Piñol 2005 Terra Alta “Sacra Natura” (Cataluña) – Surprisingly advanced, but perhaps due to that advancement drinking even better than it did in its flavorful but noisy adolescence. Dark fruit with a significant lean towards maturing, pie-like complexity, black earth, and a nutty/spicy zing doing some light lifting underneath. Fun. (1/09)
Browse Month
January 2009
Pinon the donkey
Pinon 2006 Vouvray “Cuvée Tradition” (Loire) – Shy to the point of invisibility. Only the barest suggestion of waxy whiteness is perceptible, with a very light patina of sweetness. Either drink it in a sensory deprivation chamber, or give it the time it deserves. (1/09)
Cumberland farms
Bergström 2006 Pinot Noir “Cumberland Reserve” (Willamette Valley) – Open a bit longer than the ideal, perhaps, because the stemmy greenness has come to dominate the nose. The palate is pure enough, with good acidity and a crisp, red-fruited microburst of fruit, but the finish returns to tones of green and brown. Iffy. (1/09)
My darling dear, love you for all time
Brick Angel 2006 “Littlefoot” St. Barthelemy (Napa Valley) – Half petite sirah, one quarter each zinfandel and syrah, 15.1%. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. (1/09)
Pépe Le Peu
Pichot “Domaine Le Peu de la Moriette” 1997 Vouvray (Loire) – Not bad for thirty-year-old Vouvray. Wait, what’s that? OK…well, it’s advanced, then, with significant bronzing and a concentrated maser of brittle lemon in the middle, nice sweetness, and a fine dusting of chalk. It never really rises to any sort of complexity, but it’s good enough, if a bit ponderous by the dregs. Probable culprit: the cork is rigid, and wet from bottom to top. (1/09)
Ramí Martin
![[vineyard]](http://www.cosvittoria.it/images/bottiglie/rami.jpg)
COS 2007 “Ramí” (Sicily) – A blend of insolia and grecanico. An exotic nose of je ne sais quoi. Really, I have absolutely no idea what to call these aromas. They’re lovely, though. The palate is wet and clean, but not up to the promise of the nose, and with aeration (an hour or so) the wine gets a little bit ponderous. It does seem to need a bit more chill than the weight might otherwise indicate. (1/09)
Brazzano-burning
i Clivi di Ferdinando Zanusso 2001 Colli Goriziano Brazan Brazzano di Cormons (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – Waxed peaches. Quite flowery. Texturally, waves of luxurious satin envelop the tongue, and get sexier with each passing minute. While this isn’t fully mature, it’s drinking beautifully right now. (11/07)
i Clivi di Ferdinando Zanusso 1997 Colli GorizianoBrazan Brazzano di Cormons (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – Reddish fruit at the core, surrounded by wet wax and bronzed, metallic jacket. A triangular wine, drinking as well as it’s ever going to…which makes it the rare Clivi white that’s truly ready. (11/07)
I am the great Corno di Rosazzo
i Clivi di Ferdinando Zanusso 1997 Colli Orientali del Friuli Galea Rosso Corno di Rosazzo (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – 100% merlot, planted at 2000 vines per hectare. Earthy/gritty tannin, granular cherry and strawberry, and then a finish with the rough, friction-y texture of old leather. A bit of whiskey barrel sweetness emerges on the finish, but the wine isn’t hot. It is, however, in need of drinking. (11/07)
Galea sayers
i Clivi di Ferdinando Zanusso 2001 Colli Orientali del Friuli Galea Corno di Rosazzo (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – While it appears to broaden in the glass, in fact this wine is a lot less forward than it was a year earlier, so those holding some will now likely need to wait out its maturation. Herbs and a fine minerality are at the core, with a crescendo to a feathery finish that, nonetheless, remains full of mineral solemnity. (11/07)
i Clivi di Ferdinando Zanusso 1999 Colli Orientali del FriuliGalea Corno di Rosazzo (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – From a warm vintage in which some of the berries started to desiccate, then recovered some of their plumpness just before harvest. This has opened a bit since my previous tasting, and the dominant characteristic is that of honey without its sweetness, lightly dusted with dried sage. Long and round, but still too young. There’s a very mild and pleasant oxidation on the finish, which I find to be entirely typical of these wines, and in fact hardly unknown among tocais in general. (11/07)
i Clivi di Ferdinando Zanusso 1997 Galea Corno di Rosazzo (Colli Orientali del Friuli) – Mostly open, but I still wouldn’t say it’s on the far side of maturity. Wax and oxidation layered with late-autumn leaves and a long, sandy finish. Letting its hair down, and those with a quantity will want to start sampling from their collection. (11/07)
Brazan it out
i Clivi di Ferdinando Zanusso 2003 Colli Goriziano Brazan (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – A little better than the ’03 Galea, with a more cohesive form. Grapefruit and other assorted citrus rinds are present, along with some alcoholic numbness of the finish. It’s big. After a few hours of air and warmth, the nose is much improved, adding fig, melon, and cantaloupe to the fruit salad. But while it’s the more drinkable of the ’03 whites, at least at the moment, it’s still fundamentally deformed by its vintage. (11/07)