WTN: Two from the Cellar

[Clint Hall]

I've seldom had much luck cellaring Barberas more than a couple of years or so, even the high end ones, but this 2006 CONTERNO BARBERA D'ALBA CASCINA FRANCIA is still a relative youngster, apparently with years to go as it needed a couple of hours of air the first night and then performed even better after overnighting in a 375. I'm not a big Barbera fan but it seems to me the genre doesn't get a whole lot better than this, and this wine has gotten better every year. Violets on the nose, licorice and smooth tannins on the palate, and a pleasing sweet finish.

There's usually about as much to be gained by cellaring Pinot Gris as by putting your money in today's CDs, but over the years this venerable 2000 ALBERT MANN TOKAY PINOT GRIS GRAND CRU HENGST has grown luscious if still a little on the simple side. It would be interesting to see how many years my remaining (12th) bottle of this pleasant dessert wine will continue to hang in there, but I doubt I'll be able to keep my hands off it.