Piedmont, Piedmont

By sheer coincidence we had wonderful Piedmont wines for Fri lunch and Sat dinner:
(notes mostly from memory, trying to enjoy great food and conversation)

Friday Lunch: (Portland Racquet Club, delicious food prepared from Matt Kramer’s Passion for Piedmont book by chef Robin Kelley):

1. 2008 Vietti Arneis–Clean, floral, honeysuckle, good acid and extremely refreshing. Everytime I have good Arneis I wonder why we don’t buy/drink this more often. Any experience out there with aged Arneis?

2. 1997 Giacomo Conterno Barbera–Interestingly this was a ballyhooed wine upon release which I purchased and foolishly drank thorough about a decade ago. At the time it was tight, big acid and in retrospect just a shadow of its adult self. Fortunately Mr. Jones had the foresight to cellar a few bottles and my, what a revelation: soaring aromatics with layers of lavender, roses. Maintains the Barbera firmness in the mid-palate and rolls to a close with mellowing tannins. Some commented on how well Barbera performs from great producers in warmer vintages. Must investigate further.

3. 1997 Elio Grasso Casa Mate–textbook Barolo that was drinking adequately, but seemed to need more time. More feminine than the Vietti Rocche (see below), this wine was good, perhaps better than good, but overshadowed on this date. Note that I prefer the 97 version tasted today somewhat more than the 93 (only other vintage of this wine I tried).

4. 1997 Vietti Rocche—This was a very complete wine, with denser bouquet of leather, roses and tar and the structure of a Barolo built for the longer haul. The ripeness of 97 was not readily evident as everything seemed rather in balance—fruit, tannin, acid. Well done. The size of the wine did not result in a clunky drink, rather a powerhouse wine without excessive weight.

5. 1997 Sylvio Grasso Barolo—don’t know much about this producer, but this wine was completely unyielding after 30 minutes in the glass (popped and poured). Would have benefited from hours of decanting I’m thinking. Dense, dark and built to age, this wine was very primary and when it eventually opened up a little, most of the glass was already in the gullet. I think this wine has good potential, and would love to re-taste in 5-15 years.
   
   
   Day 2: Alba Osteria, Portland OR

(If you are visiting Portland, this gem of a restaurant is off the beaten trail, but continues to perform. Outstanding menu (check their website), known for their pasta and ethereal gnocchi. Superb wine service)

1. Geoffreoy NV Rose—I continue to love this wine which tickles with pretty fruit and excellent dry finish. (side note: one of my benchmark Champagne experiences was the 96 Geoffreoy Millesime…holy cow)
   
   
   OK this is where it started to get stupid.

2. 1985 Produttori Rabaja—pretty nose, but too much sour cherry and must. Confirmed in the mouth as this wine was clearly drying out. Educational, but past its peak.

3. 1985 Paolo Scavino Cannubi—this wine was rocking, drinking at or near peak. Great blend of aromatic complexity, substance and structure. Beautiful bottle of wine (doesn’t make up for the recently corked bottles of 89 and 90 Bric del Fiasc that were more like Bric del Fiasco).

4. 1989 Conterno-Fantino Vigna del Gris—this wine was not showing terribly well. Flat, perhaps slightly metallic taste and uninspiring finish. Perhaps there was some ‘sub-clinical’ TCA involved here, as a recent bottle of this wine opened at Lou in Hollywood 2 wks ago was more severely corked. 0 for 2 on this one.

5. 1982 Bruno Giacosa Gallina—Holy cow. This wine was the bomb, with mind-altering bouquet of raspberry, boysenberry, rose petals…extremely light on its feet and delivers completely in the palate. That crazy good combination of lightness, elegance and density that is pretty much only delivered by Nebbiolo and Pinot Noir (a generalization, I know. The occasional older tempranillo can compete…but not really…).

6. 1982 Bruno Giacosa Brick Label Santo Stefano Riserva—for me, this was a tale of two wines. For the first 30 minutes, this was a breathtaking, riveting wine that lacked the brightness of the Gallina, but made up for it with more intensity on the palate. This was a big boy that completely outmatched the 82 Gaja Sori San Lorenzo we drank at Genoa several years ago. However, after about 30 minutes a pronounced soy sauce, mushroomy component started to overwhelm the glory of the wine and it became considerably less attractive. Just callin’ ‘em as I see ‘em.

7. 1985 Bruno Giacosa Brick Label Santo Stefano Riserva—ok this was the complete package. Uncorked, not decanted, x 90 minutes prior to drinking. This wine was hitting on all cylinders. Incredible nose, density and suppleness, fills every nook and cranny in the palate. This wine did not fall apart with aeration, instead it sucked up the atmosphere and emerged better for it—a grand vin by any account and a tremendous opportunity to drink these 3 great wines at the same time. Shoot me now.

8. 1990 Ceretto Bricco Asili—wait don’t shoot until I’m done! This was also a beautiful wine that kept getting better and better with time in the glass…and then it was all gone. This wine had a nice combination of deep, dark fruit and yet remained inherently feminine and pretty and light on its feet. No doubt a delicious wine and could benefit from a few more years lying horizontal.
   
   
   
   Well, unfortunately that’s the end of the story. Helluva ride.

Best,

Doug

You are living well, aren’t you!

Silvio Grasso is a modern-styled maker (very short, 6 to 7-day macerations, malolactic fermentation in barrel) in La Morra (http://www.silviograsso.com/ing/vini.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). I’m a fan of the wines generally. They are typically quite feminine and the oak never seems overdone. His 96 Bricco Luciani was gorgeous a year ago, though it should develop for some time.

I take it this was the normale, not one of their single vineyard bottlings.

Silvio Grasso’s vineyards toward the bottom of the eastern slope of the La Morra hill at about 250 meters elevation. A friend in the wine trade in Italy told me several years ago that some of the 97s from the lower elevations in La Morra were cracking up, so I’m to entirely surprised if this didn’t show as well as the other wines. In any event, wines from that area are usually more forward than other Barolos.

By contrast, Rocche is at the very crest of Castiglione (375 meters) and Casa Mate is on the east side of Monforte at 300-350 meters (http://www.eliograsso.it/inglese/vini/barolo-ginestra.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;), both on soils that tend to produce more masculine, long-lived wines than those from La Morra. The Vietti Rocche and the Elio Grasso Casa Mate both are made more traditionally, with longer macerations, and neither see new oak.

Thanks for the TN’s Doug, sounds like a fantastic tasting. If you like the ‘97’'s with age, you should search out and cellar some of the better '03 Barbera’s.

Not sure about a Gaja Santo Stefano? Soy and Shrooms are some traditional secondary characteristics that develop in old barolo…was this wine popped and poured like the '85? If not, maybe you would have preferred it more with less air?

John: thanks for the info. I believe it was the normale. I look forward to trying the Sylvio Grasso wines down the road.

Jeff: you are correct on two accounts.
the 82 had been open for some time before it reached our table. No doubt it would have helped to get to it earlier. If I owned any of these babies, I don’t think decanting is advised before consumption.

Also, the Gaja referenced should have been the 82 Sori San Lorenzo. mea culpa. I’ll edit the original notes.
Thanks!

cheers,

Doug

That’s interesting about the 82 Gaja San Lorenzo. I’ve had two bottles over the past three years, the most recent in October. Both were pristine and remarkably youthful – so youthful, in fact, and devoid of secondary notes that they were downright boring. I even wondered if they were fakes. They seemed much more like a 96 than an 82.

Hi Doug,

Thanks for the fantastic notes, seems like you had a great tasting.

Visiting Pier of Cornarea September 2008, Pier opened a 1983 Arneis for us during the visit. Still alive and kicking.

Arneis is an amazing wine that we do not see often here on the forum.

Ciao
Birger

I agree – when it’s good. But there’s also a lot of bland, dilute Arneis.

I’m amazed to hear that one could age that long. Most that I know – even the very good ones – seem relatively low on acid, so I wouldn’t expect them to hold up that well.

Great notes, Doug. Glad to hear that 82 Gallina is still singing.

Re: old Arneis, I have seen an offer for “Arneis Secco Dai Vigneti Dei Roeri Giacosa Bruno 1976” and thought about taking a leap just for curiosity sake.

Doug,
Thanks for the notes, sounds like an excellent string of wines.

Alba Osteria also sounds pretty fantastic, I’ll have to make it over the river to check that one out.