This past Tuesday our wine group met
at Divina Ristorante in Caldwell, NJ for our monthly wine dinner. It was Emil’s turn to provide the wine
and he did a great job.
We were to begin with 2006
Château-Grillet (Neyret-Gachet) Château-Grillet. Unfortunately the bottle was
corked, which was a shame because I have enjoyed this wine on previous
occasions and was looking forward to drinking it again. Located in the northern Rhône region of
France, near Vienne and to the south of the Côte-Rôtie, this gorgeous white
wine is made from 100% Viognier grapes. A touch of viscosity on the palate, it always exhibits beautifully balanced minerality and acidity and a divine finish. $70.
The ensuing wines however more than
made up for the corked bottle. A 1999
Gianfranco Bovio Barbera d'Alba Regiaveja was delightful and showed amazing
freshness for a 13 year old Barbera.
Bovio is one of the finest traditional winemakers in all of
Piedmont and this wine lived up to his winemaking skills. $37
1998 Il Macchione Vino Nobile di
Montepulciano followed, and it too had amazing youth and freshness for an older
Vino Nobile. Here the Prugnolo Gentile grape, a Sangiovese clone, is used. The wine exhibited great purity
and had a soft, velvety finish. $36
The 1996 Francesco Rinaldi e Figli
Barolo Cannubbio was, in the consensus of the group (myself included), the wine
of the evening. From the spectacular 1996 Piedmont
vintage, this was a wine with soul.
The unmistakable earthy bouquet of the Nebbiolo grape seduced the palate
with the juice we were about to partake of. When it touched the palate, the wine soared with beautiful acidity, balance and purity. It had amazing focus and a long
elegant finish. This is a wine
that will last for a couple more decades at least. $85
The final wine of the evening was a 1988
Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Pignan Reserve. This is the second tier CDP from owner/winemaker Emmanuel Reynaud of Chateau Rayas and it is
spectacular. Like the iconic
Chateau Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Riserve it is made from 100% Grenache. Reynaud chooses to harvest late so that
he has ripe fruit for his wines.
It is a philosophy that produces completely round and delicious wines. Tonight the bouquet exploded from the glass and on the palate was
full-bodied with great balance, ripe fruit and soft tannins. Absolutely delicious, this wine has
many, many more years ahead of it.
Definitely a wine with soul. $135 .
All of these wines are available at
The Pluckemin Inn Wine Shop, Bedminster, N.J.
Chef/owner Mario Carlino prepared a
dinner that was the equal of the wines.
We began with a plate of Pasta al Forno. This traditional Italian dish is usually made at Easter time. It is composed of Rigatoni, baby
meatballs, salami and hard-boiled eggs in a tomato sauce and baked in the
oven. The combination of textures
and flavors is incredible.
After dinner, three of us returned to
my house for a bottle of 1999 Paolo Bea Sagrantino Passito. This utterly delicious dessert wine is
made by leaving the Sagrantino grapes to dry after the harvest. A white mold
forms that balances and concentrates the acid, sugar and tannins. This process
usually takes 3 months. The grapes, as raisins, contain approximately 30% sugar
at this point and they are then crushed. Fermentation begins and slowly
progresses until the sugar level reaches 16% to 18% when pressing takes place
with the resulting wine carrying about 90 grams of residual sugar. The wine is
then aged in stainless steel and barrel.
The wine exhibited a wonderful palate of figs that is nicely balanced,
with a lovely semi-sweet finish. It
is very reminiscent of a fine Recioto.
Two nights later, Carol and I attended a wine
dinner at Sette Cucina Italiana in Bernardsville, N.J. Chris Cree, MW and owner of 56º Wine
also in Bernardsville hosted the dinner. Chris always puts on spectacular tastings and this was no exception. The event featured the wines of Emidio Pepe from the Abruzzo region of
Italy. Emidio’s granddaughter Chiara De
Julis was in attendance to speak about the wines. Talk about traditional wine making, it does not get more
traditional than these wines. I
have long been a fan these terroir driven and beautifully crafted wines. While the earthiness of these wines may
not be for everyone, those that like them simply adore them.
We began the evening with a delicious appetizer,
Langostino Brasato al Forno, Mediterranean prawns garnished with seasoned
breadcrumbs & oven roasted. The
prawns were cooked to perfection and were a perfect compliment to the 2007 Trebbiano
D'Abbruzzo that we drank with them.
An earthy white wine made from the Trebbiano grape (most widely planted
grape in Italy) the wine had a beautiful golden hue, was complex with terrific
focus, balance and earthiness and a seductive finish. As a staunch traditionalist, Pepe presses the Trebbiano grapes
by human feet in wooden tubs in order to avoid the contact between the iron
presses and the acids of the fruit. The must is fermented for 8 - 10 days in glass-lined cement. After fermentation the wine is racked into 22-hectoliter glass-lined cement tanks where it ages for roughly six months prior to being bottled. $79.
For our pasta course we were served
Orecchiette alla Francescana, Orecchiette pasta with sautéed
Crimini mushrooms, Bolognese ragu in a delicate cream reduction. This plate was equal to the appetizer...perfectly cooked pasta in a balanced and delicious sauce. We sipped the first two reds of the
evening side by side with the pasta.
One glass held 2003 Montepulciano D'Abruzzo while the other held the
2001 Montepulciano D'Abruzzo.
Both wines were bold, focused, full-bodied and terroir driven. 2003 was a warmer vintage than 2001 and
you could taste the difference in these two wines. The 2001 was more elegant and sophisticated than the
2003. $79 & $110
respectively.
The braised Veal Ossobuco &
Sartorese polenta entrée in my opinion was not up to the first two
courses. The two wines we drank
with the course however were spectacular.
The 2000 Montepulciano D'Abruzzo is, according to Chiara, her
grandfather’s favorite vintage. It
was delicious. It was wonderfully
complex, beautifully balanced, and earthy with a lush finish. I have enjoyed this vintage on numerous
occasions and it is always a joy to drink. $145.
The 1985 Montepulciano D'Abruzzo has
long been one of my favorite Pepe wines. It did not disappoint tonight.
The wine soared from the glass, danced on the palate and finished with
length and elegance. A wine with
soul. $159.
Pepe's Montelpuciano grapes are grown biodynamically,
hand-harvested, hand-destemmed, crushed by human hands, naturally fermented and aged 18-24 months in
glass-lined tanks. The wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered, without added
SO2, and aged in their cellar, in bottle, for continued development. Before release,
each bottle is opened and the wines are decanted by hand into new bottles, and
then labeled and released to the public. The estate’s cellar
houses over 300,000 bottles of wine going back to the inaugural 1964 vintage.
We finished the meal with very good
Chocolate covered profiterrols.
Yes it was a good week.
Saluté
No comments:
Post a Comment