Catching up with notes for the last week or so--pay special attention to the 2015 Poderi' dal Nespoli Pagadebit di Romagna. Amazed that there's a grape this wonderful that I can't recall ever reading about. Has anyone else had it?
2010 Malvira' Roero Superiore Nebbiolo
At Panorama where we had the only bad restaurant experience in Philadelphia, and it was real bad. The wine itself was decent, but caught in a warp with neither the brash freshness of young nebbiolo or the tar and roses of aged. Eh.
2015 Schiopetto Collio Friulano
Also had this one. Easy to drink but lacks the tension I love about Friulano wines--a bit boring.
And a 2016 Hager Matthias Gruner-Veltliner pet-nat which I can't locate on CT based on the wine list description. Definitely the most interesting wine of the night.
And this is what the somm poured when he tried to put some gloss on the disastrous meal and service.
2013 Azelia Barbera d'Alba Vigneto Punta
From a freshly opened bottle. Solid fruit core but the nose shows some offputting vinegary phenolics.
This was from my own cellar last night:
2014 Scarpetta Colli Orientali del Friuli Sauvignon
When first purchased a year ago was long on acid and short on flavor, but that's turning around. Probably a year or two away from best/peak, there's now some fruit and varietal character to go with the minerality and white pepper. Far from done, probably has the ability to age up to 10 yrs.
Here come a few more from Philadelphia:
2012 Tenuta Roveglia Lugana Vigne di Catullo Riserva Trebbiano
Purchased at the guvmint store. Deep straw gold color. Elegant, complex and deeply resonant with notes of apricot, lemon and fig. The bottle age shows in all the right ways. If I lived there, I'd have already gone back and taken the rest off their hands. Excellent!
2015 Poderi' dal Nespoli Pagadebit di Romagna
Ordered BTG at Amis in Philadelphia and my favorite wine of the entire trip. Pagadebit is apparently the grape, a new one to me. If it's also new to you, think sauvignon blanc meets garganega: it's herbaceous but sunny-ripe with bay leaf, oranges, lemon curd and guava. Absolutely loved it--ordered a second glass.
2015 Falesco Chardonnay Tellus Umbria IGT
Also ordered this at Amis, and it was a very nice BTG wine all things considered but the pagadebit left it in the shade.
At dinner last night with friends:
2009 La Pousse d'Or Santenay 1er Cru Clos Tavannes Pinot Noir
My contribution. Decanted three hours, no sediment. A whiff of iodine on my decoy pour faded away leaving pretty, complex red fruit, spice and cola nut augmented by clean wool and a touch of leather. Has the acidity and soft tannins to survive well beyond 2021, IMO (the drink latest date CT shows).
2014 Domaine Jean Chartron Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières Chardonnay
Bart's. Vivid citrus and minerality layered with mild oak. Fantastic mouthfeel. Young but gaining in complexity and depth. Wish I owned some.
2011 Bruno Colin Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Maltroie Chardonnay
Also Bart's. Slip this into a blind Chablis tasting and no one will suspect a ringer. Pale color with flint, wet rocks, lemon fruit and a bit of lemongrass. At peak, I'd say.
And one last travel-related wine:
2016 Loveblock Vintners Ltd Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough
Ridiculously overpriced at 13 Coins restaurant, SeaTac. Classic sauv b, though, no wood, grassy and with some gooseberries.