Giacomo Fennochio, I think, and his sister visited the store. He speaks no English, I can order a beer in Italian, so his sister did the translating.
No translating was needed in tasting 5 of his wines. They were all spot on, classic examples of Piedmont red wine. I bought 3 to offer for sale in the store.
For something to put in your cellar was the 2004 Barolo Bussia. 100% Nebbiolo grape from the famous and prestigious Bussia vineyard in Barolo, it is just starting to shed its hard tannic outer shell and already displaying the famous fruit and complex flavors of world class Barolo from a wonderful year. Retail on this beauty is $59.99 a bottle.
The normal Barolo from him is only $39.99 a bottle for the 2004. While this wine is no where near as big and complex as the Bussia, it is a great way to taste a more ready to drink Barolo today. This will age for another 10 years, where I would wait at least 10 more for the Bussia to show its best. Both of these wines should be saved for great cuts of red meat, roasted or braised.
The 2008 Dolcetto is fantastic. Drank a bottle with my bridge buddies tonight and all of them were wowed. Great fruit flavors, middleweight in body with just a hint of spice and tannin, it was delicious with honey roasted peanuts and 3 no-trump. $19.99 a bottle and not only will you think you are in the North End of Boston, you will believe you are at the sidewalk cafe nibbling on cheese watching the world go by.
Showing posts with label Red wine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Red wine. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Next Hot Red Grape
If it looks like Merlot, blossoms like Merlot, changes color like Merlot and ripens like Merlot, it's Merlot!? Nope, and don't be ashamed, it fooled millions of people for over 100 years. It's called Carmenere.
With the advent of DNA analysis of grape varieties, many myths and "truths" have been dispelled in the wine business. One of the biggest is the long thought extinction of Carmenere. Originally in the classic Bordeaux blend it was not replanted after the Phyloxera blight in the late 1800's. What was unknown was that the grape was planted in Chile and it expanded its cultivation range as all wine growers thought it was Merlot. Prior to DNA analysis, the science you used to identify grape varieties was the science of Ampelography, leaf patterns. Today, most Carmenere is picked separately from Merlot and for good reason. Even though the grapes look alike, flower alike, change color alike and the juice in the fruit ripens alike, the seeds in the Carmenere stay bitter for an extra week or two. You just have to wait to make a great wine. In Bordeaux with its cooler climate and shorter growing season, the grape was allowed to die out because 9 years out of 10 the seeds never ripened and you couldn't help but make bitter wine.
Carmenere today is where Malbec was 10 years ago. Consumers are just finding out about it. The wine is smooth like Merlot but has more flavor in addition, the grape produces the same organic compound found in chocolate that gives us that lovey-dovey feeling. I am getting consumers giving me feedback after tasting the wine to the effect, " I don't like dry red wines, but I loved this?!"
In the store today we have one from Cono Sur of Chile, where else. It retails for $9.99 a bottle and in three months time it has gone from obscure to the number one selling red wine. Equally good with all red meats it excels with pork. I remember the Tuscans add cocoa powder to their wild boar stew, so no surprise there.
Caution! Some of the winemakers are not waiting long enough for the seeds to ripen and this makes a green tasting wine. You won't find any yucky Carmeneres at my store, cuz I taste all the bad wines, so you only have to taste the good ones.
With the advent of DNA analysis of grape varieties, many myths and "truths" have been dispelled in the wine business. One of the biggest is the long thought extinction of Carmenere. Originally in the classic Bordeaux blend it was not replanted after the Phyloxera blight in the late 1800's. What was unknown was that the grape was planted in Chile and it expanded its cultivation range as all wine growers thought it was Merlot. Prior to DNA analysis, the science you used to identify grape varieties was the science of Ampelography, leaf patterns. Today, most Carmenere is picked separately from Merlot and for good reason. Even though the grapes look alike, flower alike, change color alike and the juice in the fruit ripens alike, the seeds in the Carmenere stay bitter for an extra week or two. You just have to wait to make a great wine. In Bordeaux with its cooler climate and shorter growing season, the grape was allowed to die out because 9 years out of 10 the seeds never ripened and you couldn't help but make bitter wine.
Carmenere today is where Malbec was 10 years ago. Consumers are just finding out about it. The wine is smooth like Merlot but has more flavor in addition, the grape produces the same organic compound found in chocolate that gives us that lovey-dovey feeling. I am getting consumers giving me feedback after tasting the wine to the effect, " I don't like dry red wines, but I loved this?!"
In the store today we have one from Cono Sur of Chile, where else. It retails for $9.99 a bottle and in three months time it has gone from obscure to the number one selling red wine. Equally good with all red meats it excels with pork. I remember the Tuscans add cocoa powder to their wild boar stew, so no surprise there.
Caution! Some of the winemakers are not waiting long enough for the seeds to ripen and this makes a green tasting wine. You won't find any yucky Carmeneres at my store, cuz I taste all the bad wines, so you only have to taste the good ones.
Monday, February 16, 2009
President Gourmet
Washington may have chopped the cherry tree, but it was Thomas Jefferson who was the first wine geek president. While living in Paris as a diplomat he not only developed his taste for fine wines and foods, Ben Franklin acquired the same habit the same way and both lived into their 80's, but also used his farming skills and brought back vine cuttings from Bordeaux to his home at Monticello in Virginia. Alas, the yet undetected native American vine mite, Phylloxera, destroyed the vines and no wine was ever produced by Jefferson. Eventually this microscopic bug was transported to Europe and ruined most of the vineyards there in the mid 1800's. Surprisingly, today almost all vines are grown on American root stock. Think of Concord underground and Cabernet on top.
With that knowledge today there is a healthy and high quality wine growing region in the Virginian Piedmont. Jefferson would be proud. Unfortunately, these yummy wines rarely are available outside of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the D.C. area. If you live there, you know, but for the rest of us... road trip!
When Jefferson was alive, he enjoyed fine Bordeaux, but the Bordeaux of the 1700's was different than today's Bordeaux. Today, only 5 varieties of grapes are allowed in the blend; Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Back then there was a 6th grape, think of the 5th Beatle, Carmenere. When the Phylloxera bug hit, the winemakers of Bordeaux allowed the Carmenere to go extinct because the grapes need to hang on the vine for an extra week than all the others. This extra week of ripening was not always reached as the Earth was in a cooling time back then, think of global warming in reverse. Until recent scientific advances, ie. DNA mapping, the way you determined what grapes were growing in your vineyard was the science of Ampelography. No, Ampelography has nothing to do with silicon implants, but rather it is the science of tracing leaf patterns to determine grape varieties, sort of fingerprints for leaves. Unfortunately, the Merlot and the Carmenere have the same pattern, so DNA to the rescue. Today's almost all of the known Carmenere is grown in Chile.
Carmenere is one of the most lovable dry red wines in the world today. When the grape is allowed to hang to ripen perfectly it yields a smooth dry red wine with some fruit and spice and chocolate flavor/aroma sensations. My two favorites are the Vina Chocolain 2007 retailing about 12 a bottle and the luscious Arboleda 2006 around 20 a bottle. They are equally good with steaks as well as roasts and braises of beef or lamb. And I would not be against serving them with a game bird such as goose or duck.
To pronounce Carmenere, try Car man air.
With that knowledge today there is a healthy and high quality wine growing region in the Virginian Piedmont. Jefferson would be proud. Unfortunately, these yummy wines rarely are available outside of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the D.C. area. If you live there, you know, but for the rest of us... road trip!
When Jefferson was alive, he enjoyed fine Bordeaux, but the Bordeaux of the 1700's was different than today's Bordeaux. Today, only 5 varieties of grapes are allowed in the blend; Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Back then there was a 6th grape, think of the 5th Beatle, Carmenere. When the Phylloxera bug hit, the winemakers of Bordeaux allowed the Carmenere to go extinct because the grapes need to hang on the vine for an extra week than all the others. This extra week of ripening was not always reached as the Earth was in a cooling time back then, think of global warming in reverse. Until recent scientific advances, ie. DNA mapping, the way you determined what grapes were growing in your vineyard was the science of Ampelography. No, Ampelography has nothing to do with silicon implants, but rather it is the science of tracing leaf patterns to determine grape varieties, sort of fingerprints for leaves. Unfortunately, the Merlot and the Carmenere have the same pattern, so DNA to the rescue. Today's almost all of the known Carmenere is grown in Chile.
Carmenere is one of the most lovable dry red wines in the world today. When the grape is allowed to hang to ripen perfectly it yields a smooth dry red wine with some fruit and spice and chocolate flavor/aroma sensations. My two favorites are the Vina Chocolain 2007 retailing about 12 a bottle and the luscious Arboleda 2006 around 20 a bottle. They are equally good with steaks as well as roasts and braises of beef or lamb. And I would not be against serving them with a game bird such as goose or duck.
To pronounce Carmenere, try Car man air.
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