G. Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia 2006

It's slowly becoming a mission of mine to drink as much Barolo in the autumn as humanly possible. I feel it is the ultimate seasonal fine wine. You can hear the dry leaves crunching under foot as you sip it. Well, I can at least. Maybe I'm weird. Maybe people don't hear leaves when they're tasting wine.

Great colour. Ruby edges with a pure, deep core.

Candied cherries on the nose, with saddle leather and cocoa dust. Hint of tar.

Holy shit what a wine. Those cherries are so rich and sweet and sour and utterly entwined with tight, gripping stone, wood and tar. The integration and structure are astounding. Nuanced but powerful. So very young but still compelling and rewarding. Would love to be able to afford a case of it and chart its course over a few decades.

*****

Tasted 14 September 2012 at The Sampler

Buy My Book. Please.

Sassicaia 2001 (from half bottle)

I feel this is a good but not a great wine. I think maybe it should be priced around Tignanello level, and it isn't. I've tried four or five vintages of it now, and have enjoyed them, but feel its fame and status spring more from the incredible change it wrought, rather than the liquid in the bottle every year. Maybe I'm just grumpy. 2001 was a lovely year in Tuscany, the end of a great run of vintages that started in '95.

I've never had the '85, which is meant to be immortal. 

Dark. Young. A bit bloody.

Crazy nose. Butterscotch, toffee followed by dark black currants and chocolate.

Sexy palate. Everything is there from the nose, with it starting quite sweet and generous. The fruit appears mid palate, quite juicy, but it softens a bit too quickly in the mouth. Good length. 

****

Tasted 28 July 2012 at The Sampler

Schiopettino 'la Viarte' 2007

Schiopettino, or Ribolla Nera, came close to extinction during the Phylloxera scourge. New plantings in the '70s saw a small comeback, but it's still relatively obscure. Quite a lot of it goes to make sparkling wine. 

I'm going to be honest, this is one of the most interesting wines I've tried in ages. It's different, and structurally doesn't follow any path that I'm familiar with. Folks set in their ways will probably want to steer clear. 

Dark. Vivid.

Nose is powerful but a touch muted. Coffee grounds, a touch of cranberry. B Bit of wild herbs on the edges. Quite beguiling.

Violets, rosemary and assorted herb by the bushel on the palate. It's almost like bitters. Star anise and cedar, quite hard but there's cherry peeking around the edges. I really like this. It's backwards and rustic, but not dirty. Fascinating stuff. Like a well seasoned black and blue ribeye.

*****

Tasted at Luvians, 16 July 2012

Gaja Barolo 2007

Opened recently at my local wine merchant. Don't know what I'm going to do when I don't have them to call on anymore. 

Great colour: dark, translucent and bloody.

Bright red and dark fruit nose with tar and suede and a touch of smoke.

Forward and sexy but in a classic way, which matches up with what I know about 2007 as a vintage. It's taut, fleshy and well-integrated, with the tannins forming a grippy lattice around crunchy dark cherries. This will soften and get more elegant, but I really like its crunchy grip at the moment.

****

Tasted at Luvians, 13 July 2012

Gaja Costa Russi 1998

A winemaking friend of mine celebrated his birthday on Sunday, and a few assorted trade folks brought some odd bottles. Some were curiosities, some were donations from absent friends, unable to attend. As wine pot-lucks go, the quality was fantastic. We hid happily under the gazebos, sheltered from the rain, swigging cracking plonk whilst eating as much from the grill as possible.

One wine stood out among some rather daunting competition. This was opened later in the day, after the crowd had thinned.

The beginning of rust on the rim, with a warm dark blood ruby.


Cured meat, truffle, fig and mushroom with forest detritus and a hint of cherries. Heady, rich and promising.

Rich, cured red fruit, knotted and layered with incredible power and delicacy. You tug on it in the mouth, grabbing at each phase of the palate. Tar and evergreen forest wrapped in juicy black cherries and cranberries. Dry and longingly rasping, like a kiss at the end of a long night. Incredible.

*****

Tasted on the Trelawney Estate, Hackney, 8 July 2012

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Case Ibidini Insolia 2010

I don't know why these guys don't use the 'z'. Z's a cool letter. I would argue that it doesn't get used enough. But instead of an Inzolia, this is Insolia. So there you go. If it were from Tuscany, it would be Ansonica.

My flatmate grilled some chicken thighs marinated in honey and spices and I thought this may do the trick. It's from a co-op, but a good one. It's also bottled on island, which I feel is important. 

Light and bright, with gilded edges to the silver.

Peach and very light hazelnut on the nose. Small hint of pear drop.

Soft, with that rounded Mediterranean white feel to it that sort of drops in the middle of the palate and spreads out from there. White fruits with a bit of pear, and hazelnuts. This is pretty simple stuff. A good summer white that won't leave scratching your head, looking for nuance. Nice with the food.

***

Tasted 4 July 2012 at Shorehead