By Bastardo

The party was at Anne and Putnam Weekley's place, and the unofficial theme turned out to be Barolo, which is a good thing, since Kim and I have been exploring these lately. We were accompanied by "Cousin" Larry Meehan, in town for a few nights of modest revelry. There was plenty of great food, including braised veal cheeks, liver pate, mushroom pasta, platters of summer vegetables, tomatoes and fresh mozzarella, polenta with mushrooms and caramelized onions and much more. Larry got us started with something white.

1998 Sanct Valentin Pinot Grigio Alto Adige, 13% alc.: Larry called this medium straw "as nice a Pinot Grigio as I've ever had," with its floral apple, pear and lemon rind character, and I wouldn't disagree with that assessment; in fact, the rich, ripe flavors actually elicited a "wow" from this taster. A soft herbal component adds interest and enjoyment, and I can only wish that we could find this in the Detroit market. Larry added that the wine is produced biodynamically, and showed more barrel character last year than it does now. A delicious wine, and in no danger of fading any time soon.

Imported by Siena Imports, San Francisco, CA

1994 Paulo Scavino Barolo Bric del Fiasc, 13.5% alc.: This slightly bricked ruby garnet shows smoke, leather, sour cherry and prune in both flavor and aroma; a little tobacco emerges as it opens and Larry added impressions of mineral and rust. Sleek and smooth, the wine still has some moderate tannins to shed, along with balanced acidity and a nice finish, and while it's drinking very well now, it has at least a few years of improvement left. Very nice indeed!

Imported by Vin Divino, Ltd., Chicago, IL

1990 Ceretto Bricco Rocche Barolo Prapo, 13.5% alc.: There's just a hint of rust to the dark garnet color here, and when I voiced impressions of cedar, mahogany, smoke and sour cherry, Putnam added "...turning into some kind of cinnamon fudge." (Wasn't that a rock band from the late '60s?) One taster added impressions of "figs and cream," while another described it as being "in great shape, a beautiful wine." There're still tannins to resolve, but it opens very nicely in the glass; at fourteen years old, this one's still on the way up.

Imported by International Vintage Wine Co., Hartford, CT

1986 Roagna Barbaresco, 13% alc.: Ruby garnet, with just a hint of rust, this shows a little bit of the barnyard along with anise and floral dried cherries on the nose, and even more of the cherry character in the mouth. One taster found it reminiscent of red Burgundy, while Larry called it "light and pretty," and indeed, it's not as big or as powerful as the Barolos. Still, it's very nice in its own regard, and while there are still some soft tannins, it would probably be best to drink up over the next year or so.

Imported by Chateau St. Jean, Kenwood, CA

1998 Voerzio Barbera d'Alba Reserva, 1.5L, 14.5% alc.: Tom Natoci opened this inky purple - garnet as a mystery wine, and Putnam pegged it as barbera fairly quickly; it's all about tar and chocolate on the nose, with blackberry and black plum in support. The big, chewy flavors echo loudly, and it's not too tannic to drink now. While the "chocolate" speaks to the "international style," the fruit is just so dense, dark and intense. Certainly a horse of a different color compared to the nebbiolos.

Imported by Winebow Inc., New York, NY

1995 Seghesio Barolo La Villa, 13.9% alc.: Dark garnet in color, with smoke and tobacco over black plum and dried cherry on both the nose and palate, and earth and leather underneath it all in the mouth; it turns almost floral as it opens. Tannins are moderate and don't get in the way of enjoying this tonight, and if it's not quite as impressive as the Bric del Fiasc or the Prapo, it's still a fine, fine Barolo on its own terms.

Imported by Vin Divino, Ltd., Chicago, IL

1997 Vietti Barolo Rocche, 14% alc.: Initially rather stingy on the nose, this dark garnet gradually gives up more and more black cherry shaded with subtle tobacco and chocolate; the fruit is sweet in the mouth and seems to show a little oak. I waited for this to open in the bottle, and after an hour and a half, the significant tannins had toned down nicely, making for a smooth, balanced Barolo that's nice to drink now, and should be even better in five years or so. Putnam describes this as "stoney."

Imported by Premiere Wine Merchants, New York, NY

At this point, I had made my way through the Piedmont wines that were on the table, but there were some nice things from France that deserved some attention.

2002 Denis Mortet Gevrey - Chambertin, 13% alc.: This dark garnet is another one that probably benefited from an hour and a half of air before I got to it, as it shows a pretty smoky black cherry bouquet accented with sweet oak and chocolate nuances. Flavors echo nicely, and this is quite approachable, if still very primary.

Imported by Martine's Wines, Inc., Novato, CA

1999 J.L. Chave Hermitage, 13% alc.: Putnam pulled this deep, dark garnet out in response to the '92 that Larry brought along, and it's a powerful young monster, all matchstick, black fruit and underbrush. Upon her first sip, Kim uttered, "Wow, it's huge!" Larry commented, "It's very compelling, it keeps drawing you in." Still, I would counsel leaving this alone until it's at least ten years of age, for its own good, if not yours.

1992 J.L. Chave Hermitage, 13% alc.: Showing little if any rust, this dark garnet almost smells corked when first poured, but the consensus of opinion was that it isn't, as that "woody" aspect either blows off or morphs into a barnyard, aquarium, black fruit and underbrush character; Putnam added impressions of "exotic ginger and tree bark." Soft, smooth and very harmonious, this really fleshes out with air, and is drinking very nicely
at this time.

J.L. Chave Hermitage Imported by Langdon Shiverick Imports, Cleveland Ohio

1998 Chateau de Valflaunes Coteaux du Languedoc Pic Saint - Loup "Favorite", 14% alc.: An inky garnet colored wine, this shows serious road tar and matchstick on the nose, with black currant - like fruit coming to the fore in the flavors. Dry, not quite reserved and not too tannic, this opens dramatically in the glass, and strikes me as a leg o' lamb kind of wine. Good stuff.

Imported by Hand Picked Selections, Warrenton, VA

1998 Jean Luc Colombo Cornas La Louvée, 13.5% alc.: Deep dark garnet, and all road tar, matchstick and barnyard at this point. Let it sleep for several years.

Imported by Premiere Wine Merchants, New York, NY

Reporting from Day-twah,

Bastardo

A Snootful of Le Snoot

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© George Heritier September 2004