tasting notes

[Duane Meissner]

The much anticipated Concordia Seminary Wine Society "Italian Night" tasting did not dissapoint. Sampled 4 whites and 5 reds. My palate is far from refined, so my notes are EXTREMELY limited, and may not be too reliable, especially with these whites. So, these notes may not be too interesting for most of you, but I have to start somewhere. My smeller doesn't work too well, so these are primarily palate notes. I can tell you that all were enjoyed by most in the group, which contained wine folk much more seasoned.

I normally don't drink whites, but these were very nice. Not a one of them touched any oak in their life. There may be some misspellings in here...

1. Falanghina Irpina d.o.c. 2006 Terredora Dipaglo Campania, $13.75. Just like the other whites to come, very citrusy. Also quite heavily floral. Quite pleasant.

2. Verdecchio dei Casteli Jesi Doag Classico 2005. Fattoria San Lorezo (Marche region). $12. Same citrus, but brighter. The group's runner up in the white category.

3. Gavi di Gavi d.o.c.g. 2006 Broglia (Tuscany). $18.75. Winner white of the night. more bright citrus. almost felt like a sparkler.

4. Silviano Orvieto Classico Superiore d.o.c. 2005 (umbria). $11.99. This one not quite as heavy on the citrus. Tart green apple with a hint of something sweet like caramel, separating it from the others.

As for the Reds....

1. Gaglioppo, IGT Calabria, Statti, 2006. $16.50. Nose (which I could pick up on this one) of raisens and cherries and some kind of spice I couldn't identify. I believe the palate offered the same.

2. Aglianico IGT Campania. 2006 Terrdora Dipoalo. $13.50. Butter, Caramel, and ripe fruits. Not terribly complex, but very enjoyable. After an hour of being open, some were getting chocolate notes. I think this was voted the QPR winner of the night.

3. Barolo d.o.c.g. Piemonte, 2003 Damillano (lecinquevigne). $35. Too complex for me to differentiate between notes on the palate. Everyone agreed that it was similar in style to a burgundy (except for me, never having had a burgundy). Wonderful wine. This was the group's favorite of the night until the second tasting of the next wine on the list. It remained my favorite through both tastings, but just barely.

4. Brunello Di Montalcino, d.o.c.g. 1999. Casanova Di Neri. Tenuta Nuova. $48. I'm told this was an excellent year for Brunellos, and it showed. This one tasted more like a Bordeaux with the mushroom and earthy notes. Someone else said "gym socks". The winner for the night.

5. Amarone della Valpolicello, d.o.c. Classico. 1998 Bertani. $80. Powerful. Not particularly complex, but again a very nice wine. Had a slightly minerally finish.

It was a wonderful night. I feel fortunate for the opportunity to taste such great wines without having to shell out some of these bottle prices. WIsh I had the ability/experience to tell y'all more about these.



[This message has been edited by Duane Meissner (edited 03-12-2008).]

[wondersofwine]

You're doing fine Duane. Keep it up. We had a Gavi di Gavi at our Italian wine tasting at the Fayetteville Wine Society also and it was well received. I agree that '99 was a good year for Brunellos.

[hotwine]

I posted on the '99 Casanova back in '05 (http://wines.com/ubb/Forum13/HTML/000596.html)

Beautiful wine.

Nice notes, thanks.

[wineguruchgo]

Just a few thoughts:

Barolo = Burgundy. What they are referring to is the weight of the wine. If you have never had a Pinot Noir, which is Burgundy Red, you will now say when looking at it that it reminds you of Barolo. The major difference between the two will be the taste where the Pinot will be much more fruity (nice cherry flavor) where the Barolo was more of an earthy, tar flavor.

Amarone - the "powerful" that you mentioned is because the fruit is dried for a few months so the water from the grape evaporates and they are pressing and fermenting a raisin basically. What you get is unbelieveably concentrated fruit because of it. YUM! Love Amarone!!!

Brunello - I agree with your thoughts on Bordeaux although I would say that the Brunello has much less, more reserved tannins than a Bordeaux.

By thinking of wines this way you will be able to put wine into catagories which helps alot when you are trying to pair them with foods.

So glad you had a good time and was able to explore a little bit of Italy. Such a wonderful place with wonderful wines!

[Duane Meissner]

Thanks all for the tips and encouragement! Next month's meeting will be particularly special - a full lineup of 2000 Bordeauxs (what's the plural for Bordeaux?), one from every major producer on both sides of the river.