Some blind wines this week. These were all pairs, except for the Aeris, that we did as a starter. Thanks for reading.
2001 Château Cos d’Estournel- France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe (5/3/2019)
Poured blind, next to the 2001 Corison Napa Cab. The guys at the table mentioned brett, and I too see that comment in a few other prior notes from others who have tasted the wine. I can attest to the aromatic being in the wine we had this week, but it wasn’t bothersome to me, and I generally don’t like brett in anything I drink. I also found some cedar and brewed coffee in the aromatic. Tangy, tarry, with a cherry core and a bright finish. I enjoyed this.
2001 Corison Cabernet Sauvignon- USA, California, Napa Valley (5/3/2019)
Poured blind next to the 2001 Cos d’Estournel. This Corison initially led me to syrah when I first started to swirl it in the glass, showing a white/purple flower note. Also seemed to throw off something pungent, which I jotted down as higher ABV, although the table took me to task a bit because the bottle lists the wine as in the high 13% range. The palate seemed a bit more modern too, with a jammy quality. Blue fruit and some razzy red, plus black cherry. The finish then turned tight and rough so I bet this wine goes a lot longer.
2008 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos des Porrets St. Georges- France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru (5/3/2019)
Poured blind, next to the 2008 Wesmar Balletto from California. The Gouges for me beat that wine hands down. Aromatic of spice, hard cherry candy and plum flesh. The palate shows the same bright cherry, soil, savory plum, zesty and tangy, leaving a brisk impression. Good balance, finishing long with good structure.
2008 WesMar Pinot Noir Balletto Vineyard- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (5/3/2019)
Poured blind. I will be one of the outliers here, as based on the more positive reviews that have been logged previously by others. In part, I take less positive view on this wine as we did taste it next to a 2008 Gouges Porret, which I preferred. The Wesmar just seems heavy to me. It is juicy, with plum flesh, dark red fruit and a density that I didn’t warm to. I just tend to land in the more lighter, elegant, tense forms of Pinot Noir from CA these days, which the Gouges seemed to better exhibit in this pairing.
2010 Fattoria di Fèlsina Berardenga Chianti Classico Riserva- Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG (5/3/2019)
Poured blind, paired blind with the 2010 Felsina Fontalloro. I preferred this Berardenga over the other wine. Aromatic of cigar leaf, spice box or old world. Dig the purity of the fruit, lightly tangy with what I sensed as a stone fruit pit note. Cherry, tar, freshly tannic, finishing a little crunchy from the acidity and fresh. Enjoyed this.
2010 Fattoria di Fèlsina Berardenga Fontalloro- Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT (5/3/2019)
Poured blind, next to the 2010 Fattoria di Fèlsina Berardenga. I preferred that wine over this Fontalloro, as I found the Fontalloro to be more modern than I cared for, or perhaps said differently, I just liked the tangier and fresh aspect of the other wine. The Fontalloro has a similar cigar leaf note, but there is an additional imprint of cologne/clove, which I attribute to wood? I just don’t like when I sense an aromatic that has this cologne-like note. This has a good density, kind of dark and brooding, too. Has some of the crunchy, fresh aspects of the Berardenga, but it just comes of richer and darker than I cared for.
2014 Aeris Wines Etna Bianco Superiore- Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC (5/3/2019)
Poured blind. Has a cool floral element, akin to a citrus flower and jasmine. Quince, pear, flint, lime peel, medium weight and light saline. With air, this picks up a green apple component along with honeysuckle. Medium weight with good tension/energy. This showed very well and of the 9 wines we had over the evening, this was my WOTN, and of note, was the first wine we poured.
2016 Cobb Chardonnay Mariani- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (5/3/2019)
Poured blind next to the 2016 RM Thieriot Chard, which I preferred just a bit more. This Cobb has intense green apple, light pineapple, citrus, flint and good complexity, and of note as compared to the Thieriot, this doesn’t show the residual oak imprint. I enjoyed this wine.
2016 Rivers-Marie Chardonnay B. Thieriot Vineyard- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (5/3/2019)
Served blind, alongside the 2016 Cobb Mariani Chard. My first impression was a bit of vanilla bean. Then lemon oil, mix of yellow and green apple along with a good core of citrus fruit, rounded out by a little honey and a clean finish. There is just enough new oak here to not be bothersome to my palate, as it seasons the acidity and medium weight. As a side note, having now tasted all the 2016 RM Chards now (Joy and Bear are the others) within the past 6 months, this one is superior to those other two, showing for me the best.
I only had one bottle of that 2001 Corison, and sadly I drank it several years ago. I don’t have notes, but I recall thinking it was in a decent spot but still had life ahead of it. I kind of regret not hanging on longer.
I’ve only opened 1 bottle of the Aeris, which was last fall, and I also really enjoyed this wine. I’m going to let my remaining bottles sleep awhile and will try another in a year or two. These are expensive, but one of the best Italian white wines I’ve experienced.
Mike, thanks. Seiber poured this bagged and without any hints or clues. Some of my thinking was Chenin, which then evolved to Chard given the depth of the green apple. I didn’t notice the green banana note this time as we had from the bottle you and I shared non-blind at Rhys this past July. So, it was truly an objective read of the wine, and with the diversity of things Seiber has in his cellar (he is very broad in that respect), there was no sense this was anything we knew when we tasted it.
Frank,
It is really great to see this sort of reaction to Carricante, especially blind. I deeply believe in its potential but have always wondered if the typical wine drinker’s palate is open enough to new experiences and tastes. In other words, would the primary emotional reaction be “this is great!” or would that be overwhelmed by “this is different”. People love things that remind them of other things they have loved in the past. Your reaction gives me optimism that with time, Carricante has a real chance to grab its rightful place at the top end of the white wine grape order.
Frank and I had the same bottle. It was excellent. I even guessed Italian white of an obscure varietal Really liked it. Sneaky depth and precision with soft fruit.
For me, and this is where blind tasting becomes important. I can put aside what ‘should be’ in my senses or what I want to taste or ‘expect’, and instead just explore what is there. Really great wines in this format show what their made of. This week, the Aeris performed this way, and with the format, I didn’t have any of my own bias at play. This wine may not reach the other 99% that aren’t here on Berserkers because some may want to overlay what they want to expect or dismiss it because it’s not Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio, or whatever. I’m not trying to sound snide or judging–I hope this is not taken with my comment here. But for the other 1%, the folks that frequent the Board around here, this wine is cool and showed attributes that I think many would seek and enjoy.
Funny, my wife has what I call a “RRV” palate (rich, deep, round), and she resists going outside that sweet spot. And she immediately took to the Aeris Etna Blanco.
I’ve had the Corison Cabernet a few times and I am not a fan. Your note captures exactly the reasons why. The “throws off something pungent” and “the finish then turned tight and rough.” I want to like it. I keep coming back to it because I should like it based upon my preferred wines, but it just doesn’t work for me. Maybe it needs to be over 20 years old.
Really liked it. Sneaky depth and precision with soft fruit.