WTN: Something different

N/V Marques de Monistrol, Cava Brut Reserva:
Bone dry, steady bead, clean and mineral driven Cava that more than delivers as a fine accompaniment to appetizers. $9.

Dinner was gruyere gratin, asparagus wrapped in smoked salmon and sautéed mushrooms:

2006 Paolo Bea, Santa Chiara:
A white wine blend that is fermented and aged on its lees; bronze color but not even a hint of oxidation; tannic, concentrated, textural wine with some naturally sweet fruit elements among a profile that is mostly earthy, peppery and mineral driven; intense, almost thick with a presence is arresting and an ethereal slant that is hard to describe. Fabulous with the gratin.

2003 Radikon, Ribolla Gialla (500 ml):
The same color as the foregoing wine and another skin-contact white wine; aggressively dry in the mouth with high acidity and a thick, layered, deep series of flavors and textures that are as hard to describe as they are to isolate. Opens over the course of two hours and matches with the asparagus and salmon the best.

After dinner:
1992 Belle, Hermitage:
Showing very well with mostly game, decay and complex fruit notes on both the nose and palate with excellent balance, a precise structure and lots of length. A fine wine at its peak.

Best, Jim

[James Roscoe]

Cava as the opener on a nice summer night! does it get much better at $9? I doubt it. I wish I had '92 Hermitage in my basement. Nice evening.

[David M. Bueker]

Forget the wines...dinner sounds delicious.

Have an 03 Radikon Ribolla Gialla waiting for an all-oxidative tasting some day in the extended future, with a vin jaune, a sherry, etc. Your note slows me down - why hurry?!

Have an 03 Radikon Ribolla Gialla waiting for an all-oxidative tasting some day in the extended future, with a vin jaune, a sherry, etc. Your note slows me down - why hurry?!

Due respect, there is nothing oxidative about the Radikon. I could not find a single oxidative note in it over the course of three hours.
Different - oh yeah! - and nothing that will suit all tastes.
Best, Jim

Have an 03 Radikon Ribolla Gialla waiting for an all-oxidative tasting some day in the extended future, with a vin jaune, a sherry, etc. Your note slows me down - why hurry?!

Due respect, there is nothing oxidative about the Radikon. I could not find a single oxidative note in it over the course of three hours.
Different - oh yeah! - and nothing that will suit all tastes.
Best, Jim

Sorry (more or less) to hear that. I went back and checked the reason for my presumption that it was oxidative, and see that I extrapolated what Dale said about one Radikon to the other two:

2003 Radikon "Oslavje" Friuli Venezia
Never understood the fuss over Radikon, this doesn't sway me. Nutty and oxidized. Interesting, but not a buy.

2003 Radikon Ribolla Gialla
OK, I take it back. I understand the fuss. This is cool. Sure, a little funky, but with rich fruit and great length. I buy.

2003 Radikon "Jakot"
Pourer explains to me that name is "Tokaj" backwards- their reaction to EU rules. I like this as much as the Ribolla, good wine. I take back everything I said. Radikon rules.

Sorry (more or less) to hear that. I went back and checked the reason for my presumption that it was oxidative, and see that I extrapolated what Dale said about one Radikon to the other two:

Either way, I am looking forward to hearing your impressions.
Best, Jim

1992 Belle, Hermitage:
Showing very well with mostly game, decay and complex fruit notes on both the nose and palate with excellent balance, a precise structure and lots of length. A fine wine at its peak.

Best, Jim

Hey Jim,

Is this 'decay' note common in mature Hermitage? At first glace, that doesn't sound at all nice, but I suppose it's similar to the sort of noxious sweetness of the imfamous barnyard/manure notes that I love in the Languedoc. So, is this note an accquired taste, or is it simply the best way of describing an otherwise appealing aspect of the wine? One of my great 'wine sins' is that although I've had Crozes on several occasions (and like it tremendously), I've never had an Hermitage proper.

Is this 'decay' note common in mature Hermitage? At first glace, that doesn't sound at all nice, but I suppose it's similar to the sort of noxious sweetness of the imfamous barnyard/manure notes that I love in the Languedoc. So, is this note an accquired taste, or is it simply the best way of describing an otherwise appealing aspect of the wine? One of my great 'wine sins' is that although I've had Crozes on several occasions (and like it tremendously), I've never had an Hermitage proper.

You're a kid.
Its fall.
Mom made you rake all the leaves in the yard and put them in a pile.
You go out three days later and play in that pile.
How does it smell?

Best, Jim

You're a kid.
Its fall.
Mom made you rake all the leaves in the yard and put them in a pile.
You go out three days later and play in that pile.
How does it smell?

Best, Jim

Ah . . . . ok, got it - sort of 'deciduous forest floor in a late, wet autumn' aromatics. The notes 'game' and 'decay' right next to each other made me think more 'rotten meat.'

I'm with David on this one. The dinner sounds delicious--some of my favorite foods.

2006 Paolo Bea, Santa Chiara:
A white wine blend that is fermented and aged on its lees; bronze color but not even a hint of oxidation; tannic, concentrated, textural wine with some naturally sweet fruit elements among a profile that is mostly earthy, peppery and mineral driven; intense, almost thick with a presence is arresting and an ethereal slant that is hard to describe. Fabulous with the gratin.

What a great description!

Alas, this is the wine I was looking forward to drinking Sunday that ended up as a drying puddle on the sidewalk