Black pepper chicken thighs with mango, rum and cashews for dinner Thursday. 2006 Felsina Fontalloro. Black raspberry and cherry, a little saddle leather, coffee. Nice profile but It's a bit dense, and the alcohol (14.5) shows on the finish. B
Friday we both had busy days, rather than cook we went to Harper’s - split mussels and terrible Caesar salad, I had gnocchi Bolognese (odd pairing but worked) and she had a burger. I had a glass of the 2022 Charlotte Louis Pinot Noir (Oregon). Low acid but what acid there is is volatile, some ashtray notes, unsure if this is the wine or if maybe bottle open a week but not for me. C
Saturday up to Mark’s for a Piedmont tasting. Nice spread of cheeses (Pleasant Ridge, Rogue River Blue, Garrotxa, Nancy’s Camembert) and pates.
2020 Niellon “Vergers” Chassagne-Montrachet 1er
Delicious , pear-y (that’s what I wrote), a hint of citrus and hazelnut, crisp minerally finish. B+/A-
All wines double-decanted
1984 Sandrone Barolo
Pretty sure first 1984 Piedmont I’ve ever had. Good showing to start, spicy with anise and cherry. Cracks up fairly fast, but started off well. B at least for first 15 minutes.
1982 Sandrone Barolo
red fruit, sandalwood, black truffle. Sweet fruit, balanced, B+
1982 Rocche dei Manzoni Barolo Riserva
Sweet fruit, spice, tar but less depth on finish than the 79 Sobrero it was paired with. Some thought “modern” but I didn’t get excessive oak. B, but retasted later had filled out a bit. I liked a bit more.
1979 Sobrero Barolo
Classic, high acid, expressive and long. B+|A-
1971 Marcarini Brunate Barolo
Lovely, high acid, tar, truffles and rich dried cherry fruit, tangy stony finish A/A-
1967 Sobrero Barolo
a little shook up (arrived 5 weeks before but you know old Nebb) but nice- sour cherry, forest floors, elegant and long. A-
1967 Prunotto Barbaresco Riserva
Corked, which is too bad as it seemed like a solid and lively wine underneath
As John was finishing up the short ribs (lovely, served with rice) we took a little white palate break.
2018 Passy le Clou “Beauroy” Chablis 1er
This has good vibrancy for a 2018, green apple and orange rind, iodine edge on finish. Interesting. Mary Taylor is now bringing in this producer, will look for. B+/B
Next flight looked like a pair of onion-skin shaded roses. Not much color, but plenty of flavor
1964 Scavino Barolo
Tart and pretty, very floral, saline finish. B+
1964 Cordero de Montezemolo “Monfalletto” Barolo
Rose petals and violets, quiet red plum fruit, tobacco, complex. A-
1961 Einaudi Barolo
Corked, and once again a shame as seems like a lovely wine underneath
1952 Cappellano Barolo
So when I double decanted this before travel I was shocked (even being pretty experienced with old Nebbiolo. Pour started off almost clear, I thought it had totally dropped pigment, but there was some. When I stopped for sediment the sediment looked like a wad of leaves the size of a small pinecone. But……5 hours later it was lovely. Light colored (though a tad darker than the 64s)., fragrant and floral, sweet strawberry with rose petals and road tar , spicy on the finish. As one person said this and the Marcarini were “about as good as old Barolo can be”. A-/A
And a nice bonus bottle from Mark
1978 Jaboulet Crozes-Hermitage
Not Thalabert, so I had low expectations, but this was alive and typical. Peppery Syrah fruit, a little leather, a little grilled meat. Not super long or complex,but plenty of life and interest. B+
Really outstanding night, even with the 2 corked wines. Mark did a great job hosting (and John cooking)
Scallops on a bed of pasta with tomatoes and basil, roasted Brussel sprouts, salad. Wine was the 2023 Monticello “Groppolo” Vermentino (Colli di Luni). Nice Ligurian white. Granny Smith and white nectarine, a little citrus zest, nice seaspray finish. Good acids, lighter bodied, not real long but a pleasant food wine. B
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.
edited for mistaken attribution to one of the 64s