A work trip to New York means grabbing bottles of other people’s wine off of wine lists and store shelves after a hard day, sometimes almost at random. Here’s a bunch of very brief notes; some very pleasant surprises, a few mild disappointments but overall I was pleased.
I’ll probably do this in a few different posts, I tried quite a few wines.
My second trip to Il Posto Accanto, a wonderful Italian wine bar with small plates in Alphabet City. It was a half-carafe and by the glass evening. For those who might be interested in splurging on bottles, there are about 30 Italian wines at 10 years of age or more, priced from just over $100 to just under $1000. Prices for these tend to be about double retail, but you probably can’t find most of them at retail. And there’s really good, reasonably priced grub to go along.
2016 Roeno Muller-Thurgau ‘Le Giare’ – This was very much on the Sylvaner side of the grape, aromas pleasant but a little muted, rather full bodied and earthy palate, moderately long finish. Nothing wrong with it but not a lot of interest or intensity there. Rated 84.
2013 Tormaresca Primitivo ‘Torcicoda’ – Ding! We have a winner. No, this doesn’t have the pure pungency of really good California Zinfandel, but the aromas are mellow with red raspberry and black cherry. The palate is lovely, some real heft and ripeness but polished and smooth at the same time. The finish is impressively long. Rated 90.5.
2015 Batasiolo Barbera d’Alba – Interesting and subtle aromas. There is more red fruit than black, there is a definite whiff of tobacco and there is something leafy and green, not in a bad way. After that, the palate was a little disappointing, with some angular acidity and now the green component is more pronounced and less welcome. Still, a pleasant glass. Rated 86.
After dinner, a few bottles purchased at retail and consumed with friends:
NV Emile Paris Brut Reserve Champagne – Never heard of it, and if you wanted to invent a generic name for basic Champagne, this would be it. Still, I happen to like even entry-level Champagne. This was a pleasant surprise. The aromas were fresh, but with some depth and a hint of age. The palate had both some weight and zing, with enough toastiness for me to know this was not released at the minimum age. Surprising quality here and a bargain at thirty bucks. Rated 89.5
2013 Domaine Giuva Ciro Rosso Superiore Du Cropio – This one smelled more like Zinfandel than the Primitivo! The aromas were pungent, brambly and earthy. The palate here however was lesser. Again, some acidity was sticking out. However the fruit was solid, leaning strongly towards black. This was light to medium in body, but after a while the acidity became refreshing. There were herbal hints of sage, but pleasant and under control. In a way, this almost seemed to have some New World character. A slightly disjointed, slightly odd but pleasant wine that knit as the bottle emptied. Twenty two bucks. Rated 88.
Dan Kravitz