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Vintage - Avoid generalizations
As recently as last week ("Revisiting old friends," Aug. 30), I spoke of the pleasure of returning to a good, characteristic vintage in the Rhone Valley in 2004 after two not-so-typical years: The rainy floods of 2002, which produced many thin, diluted wines in the region, and the torrid heat of 2003, which fostered fruity, powerful and weirdly atypical wines.
But the caution is worth repeating, since wine geeks like to collect vintage reports as sports geeks like to collect statistics. It's all part of wine-as-hobby, and there's nothing wrong with that, as long as we keep it in perspective and don't let it interfere with our enjoyment of the game. Er, the drink. Today, then, let's take a quick look at another exception that proves the rule. I had held off for a while on picking up Falesco 2003 Vitiano Rosso Umbria, in spite of Vitiano being one of those good-value favorites that I usually pick up every year, because of my general disdain for the fat'n'happy 2003s. The other day, though, noticing a good supply still on the shelf at a reasonable price, I finally succumbed, and to my pleasure, I found it to be fresh and nicely balanced, food-friendly and structured. It's one 2003 that doesn't make me yell "Run away!"
Inky dark reddish-purple. Black cherries and subtle brown spices on the nose and palate, well structured with snappy fresh-fruit acidity, with smooth tannins coming in on the finish. Clean and fresh, well balanced, with alcohol at a rational 12.5 percent, a pleasant surprise from the overheated vintage of 2003. U.S. importer: Winebow Inc., NYC; Leonardo Locascio Selections. (Aug. 27, 2006) FOOD MATCH: A natural with red meat and a cliche, for good reason, with tomato-sauced pasta and pizza. It fared well with the Northeastern Italian dish of polenta topped with sausage and mushrooms and Asiago fresco cheese featured in last week's 30 Second Wine Advisor FoodLetter. VALUE: It's a fine value, strongly competitive in the $10 range. WHEN TO DRINK: Vitiano is made as a drink-me-now wine, but when our Wine Tasting 101 participants studied an earlier vintage a few years back, the conventional wisdom was that its fruit and balance made it a reasonable candidate for at least short-term cellaring. In short, there's no rush to drink up; it should keep well for at least a couple of years.
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Today's article is cross-posted in our Netscape WineLovers Community, where we also welcome comments and questions. To contact me by E-mail, write wine@wineloverspage.com. I'll respond personally to the extent that time and volume permit.
PRINT OUT TODAY'S ARTICLE Administrivia To subscribe or unsubscribe from The 30 Second Wine Advisor, change your E-mail address, or for any other administrative matters, please use the individualized hotlink found at the end of your E-mail edition. If this is not practical, contact me by E-mail at wine@wineloverspage.com, including the exact E-mail address that you used when you subscribed, so I can find your record. We do not use our E-mail list for any other purpose and will never give or sell your name or E-mail address to anyone. I welcome feedback, suggestions, and ideas for future columns. To contact me, please send E-mail to wine@wineloverspage.com All the wine-tasting reports posted here are consumer-oriented. In order to maintain objectivity and avoid conflicts of interest, I purchase all the wines I rate at my own expense in retail stores and accept no samples, gifts or other gratuities from the wine industry.
Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2006
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Falesco 2003 Vitiano Rosso Umbria ($10.99)
