WTN: Many Italians

Short notes from Johnny's liquid lunch at the Casino.

Mc Manis Pinot Grigio 2007 - Johnny opened this for me as I showed up early. Looked kinda dark. Sour, hollow, yuck.

Blue Mountain Vineyard Reserve Pinot Gris 2006 - From Okanagan, BC, and care of Vancouver Vince. Light and lemony but has a slight overripe character. Lychee as well. Kinda Alsatian in a way. Good. I understand this is rather difficult to come by.

Allegrini Amarone 2001 - Strong chocolate, port-like nose. Sweet, plummy, porty. Surely an ager but very attractive now. Excellent.

Tasca d'Almerita Cygnus IGT 2001 - Nero d'Avola and Cabernet Sauvignon. Chocolate and a slight pruniness. I was warned this bottle may have been heat damaged when I bought it but with the attractive price, I decided to take a chance. Good sweet fruit with some pronounced tannin. Not as good as the first time I tried it about two months back this bottle seemed to lack the vibrancy of the first bottle I tried but still I thought it was very good.

Paolo Scavino Barolo Bric del Fiasc 2001 - Coffee, sweet fruit. very fragrant. Light, tannic, needs time but showing really well now. Attractive. Excellent.

Parusso Barolo Bussia 2001 - Earthy, cocoa. Slightly more ready than the Scavino. Sweet fruit. Coffeeish on the finish. Very good.

Poggio alla Lepre Rosso di Toscana IGT 2006 - Appropriate as the pasta was sauced with a rabbit ragu. 80% Sangiovese, 10% Canaiolo Nero, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Colorino. Quite juicy, smoky. Very tannic. Needs a few years to round it out. Should be at least good.

Feudi di San Gregorio Serpico 2003 - Dry. A bit sour. Angular. Not ready. Needs time to integrate. Will probably be very good in a few years.

Fontanafredda Barolo 2003 - Closed. Very tannic. Way too young. Seems to lack the complexity of the other Barolos tried. Give this at least 3 years before trying again.

Alejos Cellars Pinay Muscat Canelli California 2006 - Good nose but very light and insubstantial. I suppose it could make a decent aperitif. Acidic finish. Not too interesting. I was hoping this was good as it is made by a Filipina (hence "Pinay") in California but the quality just isn't there.

Fontanafredda Brachetto d'Acqui NV - Just like Asti but light red. Nice and refreshing.

[David M. Bueker]

The Scavino note is especially interesting to me. I learned most of what little I know of Barolo originally from Scavino's bottlings. Only later did I get to try things like Mascarello & Conterno. There's been a frequent backlash on Scavino for being too modern, but I just like the wines.

[James Roscoe]

The Scavino note is especially interesting to me. I learned most of what little I know of Barolo originally from Scavino's bottlings. Only later did I get to try things like Mascarello & Conterno. There's been a frequent backlash on Scavino for being too modern, but I just like the wines.

That's good, because I have a Scavino Barolo in my very small cellar.

Jay, very nice and concise notes, as always. Keep drinking well.

[Jenise]

Short notes from Johnny's liquid lunch at the Casino.

Mc Manis Pinot Grigio 2007 - Johnny opened this for me as I showed up early. Looked kinda dark. Sour, hollow, yuck.

Blue Mountain Vineyard Reserve Pinot Gris 2006 - From Okanagan, BC, and care of Vancouver Vince. Light and lemony but has a slight overripe character. Lychee as well. Kinda Alsatian in a way. Good. I understand this is rather difficult to come by.

Fontanafredda Barolo 2003 - Closed. Very tannic. Way too young. Seems to lack the complexity of the other Barolos tried. Give this at least 3 years before trying again.

Your note on the McManis made me laugh. Some of their wines offer pretty good value in the under $10 range, but subtle they're not, and I've found all the whites over-the-top.

You're darned tootin' re the Blue Mountain. It's mailing list only and they sell out of the stripe label stuff via email within hours of announcing a release. I just posted on a bottle of the 03 (though I used Canadian vernacular and referred to the Reserve as "Stripe Label").

Re the Fontanafredda Barolo, I've never had a Fontanafredda that didn't "lack the complexity of the other Barolos". I know they're attractively priced, but ultimately you can buy a far better non-Barolo with the same money, so why buy FF?

"Tasca d'Almerita Cygnus IGT 2001 - Nero d'Avola and Cabernet Sauvignon. Chocolate and a slight pruniness. I was warned this bottle may have been heat damaged when I bought it but with the attractive price, I decided to take a chance. Good sweet fruit with some pronounced tannin. Not as good as the first time I tried it about two months back this bottle seemed to lack the vibrancy of the first bottle I tried but still I thought it was very good."

Have you read "Predictably Irrational" yet and the portion on "Ownership Bias"?

[Jenise]

"Tasca d'Almerita Cygnus IGT 2001 - Nero d'Avola and Cabernet Sauvignon. Chocolate and a slight pruniness. I was warned this bottle may have been heat damaged when I bought it but with the attractive price, I decided to take a chance. Good sweet fruit with some pronounced tannin. Not as good as the first time I tried it about two months back this bottle seemed to lack the vibrancy of the first bottle I tried but still I thought it was very good."

Have you read "Predictably Irrational" yet and the portion on "Ownership Bias"?

I get the gist of your question to Jay, but I have to add that the book is next up on my reading queue. Should I skip this chapter?

Dear Jenise,
I have a btl of 03 Serpico, when would be a good time to tackle it?

cheers,
Eric

"Tasca d'Almerita Cygnus IGT 2001 - Nero d'Avola and Cabernet Sauvignon. Chocolate and a slight pruniness. I was warned this bottle may have been heat damaged when I bought it but with the attractive price, I decided to take a chance. Good sweet fruit with some pronounced tannin. Not as good as the first time I tried it about two months back this bottle seemed to lack the vibrancy of the first bottle I tried but still I thought it was very good."

Have you read "Predictably Irrational" yet and the portion on "Ownership Bias"?

I've seen the book, haven't bought it, but remember you telling me about it. I plead guilty to ownership bias but for P 485.00 (about $ 11.00) down from over P 1,500, I think it was a pretty good bargain. The shop owner also made me try a bottle that was open in the shop and from the same, possibly heat-damaged batch, to decide whether I still wanted the wine. The one in the shop tasted fine to me.

Your note on the McManis made me laugh. Some of their wines offer pretty good value in the under $10 range, but subtle they're not, and I've found all the whites over-the-top.

Agree with you on McManis. I thought their Cab Sauv and especially the Petite Sirah were pretty good if you like rich, oaky wines.

[Jenise]

Dear Jenise,
I have a btl of 03 Serpico, when would be a good time to tackle it?

cheers,
Eric

Eric, actually your question should have been addressed to Jay.

Jay, based on what you tasted, when would you reccomend opening a Serpico?

I'd give the Serpico at least another 3 years before trying again.