Showing posts with label La Spinetta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label La Spinetta. Show all posts

Monday, August 7, 2023

La Spinetta (Rivetti) Cà di Pian Barbera d'Asti Superiore with Spaghetti

La Spinetta (Rivetti) Cà di Pian Barbera d'Asti Superiore with Spaghetti

Following the sensational tasting of the Pin La Spinetta (Rivetti) last week, as featured in this blogpost, Rivetti Pin La Spinetta Castagnole Monferrato with Spaghetti, I went to Binny's, our beverage superstore to see if by chance there was any more available to replace the bottle we drank. Sadly, they don't have any or even see it in distribution. I acquired the bottles in our cellar back in 2010 so its not surprising it may no longer be available. The only La Spinetta (Rivetti) label they had in inventory was this one, so I picked up a bottle to try. 

I wrote about the broad Rivetti La Spinetta history and portfolio in that blogpost.

La Spinetta was founded by Giuseppe Rivetti, nicknamed ‘Pin’, and his wife, Lidia in the 1960's. Their children Carlo, Bruno, Giorgio, and Giovanna took over the winery reins in the 1970's, implementing the teachings of their parents, acting on their great respect for the territory, the indigenous vines and the Piedmontese land.

In 1977 the children, with the support of their parents, began the first production of their Moscatos, Bricco Quaglia and Biancospino. These would be some of the first single-cru Moscato to be produced in Italy.

With the success of the Moscato business, they expanded to also focus on red grapes starting with this Barbera Ca di Pian, their first red label in 1985

It is 100% Barbera sourced from 74 acres of vineyards in the towns of Castagnole delle Lanze (Piani), Costigliole d’Asti and Montegrosso d’Asti. The age of the vines ranges from six to twenty to forty years.

Today, the portfolio has expanded to over a dozen red labels from Piedmont and also Tuscany that range from a number of wonderful varietals that should be reserved for special occasions, and several, like this one, that provide affordable every day drinking with good QPR - quality/price ratio - typically priced in the $20 to $30 range.  

La Spinetta (Rivetti) Barbera d'Asti Superiore Cà di Pian DOCG 2020

Like our La Spinetta Rivetti earlier tasting, Linda again prepared spaghetti with tangy hearty bolognese sauce to pair with this wine. 

From Asti, Piedmont, Italy - this intensely flavored wine shows us why Giorgio Rivetti is considered a modern master of the Piedmont.

Even at this pricepoint, this label is classified DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita), the highest quality classification designation for Italian wines. The rules for DOCG are stricter than DOC, yields must be lower and the wines must be aged in barrels longer. Also, DOCG requires the wines be submitted for technical analysis and tasted for approval by a government committee before they can be sold as DOCG wines. 

Interesting too, DOCG wines even have a numbered, government seal across the neck of the bottle to help prevent counterfeiting (shown below right).

Also, even at this more modest pricepoint, this is packaged in a heavier more substantial bottle as well. 

Winemaker notes - Cà di Pian is a Barbera with an unmistakable character representing the distinctive terror of the Piedmont. There are intense aromas of blackberry and morello cherries. This wine is truly captivating, yet it remains fresh and extremely versatile.

Maceration and alcoholic fermentation in temperature-controlled vats for an average period of 14-15 days. Malolactic fermentation was done in used (2nd and 3rd passage) French oak barrels, followed by 12 months of aging. Finally, bottle-aged for approximately 3 months.

Today, average annual production is nearly 70.000 bottles.

A nice pizza or pasta wine for simple every day sipping. Bright ruby colored, medium bodied, primarily earthy, dark and tannic as with many barbera wines, but the fruit does come through, expressive rich dark berry fruits with accents of creosote, cassis, cherry liqueur and toasty oak with a moderate long rich finish. 

RM 88 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4192221

http://www.la-spinetta.com/

@LaSpinettaItaly

Tuesday, August 1, 2023

Rivetti Pin La Spinetta Castagnole Monferrato with Spaghetti

Dining in, Rivetti Pin La Spinetta Castagnole Monferrato with Spaghetti

Linda prepared spaghetti with a delicious bolognese sauce with ground Waygu beef, home grown fresh tomatos, peppers and onions. I pulled from the cellar this big Italian red for an ideal accompaniment pairing. 

As I've written often in these pages, the optimal wine and food pairing will enhance the experience significantly greatly ameliorating the enjoyment of both. Tonight was such the case!

I wrote about this wine in detail in our tasting blogpost back in 2016, excerpts below:

Rivetti Pin La Spinetta Castagnole Monferrato 2005

We don't have much Italian wine in our cellar, it historically has comprised less than 1% of our collection. However, our many dining experiences at Italian Village in Chicago over the last few years has introduced me to Italian wines and I've expanded our collection. 
 
For our dinner tonight, I pulled this classic decade year old Italian red blend of which I hold a half dozen bottles. La Spinetta produce a line of premium Piedmont and Tuscan wines from traditional varietals in a new world style and flair.

This 'Pin' label is named after the nickname of Giuseppe Rivetti, the patriarch of the family and father of the current producer Giorgio, of the estate La Spinetta, which means 'top of the hill', in Castagnole Lanze in the northern Italian region of Tuscany. The family first purchased 70 hectares of Moscato and Barbera d'Asti vineyards in 1977 and have continued to expand operations through expansion and development since. 

Today, Giuseppe's children — Carlo, Bruno, Giorgio and Giovanna have since taken over the family business, with Giorgio leading, assisted by elder sister Giovanna who is in charge of vineyard production.

Rivetti produced their first red Barbera Cà di Pian in 1985. The first release of Pin occurred in 1989, a blend of 50 percent Nebbiolo, 25 percent Barbera and 25 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. which was revolutionary at that time.  

In 1985 they produced their first Barbaresco followed by Gallina in 1995 and their first Barolo Campè in 2000. In 2001, La Spinetta acquired 65 additional hectares of vineyards in Tuscany where today they produce three different 100% Sangiovese wines. 

The Rivetti brand has grown internationally and today is well known, identified by their distinctive labels featuring a burly rhinoceros, which the Rivetti siblings say signifies quality

Origins of the unique wildlife logo illustration come from an ancient woodcut by historic German artist, Albrecht Dürer, who prepared his drawings and woodcut from descriptions and sketches of a rhinoceros gifted to the king of Portugal from India. It was the first animal of its kind in Europe. The Rivettis lament that they fell in love with this ancient wood cut print and the legend behind it. Giorgio Rivetti expressed his great admiration of the celebrated drawing and woodcut. but has downplayed the connection between this animal and the brand. 

Also depicted on the bottles of La Spinetta’s first Barolo Campè vintage, is a pencil drawing of a lion by Dürer, since Barolo is commonly known as the king of Italian reds. The legend continues. 

Pin Castagnole, Neive, Barbaresco Monferrato Rosso DOC 2005

This is a blend of 65% Nebbiolo, and 35% Barbera d’Asti Superiore Bionzo. Barbera and Nebbiolo are the two marquee red wine grapes of northwest Italy. They are often blended together in Piedmont to create modern style wines for the international palate. Nebbiolo, the powerful majestic grape of Barolo and Barbaresco, is blended with Barbera to be more approachable and smoother and balanced, and drinkable at an earlier age. Barbera adds cherry flavors to Nebbiolo’s distinctive strawberry, and the high acidity of both ensure the wine is fresh and rarely flabby.

When we tasted this back in 2016, I wrote, "As good as this was with the pasta and peas with vodka cream sauce, it was even better the following evening with char-grilled Pittsburgh style strip steak, asparagus and baked potato." 
 
At eighteen years, the fill level, label, cork and foil were in ideal condition. At this age, this may be at its peak, the apex of its drinking window, but it certainly has another decade of life yet, but I can't imagine it will improve further from aging. 

Fortunately we bought a half dozen bottles when we acquired this back in 2010. That initial review, I rated it much lower and said "
Dark purple color - Dense full bodied - ripe black fruits, with a slight edge and layer of cassis and subtle tar with a firm tannin finish. Might soften and settle with time." It certainly did benefit from another six years of aging in the bottle.  
 
Tonight's tasting was totally consistent with that last review in 2016. I'll look forward to trying the last bottle, perhaps five years from now, or beyond. I wish I had more!

This was dark blackish garnet colored, medium to full bodied, and was remarkably smooth, well balanced and polished. Bouquet and flavors are full forward complex black raspberry, black berry fruits punctuated by tones of oak, cedar, hints of earthy cassis and tar turning to silky smooth polished tannins with an elegant persistent finish.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=395355

http://www.la-spinetta.com/

@LaSpinettaItaly


From Cellartracker:

11/12/2016 - I like this wine: 92 Points

This was dark blackish garnet colored, medium to full bodied, and was remarkably smooth, well balanced and polished. Bouquet and flavors are full forward complex black raspberry, black berry fruits punctuated by tones of oak, cedar, hints of earthy cassis and tar turning to silky smooth polished tannins with an elegant persistent finish.

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2016/11/rivetti-pin-la-spinetta-castagnole.html

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=395355


Saturday, April 15, 2017

Rivetti La Spinetta Nebbiolo

Train Day Adventure culminates in lunch at Italian Village featuring wine selection Rivetti La Spinetta Nebbiolo

We took the grand-kids into the City of Chicago for a 'train day' adventure riding all forms of trains around the city to some landmark locations. Our train adventure included Metra into the city, boarding the Elevated CTA at historic Quincy Station, riding the Pink Line to switchback via the overhead bridge on the Green Line, riding around the loop, connecting to the Red Line at Roosevelt/McCormack Place, riding through Chinatown, and switching back in the middle of the Dan Ryan at landmark Sox Park, ending on the Red Line Subway at Monroe Street station, a short walk to legendary Italian Village restaurant, where we dined for lunch.

I've featured Italian Village often in these pages including their historic wine cellar. We visited the wine cellar and met with Wine Director Jared Gelband where he was busy updating the volumnous wine-list with recent acquisitions (shown pictured) - almost a full time job in of itself.

We discussed his planning for an upcoming wine dinner, and planning for a business dinner I am hosting there at the end of this month.

Like a kid in a candy store, I scoured the cellar for a wine selection to accompany today's lunch, for my upcoming business dinner, as well as to spot some legendary wines and favorite selections for future visits.

With such an extraordinary extensive selection, its not hard to find spectacular wines and special finds for any occasion. My short list of such wines for my ultimate wine tasting for the ultimate special occasions might be:
  • Grange Hermitage 1990 - special birthyear wine
  • Romani Conti St Vivant 1991 - another special birthyear wine
  • Konigsgaard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon - one of my all time favorite, memorable wines
  • Azienda Agricola Montevertine Le Pergole Torte Toscana IGT 1997 - a classic
  • La Tenuta Ornellaia Masseto 2003 - another classic - featured in an earlier IV wine dinner
These wines are pictured below at the bottom of this post.

But back to reality and the task at hand, to select wine for today's lunch to accompany our entrees of my Veal Parmigiana, and Linda and Erin's Eggplant Parmigiana. I chose a La Spinetta Nebbiolo.

We dined in one of their private alcove tables offering a unique intimate dining experience. 

Rivetti La Spinetta Langhe Nebbiolo 2011.

The winemaker's notes for this wine ... "typical light red of Nebbiolo musky aromas of strawberry, tobacco and wild herbs sweet and spicy in the mouth, with good grip and firm acidity to the flavors of strawberry and mint, aromatic and elegant" ...

I found this dark garnet colored, medium bodied, black currant and black berry fruits accented by tones of tobacco, herbs and spice with hints of eucalyptus on a firm acidic gripping tannin finish.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1865224

http://www.la-spinetta.com/winespiedmont.html

Italian Village - https://italianvillage-chicago.com/








Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Rivetti Pin La Spinetta Castagnole Monferrato 2005

Rivetti Pin La Spinetta Castagnole Monferrato 2005

We don't have much Italian wine in our cellar, less than 1%. But when I was seeking a nice bottle to accompany our Angeli's Italian dinner carry out, I pulled this classic decade year old Italian red blend of which I hold a half dozen bottles. La Spinetta produce a line of premium Piedmont and Tuscan wines from traditional varietals in a new world style and flair.

This 'Pin' label is named after the nickname of Giuseppe Rivetti, the patriarch of the family and father of the current producer Giorgio, of the estate La Spinetta, which means 'top of the hill', in Castagnole Lanze in the northern Italian region of Tuscany. The family first purchased 70 hectares of Moscato and Barbera d'Asti vineyards in 1977 and have continued to expand operations through expansion and development since. 

Today, Giuseppe's children — Carlo, Bruno, Giorgio and Giovanna have since taken over the family business, with Giorgio leading, assisted by elder sister Giovanna who is in charge of vineyard production.

Rivetti produced their first red Barbera Cà di Pian in 1985. The first release of Pin occurred in 1989, a blend of 50 percent Nebbiolo, 25 percent Barbera and 25 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. which was revolutionary at that time.  

In 1985 they produced their first Barbaresco followed by Gallina in 1995 and their first Barolo Campè in 2000. In 2001, La Spinetta acquired 65 additional hectares of vineyards in Tuscany where today they produce three different 100% Sangiovese wines. 

The Rivetti brand has grown internationally and today is well known, identified by their distinctive labels featuring a burly rhinoceros, which the Rivetti siblings say signifies quality

Origins of the unique wildlife logo illustration come from an ancient woodcut by historic German artist, Albrecht Dürer, who prepared his drawings and woodcut from descriptions and sketches of a rhinoceros gifted to the king of Portugal from India. It was the first animal of its kind in Europe. The Rivettis lament that they fell in love with this ancient wood cut print and the legend behind it. Giorgio Rivetti expressed his great admiration of the celebrated drawing and woodcut. but has downplayed the connection between this animal and the brand. 

Also depicted on the bottles of La Spinetta’s first Barolo Campè vintage, is a pencil drawing of a lion by Dürer, since Barolo is commonly known as the king of Italian reds. The legend continues. 

Pin Castagnole, Neive, Barbaresco Monferrato Rosso DOC 2005

This is a blend of 65% Nebbiolo, and 35% Barbera d’Asti Superiore Bionzo. Barbera and Nebbiolo are the two marquee red wine grapes of northwest Italy. They are often blended together in Piedmont to create modern style wines for the international palate. Nebbiolo, the powerful majestic grape of Barolo and Barbaresco, is blended with Barbera to be more approachable and smoother and balanced, and drinkable at an earlier age. Barbera adds cherry flavors to Nebbiolo’s distinctive strawberry, and the high acidity of both ensure the wine is fresh and rarely flabby.

As good as this was with the pasta and peas with vodka cream sauce, it was even better the following evening with char-grilled Pittsburgh style strip steak, asparagus and baked potato. 

This was dark blackish garnet colored, medium to full bodied, and was remarkably smooth, well balanced and polished. Bouquet and flavors are full forward complex black raspberry, black berry fruits punctuated by tones of oak, cedar, hints of earthy cassis and tar turning to silky smooth polished tannins with an elegant persistent finish.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=395355

http://www.la-spinetta.com/


Sunday, October 28, 2012

Gala Dinner - Awesome Reds Wine Tasting

Gala Dinner - Awesome Reds Wine Tasting

Almost like the alignment of the sun, moon and stars for a celestial event, our autumn gala dinner tasting get-together at Dr Dan's featured an awesome line-up of memorable reds and a spectacular aged vintage white. What might have been billed as a battle of dueling reds turned surprisingly harmonious with intriguing complements and smooth transitions across a tasting of disparate styles of master class selections. One had to pay attention for fear of missing a spectacular wine in the mix! Ironically, this also provided an unplanned almost mini-horizontal of dozen year old disparate Napa Valley Reds from 1998 and 1999. Even the vintage selections proved to be well matched as the mid-flight included 2003, a pair of nicely 2004's and recent releases.

Joining L & I at Dan's with Linda were Bill and Beth, Bobbie, Ernie and Gina. Dan and Linda prepared a marvelous dinner of grilled beef tenderloin, marinated pork tenderloin, butternut squash with creme fraisch, artisan cheeses, and chocolate cakes and truffles to finish.

Awesome Reds Flight minus the Sea Smoke (not shown)


The line-up included, listed in order of tasting after thoughtful assessment and lively discussion, explained further in the discourse below:

  • Sea Smoke 'Ten' Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir 2009
  • Beaulieu Vineyards Georges de Latour Private Reserve Napa Valley Red 1998
  • Joseph Phelps Backus Oakville Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
  • Peter Michael 'Les Pavots' 1999
  • Freddie Constant Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 1999
  • Barbour Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
  • La Spinetta (Rivetti) Barbaresco Riserva Vürsù Vigneto Starderi 2008
  • d'Arenberg 'The Dead Arm' Shiraz 2002
  • Mollydooker 'Carnival of Love' McLaren Vale Shiraz 2010
  • Coutet-Barzac 1959
  • Joseph Phelps Eisrebe 2004

Sea Smoke 'Ten' Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir 2009

The name 'Ten' is from the clones on which this Pinot Noir varietal is based.

 Ruby colored, medium bodied - silky, polished - a symphony of nicely balanced delicate fruit flavors, nice tart acidic, expressive elegant aromatics, nice floral scents turn to strawberries, plum and black cherry, hints of cola, nut and dusty rose with a touch of soft oak on the smooth finish.

Winemakers' notes - "A brooding and intense wine. The aromas begin with notes of chocolate cake, dried blueberry and lavender, then cassis and dusty black berries. Firm, mature tannins—evidence of Ten’s ageability—are followed by a long, velvety finish.

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1025981

https://www.seasmoke.com/index.asp


Beaulieu Vineyards Georges de Latour Private Reserve Napa Valley Red 1998

It would have been easy for this to be overshadowed by the full forward concentrated fruit bombs except that we staged this as the transition between the Pinot and the 'big' Cal cabs to follow, before closing with the Aussie Shiraz'.

Garnet colored, medium bodied,  this was a symphony of smooth polished nicely integrated black berry and black cherry fruit flavors accented by a layer of tobacco, hints of leather, a bit of earthiness with a finish of moderate oak. After about two hours delicate floral notes emerged as a highlight like a lower left bank Bordeaux. This wine has held up well and was very Bordeaux like in showing well despite its pedigree of a modest vintage - more like the challenging years more often found in Bordeaux than the more consistent seasons of Northern California all seemingly make more Bordeaux like than Napa-esque.

RM 89 points.



Joseph Phelps Backus Oakville Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

A wonderful transition and progression adding weight and structure at each step in the flight. Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, this was silky smooth, nicely balanced, polished and elegant with black berry and black raspberry fruits with hints of currant, chocolate truffle and touch of vanilla bean with a layer of soft oak and silky smooth tannins. Dan likened it to a refined St Julien Bordeaux.

RM 94 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=165835







Peter Michael 'Les Pavots' 1999

This was my favorite of the tasting flight. I still remember my first encounter with this wine back around 1990 when we had it at dinner dinner at Cab's Restaurant and Wine Bar in Glen Ellyn, IL, one of our then favorite dining places.

Dark inky garnet colored, full bodied, a backbone core of concentrated but smooth polished and balanced black currant, blackberry, more subtle black cherry  and hints of blueberry fruits with nicely integrated layers of mocha, soft oak and hints vanilla, cassis and tea on a lingering silky tannin finish. This was a delicious balance of a full throttle Cal-Cab and a Pauillac Bordeaux.

RM 94 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=8110

http://www.petermichaelwinery.com/

There is remarkable irony here as the principle Sir Peter Michael happens to be in the technology business, like me. He is also owner of two lodging properties located in Newbury, Berkshire, England. That was the home to Micro Focus, the software company that brought the Cobol programming language to the PC, and eventually to over six hundred platforms. I was with Micro Focus during those formative years from 1983 to 1996 during which time it grew from $3.5 to $140m becoming the 20th largest software company in the world, and largest in the UK at that time.  During those years, as a Group VP, I visited Newbury almost two hundred times. I've not yet had the opportunity to meet Sr Michael but look forward to doing so one day, either in Newbury, or at the Winery Estate in California. .




Freddie Constant Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 1999

L, Bill and me with Freddie at
Constant Diamond Mtn Vineyards

We refer to it as Freddie Constant Wine based on our adventure having met the producer Freddie Constant during our visit to the magnificent winery high atop Diamond Mountain during our Napa Valley Diamond Mountain Wine Experience in 2011.

What an amazing pairing with the Les Pavots above! On initial opening and decanting, it was almost as if this were the core central component of the blend, this exhibited the same profile of  full bodied backbone core of concentrated but smooth polished and balanced black currant, blackberry, more subtle black cherry fruits with hints of blueberry fruits but lacking the moderating tones of the blend. After about two hours, this opened up even more to reveal more concentrated and forward black fruits with a hints of black pepper and olive - separating itself from the moderating effects of the more elegant and polished blend.

Bill's tasting notes from CellarTracker - "Inky purple in the glass. Full of dark fruit, pencil lead and coffee. Opened after 2 hour to reveal notes of pepper and spice. Very unexpected and absolutely outstanding."

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=43558

http://www.constantwine.com/



Barbour Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

If we did this flight again, I think this would better fit between the Bacchus and the Peter Michel. It was narrower (than the Les Pavots) and more modest than the Constant and others to follow and hence overshadowed such that it probably didn't show nearly as well as it likely would if held up stand-alone or against more similarly situated peers. Not bad company to be compared against indeed, it suffers from damning with faint praise in this comparison flight of blockbuster wines! 

All in all this is a dark inky purple full bodied smooth polished cab with forward black berry fruits, accents of dark chocolate and sweet oak with nicely integrated fine silky tannins on a lingering finish. 

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1155213



La Spinetta (Rivetti) Barbaresco Riserva Vürsù Vigneto Starderi 2008

Forgive the repetition but I'll reiterate my comments above about the Barbour, if we did this flight again, I think this would better fit between the Bacchus and the Peter Michel. It was narrower (than the Les Pavots) and more modest than the Constant and others to follow and hence overshadowed such that it probably didnt show nearly as well as it likely would if held up stand-alone or against more similarly situated peers. Not bad company to be compared against indeed, it suffers from damning with faint praise in this comparison flight of blockbuster wines!  Perhaps too, these both were consumed too young and would reveal themselves more fully after a couple years in the cellar.

How can you not take seriously a wine with a Rhinocerus on the label!?!  Its either farcical or to be taken very deliberately - this is another blockbuster wine that is caught in between the more polished elegance of the blends and the bigger full-throttle varietal Cabernets.

First we should parse the wine label to explain this wine. From the producer La Spinetta, the grower and winemaker is George Rivetti; fruit for this wine are sourced from the single vineyard Vigneto Starderi in the Barbaresco appellation in the Langhe district in the Piedmont region. The varietal is the Nebbiolo grape.

The Nebbiolo black-skinned Italian variety is the basis for some of the best and longest lived red wines of Italy, however, despite the preeminence Nebbiolo has in its native Piedmont region in northern Italy its is relatively unknown beyond. Because of its success in DOCGs of Barolo and Barbaresco, it has begun to be planted in the new world in the Central Coast near Paso Robles and Santa Ynez Valley, and in drier regions of the Pacific North West, such as Washington’s Columbia Valley and Oregon’s Rogue Valley, in South America, and Australia.

The name derives from nebbia, the Italian word for ‘fog’, which regularly enshrouds the foothill vineyards of the region. Benchmarks for Nebbiolo wines are Barolo and Barbaresco, Piedmontese wines known for  powerful tannic structures, finesse, intense, earthy, dark noses, and hints of floral. Aroma of classic Barolo are characterized to reflect tar, tobacco or smoke, combined with violets and rose petals. Neighboring Barbaresco Nebbiolos tend to be slightly more feminine. While Barbaresco can be more approachable when young than Barolo, it should not be consider light in weight or structure, both Barolo and Barbaresco Nebbiolos can possess muscular tannins and high acidity requiring extensive cellaring to fully show off the grape’s more subtle fruit character.  


This selection exhibited dark purple color, medium full body, black berry fruits with hints of smoke, tar and touch of leather on a lingering moderate tannin finish.

RM 89 points.  

As of this date, the CellarTracker community has not yet discovered or encountered his wine, hence the most recent listing is the 2007 vintage. 
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=791203

http://www.la-spinetta.com/

Still a work in progress - more to follow ! Stay tuned for the Mollydooker Shake!

d'Arenberg "The Dead Arm" Shiraz 2002

Dead Arm refers to the (one armed) vines that when afflicted in the early days of the last century were spared from being turned under and emerged to produce highly concentrated fruit from the single remaining arm that survived after the loss of the other side of the vine. Always a big fruit forward complex wine, the 2003 is true to form with its big forwardness but what was an off-tone of minerality. It has uber ripe almost raisin-fig with a layer of cedar predominating over complex black berry fruits with tones of pepper, spice, and cassis and hint of vanilla with a big long bold finish that has a slight tone of tangy cherry. Linda likes this ripe boldness but its a bit too much to my liking it needs to be tasted with hearty meats, even bar-b-que, or artisan cheeses, such as tonight when it complemented the beef tenderloin, marinated pork tenderloin and then the course of dark chocolate deserts.

RM 89 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=27221




Mollydooker "Carnival of Love" McLaren Vale Shiraz 2010

From Sarah and Sparky Marquis, these left-handed winemakers so named their label 'Mollydooker' which is Aussie for what we call a 'south-paw'.  Their wit and sense of humour is further indicated by their cartoon-esque labels and whimsical names of their wines such as this 'Carnival of Love' their high end Shiraz. Just reading their winelist and looking over their labels is like a journey through the Sunday comics, but rest assured there is nothing funny about this big bold intense Shiraz that  is not for the feint of heart. .

Being a recent release, Bill had to conduct the 'Mollydooker shake' to this bottle. You had to be there!


Building up to this crescendo indicated by its 15.5% alcohol content, this boasts dark opaque inky purple color - full bodied, huge bursts of dense syrupy ripe black berry and dark plum fruits, layers of cassis, spice, sweet dark chocolate, cedar, black pepper and spicy oak with huge but mercifully balanced tannins, that go on and on and on.

RM 94 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1181887

http://www.mollydookerwines.com/web/index.cfm


Château Coutet a Barzac 1'er Grand Cru Sauterne 1959


What a rare treat to indulge in a 50+ year old vintage wine. This Sauterne brought by Ernie (along with the Les Pavots) would have been straw or butter colored upon release, then turn darker to weak tea color and eventually to a maple syrup color. Amazingly, as 53 years of age, it is rusty brownish orange colored with life still although not likely to improve from further aging. It showed a slight citrus edge on the nut flavors with a subtle layer of smokiness, I wonder if it held more sweet fruit at one stage that bled off with age.  

From the producer's website: "Tasting Notes - The year was marked by an early spring and flowering took place at the beginning of June. The summer was very hot and sunny. On September 24th and 25th, strong rains accelerated the development of Noble Rot in the vineyard that required a team of 150 harvesters. These conditions contributed to the making of a great Sauternes. The harvest took places from September 20th to November 2nd.  The wine is of a dark yellow amber color. Its well-developed nose is rich and complex, an experience that is shared by the palate."

RM 87 points.

The CellarTracker community had not encountered and hence not entered this vintage selection however they list the two adjoining vintages from 1958 and 1960 as noted below respectively: 
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=31099
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=222509


What fun to enter the 1959 vintage selection along with my tasting notes and bottle and label photos!  
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?AllV=True&iWine=1484667

http://www.chateaucoutet.com/




Joseph Phelps Eisrebe Napa Valley Scheurebe Ice Wine 2004

This is consistently one of California's very best dessert wines from a region not known for such. It's vinified from the relatively obscure Scheurebe grape grown in a the small Spring Valley vineyard near the St. Helena estate. Unlike German or Canadian ice wines (see recent post in Inniskillin Ice Wine), where the grapes are left on the vines until they freeze, Phelps uses commercial refrigeration to freeze the grapes before pressing. This results in low yields as the water in the grape freezes leaving the remaining resulting must high in sugar such that the wine ends up with about 8% alcohol and 25% residual sugar. Full bodied, thick and chewy with intense apricot aromas and flavors. A deliciously sweet, unctuous wine, which still has enough acidity to avoid cloying on the palate.


RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=94617

 http://www.josephphelps.com/