Given these these aromas and flavors, please suggest some wines.

WINE TALK
21

Cahors.

22

Surprised no one mentioned Barbera in this regard!

23

Gotta keep the prices low!

24

Zins with a bit of age or Cab Franc

25

Do you have some favorites, William ?

26

Nothing especially original I’m afraid. I like the Giacomo Conterno renditions though they can be a bit massive and go through awkward phases while aging in bottle. I remember Roberto’s 2010s being brilliant out of the gates, but around 2014 the wines became hugely disjointed to a disconcerting degree, so I have just buried them in the cellar. Other than those I buy the G Rinaldi and Bartolo Mascarello renditions. As I said, nothing original.

27

We have been blowing through a case 2016 Vajra Barbara d’Alba Superiore. Good call.

28

I have only had really bad Cahors. Any recommendations?

29

What a great thread.

“dark red/black fruited wine, black cherry perhaps. . . notes of anise, clove, star anise, black licorice, tar and earth”

I’m not sure that in a wine I would try to distinguish anise from star anise, but maybe. Star anise would have the bigger flavor and aroma I guess.

Anyhow, so far the recommendations, all from the same descriptors, are:

  • Big Zin
  • Sonoma Pinot Noir
  • Syrah
  • Barbaresco & Barolo
  • Mourvedre
  • Priorat
  • Teroldego
  • Cerasuolo di Vittoria (smart to distinguish from d’Abruzzo)
  • Chianti
  • Duoro
  • Barbera
  • Cahors (I assume Malbec?)

Confronted with this list, while I can see the thinking behind most of them, I would say the suggested wines have little if anything to do with each other.

The first part of the description black/red fruit, black cherry, seems to point towards a bigger style. So I get the Zin/Duoro/Priorat/Syrah and maybe even the Teroldego.

But then there’s the cloves/anise etc., that I would think comes mostly from barrels. So any big red wine done up in nice oak will exhibit those characteristics.

And then the tar and earth. I find tarry notes in some Piedmont wines, but also sometimes in Syrah and some of the riper Pinot Noirs. The earth is the tough one. For me, that could connote a kind of funky, almost stinky quality. That could be a Syrah, Chianti, or any of the Italian suggestions actually. But also Priorat. And Mourvedre is the tough one here. It can be really ripe with dark fruit qualities, even blueberries, but it can also be really earthy and stinky and completely different. Or a bit of both. And Cahors is a crap shoot. Some of those wines are really bretty and “earthy” and others are much cleaner. And if you’re using Tannat, its a completely different structure. Really interesting place to explore but almost diabolical to send the poor guy there!

I’m glad I didn’t ask the question! I’d be confuseder and confuseder! [wow.gif]

So now I’ll throw in my two cents, which I’m surprised nobody else came up with yet - a younger new style Rioja. Tempranillo will give you that earthiness on the nose and palate with a savory/leathery quality, the oak will give you the anise and cloves, and the grape does have the red/black cherry qualities as well. Or moving west to Ribera del Duero and Toro, you’ll get more tannic backbone.

Anyhow, good luck figuring out any of it! [cheers.gif]

30

Try Chateau du Cèdre.

31

Jeff et al. I came across a series of articles online on WineSpectator that describes the appearance, aromas and tastes of a wine and then poses the question “What am I tasting?”. A twist on your question “What should I be drinking?” that could be an interesting (and/or humbling) game for some of us. Also mght help you zero in on the wine(s) you are looking for by browsing the titles?
FWIW
Cheers.