TN - Talula's Table with a few Berserkers Spring 2014

WINE TALK
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I know others have said it, but one of the things about wine that I love is how it brings people together, including total strangers. Wine is much more enjoyable when you share with others, but I am sometimes still surprised at the generosity of people when it comes to sharing a bottle of wine that was either expensive or one that someone has cellared for many years. To many on this board, Ann and I are comparatively new to wine but we look forward to paying forward the knowledge gained and the experiences of sharing special bottles.

Thanks to Bob, Rich and Tom for a nice night.

TALULA’S TABLE WITH A FEW BERSERKERS - SPRING MENU - Talula’s Table, Kennett Square, PA (5/11/2014)

Attendees: Bob Hughes, Rich Trimpi, Tom Maskell and wives.
Starter Champagne with Amuse Bouche
Tater Tot with smoked salmon and some kind of falafel. The tater tot was killer!

A couple whites
Shrimp with roasted asparagus and sesame and later spring ribollita with white beans, local vegetables and house made bread.

  • 1999 Azienda Agricola Valentini Trebbiano d’Abruzzo - Italy, Abruzzi, Trebbiano d’Abruzzo
    Golden color and not as dark as I would have expected given the age. Fairly intense and interesting nose. Herbs and spices along with orchard fruit. Slightly oily mouth feel. Good acidity but not as prominent as the Chablis we drank along side it. No experience with this wine but I suspect it will drink well for quite a while longer. Fun wine.

Paired with smoked foie gras, romaine, “scrampled” eggs, and salmon roe.

Sangiovese
Paired with an incredible hand made garganelli with rabbit and mushroom ragu. This was my favorite course.

  • 1988 Pertimali (Livio Sassetti) Brunello di Montalcino - Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
    We drank this along with a Monsanto Il Poggio Chianti. The nose on this was a little more intense, deeper than the chianti. A note of licorice on the nose too. On the palate the wine is soft and elegant pretty good acid that comes across to me as orange peel. This wine is a little brighter, more lively than chianti. This wine and the Il Poggio paired very well with a delicious hand made garganelli with rabbit & mushroom ragu.

  • 1988 Castello di Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva Il Poggio - Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG
    Paired with a Garganelli pasta dish with rabbit and mushroom ragu along with a Pertimali BdM. The nose showed more earthy mushroom and leather notes. Slightly darker fruits and a little heavier mouthfeel than the Brunello. Ann enjoyed this a little more than the Brunello but I thought it was just a shade less interesting and complex. Very good though.

Nebbiolo
Interesting course of halibut, rhubarb, wild rice, braised pork belly, and spinach followed by roasted ribeye, potatoe terrine, turnips, and fiddle head ferns.

  • 1988 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Montestefano - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
    Tasted with the Mocagatta. The nose was a little more subdued initially. As with the Mocagatta, some tar, but this showed more spices on the nose and palate. Some rose, floral notes and again what comes across to me as orange rind in older Italian wines. Initially I thought the Mocagatta was more expressive but the Montestefano caught up with a little air. Both were very good.

  • 1990 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Falletto di Serralunga d’Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
    I’m not sure if I have the correct bottling here for this note, but the red label appears to be correct. This showed funky with earthy, raisin and pruney amarone-like notes. On the palate the wine was very dry with similar flavors. The others in the group familiar with this bottling said the wine was off.

Cheese and dessert courses
Ricotta cheese cake, beets, seeds and honey followed by rhubarb and apple crisp with thyme ice cream

  • 2005 Coume del Mas Banyuls Galateo - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Banyuls
    Interesting nose on this that I struggled to identify. On the palate the wine is different from what the nose would suggest. Another nice dessert wine with good acid to keep the wine from being cloying. Enjoyed this too but I unfortunately took very brief notes late in the tasting.

I thought is was an amazing meal and a fun night. Many thanks to Bob for inviting us to dinner once again and welcoming us into the local Berserker community.
Posted from CellarTracker

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Good times!

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I like the addition of the labels, Jeff - it’s like I was actually there [cheers.gif] .

With the exception of the disappointing Giacosa, every wine we drank had something to offer. I really thought the '94 ZH was a highlight, especially with that food pairing. In addition, the two '89 Produttori’s were also a treat (and both wines still have a lot of time in front of them).

That kithen table at Talula’s has such a casual ambience as well - the perfect setting to gather with friends and share some vino.

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Another very fine meal, excellent wine and company. Very hard to imagine a better off-line venue.

Some brief thoughts on the wines:

2005 Vilmart Cie Coeur Cuvee - Showing quite nicely with fine intensity and length. Probably needs a few more years to develop IMHO.

1999 Valentini Trebbiano - Here’s a change of pace white with nutmeg, herbs, spice, wood bark and to my palate a little Brett.

2010 Droin Vaillions Chablis - Served too cold, once it warms it builds complexity featuring tasty salinity and citrus. Quite nice now, but more of a wine for the future. My gut said give it 10+ more years. Whether one can or should are legit questions.

1994 Zind-Humrecht Pinot Gris Heimbourg VT - I find it hard to predict whether these will be sweet, semi or off-dry. Probably should’ve guessed from the vintage (of which I’ve thoroughly loved a few SGNs) that there’d be sweetness. Viscous, rich, and intense without being ponderous. Enough acid to balance the sweet. Great length. Votes for WOTN came early. Certainly a contender. Right on target, as intended, with the Foie course.

1988 Monsanto CCR il Poggio - Intriguing tobacco notes with mild scents of pine woodlands. Mellow darker Sangiovese fruit. Fine but lingering tannins. Tom commented that it was a little tired. He was right.

1988 Pertimali Brunello - My Brunello education slowly continues. This had lovely integration combining floral notes with some mild tar. There was an engaging red cherry aspect to the balanced red/dark fruit. Smooth tannins. Fine length. Perfectly aged. Delicious example. Nevertheless, I could’ve been fooled if tasting blind and told that this was a nicely aged, red fruited, old school Bordeaux.

1999 Castello Neive Santo Stefano Barbaresco Riserva - Clean, slightly tannic, attractive redder fruit, chewy tannins. Showing a simpler side today with better years ahead.

1989 Produttori Mocagatta Barbaresco Riserva - Great integration - Floral notes, tar, red cherry fruit. Nicely aged wine exhibiting a gleaming balance that only time can hone. Delicious example.

1989 Produttori Montestefano Barbaresco Riserva - What a contrast. Same age as the Mocagatta? Very young with plenty of miles to go. The Mocagatta was polished, while this was brash and rough edged. Needs 10+ years. Probably the “better kept” wine of the two. Helps ease my uncertainty about a passive cellar that slowly fluxes 55F - 68F.

2005 Coume del Mas Galateo Banyuls - Enjoyed meeting and tasting with Phillipe Gard several years ago in Banyuls and purchased this during the visit. There’s a slight vegetal aroma aspect to the rich Grenache fruit. Confected. This could easily go 20 - 40+ years.

2005 Belliviere Elixir de Tuf - Touch of spritz that faded quickly. Mild ripe yellow fruit and honey. Nice balance of sweetness and mild acidity. There was talk of this being slightly corked. I notice a very fleeting trace. There’d be a quick very mild scent and then it’d be gone for several minutes. If it was corked, we’re talking very low ng/L, certainly at or just below my threshold.

A real pleasure meeting and chatting with Tom Maskell. A very rare Mrs. Hughes siting too! Looking forward to the next round.

RT

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I insisted that my “Russian mail-order bride” accompany me [stirthepothal.gif] - it’s not every day that one can get the Maskell’s to visit the Brandywine Valley [cheers.gif] .

Re: your comment on the Droin, while I don’t disagree conceptually, given their abysmal record with premox, you’ve got to really have faith in order to hold/age their wines at this point.

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You know the whole Portugal/Madeira thing is a great cover. I’ve always thought Portuguese sounded like Spanish with a Russian accent!

RT

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So you fellas decide to break out the good stuff when I’m not there? Sounds like a fun time–sorry I missed it.

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So you fellas decide to break out the good stuff when I’m not there? Sounds like a fun time–sorry I missed it.

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What good stuff - even though Rich asked for them, we brought not a single southern Rhone [stirthepothal.gif] .

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Atleast there was a dollop of Pinot Noir in the Coeur de Cuvee. The thought of an entire Talula’s meal without a drop…yipes. [pwn.gif]

RT