strike 2

la spinona barolo sori gepin 2003

wish i had the time

ascheri barolo 2005

darkish ruby, garnet rim; some volatility initially, sharp, acidic, tar, some funk, oh oh ...; bit of cherry/berry, cinnamon (hint), meagre ... broadened just a touch with time but ...; fine tannins; very acidic/ astringent!, may calm down with age ...; medium weight, short; meaningless at this stage; FIZZLE! does nothing for me ...

shy

fontanafredda gavi del commune di gavi 2008

later

lamb & some friends

cantine rizzi barbera d'alba 2006

later

correct

ceretto barbera d'alba piana 2006

later

masquerade

felsina chianti classico riserva rancia 2006

weird drop this ...

you could not guess it was a tuscan, more like a young bordeaux .... 8-0 ... POP!(-)

expensive ... could name you half a dozen others i'd rather have and at half the price.

later

newtype ... at least to me

indigenous grape?, first time for this punter

cusumano insolia 2008
dark straw/gold; floral, honey, dried apricot, nutmeg?, ripe; said apricot and honey, appley, nougat, apricot/peach stone ... , off dry entry?, dry finish; could do with a bit mo acid but still refreshing; not very long; a little rustic; nice; slightly scruffy gavi on a small dose of steroids? BANG!

nothin happenin

dull weekend, alcoholically speaking

glasses of querceto chianti 2008 ... everyone was housepouring this stuff; punches above it's price category

later

ba ba ba, ba barbara ann ...

1)rizzi barbaresco boito 2004

just had to do it again ...

2)suoi barbaresco 2006

not really happening this ... young, strident ...

later

long time between

1) azienda vitivinicola rizzi barbaresco boito 2004 (cru rizzi)
garnet, very slight rust rim; floral, sour cherry, strawb, spice ... cinnamon, tobacco, someone said leather?, hit of soy, some tar, good start ...; fruit and spice follow through on the palate, balsamic?, some mineral/chalk; wonderful juicy acid; finely textured tannins very obvious but somehow does not intrude in the proceedings; balanced; svelte, ever so slightly creamy; light/medium bodied; loong; hope i can see it in another few years; BANG!(+) really enjoyed this one. + some beautifully grilled lambchops ... heaven.

2) chateau fonsalette CDR reserve 2006
still excellent ... perhaps more intergrated even ... splitting hairs ... just drink up.
see earlier sample

some value

1)domaine santa duc vacqueyras les aubes 2005 (80g:20s)
ruby; cherry, spicy/pepper, some wet clay; off dry entry, fruit, long pepper; fine tannins; just enough acid to balance things out; medium bodied; medium length. plum at the end?; BANG!

2)antoniolo gattinara 2001 (all nebbiolo)

needed some neb at lunch ... the place had some barolos and barbarescos but they were priced marginally higher than everest so settled for this ...

garnet; strawb, sour cherry, floral/herbal, hint of tar, mint; needs air to open up; fruit, spice; fine tannins; just enough acid; quite balanced; medium bodied and length; BANG!(-)

meagre

brancaia blu 2001

mischief and mayhem white burgundy 2005

later

hard times but this goes down easy

brancaia tre 2007

also contains bulk wine ... am told the speculum lurves this one, i prefer the 06 ... think they used a better class of trucks that year ...

marolo apres grappa di moscato 5 yrs . . .

Later

whiter shade of pale (wimpy friday)

1)pio cesare gavi 2007

2 bottles of this stuff, one for lunch at a cafe ... very nice but the mark up seemed a little stiff ... was later told of the retail cost ... had shelled out 90% over ... 8-O ... holy grand theft, batman ... so being the cheapskate that i am, got another at the normal price to go with the pasta dinner, just to average things out ...

straw; subtle honey, dried apricot and kernel, almond; follows onto the palate, love the thread of dried apricots, citrus, papaya and pineapple (hint only), oats?, mineral; just enough acid to keep things fresh; light bodied, medium length; do not overchill; good one BANG! (at normal retail)

2)domaine des aubuisières vouvray cuvée de silex 2008

duh ... not for me this.

basic italian

1)brancaia tre 2006
contains bought in bulk wine :-) still, good enuff for this punter.

2)brancaia chianti classico 2005

BANG!

later

out of character

la spinetta langhe nebbiolo 2005

ruby ... darker than you'd expect; nice strawb/raspberry, hint of tar, vanilla?; simple fruity flavours; rather hard and tannic; there's some nice acid; unbalanced; that hardness really bugged me; FIZZLE!

early drinking elegance ... nope.

suspects gather

1) castello di querceto chianti classico reserva 1990

aged stuff, see earlier sample, less dried out than the earlier sample but faded badly in the glass after about 30 mins.; methinks this one has flatlined ...

2) alain graillot croze hemitage 2007

nice as it ever was

3) mitchell sevenhill cabernet sauvignon 1999 (clare)

ruby; restrained, plum, blackcurrent, oak (hint) , nicely intergrated; fruit and wood intergrated as expected, bit of mineral/chalk; tannins fine with enough acid to balance things out; longish; light/ medium bodied; BANG!; good drop.

4) ornellaia le volte 2007

see earlier notes ... consistent

5) lucien barrot CDP 2005

never disappoints ...

a good evening ... bit hazy though.

odd one out

1)domaine j l chave CDR 2007

duh ... not very interesting ...

2)onellaia le volte 2007 (merlot, cab sav and sangiovese)

base model in their lineup.

ruby dark; floral?, ripe plum, cherry, hint of vanilla, someone said leather ... i didn't get no handbags here; off dry feel on entry, rich ripe fruit (but not over ripe), rasp, mineral/chalk, fruit cake, some firm but fine tannins, juicy acid; rich, smooth but not overblown; medium bodied and length; for both, big bob fans and the rest of us ... uncanny balancing act; BANG! good price, drink up.

revisits

3)roger sabon cdp reserve 2006

4)graillot crozes hermitage 2007

no surprises here ... good stuff as before ...

nice brace

produttori del barbaresco riserva orvello 2001
ruby; floral, plum/cherry, tar/menthol (whiff), bit sappy, mushroom?, hint of cinnamon and cedar; ripe cherry, plum, hint of cinnamon; lots of tannins, not particularly fine; juicy acidic; light/medium bodied; longish; nice now but will obviously evolve further; BANG!
villa maria sauv blanc 2007
pale yellow; lemon, apple, gooseberry/passionfruit; aforesaid fruit, not particularly intense but then again mercifully not overipe/blown, mineral; acid was quite refreshing; short; decent for the price, i suppose POP!(+)

strike rate down

ricasoli chianti classico castello di brolio 2001

minor brett attack ... infection did not obliterate everything but was enough to kill off the fun for me.

2 cr*ppy sangiovese in a row ...