Cotar Malvazija 1999, Kras, Slovenia. This bottle was in heavy need of aeration. After a while, it showed a beautiful nose, full of acacia blossoms, salvia and sea water. full-bodied, very mineral, typical Kras (Carso) terroir), great wine, but a level below Gravner.
Cappelano Barolo 2001 Pie Rupestris – Nebioli, Piedmont, Italy. Spicy, tar, caramel, brown sugar in the mouth a bit too light-bodied, nice minerality, expected to be much more tannic. Good, but expected much more.
Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Cannubi s. Lorenzo – Ravera 2003, Piedmont, Italy. What a focused and complex red beauty, very aromatic, balsamic, red fruit, cane sugar, spicy, already very accessible, beautiful acidity, nice power and length. A truly great old-school Piedmont wine
Conterno Fantino Barolo Vigna del Gris 1988, Piedmont, Italy. obvious difference to the traditionalists, partly because of the age, partly because of the new oak treatment. Incredible, but this barolo smelled exactly like the heather (Calluna vulgaris) honey I bought in Dalmatia last year. Also some dark chocolate and blackberry, nice texture and acidity, medium length. A keeper.
Gravner Breg 1999, Collio, Italy. What more to write about this masterpiece. With it's extraordinary balance, focus and purity of the aromas and taste, it flew high above all the other wines we tasted that evening. Sweet nose, floral and exotic fruit, herbal tea, see water minerality, more than a minute long aftertaste... What I noticed was that the 1998 Breg is much more of a quaffer. The main reason is that the 1998 was heavily inflicted by botrytis, the 1999 was not.
