WTN: Italian wine trade tasting at the Kaufleuten

Boucherville tasting at the Kaufleuten in Zürich on the 24th of January.

Ceretto Barbaresco Bernadot 2006
Medium ruby-red. Soft marzipan and spice, rose water and licorice. Softly orangey acids, sufficiently finely-grained tannin, not too flavourful but nice medium-weight. Medium-plus length. Rating: 88+/89

Ceretto Barolo Bricco Rocche Brunate 2004
A bit more evolved garnet-tinged ruby-red, mild watery-orange rim. Already throws minor sediment. Aromatically more heavy-handed than the Bernadot. Drier rose petal. Faintest cured meat/dried beefiness. A bit more body and/or alcohol perhaps. About as long, if more diffuse on the aftertaste. Rating: 88+/89?

Fattoria di Fèlsina Chianti Classico Berardenga 2006
Quite full ruby-black. Lightly nutty oak, a bit more evolved. Good, warm, darkly chocolate- and mocha-tinged fruit. Fair body and length. Rating consistent with that of a bottle half a year earlier. Rating: 88+/89

Fattoria di Fèlsina Chianti Classico Berardenga 2008
From magnum. Fresher ruby-black than that of the 2006. More subtlety, juiciness and precision, crisper, fresher so to speak, livelier for sure. Smaller berry type wine. Morello. Came across as a fraction less modernistic than the 2006, maybe merely thanks to the vintage. No better, if more to my taste at this early stage. Rating: 88(+/-?)

Fattoria di Fèlsina Chianti Riserva Berardenga Rancia 2006
Aged 18 months in French oak, 60% of which new. A bit denser-looking ruby-black colour. Quite well-integrated oak, extremely finely-grained if still fractionally dry and firm (but not at all hard or rustic) tannin. Quite good length. Another vintage of Rancia with upwards potential. Rating: 91+/92?

Fattoria di Fèlsina IGT Fontalloro 2005
Lightly evolved but still fresh and shiny ruby-black. Walnutty oak and spice. Fair enough fruit, reasonably concentrated but could be fresher and livelier. Medium length. Rating: 89+/~90?

San Leonardo San Leonardo Trentino Terre di San Leonardo 2005
Aged in cement vats? Nonetheless seemed to reek of nutty oak. Medium if not mixed/diverse ripeness level. Medium-plus concentration. Easy to drink if modern in style as well as simplistic. Rating: 85+/86

San Leonardo Trentino San Leonardo 2004
Ca. 30% new oak. Quite firm, good intensity, nice body. Mildly hazelnutty oak. Well-balanced vintage, my favourite of this bottling thus far, good potential for harmony and elegance. Fair enough acidity. Good warmth of fruit and alcohol. Longer than the Terre. Rating: ~90

Roberto Voerzio Barbera d’Alba Vigneti Ceretto 2007
Quite deep ruby-black. Good fruit, quite firm. Nice tannin. Integrated acidity. Some, if nice oak. Medium-plus body. Good length. Rating: 89+/90?

Roberto Voerzio Langhe Nebbiolo Vigneti San Francesco 2008
Quite sweet and full for a “generic” Nebbiolo, plump ripeness backed by faintly bitter and ever so faintly powdery-grainy tannin. Good body. Fairly long. Rating: 90+/91?

Roberto Voerzio Barolo Rocche dell’Annunziata Torriglione 2006
Warm garnet-ruby-red, orange at the rim. Warm fruit, broth cube spice, mace, some blood orange, soft rose hip tea. Nice body. Lightly dry tannin but finely-grained and flavourful. Long finish. Rating: 93+/94(+?)

Roberto Voerzio Barolo Cerequio 2006
Fractionally lighter colour than the Rocche. Complex, spicy, tender yet concentrated and quite dense. Still lightly hard and firm tannin, rose petal, even longer than the Rocche. A beauty of a wine with no excess fat or weight, but sharply delineated and very intense, the kind one remembers more vividly and thinks of more often than most. Rating: 94+/95

Roberto Voerzio Barolo Brunate 2006
Similar colour to that of the Cerequio. More closed, darker, more powerful, just as promising, marginally oakier. Less finesse and complexity, less “pretty” than the more Burgundian Cerequio. A bit more powdery/grainy tannin. Should grow longer as it evolves and opens up, but may take a few years longer than the Cerequio to reach maturity. Rating: 93+/94(+?)

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
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„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti

[David M. Bueker]

Thanks David. I always appreciate notes on the Felsina Rancia. It's a regular buy for me, and still a reasonable value, especially considering the quality over the last 10-15 years (and earlier).

p.s. I don't mind the modern streak in Felsina's Rancia (though I quit buying their CC Riserva as it was not what I wanted in a Chianti Classico).

Hi David -

Thank you for the interesting notes, especially on the Felsina wines. I liked both of the 2006s from Felsina when I tried them last year - generally, I've liked their basic CC as well as the Rancia. As far as the 2008 Felsina CC, I posted a note for it this spring, and thought that it wasn't quite as good as the 2006 version.

Thank you for the interesting notes, especially on the Felsina wines.

You're welcome!

As far as the 2008 Felsina CC, I posted a note for it this spring, and thought that it wasn't quite as good as the 2006 version.

The 2008 is unlikely to be on the level of the 2006 in the long run, but given I drank young Chianti (which I really don't), I'd have preferred a glass of the the 2008 that day. I hope my notes reflect both aspects.

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti