Food, Wine, Culture TV: Episode 19- 1998 Barolo

Today’s episode from Foodandwineblog.com brings us a very relaxed tasting with Michael Mohammadi featuring an incredible Barolo from the 1998 Vintage!
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The answer to “why are you so into wine?” (with some ridiculous tasting notes)

As many of you may know, I’m helping a restaurant rebuild their wine program from the ground up. This has involved tasting over a 1000 wines in the last 8 weeks (many more notes to come), meeting reps, etc. It’s been a lot of fun and a great learning experience.

Last night I was at the restaurant to meet with a rep when a party came in of 12 that we gave the OK to BYO (Bring Your (their) Own). Little did i know, these guys were a serious group of wine lovers who drink some pretty serious stuff. Having done many of these dinners myself, I know how tough it can be on service to maintain glassware, pours, and proper wine handling with just one server. So, I offered to stay in the restaurant and oversee/run their wine service for them which they very happily accepted. The group gave me full authority on building the flights, decanting wines, etc….as well as pairing with their dinner. It was a lot of fun!

A couple Champagne’s and a ‘92 Ridge Zinfandel into the night…a few of the guys suggest I taste with them. I of course said thank you and as they finished a bottle off (2-3 oz’s left in each) I took a small pour of each to taste (and take meticulous notes on!). This led to one of the guys insisting I try every wine WITH them to share the experience. The amazing level of generosity in this group was unprecedented- they were giving me pours of everything in volumes that were the same as they were drinking. In the end I waived their corkage and gave a few free pours of Cognac to those who were interested (the gentleman who brought the Lafite got two large pours!). The very least I could do for their outstanding generosity!

This night rivals any night of wines I have ever experienced and may in fact be the most ridiculous lineup I’ve had! Below are the notes on the wines. The best news is I made many new friends- they loved the food and will be back in the future. Also, I was invited to have dinner with a couple of them in the near future.

Sometimes people ask me why I am so into wine. Is it just because wine tastes good? Am I looking for an excuse to drink a lot? Am I trying to be “cool”? I generally go into the fact that I love wine for the culture of wine. The history and art of wine. Also because wine brings people together, friends new and old, family, loved ones over a big table of food and a few bottles of great wine. Enjoying stories and creating new ones.

But, I think next time someone asks me why I am so “into” wine…I’ll just send them a link to this post and they can figure it out for themselves.

Cheers!

I left prices out from the list below, but I will just say the range is from a few hundred to up to $1600 / bottle! There is no real reason to assess QPR- all of these wines are very special and each is an outstanding QPR in my book!

1996 Veuve Clicout Brut Champagne Gold Label Vintage Réserve: Straightforward Veuve with baked biscuit and grapefruit nose, very crisp and fresh on the palate. Very nice way to start the night but not blowing me away. A good Champagne. My rating: 90 pts

1997 Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi Brunello di Montalcino Castelgiocondo Ripe al Convento Riserva: Aromatic and enticing this ‘97 is still a youngster. Layers of dark fruit, tar, wet soil, and twigs dance on the palate with medium to large tannins and good length on the finish. Very elegant example of Brunello. I’d give this 2-3 more years in the cellar as it has some time until everything comes together. My rating: 96 pts

1999 Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi Brunello di Montalcino Castelgiocondo Ripe al Convento Riserva: Next to the ‘97 this wine shows darker fruit and much greater tannins. Similar earthiness to the wine highlighted by the layers of dark fruit and a touch of spice. Very impressive structure- give this infant a rest until 2012 or later! My rating: 96 pts

1997 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Le Rocche del Falletto: A very delicate Barolo showing a variety of red and dark fruits, clove notes, tobacco and licorice. Very fine, medium tannins and great length on the finish. Drinking VERY well right now (opened for 3 hours) but definitely structured to last many years. My rating: 92 pts

1990 Elio Altare Barolo Vigneto Arborina: Blackberry, currant, spice notes dominate the palate while fairly moderate-sized tannins bring some excitement to the midpalate. A hint of earth/spice comes and goes on the long finish. This wine is holding up VERY well and should do so for many years to come. My rating: 92 pts

1986 Gruaud Larose: Very mature and drinking well. Some of the fruits took backstage to a bell pepper, spice, anise component but overall the wine showed good integration and balance. Drink in the next couple years with a leg of lamb! My rating: 92 pts

1984 Monticello Cellars: Long past its peak but still showing some life. The fruits were almost faded completely, tannins soft and dusty, with earth and a very distinct coffee note. My rating: 84 pts

2003 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild: The aroma’s of tobacco, cassis, anise, and dark fruits were intoxicating. Great concentration of dark fruit wrapped up tightly in a bundle with cigars, soil, smoke and some dried herbs. Albeit very young, this wine was very approachable after 3 hours in the decanter though I can only imagine what 15+ years in the cellar would do for it. The tannins in this wine were massive but at the same time they were so elegant and refined…truly a great wine. My rating: 96 pts

2001 Dal Forno Romano Amarone: Someone please pinch me…holy richness. Amazing depth and concentration with dried fruits, raisins, plum, cassis, sweetness on the tannins. This wine could define “layers and layers of complex flavors” as it’s incredibly structured and very exciting. Young? Yes. Enjoyable now? Yes!!! My rating: 96 pts

1985 Graham’s Vintage Porto: A very concentrated port that has decades to go before it all comes together. Sweet surypy deliciousness with ripe fruit, burnt vanilla, toasted oak, and outstanding structure. A real treat to finish off a night of outstanding wines. My rating: 95 pts

1986 Chateau d’Yquem: One of the finest wines I’ve had to date. Incredibly complex, great structure, and in its “youth” very approachable. Opened 1 hour prior to pouring. Beautiful nose of vanilla bean, lemon merenge pie, toasted nuts. Great depth with concentrated fruits and a finish that almost doesn’t finish. A drinking window on this might be now through 2050 or more! Outstanding wine- one to be enjoyed with great friends and family. My rating: 97+ pts

A couple notes: Also, I had a ‘95 Chianti Classico Riserva of which I didn’t take down the name. Finally, they had a few other wines in the bunch which I did not get to! All wines were opened for at least 2 hours before service (minus the Champagne). At the end of the night I got to revisit many of these wines as they had tons of left overs they very graciously left in my hands!

Sotto Sopra Wine Tasting

I realize this is a bit late in coming, but I finally found my list of wines from that evening and as best I can remember them, I figured I should write something, at the very least!  The first of the monthly, 1st Thursday Tasting events at Sotto Sopra went off very well, with a large crowd, interesting people, along with good wines and good foods.  I’m looking forward to October’s wine tasting!

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Wines for Spring Part II: A Shopping List - 20 wines to kick off any springtime BBQ!

Part II of my Spring Wine Guide (Read Part I here): The chill of winter is ready to be packed away with your snow pants and wool sweaters in exchange for bathing suits and tank tops. If you’re like me, this time of year you’ll also transition from drinking big red wines every night to more Champagne, crisp whites, and Rose. Sure you’ll still have a big Cabernet or Barolo with a nice dinner indoors, but on a warm spring or summer night its best to kick things off with one (or two, or three!) bottles of a light, slightly chilled wine.

Here are my recommended wines for this Spring organized by Country and Price, with truncated tasting notes (Pink text = Rose wine, Green text = white or sparkling wine, Red text = red wine):

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Wine Club Meetup Recap: Italian Wines at Iggies on 01/30/2008

On January 30, 2008 our wine club took over the back half of Iggie’s Pizza in Mt. Vernon to try our luck with Italian wines under $20 paired with the best pizza in Baltimore. Being a “BYOB” establishment, and having outstanding food, Iggie’s was the perfect place for this month’s gathering. A huge thanks to Lisa and Peter, as well as the staff at Iggie’s for everything!

The group of 20 people begin arriving at 7:00 PM and by 7:30 Heather and I had all the wines organized and brown-bagged (Heather (on the right in this image with Mary) did most of the work so I could welcome guests and remain blind to what bottles were under which bag). In total we had 11 wines from all over Italy - a focus in Piemonte and Tuscano as one might expect.

The night began with a small group of us that arrived early tasting a Prosecco by Martini & Rossi. The bottle had a unique closure for a wine - an actual bottle cap, reminiscent of a large glass bottle of soda or some other everyday beverage. The new design hopes to give the Prosecco more of an every-day feel and although I was first put off by it, I found it to be pretty cool and a great way to make drinking a sparkling wine with dinner more informal and fun. The Prosecco itself was a great appertif with a touch of fizz, grapefruit and pear flavors, and some sweet fruits on the finish. It rolls in at $12 and was a fun way to start off the night.

As we took our seats, food was ordered, names were yelled out from behind the kitchen, and soups, salads and pizza began finding their way to their rightful owners. The tasting began. We had two bottles of each wine (except for 3, which we had plenty of to go around) and two tables of people - each table having their own bottle. Everyone had their tasting sheets and pens ready, and when they weren’t enjoying the pizza or taking in sniffs of wine, everyone (except for Erik who is pictured here fighting off Miranda’s attempt to steal his wine!) was scribbling notes and discussing the components of each wine. Two hours after it began, the tasting ended with the group in agreement: a pretty lousy showing of wines (including one selection brought by a very famous food and wine blogger who will remain nameless for reputations sake).

In the end, there were three voted winners, and one, almost unanimous loser (sorry Carlos…maybe most American’s just aren’t ready for Lambrusco, we look happy tasting it in this picture though!). I’ve posted notes on the three wines of the night below, as well as a few that were in the lineup that you’ll definitely want to avoid! (Picture here is of Aubrey and Kim, trying to figure out the funk coming from one of the wines!)

After the tasting a few of us were discussing next months theme - before I give any details, I’m going to suggest two dates: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 or Tuesday, February 26, 2008. Whichever I get more feedback for, will be the date we meet on!

Thanks to everyone who came out, especially the new people! It was really a pleasure meeting you all and I look forward to seeing you all at future events.

Wines of the night by popular vote, as well as my personal tasting notes):

1st place (tie) - Brought by Scott:
Castello Banfi - Rosso di Montalcino (2003) - $25: Wet forest and raspberry nose, dusty, dark fruits, cherry - well structured, big tannins with balance and finesse. Long finish, this is drinking very well right now. My rating: 91 pts, VGV (very good value)

Castello Banfi - Rosso di Montalcino (2004) - $25: Deeper color than the ‘04, smoke, dark fruits on the nose. Sour cherry and spice notes, but lacks balance. Medieet licorice aroma. Medium bodied with ripe fruits and tannins that match the acidity well and carry through a 20 second finish. enjoyable. My rating: 89 pts, GV (Good value)

2nd place - Brought by Ahleah/Mary:
Marenco Piemonte Barbera Pirona - (2005): Deep purple color, cherry, blackberry cedar, sweet licorice, good acidity and medium tannins - 20 second finish. Nice wine for the price. My rating: 87 pts, VGV.

3rd Place: Erik Banti I Pianetti Vino da Tavola (2005) -Brought by Colleen et al.: Deep plum color. Cassi, dark fruits, peppermint, plum and mushroom flavors. Sour cherry on the mid palate with the right amount of tannins and acidity. My rating: 88 pts, GV

Tasting notes: Marc Degrazia Imports

From a recent free tasting of a few Degrazia Imports:

• 2006 Massone Masera Gavi -$15: Spring flowers and apricot on the nose. The wine displayed vibrant fruits including apricot, pear, and melon, as well as hints of wet stones. Would benefit from a touch more acidity, but good overall balance. My rating: 87 pts

• 2006 Villa Giada I Suri Barbera di Asti - $13 : Earth tones with ripe cherry and plum, good structure and integrated tannins. Great value from Piedmont. My rating: 86 pts

• 2005 Paolo Scavino Rosso di Tavola - $20: This Nebbiolo had a floral bouquet with notes of jasmine and spice. Dark cherry, minerals and chalk on the palette with good spice notes up front. Coming into the finish the wine lost me for a second, but ended up pulling out some nice dried fruits and sour cherry along with medium tannins that were quite pleasant. My rating: 87 pts

• 2006 La Spinetta Moscato di Asti $24: This Italian dessert wine has a big bouquet of fruits, lavender and vanilla. Sweet and fun, this Muscat would be a great pairing with fresh fruits or a handful of hazelnuts on a warm spring or summer night. My rating: 88 pts