'97 Taurino Notarpanaro

[Drew]

I'm trying to learn Italin wines so I picked this up at a large local wine shop. A Leonardo Locascio selection who seems to import very nice wines. Made from the Negro Amaro and the Malvasia Nera grapes, this is a very elegant wine. Sweet black cherry, cherry, plum, tar and earthy flavors. Fine, sweet tannins join in the lingering finish of this delicious wine. 14.5 %ABV, $12.

Drew

[Nguigmi]

So today I was hunting around for some interesting wines to drink, when I came upon this Taurino Notarpanaro. Remembering some good reviews of it on this site, I decided to pick it up. Interestingly, after I had brushed off a layer of dust from the bottle, I found that it was the '93 vintage.

I haven't had a chance to open it yet, but I hope I didnt purchase a bottle of vinegar!

Nguigmi

[scimmiatinit]

Good luck !...

[stevebody]

I collected the '93s of Notarpanaro as recently as a year and a half ago and it was one of the most satisfying wines I've ever tasted; rich, dark as death, and stuffed with character. Not only do you NOT have a bottle of vinegar, you have an absolutely dazzling wine that is ready as hell to drink. I drank the last of my 26 bottles in January, at a dinner party, and it was the clear hit of the evening, in a group of wines that included a Chateau Montelena '90 Cab, a Alvaro Palacios Priorat Les Terrasses, and an Archery Summit Pinot. My friends are still talking about it. If you know of any shop that has any for sale, PLEASE contact me at stevebody@go.com and let me know. I'd gladly pay over sticker price to get more. ENJOY!!

[Nguigmi]

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Stevebody. I haven't gotten around to opening the bottle yet, but I have to admit I'm excited to taste it now!

I think the store that I got it from had other bottles of it, but I dont remember if I checked the vintages. I'll keep you updated.

Nguigmi

[newsguy]

drew,

posted on this wine early last month:

http://www.wines.com/ubb2/Forum13/HTML/000361.html

enjoyed it.

[ShortWiner]

I picked up a bottle last weekend. Any food pairing suggestions?

[Innkeeper]

It matches very well with a hunk of beef (chuck/round) braised (on stove top, in oven, or in crock pot) with tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, eggplant, onion, etc; with appropriate seasoning. If you want this to be Sicilian rather than simply Southern Italian, use mint rather than basil or oregano.

[stevebody]

I've paired this thing with a ton of stuff in my restaurants, from Grilled Salmon (beautiful) to moussaka to pork with figs and juniper to mussles. The '97 got 90 points from R. Parker and is drinking beautiully, too. What a great, inexpensive, characterful bottle of wine. I was terrified, when Dr. Taurino died and his wife and kids took over the business, that the wines would suffer. Happily, not so. I envy you the '93. Let us know what happens!

[Nguigmi]

Sorry -- forgot to update you on the '93! A friend of mine brought over the '97 and we decided to make a little tasting event out of the occasion, since we're both trying to learn about wines. We popped both bottles and tried them side by side.

Overall, it appeared to us as if the '93 had faded. The bouquets of the wines were remarkably different -- the '93 very woody and earthy, while the '97 had more of a vanilla/dark cherry aroma to it. The '93 did have fruit on the nose, but only as an undertone, but it was a very intriguing bouquet overall.

When drinking the wines, though, the '93 appeared very thin, almost insipid, and rather sour, especially when comparing it to the luscious feel of the '97. I'm thinking that most likely the store I bought it from didnt store it all that well, since you had said the wine was great only 3 months ago.

Or maybe my taste isnt that refined yet and I cant tell a great wine from a good wine [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/smile.gif[/img]

Incidentally, the store I got the wine from does have at least six more bottles of the '93, so let me know if you want their info.

Nguigmi

PS: And thanks for the recommendation by the way, my friend and I both would buy the Notarpanaro again!

[This message has been edited by Nguigmi (edited 03-30-2003).]

[ShortWiner]

I went with your suggestion last weekend, IK, and made a pot roast with red peppers, sun dried tomatoes, basil and some leftover Rosso Piceno. My wife has been working very hard lately, putting together fund-raising plans for the job training non-profit where she became Director of Development. While she worked at home, I cooked. I opened up the Notarpanaro about an hour before dinner. At first it seemed rather hot to both of us; it may have been too warm. It seemed to me as though my palate grew accustomed to this though, and I was able to appreciate the beauty of the wine. There was an interesting note of something herbal in the mix--not in the way of a Cab Franc--it wasn't exactly basil, but it matched the basil in the pot roast nicely. Overall, a great dinner and a lovely wine.

[Drew]

Popped another of these honeys a couple of days ago and is comming along nicely. Some tannins have smoothed out and the wine seems fuller with deeper, sweet fruit with subtle earthy, spice and bitter chocolate nuances. Really nice QPR.

Drew