WTN: French, Italian & German with Dan Fredman
Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 8:38 am
Dan Fredman was in town last week with some friends in tow, as was Scott Kraft, so a couple of us locals got together for a nice night of food and wine at Il Corso. Joining in the festivities were Ray Isle, Jon Bonné and his friend Christina, Manuel Camblor and his better half, Josie, and yours truly
Wines are in the order tasted.
Cheers,
Brad.
2004 Emrich-Schönleber- Riesling Spätlese Halbtrocken, Monzinger Halenberg, Nahe
Warning! Warning! A Lyle Fass selection! Love the guy, but we really have divergent tastes in wine. Doesn’t help that the label says halbtrocken, as I find them to be a waste of good Riesling. Stinky as hell as it’s sulfured up the wazoo. A powdered pez candy note does fight its way through, though. Taut and crisp with the usual stripped halbtrocken mouthfeel I don’t like. There’s some upfront sweetness and guava notes of no particular interest. A big hole in the middle followed by citrus pith and Bayer aspirin flavors on the finish. Not quite a winner. C.
1997 Girolamo Dorigo- Ribolla Gialla, Vigneto Ronc di Juri
Shows an intriguing and complex mélange of hay, yellow plums and powdered stones/talc on the nose. Quite surprising on the palate as it has vivacious acidity and is stuffed to the gills with interesting things. Nicely layered with brilliant minerality and like flavors as aromas. Nine years old from a hot vintage and it’s still fresh and lively. Really intense wine. Low A-.
2002 Mascarello- Barbera d’Alba
A gift to Josie from Giusseppe Mascarello when she and Manuel were at the estate this past fall. Much to Manuel’s chagrin, Josie answered that she liked the unreleased Barbera the best of the wines they tasted that day. Manuel is now teaching her how to say “Monprivato.” Anyhoo, lots of Brett on the nose, with sweet, perfumed fruit trying to fight for air. Soft and uncomplicated on the palate. The fruit is a bit stemmy and dilute. Shows the vintage, but given how bad it was, it’s a good effort for it. B-.
1990 André Iché- Minervois, “Nobilis”
Nice ‘n funky, with ripe, roasted black fruit and spice on the nose. Really lovely aromas. Ripe and bursting with black fruit, spice and a touch of garrigue on the palate. It shows some of that nice, aged softness, but still has backbone. Not the most complex wine, but it’s pure slurpalicious pleasure. A-/B+.
1985 Emidio Pepe- Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
A thermonuclear explosion of volatile acidity explodes from the glass and devastates nostrils and manicures alike. There’s a touch of mushroom and tart cherry on the palate, but the VA is tongue-stripping. Dan says to give it time, but we all agreed it only got worse. I’ve heard there’s bottle variation with this wine, with some showing really well. Good thing this wasn’t Russian roulette. D.
1999 Pegau- Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Cuvée Réservée
A bottle from the first release, not the more recent one. Light Band-Aid aromas with herbs, sweet red fruit and light spice. Beautiful raspberry fruit dominates the palate and is rounded out by garrigue and spice flavors. It shows a little of the ’99 coarseness, but that just adds character. The wine really grew and filled-in with air. Delicious. A-.
2001 Franz Haas- Moscato Rosa
An absolutely delightful nose that I could smell all day. Rosehip preserves, Christmas fruitcake and allspice. On release, I find they tend to show a less complex, but equally enjoyable aroma profile of roses, fresh crushed berries with a touch of honey. On the palate, though, I have to say I prefer my Moscato Rosas on the younger side. Sweet, yet balanced, with like flavors as aromas. It really starts to fall off on the finish and I do prefer the fresher fruit from younger bottles. Low B+.
Wines are in the order tasted.
Cheers,
Brad.
2004 Emrich-Schönleber- Riesling Spätlese Halbtrocken, Monzinger Halenberg, Nahe
Warning! Warning! A Lyle Fass selection! Love the guy, but we really have divergent tastes in wine. Doesn’t help that the label says halbtrocken, as I find them to be a waste of good Riesling. Stinky as hell as it’s sulfured up the wazoo. A powdered pez candy note does fight its way through, though. Taut and crisp with the usual stripped halbtrocken mouthfeel I don’t like. There’s some upfront sweetness and guava notes of no particular interest. A big hole in the middle followed by citrus pith and Bayer aspirin flavors on the finish. Not quite a winner. C.
1997 Girolamo Dorigo- Ribolla Gialla, Vigneto Ronc di Juri
Shows an intriguing and complex mélange of hay, yellow plums and powdered stones/talc on the nose. Quite surprising on the palate as it has vivacious acidity and is stuffed to the gills with interesting things. Nicely layered with brilliant minerality and like flavors as aromas. Nine years old from a hot vintage and it’s still fresh and lively. Really intense wine. Low A-.
2002 Mascarello- Barbera d’Alba
A gift to Josie from Giusseppe Mascarello when she and Manuel were at the estate this past fall. Much to Manuel’s chagrin, Josie answered that she liked the unreleased Barbera the best of the wines they tasted that day. Manuel is now teaching her how to say “Monprivato.” Anyhoo, lots of Brett on the nose, with sweet, perfumed fruit trying to fight for air. Soft and uncomplicated on the palate. The fruit is a bit stemmy and dilute. Shows the vintage, but given how bad it was, it’s a good effort for it. B-.
1990 André Iché- Minervois, “Nobilis”
Nice ‘n funky, with ripe, roasted black fruit and spice on the nose. Really lovely aromas. Ripe and bursting with black fruit, spice and a touch of garrigue on the palate. It shows some of that nice, aged softness, but still has backbone. Not the most complex wine, but it’s pure slurpalicious pleasure. A-/B+.
1985 Emidio Pepe- Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
A thermonuclear explosion of volatile acidity explodes from the glass and devastates nostrils and manicures alike. There’s a touch of mushroom and tart cherry on the palate, but the VA is tongue-stripping. Dan says to give it time, but we all agreed it only got worse. I’ve heard there’s bottle variation with this wine, with some showing really well. Good thing this wasn’t Russian roulette. D.
1999 Pegau- Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Cuvée Réservée
A bottle from the first release, not the more recent one. Light Band-Aid aromas with herbs, sweet red fruit and light spice. Beautiful raspberry fruit dominates the palate and is rounded out by garrigue and spice flavors. It shows a little of the ’99 coarseness, but that just adds character. The wine really grew and filled-in with air. Delicious. A-.
2001 Franz Haas- Moscato Rosa
An absolutely delightful nose that I could smell all day. Rosehip preserves, Christmas fruitcake and allspice. On release, I find they tend to show a less complex, but equally enjoyable aroma profile of roses, fresh crushed berries with a touch of honey. On the palate, though, I have to say I prefer my Moscato Rosas on the younger side. Sweet, yet balanced, with like flavors as aromas. It really starts to fall off on the finish and I do prefer the fresher fruit from younger bottles. Low B+.