Theme: New & Different Host: Alan C H A N Co-host: Scott W - matching $5 per note Date: December 2nd - 9th Format: This week is about new experiences with varietals or regions you’ve neglected. Time to break out of your comfort zone and expand your horizons. For your efforts Alan will donate $5 per tasting note and a bonus donation if a picture is included.
Raffle: Post a tasting note and you’re eligible for Anthony Lombardi’s random drawing for a free case of craft beer shipped to your door! You have to play to win.
If you’re interested in matching donations to either these charities or one of your choice for this week’s notes then just post here and I’ll add you as a co-host, the more the merrier.
Helpful Shortcuts: looking for something unusual in your cellar? Here are two links to your Cellartracker for:
Thanks for organizing, Brig. And thanks to FMIII for the inspiration to do this. My idea was just to encourage people to broaden their horizons while doing some good. Pick something you don’t drink often but want to know more about. I will contribute $5 per TN plus another $5 if you post a pic of the bottle and maybe yourself but I understand if you are camera shy or have privacy concerns. I will divide the donations among the listed charities but if there’s a particular one you’d like to dedicate your TN to, I’m happy to accomodate.
If time allows tonight I will make my own contribution with a note on an aglianico from Taurasi. Start popping corks folks!
My first ever Collioure, I actually had to look it up before buying. It’s the far south-eastern corner of France (Edit: that’s misleading. Southeast of the western part, just north of Spain), Collioure is the AOC of reds from the Banyuls area. This one is a pretty standard southern French blend, 60% Grenache the rest Syrah, Mourvedre and Carignan.
Pop n pour. Really quite fresh and persistent nose, if somewhat simple. A little sweet Grenache fruit but not dominant. A savory, almost sauvage note, yet clean. Slight floral notes and hint of garrigue. In the mouth the impression is confirmed. A light and somewhat supple wine, yet taut at the same time. Dry, good acidity, tannins are smooth and not prominent. After a little while a bitterness that I really quite like but wasn’t expecting becomes more pronounced. Made it a less than swell pairing with chili, but actually a more interesting wine. Not really underripe tannins, made me think of stems at first, but the website claims it was destemmed. Guessing it’s a combination of the poor schistous soils and restrained ripeness. The interplay of sweetness and bitterness makes it more compelling than imagined for a rather simple wine. With air it rounds out a little, the sweetness more dominant in the nose, the slightly saline bitterness more prominent in the mouth. A little short but overall not bad. Not great QPR in this market. Edit2: the back label mentions a couple interesting accompaniments apart from the usual suspects: Mediterranean fish dishes like bouillabaisse or tuna. Not convinced of the first one, but it would have been great with a nice seared fillet of tuna.
(Opened yesterday without thinking of this thread and finished today. Slipping it in here anyhow.)
Since I’m relatively new to wine, exploring a different region/varietal is currently the status quo. Even a “simple” Chianti is new and different to me. However, a recent development is buying and opening more mature wine. I get most enthusiastic lately when a box of older wines turn up on the doorstep. Tonight we tried this one: 2004 Schloss Gobelsburg Gruner Veltliner Kammerner Lamm
The nose is effusive with wet chalk, lemon zest, peach and some tropical fruits. As the wine opens up, there is also a saline/seaweed component to the nose. All of this is also found on the palate along with a savory, brothy component that especially kicks in at the back end. This has intensity, complexity and precision. Best white wine I’ve had this year and a wonderful pairing with smoked salmon buckwheat crepes.
2007 I Capitani Taurasi Bosco Faiano- Italy, Campania, Taurasi DOCG (12/1/2014)
Grapey and primary, this shows a lot of black cherry fruit with a slight figgy quality, lively acidity and a touch of heat. Decidedly more modern in feel than the Radici Taurasi wines I’ve had in the past and loved, but this is younger too. Likable, fruity, with a touch of savory earth. Will try again tomorrow night at slightly cool temperature.
I draw the line at gifts that I didn’t want in the first place. I would not insult Alan by opening a mag of generic Argentinian Malbec someone brought to my house. Perhaps we need a rule that the retail price of the wine that is “new and different” has to be at least the amount he is donating.
On the other hand, I am thinking of opening my bottle of 2010 Khmer Angkor Vineyard Seyval Blanc Apsara, the only bottle from that producer in Cellartracker.
I would like to think that this Licor de Tannat from Uruguay might qualify?
2005 Pisano eTXe Oneko Beltza Likore, Uruguay.
Cellared 4 yrs, 17.5% alc, $31 Cdn, 375 ml. Good natural cork, wine created through a combination of both Port and Amarone production. Big chunks of sediment were to be expected!
Inky black with very dark purple rim.
Nose is very impressive with forefront blueberry, blackberry. Hint of oak still and plum from across the table. Not much change on day 2.
Initial entry thought is still some tannins, blackberry, pepper, chocolate. Very good acidity and excellent port-like length. Huge structure here and will last 5 yrs for sure. “The oak does not overpower the fruit/rich black fruits” thought my fellow taster.
A must-buy for sure if you come across this delight!
A very unusual mix of tannat, merlot and tempranillo. Dark, dusty black fruit on the nose - ripe and dry at the same time? Dry black cherry, nice body and texture pronounced tannins and licorice on the finish - weirdly ripe and dry at the same time. It is almost like the merlot and tannat are fighting each other? It actually has some really nice aspects to it - good fruit, good backbone, but nothing is knitted together. I have no idea where this bottle came from, but this thread was the inspiration I needed to pop it!
2011 Enfield Wine Co. Tempranillo Shake Ridge- USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Amador County (12/2/2014)
Red fruit, earth, dust and floral aromas. Medium bodied with subtle framing tannins. Drinks reasonable well now though it should develop for a few years. Interesting wine.
2011 Kiralyudvar Tokayi Furmint Sec
Light gold color. Nose: ginger spice, earth, some floral and saline elements.
Palate: initially sec-tendre, honeyed, becoming more lean with extended air, aromas repeated in flavor profile. More linear than broad, medium-long finish. Worked well with Turkey soup yesterday and stood up to some red pepper flakes as well. Nice QPR at $18.00.
Keep it up everyone - I really like the variety that has been captured already in this thread.
It turns out I may learn more than I thought from the bottle I pulled - CT lists the variety as “uva rara” and not, as I thought, aglianico. Any Italy experts know for sure which grape I had? Or maybe Ian Dorin can confirm, as I bought the wine from Wine Library.
2013 Bow & Arrow Walnut Ridge Gamay Willamette Valley
From a southern vineyard in the WV. This is my 3rd bottle of this stuff & I’ve loved everyone. It looks like beet juice, smells like smoky blackberries & tastes like a legit high acid Loire version of Gamay. A fruity little number which is fantastic with a variety of dishes. I’m sky high on this producer.
Alan, Taurasi has to be made from minimum 85% Aglianico. It’s quite often 100%. I’m not familiar with the wine you had, but doubt Uva Rara was in the blend. A variety grown mainly in Lombardy and northern Piedmont.
