Browse Tag

piedmont

Dan by the sea

[bottle]Bellotti “Cascina degli Ulivi” 2005 Monferrato Bianco “Montemarino” (Piedmont) – Reserved and tight, showing almonds and little else. It seems to be balanced, and it feels “big” under the clamping structure, with a long, chewy finish…though what one masticates is unidentifiably insubstantial. Highly ungenerous. Time? A lot of it, if so. (1/08)

Gavi to get

[bottle]Bellotti “Cascina degli Ulivi” 2006 Gavi (Piedmont) – An intense nose of tropical fruit that drifts away on a salty breeze, to replaced by white melon. The finish is, itself, fairly saline. There’s an interesting, twisted form to the wine that I can’t quite grasp. (1/08)

Filagnotti by nature

[bottle]Bellotti “Cascina degli Ulivi” 2006 Gavi “Filagnotti” (Piedmont) – The nose is sour and leafy, perhaps a bit sauvage, but the palate shows great acidity washing over white minerals. Great presence. Long and solid, with a nutty, almost fino-like element to the finish. (1/08)

Little sweet Jessica

Cappellano 2005 Dolcetto d’Alba (Piedmont) – Big, rose-dominated flowers in the blackest soil, with a satiny texture. Long and structured, with a slight preference towards acidity. Dolcetto for the long haul, certainly, and quite accomplished without tasting like there’s “accomplishing” going on, if that makes any sense. (1/08)

A foggy day in Vietnam

Cappellano 2003 Nebbiolo d’Alba (Piedmont) – A touch of brett and a moderate amount of hard tannin eventually give way to fruity, seedy blackberry and a crisp finish of surprising lightness. Now that’s an outcome I didn’t expect from the initial impression. I think it’s good, but honestly I have no idea where it’s headed. (1/08)

The Swiss mint

cascina ‘tavijn 2006 Ruché di Castagnole Monferrato (Piedmont) – Exotic florals and bitter candy. A strange combination. There’s a lot of lurid fun to be had, though it’s a little more structured than the last vintage I tasted (2004), with a long, spandexy finish. Hey, no one promised slavish conformity here… (1/08)

Ba-ba-ba, ba-ba-bera

cascina ‘tavijn 2005 Barbera d’Asti (Piedmont) – Slightly medicinal, with big, fun acidity in the form of crisp apples fresh from the tree. It’s an acid that bites with the faintly bitter tang of underripeness. All red fruit on the finish. Old school! (1/08)

Leave the body, take the canelli

Bera 2007 Moscato d’Asti “Canelli” (Piedmont) – Not moscato d’Asti as it’s commonly understood, but an almost passito expression…and not gassed, but rather allowed to spontaneously referment. Plus – unlike the vast majority of similarly-labeled wines – meant to age. Its delicate bead is soft yet surprisingly persistent, and the palate is rich with melon and grape. None of the usual flower-truck-crashing-into-a-perfume-shop stuff here. The strength and, it must be said, seriousness of this wine are as surprising as they are profound. Absolutely terrific. (1/08)

New from Ronco

Bera 2005 Barbera d’Asti Ronco Malo (Piedmont) – Pure red fruit with deeper nut and soil tones pulsing from the core. Long, structured, and beautiful. Really excellent. (1/08)

Serra smile

Bera 2005 Dolcetto Monferrato Bricco della Serra (Piedmont) – Very floral, with good, chalky tannin and fine acidity that slices up black cherry skins. The finish is long and drying, with the dust and shells from freshly-ground peppercorns and other lingering floral suggestions. Good…only just…though there’s a potential future upside. (1/08)