February 17, 2011

Colli Orientali del Friuli: Ronco del Gnemiz Six-Pack

I just returned yesterday from the Colli Orientali del Friuli (the Eastern Hills of Friuli), where I led a group of 6 American bloggers on a tasting, eating, and drinking tour of the appellation. You can read about all of the bloggers adventures here.

Ronco del Gnemiz Six-Pack (Colli Orientali del Friuli)
2 bottles Ronco del Gnemiz 2006 Bianco di Jacopo
2 bottles Ronco del Gnemiz 2007 Sauvingon
2 bottles Ronco del Gnemiz 2005 Rosso di Jacopo

$169 plus tax (shipping and handling if applicable)

Click here to order.

Free delivery for San Diego and Los Angeles residents.
Wines will ship Tuesday of next week from San Diego.

The folks at one of my favorite Friulian wineries, Ronco del Gnemiz, like to tease me: “We do all the things that Jeremy doesn’t like for our wines: we use selected yeast for fermentation and we age them in barrique,” said winemaker Christian Patat when I visited him and his lovely wife Serena Palazzolo (whose father bought the property and founded the estate in the 1960s). On paper, I shouldn’t like these wines. But when I first tasted them back in the late 1990s in New York, I was blown away by their freshness, their bright bright acidity, and their genuine fruit and their intense minerality.

Of course, Christian doesn’t use “killer” yeast that creates a manufactured aroma or flavor in this wine. He uses a neutral yeast that allows him to be sure that he will complete the alcoholic fermentation of his white wines before malolactic fermentation begins. (While alcoholic — sugar to alcohol — fermentation occurs in all red wine, malolactic fermentation in white wine turns malic “good” acid, the kind Tracie P and I like, into lactic “buttery” acid.) And when it comes to the application of small cask, Christian is using the wood to oxygenate his wines and not to impart wood tannin or toasty, oaky flavor.

The other thing about these wines is that the folks who make them are super cool. The last time I was in Friuli, Serena and Christian helped me track down a hard-to-find edition of Pasolini’s Friulian poetry. They knew just the bookstore in Udine that would have it. They have a pretty rad jazz collection, too.

The bottom line is I THINK THESE WINES rock and while they are nearly impossible to find on the West Coast, I was able to snag this small allocation. This first six-pack for 2011 features 2 of each label.

Ronco del Gnemiz 2006 Bianco di Jacopo

This wine is named after the couple’s older son and is made from 100% Chardonnay (when’s the last time you heard me recommend drinking Chardonnay from Italy??!!). While I wish I could have included some of their awesome single-vineyard Chardonnay in this offering, the price point would have been too high (the COF blogger group and I were blown away by the 2004 single-vineyard Chardonnay Sol and I can obtain recent vintages for you if you like). Don’t look for Chablis in this wine… Look for Friuli… You won’t be disappointed…

Ronco del Gnemiz 2007 Sauvignon

You might be surprised to see me put this wine after the Chardonnay in the present flight. While I love Ronco del Gnemiz’s interpretation of Chardonnay, the Chardonnay grapes come from some of the estate’s younger vines, making for a more youthful, more approachable expression of the variety. The Sauvignon Blanc, on the other hand, is the winery’s flagship (in my humble opinion) and it’s with this wine that we start to see some serious structure and complexity. Definitely worth aerating for an hour or so before service. You wouldn’t believe how Mrs. Sancerre herself — Samantha Sans Dosage — was blown away by Serena and Christian’s wines when we tasted them together last week at the winery.

Ronco del Gnemiz 2005 Rosso di Jacopo

50% Merlot 30% both Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Schioppettino, 5% Refosco. Merlot in Colli Orientali del Friuli (and Collio) has been a big revelation for me. The unique subsoil of the eastern hills of the region that border Slovenia are made of Ponca:

Dense but brittle ancient seabed, layered in flysch (as it’s known in the technical jargon), a unique expression of calcareous marl that forces the roots of the vines to span out along the layers of rock in search of water. The theory goes that as the roots are stressed by this obstacle, they absorb the minerality of the marl. In the wine, the resulting saltiness combines with the fresh fruit the same way peanut butter and jelly combined in your mouth when you were six. Utterly delicious…

Ronco del Gnemiz Six-Pack (Colli Orientali del Friuli)

$169 plus tax (shipping and handling if applicable)

Click here to order.

Free delivery for San Diego and Los Angeles residents.
Wines will ship Tuesday of next week from San Diego.

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January 9, 2011

Testimonial: Vajra 2007 Langhe Nebbiolo

…Paul Bertolli-recipe spaghetti with guanciale, tomato, Pecorino, Parmigiano.

Thanks for the wine.

XH.

Look for more wines from Vajra in the February Piedmont Six-Pack.

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December 12, 2010

Christmas Letter 2010

A lot to be thankful for in 2010

The 2010 Parzen vintage has been an amazing year for Tracie P and me and we have a lot to be thankful for.

Family is all healthy (knock on wood). Work has been great, with my marketing business thriving and growing. And we even sold a song to Google (a big one for our music publishing business)!

Our vegetative cycle (to carry the vinous metaphor a step further!) began in the winter with our beautiful La Jolla wedding (thanks again, Rev. and Mrs. B!), our thrilling honeymoon, and our first home together, located serendipitously (and I’m not making this up!) at the intersection of Alegria and Grover streets, an allegro corner in the Groover’s Paradise — Austin, Texas. Summer ripening brought professional challenges, too much work travel, and all-night writing sessions that not only led to some of the work I’m the most proud of but also some of the greatest professional rewards of my career as a writer and marketing consultant. The fall harvest was no bumper crop but its fruit was healthy, with balanced sugar and acidity in the berries (read hope and reality in each grape). Now as the cold of the Texas winter has set in, our wine is in the cellar and we can finally rest our tired but not weary heads in the glow of our little Christmas tree in the living room.

When I met Tracie P in 2008, I still wasn’t sure where life was taking me and where I was headed. Since she came into my life, supporting me with her love and warmth and inspiring me with her beauty and brilliance, so much has come into focus for me. 2009 was a good start (man, the first six months of my life in Texas and the job I took hawking wine were not fun!). But 2010 has rendered satisfactions — professional and personal — that I never would or could have imagined when I left New York in 2007 bound for California.

Tracie P and I have a long way to go (particularly in building our financial future) but we are embracing our dreams for the future with the energy and spirit they merit and we’re keeping our fingers crossed (and sucking a lime), hoping that 2011 will deliver the gifts of life for which we aspire.

To all the folks who have supported Do Bianchi Wine Selections, THANK YOU! Having my own wine retail business has been a longtime dream for me (reaching back to 2005 when I began working in wine retail in New York). Words cannot express my gratitude. I love hearing your impressions of the wines and I love the new friendships I’ve made (and the old friendships rekindled) through our email correspondence and our happily inevitable sips and chats when I deliver the wines to you.

Lastly, I want to use this opportunity to thank my sweet Tracie P for bringing so much joy into my life and inspiring me to reach greater personal heights than I ever thought conceivable. I love you with every fiber of my being and my heart is filled with hope and joy as we turn the page and close the chapter in our lives that was 2010. It feels like 2010 just flew right by, doesn’t it? I’m so glad that we have a lifetime ahead of us and I will cherish every moment, every breath, and every I love you.

Thanks for reading, everyone, and thanks for your support in 2010! We wish you a wonderful holiday season and a healthy and happy 2011.

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December 8, 2010

Wouldn’t be Xmas without Prosecco, Produttori, and Pandoro

Above: I tasted with winemaker Matteo Bisol at the peak of the famed Cartizze growing zone in the Prosecco di Valdobbiadene appellation back in April 2008, where his family owns the largest parcel of any grower. Property value there exceeds that for Napa Valley (!).

Do Bianchi Christmas Six-Pack

TO ORDER, SIMPLY SEND ME AN EMAIL BY CLICKING HERE.

Bisol 2009 Prosecco Crede
Suavia 2009 Soave Classico
Pecchinino 2008 Dolcetto di Dogliani San Luigi
Produttori del Barbaresco 2009 Langhe Nebbiolo
Marenco 2009 Brachetto d’Acqui
Marenco 2009 Moscato d’Asti Scrapona

$135 plus tax and shipping (if applicable)
average bottle price $22.50

Top gift picks:

Dettori 2006 Romangia Bianco $41
Produttori del Barbaresco 2006 Barbaresco 1.5 liters $88

TO ORDER, SIMPLY SEND ME AN EMAIL BY CLICKING HERE.

I’ll be delivering wines to San Diego and Los Angeles residents on Friday, Saturday, Sunday (San Diego) and Monday (Los Angeles). Otherwise, wines will ship FedEX ground on Monday.

*****

If you’ve ever visited the Do Bianchi Wine Selections blog, the image above is not unfamiliar to you: the banner for the blog is a photograph that I took at the peak of the Cartizze growing zone in Prosecco di Valdobbiadene, an appellation dear to my heart because of my deep connection with Belluno, Treviso, and Padua and the many years I spent there studying and playing music for a living. (Valdobbiadene is pronounced VAHL-doh-BEE’AH-deh-neh, btw). I’m taking Tracie P there in February (her first time).

I didn’t grow up celebrating Christmas and the holiday really entered my life when I lived in Italy, where it’s not celebrated so much as a gift-giving and Hallmark holiday but rather as a religious festival where the whole country takes time out for a break.

And I simply can’t image Christmas without Prosecco, Produttori del Barbaresco (one of our favorite producers of Nebbiolo) and pandoro or panettone.

Above: My client and friend Tony Vallone recommended the Tre Marie brand of pandoro and panettone to us this year. Alfonso brought a Tre Marie pandoro down from Dallas for our Christmas party and we weren’t disappointed.

I can’t help you with the pandoro or panettone this year but I did put together this fun flight of holiday wines, which will work well for holiday feasting and also make for great holiday gifts. I’ve written descriptions for each of the wines below (and their applications) and I also managed to obtain some more Dettori 2006 Romangia Bianco and magnums of Produttori del Barbaresco 2006 Barbaresco (my gift offerings represent what I’d like to receive for Christmas this year!). There are other bottlings of Barbaresco available below, as well.

Happy holidays and thanks for supporting Do Bianchi Wine Selections in 2010!

O, and I forgot: I’m making a delivery run to Los Angeles next week. So this time around, San Diego and Los Angeles residents can enjoy free delivery.

Do Bianchi Christmas Six-Pack

Bisol 2009 Prosecco Crede

Bisol is known for the creamy fizziness of its Prosecco. It’s Crede is made from grapes grown in one of its top growing sites: freshness, balanced alcohol, and its signature, crowd-pleasing creaminess make it ideal for holiday parties. Love this stuff…

Suavia 2009 Soave Classico

One of me and Tracie P’s favorite white wines for 2010. Great minerality, bright acidity, and judicious alcohol made it one of our favorite food-friendly whites this year (loved it with tuna tartare over avocado relish).

Pecchinino 2008 Dolcetto di Dogliani San Luigi

When it comes to Dolcetto, the wines bottles in the township of Dogliani are always the best in my opinion. The lime- and clay-rich soils there give the wines the earth that Dolcetto need and in fact, Dogliani is the top appellation for Dolcetto, northern Italy’s top wintry food-pairing wine. I first tasted these traditional wines at Vinitaly in 2008 and was blown away by their honesty and their value.

Produttori del Barbaresco 2009 Langhe Nebbiolo

2009 is hear! Even better than 2008 for those of you who have been loving that vintage. Tracie P and I would have to move to another planet if there were no Produttori del Barbaresco on earth.

Marenco 2009 Brachetto d’Acqui

Brachetto is one of G-d’s little gifts to humanity. It’s a light-skinned red grape that is used to make this wonderful, low-alcohol sparkler in Piedmont. It’s light in body and slightly sweet, an ideal pairing for chocolate (one of the few wines suitable for the sweet stuff) but between you and me, this wine is my favorite pairing for curry (whenever mama Judy is making her curried chicken for a dinner party, I get her a few bottles).

Marenco 2009 Moscato d’Asti Scrapona

Bright fresh, low in alcohol (around 7%), this clean single-vineyard Moscato d’Asti is a great way to end any meal but we also use it as an aperitif wine and it’s our favorite wine to pair with fresh fruit and/or other brunch foods (yes, the ideal “day drinking” wine!).

$135 plus tax and shipping (if applicable)

Gift picks:

Dettori 2006 Romangia Bianco $41

Castello di Verduno 2005 Barbaresco $45
Castello di Verduno 2004 Barbaresco Rabajà $60

Produttori del Barbaresco 2006 Barbaresco $34
Produttori del Barbaresco 2006 Barbaresco 1.5 liters $88

If you’re looking to give me a gift for Xmas, 06 Produttori del Barbaresco in magnum is it! ;-)

Produttori del Barbaresco 2005 Barbaresco Pora $61
Produttori del Barbaresco 2005 Barbaresco Asili $61
Produttori del Barbaresco 2005 Barbaresco Montestefano $61
Produttori del Barbaresco 2004 Barbaresco Pora $61
Produttori del Barbaresco 2004 Barbaresco Asili $61
Produttori del Barbaresco 2004 Barbaresco Montestefano $61
Produttori del Barbaresco 2004 Barbaresco Moccagatta $61
Produttori del Barbaresco 2001 Barbaresco Pora $75

TO ORDER, SIMPLY SEND ME AN EMAIL BY CLICKING HERE.

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November 23, 2010

Thanksgiving: istruzioni per l’uso

Above: Giovanni and Elena Rava of La Casaccia, producer of Barbera and Grignolino in Monferrato. I had dinner with them after visiting their winery in March, 2010.

I am a big believer in how the ethos of a winemaker is expressed in the personality and character of her/his wines. The best truth of my belief that I can offer is Giovanni and Elena Rava of La Casaccia (above), who are the nicest and coolest people, true humanist winemakers, and they make some of my favorite wines from my favorite subzone of Barbera production: Monferrato. IMHO, Monferrato (in the province of Asti, Piedmont) is where the BEST Barbera comes from. And I’m certainly not alone in that belief.

The subsoil their (above) is made of rocks and sand: terrible for growing other crops, but ideal for grapes intended for fine wine. Because of the soil’s mineral content (nutrient poor) and its drainage, the vines are “stressed” and consequently produce richer fruit.

Two of La Casaccia’s wines were included in the Thanksgiving Six-Pack: I wanted to share a few istruzioni per l’uso, instructions for the application of these wines during your family holiday feast.

Sella 2009 Coste della Sesia Erbaluce

Please do not serve this wine TOO cold. It’s a rich, mineral-driven wine and it’s ideal serving temperature is “cellar temperature,” as we say in wine parlance. Technically, that’s 55° or 56° (or thereabouts). But all you need to do is to take the wine out of the fridge about 20 minutes before serving. At our Thanksgiving, this is the first glass that guests are poured.

Laureano Serres 2009 Abeurador Macabeo

Again, here, if too cold, you’ll only taste half the wine. I actually like this best at room temperature, like a red wine. Technically, this is an “orange wine,” i.e., a white grape that has been vinified with “skin contact.” The grape juice is macerated (steeped) with the skins during vinification and the skins impart some tannin and an orange color to the wine.

This wine is also a unsulfured wine. In other words, no sulfites have been added to stabilize the wine (sulfites are a GOOD thing, btw, but only when used in moderation). N.B. THIS WINE WILL STINK when you open it. Be SURE to allow for at least 30 minutes aeration before serving. Once aerated, it will show all of its crunchy earthiness and pure fruit (think apricot).

Sella 2009 Coste della Sesia Rosato

I couldn’t believe the beauty — the true sexy beauty — of the nose of this wine when I recently re-tasted it. Again, NOT TOO COLD. I think this and the next wine are the ideal wines for the main seating at Thanksgiving.

Castello di Verduno 2008 Pelaverga Basadone

I called this my favorite Thanksgiving wine and you’ll see why: very little tannin, bright bright acidity, and a white pepper note that makes this so good with everything at Thanksgiving. Serve this as your centerpiece wine at the peak of the meal. It’s light in body and utterly delicious.

La Casaccia 2007 Barbera del Monferrato

Reserve this wine for folks who want a richer, meatier style of wine. This is going to be my number-one pick for dark meat (I like the leg, btw!). Here, bright acidity, rich mineral flavor, and some tannin (and dark, inky color) are going to go well with the richest savory dishes on the table (dark meat, ham, etc.).

La Casaccia 2009 Grignolino del Monferrato

DON’T BE DECEIVED by the light color of this wine. It’s bright and nearly transparent but this is ONE TANNIC MOTHER OF A WINE! Of any of the wines for Thanksgiving this year, this is the one to decant. And it’s my top choice for meditative wine at the end of the night, in other words, the wine you sip while munching on cheese after dinner, even though you’ve already had too much to eat!

Lastly, for those of you who bought the Jelipins 2005 Sumoll, you’ll find the vintage on the back label at the bottom. It’s encrypted: because this wine is classified as a vino de mesa, a table wine, the producer is NOT ALLOWED to write the vintage on the front label or technically anywhere.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!
PLEASE SEND PHOTOS AND NOTES
OF WHAT YOU DRANK FOR THE HOLIDAY!
BE SAFE AND REMIND YOUR LOVED ONES
HOW MUCH YOU CARE!
THAT’S WHAT HOLIDAYS ARE FOR.

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November 12, 2010

Inky black wine, garnet wine, orange wine

When our friend and wine writer Alice Feiring came to Austin a few weeks ago for a series of events celebrating her and her book (The Battle for Wine and Love or How I Saved the World from Parkerization), she stayed with me and Tracie P: it was so great to see her, it was entirely awesome to see her in Texas (which, I believe, she enjoyed thoroughly), and it was fantastic to get to taste great wine with her.

A lot of great wine was opened in the short time she was here, but the two wines that I still can’t get out of my mind were the Laureano Serres Abeurador Macabeo (above, an orange wine and one of the wines in the Do Bianchi Thanksgiving Six-Pack) and the Els Jelipins Sumoll (below), both from Spain.

I loved both wines but the wine that completely blew me away was the Sumoll. As Alice wrote in a post on her visit: “The best moment for me [her], though, was when everyone put their nose in the Els Jelepins 2004 Sumoll and from the bottom to the top of the table, I heard an echo of ‘Oh, wow!’”

Alice has been to both properties and, together with the importer, her friend José Pastor, is probably the leading authority in the U.S. on these “impeccably natural wines,” as she puts it.

In my notes on the wine, I wrote: “The Jelipins 2004 Sumoll, mind-boggling good. Impenetrably inky and viscous on the palate, a stilnovo sonnet with alternating rhymes of earth and fruit.”

José and I call each other the “other JP” in Alice’s world… He’s been super cool and he let me have a small allocation of this remarkable wine. It’s not cheap but I can tell you that it’s one of those “life-changing” wines (please note that it is extremely tannic and needs a LOT of aeration, even 2-3 hours).

Check out Alice’s post on her visit to the winery and the Sumoll.

I still have a few bottles of the 2005 Els Jelipins Sumoll available (most are already spoken for) and they cost $67.

To order, please send me an email by clicking here.

Beyond orange and inky black, I also have a small amount of some of my favorite garnet wine: Castello di Verduno’s 2005 (classic) Barbaresco and the 2004 single-vineyard Barbaresco Rabajà.

I began following this winery when I first tasted with the winemaker at the Vini Veri natural wine tasting outside Verona in April 2006. To my mind and on my palate, these wines represent some of greatest values on the market today. Anyone who knows me or follows my blog knows that I LOVE BARBARESCO. In fact, if I were pressed to answer the age-old conundrum, what’s your favorite wine?, I’d have to say that my favorite appellation is Barbaresco. It’s here that the ineffable confluence of lightness (in body) and power (in structure and tannin) come together like no other terroir on earth (IMHO).

These wines aren’t cheap: they are most definitely “special occasion” wines in the Do Bianchi scale of days (Monday wines, Tuesday wines, etc., Saturday Night wines, Sunday Lunch wines, Special Occasion wines). But they do fall under my ceiling of wine price point and, like Produttori del Barbaresco, I am able to collect them despite my limited resources. That’s no apology: you will find earth and fruit in these wines, elegant body and nuance, and impressive backbone… After Montestefano, Rabajà is probably my favorite cru in Barbaresco and it is considered one of the most powerful in terms of its expression of earth, fruit, and tannin in a bottle.

Small amounts available:

Castello di Verduno 2005 Barbaresco $45
Castello di Verduno 2004 Barbaresco Rabajà $60

To order, please send me an email by clicking here.

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November 9, 2010

My favorite Thanksgiving wine (and not just mine)

Above: I LOVE all the wines in my Thanksgiving 2010 Six-Pack but the Pelaverga Basadone by Castello di Verduno holds a special place in my heart.

Do Bianchi Thanksgiving Six-Pack

Sella 2009 Coste della Sesia Erbaluce
Laureano Serres 2009 Abeurador Macabeo
Sella 2009 Coste della Sesia Rosato
Castello di Verduno 2008 Pelaverga Basadone
La Casaccia 2007 Barbera del Monferrato
La Casaccia 2009 Grignolino del Monferrato

$120 plus tax (shipping and handling, if applicable)

Free delivery for San Diego residents. Wines will ship from San Diego on Monday, November 15 and I will be making local deliveries in San Diego on Monday Nov. 15 and Tuesday Nov. 16.

ALSO AVAILABLE

Castello di Verduno 2005 Barbaresco $45
Castello di Verduno 2004 Barbaresco Rabajà $60

Els Jelipins 2004 Sumoll $67

TO ORDER PLEASE SEND ME AN EMAIL BY CLICKING HERE.

The year was 2006 and I was working in New York as the media director for a high-profile Italian restaurant group that also happened to be a direct importer of Italian wines. Earlier that year, I had made the annual trek with my colleagues to the Italian wine fairs, where we met and tasted with a young winemaker at the natural wine fair, Vini Veri: Mario Andrion of Castello di Verduno, producer of awesome Barolo and Barbaresco and a then relatively obscure grape called Pelaverga. I’ve always loved Mario’s traditional-style wines (see the Barbaresco below) but all of my colleagues and I agreed that his Pelaverga Basadone was one of the most original wines we’d tasted that year: light in body, bright with acidity, and rich with fresh red fruit flavors, complemented by a gentle “white pepper” note. Later that year, a prominent colleague asked me what my Thanksgiving pick was and I whispered, Pelaverga, the perfect wine to go with wide variety of foods we eat for the holiday, from roast turkey to cranberry sauce. Don’t ask me how but this vital piece of information was somehow whispered into the ear of the then New York Times restaurant editor Frank Bruni (remember him?). The rest is history: when he picked this wine as his top choice for Thanksgiving 2006, it made Mario’s Pelaverga a household word (at least in Manhattan).

And it’s a highly interesting word at that! No one knows the true origin of the grape name but on face value it means branch scraper, from the Italian pelare (to peel) and verga (branch). Most believe the name has to do with vine training techniques that were used to cultivate this rustic grape.

Of course, verga (and those of you who speak Spanish will immediately see the linguistic kinship) can also denote the… ahem… male sex. Back in Verduno (Piedmont), the locals say this spicy grape has aphrodisiacal properties and that’s why Castello di Verduno calls it Basadone, the baciadonne or lady kisser.

This is one of the most exciting six-packs to date and I was able to bring it in at just $120 (average bottle price of $20). It contains 2 orange wines (one from Spain), a true rosé (made from Nebbiolo), and four gorgeous food-friendly reds.

I’ll post and blast more on the wines later this week but in brief:

Sella 2009 Coste della Sesia Erbaluce

100% Erbaluce from one of my favorite traditionalist producers in northern Piedmont, Sella (not far from Biella).

Laureano Serres 2009 Abeurador Macabeo

A zero-sulfite-added wine from a radical natural producer in Spain (this wine blew me away when I tasted it recently in Austin. Extremely hard to source but I managed to get a small allocation.

Sella 2009 Coste della Sesia Rosato

This rosé, also by Sella, could also have been my top pick for Thanksgiving. Rosé from 100% Nebbiolo (David Rosoff, my friend and wine director at Mozza in LA turned me on to this wine).

Castello di Verduno 2008 Pelaverga Basadone

100% Pelaverga (see above). No matter who you’re kissing this year at Thanksgiving, I know you’re going to love this wine.

La Casaccia 2007 Barbera del Monferrato
La Casaccia 2009 Grignolino del Monferrato

I tasted with the lovely folks at La Casaccia back in March. My top producer for Barbera and you might be surprised by the Grignolino: it’s a true expression of one of Italy’s most tannic grapes.

Note that I’ve ordered the wines in the order they should be served (IMHO).

Thanks for reading!

$120 plus tax (shipping and handling, if applicable)

Free delivery for San Diego residents.

ALSO AVAILABLE

Castello di Verduno 2005 Barbaresco $45
Castello di Verduno 2004 Barbaresco Rabajà $60

Els Jelipins 2004 Sumoll $67

TO ORDER PLEASE SEND ME AN EMAIL BY CLICKING HERE.

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October 13, 2010

Whites with age and for aging, reds to drink now

First Fall Flight

Dettori 2006 Bianco
Cogno 2008 Anas-Scetta (Nascetta)
Ronco Severo 2006 Tocai Friulano
Ronco Severo 2007 Refosco
Vajra 2008 Dolcetto d’Alba
Produttori del Barbaresco 2008 Langhe Nebbiolo

$150

Plus tax (shipping and handling if applicable)

I’ll be shipping the wines on Monday from my warehouse in San Diego and delivering the wines to San Diego residents on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

To purchase, please just send me an email by clicking here.

You might notice something unusual about this first Do Bianchi offering for the fall of 2010. The white wines in this flight are as old and even older than the reds.

This time around, I was able to source two white wines that need to age before drinking and will also cellar well (if you choose to lay them down).

The Dettori 2006 Bianco (Sardinia) is made by one of Italy’s most radical natural winemakers (and no one I know, not even the most radical among the natural wine bloggers, would challenge that statement!). Biodynamic farming, aggressively low yields, native yeasts, and no filtration. The wines of Dettori, in this case made with Vermentino grapes, have been known to age gracefully for more than 50 years. Tasting Dettori for the first time 10 years ago changed my palate and my wine life. I know it will change yours: gorgeous fruit, nervy acidity, and tannic structure. I love these wines and was entirely stoked to get my hands on some.

The Ana-Scetta or Nascetta: you may remember this wine from a recent post I did at Do Bianchi. The first time someone poured me this wine, it was in a wine bar in Austin. The wine was ice-cold and the glass was handed to me by someone saying, “this is an unusual white grape from Piedmont.” In the noise and bustle of the evening and the excessively cold glass, I hardly understood what I was tasting. And when I finally visited the winemaker earlier this year, I was doing so as a favor to a publicist. But when Valter Fissore (above) poured me a taste of his 2001 Nascetta (that’s the real name of the grape), in the proper setting and at the proper temperature, I was floored by how good this wine is. Nutty and rich, unctuous on the tongue and bright on the nose and palate. No one really knows because Valter is the first to cultivate this native grape of Piedmont with such meticulous attention to detail. But at nearly 10 years out, this wine seemed like a young, powerful colt.

The older I get and the more I develop my palate, the more I find that aged white wines are what deliver some of the greatest rewards to my senses. They are the wines that I find myself lingering over and returning to… again and again… both of the above bottlings contain such wines.

For anyone who’s been following my adventures at DoBianchi.com, you know that I was recently part of an amazing trip to Friuli.

So, I’ve also included a couple of wines from the Colli Orientali del Friuli, both from a producer that I enjoy and respect immensely and made from native Friulian grapes — a Tocai Friulano (white) and a Refosco (red).

The Ronco Severo wines are fresh and clean, with that bright acidity that Tracie P and I look for in wines that we drink at home.

Lastly, I’ve included two red wines that we couldn’t live without and that a lot of people have asked me about.

The one is Langhe Nebbiolo 2008 by Produttori del Barbaresco. I think this wine is drinking great right now and it’s just one of those wines that I can drink on Wednesday or Saturday nights, in other words, on a school night or on a special occasion.

And the Dolcetto d’Alba 2008 by Vajra? It’s mama Judy’s favorite wine!

A fantastic food wine, with gorgeous acidity and balanced fruit with just the right amount of gentle tannin. It’s one of those wines that I love to pair with classics of Piedmont cuisine but I also love to pair with American comfort food. It’s so versatile: it goes great with everything from fried chicken and mashed potatoes and beef stews to spicier cuisines like Mexican and Indian, its bright acidity and juiciness a great match for the heat in those gastronomic traditions.

Dettori 2006 Bianco
Cogno 2008 Anas-Scetta (Nascetta)
Ronco Severo 2006 Tocai Friulano
Ronco Severo 2007 Refosco
Vajra 2008 Dolcetto d’Alba
Produttori del Barbaresco 2008 Langhe Nebbiolo

$150

Plus tax (shipping and handling if applicable)

I’ll be shipping the wines on Monday from my warehouse in San Diego and delivering the wines to San Diego residents on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

To purchase, please just send me an email by clicking here.

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August 25, 2010

Produttori del Barbaresco 2005 single-vineyard tasting notes

Click here to read my notes from a tasting of all nine vineyard-designated wines from Produttori del Barbaresco’s 2005 harvest.

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August 19, 2010

Produttori del Barbaresco!

Produttori del Barbaresco Offering

Please email me the desired quantities and I will put together a proposal for you.

Wines will be delivered to San Diego residents Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, September 2-4, 2010.

See my note on the 2006 Barbaresco below.

Produttori del Barbaresco 2008 Langhe Nebbiolo $22
Produttori del Barbaresco 2006 Barbaresco $34
Produttori del Barbaresco 2005 Barbaresco Pora $61
Produttori del Barbaresco 2005 Barbaresco Asili $61
Produttori del Barbaresco 2005 Barbaresco Montestefano $61
Produttori del Barbaresco 2004 Barbaresco Pora $61
Produttori del Barbaresco 2004 Barbaresco Asili $61
Produttori del Barbaresco 2004 Barbaresco Montestefano $61
Produttori del Barbaresco 2004 Barbaresco Moccagatta $61
Produttori del Barbaresco 2001 Barbaresco Pora $75

If you follow Do Bianchi Wine Selections or my blog (DoBianchi.com), you know how much Tracie P and I love the wines of Produttori del Barbaresco.

When people ask me what my favorite wine is, I always answer the same way: it depends on where I am, what I’m eating (no food without wine, no wine without food is my motto), with whom I’m sharing a meal, and the occasion itself. Poolside with friends and family, munching on tacos and hamburgers, I like to drink inexpensive Moscato d’Asti or Lambrusco; for a special occasion dinner with Tracie P, I like to drink old Nebbiolo.

But when people ask me what my favorite winery is, there is no hesitation in my voice when I say unequivocally PRODUTTORI DEL BARBARESCO.

If you don’t know the winery, it’s a unique cooperative founded by a priest in the tiny village of Barbaresco in the 1950s (with origins stretching back to the late nineteenth century). The wines are traditionally made: 100% Nebbiolo, grown by 38 cooperative grower members (you could call this an “artisanal” as opposed to “industrial” cooperative), vinified in cement and stainless-steel vats, and then aged in large Slavonian oak casks.

I’ve put together the above offering based on my personal preferences. Tracie P and I served 2008 Langhe Nebbiolo at our wedding, to give you a sense of how much we love this wine. The 2006 Barbaresco, in my opinion, is a truly unique bottling by the winery: even though the vintage was good-to-excellent, the winery decides not to bottle its single-vineyard-designated wines and so blended all the crus (single vineyards) into the classic blended wine (which is made mostly from its Ovello cru). It’s not that it’s better than other vintages for the classic bottlings, but it is truly unique (see my blog post on the 2006 here). The crus I’ve selected are my personal favorites: Pora, the most approachable and roundest of the crus; Asili, the most elegant and some would say (including Bruno Giacosa) the essence of Barbaresco; and Montestefano, one of the most powerful crus, bordering on Baroloesque in its tannic structure and savory flavors.

Produttori del Barbaresco represents a FANTASTIC cellaring value.

Except for the Langhe Nebbiolo (which is meant to drink right away), these wines can be cellared for 10-20 and even 30 years. Remember the 1971 that Tracie P and I drank in New York in May?

I’ll be sending out more tasting notes, vintage and vineyard notes, over the next week. Deadline for ordering is Friday, August 27.

Thanks for reading!

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