No wine Thursday, dinner was ropa vieja. Friday we went over to watch HS baseball game for a while, Betsy's sister joined us for dinner afterwards - grilled salmon, shisitos, and king oyster mushrooms, along with yu choy (like Chinese broccoli), green tea soba, and the 2014 Tete (Clos du Fief) "tradition" Julienas. Cranberry and raspberry, deep sappy fruit, but maybe a tad one note. Nice note though! B/B+

After dinner I started walking to Rob's, Fred picked me up halfway. Rob had a nice spread out (prosciutto, salami, cheeses, crostini, and nuts- mixed nuts included roasted fava beans, new on me- loved). Theme for our little local group was (gulp) Sparkling Reds.

We always do blind, I had questioned need (since I doubt anyone could name 3 sparking red producers) but host had already wrapped, so we did likewise.

Wine #1 - Pretty unusual. Fred allows that it's a Pet Nat, asks us to guess variety and location. My guesses were shot down (CA, and Mouvedre followed by Petite Sirah) Dense, a bit tannic, dry with a black fruit note. Once Fred said LI and Bdx varietal I got grape. 2014 Southold Farm Counting Stars (North Fork, LI). Quite different. B

Wine #2 - More what I expected, dry with black cherry framed by aromatic bitters. Soft without the tannins of previous. Pretty popular all around. NV? Cleto Chiarli Pruno Nero Lambrusco B+/B

Wine #3 - my wine, I liked more than some other guys. No SO2, shows on color and nose. Intensely fruit, grapey in a good way. 2015 Casalpriore Lambrusco dell'Emilia. B+/B

Wine #4 -Extra bubbly, needs to calm down a bit before really tasting. Off-dry, lots of berry fruit, light but noticable tannin. NV Barbolini Grasparossa di Castelvetro Lambrusco B

Wine #5- Much lighter in color, sweetest of night, I thought this looked like a darker rose and actually guessed Cerdon de Bugey. Pleasant and easy, but a bit short. Cantina di Sorbara Lambrusco di Sorbara , B/B-

Wine #6- this is only sparkling red I really didn't like. Dry, with black berries, but lots of brett even for a funk lover like me. The bubbles seemed to accentuate the funk. NV Quaresimo Lambrusco C+

Wine #7 - most divisive wine of the night. Some had as least favorite. Good acids, lighter than some, good length, berries and plums. Fontana dei Boschi Lambrusco B/B+

Bonus blind wine - Rob had been supposed to host a Zin tasting in Jan but missed it due a family issue. Still wrapped, he poured it blind and I blurted "Turley?" Sweet with raisiny notes, lots of alcohol (I was surprised to see "only" 15.8) just totally not my style. 2008 Turley Old Vines Zinfandel. C/C-

There was also the 2013 Thirty Bench (Niagara). Think Rob said Cab Franc. Midbodied, a bit of charred oak, surprisingly ripe for a northern red. B/B-

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice.Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency

On 4/16/16 6:13 PM, DaleW wrote:
> No wine Thursday, dinner was ropa vieja. Friday we went over to watch
> HS baseball game for a while, Betsy's sister joined us for dinner
> afterwards - grilled salmon, shisitos, and king oyster mushrooms,
> along with yu choy (like Chinese broccoli), green tea soba, and the
> 2014 Tete (Clos du Fief) "tradition" Julienas. Cranberry and
> raspberry, deep sappy fruit, but maybe a tad one note. Nice note
> though! B/B+

Hmmm. I would have expected more from this bottle, especially since
I've got some headed my way The food sounds great, though.


>
> After dinner I started walking to Rob's, Fred picked me up halfway.
> Rob had a nice spread out (prosciutto, salami, cheeses, crostini, and
> nuts- mixed nuts included roasted fava beans, new on me- loved).
> Theme for our little local group was (gulp) Sparkling Reds.

LOL! Gulp indeed. I think I might have found an excuse to skip a night
of tasting Lambruscos (at least, those that make it to these shores)


>
> Bonus blind wine - Rob had been supposed to host a Zin tasting in Jan
> but missed it due a family issue. Still wrapped, he poured it blind
> and I blurted "Turley?" Sweet with raisiny notes, lots of alcohol (I
> was surprised to see "only" 15.8) just totally not my style. 2008
> Turley Old Vines Zinfandel. C/C-

I had heard recently that Turley had toned down their style in recent
years. I guess that 2008 isn't "recent years"

Mark Lipton

--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

On Monday, April 18, 2016 at 10:51:12 AM UTC-4, Mark Lipton wrote:
> > 2014 Tete (Clos du Fief) "tradition" Julienas.
>
> Hmmm. I would have expected more from this bottle, especially since
> I've got some headed my way The food sounds great, though.
>
I actually liked the Tete more when revisited next day. This was pop/n.pour and was probably too cold - straight up from cellar
>
> LOL! Gulp indeed. I think I might have found an excuse to skip a night
> of tasting Lambruscos (at least, those that make it to these shores)
>
>
I actually like Lambrusco a lot in summer at picnics with charcuterie. This is more at one time than my preference though. I made my choice by just calling Chambers St as I was on way to pickup and saying "can you add a bottle of any Lambrusco you have in stock"- ended up with the Casalpriore and a bottle of Rota I'll save for a picnic.
> > Bonus blind wine - Rob had been supposed to host a Zin tasting in Jan
> > but missed it due a family issue. Still wrapped, he poured it blind
> > and I blurted "Turley?" Sweet with raisiny notes, lots of alcohol (I
> > was surprised to see "only" 15.8) just totally not my style. 2008
> > Turley Old Vines Zinfandel. C/C-
>
> I had heard recently that Turley had toned down their style in recent
> years. I guess that 2008 isn't "recent years"
>
> Mark Lipton
>
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net