Just a lovely evening…Medlar with five bottles...

This was a splendid Thursday evening a couple of weeks ago. Mr Magnum had organised a dinner for two of his merchants to meet. I always like meeting others in the trade, it's one of the things that sets the wine trade apart. I guess we all compete but really, and especially in this scenario, we agree more than anything. This chap (I am still trying to think up his potential "blog name" - may be that is for next time) has some lovely wines in his quiver none of which directly clash with those I work with anyway…

The venue was Medlar Restaurant which I have always enjoyed, if you've not been you should go, it features quite large on this blog, most recently with this 1996 dinner. It was apt therefore that Mr Magnum kicked us off with Bollinger RD 1996. This bottle being disgorged (Chris Delalonde the sommelier misses very little!) in 2006. It is a wine that is already on the developed spectrum in terms of the mellow, savoury, yeasty and serious aromas but this does not mean it won't age, it will. If a wine can be both young and tight and savoury and evolved at the same time this is it. Could I drink it every day? No, but then I don't have to stress about that. As a change of pace, serious, Champagne it is delicious. 

From there, and as the food arrived, we set about a (predictably) delicious Meursault 1er Cru Charmes 2007 from Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey (PYCM to those in the know). Our fellow diner brings the wines in (so that's his cover blown). I was delighted (and lucky) to visit there once, anonymously as a guest of a customer, during a very special trip to Burgundy. Pierre, it is no secret, is doing some brilliant things and I am delighted to have started buying a few of his more humble bottlings. This Meursault was tight, refined, younger than 9 years but totally true to what 2007 should be, a focussed driven wine. There was a little reduction (which you'll know I love) and an almost total balance. On this showing there is more to come but then I'd drink it again tomorrow if I had some. Spot on.

We stayed in Burgundy for Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cherbaudes 2005 from Fourrier. The 2005's in Bordeaux are generally opening out, albeit slowly, there seems to be much less consensus in Red Burgundy. Some remain as muted as ever and others are showing their class. This is more the later than the former. The palate is still a shade meaner than it will be but in all other regards it was delicious. A nice fragant and inviting red fruited nose with the darker fruits in the backbone behind. The finish was a little saline (love it!) and had a severely moreish quality. Delicious wine, may be 2-4 years from peak but then it depends how you like it.

Soldera 2008 was the first of my bottles. I love this estate, I am biased as I get to visit a fair bit (we work with the wines in Asia but not here). It is a magical place and the wines I think sit slightly outside anything else. They certainly, to me, sit apart from Brunello as a whole. There is a persistent elegance that, to my mind doesn't exist in Sangiovese anywhere else. The 2008 is the last but one release and people often assume that young Sangiovese is unapproachable but that is not the case here. Red fruit elegance with a saline and wet meat mineral quality, it is a wine in balance that you can drink now or in 20 years (same could be said of all the above).

The last red was Barolo Brunate-Le Coste 2008 from Guiseppe (Beppe) Rinaldi. This estate is one of those who's wines I simply can't resist (whatever my financial state). It is grippy and savoury but with a terrific intensity of pure yet slightly degraded darker fruits and a good acidity. It was the one wine you "should" rather than "could" definitely be more patient with but what the hell. For those non Barolo-obsessed you won't, from 2010, find this label as the "powers that be" have decided that you can't have two Crus ("Brunate" and "Le Coste" in this instance) on the same label, why? Who knows. So the estate now make a Barolo Brunate (at least 85% Brunate with the rest Le Coste - so a similar wine!) and the other Barolo being called Barolo Tre Tini which has the previous other Barolo wine, Barolo Cannubi S.Lorenzo-Ravera (two crus again), with the remainder of the Le Coste holdings, so again not vastly different. I have had the 2011s and they are predictably stunning.

What a splendid evening, good food, good service, cracking company and deliciously vibrant, lively wines... 

Newcastle with "Newcastle" & "Halifax"

If you look back through this blog there are many people I have been very privileged to drink a lot of great wine with…right up there (easily in "Europe" and probably fighting for the title are two gentlemen who go by the monikers on here of "Newcastle" and "Halifax". Last week I made the remarkably easy - this could become a dangerous habit - trip to Newcastle for a cracking dinner. Both gents were joined by their splendid other halves and much fun was had, as much with the wine as the chat - rugby, racing, golf etc...

We were very well looked after by the team at 21 Newcastle with a lovely menu of; Lobster, Turbot, Beef and Cheeses. The scene need some setting so a few G&T's were used to hydrate before we made our way to the table.

Salon 1988 was a lovely starting place, fully mature now (like some of us) with a orange-rind and yeasty richness, interestingly this got fresher in glass with a bit of air. Salon is always a very vinous Champagne and so it was here, this reminded me a little of a recent bottle of 1983 mentioned at the end of this post. The slightly oxidative and powder elements gave way to freshness. Its an interesting Salon as it is the only one where malolactic fermentation started what makes it more widely interesting is that it never completed.

Next up with the lovely Lobster dish and then a cracking bit of turbot was, that rarest of beasts, a "double monty" with Ramonet and DRC on display. Montrachet 2002 from Ramonet is one of those wines you know you will not get to drink more than once unless your very lucky. I have a little experience of the wines from Ramonet now and love the style. I like to think it is a touch individual, stem ginger seeming to be a bit of a signature. This was a big wine, though I don't know for sure, but I would say both this and the 1986 that followed had a good bit of that Montrachet botrytis richness. We choose, wisely I think, to have this 2002 decanted. It has a slight toffee aroma to start, this coming from the richness and the oak but with only a tiny bit of air the ginger started to come out as did layer upon layer of rich fruit. Absolutely cracking and greater and greater with air, some wine. From there we were onto Montrachet 1986 from DRC. I am lucky to try Montrachet from DRC on release each year and through others generosity to have had it a few times with some age but I have never had the 1986 or even a vintage within 4 or 5 years of that. It was instantly a good bottle. We decided there was no need to decant this. The full textural richness was perfect again the totally mature, decadent fruit, really lovely balanced, a wine you couldn't help but wallow in really. We tried to keen a little bit of each going for a while to try alongside the reds. They were both more just great wines rather than great white wines if that makes any sense.


Time for red now as a vast amount of beef appeared. Soldera 2008 kicked us off, I am biased but this is one hell of an estate. Visits to Soldera are always magical, controversial, inspiring and never dull. I find the wine so easy to enjoy but at the same time as wonderfully complex, as much as the man who makes it. Like so many of the great mono-varietal red wines (Burgundy and Barolo spring to mind but others too) it strikes me as such an error to not enjoy these wines young as well as with age. There is always a note of wet meat (just think of how great raw cool beef smells) as well as a floral red fruit edge before a darker core. Yum!

The next red was Volnay Santenots du Milieu 1993 from Lafon, a great wine to get to try but (and sorry there is a "but") it was just a little overshadowed in this league. Now, I can hear a few readers here saying "it's not a wine Will sells" and they are correct, but I like to think bias and all, I say what I think. This was a good medium weight wine with good balance, well made, nice nose, the "but" and it was the same when I did a tasting - Burgundy pairs 2009 and 2010 - with trade mates a while back is all round whether it is Volnay. I think Lafon makes seriously great whites in many different years and with a great richness. The estate doesn't seem to make great reds, good yes, but true to the Volnay elegance? This is nothing new, D'Angerville and Lafarge are producers I love and they make great Volnay but never hit the heights with the whites they make, nice though they often are. Anne-Claude Leflaive gave up making red…it is just not an easy thing - to do both. Comments welcome on my thoughts here…I can't make red of white so I am a fine one to talk!

So to the last red - Latour 1964 - now this is Pauillac and so mighty fine. Rich but not remotely heavy, blacker fruit but with iron and power, absolutely perfect now. May be tasting a little younger than 52 years but so graceful, so Latour. The only vintage, as we discussed, that you might have confused it with is Latour's very good 1970. It was everything to should have been and frankly so was the whole evening, lots of wine, great chat, a chance to catch up and to laugh.

No evening would ever be complete with a few Negronis would it…chaps, and ladies, I thank you…until next time!

Soldera 1981-2006 courtesy of Vinous

This was a brilliant Vinous dinner tasting on April 27, 2016 led by Antonio Galloni, it was surely one of the most historically significant vertical tastings of Gianfranco Soldera’s Brunellos ever staged. It followed a similar format to the incredible Monfortino Magnums 1970-2006 event also hosted by Vinous at Maze. The menu, below, was expertly put together by Executive Chef Matt Pickop with the service orchestrated by Head Sommelier Arnaud Bardary.

In a point made by Antonio at both events the food was deliberately non Italian. This being the case as the wines should be seen in the overall context of superb wines rather than "just" Italian wines.

I know these wines well and was so very excited about this great dinner. A few other posts on the wines and the people (person!) behind them can be found here:Visits to Case Basse and experiences with the wines.

We started the evening with a glass of the Salon 2004 - my write-up of the Launch - which always sets the scene well, a little saline, nicely poised and almost in Grand Cru Chablis in taste profile.

Menu

Amuse Bouche

Cumbrian Beef Tataki, Smoked Ponzu

Roast Turbot, Orzo, Mussels, Saffron Sauce

Duck Breats, Truffle, Endives, Chanterelle Mushrooms

Saddle of Herdwick Lamb, Spiced Aubergine, Raw Vegetables

Selection of Cheeses

Flight 1 - The Early Years: Most of the wines were opened in the afternoon, Antonio did wait though, until just about an hour before dinner for the 1981 and 1987. He thought the wines might be a little delicate but he needn't have worried. All these four wines came from the very same vineyard - Intistieti. There are two vineyards - Intistieti and Case Basse but you can drive yourself mad trying to get 100% on top of what goes where and when. Essentially, nowadays, there is one wine. The best place for more info is this bit of the Vinous site.

1981 - Lovely colour, lighter on the rim and browner at the core. A little grainy volatility. Bright fresh, ferrous and opulent all that the same time. Vibrancy always there, elegant, gentle palate, a little ginger note too, great start. Has no right to be this good really.

1982 - More even colour from rim to core here but overall a shade lighter. More degraded nose, more bricky, more mature Nebbiolo-like to my mind. Lovely lively acidity, moreish finish and repays time in the glass. Very proper and complete.

1987 - Good, firmer colour. A little woodier, though not from wood itself, there is elegance, a lighter more fragile palate. Given the year this is superb. I think I may have had a slightly less clean glass that my neighbour whose glass showed a little more. On an evening of 100's of glasses this is bound to happen.

1988 - Transparent, slight bovril colour but bright. Exuberantly brilliant nose, high toned with a hint of "fishermans friends" (which I love). Extravagant, eucalyptus, resinous, has a medicinal concentration, herbal, an element here reminds me of Chinato. Just wonderful.

Flight 2 - Sleeper Vintages: I always love to see some younger vintages in these sorts of tastings as it really adds perspective. The 2006 comes later. The 2007 is minute and the 2008 and 2009 have not been bottled for very long.

2000 Riserva - A little whiff of volatility but it passes. Redder core in colour terms. Only a dash of colour change on the outer rim. This is airy, breezy, saline and juicy all at the same time. There is richness on the palate that contrasts, but doesn't clash with, the nose. Terrific.

2003 Riserva - Colour like the 2000 but may be a shade redder still. Berry fruit and a leathery animal undertone. There are some herbs and good richness. You don't feel the heat of the growing season but there is a sense of smaller more intense berries. This is elegant as well as quite bold, delicious and nicely decadent.

2005 Riserva - This is from Intistieti only. The fruit from Case Basse went into Pegasos. There is a pale yet vibrant colour here. There is a distinct note that I have often found on the 2006 as well and it is of washed beef and/or carpaccio - it is a very distinct thing, I like it, it's like a meaty salinity. Then there is a strawberry fruit character which makes you think of fresh and lovely pinot noir. The weightless elegance is quite something as is the sweetness. I feel this will gain weight and intensity and is incredibly promising.

Flight 3 - The Mid 1990s: This flight was a tasting in itself...

1993 Riserva - This is a vintage that Gianfranco Soldera likes very much for drinking now. A superb colour then a stony minerality on the nose and then vibrancy. The palate has some grip but also a linear focus. The texture is then more rich with an almost toffeed edge. Just lovely.


1994 Riserva - Monica Soldera (Gianfranco's daughter) is a massive fan of this vintage for now. This has good colour from core to rim. It is slightly herbal, very fine with a gentle persistence, it gained weight and structure with time and is something of a hidden gem.

AG decided at the last minute to add the "Case Basse" Riserva next to the "Intistieti" Riserva for the purposes of comparison. The bottles can be seen above. This is not done today despite the fact that the wine is still bottled botti by botti and essentially what the above labels show is what happens now just without the identification.

1995 Riserva Intistieti - Translucent yet rich, darker colour. A fuller palate than many so far, a richer more masculine wine. There is a balancing savoury side of leather and a little mellow tobacco.

1995 Riserva Case Basse - This is also a richer wine than many but not with the fruit intensity of the Intistieti bottling. There is a lightly more pronounced secondary side. Good.

1996 Riserva - Very clear if developed colour. The nose has a soy element to it but with sweetness, a wine of degraded brown sweetness rather than red fruit. This is strict and very 1996 in character, masculine but a man in a suit not casual clothes. Sweetly savoury and very moreish...super.

Flight 4 - Reference Points: I got myself in a right old mess trying to score the wines in this whole dinner. I gave up in the end. In this flight everything was 18.5 out of 20 and above. Staggering quality

1997 Riserva - Good mid colour, degraded sweetness and richness. Lovely decay but without any premature ageing. Extravagant rich palate with good grip and a red fruited character coming through. White pepper shows too. Wonderful.

1999 Riserva - So classically brilliant. Meaty, good colour, like the cold washed meat of the 2005. Savoury and masculine with a bold yet totally resolved structure. A big chap! There is a dash of saline to the finish, intense, serious and nicely uncompromising. 

2001 Riserva - Slightly lighter colour, good clarity, so complete, very special. Not that extrovert but so balanced so moreish. This is grippy and serious, a wine demanding more time but with so much to give, almost muted but showing enough. Serious.

2004 Riserva - Richer fuller colour. Outlandishly vibrant red fruits, washed meat, berries and intense freshness, so gorgeous that it is hard to write a note for this. What's not to like. So full yet so focused, so fruited yet so intense. Immensely good.

Flight 5 - The Icons: The title here implies we might not have had any icons yet which frankly is ludicrous and we'd had at least 5!

Why the two 1983's? Well, to quote AG directly, baring the bits in brackets "In 1983, Soldera bottled two Brunellos - one a straight Brunello (Stainless steel and with temperature controlled), the other a Riserva (traditional production) - that were essentially essays on different approaches to vinification. We tasted them both, from magnum."

1983 magnum - Fullish colour and delicious nose, decent richness but also a toastiness. Some good grip, a savoury side too. I put that it has a slightly less complete feel but scored it highly (18+?) as it is clearly a very good wine. 

1983 Riserva magnum - Fuller, richer colour, a little fuller of fruit too, more depth to it but may be not the precision of the non Reserva.

1990 Riserva - This is thought to be the first vintage with the Case Basse in it as well as Intistieti. It is a wine I have had once before and and whilst labeling a wine as one of the all time greats is dangerous I think it is almost impossible not to with this wine. There is a savoury sweetness and a weightless intensity that makes this special even in this stunning company. I firmly feel the 1999, 2001, 2004 and 2006 and possibly several others are as brilliant and potential peers but will they do what this wine has done? This has fruit, darker than many, saline from seaweed, degraded tobacco and soy, intensity and elegance. Wonderful.

2006 Riserva - AG commented that "The 2006 is a rock star" and I totally see where he is coming from. It is the Soldera wine I know, comfortably, the best. For me it is the best single example of how wonderful, and different from what many people think, Sangiovese can be. It does have the wet meat note as well as both red (always been there) and darker (just appearing) fruits. There is richness but also lift, the savoury side will come later. Persistence, drive and elegance are the watch words here as ever.

Conclusions:
I came to this dinner with high expectations (always dangerous) but a possible feeling that the older wines may be a little hit and miss and that the younger wines would be where the excitement lies. I think the overall consistency and balance was staggering. The mature wines were a delight. The wines produced since 1999 are so incredibly brilliant though that I can't help but think that this estate is still evolving and is still so clearly on the up. This is born out by the fact that the two vineyards, which run up against each other, are amongst the most monitored and studied of any anywhere.

Brilliant - well done Vinous and more than well done Gianfranco...

Amuse bouche

Cumbrian beef tataki, smoked ponzu.

Roast turbot, orzo, mussels, saffron sauce.

Duck breast, truffle, endives, chanterelle mushrooms.

Saddle of Herdwick lamb, spiced aubergine, raw vegetables.

Tuscan evening...

Back in March a customer of a colleague wanted to do a celebratory Tuscan dinner and I was roped in to help given my penchant for all things Italian. It was a cracking line up for dinner but first we had a vertical of Andrea Franchetti's Tenuta di Trinoro from Magnum. Having done a few verticals before this was an exciting prospect.

Whilst everyone gathered we started the evening with a glass of Guilio Ferrari Riserva Franciacorta 2002, I know Ferrari pretty well from Zucca days of old, this 2002 had spent 10 years on the lees and is from 100% Chardonnay having been first made in 1972. A good good fizz with character and a nutty freshness.

Then it was time to start the evening proper, to have Andrea there to lead the tasting made it all the more special. Andrea gave an overview back to the start of the estate even before the first vintage which was 1997.

Tenuta di Trinoro 2009 Magnum - This has sublime completeness, rounded ripe tannins and delicious decadent yet fresh fruits, it is a wine to drink now or in 20 years time. It comes across, and this is easy for someone who has never made wine to say, as a wine that probably made itself. Long lasting red and black fruits, no signs of oak just ripe aromas.

Tenuta di Trinoro 2007 Magnum - Andrea commented how this was a vintage characterised by a low water table and a lack of water in the season itself. The vintage, fortunately, was not excessively hot in itself. There is a more secondary nature to this wine, a little less obvious juicy fruit and a more leathery, tobacco and savoury element. It is more degraded and more animalistic, there is a spiciness too.

Tenuta di Trinoro 2003 Magnum - The 2003 is seductive and in many ways has the opposite challenges of the 2007, very hot but not without a decent reserve of water from the wet 2002 vintage. I like this wine, there is a feel of smaller more concentrated berries but not a lack of freshness. Impressive.

Tenuta di Trinoro 2000 Magnum - "So complete" is how my not starts here, at 15 years of age this is in a lovely place, neither vibrantly young nor decaying, it just begs to be drunk. Mellow soft fruit, not bruised but easy to appreciate. Some of the character of the 2009 but with the lighting dimmed down. A wine you don't really need food with...just wallow in it.

We then made our way down for dinner and a lovely classcial Tuscan inspired menu.

Mushroom Ravioli with Truffle Sauce

Fillet of Beef with Chianti Sauce, Rosemary Potatoes, Grilled Vegetables

Tiramisu

Pecorino

The wine line up was rather monumental with a great spread of wines and vintages:

Tignanello 1988 - Sangiovese based wine with a little bit of both Cabernets. 1988 is cracking all round vintage in Tuscany, often better than the famed 1985 (which owes much to the Sasscaia 1985). This was a lovely easy mellow wine at its peak, probably has been for a while.

Brunello Case Basse, Soldera 1985 - I have a rather massive vertical of Soldera to write up and regular readers will know I love these wines and visit regularly so I will not dwell too long here. Tar and degraded sweet fruit, lovely.

Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Biondi-Santi 1990 - An iconic winery in Brunello if not seen as the dominant producer that Soldera is. This is fully mature with a lovely decayed sweetness and a good acidity with a saline aspect too.

Solaia 1982 - I learnt most of what I know about this from a vertical organised five years ago by "Sussex". This had a marked mintiness, not in bad way, it is just the Cabernet Sauvignon really showing through. This is a very early Solaia as the wine was first made in 1978. There was then a 1979 but no Solaia in '80, '81, '83 and '84. An easy and quite gentle wine.

Sassicaia 1988 - In so many ways the standard bearer for the Super Tuscans. The 1988 is a superb wine, iron and dark fruit with good body but also a completeness. I love the balance of this.

Masseto 1998 - from the most Iconic of the Cabernet Sauvignon Super Tuscans in Sassicaia we move to the Merlot one in Masseto. This wine has been around even less time than Solaia with the first wine made on 1986 but the first commercially released vintage was 1987. The 1998 is a wine I know well but before this I had not had it for 3 or 4 years. It retains a real vibrancy and densely fruited nature. A wine probably only now really getting into the drinking window. Delicious.

Tenuta di Trinoro 2011 Magnum - This is a bold vintage of Andrea's wine and shows such extreme ripeness that even Andrea at times wonders if it is too much. There is a slight toning down of the richness from the 2012. I love the decadence of this and it works well at the end of the meal.

Ornus dell'Ornellia 2009 Halves - Thomas Duroux, the former winemaker, now at Palmer, planted this plot of Petit Manseng in 2003. This is a late harvest desert wine, that is a tricky wine to describe the fruit character I'd pick out most is dried Apricot possibly with a little honey.

What a great evening... 

Mushroom Ravioli with Truffle Sauce 

Fillet of Beef with Chianti Sauce, Rosemary Potatoes, Grilled Vegetables

Tiramisu

Pecorino

Lunch in the office

We had a rather special guest(s) in the office for a tasting and as he came from Bordeaux we couldn't serve him anything from that fine region.

Instead we served the above wines but not before we started with Delamotte Blanc de Blancs 2002 which is drinking superbly now, just the beginning of a bit of biscuit appearing but essentially still focussed and fine with a linear drive. If you own any then you've done well to keep it, just let me know if you need a "hand" drinking it.

We then went for Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru 2009 from Domaine Leflaive which was both very much a Chevalier and very much not a 2009. Real focus and saline, slight reduction but tightly wound. No goey-ness here which was good. Opening white Burgundy can be a game of roulette and I would still recommend a read of the guest post by my colleague Sara on premox. The wine got better in glass and the remnants smelt lovely, white fruits.

So to the reds, the Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Cuvee Duvault-Blochet 2006 from DRC is a wine I last had here - it showed just as well this time but a little more focussed and a little less rich, slightly less 2006 ish you could say. Lovely elegance and drive with a core of darker red fruits and a real lift, clearly a wine with a long future but certainly not a waste to drink it now. Obviously always a bit of a treat given the name of this blog!

Soldera 2008 - was next up and not a wine our visitors knew. I last tasted it here, on a brilliant visit to Case Basse (mind you they all tend to be). The wine has such incredibly purity with slight spice behind that and a wonderful energy. There is a salinity that makes it just about the most drinkiably moreish wine I know. I am biased, and I've said this before, but I really don't think anyone gets near Gianfranco when it comes to Purity from Sangiovese.

Our final wine was Corney & Barrow 2010 Sauternes which comes from an address that stands up well in this company and I am saying no more than that...if only everyday was like this...

Twice in one year…Soldera...always a pleasure

Trips to Case Basse to see Gianfranco Soldera are fast becoming some of the most memorable of all my wine journeys (regular readers probably know where some of my other treats occur). To have been twice this year is wonderful, I wrote up the last visit back in February and am a little slow in doing this one.

Big and old botti

Having over-nighted in Rome - a nice humble supper at the charming  Trattoria Perilli - the two and a half hour drive up to Case Basse really gets one in the mood. The final arrival at this really quite isolated spot always makes me wonder how on earth Gianfranco found and identified it's potential. It is the core to what he does (nearly forgot my "bias warning"). I don't think it is an exaggeration to say that of all the winemakers who make wines from one variety he is further ahead of the pack than anyone else in their respective specialty. THE Grand Cru of Brunello to me. The real wonder of the wines is that from the moment they are bottled (generally after 4-6 years) they drink wonderfully. I do not find myself ever writing "needs time" or "what potential" because these wine whilst they age superbly and develop are just splendid from the off. Are they cheap? No. But they offer superb quality and therefore to my mind an experience of great, and lasting value.

On this visit we tasted - I should say drank as there is NEVER any spitting at Soldera - the 2009 (of which there is one barrel) and the 2015 also from barrel. I have put my notes below as I wrote them rather than making them into decent English.

2009 - Oranges, pith, then delicious fruit, deep and persistent. Red berry fruit with a little dash of black in the background. Some herbs and spices, very good, remarkably gentle almost raspberry. Lovely red fruits then continues in waves, gentle good acidity, some saline but less that the 2006 and 2008 from memory. 18+ 

2015 - Rich, blue red fruits and cold stones, a prickle of gas, full "primary", good, almost creamy, blackberry and cherry. Very fine, there is a really persistent cool minerality to this. 18.5-19

Before the tasting we had discussed the 2015 vintage of which there is likely to be about 22,000 bottles. There was at one stage, 70 days with no Rain, although Gianfranco stated that 90 days would be perfect. There was less of a canopy in 2015 than 2014 (which had been really quite wet). The wine went through a long fermentation of 35 days with harvest starting on the 19th September and lasting two days. We asked with interest which vintages it might have been like. This is normally a question met, at most estates through the wine world, with an intake of breathe and much thought. With Gianfranco you often get something a little different and this was no exception "it is a like 75, 78, 79, ,81 ,83, 85, 88, 90, 91, 94, 95, 98, 01, 03, 05, 08 and 12." he said. "Ah, right" we thought.

Splendid!

Post tasting we hoped into the car and went to Il Silene run by the charming and modest Roberto Rossi, a great friend of Gianfranco's. Mr Soldera was in fine form and intent on a proper luncheon (bend that rubber arm of mine again). This is not something you ever have to worry about with Roberto in charge of the kitchen. Course after course of wonderful food made it out to us to accompany the four wines.

First we had a bottle of a Prosecco I had never seen before - Cosa Coste Piane. This was bold and lively with pear drop and green apple aromas even potpourri. As it warmed up you got more apples, cinnamon and herbs. Complex for sure but possibly a bit of an acquired taste.

The white to follow was Ribolla 2007 from Gravner. If ever there has been a producer that I want to get my head around then it is this one. I love the story, the ethos etc. This was the best Gravner I have had, I've only had three others. There was a nose of straw and lovely woody aromas, varnish and dry raisins then took over, nuts then Bual Madeira, before amaretti biscuits and some apples and cinnamon again. The final aromas were spiced honey and marzipan. As you can see there is no lack of complexity here. My only concern is a much more basic one...do I like it? I am arrogant enough to say I get the idea but a bit like a flavour of ice cream you'd not pick yourself this just doesn't quite do it for me. I want to embrace them but I am not sure I can. I will continue to try Gravner whenever possible in the hope that the penny drops.

So then it was time for the "main course" in every sense.

Brunello di Montalcino 1994 - A gentle whiff of good volatility, some dry raisins, good focus, sweet leather, a lovely saline element, iodine gently at the edges. A note of wet beef just having been cut, a smell I love that somehow combines, salty, savoury and sweet with a sort of lush minerality. It is a bright wine with lovely balance, when you think there is more fruit the savoury side gets you and vice versa. It will surely continue to age well. I would though say it is mature. Lovely, so easy to drink.

Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 1999 - From a hotter and arguably more serious vintage. The fruits are immediately darker with spice and resin. This is delicious and whilst the 1994 might be easier and prettier right now the 1999 reminds me of the monumentally brilliant 1990 that I have only had once during this meal. This wine is serious with a lovely sweet & savoury beef-stock aroma. There is leather sweetness and fruit also but the fruit is in the wine. I really hope I get to try this again, if it only happens once I'd like it to be in 2022.

It was one of those lunches I hope to remember long into the future...lovely setting, food and special wines but so much teasing and laughter...I want to go back to Case Basse...three times next year!!

Gravner, what would you guess that is from the colour alone?

Last but one Zucca…Magnum Party...

Following on from the First of last suppers post of a week ago this was the last but one meal I will have at Zucca. The last is this coming Tuesday (22nd), if you are there then pop in and say hello. I was a lovely gathering of eight pulled together by a customer and friend who goes by the moniker of "Mr Magnum", so the theme? Well "bring a magnum" of course.

We simply ordered off the menu keeping things as classically Zucca as possible - from the Zucca Friti through the Taglierini to the Veal Chop. The wines - with nothing corked, hurrah - were all rather splendid.

Krug Grand Cuvee, is there a more sensible thing a wine buyer can do than buy the Champagne/s they like and lay them down? Especially when it is magnums and it is Krug. This Grand Cuvee magnum was purchased (I know he has more!) in around 2010 and was just delicious. Moreish and a dash toasty but with the drive to be lovely on its own…with a couple of our number being late this just disappeared amongst the six of us in no time at all. A lovely start.

As we sat down we moved onto a pair of whites:

St.Joseph Blanc Les Granits 2009 from Chapoutier got a conversation going about what a good, and some times under rated, producer this is. There was real richness that came out more and more as the wine went from cold to just right. There was a ripe apricot note as well as a slightly waxy texture. A nice stage to be drinking it from my perspective. I liked this and it was nicely different from it's "partner". 

Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru 2007 from Domaine Leflaive showed a lovely combination of the richness and broad shoulders you want, and expect, of Batard but with the drive and focus you want in a 2007. There was a little reduction and a dash of saline too but ultimately you had a wine in lovely balance. I am sure it will age well but on this form it is cracking now.

And so to reds...

Barolo Brunate 2004 from Marcarini this was my contribution and formed the first of two barolo 2004's. I had taken it to a recent Zucca dinner where a few of us had taken a look at Barolo 2004 in general. It was youthfully nervous and precise, got giving quite as much as I remember but drinking well. Somehow, and rather stupidly, I did not pay as much attention as it was my magnum so my notes are rather hopeless.

Barolo Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba 2004 from Giacosa was in all honesty a step up on mine. With cracking texture and richness combined with freshness and a lovely balance of fruit and some, just evolving, more earthy aromas. Still young of course but not indecently so. This reminded me of visiting there back in May as part of what will be right up there as the trip of the year if I get round to doing a retrospective at the year's end. Lovely balance to this wine.

From here we went to Bordeaux.

Magdelaine 2001, this was superb straight out of the magnum and took me back to a Magnum lunch this time last year where the 1985 pretty much stole the show. I understand why this estate has been "rolled into" (for want of a better phrase) Belair-Monange (which is actually about 75% Magdelaine as a wine at the moment) but a part of me is sad that the name is going as for me it encapsulates what St.Emilion, the most bi-polar of Bordeaux Communes, can be: Serious, savoury, age worthy and so tasty without being over the top. I'll be looking to scoop up bottles and mags where I can find them.

Lynch Bages 1988, was a little green initially but what I sometimes refer to as good green, it adds an edge of freshness and vibrancy. The blacker fruits and more classical tobacco and leather appeared later and made this a lovely foil for the Magdelaine.

It was time then for one last bottle and it was a bottle off the Zucca list that I had been eyeing up for as long as I can remember:

Brunello Di Montalcion 2003 from Soldera and the only non Magnum. I have been lucky enough to visit this great estate (we look after the wines in Asia) on four or five occasions now and I always find the prospect so very exciting (I have the most recent visit to write up - possibly today). The man - Gianfranco - is as wonderful as he is misunderstood. The wines are often otherworldly and I do not say that lightly. I can't think of any producer who is further ahead of the field in quality terms with the wine he produces from their specific grape - Sangiovese in his case. This was a lovely bottle that is just moving from the primary to the best stage, red fruit, iron and a fresh savoury edge.

A wonderful dinner with longstanding friends over equally good wine and food…what "it" is all about.

Another great visit...Case Basse...

My third visit to Case Basse and the first that I have blogged. The company I work for represents Soldera in Asia and as the resident Italian "nut" in the office I am delighted that I get the call to visit. It is a unique site and Mr Soldera is a wonderful, and often miss understood, man. It was also special this trip to meet Monica and see that the future of this great estate it in terrific hands.   

Having flown out to Rome on Sunday we got up early on the Monday morning in time to be at Case Basse for 11am. Driving up through some of the most glorious countryside, you get taken as you approach Montalcino by how there are pockets planted to vine. This is nothing like the continuous vineyards of Bordeaux or Burgundy (and no I am not saying they are the same!). There are clear choices of where Sangiovese will work and were it won't. 

After a meeting we went down to the cellar to taste the 2014 we had been discussing:

2014 Tasted from Botti – Primary, fresh, pure and silky but at some cost, only about 5000 bottles will be produced as it was a year when there was a lot of water both in the winter before (2013-2014) and in the summer. Rich yet fresh red cherry fruit with a clean and long finish, this will gain weight and depth in cask…exciting.

From the estate we then went to see the brilliant Roberto Rossi at his il Silene restaurant. It was wonderful to hear he had got his first Michelin star - frankly I assumed from the previous meals I've had there that he had 1 or 2 already. With a lovely elegant lunch, and some of Roberto's legendary olive oil we had three wines.

2007 – Immediately lovely, some dark cherry fruit with a savoury lift but then more red fruit shows, lovely balance as always – total balance in fact. A dash of vanolin that leaves quickly, heady yet pure at the same time with such poise. There is some grip but it is so pure that you are almost unaware of it, lifted cool red fruit again at the end, it actually tightened up over lunch, got a shade more dense. Very impressive indeed...

2008 – Richness and immediately a more masculine persona, the fruit is darker cherry with a shade of black fruit but then there is a cool minerality, stones and wet earth as well as saline that freshens the dense fruit and adds vibrancy. There is a wonderful savoury dimension to this wine, there are layers it has, and places it will go that are so very exciting…intense yet light on "it's toes"…my note finishes “Wonderful”…
2007 & 2008 were bottled Feb 2014

1985 Intistieti, this was one barrel that was ready for bottling after 3 years in cask. Picked on 8^th October 2007 at which time they were still dressed for high summer. This had a degraded leathery sweetness and life, there is a lightness of touch, very special to drink this wine.

From there is was a rush back to Rome airport. I always leave this particular trip with a massive smile on my face...wines, people, opinion and laughter... 

Some of Roberto's brilliant pasta...