Hanging with friends
I had a great laid back evening last night hanging out with Rico and his lovely wife Jana. The occasion was the nebbiolo head’s birthday and we kicked back and drank through some lovely bottles.
We started with a grower champagne that’s imported by Terry Theise… I failed to get the name but it was an NV that had been disgorged in 1999 and showed fantastic rich fruit, brioche, subtle nuttiness and minerals as well as vibrant acidity and a rich mouth feel. Sign me up for more of these and I’ll update this post later when I get the producer.
The 1993 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia had been slow o’ed for the day and while not showing huge depth or richness, was a treat and showed that nebbilo profile that makes lovers of this variety sigh with pleasure… tar, roses, tobacco, menthol and subtle black tea aromas and flavors drive the wine and the palate is smooth, medium bodied and fresh… as well as austere and slightly unforgiving. I’d opt to drink these while there’s still a hint of sweetness to the fruit but the neb expert disagreed.
We switched gears with the 1999 Domaine de Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes. This old vine cuvee is the essence of Grenache and has heady blackberry and spice laden dark fruit, liquefied stems, licorice, meat juice and fresh cut flower aromatics, medium to full body and a rich, long finish. As with the Conterno, it lacks some depth on the palate but shows true character and transparency. Sadly my last bottle. I think this is drinking well and had a good 5 to 10 more years of prime time.
That’s all folks. Have a good weekend!
Jeb
NV Champagne Producer TBD - 91 pts.
1993 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia - 91 pts.
1999 Domaine de Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes - 93 pts.