Coturri at Chambers Street

Just came back from a Coturri tasting at Chambers Street Wines. Didn't take any notes but was generally impressed with their character. The 07 Chardonnay was leesy and very slightly oxidative, but very interesting. The 06 Albarello and the Petit Syrah smelled of old sneakers, but in a good way, I swear. And tasted quite interesting, the latter being much more tannic. The wonderfully balanced and full of character 07 Zinfandel was my favorite of the lineup while the 06 Primitivo, with residual sugar, my least favorite, like a light port. The latter, Coturri, explained, resulted from vines that didn't fertilize properly, hence the incomplete fermentation. Strange. Asked if Primitivo and Zin weren't the same varietal, he said the strains behaved differently so kept the names distinct. Anyway, liked them as food wines, with lots of excellent acidity and vibrant fruit, once you get past the homely sneakers (I think they were Converse). Coturri himself was very personable, the epitome of the likeable hippy winemaker.

[David M. Bueker]

The problem is the stability of the wines. I bought quite a few back in the '90s based on tasting barrel samples (on a visit) and/or newly released wines. They were great for about 6 months. After that...just ask Jenise about the bottle(s) I sent to her to prove a point.

Yikes!

The problem is the stability of the wines. I bought quite a few back in the '90s based on tasting barrel samples (on a visit) and/or newly released wines. They were great for about 6 months. After that...just ask Jenise about the bottle(s) I sent to her to prove a point.

Yikes!

Low or no SO2 requires almost hospital-like hygiene in the cellar, perhaps he doesn't have that.

[David M. Bueker]

Well he didn't in 1998. It was a cool place, but hospital did not spring to mind. Gin mill in the holler was more like it. Great guy though.

Asked if Primitivo and Zin weren't the same varietal, he said the strains behaved differently so kept the names distinct.

Not the first time I have seen this. I wonder what Carol Meredith would say?
As for this producer, I agree with David - all the passion in the world doesn't replace sanitation. And I have had a lot of obviously flawed wines from them.
Best, Jim

In general, my idea of success with Coturri is if no one loses an eye removing cork due to secondary fermentation. Bacterial nightmares (60% of the time). And I like lots of natural/low sulphur wines.

Asked if Primitivo and Zin weren't the same varietal, he said the strains behaved differently so kept the names distinct.

Not the first time I have seen this. I wonder what Carol Meredith would say?
As for this producer, I agree with David - all the passion in the world doesn't replace sanitation. And I have had a lot of obviously flawed wines from them.
Best, Jim

Well, Jim.....I'm not CaroleMeredith...I only play her on TV in "Dancing With Stars". But what she would say is that Zinfandel and Primitivo (and ChurlynackKastellianski...or however the heck you spell it) are all the same variety by DNA. That said, they grown quite differently in the vnyd (at least the two examples I've seen), so I presume they're just clones of one another. And some winemakers swear that they prefer the wines from Primitivo to Zinfandel. The few examples I've had from the same winemaker seem to be somewhat different. I understand the Primitivo ripens much more evenly than Zinfandel, a notoriously uneven ripener.
Now back to my dance moves so I won't embarass Carole!!!
Tom

Just came back from a Coturri tasting at Chambers Street Wines. Didn't take any notes but was generally impressed with their character. The 07 Chardonnay was leesy and very slightly oxidative, but very interesting. The 06 Albarello and the Petit Syrah smelled of old sneakers, but in a good way, I swear. And tasted quite interesting, the latter being much more tannic. The wonderfully balanced and full of character 07 Zinfandel was my favorite of the lineup while the 06 Primitivo, with residual sugar, my least favorite, like a light port. The latter, Coturri, explained, resulted from vines that didn't fertilize properly, hence the incomplete fermentation. Strange. Asked if Primitivo and Zin weren't the same varietal, he said the strains behaved differently so kept the names distinct. Anyway, liked them as food wines, with lots of excellent acidity and vibrant fruit, once you get past the homely sneakers (I think they were Converse). Coturri himself was very personable, the epitome of the likeable hippy winemaker.

Sounds like the Coturri wines I know & love, Oswaldo. "Interesting" is one of the more complimentary discriptors you can apply to them. Actually, when I first taste them, they're really tasty wines...interesting as well. But they're bottled w/ such a witch's brew of bacteria in them that they can sometimes (oftentimes?) age into pretty bizarre or disasterous wines.
His comment that the r.s was the consequence of not fertilizing properly makes absolutely no sense to me at all.
Tom

..........His comment that the r.s was the consequence of not fertilizing properly makes absolutely no sense to me at all.
Tom

That comment struck me as odd, too. A fermentation can shut down if the yeast don't have enough nutrients; perhaps does not want add a yeast nutrient to the must (e.g. ammonium phosphate) and feels that that lot of grapes lacks sufficient intrinsic nutrients due to under fertilization?

..........His comment that the r.s was the consequence of not fertilizing properly makes absolutely no sense to me at all.
Tom

That comment struck me as odd, too. A fermentation can shut down if the yeast don't have enough nutrients; perhaps does not want add a yeast nutrient to the must (e.g. ammonium phosphate) and feels that that lot of grapes lacks sufficient intrinsic nutrients due to under fertilization?

It wasn't fermentation, it was fertilization (of the vine), first time I ever hear of such a problem...

The Primitivo clone of Zin does tend to behave differently in the vineyard than Zin. It ripens more evenly, tends to have looser clusters (not so prone to rot if there's any rain at harvest), and doesn't raisin so easily as Zin (which I would swear will raisin if you frown at it.). So the wine tends to be different. It can be just great. But people tend to respond to the difference by saying: "yeah,it's good, but it doesn't taste like Zinfandel."

It wasn't fermentation, it was fertilization (of the vine), first time I ever hear of such a problem...

Just to clarify, if the fermentation stops a bit short of complete, you will wind up with some residual sugar in the wine. So if the must is lacking in yeast nutrients (which maybe Cotturi wants to attibute to the lack of fertilization), the result might be a fermentation that is not complete.

It wasn't fermentation, it was fertilization (of the vine), first time I ever hear of such a problem...

Just to clarify, if the fermentation stops a bit short of complete, you will wind up with some residual sugar in the wine. So if the must is lacking in yeast nutrients (which maybe Cotturi wants to attibute to the lack of fertilization), the result might be a fermentation that is not complete.

If he had said incomplete fermentation I would not have been surprised, since it's not uncommon, but I had never heard of incomplete fertilization, so was curious to know what that might mean... There was no smell of H2S, so I didn't suspect that the must might have been lacking in nutrients.

[David M. Bueker]

Imagine Tony Coturri and Nicolas Joly in the same room. Perhaps we could have David Schildknecht write about something like that.

[Jenise]

The problem is the stability of the wines. I bought quite a few back in the '90s based on tasting barrel samples (on a visit) and/or newly released wines. They were great for about 6 months. After that...just ask Jenise about the bottle(s) I sent to her to prove a point.

Yikes!

Yup, which is why I laughed out loud at Oswaldo's comparison to sneakers and have laughed at just about every description of Coturri I've read since. Those were two of the strangest wines I've ever had, and as I recall one was strange/good and the other not so good. Which you told me was par for the course.

Imagine Tony Coturri and Nicolas Joly in the same room. Perhaps we could have David Schildknecht write about something like that.

That's just offal...

[David M. Bueker]

Imagine Tony Coturri and Nicolas Joly in the same room. Perhaps we could have David Schildknecht write about something like that.

That's just offal...

Oh show some intestinal fortitude.