WineLovers Discussion Group

My descriptions do not come close to many of your's, but I held a very enjoyable "Three Bs" Italian Party this evening, and a good time was had by all. All wines were decanted, perhaps for not long enough, because this was a very young group.

Franco Fiorina Barbaresco 2000 (Steefano Farina) The paint stripping tannic monster of the evening. Ouch. Still some nice fruit struggling to come out from underneath, but WOW what a young wine.

Siro Paecnti 2001 Brunello. Still quite tannic, but, as would be expected, much more integrated. Nice dark fruit, some earthy tones. Different than my favorite Chiantis, but I found this wine quite complex and delcious. Might be better in five years?

Casanova di Neri Tenuto Nuova 1998 Brunello A group favorite. More integrated tannins, a little more fruit, believe it or not. Some complexity., I'm not sure found it asd complex or interesting as the Siro Pacenti, but definitely a delicious bottle.

Mauro Sebaste Monvigliero Barolo 2001 Another group favorite. Quite nicely integrated tannins. Lots of dark, complex fruit and indescribable secondary flavors. Luckily, I have two more bottles of this one-will eb intrigued to see how it develops.
Corino 2001 Arborina Barolo. Much more tannic, but very complex and interestijng fruit and secondary flavors. I enjoyed this one, but it had a mixed reaction from others.

Allegrini La Grola Veronese 2001. Not at all what I expected from a half corvina wine. Much drier, more floral in character. I thought "Pinot Noirt" in flavor profile.

A good time was had by all, withgood friends, and amusement from my three very poignantly begging dogs.

I frankly enjoyed, to varying degrees, all of the wines. No obvious clunkers in the bunch!

Did you have Bach, Beethoven and Brahms playing in the background?

Isaac wrote:Did you have Bach, Beethoven and Brahms playing in the background?

LOL/ You know, I do have a couple of CDs that would have played the role. I did stick a few Italian architecture books on the coffee table, though..

I did stick a few Italian architecture books on the coffee table

It must have been Bellini, Botticelli, and Brunelleschi.

Brian K Miller wrote:

Siro Paecnti 2001 Brunello. Still quite tannic, but, as would be expected, much more integrated. Nice dark fruit, some earthy tones. Different than my favorite Chiantis, but I found this wine quite complex and delcious. Might be better in five years?

Casanova di Neri Tenuto Nuova 1998 Brunello A group favorite. More integrated tannins, a little more fruit, believe it or not. Some complexity., I'm not sure found it asd complex or interesting as the Siro Pacenti, but definitely a delicious bottle.

Brian--

Not sure if your question about the Pacenti was rhetorical or not, but I suspect that it will indeed be better in five years or so. Having said that, Pacenti is usually considered more modern (meaning, in this context, ready for earlier drinking) than traditional. And some observers--like the Wine Spectator's James Suckling--think that Brunello across the board is being produced for earlier consumption than in the past. Best thing, as you suggest elsewhere in your post, is to stash multiple bottles and watch how they evolve.

Regarding the Casanova di Neri, I'm not at all surprised you found it delicious. Wonderful producer, in my opinion. And the '98 vintage, undervalued in part because it's sandwiched between the critically hyped '97 and '99, is really singing now.

Sounds like you had a great tasting!

Sounds like a great tasting there Bill. Good to see you are finally opening up some good gear!!!!!

Clinton: It was a very enjoyable tasting! I think the only wine I really didn't care for was the Venetian Allegrini-and maybe that's simply because of expectations. I'm not a big Pinot Noir fan, overall, and that's what I tasted there.

If I can find a more reasonably priced source for the Siro Pacenti, I will definitely pick up another bottle (ouch! on the price where I got it!). I thought it was very interesting to drink! The Casanova de Neri is still available at our local excellent supermarket chain, Nugget Market, so I might pick up another bottle of that one, too (maybe he'll give me a good deal!)