WTN: Pesquera, Rainoldi, Poggione, Renwood, Crasto

Lunch notes

Monmousseau Cuve JM (nv) – this sparkling pink Touraine wine was made from 70% cab franc and 30% Grenache. The colour was delightfully pink, without any orange edges, and it had dried apple in the nose, a nice mousse, with a clean, slightly bitter finish. I liked this.

2008 Mouton Cadet Blanc – clear wine, with a pear sort of nose, clean taste, not at all bad at a low price. Interesting ringer.

2000 Dalrymple Vds. Chardonnay Pipers Brook – OK, I am an avowed chard disliker. Not hater, as I appreciate well made wines, but there are just so few interesting ones that aren’t, (just one example) more oak juice than wine juice. This was one of the interesting ones. Definite oak in the nose, but not overdone, and balanced with loads of fruit.Very tasty, with good length. Steered away from Australia because of the moderation in oak and crispness in finish. Turned out to be this Tasmanian producer. Well done.

1991 Pesquera Crianza – medium dark wine with a more or less Rhonish nose, still has good fruit and some wood the made itself evident at the end. Aging gracefully.

Valdivieso ‘V’ Pinot Noir – a blend of 4 or 5 different vintages, this wine was absolutely nothing like any PN I have ever tasted. In fact it gave away no varietal characteristics at all. A bit of mint in the nose, medium colour, not faded, some alcohol, enough fruit to balance.

1990 Rainoldi Inferno Riserva (Valtellina Superiore) – a Nebbiolo from an area that doesn’t come first to mind. Mature nose and bricky lightening edges were a give away as to age, but the varietal gave more difficulty. Smooth, long and not overly acidic.

1999 Il Poggione Brunello di Montalcino – an initially sugary nose turned with time to an acceptable Italian varietal nose, acid at the end and some tannin – seemed tight and a bit ungenerous right now.

2006 Dom. de Mignaberry Irouleguy – I guess I should have guessed this if any of the group could as I spent some time down in the area near the Pyrenees recently tasting Madiran and Iroulguys, but this one eluded me. Purple edges on a dark, tannic, full bodied wine, and a nice bit of spice at the end. Nowhere near optimum drinking range, these Tannat based wines need time, but this one might turn out quite well given that time.

1994 Renwood Zinfandel Grandmere Vd. (Amador) – when this was released you could have frozen it and handed it out to the kids as blackberry popsicles. I like to hold some wines and see how they turn out with a bunch of age. With Zins you lose more than you win doing this, but some are interesting once the fruit of youth has passed. This one showed a very ripe nose with some iron in it and dried currants and tobacco. It was very dry in the middle, with good length, but the spectre of jamminess appeared as an after taste impression.

1997 Casa Ferrerinha Riserva Especial – a traditional Portuguese wine with some heat, fair length and it later showed some mint. OK, but nothing special.

1997 Quinta do Crasto Riserva – much more interesting with nice herbal nose, smooth wine with slightly assertive terminal acidity. Time to drink up.

[Jenise]

My notes:

Monmousseau Cuvee JM (nv) – Red apple skin and yeast on the nost. Bitter almonds on the finish. More extra dry than brut to my tastes, but that's not really a complaint: I liked it too. Oh, and the second grape was gamay, not grenache.

2008 Mouton Cadet Blanc – clear wine, very grassy lemon nose of the type I love on Sauv Blanc. Clean, chalky finish, piercing and refreshing at refrigerator-cold temp as it was served. Would be a great deck wine on a hot day and better than most at $8.

2000 Dalrymple Vds. Chardonnay Pipers Brook – My wine. I've owned the 99 and the 00. And I've always enjoyed pulling these out and bragging to anyone I could trap in a corner that it drank like a Grand Cru Chablis. Unfortunately, most of the people I would be saying this to had no idea what a GC Chablis tastes like, so it was with chest-bursting pride that the first guess I got to shoot down was Coop's Chablis, and then listen to the suggestion of Meursault and David N's opinion that it was surely a Grand Cru level wine. After all these years, vindication from a group who understands the difference. Drank beautifully and I kept my pour on the table for the whole three hours of lunch to monitor it for fading: never happened.

1991 Pesquera Crianza – I thought it was pinot. Spicy, with some orange peel: terrific old Rioja. If only my 00 and 01's could turn into this (I know, not happening).

Valdivieso ‘V’ Pinot Noir – Sweet nose with tar, peat and a little eucalyptus-menthol of the type I identify with Don Melchor cabs, and a little ripe strawberry jam on the palate--Coop and I thought maybe it might be the '97. Never would have guessed pinot.

1990 Rainoldi Inferno Riserva (Valtellina Superiore) – I was so busy loving this wine that I didn't take any notes on it. But love it I did.

1999 Il Poggione Brunello di Montalcino – confected, powder-sugar nose on raspberry fruit gives way to the typical metallic, raisiny notes of old-style Tuscan Italian reds. A bit tight.

2006 Dom. de Mignaberry Irouleguy – I picked this out as tannat--it was typical of every (all four or five, that is) young tannats I've had and I didn't like one of them. Still don't.

1994 Renwood Zinfandel Grandmere Vd. (Amador) – Had the raspberry spice of Amador with the prunes of aged zinfandel. Quite nice, considering it's age.

I'll go with your descriptions of the 1997 Casa Ferrerinha and 1997 Crasto. For all that I knew David and Nadine were bringing two reds (they'd arranged with me in advance to bring a white to replace Nadine's usual) and I could presume they had a connection, I could not taste those two wines and guess that the connection was that they were the same vintage. The Ferrerinha seemed that much younger, and of course it was much more modern in style. I enjoyed it and think this one's still waiting on its opportunity to turn into something better, but I did prefer the Crasto.

Do you think that this is a bad time to be opening 1999 Brunello? I had a Salvioni Cerbaioli last weekend and it showed a big wine with ripe fruit, lacking the necessary acidity for balance and clarity, and pretty similar to a 1999 Valdicava I had last May.

Pinot Blanc and Irouleguy, bed-fellows in your book!!

Are you gonna take in some Winter Olympics, Jenise?

1990 Rainoldi Inferno Riserva (Valtellina Superiore) – I was so busy loving this wine that I didn't take any notes on it. But love it I did.

I've had the Rainoldi Inferno Riserva 1997 and it was outstanding - one of those great wines you have once in a while. I was a bit puzzled by Bill's tasting note, it wasn't clear if he liked it or just found it "smooth, long and not overly acidic."

When the planets align and the year is right (aged) Valtellina can really nail nebbiolo. Too bad the cost of working those terraced mountain vineyards is so high that the little Valtellina wine that arrives in the US is somewhat expensive.