WTN: '86 Negroamaro!, + LdH, Quilt, Rhys, Tribut

Some friends are moving to Nova Scotia, after movers left I invited them for dinner. Roast chicken, root vegetables (turnip, parsnip, carrots, sweet potatoes), collards, and salad.

2010 Rhys Alpine Pinot Noir
Sweet black fruit, lots of herby stem notes, lovely texture. Plenty of structure, no hurry. B+

2013 Laurent Tribut Cote de Lechet Chablis 1er
Softer version of this, Gala apple and a bit of chalk. Touch of nuttiness, this seems mature. B

Went to sister-in-laws for dinner, lovely assortment of meze followed by shakshuka and salad
2021 Quilt Fabric of the Land (Napa)
Blackberry and blueberry, chocolate bar, soft and short. Not my style. C+/C

Morcilla, sauerkraut (well really leftover choucroute) collard greens
2012 Lopez de Heredia Bosconia Reserva
Lovely and surprisingly open and inviting. Raspberry and red cherry, anise, spicy. Medium bodied and elegant, silky texture. There is structure and I plan to age these, but really delicious now too! A-

Pizza (veggie and plain, salad
1986 Taurino Salice Salentino Riserva
38 year old Salice Salentino? I had a backup ready, but wasn’t needed (at least not at first). Sweet black fruit, juicy, resolved tannin, moderate acid. A little leather and cocoa, I enjoy. But by time I poured 2nd glass, there was some ashtray showing, and an hour after opening totally cracked up. I actually find that it rare for a sound wine on pouring really cracks up in short time, but it happens. B/B+ and excellent pizza wine when opened, C- after an hour.

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

[Jenise]

I've had a few of those one-hour crackups of late, but not on a 36 year old Sal Sal! It's very impressive that it held up at all. Used to love that wine when we lived in Alaska, it was our favorite cheap red and we even met Cosimo Taurino there once. As a result we were invited to visit in Italy and even had plans, but sadly he died before we could get there. Wonder if the winery still exists.

[David M. Bueker]

I found some Quilt wines in my dad’s cellar today. I am now officially dreading them.

And thanks for the Rhys note.

I think Quilt is a Wagner Family wine.
I was at one of our better wine shops and asked the clerk what they had in 1/2 bottles that he would recommend and he brought me a 1/ 2 bottle of Quilt, which we had that evening.
I forgot to look at the label before I bought it, but I did after tasting it and it said Wagner.
Right then, I knew to never ask that fellow for advice ever again.