Browse Tag

sweet

Satano

Paolo Marcarino 2007 Moscato d’Asti “Lucifero” (Piedmont) – Paper scented with mercaptans, and not particularly sweet even within its genre. This reminds me a bit of a Léclapart Champagne, and it also reminds me that I’ve never liked Léclapart Champagne. Orange blossom and some freshly-fired ash contribute to the discussion, but only in monosyllables. Many of my fellow tasters like this, but I do not. (3/10)

Going Loazzolo

Forteto della Luja “Loazzolo” (Piedmont) – A moscato passito, piney and floral, with a giant burst of intensity that comes up short. Striking for its moment, but that moment is soon lost. (3/10)

Saracco Siffredi

Saracco 2009 Moscato d’Asti (Piedmont) – Bright apple foam, lightly perfumed and joyous, but with a serious face as well. Neither pure fun nor overly aspirational, but forging a middle path. (3/10)

Rotational force

Maculan 1984 Breganze Torcolato (Veneto) – From 375 ml. Very, very dark brown, and absent most of the wine’s expected character aside from a straightforward sweetness. It’s still just a bit spicy, but this has traveled well past any stage in which I find much appeal. (10/07)

XX garage

La Garagista Rose Liqueur (Vermont) – Exotic and seductive, but one has to like…no, make that love…roses as a comestible, which not everyone does. Get this involved with some seared foie gras, in place of the rose (not rose hip) confiture I can never find when I want it, and you’re halfway to gewürztraminer-pairing heaven. It’s OK on its own…but then, I like roses. (2/10)

La Garagista Gingered Lemon Liqueur (Vermont) – Inhabits two worlds: the warming stickiness of an infused liqueur and the bright refreshment of a tonic. For whatever reason, among a lineup of three variations on liqueur, this is the most successful, taking two clearly-expressed base elements (plus alcohol) and turning the result into something more than the sum of its triad. Fun. (2/10)

La Garagista Nocino (Vermont) – While the skin-bitterness and concentration that mark nocino are present, there’s a lot more going on here. The thing is, that “more” is from elements other than walnuts, and the result is more of a sachet/potpourri quality than I think is respectful of the core ingredient. It’s good, but it’s very sweet without much mitigation, and has a bit of a Heidi Fleiss character that not everyone will enjoy. (2/10)

All these liqueurs are the work of the husband & wife team that runs Osteria Pane e Salute in Woodstock, Vermont. These aren’t yet commercially available, but may be soon.

Lipari suction

Colosi 2005 Malvasia delle Lipari (Sicily) – From 375 ml. Less concentrated and floral than Hauner’s version, with more of a metallic edge unfolding within the sweetness. That said, it’s still fairly dense. Tastes better than it smells. (2/10)

My heart’s on fire, el Vajra

[vineyard]Vajra 2008 Moscato d’Asti (Piedmont) – No mistaking what this is. But in addition to the usual flower shop/perfume truck accident, there’s weight, and texture beyond the fizz, and even some smoothly polished minerality. It’s not heavy (nor is it my brother), but it’s more interesting than most within the genre. (1/10)

Touché, Touchais

Touchais 1971 Coteaux du Layon “Réserve de nos vignobles” (Loire) – Oxidizing, but still fulsome enough, and one of the better-performing wines from this producer I’ve had in a long while. (1/10)

The race to Dieuvaille

[label]Miquel “Domaine de Barroubio” 2004 Muscat de St-Jean-de-Minervois Dieuvaille (Languedoc) – The classic Dover Cliffs-infused floral sweetness with structural icicles and frost patterns within, adding a great deal of textural complexity to what is usually a fairly straightforward wine. There’s also a lower-toned throb of additional depth that’s only apparent late in the finish, and given all that plus a fine acidic backbone, I wonder if this might not be ideally situated for transformation in the years to come. Well, I’ll never get to find out, as this is my only bottle. (1/10)

CFEVT812

Trimbach 2000 Riesling “Cuvée Frédéric Émile Vendanges Tardives” (Alsace) – Impossibly tight and unyielding to any amount of air, swirling, or overnight oxidation. It just sits there, closed-in about itself, wondering why you were crazy enough to open it now. I wouldn’t even think of touching this for another ten years, if this is the stage it’s currently in. (1/10)