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I was really looking forward to this event since I've never been to an olive oil tasting before. Apparently, Aaron's family business imports and distributes olive oil as well as wine.
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We then joined the others already seated at the wine room for lunch proper, 8 in all, including myself. Gino and Gianinna, probably still busy, joined us much later on.
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L-R: Johnny R, Arnie, Jo, Aaron, Gene, Marty and J-Lab.
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This is probably the darkest, fullest, heftiest and most intensely flavored rosé I have ever had, the only other coming close (in heft, but not color) is the 2005 La Rosée de Pavie (the Stockbroker loaded up on a few cases of the latter at only $9 per bottle a few years ago, as I recall). At 13.5%abv, it has the same alcohol level as many traditional Bordeaux reds.
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Next, with a very nice and comforting Bean & Chorizo Stew (Gene would not agree with the parallels drawn by some to fabada), we had...
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Firm wine, a good, straightforward, proper Rioja crianza. The wood is well in check and proper, allowing the wine a nice lift that made it a good contrasting match with the soft, earthy goodness of the beans, and, it was also sturdy enough to stand up to the slightly spicy chorizos.
Those looking for typical 2005 over-ripe fruit bombs heavily laced with oak should look elsewhere. Me, I liked this honest and proper Rioja crianza. Good typicity. I would buy this wine.
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First things first; everything in its place - this is clearly a superior wine compared to the immediately above discussed. However, this is much more mature and a Gran Reserva at that, a different animal altogether - definitely it cannot be anywhere near in price to the latter - and shouldn't fairly be compared head-to-head thereto.
This was a suave, confident, more complex wine with violets on the nose and chocolate, leather and slight kirsch to the mellowed, well-knit, softly mature fruit. Warm and somber. I would buy this wine and could definitely drink this on rainy evenings at home.
With the next course of Oil Can Chicken with Soubise and Colcanna Potatoes*, we had the next two reds....
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2006 Brancaia Ilatraia - A very young IGT from Tuscany. For those not familiar, IGT stands for "Indicazione Geografica Tipica" - simply put, it is a relatively modern Italian classification that allows for grapes not native or traditional to an area to be used in making wine. Some so-called "Super Tuscan" (a term coined by Parker) IGTs are Sassicaia and Solaia (both use cabernet sauvignon & cabernet franc), Tignanello ( a blend of sangiovese & cabernet sauvignon) and Masseto (almost pure, if not pure merlot).
I didn't get to read what grapes went into this wine, but it was definitely driven by ripely sweet dried fruit that had an almost raisiny character to it. Reminded me somewhat of a recent Amarone I had. There were minor notes of dried fig, dates and a whisper of tobacco and leather in this sweetly ripe wine. A bit of heat on the nose, but that is very understandable for a wine so young. Lots of buttressing wood, but I think this will integrate well. Lowish acid, rounded fruit - contrived and manipulated to me.
Personally, this is not a style I favor, but I think this could be a crowd pleaser, especially for those who like Australian reds, since it is neither a stern nor challenging wine - quite the contrary, it is easily approachable and richly flavored, if not intellectual or materially complex. I would buy this wine, however, for guests who like this style.
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We then moved on to the meat course, Viking Prime Rib with Mixed Mushrooms and Pepper à l'Espagnole. I failed to take a picture of this prime rib dish, but, take my word for it, it was huge and served in man-sized chunks, nicely bloody just how I like it - and, as I imagine, as would have the ancient Nordic marauders as well. With this meaty madness we had...
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I agree that spicy/toasty oak/vanilla was very apparent in this wine's aroma and flavors. Coconut-cream, cinammon and toffee notes indicate to me a lot of exposure to/ageing in new, predominantly American oak barrels, possibly in barriques. Long-ageing in predominantly American oak is a traditional Rioja style - so that's likely why Gene said it came off as a Rioja.
It's dark fruit, while ripe, roasted and plummy, seemed to lack freshness and push, thereby allowing even more emphasis on the wood - which possibly contributed even more to the Rioja-esque feel.
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It was pleasing enough up front, revealing some violet nuances mid-mouth and towards the back, but failed to see things through to the end - the finish a bit abrupt and abandoning. It feels like it is holding back.
This is still a very young wine, it likely may have gone to sleep already. As it is now, it comes off superficially as a pleasant, somewhat charming, but simple wine. It may have something interesting to say in the future, but I can't be sure. It might, but only time will surely tell.
Its firmness and focus made it pair acceptably with the prime rib, which, since not aggressively flavored, did not emphasize the wine's relatively short finish.
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This wine was initially quite reluctant, giving off a rusty, somewhat stemmy, bell pepper-like aroma which Jo also noted. In the mouth, it was very tight. Given that in my last tasting of a wide range of '05 Bdx (late May 2008, UGC tasting, Vinexpo HK) I felt that most Médocs had gone to sleep, I nursed my glass for approximately 45 minutes or so, just sniffing once in a while, before re-tasting.
After material aeration, it did open up (and I told Aaron that it did) giving off delicately cedar-and-violet-laced notes of plum, cassis, black cherry, a whisper of licorice and fine, dark minerality.
Nice finish/length. Quite proper and austere, not showing the ripe/roastedness of the vintage (which is not necessarily a bad thing). I'd guess that this will turn out to be more like an old school Margaux (which is a good thing, for me, anyway) and would certainly like to revisit this wine in around 4-5 years to see how it comes along.
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Rich, rounded, big, yet very pliant, entertainingly chewy mouthfeel. Undeniably very ripe, the dark fruit was sweet with a baked character to it. There were minor notes of black pepper, bit of chocolate and, to a lesser extent, violets.
Dense and viscous in its ripe-fruited sweetness, taking into account the chocolate notes, I guess this was meant to pair with our dessert of Milk Chocolate Amaretto Sans Rival with a Brazilian Mango Sorbet. Pity though that this (assumed) pairing didn't come to my mind as I devoured my dessert so fast (sans rival happens to be one of my favorite desserts - has been since 5th grade) I forgot to take a picture of it, much less sip the wine.
By itself, I found the wine too cumbersomely rich and a bit cloying. Would I have enjoyed it with the chocolate sans rival? Perhaps, an indulgent "running with the ball" type of pairing. I am no big fan of pairing reds with chocolate, though. I've tried it several times, and the only truly memorable match I've had thus far has been a 1979 Domaine du Mas Blanc Banyuls Cuvée St. Martin (from Bernie Sim) which I served with Chocolate Marquis on a bed of Macerated
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A double espresso wound down things for me - little did I suspect that this would turn into yet another 6+ hour wine lunch. That seems to be happening all too often as of late. Gene snuck in a few winks during the dessert course until roused by my question as to the origins of the sans rival. Of course, of those present, only he could answer that definitively, and with detail to spare.
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6 comments:
Hey Noel! Charlie Fu here,
Love the blog, I love the progression in writing you have when you eat. I find when I write it seems so "compartmentalized" , but for your it's just one flowing piece of prose.
Your exploits in the east are awesome =) Thanks for sharing with us!
Hey Noel,
The Fra Guerau Rose is Syrah, Merlot & Tempranillo. The Ilatraia is Cab, Sangiovese & Petit Verdot and the TRE is Sangiovese, Merlot & Cab.
Also, from the movie Mondovino, James Suckling of WS claims to have coined the term "Super Tuscan".
We don't bring in the olive oils nor the olives yet. The lunch was actually a tasting in order to get a feel as to how people would like the Taris line of oils and olives. From everyone's reception of them that day, it seems we should bring them in already.
Thanks again for going Noel, and belated Happy Birthday!!
Fancy "meeting" you here, Charlie. Thanks for the kind words. The writing comes with practise and I've had a lot of that.
Best,
N
Thanks for the correction about the Fra Guerau rosado, Aaron, as well as the cepages of the other wines.
I've read elsewhere that the term "Super Tuscan" is attributed to Parker. Either way, between Suckling and Parker, it doesn't really matter to me as I don't use the term (I use "IGT") and don't really read either of them.
Yes those oils and the olives were pretty good. I'd buy them....
Thanks for the birthday greetings, and, again, for hosting the subject lunch and tasting.
Best,
N
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