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Wednesday was the 43rd anniversary of the first big event in my life, Betsy had
asked whether I would rather go out or have friends in. I opted for dinner at home with friends, and she invited 9 (luckily one couple only stayed for appetizers and meeting our new pup, because we could have never gotten 12 people in our tiny dining room). We started with: Proscuitto wrapped around figs and gorgonzola, drizzled with a balsamic reduction Smoked duck wrapped in lettuce Eggplant terrine (this was bought at store) Potatoes topped with sour cream and fish eggs (some with salmon roe, others "wasabi caviar") The appetizer wine was the NV Laurent-Perrier Champagne. Definitely on the light end of the Champagne spectrum. Fine bead, nose has floral notes with a kind of biscuit edge. Crisp, dry, very nice. B+/A- At one point ran out and opened the only other sparkler I had cold, the NV Zardetto Prosecco. Nowhere near the complexity and charm of the Champagne, but hey, it's a 1/3 the price. Nice fruity bubbly. B After the one couple headed to back to school night, we crowded around the dinner table to see what Betsy had wrought. A fine dinner -beef in Barolo, garlic mashed potatoes, green beans with pancetta, and two separate sautées of mushrooms- one with lobster, oyster & shimeji 'shrooms, the other with Chanterelles and white trumpets (I think there was some hen of the woods, but don't remember in which). Betsy made a double recipe of the beef in Barolo, and used the only Barolo I had that was cheap enough to sacrifice most of 2 bottles. But there was about a cup leftover, and I tried the 1997 Villadoria Barolo. Maybe closer in style to a Nebbiolo d'Alba than a Barolo, but a pleasant wine. Medium-body, earthy nose with a touch of flowers. Dark cherry fruit, good acidity for a '97, a lingering note of Piemonte tar. Not bad at all. B+ As we actually started eating we passed a quartet of Italians: 2000 Seghesio Barbera d'Alba Ripe raspberry fruit with some balancing acidity (though not very acidic by Barbera standards), little apparent oak, pleasant wine but without any real stamp of individuality. B 1997 Ceretto Barolo Zonchera Seemingly close to maturity, good body and a fair dose of toasty oak. Nose of roses and tar, good red fruit. A little short on the finish. B/B+ 1995 Icardi Parej Barolo A producer I only really know from their Moscato d'Asti, I'm not sure where I got this bottle. Initially a little disappointed - somewhat closed and angular. But some additional airtime (at first pour it had been opened 3 hours, but not decanted) let some real Barolo character shine through. There's a little hint of new oak, but there's lots of truffle, tar, and violet aromas. Medium tannins, dark red fruit (raspberry and black cherry), a little spice note. Doesn't seem to me to be clearly New Wave or Traditional, but somewhere in the middle. Tasty. A- 1996 Banfi Brunello Nobody talks much about the '96 Brunellos, but to me they offer some nice wines for drinking early. This one is made in a modern style, rich red fruit framed by some chocolaty oak flavors. It does have balancing acidity, and a good long finish. B+ We passed a cheese plate including Vermont Shepherds' Shepherd Wheel, Fourme d'Ambert, Morbier, 4 yr old Gouda, plus two Italian sheepsmilk cheeses that Joe Bongiorno brought. With those we had: 1990 Pierre Ponnelle "Les Mazoyeres" Charmes-Chambertin First pour seemed a little hot, with damp earth and candied red fruit. A minor disappointment. But as we talked into the night some animal and meat notes emerged. The last glass had a silky texture, with a nice overlay of spice and woodfloor on the red fruit. Not a profound GC, but pretty good. B+ 1999 Pierre-Bise "L'Anclaie" Coteaux du Layon Sweet honeyed chenin fruit, layers of mineral over a peach and apricot base. Very very good for the vintage. Not as acidic as some CdL (though there's plenty there to balance the sugar), I wouldn't try to age this one for that long. A- My friend Joe entertained us with stories of his visits this summer to Piemonte (Bartolo Mascarello being the highlight). None of my Italians this night were solidly traditional, but that's because the traditional ones all needed more time. But mostly pleasant wines, great friends, fantastic food, and nothing corked- not a bad birthday. Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre at best. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Dale Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply |
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Ceretto Zonchera is the wine that originally got me hooked on red wine and
particularly Barolo. Although I have found that the Zonchera isn't very representative of Barolos in general, I'm fond of it mostly because it gives a finished and well rounded impression. NH State liquor stores put their supply of '96s on clearance for $28. I drove around NH one day and collected a case and a half of them. I never feel guilty about opening a bottle because I don't believe they could benefit much from aging. "Dale Williams" > wrote in message ... > Wednesday was the 43rd anniversary of the first big event in my life, Betsy had > asked whether I would rather go out or have friends in. I opted for dinner at > home with friends, and she invited 9 (luckily one couple only stayed for > appetizers and meeting our new pup, because we could have never gotten 12 > people in our tiny dining room). > > We started with: > Proscuitto wrapped around figs and gorgonzola, drizzled with a balsamic > reduction > Smoked duck wrapped in lettuce > Eggplant terrine (this was bought at store) > Potatoes topped with sour cream and fish eggs (some with salmon roe, others > "wasabi caviar") > > The appetizer wine was the NV Laurent-Perrier Champagne. Definitely on the > light end of the Champagne spectrum. Fine bead, nose has floral notes with a > kind of biscuit edge. Crisp, dry, very nice. B+/A- > > At one point ran out and opened the only other sparkler I had cold, the NV > Zardetto Prosecco. Nowhere near the complexity and charm of the Champagne, but > hey, it's a 1/3 the price. Nice fruity bubbly. B > > After the one couple headed to back to school night, we crowded around the > dinner table to see what Betsy had wrought. A fine dinner -beef in Barolo, > garlic mashed potatoes, green beans with pancetta, and two separate sautées of > mushrooms- one with lobster, oyster & shimeji 'shrooms, the other with > Chanterelles and white trumpets (I think there was some hen of the woods, but > don't remember in which). > > Betsy made a double recipe of the beef in Barolo, and used the only Barolo I > had that was cheap enough to sacrifice most of 2 bottles. But there was about a > cup leftover, and I tried the 1997 Villadoria Barolo. Maybe closer in style to > a Nebbiolo d'Alba than a Barolo, but a pleasant wine. Medium-body, earthy nose > with a touch of flowers. Dark cherry fruit, good acidity for a '97, a lingering > note of Piemonte tar. Not bad at all. B+ > > As we actually started eating we passed a quartet of Italians: > > 2000 Seghesio Barbera d'Alba > Ripe raspberry fruit with some balancing acidity (though not very acidic by > Barbera standards), little apparent oak, pleasant wine but without any real > stamp of individuality. B > > 1997 Ceretto Barolo Zonchera > Seemingly close to maturity, good body and a fair dose of toasty oak. Nose of > roses and tar, good red fruit. A little short on the finish. B/B+ > > 1995 Icardi Parej Barolo > A producer I only really know from their Moscato d'Asti, I'm not sure where I > got this bottle. Initially a little disappointed - somewhat closed and angular. > But some additional airtime (at first pour it had been opened 3 hours, but not > decanted) let some real Barolo character shine through. There's a little hint > of new oak, but there's lots of truffle, tar, and violet aromas. Medium > tannins, dark red fruit (raspberry and black cherry), a little spice note. > Doesn't seem to me to be clearly New Wave or Traditional, but somewhere in the > middle. Tasty. A- > > 1996 Banfi Brunello > Nobody talks much about the '96 Brunellos, but to me they offer some nice wines > for drinking early. This one is made in a modern style, rich red fruit framed > by some chocolaty oak flavors. It does have balancing acidity, and a good long > finish. B+ > > We passed a cheese plate including Vermont Shepherds' Shepherd Wheel, Fourme > d'Ambert, Morbier, 4 yr old Gouda, plus two Italian sheepsmilk cheeses that Joe > Bongiorno brought. With those we had: > > 1990 Pierre Ponnelle "Les Mazoyeres" Charmes-Chambertin > First pour seemed a little hot, with damp earth and candied red fruit. A minor > disappointment. But as we talked into the night some animal and meat notes > emerged. The last glass had a silky texture, with a nice overlay of spice and > woodfloor on the red fruit. Not a profound GC, but pretty good. B+ > > 1999 Pierre-Bise "L'Anclaie" Coteaux du Layon > Sweet honeyed chenin fruit, layers of mineral over a peach and apricot base. > Very very good for the vintage. Not as acidic as some CdL (though there's > plenty there to balance the sugar), I wouldn't try to age this one for that > long. A- > > My friend Joe entertained us with stories of his visits this summer to Piemonte > (Bartolo Mascarello being the highlight). None of my Italians this night were > solidly traditional, but that's because the traditional ones all needed more > time. But mostly pleasant wines, great friends, fantastic food, and nothing > corked- not a bad birthday. > > Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B > a good wine, C mediocre at best. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a > party where it was only choice. > Dale > > Dale Williams > Drop "damnspam" to reply |
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>Zonchera isn't very
>representative of Barolos in general, I'm fond of it mostly because it gives >a finished and well rounded impression. > >NH State liquor stores put their supply of '96s on clearance for $28. I >drove around NH one day and collected a case and a half of them. I never >feel guilty about opening a bottle because I don't believe they could >benefit much from aging. > My guess is (just as a vintage generalization) that the '96 will last longer than the '97. Enjoy! Dale Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply |
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