WTN: Sparkling reds !?!?! plus Turley, Tete, and Thirtybench

No wine Thursday, dinner was ropa vieja. Friday we went over to watch HS baseball game for a while, Betsy’s sister joined us for dinner afterwards - grilled salmon, shisitos, and king oyster mushrooms, along with yu choy (like Chinese broccoli), green tea soba, and the 2014 Tete (Clos du Fief) “tradition” Julienas. Cranberry and raspberry, deep sappy fruit, but maybe a tad one note. Nice note though! B/B+

After dinner I started walking to Rob’s, Fred picked me up halfway. Rob had a nice spread out (prosciutto, salami, cheeses, crostini, and nuts- mixed nuts included roasted fava beans, new on me- loved). Theme for our little local group was (gulp) Sparkling Reds.

We always do blind, I had questioned need (since I doubt anyone could name 3 sparking red producers) but host had already wrapped, so we did likewise.

Wine #1 - Pretty unusual. Fred allows that it’s a Pet Nat, asks us to guess variety and location. My guesses were shot down (CA, and Mouvedre followed by Petite Sirah) Dense, a bit tannic, dry with a black fruit note. Once Fred said LI and Bdx varietal I got grape. 2014 Southold Farm Counting Stars (North Fork, LI). Quite different. B

Wine #2 - More what I expected, dry with black cherry framed by aromatic bitters. Soft without the tannins of previous. Pretty popular all around. NV? Cleto Chiarli Pruno Nero Lambrusco B+/B

Wine #3 - my wine, I liked more than some other guys. No SO2, shows on color and nose. Intensely fruit, grapey in a good way. 2015 Casalpriore Lambrusco dell’Emilia. B+/B

Wine #4 -Extra bubbly, needs to calm down a bit before really tasting. Off-dry, lots of berry fruit, light but noticable tannin. NV Barbolini Grasparossa di Castelvetro Lambrusco B

Wine #5- Much lighter in color, sweetest of night, I thought this looked like a darker rose and actually guessed Cerdon de Bugey. Pleasant and easy, but a bit short. Cantina di Sorbara Lambrusco di Sorbara , B/B-

Wine #6- this is only sparkling red I really didn’t like. Dry, with black berries, but lots of brett even for a funk lover like me. The bubbles seemed to accentuate the funk. NV Quaresimo Lambrusco C+

Wine #7 - most divisive wine of the night. Some had as least favorite. Good acids, lighter than some, good length, berries and plums. Fontana dei Boschi Lambrusco B/B+

Bonus blind wine - Rob had been supposed to host a Zin tasting in Jan but missed it due a family issue. Still wrapped, he poured it blind and I blurted “Turley?” Sweet with raisiny notes, lots of alcohol (I was surprised to see “only” 15. just totally not my style. 2008 Turley Old Vines Zinfandel. C/C-

There was also the 2013 Thirty Bench (Niagara). Think Rob said Cab Franc. Midbodied, a bit of charred oak, surprisingly ripe for a northern red. B/B-

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice.Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

Goodness me..how come so many Lambrusco .!!

If not for the Lambrusco you might have to drink a sparkling Shiraz or Brachetto. I like some Lambrusco but only see the large production industrial ones around here.

There was also the 2013 Thirty Bench (Niagara). Think Rob said Cab Franc. Midbodied, a bit of charred oak, surprisingly ripe for a northern red. B/B-

Cab Franc actually ripens quite nicely in most years along the Niagara Escarpment, on both the US and Canadian sides of the border. Unfortunately, the 2014 and 2015 vintages had very low yields, due to extremely cold winters. Most of the 2012s are outstanding. Cab Sauv is much less reliable, as it ripens 2-3 weeks later.

Goodness me..how come so many Lambrusco .!!

Pretty much every decent wine store will carry a couple of Lambruscos. As Jane said pretty much only other choices are sparkling Shiraz (rarely available, even big stores like Zachys doesnt hve) or Brachetto d'Acqui (a bit more available, but people less likely to bring a dessert wine). I do like good Lambrusco, and liked most this night, though 7 sparkling reds in a row isn't my ideal night.

Howie, thanks for insights into Niagara.

Dale, Thanks for sharing the TN’s.

Lambrusco is one of Italy’s oldest grapes. Today it is the name of a grape, designated growing region, and name of a wine. Researchers have identified sixty plus Lambrusco grape varieties. Most Lambrusco are just blends, your #4 and #5 wines were produced dominantly from a single Lambrusco grape variety-#4wine mainly Grasporossa and #5 wine mainly Sorbara. (Another dominant Lambrusco variety to look for is Salamino). You could technically think of Lambrusco as the “original Pet Nat”. Because of the “Pet-Nat” craze we are seeing more Lambrusco made the “traditional” way.

Salute

Most Lambrusco are just blends, your #4 and #5 wines were produced dominantly from a single Lambrusco grape variety-#4wine mainly Grasporossa and #5 wine mainly Sorbara.

Agree re #4 being Grasporossa, but think #5 might be a blend- Sorbara is both a grape and a village, and I think if it follows Lambrusco likely to be referring to village.

If the wine is labelled Lambrusco Sorbara AOC (I believe is the strictest of all Lambrusco AOC's) 100% Sorbara (Maybe I'm confusing it with another Lambrusco AOC).

Salute

Think it must be at least 60% Sorbara
http://italianwinecentral.com/denominat ... rbara-doc/

Thanks Dale!

Salute

The Portuguese make some sparkling reds: in Bairrada they are the preferred wine to have with leitao, roast suckling pig, that is the signature dish of that region. We don't see too many of these in the US: one you can easily find around Newark is Alianca Bruto Tinto, made with Baga and Touriga Nacional. It isn't exactly an artisanal version, but it is fermented in the bottle, and drinks quite nicely.

Up north in the Minho they also make some red espumante, but that is more typically made with Vinhao (aka Souson in Spain), and can be even more of an acquired taste than the Bairrada versions. Some has appeared in the NYC market produced by the geek approved organic producer Aphros.

I have had the second type of Portuguese sparkling red Joe mentioned which was a fruity and enjoyable wine for warm weather. It was introduced to me at a wine dinner in Raleigh but does not appear to be widely distributed.