Some quick impressions from memory of wines consumed this weekend in NYC:
1. At dinner at Mas (farmhouse) with friends:
Matthiasson 2011 Ribolla Gialla, Vare Vineyard, lemon-oil, a little baking spice, slight waxiness, razor-sharp and very long and concentrated. Delicious.
(This was followed by complimentary glasses for the table of a Slovenian orange wine whose producer and grape(s) I don't recall; it was apparently a one-off blend of wine from 3 recent vintages, poured from magnum; what I recall about it was a really interesting salinity alongside everything else. Wish they had their list online.)
Olga Raffault 1989 Chinon "Les Picasses," deep ruby-red at the center, lightening slightly toward the rim, in terrific shape, the fruit's still fresh but there are layers of intense graphite and leafiness behind it; tannins resolved but the wine is vibrant and lively in the mouth; just stunning.
(I seem to remember, around about cheese-time, a round of Vieux Carrés and then some Sauternes, but things were getting fuzzier than a month-old Roquefort by that point, so I have no specific information.)
2. At Perla, on our own:
Edmunds St. John 2015 El Dorado County Gamay Noir Rosé, "Bone-Jolly," Witters Vineyard. Just the thing on a 90-degree weekend evening; cherries, berries, and something sunnily herbaceous that I would have expected to find more readily in a Provençal rosé than a Gamay, but there it is, and it's welcome. So far, the best 2015 rosé of the spring and summer.
Olga Raffault 2012 Chinon "Les Picasses," from 375ml. Not a vintage I've explored much in Loire reds; this didn't lack for concentration but maybe a bit for definition; a lot of cassis up front, some wood showing on the finish; has the structure to develop (but for 23 years?) and needs some time to allow midpalate complexity to come through.
3. At Resto, on our own: beer.
4. At Maialino, on our own:
Bruna 2015 Pigato "Le Russeghine," Riviera Ligure di Ponente DOC, by the glass. Suggested by the somm to accompany soft-shelled crab with smoked new potatoes, and the match is terrific, largely because of the remarkable salinity of the wine, which somehow works wonders with the smokiness in the potatoes in particular. The comparison to Vermentino is apt.
Giuseppe Rinaldi 2013 Barbera d'Alba. Inspired by our recent positive experience with a Giuseppe Mascarello Dolcetto d'Alba, we thought we'd revisit another Piemontese variety that we don't drink much (perhaps because of one too many experiences with heavily wooded and confected versions), this time in the hands of a well-regarded and traditionally-styled producer. This was just terrific: focused, lithe, beautifully floral (Barbera?), with a slight edge of funk and a lot of minerality -- but what stays with me is the focus and the delicacy, not something I'd ever associated with Barbera before, and which really makes me rethink what this wine can be.
Plus glasses of Felsina Vin Santo and a Sicilian Zibibbo with an apricot-almond dessert; the Vin Santo (the somm's choice) was a much better match, as the Zibibbo (which I had been curious to try) was maderized enough to deprive it of the liveliness it needed with the fruit, though it would have been delicious with a slab of bitter, fruity chocolate.