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

nothin happenin

dull weekend, alcoholically speaking

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

later

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

basic italian

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

2)brancaia chianti classico 2005

BANG!

later

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 ...

revisiting ...

brancaia blu 2001 similar notes as earlier samples except this one has developed further ... nose and palate are mo secondary ... things have come together ... bit of raisin/prune midpalate and at the finish. still a BANG! but drink up already.

chateau patache d'aux 2000 this one hadn't changed much ... earlier still BANG!

pre break pop

friday, with 1 suspect only.

primo palatum madiran 1998 (all tannat)
ruby, still looks bright and young; cherry, some mushroom; cherry, some plum; still lotsa tannins (not particularly fine); juicy acidity; linear but not lean; not complex (the others begged to differ); medium bodied and length; still fresh, with the tannins and acid, nuther 3-5 years?; in any event a BANG! given it's reasonable price.

bodegas portia prima ribera del duero 2005
ruby, bit dull; plum, prunes?, mushroom, earth; blackcurrants, plum, bit stalky, savoury, hint of resin; lotsa tannins (sheets of it and not very fine);just enough acid to save it from being dull; medium bodied; short; POP!

saturday, with both,

jean marc bouley beaune 1er cru les reversees 2005
light ruby; plum, cranberries?, musk?(oh,oh!), spice; plum, cherry; nice fine/powdery tannins; a little lean and tart (broadened a bit with time but not much); light/medium bodied; medium length; POP! (+)

castello di querceto chianti riserva 1990
garnet; dried flowers, plummy, secondary; plum, a little mushroom; tannins and acid have abated; a bit lean and dry?; medium bodied and length; POP! one suspect differs. their il picchio of the same vintage was much nicer.

chateau de st cosme gigondas valbelle 2006 (90% grenache: 10% shiraz ... 30% new wood: 70% i yr old)
purplish; berries (don't know what), cherry (kirsch?), herbal, spicy (green peppercorns), chinese bbq'ed meat, smoke, metal?; almost sweet ripe cherry, aforesaid meat and spice, chalk/mineral, rich; overall still a little hard, disperate parts; lotsa fine tannins and acid; medium bodied; long spicy and meaty? finish; 14.5%; nuther young but good one; BANG! see older bro.

this one can vote

castello di querceto chianti classico riserva il picchio 1990
garnet, bricking; mellow warm plum and cherry, whiff of cedar and cinnamon, smells like wine not fruit juice; fruit and wood have come together; mellowed tannins and acid still obvious but very nicely integrated; medium bodied and long; never thought these things could last so long; it's still alive without any hint of dullness; a lovely drop; BANG!john? well, he's gone ...

trifecta plus a little infanticide

avengers assemble ... all suspects present and accounted for at the hole. 1)argiano brunello di montalcino 2001 (all sangiovese grosso, hopefully :-0)

revisiting something seen a few times (4 in fact) pre-scandal, ie 2007. found some more and at the old price even.

decanted 1 hour; dark ruby, still no fringe; plum, cherry, alcohol, wood, bit of mushroom, surprisingly no change in it's youthful nose; plum, dark berries, oak, cherry, still primary; lots of firm fine tannins; acid still quite overt but does not irritate; lean/austere and unlike the earlier samples which had a bit more fruit midpalate; medium bodied and length; none of us detected any non approved grapes, no chocolate? :-); 14%; this one is still too young with a long way to go; BANG! (-) ... who gives a toss about a little cabernet ... anyone for the 2003?

2)la rioja alta gran reserva 904 1995

consistent with the sample the other night. definately a BANG!, alas someone bought up every bottle in stock ... lucky so and so ...

3)roger sabon chateauneuf du pape prestige 2006
(third tier from the bottom... the "prestige" reference just screams w*nker)

ruby; ripe cherry, kirsch, jasmine, asian spices, a little grilled meat, nougat; follows onto palate, primary; firm fine tannins and sufficient acidity present; medium bodied and length; 15% ... does not feel alcoholic ... deceptive; still too young and much less fun at this point than it's lesser bretheren; all the bits there for the long run; BANG!(-).

still, not a bad session and went home mello.

how dishonest?

the Italian news weekly L’Espresso now reports that,

1)almost all of the big [wineries] involved in the [Brunello] investigation have been forced to request declassification in order to return to the shelves of supermarkets and wine stores, albeit with less prestigious lables,

2)nearly 50% of Banfi’s 2003 Brunello was downgraded to IGT Toscana Rosso, and a sizable amount of its 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007 vintages has met the same fate.

stuck

dinner at the pharmacy ... had no choice as traffic was nasty this evening.

duca di saragnano chianti riserva 2004

ruby; floral,cherry, plum; plum, mineral/chalk, not much else, savoury?, lean, slight alcohalic burn; tannins a little furry(?); wish the acid had a little more edge to it (but it's not dull by any means); short but the aforementioned burn sticks around; 13%; POP! not much point to this one, heaps of other alternatives. the glass of stock standard castello di querceto chianti 2007 had yesterday was more fun ... had that nice sharp acidity which is missing here.

prawn ravioli, another pork chop, pinenut and lemon tart and a shot of gianni gagliado's grappa, cannot remember what it's called but it was not happening ... wimpy and short ...

stayed on for dinner

friends came over before the barbaresco was finished, so stayed on for dinner.

lungarotti rubesco vigna monticchio 2000 (sangiovese 70%: canaiolo 30%) [umbria]

dark ruby, young; musk and sweaty t-shirt (initial whiff then dissipated ... thank god), dark cherry, ripe plum, a little floral; sweet ripe (but not "over") fruit, plum and red berries (cran?), raisins, fleshy and very smooth (lush?); very fine and ripe tannins but could do with a little more acid to balance the rich fruit (sample had last year seemed to have a nicer balance ... but then, don't trust my memory); medium bodied and longish; 14%; BANG! altho a nice chianti would be more refreshing methinks.

barbequed ribs and bacon sandwiches ... must really learn to get my nutritional requirements from other kinds of food.

tuesday evening

isole and olena chianti classico 2003 (again ... std stuff at the pharmacy)

ruby; didn't get any strawb this time (altho one with more acute olfactory organs still detected it plus cream soda???), cherry and smoke, ok maybe something like dried strawbs; plum, cherry (broader than the last time, mineral/powdery feel, parts getting nicely intergrated; very fine tannins; light/medium bodied; longish with a very pleasant astringent, cleansing and acidic tail plus a slightly bitter finish.nice. BANG! (as before, only just because of the usual restaurant markup). stock standard chianti it may be but there's no disputing the fun it provides.

works with spaghetti pesto with prawns!?, butter and sage buccatinni, grilled lamb rack.

two IGTs then

castello banfi's brunello di montalcino 2003 and brunello di montalcino poggio alle mura 2003... just stick a fancy "supertuscan" label on each and everything will be alright...ha ha ha.

fell off the wagon

try not to drink weekdays but succumbed at the pharmacy monday. san danielle ham, bucatinni amatriciana and grilled porkchop with gorgonzola smeared all over (not happenin ... the cheese was too sharp even though they used the dolce).

isole & olena cepparello 2000

me mate had it recently and was generally positive about it.
100% sangiovese
garnet; cherry, mushroom, grilled meat (?), [wife volunteered sweaty t-shirt, leather and paint thinner] and alcohol; cherry, bit of herb (or was that the food), ... bit lean (initially); tannins fine and lots of it ... this punter likes it, refreshing acid; would have been more balanced if there was more fruit; medium bodied; medium length (ok ... short ... by cepp standards); 13.5%; actually slips down very nicely thank you; really needs and is much better with food ... broadens and deepens flavours and lengthens the finish; also, let it breath ... 30 mins at least; overall, nice but a little pricey with the extra markup here. BANG! [only just, restaurant markup].

[1999 much 'bigger' in flavour and structure. alas, these seem to to have disappeared from these parts]

last bit, about 2 hours later ... very very pleasant ... going to have a good night's rest tonight.

recharge

had a lousy week at work, so friday afternoon couldn't come too soon. usual place and company.
1)chapoutier gigondas 2005 (gsm + other bits)

cherry/ ruby; cherry, plum, herb (?) and a bit of smoke on the nose; jammy plum and cherry, spice (hint of star anise?) on the palate with a minerally/stoney kind of finish; grippy tannins and refreshing acidity (made me hungry); not long (fruit disappears before arriving at the back with only the tannins and acid hanging around ... but not unpleasent); medium bodied. POP!

2)alex gambal nuit saint georges 1998

thought a base model with some age might be nice. with my losing streak in burgundies rolling, this was a gambal .... lost again. who let the dogs out ... woof, woof, woof woof ...; decanting and prayer failed; light cherry; get past the fur ... raspberry, cherry: could not get anything on the palate, no fruit only tannins and acid (tart, man); not long (thank god); light bodied; nuff said. FIZZLE!

update: on his site alex says:
1998 nuits st. georges – primarily from old vines on the vosne side of nuits; aux lavières and au bas du combe. a bit more red fruits in nuits in 1998; very ripe raspberries with smooth tannins. 100 cases made,

i wish .....

3) sette ponti oreno 2004 [it was either this or another tuscan... antinori's guado al tasso...chose this, fewer syllables] sangiovese:cab sav:merlot ... 2:1:1;

dark cherry; plum, blackcurrant, hint of coffee and vanilla, woody: loads of fruit, ripe plum, dark berries, wood, acid and very fine tannins to balance; lush, rich and creamy mouthfeel; medium/big bodied; long; its odd that the mountain of oak did not really bug me this time; not very italian (at least unlike most of the stuff normally drunk); 13.5%; normally dislike oaky stuff but hope to see it again. BANG! (update september: now only just ... price just skyrocketed ... bloody profiteers)

bit of roast pork and lamb chops tagged along.

a 2 glass weekend

had a really tedious week. looked forward to getting a little blasted on the weekend but as luck would have it, disaster. . . still sober at 4 pm sunday. drinking mates unavailable for various reasons (weak i say, weak). solo sessions are unacceptable, not alcoholic.

saturday night
brancaia blu 2001, aforesaid couple of glasses at dinner (free, hah). pork loin wrapped in proscuitto and pastry (pork wellington?) with yorkshire pudding, salad and berry pavlova for dessert.

sunday, a bad coffee day,
1) alledged italian joint, the shot was so physically wrong [cremaless and watery, like someone made some long black (a piss weak one at that) and put a bit into the demitasse], that it was left untouched. thieves.

2)some "silly" stuff later. had some mouthfeel, smooth, some flavour ... (better than the usual sour stuff) but there was this wet fur/tea towel smell ... in both shots had.
also had some "iced coffee", weird, really seaweed smoky... islay? ... withdrawal symptoms? latter.

saturday arvo

faiveley vosne romanee 2004
ruby; dried flowers, bit of strawberry, plum, [someone detected kiwifruit (?)], hint of smoke on the nose; mildly fruity palate, a little green tasting, some stalkiness, tannins fine, wee bit too acidic (needs food), mid palate not fleshy (ok , ok ... this is after all, a base model burg); light/medium bodied; medium length; 12.5% but the effects suggest it was higher ... POP!

mauro vanucci piaggia carmignano reserva 2001
sangiovese with a big dollop of cab sav and merlot;
opaque/inky black cherry; plum, blackcurrent, vanilla/butterscotch/[burnt caramel/someone mentioned sarsaparilla] on the nose; meager fruit (cherry, plum,raisin) and lots of wood the on palate, fine tannins, could do with a bit more acid, wood and fruit not integrated even at 7; smooth, medium bodied; short [shorter than a soda, that someone said!]; dull and flat overall; wood, wood, wood; a not very super tuscan ... disappointing. FIZZLE!