WTN: Tannin, Glory, and the Flaws

2006 Paolo Bea IGT Umbria San Valentino
This was my first wine from Bea and I was very curious to taste it. I know sagrantino is a tough grape but if this is much more approachable young than his other wines, I can only fear what they must be like. Because by the end of this bottle the tannins were coming on quite fierce for my palate. There were some nice elements, in particular a lovely combination of dark fruit and cool registers of flavor, plus a delightful nose the whole way through. I guess I have a lot to learn about these wines.

2009 Pépière Muscadet Clos des Briords
How did we race through two bottles so quickly.

2009 Clos du Tue-Boeuf Cheverny
Lovely combination of ripe warm fruit and fresh but firmish structure. A pleasure.

2009 Clos du Tue-Boeuf Touraine Gamay La Butte
Too much brett for me. Couldn’t really get much else. But I guess that’s a bottle-to-bottle thing because I see other folks have gotten more from this wine.

2007 Dirler Edelzwicker Réserve
Ouch. The nail polish (volatile acidity?) is way too fierce for me to keep putting this in my mouth. Must be a bad bottle because I can’t imagine the wine was intended to taste/hurt this way?

Thanks for the notes. Paolo Bea has been a personal favorite and I’ve not had the 2006 San Valentino Rosso. The last I’ve had was the 2004 and this one was the Pipparello version. As far as I know, Bea’s Montefalco Rosso had never been 100% Sagrantino. They had always been mostly Sangiovese, with some Sagrantino blended in. As per my experience, these wines are slightly more accessible when young than the regular Sagrantino di Montefalco bottlings, which btw can turn out to be terrific wines when appropriately aged.

Btw, I have a bottle of the 2009 pepiere Muscadet that's been chilling in my refrigerator for more than a month now. It's been there since I had planned on passing by a Wild Edibles store for some fresh oysters. This could be the enablement.

Thanks for the notes. Paolo Bea has been a personal favorite and I’ve not had the 2006 San Valentino Rosso. The last I’ve had was the 2004 and this one was the Pipparello version. As far as I know, Bea’s Montefalco Rosso had never been 100% Sagrantino. They had always been mostly Sangiovese, with some Sagrantino blended in. As per my experience, these wines are slightly more accessible when young than the regular Sagrantino di Montefalco bottlings, which btw can turn out to be terrific wines when appropriately aged.

Yes, I know this one was a blend of sangiovese, montepulciano, and sagrantino. I have no idea about the percentages but if this only has a bit of sagrantino that just speaks to the power of the grape! Although I must admit that this was not the most fiercely tannic wine and I didn't mean to portray it as some sort of monster. It was just a bit tough for me and I wouldn't describe it as "approachable", at least for me.

Btw, I have a bottle of the 2009 pepiere Muscadet that's been chilling in my refrigerator for more than a month now. It's been there since I had planned on passing by a Wild Edibles store for some fresh oysters. This could be the enablement.

I had a couple of bottles of that a few months ago (not sure of the different releases) and it was good fun. But the Briords is even more exciting, as usual.