I don’t know if I’ll go again. It was pretty weird. I figured I would taste by region and forgot that the consumer event was the same as the trade event. So people lined up based on scores. I didn’t even realize there were actually lines since the place was so jammed, but once I realized that it became a little amusing. I think you could have poured anything into most of the glasses and people wouldn’t have known the dif.
That said, there were some interesting wines. A pretty good Carmenere that I’d never encountered before, a big, plummy Aglianico which seemed to be the only one there, and a few old friends that I hadn’t tasted for a long time but enjoyed revisiting.
Damn good tasting. There were a ton of people at the Dallas event and I got sick of the usual numbnuts who stand and talk to the pourer for five minutes while blocking the people in the long line formed behind them waiting to taste. People have no clue.
2015 brunellos were fantastic and I concur on the excellence of the Tassi. The Luce and Ornellaia were pretty damn good also, but were bruisers. The Valdicavas were great. Monteverro was new to me and I thought it was pretty great.
They absolutely are. I’ve asked him about it. He does at least one a month somewhere in the world and says the crowds in Asia are way larger than anything he gets in the US. Good for him.
I didn’t taste the Allegrini wines, so can’t talk about the Palazzo, but the list varies depending on the city. Most of the wines were from Tuscany somewhere, but there were others. I went through all of the Piedmont wines first and then some Cab Franc and Merlot wines from Bolgheri and a few outliers and then just spent the rest of the time tasting Tuscan wines.
There’s a guy called Carlo Giacosa, who’s related in some way to the old guy Giacosa, and his wines were pretty nice. The young Langhe Nebbiolo was really quite tasty and ready to go. There was an Aglianico called Nativ from a producer who’s looking for an importer and I can’t imagine anyone who likes expensive Napa Cabs not liking that wine. It should find an importer. Fuligni Brunello was OK and if I remember correctly I’ve even had dinner with her before, but that wine was given 100 points and I couldn’t quite see that. The food was kind of interesting. Mostly olives served in different ways - a pile with pits and various pickled vegetables, another pile that was pitted, a tapenade, another mixed with salad greens. And weirdly and randomly, tiny sweet potato tacos.
So good news/bad news for the NYC event. I producer that I represent has been told that due to the new travel restrictions the venue, IAC NYC, is insisting that all wineries are represented by a domestic partner. Not sure how you can police this, especially since most (but not all as Il Paradiso di Frassina - my guy - chose only to participate in NYC) have already been in the USA pouring at the other events.
Producers have to pay $2500 for one event/city. It’s not just ticket sales. These are massively profitable.
The 2015 Fuligni, which I’ve already tasted on several occasions and which I picked up from the cantina a few days ago, is in no way a 100point, i. e. perfect wine; very good, to be sure. What a racket.
That’s what I figured. That’s common business model for all sorts of events – the exhibitors provide most of the income. Hence the free tickets, because Suckling needs to have a good turnout. That also explains the Allegrini. Not many people would pay to taste a $15 wine.
I considered going, given that this is walking distance from work. But it’s sold out and this thread with everybody going in for free does not help in enabling me as it looks like I will have to pay my way in.
I don’t know that everyone gets in for free. If you’re affiliated with the wine business you do, and I don’t know the exact breakdown, but most people aren’t comped. I would say it’s less that 25%, just based on what happens when you get in early and then watch the “regular” crowd. And that’s common to all events like these, not just the Suckling events. The exhibitors obviously pay to show their wines, which is why a lot of distributors and producers and importers don’t participate in every event at every city.
And to be fair to James, they also had Conterno Bussia and Cicala, Bibi Graetz Colore, Valdecava del Piano, Giacosa Falletto Barolo and Barbaresco, and a number of others. It’s an opportunity to taste things side by side or to taste things that you might not normally taste. For people who don’t get to taste a lot of different wines, I can see it being worth the admission. Listening to the people, a lot of them had zero clue but some of them were pretty interested and wanted to understand what they were drinking.
And then there were the other two categories of attendees - those who wore excess cologne, perfume, lotion, etc. And the women who made it a point to show all of their assets. Over the years I’ve noticed that those women tend to show up at Italian tastings more than any others. I wasn’t disappointed. There were two of them.
My understanding is that many of the “comps” are for those who subscribe to the content on Suckling’s website ($145/year), so in those cases he does get something out of it.
This was posted earlier in this thread by George Tita …
So good news/bad news for the NYC event. I producer that I represent has been told that due to the new travel restrictions the venue, IAC NYC, is insisting that all wineries are represented by a domestic partner. Not sure how you can police this, especially since most (but not all as Il Paradiso di Frassina - my guy - chose only to participate in NYC) have already been in the USA pouring at the other events.
Knocks me out every time. My “A-ha!” moment for Barolo a few years ago (a 2004 Riserva 10 Anni Fossati Case Nere).
I have gone to 5 of the last 6 of these in NYC, and for $100-$125 it’s well worth it, IMO.
I’ve been looking forward to the 2015 Brunello vintage since I first tried (and stocked-up on) several 2015 Rossos (now almost all consumed). This event really gives you so much to try. Way too many wines to taste, but this year I was able to get to about 70-80. I got there a little early and had to wait outside with the rest of the early birds so I got the book and map/layout and, focusing primarily on Brunello, picked the names I wanted to be sure to hit up. Missed Sassicaia & Ornellaia (lines about 6+ deep all the times I passed by) and Casanova di Neri wasn’t in NY, but did get to all the others I wanted to, including the notables below (in no particular order).
Siro Pacenti Brunello di Montalcino Vecchie Vigne 2015
Fuligni Brunello di Montalcino 2015
Renieri Brunello di Montalcino 2015
San Filippo Brunello di Montalcino Le Lucére 2015
Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino Madonna del Piano Riserva 2010
ALTESINO BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2015
ALTESINO BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO MONTOSOLI 2015
AMANTIS CABERNET FRANC TOSCANA IPERIONE 2015
ARGIANO TOSCANA SOLENGO 2016
BIBI GRAETZ TOSCANA TESTAMATTA 2016
BIBI GRAETZ TOSCANA COLORE 2016
BRANCAIA TOSCANA IL BLU 2015
FRESCOBALDI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO CASTELGIOCONDO 2015
GIODO BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2015
LIVIO SASSETTI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2015
LIVIO SASSETTI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2004
MÁTÉ BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2015
PIO CESARE BAROLO 2015
PIO CESARE BARBARESCO 2015
PODERI ALDO CONTERNO BAROLO BUSSIA 2015
PODERI ALDO CONTERNO BAROLO CICALA 2015
ROBERTO VOERZIO BAROLO FOSSATI CASE NERE RISERVA 10 ANNI 2008
ROBERTO VOERZIO BARBERA D’ALBA POZZO DELL’ANNUNZIATA 2015
SCHIOPETTO FRIULANO COLLIO M 2018
TUA RITA TOSCANA GIUSTO DI NOTRI 2017
TUA RITA SYRAH TOSCANA PER SEMPRE 2017
UCCELLIERA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2015
There were few misses in the whole line-up. Quality abounded. Overall, the 2015 Brunello’s are excellent (I’ll be casting a wide net for the cellar, while keeping in mind 2016 is also an excellent vintage). The 2016 Chianti Classico’s (including Gran Selezione) are also very good and worth seeking.
I just couldn’t do anymore this night (164 tables were pouring 2 wines each). I missed several Barolo’s which I find myself liking more and more after being a Brunello fan for so long (my palate continues to evolving). I may even hunt down a few this year, perhaps even splurging for a bottle or two of Roberto Voerzio’s beautiful wines.
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