I must say I was really confused by this comment. It strikes me as a very unKlappean move. I can’t imagine a 1978 G. Rinaldi Barolo would fall over with a few hours in decanter. Granted I’ve never had a '78 Rinaldi so I can’t comment specifically on that bottling but still, this seems like a curious move. To my knowledge 1978 was a very good/excellent year in Barolo. And let’s be honest here, 40 is the new 20 when it comes to traditional Piemontese Nebbiolo.
I guess I don’t hold the concern that Barolo won’t hold up to the aeration a decant would provide regardless of age. I’ve tasted a number examples over the past few months that have solidified my opinions on decanting Barolo. The first two in the “confirmation bias” camp were 1952 and 1961 F. Rinaldi Barolos. When we looked at the '61 it had been in decanter for nearly 30 hours and was glorious. When we looked at the '52 it had been in the decanter for probably 7-8 hours as it was decanted in the morning for a long lunch and it also showed well. On the flip side of the coin we looked at a 2004 Cappellano Piè Rupestris Barolo over the past weekend (alongside the '08 no less). Neither were decanted and the '04 was showing marvelously on the first night sans decant. The next day we had probably half a bottle left and looked at it again. It tasted muddled and like it had hit an awkward phase where it was part primary, part secondary, and wholly confusing on the palate. It was only after the third or fourth sip that I noticed all of the fine sediment suspended in the glass. It was the first '04 that my mate Cos has opened that had started throwing significant sediment, so it was a bit of a surprise to him. I reckon it would have showed much better if that fine sediment had been decanted off, but obviously I can’t be certain as we didn’t do that. What I can say is that it didn’t show nearly as well as it did the night before when we had clean pours from a sediment perspective.
On a related note you can throw my hat in the “love to have Bill back” camp. As I’ve mentioned before I really miss the knowledge he’d freely share on this board, as well as his candor. Hope you’re well Bill! Please come back and point our the errors in my statements above! How else is a thick headed yank expect to understand these things?
“With Klapp splitting his time each year between Neive and Burgundy, and in that connection, embarking on a far-reaching exploration of Burgundy and its wines, and perhaps the Northern and Southern Rhone in time as well, he is giving serious thought to creating a website devoted exclusively to Italian and French food and wine.”
On a related note you can throw my hat in the "love to have Bill back" camp. As I've mentioned before I really miss the knowledge he'd freely share on this board, as well as his candor. Hope you're well Bill! .....
I am a firm believer in Taoism. Here is what Chapter 82 said ( more or less and please excuse my translation) :
A normal human being, who got insulted by others, would normally argue with the others why he should not be insulted.
A sage, who got insulted by others, would normally not to start to argue with the others, but retreat and contemplate what were the reasons why he got insulted by other in the first place…then admitted his own wrong-doing …and will try to improve himself.
Ah yes, I could see it being more white pepper than black, thank you!
There is an interesting story I was told in Torino about the name Pelaverga.
This is from Jeremy Parzen’s blog:
"And it’s a highly interesting word at that! No one knows the true origin of the grape name but on face value it means branch scraper, from the Italian pelare (to peel) and verga (branch). Most believe the name has to do with vine training techniques that were used to cultivate this rustic grape.
Of course, verga (and those of you who speak Spanish will immediately see the linguistic kinship) can also denote the… ahem… the male sex. Back in Verduno (Piedmont), the locals say this spicy grape has aphrodisiacal properties and that’s why Castello di Verduno calls it Basadone, the baciadonne or lady kisser."
If you take the slang word translation for verga = penis, a rough translation of pelaverga could be “penis peeler”.
Aphrodisiac? hmm…
Apologies to any offense given, but it is kind of interesting.
Personally I don’t miss him all that much. He has insight, opinion and a passionate desire to win the argument. For me that passion and tenacity often went too far. YMMV.
In his defence, he was much more likely to pick a fight with someone who wanted one, rather than pursue someone who didn’t.
There were times I wouldn’t post on a subject because I didn’t want to get involved with him in that mindset - like a growling dog with a bone, best not to get involved.
I hope he’s keeping well and certainly hold no ill-feeling.
Thanks marc
All news to me. Very interesting. I will open a bottle soon to test the effect
I will surely explore the Verduno Pelaverga vineyards on my next trip to Piemonte
Yeah, but I almost never saw him insult someone who didn’t initiate it and have it coming. In fact, the only time I can remember, I pointed it out in a polite fashion and he backed off. There were times when I disagreed with him and our conversation stayed perfectly civil, because that’s how I approached it, even when it ended with us still disagreeing. Even when he was telling me I was dead wrong about something (happened a couple of times, and I think I probably was wrong), he did so reasonably. I think it’s ridiculous that so many people who got aggressive with him or posted things that were downright stupid (most likely trolling) were then offended and ran to the moderators because he stepped it up a notch. Sure, he crossed some lines at times, but I’ve seen worse from several people who still post here, in the way of unprovoked rude and aggressive behavior. Personally, I’d like to have a meal and a nice bottle of wine with the guy some day.
+1 here…he was VERY kind and offered a lot of advice as I was looking at my pending trip to Piedmont. I wish I had been able to talk with him closer and set up a lunch with him or something. The man is a wealth of knowledge, and that tends to give folks strong opinions about things. How many of us would look cross-eyed at someone proclaiming that Caymus SS is the best wine made in the US? Or some other grand-sweeping statement…
Doug’s experience and interpretation aligns with my own. I’d like a seat at that table with you guys Doug, and Ken, Glenn and the others who have met up with him.
The threads with Bill, Bob, Ken, Gary and others discussing the glories of nebbiolo are my favorite pieces of wine writing in any genre. It was a case of several people bringing out the best in each other (and sometimes maybe a little of the not so best )
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