Notes of a mostly Barolo dinner.
1995 Nicolas Feulliatte Brut – very nice clean yeasty nose, and lke apple juice in the mouth. Lots of life ahead.
1990 Roederer Cristal – showing more colour, of course, and a sweet toasty nose (sweeter than the last time I had this about 3 months ago). Lots of acidity, smooth and quite complex.
With fresh oyster, Dungeness crab cake, smoked salmon, cucumber salad and prawn piri-piri.
2005 Giacosa Roero Arneis – as always, Arneis are nice! Showing a bit of colour, and a very nice nose with floral and pear components – lots of flavour, soft and with good length.
With grilled Tuna with olives and caper sauce and slices of potato, sort of a deconstructed salade Nicoise – very good
2004 Raveneau Chablis ‘Foret’ – interesting wine, very light in colour with an initially steely nose, clean and very dry. It picked up a nicely perfumed nose as it opened, but is such a baby that I’m sure I’d like it a lot more in a few years.
2002 Christian Moreau Chablis Vaillon – lemon, stone and a hint of smoke in this nose, more complex in the mouth, with some nuttiness. Much more development than the Raveneau.
2000 Giacosa Barolo Le Rocche di Falletto Riserva – (didn’t get a good look at this label – know it was reserve but didn’t note the vineyard) Tar and meat in the nose, the wine tight and a bit astringent, a mere baby and needs a lot fo time. It ended with a very pleasant anise note.
With veal saltimbocca
1997 Azelia Barolo San Rocco – a new age Barolo, dark, an unusual cedar nose (reminded us of a sauna, ripe, with notes of prunes and tar, and lots of tannin. I am a dedicated fan of the traditional style, but could appreciate this sort of wine as well.
1998 Clerico Barolo Ciabot Mentin Ginestra – dark wine with a simple tarry nose with hints of black cherry and chocolate as it opened up. Smooth but still very tannic.
1978 Prunotto Riserva Barolo – still dark and showing age only in the lightening edges, this had a lovely mature nose of cocoa, musky leather and freshly tarred road as well as some of the classic rose petal that had been lacking in the earlier wines. It also had significant very dry tannins and a slght astringency at the end. I love these mature wines!
With braised short ribs with espresso and mushroom demi sauce:
1989 Pio Cesare Barolo – lighter colour than the 1978, and it was perfectly mature with a fairly long life ahead. It showed a mature nose with the usual tar, some spice and anise, and good mature plum., with the roses kicking in after it had aired a bit. Silky smooth and elegant. This is the reason I cellar Barolos and forget about them for a decade or two. By the way, all wines except the 1978 had been opened as far ahead of time as could be arranged.
With cheese:
1996 Gaja Sperss Barolo – dark, with tarry sweet nose showing mushroom and a floral note. Good body, lots of tannin, but surprisingly approachable at this relatively young age. This will just continue to get better with age.
1997 Dal Forno Recioto (1/2 bottle) – we were a bit flummoxed at first because there was a distinctive musty note in the nose that closely resembled TCA. I finally concluded that it probably wasn’t, but there was always the nagging feeling that maybe…. In any case, there were no problems on palate with this remarkable wine. It also showed cherry and chocolate, was thick and sweet in the mouth, slightly hot (although only 14%) with amazing concentration, but also finished well, much less sweetly than expected.
We then went on to a couple of delightful rarities brought by Roy Hersh, my favourite purveyor of all things Port-like, although in this instance no Port was in evidence (anything is possible though – I left the others well after midnight, still seething with totally unconcealed lust for even more wine, so…)
Rare Wine Madeira – New Orleans Special Reserve – part of their historic series, this wine was made from the almost extinct Terrantez grape. Medium to light golden colour, dry nuts and raisined fruit in the nose, some sweetness and burnt caramel in the mouth but the wine finished quite dry. While the finish clamped down a bit at the end as far as showing complexity, the sense of the wine lingered on. Very interesting.
Borges 1940 Reserve Solera Verdelho – another interesting Madeira – pale brown, hot sweet nose with a waxiness, clean on palate, finishing dry.
Great evening!!
