WTN: Tignanello, Einaudi, Beychevelle, Leonetti, Noval

Monthly blind tasting lunch notes.

2004 Springfield Estate Life from Stone Sauvignon Blanc – first guesses (mine included) were for New Zealand, as the style is the same – lots of crisp acidity, although no cat’s pee at all, just SB grassiness. Very clean and much more approachable now than a couple of years ago.

2006 Nikolaihof Gruner Veltliner Hefeabzug – waxiness in the nose, with some pineapple, soft in the mouth, pleasant and quaffable.

1985 Dom. de Comtes Lafon Volnay Champans – this was a follow-up to wines we’d had previously – the Lafon 2005 village wine and the 1988 Dom. de Comtes de Lafon Volnay-Santenots du Milieu last month. clearly pinot nose, light colour, lots of acidity and a bit low on fruit, but pleasant.

1990 Tignanello – people seem to be following trends – I brought the 1994 last month. The 90 is a wonderful wine (I’m glad to see I still have a six pack in the cellar). It showed a single minded sangiovese nose, sweet and with both fruit and earth notes. Medium colour, smooth, with high acidity (works beautifully with food), ending with a hint of spice in a long finish. No rush on this one.

1997 Luigi Einaudi Barolo – an excellent traditional producer, this wine showed a nice garnet medium colour, slightly elevated acidity (the only hint of origin) and a nose that was fairly floral, though not the rose petals you sometimes see and none of the tar. No rush here either. Nice long finish.

1998 Ch. de St. Cosme Gigondas – slightly funky obviously Rhone nose, excellent fruit levels, and good length. This never fails to please!

2003 Monpertuis Cuvee Cunoise – I actually got the varietal after we wallowed about in the southern Rhone for awhile and we were told it wasn’t Grencahe or Syrah. This one showed a simple sweet nose with a hint of pepper and some coconut, and was soft and medium length on palate.

2003 Renard Truchard Vd. Syrah – when I got this, it was one of the most Rhone stye California Syrahs – it could serve as a ringer for a Crozes. It has somehow transmogrified itself into a more typical CA wine, however, and while I knew that, having subsequently tried a bottle, the person who brought this wasn’t aware of it. The nose was good varietal syrah, big bodied, long and pleasant, but no longer a candidate for any blind tasting of the Northern Rhone.

1988 Ch.Beychevelle – very faint TCA whiff off this, but everything else seemed to be in order. A reasonably typical claret nose, decent fruit and medium length. Good luncheon weight claret.

1995 Ciacci Picolomini Brunello di Pianrosso – fairly dark wine with an initial impression of rubber in the nose, giving way to herbal dark fruit. Surprisingly sweet in the mouth and with good length. Delighted to find I have some in my cellar! Drinking well now but no rush.

1995 Leonetti Merlot – big coffee, mocha, caramel and dill nose. Fair bit of acidity and not too tannic. Others felt it was at plateau but I wondered if it would have been a little better a couple of years ago.

1995 Gallo Sonoma Cabernet – many people seem to forget that Gallo does this vintage dated varietal wine and further that they generally do a good job with it. Sweet cocoa nose, friendly and warm on palate. Ready now.

1991 Quinta do Noval Port – the medium mahogany colour of this had me thinking it was an 83 or maybe 85. Medium bodied, and slightly hot in the mouth, though I didn’t find it so in the nose, this is lighter than I’d have expected but very decent. Good way to end a lunch!

Thanks for the notes Bill. I am always jealous when I read about your regular get-togethers. They sound great.

Is the first wine, Life from Stone, from South Africa?

Thanks for the notes Bill. I am always jealous when I read about your regular get-togethers. They sound great.

Is the first wine, Life from Stone, from South Africa?

Sorry, yes. I should have said so.

I'm not usually a fan of Super-Tuscans but the Tignanellos from the '80s have been very pleasant - IIRC it was the '88 which I found especially pleasing with its pure Sangiovese fruit and highish acidity. I've not tasted the early '90s but from the mid-'90s to today, I tend to find them too much like Super-Tuscans and not enough like Sangiovese but I don't know if that is just an issue of age or whether the wine is different from the older ones.

Beychevelle is property that seems to get little love on the wine internet - except from me. I tend to read that it is an underachiever, yet all vintages I have tried (spanning the late '70s up to 2001) have been classic Claret and extremely enjoyable. It hasn't ever been a sexy, plush Claret with huge concentration and IMO has been all the better for it.

'91 Ports can be quite delicious drinking now, but as you say, a bit light. I still don't think there is any danger of them going over the hill soon, though.

Thanks, as always, for the great notes!

-O

Re: Renard. Interesting comment, Bill. It parallels my experience-trying the wine at the winery (he now makes the wines at the Silenus cooperative facility and tasting room south of Yountville) and finding it very Rhonesque, only to find less of that a few weeks later at home. Still like his wines, though.

The Counoise sounds like I might have made a mistake. At least not an expensive one.

[Jenise]

Sorry to delay in getting my notes up, but here goes:

2004 Springfield Estate Life from Stone Sauvignon Blanc – limestone, asparagus and lemon. As soon as we switch from NZ to South Africa, I was able to guess that this was Life From Stone. An old friend, when we lived in California I could buy it direct from the importer and did that often. One of SA's best and most distinctive sauv blancs, though I would not have guessed it to be older than, say, '06. Very very good.

2006 Nikolaihof Gruner Veltliner Hefeabzug – I liked this better than you did, thought the nose quite attractive with chinese peas and waxy, floral notes. However, it was far more delicate than I expected and softer on the palate. When I got home I found out why: I had meant to grab the Smaragd Im Weingebirge, which would have impressed you much more. I hate myself for this error.

1985 Dom. de Comtes Lafon Volnay Champans – few things are more attractive to me than the nose of old pinot noir and this Volnay didn't disappoint. Nicely sandwiched between courses so the wine didn't have to fight with food for attention.

1990 Tignanello – Though this clearly had some age on it, it also had youthfully firm fruit and vibrant acidity. A beautiful wine that's probably not even at peak yet. Terrific.

1997 Luigi Einaudi Barolo – fabulous perfume on the nose with ample smokey fruit on the palate. Yum yum yum.

1998 Ch. de St. Cosme Gigondas – a bit of bretty funk on the nose with green olives, sweet red fruit and pepper. Delish.

2003 Monpertuis Cuvee Cunoise – I had hoped this wine would be clever and fun for guessing and had decided at home that it showed well enough to hold it's own, but alas it did not and I'm deeply embarrassed. I'll make it up to you next month, I promise.

2003 Renard Truchard Vd. Syrah – In the style of Tom Hill: vanilla fudge/VA/corn syrup/confected/big/black fruit/brown sugar/orange juice/too late. Yet I can validate your impressions, because you served this two years ago at another event and I remember being impressed with it's
Rhoniness (I even came home and internet-shopped the wine afterward, though I never purchased--thank god).

1988 Ch.Beychevelle – Didn't find your TCA whiff on this at all, though it had a faint green streak amid the sexy red fruit. Enjoyed this very much, and found it's ligher weight a nice relief after the Renard.

1995 Ciacci Picolomini Brunello di Pianrosso – What you said.

1995 Leonetti Merlot – Though pleasant drinking right now, this is not half the wine your '94 was at approximately the same age about a year ago. Rather interesting to me as I've been picking up a few 95's (not this producer, but others) cheaply at auction and have liked each and every one about as much as the '94 when I had the luxury of getting my hands on both. In fact, I found what you call 'dill' rather pervasive in the way of underripe fruit--the first note I took on it was "greenish".

1995 Gallo Sonoma Cabernet – I would be one of those people who forget that Gallo makes vintage wine, and quite competently so, from time to time. Though not loaded with character, this wine was not nearly as industrial or santized as one might imagine.

1991 Quinta do Noval Port – what you said.