TN: '05 Taittinger, '71 Schiavenza, '99 S. Grasso, '01 Il Poggione

Some mighty fine bottles were served up at my brown-bag group last night. We taste completely blindly – only the person who brought the wine is. The rest of us embarrass ourselves by guessing.

2005 Taittinger- Comtes de Champagne – Blanc de Blanc: Lots of fizz; nice medium golden color. Nutty nose. More nuts and yeast in the mouth – almonds and yeast in spades – with some residual sugar. Persistent, creamy mousse. Soft, slightly sweet finish. I guessed a 12-15-year-old wine. The mousse suggested Champagne, the lowish acid and sweetness suggested New World. I vacillated. Very nice. 89+ ish. I’d like a bit more acid. The wine was a tad warm, and might have tasted crisper if it had been chilled more.

1971 Schiavenza Barolo: Slightly cloudy from fine sediment (it had only been upright for a couple of days), but it didn’t impart any bitterness. Cherries on the nose. Many of us guessed pinot at first, and probably New World because of its sweetness. There was a ripeness about the cherry fruit that precluded Burgundy for me. Then I started wondering if it could be warm-year Cote Rotie – 1990? I even wondered if it could be an elegant Chateauneuf. There is a luscious warmth about it and oodles of fruit. “Generous” was the word I used, and others concurred. Silky. Warm, caressing finish. Totally integrated, everything in sync.
WOTN. What a wonderful example of nebbiolo fleshing out with time. This is Exhibit A in the case for waiting out Barolo. It helps that this is from Serralunga, I think. That probably explains the depth. 94+ Purchased from Chambers Street Wines.
1999 Silvio Grasso – Barolo – Ciabot Manzoni: A trace of VA on the nose, then strong fennel seed and leather. Big and savory in the mouth, with ripe plums. Tannic, but in balance. No oak apparent on the palate, though the winery uses barriques. Tuscan, I guessed? Terrific balance. “This was a beast when young,” someone commented. A trace of oak in the finish, and not quite as full as I’d hope, but still excellent. A bit lacking in nebbiolo-ishness, though. According to the importer’s website, this bottling has a very short fermentation and maceration: just six days. 92-ish.

2001 Il Poggione – Brunello: I brought this, so I couldn’t embarrass myself with bad guesses in this case. Big, ripe, some alcohol showing, but it’s all in balance. Some age, with tannins slightly softening, but lots of grip in the mouth and at the back end.
This is in early adulthood. This cries out for red meat. Then I’d be chugging it. This is what I want/expect in a 16-year-old Brunello. 92-ish.

2016 Dom. de Traginer – Banyuls Rimage – Vin Doux Naturel: I’ve never had such a young, fresh Banyuls, with fruit instead of chocolate flavors dominating. 17%. Dark cherry essence on the nose. Taut, tannic, then plum jam. Sweet raspberries, too. Great acid. I guessed a seven-year-old late harvest zin – a guess that is not embarrassing. A great deal at $22 for a 500ml. Great with cheeses and dessert.

Re: 1971 Schiavenza Barolo. The only difference with John’s description was that I picked up a lot of acidity (in balance with cherry fruit and fully resolved tannins) that surprised me for a 46-year old wine. Completely agree with the “generous” quality of the wine. I loved the wine and wish that I had more.


Re: 1999 Silvio Grasso Barolo Ciabot Manzoni. I tasted a bit that was left over the next day for lunch and I continued to get a flavor profile closer to an older Bordeaux. I picked up more oak on the initial tasting along with chocolate and a savory quality. An enjoyable and complex wine.

It was nice to see that the Silvio Grasso turned out so nicely. I visited the winery in 2000 and very much liked the wines. But it was before my preferences for more traditional wines had really formed. I liked the '99 Bricco Luciani when I had it at a dinner in 2009 and bought some. A year or two later I opened a '96 Bricco Luciani that I’d bought on my visit – the first I’d tried – and found it had very harsh tannins. Perhaps too much oak.

The '99 this week restored my interest in their wines. Interesting that you got oak and I didn’t pick it up.

Both of these vineyards are at the very base of the La Morra hill, very near the Alba-Barolo road, at barely 200 meters elevation. Not usually an auspicious location for good Barolo. But the proof is in the bottle.

Footnote from the visit: A German couple who were tasting with us in 2000 had loaded up the back of their Mercedes station wagon with various Barolos and were headed home. They said they could drive via the Dolomites and Austria, staying inside the EU, but it saved many hours of driving to cut across Switzerland. The problem was that they had to pay duty on the wine upon entering and then fill out paperwork to get a refund when they exited at the northern border. Of course, I wouldn’t complain about that if I could load up my car with Barolo straight from the cellar and drive it home…

Nice notes. Always love blind tastings and especially double blind as you did here. Interesting choices of wines to do such. Surprised at the showing of the 05 CDC. Ive had nothing but great bottles of many.

Everyone brings whatever they want, so there’s no structure whatsoever. This was a particularly good tasting because one member had served notice that he’d recently had a birthday. And I didn’t write up a boring gruner veltliner and a mediocre South African Bordeaux blend that were also served.

As for the Taittinger, this bottle was a bit warmer than was ideal. The residual sugar would have been less conspicuous and it would have seemed a bit more refreshing if it had been cooler.

Thanks John. i understand the change from a colder to warmer wine and what that translates too. I prefer bubbly to be cold, but not super chilled.

I had the 2001 Il Poggione last night and tonight. Much like it showed for John three years ago, it was big and ripe - on the darker-fruited end of the sangiovese spectrum, but in balance. Wonderfully fragrant and open at this point - mature but with none of the pruney notes sangiovese eventually develops. The perfect stage for my tastes. Some grippy tannins on the finish were more noticeable tonight than last night. Really enjoyable on the nose and on the palate. Just a delight.

How much air for the Schiavenza? Thanks for the note!

I’ve e-mailed Gray to ask. He doesn’t hang around these parts too much these days.

I likely had opened it an hour and half before the tasting to check on it. After that it probably spent 30 minutes to an hour in a decanter before being served.