Talk-A-Vino

Here we go again – another attempt at a series (I kind of question my mental health at the moment, as the definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over again, each time expecting a different result – I’m so glad I’m not a doctor, whew).

Some time ago, I wrote a post called Weekend in Wines. Then there was A Weekend In Unique Wines. And also A Weekend in [Great] Wines. That makes it 3 attempts at the Weekend in Wines theme, hence the #4 in the title. Oh yes, and countless posts under the same name, which never left my head, never materialized in the form of letters and pictures on the screen. But those don’t count, don’t they? Okay, number 4 it is.

It is not every weekend that I experience the wines I feel an urge to talk about. But from time to time, the “weekend wines” turn out truly special, especially if we are meeting with friends or traveling somewhere just for a weekend. The name “Weekend in Wines” feels appropriate, so let’s see how far I will be able to get with this.

There is another interesting question: when does the wine weekend start? Well, it is not all that important, but sometimes I open an interesting bottle on Thursday, knowing that I will finish it on Friday, just to see how the wine will “age”. But then again, let’s not bother ourselves with small details.

The weekend in wines #4 actually started on Thursday, with 2022 Pazac Le Pigeonnier Costières de Nîmes AOP (14.5% ABV). Truth be told, I’m not a big fan of the Southern Rhone wines, I find them flat for my palate. So I had no expectations opening this bottle – and then was pleasantly surprised with a generous fruit, medium+ body and nicely contrasting acidity. Well drinkable and offering a good amount of pleasure (Drinkability: 8-). I pumped the air out and left the bottle on the counter until the next day – and on the next day, the wine started losing its “umph”, simply confirming that Southern Rhone wines are not built for ageing.

I needed something else to drink on Friday, then, and I pulled 2021 Field Recordings Nolan Alisos Canyon AVA (13.9% ABV, 100% Alicante Bouschet, Nolsn Ranch vineyard) from the wine fridge. I was first introduced to the Alicante Bouschet grape more than 20 years ago, in the guided tasting of Spanish wines at the Barcelona restaurant in Connecticut. Ever since, I had many pleasant encounters with wines made from this unique Teinturier grape. A quick explanation, if I may – Teinturier grapes have red skin and red flesh/juice, which is very unique – only about 20 grapes are Teinturier out of many thousands used in the winemaking (Georgian Saperavi is another good example of Teinturier grape). The absolute majority of the red-skinned grapes have clear juice. While coming originally from Spain, Alicante Bouschet is a popular grape in California, more as a blending grape, but also used in the single varietal wines by the likes of Carlisle and  Turley. This wine was powerful and brooding, almost black in color, with cherries, roasted meat, and a bit of funk, well within the “pleasure boundaries for my palate. (Drinkability: 8)

On Saturday, we were visiting our friends Francesca and Stefano, and of course, I had the pleasure nightmare of selecting a couple of special bottles to bring over. After a prolonged, painful back and forth, I finally settled on two bottles of Turley. First, 2022 Turley Sauvignon Blanc Estate Napa Valley (13.2% ABV). Turley Sauvignon Blanc is one of my perennial favorites. I had multiple vintages of this wine, and I have to say that Turley Sauvignon Blanc is always in a league of its own. You can’t provide a simple frame of reference, such as “oh, it is so much like Sancerre”, or “Similar to New Zealand”, and so on. The wine has great energy, it is round, it is silky, it is polished, it offers white stone fruit with good mid-palate weight, and a perfect balance. Always a treat. (Drinkability: 8+).

The next wine was an amazing treat. I recently got this 1995 Turley Petite Syrah Aida Vineyard Napa Valley (13.5% ABV) directly from Turley via the last mailing list offering. I’m on the Turley’s list probably for the past 15 years, I love Petite Sirah (Turley uses the spelling of Petite Syrah for some reason), but I never saw Petite Sirah from Aida Vineyard on any of the offers. We had to decant the wine as we were not careful pulling out a 31-year-old cork. I know that Larry Turley, the founder of Turley Winery, often said that Zinfandel is the wine Cab lovers actually want to drink. I know that this is Petite Sirah and not Zinfandel, but this 1995 Petite Sirah was truly mesmerizing – and Cabernet-like. In a blind tasting, I would not doubt that I’m drinking California Cabernet Sauvignon even for a second. The wine had a beautiful, succulent berry profile, with cedar box, eucalyptus, and mint, a fresh, zippy, and joyous palate. The tannins were perfectly integrated but still present, acidity was in check, ensuring the absolute freshness, and overall impeccable balance. A gem. (Drinkability: 9-/9).

I asked Stefano if he had any Valtellina Sfursat in his cellar, as I was all of a sudden craving this expression of Nebbiolo after an earlier conversation on Twitter. He didn’t have the Sfursat, but he came back with 2001 ArPePe Sassella Rocce Rosse Reserva Valtellina DOCG (13% ABV). I love ArPePe wines, but they are generally not easy to find in the US. Interestingly enough, this wine literally showed no signs of age. It looked like it was just made, with cherries, sandalwood, violets and a touch of sapidity. To be entirely honest, I literally wanted this wine to show some age, maybe with some dried fruit notes, and it didn’t. I guess it would take another 20 years for it to reach its peak. Oh well, it was still tasty. (Drinkability: 8/8+).

And the last one for today – 2009 Carole Bouquet Sangue d’Oro Passito di Pantelleria, Sicily (14.5%). Once again, I was obnoxious enough to ask for Vin Santo to have with dessert. Stefano didn’t have any Vin Santo on hand, so he came back with this wine. I never heard of the producer, but the appellation is well-known for producing dessert wines from the Muscat of Alexandria grape, locally known as Zibibbo, with Donnafugata Ben Ryé being the most exemplatory specimen. It appears that this wine is produced by the famous French actress, Carole Bouquet, and it is not easy to find in the US. As the name of the appellation says, the wine is produced using the “passito” method, where the grapes are dried for a number of months before they are pressed into the wine, greatly increasing the concentration of flavors. The wine was delicious, loaded with succulent, ripe apricots with perfect acidity. Seductive, round, voluptuous – a perfect finish to a great evening with friends (Dinkability: 8/8+).

There you are, my friends. A weekend in wines. A weekend in great wines. A weekend in unique wines.

To more great wine weekends – cheers!