Two That Punched Beyond Their Weight

WINE TALK
1

Served at a large family gathering yesterday:

  1. Que Sadade Forlorn Hope Verdehlo
    Great aromatics, beautiful white fruit, balanced by zingy acidity, vivid and interesting in the glass. (My son sniffed and said peaches and chalk.) Nearly everything that you can ask from a starter white and able to be poured in numbers. ($25 at Astor before case discount.)

  2. G. Mascarello Freisa Toetto 2009
    Maybe it was the vintage or just the little bottle age it had, but this was a far more serious effort than the other Freisas I’ve had, which, though likeable, featured lots of acid and pretty simple red fruit (good with food). This was gentle on the tongue, something like cinnamon as well as a burst of strawberry at the outset, with considerable length and a mineral finish. Acid there, but in check and the tannins pretty integrated and smooth. ($22 at Astor NYC).

2

Yup, Josh…Matt’s Verdelho is an absolutely delicious wine yr in & yr out.
Not had the Mascarello Freisa…but it’s a variety that I really like. As well as Brachetto. As well as Marzemino.
Tom

3

Hum yes, very nice note on the Freisa, Joshua. Usually a variety I don’t hang with much, but this sounds interesting.

4

Had a Brachetto the other night at Hearth, Tom,
It was perhaps a little too simple and a little too acid to wow me. (Sort of like an Italian Mondeuse? http://www.wineberserkers.com/forum/images/icons/smile/mrgreen.gif Maybe the producer?)

And Mike, if you get a chance to try the Mascarello Freisa, please let me know what you think. I am having it again along with a less expensive bottling of Freisa tonight. We’ll see how the other compares.

5

Freisa is closely related to nebbiolo, so in the right hands it can produce some very interesting wines. It is often made in an off-dry, slightly frizzante style to tame the tannins, but can be made as a conventional dry red. I’ve only had the Mascarello freisa at the cantina. I have one of their 2000s stashed away, because the wine was a bit of a brute.

There was a good thread on freisa a few months ago. Vajra and Burlotto also make excellent dry, serious versions. The Vayras are more like a Barolo, while Burlotto’s are a bit fruitier, with a bit softer tannins, but they’re quite inky and chewy.