Friends stayed with us for three nights, one of whom is an ex-somm, so we opened some fun bottles.
Night one, we started with Beaucastel 1999 Châteauneuf-du-Pape. I couldn't have wanted anything more from our last bottle of 99 Beaucastel, bought as a current release right around the time we discovered Beaucastel via a bottle of the 88 on a restaurant wine list (which was, at the time, less than 15 years old, but already old enough to blow our minds). Decanted before serving and consumed over a couple of hours, this was good from the beginning and only got better; the fruit and leathery funk were in perfect balance, the wine tasted vibrant and alive. Layered, deep but not heavy, expressive. Great showing.
Another bottle our friend had been excited by was a Marchesi di Gresy 1998 Barbaresco Martinenga Gaiun, so we opened that next and decanted; it could have used an hour or two of air, because it took some time to flesh out. At first, it was an aromatic soprano to the Beaucastel's tenor, a cloud of spices and flowers hovering high over an icy ground, but as the ground thawed, the wine rounded out and became earthier, eventually wrapping everything in a band of black licorice. The price tag on the bottle suggests that I bought this at a steep markdown, probably in the early 2000s, and as far as I can remember it was our only bottle, so I don't have comparative reflections, but I'm happy with the moment at which we chose to open it.
Night two, Andrea was cooking and asked for a white to go with a lemony Palestinian chickpea and spinach soup; I grabbed a Knoll 2015 Wachau Grüner Veltliner Smaragd, Ried Schütt. This has held up nicely despite being, apparently, a warm year. CT notes suggest a dominance of ripe stone fruit that I didn't get from this bottle, which was marked more by citrus, apple, spice, and waxy edges; the warmth is suggested instead by the feeling that the midpalate is a broad, flat expanse, not well-bounded by acidity. Still, an enjoyable bottle (which I wouldn't expect to improve).
Night three, we were supposed to go out but decided to stay in and eat tasty Sicilian pizza from a local maestro. Since the pizza was half and half (one half onion and anchovy, the other half sausage and peppers) I figured we should have two bottles. The first was the first of three of Trimbach 2011 Alsace Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Émile, which I probably should have tried a while ago, but that's life with too much wine in your cellar. On opening, this is interesting but disjointed: some tree fruit and stone fruit, a band of aggressive acidity, and a waft of smoke, all jockeying for position. Eventually the pears and apples get in the driver's seat, the acidity rides shotgun, and the waft of smoke naps in the back seat. We agree that it's hardly a model CFE but that we like it anyway.
The second was a Giuseppe Mascarello 2012 Barbera D'Alba Superiore Santo Stefano di Perno. Bought these after having had a different vintage of the same wine, which I admired for its surprising delicacy and floral aromas, so much more interesting than a lot of Barbera. Well, this vintage proved to be different, though not totally lacking. Big, boisterous, slightly candied fruit, just barely perceptible alcoholic heat, but enough density to the wine to make it tolerable, and, around the edges, some of the aromatic complexity that I had hoped for. Worked nicely as a pizza wine, as intended. There's about a third of a bottle of this left, and of the CFE too (we're all much more restrained drinkers than we were in our youths) and I'll be interested to see how it's changed tonight.
No magnums necessary!
