June 2006
June 28, 2006
1998 Eduardo Valentini Trebbiano D'Abbruzzo
Eduardo Valentini took the lowly Trebbiano grape and turned it into a wine that people scour the world for.
In his hands, Italy's most prolific (and usually insipid) grape became a world-class, refined, and ageworthy wine that is truly a cult favorite.
While Valentini produced a red wine from Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, he considered Trebbiano to be the best expression of Abruzzo, the eastern Italian region where he made his wines. Not only has the grape been there since Roman times, but he believed it best conveyed the essence of soil, climate, and culture in Abruzzo.
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Posted by Bob Schagrin at 10:56 AM
June 21, 2006
2003 Edmond Vatan Sancerre "Clos de Neore"
A majority of European winemakers struggled during their attempts to make whites, and most had to resort to acidification and other winemaking "tricks" that give the palate a sense of unnatural manipulation.
While it's true that it was difficult to make great whites during 2003, before you write off the vintage completely consider Edmond Vatan.
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Posted by Bob Schagrin at 10:43 AM
June 15, 2006
2002 Castell Roig Tempranillo-Merlot
While Penedès is best known for churning out gallons of bubbly Cava (Penedès produces more sparkling wine than any other region in the world besides Champagne), there are also some enterprising wineries who are experimenting with smaller plots of traditional red varietals like Ule de Llebre, Caranyena, Garnatxa Negre, and Monastrell, as well as international favorites Cabernet and Merlot.
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Posted by Bob Schagrin at 10:36 AM
June 14, 2006
Domaine Michelot Mere et Fille
The wines of Domaine Michelot Mere et Fille are sumptuous, concentrated and tailor made for mid-term drinking due to a fairly traditional style of winemaking. Aged in 1/3 new French oak with extended lees contact, they are then cellared for several years and released late from the Domaine.
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Posted by Bob Schagrin at 10:30 AM
June 6, 2006
2004 Chidaine Vouvray "Clos Baudoin Les Argiles" and "Le Clos Baudoin"
What do you get when you combine a brilliant biodynamic winemaker and the only vineyard in the Loire Valley to ever be called Grand Cru?
Some of the best Chenin Blanc we've tasted all year.
But the story gets more interesting when you find out how it all came to be. Here's the deal...
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Posted by Bob Schagrin at 10:15 AM