose features, blueberry, salted blackberry, charcoal-grilled pork chop, asphalt, bittersweet chocolate, bee pollen, and a hint of grapefruit pith. Rich and beautifully textured on the palate, with pure Boushey notes of blueberry reduction, bacon fat, cacao nibs, charcoal embers, and grilled thyme. The elegance here hints at this wine drinking well on release, and it should age nicely for 8-12 years." - Chris Peterson, Winemaker
Dark garnet colored, medium to full-bodied, black berry and black raspberry fruits are layered with intense almost obtuse notes of black pepper with accents of creosote, dark spices, black olive, black tea, garrigue, and cigar leaf.
RM 91