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For the Love of Riesling
I love Riesling.
What do winelovers do when they love the wine?
That’s easy.
We want to share that love.
The biggest reward for a winelover is to offer someone a glass of wine and hear them say “oh, it is good!”.
Sharing the wine is the most enjoyable part of drinking the wine. We want the other people to experience the same joy as we do, we want them to experience the pleasure only the wine can deliver.
As I said before, I love Riesling.
Riesling might be the most underappreciated white grape. It is one of the main 3 white grapes (Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Riesling). Riesling wines are made everywhere in the world – Germany, Alsace, Australia, New Zealand, New York (Finger Lakes, Hudson Valley), Canada, Oregon, California, and so on – and yet many of the wine drinkers wouldn’t even openly admit that they like Riesling and that they are happy to drink it.
It is hard to tell why that is. Many people associate the word Riesling with the word “Sweet”. It is a big mistake, as it means, for example, that they never experienced bone-dry, tongue-twisting Rieslings from the Claire Valley in Australia. I would even dare to say that the majority of the well-made Rieslings are not sweet, unless they are purposefully made to be sweet, such as BA or TBA German Rieslings. The main trait of Riesling, similarly to all other wines, is balance. As long as the Riesling is balanced, it is one of the most enjoyable white wines you can imagine. And it pairs well with the wide range of food. I’m telling you – Riesling is one of the best white wines in the world.
The love for wine needs to be shared. And so earlier in the year, I decided to do a Riesling wine tasting. My audience (family, future in-laws) wanted to learn more about the wines, and I have decided that tasting a bunch of Rieslings will offer an excellent educational opportunity (was I right? I have no idea, but I know we had fun).
Ask me to name three of my favorite Cabernet Sauvignon producers, and I will quickly become frustrated – can I give you at least 10? 20 or 30 would be even better. The same would be for a Chardonnay, Syrah, and Tempranillo. When it comes to Riesling, however, that would be an easy task. Grosset from Australia. Smith-Madrone from California. Brooks from Oregon. This is my “top 3 Riesling producers” list. I would absolutely love to do a comparative testing of these 3 Rieslings, but I managed to get only 2. I got Smith-Madrone Rieslings first, and then when I got the idea for the tasting, I wrote to Brooks, and they were kind enough to send me a nice vertical of Brooks Rieslings. I also asked Ravines Wine Cellars from Finger Lakes for a similar set, but got no reply, so my tasting consisted of a vertical of Smith-Madrone Rieslings from 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2023, and Brooks Ara Riesling from 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023 (both wineries didn’t produce wines in 2020).
It is important to note that Riesling can age very well, and aged Riesling is just a special experience. I did an online search and found out that it is rather hard to find aged Riesling anywhere, at least for the price I was willing to pay (age your Riesling, people, take my advice). I managed to find a bottle from 1997, which was seemingly in reasonable condition. At the same online store, I also managed to find a sparkling wine made out of Riesling, known in Germany as Sekt. I scored a bottle of Sekt at the same online store, and it became our first wine in the tasting.
The tasting was non-blind as it had more of an educational purpose than anything else. Here is what transpired during the tasting (outside of the fact that I numbered Brooks Rieslings in the wrong order, so we tasted them from the older vintages to the newer, where I really wanted to go in the opposite direction):
Wine #1: 2013 Dreissigacker Riesling Brut Rheinhessen (12.5% ABV)
bubbles were still present, lemon, a touch of sugar, well balanced, very nice overall. Believe it or not, but this was the first Sekt that I liked.
8-
Wine #2: 2018 Brooks Ara Riesling Willamette Valley (14% ABV, 325 cases produced)
Beautiful color. Honey, petrol, explivit nose of tropical fruit
Great complexity, perfect balance, showing off an interplay of pear, apples, peach, even vanilla and quince. Delicious. 8
Wine #3: 2019 Brooks Ara Riesling Willamette Valley (13% ABV, 225 cases produced) – a very interesting wine, as my tasting notes for day 1 and upon re-tasting the next day differ dramatically.
Day 1: Very unusual, some honeydew, hint of pear. 8-
Day 2: Superb. Lean. Acidity is through the roof, fresh, crisp. Needs 20 years to become amazing. 8++
Wine #4: 2021 Brooks Ara Riesling Willamette Valley (12.5% ABV, 225 cases produced)
Day 1: Beautiful petrol and flowers on the nose
Fresh, petrol, complex, white fruit, excellent balance. 8+
Day 2: Petrol + earth. Beautiful, honey notes on the palate, much richer than ‘19. Still lean and mean. 8
Wine #5: 2022 Brooks Ara Riesling Willamette Valley (12.5% ABV, 150 cases produced)
Day 1: Flowers, touch of brown sugar
Most complex so far – wow, beautiful. 8+
Day 2: Petrol, hint of tropical fruit. Lemon with a touch of honey, lean, crisp, built for aging, let’s say another 20-something years. 8++
Wine #6: 2023 Brooks Ara Riesling Willamette Valley (12.5% ABV, 100 cases produced)
Day 1: Very muted nose. Palate is young, nice, concentrated. 8-
Day 2: Nose almost non-existent. Very lean palate with a hint of honey mixed with lemon. Need to develop for a long, very long time.
Wine #7: 2023 Smith-Madrone Riesling Spring Mountain (13.2% ABV)
Light color
Candy on the nose
White flowers, fruit medley, bitter orange, crisp, spectacular. 8+
Wine #8: 2022 Smith-Madrone Riesling Spring Mountain (13.2% ABV)
A touch of petrol
White fruit, white apples, delicious. 8+
Wine #9: 2021 Smith-Madrone Riesling Spring Mountain (13.2% ABV)
Petrol, beautiful
Lots of complexity, apples, excellent. 8
Wine #10: 2019 Smith-Madrone Riesling Spring Mountain (13.3% ABV)
Complex aromatics, flowers
Flowers on the palate, a touch of honey, beautiful, complex. 8+
Wine #11: 2018 Smith-Madrone Riesling Spring Mountain (13.3% ABV)
Beautiful, hint of petrol, white fruit.
Wow, playful, amazing. 8++
Wine #12: 1997 Dr. Fischer Ockfener Bockstein Riesling Kabinett Mosel (8% ABV)
Apple juice all the way, past prime. Still an interesting experience.
As always in such tastings, it is fun to figure out the group’s favorite wine. There were 8 of us tasting the wines, and everybody were asked to decide on 3 of their most favorite wines (mine were #11, #8, and #5), and then we took a vote. To my surprise, we had a clear winner after the first round – wine #8, 2022 Smith-Madrone Riesling, was everyone’s favorite, with wine #11, 2018 Smith-Madrone Riesling getting 5 votes. It was interesting that even wine #12, 1997 Riesling, got 3 votes (for me, it was an interesting experience, but not the wine I want to drink again).
As you can see from the notes above, I had a chance to re-taste the wines, this time at a bit of a slower pace. It is very clear that Brooks Rieslings needed more time to open, as you see that on the second day they showed a lot more of what they got, but even then, I believe they would benefit from another 20 years in the cellar, or maybe more.
As I’m writing this, I’m already dreaming of setting up the tasting of 20+ years old Rieslings. Give me Grosset, Brooks, Smith-Madrone, Zind-Humbrecht, and maybe Markus Molitor, from the early 2000s – and this would make it an absolutely amazing tasting. By the way, talking about dreams – what would your dream Riesling tasting include?
I can’t speak for my guests, but I really enjoyed the opportunity to taste such beautiful wines side by side. While both Brooks and Smith-Madrone perfectly exhibited my beloved petrol, Brooks Rieslings on average were a bit leaner than Smith-Madrone, while Smith-Madrone exhibited a richer bouquet on the palate. I’m saying this not in the comparative sense – each one of these wines would make me super-happy any time.
There you are, my friends – my Riesling experience. Do you like Riesling? What are your favorite “go-to” Rieslings?
and A Few Good Wines
Ohh, time flies (who knew? What a pathetic opening – I know, don’t say it.)
About a month More than 2 months ago, we hosted a party (about 40 people). When it comes to a party of this size, I never try to put out “the best stuff” at the beginning. Of course, I’m not talking about offering “plonk” to my guests – the wines will always be quality wines, those which I would be happy to drink every day – but they would be exactly that, “everyday”. So we started with some bubbles, whites, and Rosé. And then…
Well, wait.
The first wine I want to mention was not in my “everyday” category – it was a magnum of the champagne that one of my friends brought to the party.
I never heard of Champagne Jacquesson before, so this was my first encounter with it – and I have to say it was a pleasant one.
NV Champagne Jacquesson Cuvée 745 Grand Vin Extra Brut (12.5% ABV, harvest 2017, disgorged in 2022)
Perfectly classic champagne with toasted notes packaged in the generous fine mousse, deliciously present on the palate. Cut through acidity leads to a clean finish with some lingering plumpness. This magnum didn’t last for too long.
Let’s get back to where I started. As the party gets going, and people have a bite to eat, there is always a moment to say to your wino-friends “hold on, let me bring something”. Whatever happens next is totally unpredictable, as in most cases, I don’t have a plan, or if I do, it would be a really vague one.
Here is what we ended up tasting:
2007 Revana Cabernet Sauvignon St Helena Napa Valley (14.8% ABV) – I got the bottle as a present for a friend way back. Was always waiting for the right moment… The wine was stunning. A beautiful Cabernet Sauvignon, fresh, layered, cassis all the way, on the nose and on the palate, silky smooth and balanced. The bottle was gone in no time, but it was thoroughly enjoyed.
2014 Hors Categorie Syrah Hors Categorie Vineyard Walla Walla Valley (14.1% ABV). I truly don’t know what the right moment Christophe Barone wines is. Hors Categorie Syrah is one of his very top wines (expensive too). The wine was classic “liquid rock” from Washington, with enough gunflint and smoke to almost feel you visited the range. What was interesting is how quickly the wine was changing in the glass – from more rock to more fruit and back. I’m not sure this was the right moment. I should have a few more bottles, and all can say that I’m not touching them for as long as possible…
1993 Limerick Lane Zinfandel Collins Vineyard Russian River Valley (13.5% ABV) – the wine from my Benchmark Wine loot. 30 years young, and beautiful. No, it was not fresh like it was made yesterday, it went all into the tertiary aromas and flavors, but the body was there, the fruit was there, the acidity was there, and therefore, there was lots and lots of pleasure.
2006 Mazzei Castello di Fonterutoli Siepi Toscana IGT (14% ABV, 50% Sangiovese, 50% Merlot) – another wine brought by a friend. I never had this wine before. This is perfectly on point, beautiful as only Italian wines can be, lots of sweet cherries, a touch of mint, silky-smooth, round, delicious.
Huh, a few wines wine experiences down, and so many more to go. I’m trying to catch up on sharing my wine experiences of this year (well, that’s hardly sufficient), so stay tuned.
A Few Days on Cape Cod, 2025 Edition
I enjoy writing about our trips to Cape Cod as it is always an opportunity to share some picture and talk about wines.
This trip was no exception. We were blessed with beautiful weather, warm and dry. And we drank a lot of delicious wines I’m happy to talk about.
Before we talk about wine, a few of the pictures I love to bring back from Cape Cod:
First, a sparkling wine – NV Incandesa Brut Traditional Method California Sparkling Wine (11.5% ABV, 70% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir). The wine was delicious, with a classic nose of baked bread and apples, fine mousse, and a round, generous palate. I had to do a bit of research to learn more about this wine, as the bottle itself offers very little information, and it is not easy to find anything on the web. It appears that it shouldn’t be surprising that this sparkling wine tastes so good – it is made by one of the most famous Spanish Cava producers, Raventos Codorniu, as its first foray into the North American market. Side benefit – this was a perfect pairing for the oysters…
Appropriately for the weather, we enjoyed 3 Rosé wines.
2023 Poggio Stenti Sangiovese Rosato Maremma Toscana DOC (13.5% ABV) was delightful, a Rosé with a presence. A full assemblage of strawberries on display – from aromatics on the nose to the flavors on the palate, coupled with a good mid-palate weight, a well-present body. Too bad this was my last bottle brought back last year after our family European trip.
2024 Turley Zinfandel Rosé California (12% ABV) – I’m so glad Turley started producing this wine some years back – it is absolutely delightful, can perfectly compare to any Provançal Rosé in its lightness, effervescence, and beautiful aromatics.
2024 Field Recordings Domo Arigato (Mr. Ramato) Skin Contact Pinot Grigio SLO Coast (12.5% ABV) – one of my perennial favorites from Field Recordings. This is a skin contact wine, so it is more than just a light Rosé; the wine offered herbaceous undertones on the palate, and had good body weight, with red fruit mixed with herbs. Delicious.
We had only a few of the white wines, so here are notes on one of them.
2024 Field Recordings Super Gnario El Palomar District (13.1% ABV, 100% Malvasia Bianca) – amazing aromatics, with flowers, whitestone fruit, guava, overall very intense. On the palate, the wine might be even a bit too much with “in your face” white plums and green pears, medium to full body, good acidity and lingering fruit on the long finish.
Let’s take a little break from wines – here are some garden pictures for you, and a little bit of food:
Now, to the reds.
2018 Pedra Cancela Winemaker’s Selection Dão DOC (13% ABV, 40% Touriga Nacional, 30% Alfrocheiro, 30% Tinta Roriz) – Portuguese wines are delivering great QPR, and this wine was no exception. Open and inviting on the nose with red and black fruit continued with black fruit interplay on the palate, with a touch of spices and good earthy undertones. Simple and tasty.
2017 Carlisle The Integral Red Wine Sonoma County (14.5% ABV, 62% Syrah, 38% Mourvèdre) – you rarely can go wrong with Carlisle, and this wine didn’t disappoint. Dark cherries on the nose, dark cherries on the palate, perfectly integrated tannins with elevated but smooth mouthfeel, excellent balance, medium to long finish. An excellent wine.
2017 Alban Vineyards Patrina Estate Syrah Edna Valley (14.8% ABV) – Alban is one of my favorite producers. This Syrah had a beautiful nose of dark fruit with a hint of barnyard. On the palate, the wine was surprisingly sweeter than I expected, with blackberries dominating the palate. My guess is that I opened this wine at the wrong moment in time – it probably needed another 5 years to turn around.
1993 Store’s Winery Merlot San Ysidro District (12.8% ABV) – I keep opening these old wines that I got from the Benchmark Wine, and so far, not a single one has disappointed. To begin with, just take a look at this cork – it looks like the wine was just made, not 30 years ago. Yes, of course, tertiary aromas dominated, with dry fruit well present, but the wine was still perfectly alive, with medium to full body, good acidity, and perfect balance. This wine was a treat.
There you are, my friends – a few delightful days on Cape Cod. How was your summer?
An evening with friends, August 2025 Edition
I love to be the wine guy.
When someone says “I’ll cook, you bring wine”, I’m absolutely delighted to oblige. First, it is one of the greatest pleasures for the oenophile to choose wines for dinner. The only pleasure bigger than selecting wine is when your friend takes a sip and says “ah, this is delicious”. And of course, there is a side benefit of taking wine out of the house, where the wine is literally stored everywhere, but let’s leave that aside for a moment.
I generally don’t care too much about what exact dishes will be served. My goal is to have a wine “program”, to bring a range of experiences. If a particular wine doesn’t work with a particular dish, it is not a problem – we can enjoy food on its own, and wine on its own.
On Friday, we got together with friends for dinner, and I was happy to be the wine guy.
To play it simple, I decided to go with a “classic” line-up – bubbles, white, red, dessert. Here is what transpired.
My choice of bubbles was NV Champagne Pascal Leblond-Lenoir Brut Tradition (12.5% ABV). This is a very generous Champagne, it perfectly combines crispiness with generous body, apples and vanilla eloped with a fine mousse, delivering lots of pleasure with every sip. Everyone loved it, particularly being happy about this Champagne not being too acidic.
Next was the white wine – 2014 Ott Der Ott Grüner Veltliner Austria (12.5% ABV). White wine with age is a real joy, and this 11 years old wine unquestionably delivered. Whitestone fruit with a touch of petrol on the nose (yes, petrol, one of my favorite aromas). Round and elegant body, with more of the whitestone fruit, good earthy undertones, perfectly balanced and perfectly delicious.
Side note: Bernard Ott is one of the very best wine producers in Austria, practicing Biodynamic viticulture after visiting Domaine la Romanée Conti in 2006. And lastly, 2014 vintage was so difficult that no single vineyard wines were produced – I have to say this was a glorious wine from a difficult vintage.
Next, we opened 2009 Sauvella Luscinia Canta Costers del Segre DO (14.1% ABV, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache). I was blown away by this wine last year (number 7 on the Top 24 of 2024 list) – and the wine continued over deliver. Delicious, generous and round, with wallops of fresh dark fruit, perfect structure and perfect acidity. The wine showed a touch more sweetness and plumpness compared to our second red wine – 2005 Domaine De l’Île Margaux Cuvée Mer de Garonne Grand Vin Bordeaux Supérieur (13.5% ABV, 33% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Petite Verdot).
This is the second time this year I have enjoyed this wine, which comes from a unique place, a small island in the middle of the Gironde River, overlooking the great estates of Margaux. Perfectly Bordeaux, perfectly on point – a bit leaner than the previous wine, with a precise Bordeaux profile – cassis, eucalyptus, cedar box, a hint of bell pepper, and firm structure with a delicious finish. A pure delight in the glass, and an excellent accompaniment for the lamb stew, which was served as a main course.
Dessert time! Liquid dessert it is.
I always love an opportunity to open a bottle of dessert wine, especially with a group that would appreciate it.
I went through a few options, and somehow decided on 2020 Balderdash Cellars Kill Joy Late Harvest Viognier Eden Valley, California (10% ABV). The wine had a beautiful nose of tropical fruit, and a tropical fruit medley on the palate, not too sweet and with perfectly cleansing acidity. “Ohh, it is so good” was the group’s sentiment.
Here you are, my friends. Happy dinner. Happy diners. Happy memories. And as I’m finishing writing this, I’m ready for a repeat.
15 Years of Blogging
Wine, food, and life.
This story started 15 years ago when…
Nah…
Well, wait. This is actually true. This blog should’ve started at least 17 years ago, as some of my friends suggested. Then, of course, there was a fear of the unknown, “should I or should I not” inner voice fighting, and slow warming up to “I guess I can at least try… what is the worst thing that can happen?”. In March of 2010, I finally told the world that the new wine blog was coming (here is the link to the very first post on this blog). Four months later, in July of 2010, this blog finally took off.
I love numbers, so for this post, I wanted to share some Talk-a-Vino 15 years stats:
- 1,553 – number of published posts (it averages to 100+ a year, even though earlier years saw a lot more posts than the late ones)
- 1,556,337 words written (only in posts, not including comments; this was a fun project of figuring it out)
- 10,202 comments posted (that includes my replies as well)
- Pinot Noir is the most talked about grape with 79 posts, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon (70) and Chardonnay (55).
- Wine Quiz is still the most popular category with 257 posts, even though I have not been running the series for many years now.
- 640,293 spam comments protected against by Akismet according to the WordPress.com dashboard – this one is the most impressive number 🙂
When I started writing this blog, I was pondering the question – who do I write this blog for? After spending some time researching what others think, I came to a simple conclusion – I will be writing this blog for myself. I will be the one who has to like the posts first and foremost – of course, it would be wonderful to find some soulmates, people who would enjoy reading what I wrote, but I wouldn’t do anything special to find them, “just be myself,” as they like to say.
As an engineer at the core, I wanted my posts to be organized, so I came up with a concept of “series”. I was also very ambitious – for example, one of the series was called Daily Glass – as I drink wine daily, this series was supposed to talk about those daily wines. To date, I have 84 posts in that category – not exactly a daily activity. However, I still find the concept of the series helpful, at least personally, as it delivers the big picture. Usually, the names of the series are self-explanatory, as with the Daily Glass, so I don’t need to explain what “Restaurant Files”, “One on One with Winemaker”, “American Pleasures” (well, this one is actually about great American wines), or “Travel Diaries” actually mean.
Wine, food, and life.
This blog became a place where I store wine, food, and life experiences. There are notes for thousands of wines. There are restaurant experiences and recipes. You can find my travel diaries, whether visiting Japan, Israel, Paris, or my own neighbourhood, all illustrated with countless pictures. Tasting rare grapes is another passion, spurred by being bitten by the Wine Century Club bug – the rare grape experiences are collected throughout these pages, as I continue that Wine Century Club journey. Then there are even more experiences I love to collect, such as tasting wines from as many US states and as many countries as possible.
When I started blogging, the plan was to share my opinion and my opinion alone. When at the first Wine Bloggers Conference I attended, I heard seasoned wine writers saying “interview, interview, interview”, this was completely lost on me. What interviews? Why should I ask someone questions and then try to repeat the conversation in the format of a blog post? Little by little, conversation after conversation, the “aha” moment happened, and you can now find 40 or so conversations with the winemakers and wine people, the interviews. Among those, there is a series called Stories of Passion and Pinot, dedicated to the people who made the finicky grape their passion, most of them coming from Oregon.
And I also have to mention two of my perennial favorites. In my 15 years of blogging, I haven’t missed a single year with my Wine News and Updates, always published on April 1st, always filled with the most sensational happenings in the world of wine (if you have some time, check them out!). Another favorite is the list of the Top Wines of the Year, also published every year from 2010 through 2024. Originally envisioned as being only Top 10, then Top 12 (a dozen), the Top Lists usually reach at least 24 wines, but hey, this is my blog, my rules, and I can break my own rules.
I’m definitely enjoying my journey of 15 years, and I can only hope that I was able to share the joy with you on some occasions. Let’s raise our glasses to Wine, Food, and Life. Cheers!
Wine and Cheese – A Rare Pleasure
What’s so rare about wine cheese? Nothing, of course. “Wine and cheese” is one of the most abused “topics” of a social gathering. “Ah, let’s get together, I will bring wine and you will bring cheese”. Easy and straightforward, right?
So let me ask you, when was the last time you enjoyed yellow cheddar with a sip of a nice Chardonnay? Never mind Chardonnay, do you think yellow cheddar will work well with a random Pinot Grigio? Or maybe an inexpensive Rioja? I will let you ponder that enjoyable yellow cheddar pairing for a while – let me know when you come up with a good answer.
Wine and food pairing “that works” is an art. When wine and food pairing is attempted, one of the best general results is when wine and food don’t fight each other. In the rare cases when food and wine work together, that creates a pleasure of the next level, a pure hedonistic joy.
There are many books written on the subject of food and wine pairing, so I’m not going to try to cover the subject within a few sentences on this blog. On a basic level, wine and food pairing work well either by contrasting or complementing flavors. For example, an effervescent Moscato d’Asti perfectly complements an angel cake, as the flavors are similar, but Asti elevates the mouthfeel with light bubbles and a touch of acidity. Nice Kabinett Riesling perfectly contrasts spicy Asian dish with its acidity and sweetness, offering a welcoming relief to your fired-up taste buds. Many of the pairings would fall somewhere in between, but the whole point is that a bite of food together with a sip of wine should give you more pleasure than each one on its own.
So, how can you go about finding pleasurable combinations of food and wine? Wait, no, this is a topic for another blog post. Let me rephrase the question – how do you find pleasurable combinations of cheese and wine?
The right answer is: it depends.
Why, it always depends, doesn’t it?
When it comes to cheese, there is one easy hack (workaround is a nicer word :)) – if we are talking about artisanal cheeses, the pairing gets easier. Similar to wines, artisanal cheeses are also a product of terroir – many European cheeses have a protected area of origin. For most of the cases, that means that those artisanal cheeses had been produced in the specific area for a while, and that in turn means that most likely, the wines were produced locally right next to cheese, and therefore they is a good chance that wine and cheese from the same place might pair together well.
I had a perfect opportunity to test this theory. I got an unusual birthday present last month – a selection of artisanal cheeses from the local cheese monger – five cheeses from France and Switzerland. Obviously, that presented a perfect opportunity to try that difficult cheese and wine pairing and see how it would work.
Here are the cheeses I got with a brief wine pairing recommendations collected through an internet search:
– 1 –
Schallenberg
Origin: Switzerland, Alpine region
Milk: Cow (raw)
Age: 10 months
Suggested wine pairings:
White: Riesling, Ice Wine
Red: Pinot Noir, Beaujolais, Barbera
– 2 –
Hornbacher
Origin: Switzerland, Alpine region
Milk: Cow (raw)
Age: 11 months
Suggested wine pairings:
White: Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris
Other: (fortified dessert wines): Sherry, Port
– 3 –
Abbaye de Tamié
Traditional French cheese crafted by the monks at the Trappist Abbey of Tamié since the 12th century
Origin: France, Savoie, Rhône-Alpes
Milk: Cow (raw)
Suggested wine pairings:
White: Chardonnay, Savoie (Chasselas and others)
Red: Pinot Noir, Beaujolais, Gamay
Other: Champagne, other sparkling wines
– 4 –
Vacherousse d’Argental, double-cream Brie style
Origin: France, Lyon region
Milk: Cow
Suggested wine pairings:
Other: Champagne and other sparkling wines
White: Riesling, Grenache Blanc
– 5 –
Ovalie Cendrée
Origin: France, Loire Valley
Type: Goat (raw? Pasteurized?)
Suggested wine pairings:
White: Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling
Rosé
Red: Pineau d’Aunis
As you can tell, there was quite a range of wines suggested for the pairing, with Pinot Noir and Champagne being a common thread.
I get it about Champagne, as well-made Champagne possibly is the most versatile food pairing wine out there. Pinot Noir sounded a bit surprising, as I think many Pinot Noirs would easily overpower cheeses. And of course, Riesling makes perfect sense to pair with the cheeses, alongside the dessert wines.
While there is a good range of wines that might work with my cheese selection, the goal of this exercise was to get pleasure, not to conduct a comprehensive research of cheese and wine pairings, thus I had to limit the selection of the wines. I had a bottle of Champagne that I wanted to open for a while. I decided to go with Pinot Noir for the red, and luckily (for everyone), I settled on the Burgundian version and not Oregon or California. And last but not east, instead of looking for a right Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc or Riesling, I settled on the beautiful rendition of Chenin Blanc from Loire (of course!) from one of the best (best?) producers, Domaine Huet, basing my decision on the fact that one of the cheeses was coming from Loire region, thus giving me hope that local wine will pair well with local cheese.
Here are brief notes about the wines and their pairing with the cheeses:
NV Champagne Domaine les Monts Fournois Premier Cru (12.5% ABV, 70% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Meunier, Bottled in June 2016, Disgorged in September 2022) – superb. A classic nose of brioche and apples, followed by toasted bread and apples on the palate with cleansing acidity. Elegant, supple, delicious. Worked well with all cheeses.
2019 Domaine Huet Clos du Bourg Sec Vouvray AOC (13.5% ABV)
What a delight! Beautiful light golden color, elegant nose of whitestone fruit and a hint of nutmeg, inviting and enticing. Round, roll-off-your-tongue experience on the palate, an elegant white fruit medley, balanced acidity, a welcoming complexity with a medium-long finish. The wine was a riot paired with ashy goat, Ovalie Cendrée.
2019 Domaine Rebourgeon-Mure Cuvée de Maison Dieu Bourgogne (13.5% ABV, 14-18 months in partially new oak barrels)
Elegant would be the best descriptor. The wine was soft and approachable, with red fruit on the nose and more of the red fruit on the palate, medium body, soft and delicate. If I were just to open it to drink on its own, I think I would be disappointed. But paired with cheese, the wine shone, matching nearly perfectly pretty much all the cheeses we had in the tasting. I think my personal favorite was pairing with two of the Swiss hard cheeses, but again, this Burgundian Pinot worked perfectly with all 5 cheeses.
We also opened one more bottle in the evening – 1998 Mondavi Moscato d’Oro Napa Valley – we did’t pair it with the cheese (I’m sure that the pairing would be superb), but it was delicious on its own, with light sweetness of honey notes and still good acidity, still fresh – a delightful finish to the tasty night.
Here you are, my friends – a story of the rare pleasure – a successful pairing of the wine and cheese. Do you have your own stories about wine and cheese?
Wines of South America: Making Wine Geek and Wine Lover Happy
Here is where it gets interesting. We all heard of wine geeks, people who get excited about little nerdy wine details, such as vineyard blocks, blending methodology, or amphorae versus cement tank aging. And then you have the wine lovers, aficionados – the people who simply go after the hedonistic pleasure of wine drinking. Can these two personas be happy at the same time? I can’t speak for all the wine people with multiple personalities, but I can definitely answer for this one, the moi. I attended Descorchados 2025 tasting of South American wines, and both inner geek and aficionado were happy.
Just in case you are curious, DescoRChadOS is a guide for the wine of South America, published since 1999. Descorchados also runs wine tasting events dedicated to the wines of South America, and the 2025 event was the first return of the tasting to New York City since 2019.
As a self-appointed wine geek, I love all the uncommon wine traits – new (to me) and lesser-known grape varieties, new (to me) and unknown, even obscure places, authentic (indigenous, autochthonous) grapes, low intervention/natural wines, unique wines and vineyards (e.g. old vineyards). In this tasting, I found all of these things – indigenous, unknown (and thus new to me) grapes harvested from the 200-year-old vineyards, from the countries I had never tasted the wines from before. Happy, happy, happy wine geek.
And then there were world-class, beautiful, delicious, hedonistic wines – Malbec, Syrah, classic method Sparkling wines – all in the same tasting. As I said, both geek and aficionado were very happy.
Let’s start with the unique portion first, as I had a chance to attend the masterclass presenting the historical wines of South America.
When it comes to wine from South America, Argentina and Chile are the two countries that come to mind first, followed by Uruguay and maybe Brazil. But the grapes had been growing in most of the South American countries for a long time, with vineyards usually started by European immigrants. It appears that the oldest vineyard in South America is called Tacoma and it is located in Perú, originally planted by Spanish immigrants in the 1540s.
I don’t know if a grape vine can survive for 500 years and continue to bear fruit. However, I now know that 200-year-old vineyards can still produce grapes, as I had an opportunity to taste the wines made with grapes harvested from 200-year-old vines.
In the masterclass, we tasted 6 wines from 3 countries – Perú, Bolivia, and Chile, some of them produced from the unique grapes I never had before, so thanks to this tasting I can now add two countries to my list of Wines around the World, and increase the grape count by 3 – picture happy collector of experiences.
Here is what we tasted in the masterclass – but before the notes, just take a look at these colors! This tasting was definitely a feast for the eyes!
2024 Bodega Murga Ponte Mosca Pisco Perú (12.5% ABV, 34% Moscatel de Alejandría, 33% Moscatel Rosada, 33% Moscatel Negra, 65 days of skin contact)
Pisco is located south of Lima, capital of Perú, 25 minutes away from the Atlantic Ocean, featuring 4 different soil types in the region.
I can’t even comment on the color (beautiful!). The wine had a wonderful nose with explicit nutmeg and a hint of grapefruit. Interestingly dry and tart on the palate, with blood orange on the finish and pure acidity. A great specimen of skin contact wine, but you have to love skin contact. Will be great with seafood.
2024 Bodega Murga Sophia L’Orange Perú (10% ABV, 85% Quebranta, 15% Mollar grapes, 30 days of skin maceration, indigenous yeast)
Muted nose with a hint of smoke, strawberries, sapidity. Smokey strawberries on the palate with salivating clean, crisp acidity on the finish. I absolutely love it, but this is not the wine for everyone (geeks should be happy, though).
Just look at these colors!
2023 Jardín Oculto Negra Criolla Finca Molle Pampa Cinti Bolivia (200! years old vineyard, 100% Negra Criolla, a.k.a. Listán Prieto a.k.a. País)
Cintis Valley is located in the south of Bolivia, at 7,500 feet altitude, 18” of rain a year – the only place in Bolivia where you can find “winter” for the grapes.
Fresh, crisp, underripe crushed raspberries on the nose. Tart, acidic, with sapidity well present, and with a bitter finish. I can drink it, but this is not your everyday wine; too bitter for me (my palate is particularly sensitive to bitter notes).
2023 Yokich Imporeña Vino Blanco Cepas Cententarias Valle de Cinti Bolivia (13% ABV, 100% Imporeña grape)
What a color! Honey and roasted meat on the nose (yeah, I know, don’t say it), somewhat cloying.
Good acidity on the palate, but I’m not sure this is the wine I want to drink again
2022 Roberto Henriquez Molino Del Ciego Itata Valley Chile (13% ABV, 100% Semillon, 100 years old vineyard)
Jalapeño pepper on the nose, bell peppers and spicy peppers on the palate, good acidity. I’m now hungry. Might be the most unusual rendering of Semillon I’ve ever tasted.
2021 Roberto Henriquez Santa Cruz de Coya Bio Bio Valley Chile (11.5% ABV, 100% País, 200 years old vineyard)
Lightly scented red fruit on the nose, explicit minerality, fresh acidity, tart strawberries, acidity on the finish. This is the wine from the 200-year-old vineyard – very impressive.
Here are the results of the masterclass: 3 new grapes, 2 new countries to add to the list, beautifully colorful wines, lots of geeky excitement (when was the last time you tried wine from a 200-year-old vineyard?).
Then there was a regular tasting with more than 200 wines represented – I didn’t have much time to spend there, but I managed to find some very tasty wines – sparkling and still. Here is the list of the wines I enjoyed outside of the masterclass:
NV Estrelas do Brasil Brut Método Tradicionel
NV Estrelas do Brasil Nature Rose Pinot Noir – superb!
NV Guatambu Nature – excellent
NV Cave Geisse Nature Método Tradicional D.O. Altos de Pinto Bandeira
2020 Neyen Espiritu de Apalta Malbec Colchagua Valley – classic!
2021 Emiliana Coyam Los Robles Estate Valle de Colchagua – excellent but needs time
2021 Emiliana Gê Valle de Colchagua – ready to drink now, delicious
2015 Casa Marin Syrah Miramar Vineyard San Antonio Valley Chile – surprisingly delicious (when I think Chile, I don’t think Syrah – but you should look for this wine)
NV Casa Marin Maria Luz Brut Nature San Antonio Valley Chile
2024 Casa Marin Sauvignon Blanc Cipreses Vineyard
That concludes my encounter with the unique world of South American wines – from geeky pleasures to hedonistic masterpieces, South America has a wine for everyone, you just need to look for it.
What were your geeky discoveries as of late? Or how about some hedonistic pleasures you want to talk about? Cheers!
Daily Glass: Beautiful Israeli Wines
Let’s start with a few questions.
First: what do you like more – selecting the wine to be opened or just drinking the wine? Feel free to dismiss this question as “stupid” and ask for the next. But in my world, before the bottle is brought to the table to be opened, I take special pleasure in looking for the right bottle for the occasion. Who are the people you will be sharing the wine with? What type of wine do they like? Maybe more importantly, what wines do they not like? What is the actual occasion? These are all important questions to consider – the wine has to bring pleasure, and as a self-designated “wine person”, it is your job to ensure that it will.
The second question is also not very difficult: how do you select the wine? So you know the occasion, you probably have an idea of what type of wine you would like to bring (sparkling, red, white, Rosé, dessert, all of the above), but how do you decide on the exact wine to bring? Even if you decided that you will bring a Pinot Noir, there are tens/hundreds/more choices from all different regions, different wineries, different vintages. You can always grab the bottle with the label that speaks to you in a given moment, but sometimes, you want to go a little deeper.
Let’s go a little deeper.
The occasion was a Shabbat dinner. The house we were visiting is not ultra-religious, so technically, we could bring any wine. At the same time, I love Israeli wines, but drink them typically only during the Jewish holidays, so this was an opportunity to enjoy a bottle of an Israeli wine on a regular Friday, and I couldn’t let it pass.
Israeli wines are tricky – the inexpensive ones are not always good (chances of finding good Rioja or Côte du Rhone on the budget are a lot higher than an Israeli wine), and the expensive ones are … expensive and also not easy to find. Yes, I would love to bring Domaine du Castel or Yatir Forest, but I was not ready to spend that much, and again, finding those wines is a challenge.
So that was my attempt to select wine by the region and the winery. My next idea – let’s try a specific winemaker.
The brain’s work is mysterious. Of course, I’m not a brain scientist, whatever such a person should be called. But I’m not sure even a “brain scientist” can explain how information is processed by our brain to become memorable and impactful. Some years ago, I heard the name – Ido Lewinsohn, the garagiste winemaker from Tel Aviv, founder of the first “cult” Israeli winery. His wines were impossible to find – my friends in Israel managed to get me a bottle of his Garage de Papa Rouge, which I kept for a long time and then finally drank at some point (the wine was good, but I never wrote about it). Maybe it was the word “cult” that made such a lasting impression, but the name Ido Lewinsohn got stuck in my head.
While searching for a worthy wine for the dinner, I decided to search for the “Lewinsohn” too – what if his wines are now imported into the US? I didn’t find Garage de Papa wines, but to my delight, I discovered that after getting his Master of Wine degree (the second person in Israel to do so!), Ido is now working as the winemaker at Barkan and Segal wineries. Another search on the KosherWine.com website and voila – I got my dilemma solved – Segal wine it is!
I got four bottles of Segal wines—two to bring for dinner and two to celebrate the Passover holiday.
First, 2019 Segal Native Marawi Single Vineyard Judean Hills (11% ABV, $24.49, Marawi grape). Six years old white wine can be a challenge in itself – but this wine was not. The wine had a beautiful golden color, an intense nose of the whitestone fruit, which followed by the plump, roll-of-your-tongue nectar with explicit notes of white plums and cherry plums, fresh, intense, elegant, with a whiff of honey and cleansing acidity. The wine was a “crowd-pleaser” and disappeared in no time (Drinkability: 8+). In a blind tasting, my guess would be Marsanne/Roussane, and I would be very surprised to learn that I was wrong. An extra bonus – a rare grape I never had before.
Our second wine of the evening was 2021 Segal Petit Unfiltered Cabernet Sauvignon Galilee (13.5% ABV, $48.99). Dark garnet color, a restrained nose with a hint of black currant and explicit minerality. On the palate, the wine was old world in style, more of a young Bordeaux, crisp, fresh, edgy, with a good core of dark fruit and noticeable but balanced tannins. Excellent minerality, excellent acidity, excellent balance. In one word, superb. Second word – elegant. ( Drinkability: 8+).
Then there was a holiday Passover dinner, where another two bottles went into a play. These were as classic as they get – a Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.
2023 Segal Special Reserve Chardonnay Galilee (12.5% ABV, $19.99) was a perfect, classic, middle-of-the-road Chardonnay. Straw pale color, apples on the nose, apples with a hint of vanilla and a touch of Meyer’s lemon on the palate, round, clean, fresh, good acidity, an excellent balance. This was not a Chardonnay to knock your socks off, but this was a Chardonnay I would be happy to drink on any occasion. (Drinkability: 8)
Last but not least, 2023 Segal Special Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Galilee (12.5% ABV, $20.99). Dark ruby color, a hint of black currant on the nose. The palate was interesting, offering a touch of warm cinnamon and baking spices woven around a layer of plump dark fruit. The wine had all the traits of Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon, which usually has this warm cinnamon and spices – I also experienced a very similar taste profile with some of the Chinon Cabernet Franc. I don’t know if this is a terroir or if this is a specific Cabernet clone, but the resemblance was well noticeable. (Drinkability: 8- )
There you are, my friends. Four beautiful wines from Israel, perfect for any occasion, or any special day, especially those whose name ends with a “y”.
How do you select your wines? Do you have any favorite Israeli wines?
Daily Glass: Double Lucky, Coast to Coast
Wine is meant for sharing.
How do you share the wine? Well, that depends.
Of course, everyone knows the best way. Get together around the table. Open the wine. Pour into glasses. Sip, savor, enjoy the conversation.
This is the best way. But sometimes, it is not the easiest way. For example, when one person lives on the East Coast and another on the West Coast. What is the best way to share the wine then? Yes, nowadays, it is easy to speak with your friends no matter where they are – and not only talk, but you can see each other too, that’s a given. But still, how do you share the wine?
If you are lucky, you both might have the same bottle of wine. And you can be even double-lucky – especially if you have the right bottle, such as No Girls Double Lucky #8.
Talking about all the luck(s), there are a few here at play. Both my friend Wendy and I had the same bottle of wine available to us. Moreover, we had the bottle from the same vintage – 2019. Now, barring all the bottle variations, we were basically sharing the exact same bottle of wine – never mind 2,500 miles apart, as Wendy lives in Seattle.
Double Lucky wine was released during the pandemic, in 2021, and I was lucky enough not only to get a bottle of the inaugural 2017 vintage (all people on the No Girls mailing list received a bottle of Double Lucky for free), but also to attend a zoom call with Christophe Baron, the creator and owner of Cayuse wines and of the Cayuse “side branches” such as No Girls, Horsepower and others, and Elizabeth Bourcier, the winemaker – you can find my detailed impressions here. If you will read that post, you will find out that I was rather torn on the 2017 vintage.
2018 Double Lucky fared a lot better in my book, and it even made it to the Top Two Dozen of 2022 as wine number 19. And now, the 2019.
The 2019 No Girls Double Lucky #8 Walla Walla Valley (13.7% ABV, 34% Grenache, 33% Syrah, 33% Tempranillo, 21 months in neutral French oak) had a playful color, going from dark garnet to the crimson red, depending on the lighting. On the nose, on the first whiff, you can only talk about the rocks – the wine has a really profound minerality. Next, there is a hint of barnyard – just enough for those who like it, and we managed to agree with Wendy that we both love that little (or even not so little) funk on the nose – it makes the wine all the better (don’t talk to me about Brett). And then there were some cherries also present on the nose.
On the palate, the wine was all so interesting. We spoke with Wen for about 2 hours (wines, politics, families, popcorn, more wines – you know, just two friends catching up), and during these 2 hours, the wine kept changing. At first, the wine showed green bite, like chewing on the little branches of the wood (Elizabeth Bourcier is a big fan of whole cluster fermentation, and while it sounds wonderful, every time I hear the term, I almost cringe). After about 20 minutes, the green notes were gone, and the wine just had sweet cherries, olive tapenade, and rocks, lots of rocks. About an hour later, taking another sip, I suddenly discovered my beloved pepper! I love peppery notes of Syrah, this is an absolute hallmark in my book, so the wine definitely made me happy – and of course, it evoked memories of Michel Chapoutier Mathilda Shiraz, one of the most peppery Syrah renditions I ever tasted.
All in all, it was a great evening of wine and conversation – a double lucky we might even say, pun intended.
Never mind the distance – open a bottle and call your friends.
Until the next time – cheers!
Brunello di Montalcino 2020: Captivating, Bright, Succulent
Benvenutto Brunello is one of my favorite wine tasting to attend. If you like Italian wines, Brunello needs no introduction (and if you don’t, I’m not sure we can be friends) – one of the 3 big Bs of Italian winemaking – Barolo, Barbaresco, and Brunello.
Brunello is an epitome of the expression of the best known Italian red grape – Sangiovese. The Sangiovese growing in the Brunello di Montalcino proper is considered a clone – Sangiovese Grosso, but it is a Sangiovese nevertheless.
Brunello de Montalcino appellation is almost square, all located around the hill crowned with the town of Montalcino, with vineyards densely occupying 5,189 acres and located at various altitudes over a range of different soils. Different microclimate conditions, terroirs, guarantee a great diversity of styles among 200 or so producers in Brunello di Montalcino DOCG. Another interesting appellation within Brunello proper is Rosso di Montalcino DOC, occupying 2,124 acres (after expansion in 2020) of dedicated vineyards (Rosso DOC vineyards are only used for production of Rosso di Montalcino DOC). Take a look at this wonderful video providing an excellent overview of the Brunello di Montalcino region:
Gabrielle Gorelli, MW, led our highly informative Brunello Masterclass, providing a detailed overview of the 2020 vintage and the changes in vintage assessment that just went into effect.
The 2020 was a pivotal vintage for Brunello di Montalcino. Not because of the Brunello 2020 wines per se, but because of the fundamental changes made in assessment of the 2020 vintage and all future vintages to come.
Until 2020, Brunello di Montalcino vintages had quality assessment specified with the stars (from 1 to 5 stars) and a short slogan characterizing the vintage. For example, the 2014 vintage had a rating of 3 stars and was called “Grace under pressure”. 2015 had a rating of 5 stars, and it was called “Power and Purity”; the 2016 vintage was also rated 5 stars and called “Finesse and depth”.
The 2020 Brunello vintage marks the end of the star ratings – this is the last vintage awarded a star rating (5 stars, in case you are wondering). Instead, Consorzio Brunello di Montalcino is introducing Brunello Forma, which will only provide a verbal description of the vintage moving forward.
A significant amount of effort went into the creation of the new system. 39 weather stations were installed around the region to collect the microclimate data. Historical data of the past 12 years were collected and a significant number of samples from the past vintages were blind tasted to come up with the set of data which will allow to make vintage assessment more scientific, I guess.
To come up with the vintage verbal assessment, a panel of industry experts (masters of wine, wine distributors, wine writers) ran extensive tasting of the 2020 wines, then collected and processed a large number of descriptors used by the panel members to crystallize the 2020 Brunello vintage description into these three words:
Captivating, Bright, Succulent
As an engineer at heart, I’m not a fan of words. Simple numerical (3 stars, 92) or verbal (fair, good, very good) rating quickly gives me everything I need to know about the vintage in general – captivating or succulent doesn’t set my expectations about a given wine – not now, and especially, not in the future.
However, as it was explained later on during the dinner with Giacomo Bartolommeo, Brunello winemaker at Caprili, the star ratings were hurting the wineries, as wine buyers preferred to ignore wines from 3-star vintages and focus on acquiring better-rated vintages, without much regard to the qualities of the particular wine. Moving to verbal descriptors eliminates the opportunity for a quick rating-based decision. Well, winemakers are in the business of selling their wines, so it is not my place to complain or judge.
Then, of course, there were wines. I have to say that in the traditional Italian style (please take no offence), the tasting order was changed by our presenter, Gabrielle Gorelli, MW, compared to the order written on the notes page. However, I have to say that our tasting order was definitely the right one, showing progression from very tight and lean wines to wines that were softer and more approachable now. I attended both seminars, so below are my notes:
Morning Seminar
Col D’Orcia Brunello di Montalcino 2020
Ruby Color
Interesting nose, sapidity, earthy undertones, leather
Tart is the first sensation; tart cherries, expressive tannins, crisp acidity
Pian Delle Querci Brunello di Montalcino 2020 (36 months in Slavonian oak)
Dark ruby color
Sweet cherries, perfumy, very playful
Not as tart as the previous wine, but has very explicit tannins, good acidity, but lacking fruit, very lean
Carpineto Brunello di Montalcino 2020 (vineyards planted on the oldest soils, 3 years in big oak barrels)
Garnet color
Sweet tobacco, cherries, plums, attractive
Initially showed beautiful cherries, the tartness kicked in, followed by very dry finish with big but well integrated tannins
Marchesi Frescobaldi Castelgiocondo Brunello di Montalcino 2020 (single vineyard, aged in big casks)
Garnet color
Beautiful nose, elegant, perfumy, with a touch of sweet cherries.
Tart cherries on the palate, herbs, tart finish with well pronounced tannings.
San Polo Podernovi Brunello di Montalcino 2020 (30 months in light-toast 40hl casks)
Garnet color with bright reddish hues
Beautiful nose, elegant, perfumy, sweet cherries, eucalyptus.
Tart cherries, tannins are overwhelming, but the most elegant finish so far.
Probably can be enjoyed now after decanting
La Poderina Brunello di Montalcino 2020
Dark Garnet
Playful, bright red fruit, cherries, herbs, sweet oak.
Palate is a tad bitter, strange, had to swallow the wine instead of spitting to establish that it was not corked. Overall, not bad, but the nose is way better than the palate.
Collematoni Brunello di Montalcino 2020
Dark ruby color, beautiful
Beautiful nose, sweet fruit, cherries, sage, beautiful.
The best palate so far – round, with sweet and tart cherries, elegant, delicious.
8+
2020 Podere Brizio Brunello di Montalcino 2020 (38 months in oak)
Dark garnet
Beautiful, open, sweet fruit, sweet cherries, pencil shavings.
Tart cherries, explicit balsamic notes, succulent, mouthwatering, round, delicious, beautiful, superb.
8+
My favorite two wines of the morning seminar:
Afternoon seminar
Sanlorenzo Brunellodi Montalcino 2020 (aged in oak for about 3 years)
Garnet color
Beautiful, sweet fruit, cherries, dark undertones, earthiness.
Intense fruit quickly dissipates into very tart, very high expression tannins and acidity on the finish. Super-lean.
Mocali Brunello di Montalcino 2020
Dark garnet
Interesting nose, maybe racy is a good descriptor? Garrigue, some cherries show up a bit later.
Lots of sweet cherries which instantly disappear, but the finish is a bit less tart than the previous wine.
La Magia Brunello di Montalcino 2020
Very dark, practically black, darkest of the tasting so far
The nose is restrained, earthy and herbaceous
Sweet cherries, sweet oak, then tart, acidic, and ultra-tannic on the finish, very dry
Sassodisole Brunello di Montalcino 2020 (minimum 24 months in oak)
Dark Garnet
Cherries, sage, perfume, nice and open
Tart cherries, leather, well-integrated tannins
So far, the most approachable wine of the tasting
Camigliano Paesaggio Inatteso Brunello di Montalcino 2020 (30 months in oak barrels, 10 months in cement tanks after)
Bright ruby
Underbrush, a hint of smoke
Tart cherries, fresh cleansing acidity, acidic finish with some tannins, not bad.
Argiano Brunello di Montalcino 2020 (30 months in Slovenian oak casks of different capacities)
Dark garnet
Nice, inviting, round, dark fruit, a touch of crushed rocks.
Sweet cherries, crunchy and succulent, great energy, cherries on the finish, delicious.
8+, the best of the second seminar
Cortonesi Poggiarelli Brunello di Montalcino 2020 (24 months in oak)
Dark garnet, almost black, with bright hues
Amazing nose. Cherries that magically pull you in.
Fish and powerful opening on the palate, but bitter tannins set in.
Best nose of both tastings, 9-/9. Palate is not great right now – 7+
Banfi Poggio Alle Mura Brunello di Montalcino 2020 (24+ months in French oak)
Dark garnet with bright hues
Nice, open nose with lots of fresh herbs – sage, thyme.
Sweet dark fruit on the palate initially, then the palate is quickly shut down in front of the mouth. Again, if you swallow this wine instead of spitting, the wine is a lot more generous. Succulent is a perfect descriptor for such a wine. 8+
Best wines of the second seminar:
In addition to the seminars, there was tasting on the “main floor”. There were more of the excellent 2020 Brunellos, such as San Felice, Caprili, or Corte Pavone. There were also many of the 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva wines, which were simply outstanding. Additionally, 2023 Rosso di Montalcino were presented by almost all participating wineries and were excellent across the board.
My Brunello deep immersion didn’t stop there. After the event was over, we went for dinner with John Fodera and Giacomo Bartolommei, the winemaker at Caprili, to the wonderful Italian New York restaurant Zero Otto Nove, famous not only for genuine Italian food but for the amazing wine list. There, Giacomo found 2001 Cerbaiona Brunello di Montalcino, which we ordered.
Wow, what a pleasure it was. Perfumy nose of succulent cherries, anis, eucalyptus. You can’t stop smelling the wine, you don’t even think of drinking it for a few minutes. Then you take a careful sip and experience an explosion of flavor with succulent cherries, balscami vinegar, iodine, and magic that only an Italian wine with age can offer. The experience was not identical to 1999 Soldera, but it was pretty darn close.
And now my Brunello report is complete. The 2020 vintage offers beautiful aromatics; it is approachable, it is succulent, it is captivating. Let’s raise the glass to the new era in Brunello and more tasty Brunello wines for us. Cheers!
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