What a weird summer. I have had loads of fun, the weather was gorgeous and the food divine, but I completely and totally lacked any resolve to get a single thing worthwhile done. Hence the extreme lack of posts, updates, tastings or whatever. Randy, I appreciated the photos and wines from the summer (what was it, July?) GN gathering but alas, without the resolve it never made it here. I stand firm in my commitment to get it all back on track. Everyone is welcome to kick me in the rear if I don’t.
There has been some pretty darn good wines slipping past my lips, I must say. Wish I had photos. There’s the slacker again.
Try these on for size:
Ca Fischele 2006 Gambellara Classico- Italian white wine (Veneto), 100% Garganega
This was a nice summer white- had lots of those the past months- with a good straw colored tone. It was sweet on the nose with lots of stone fruit- nectarine and peach most notably. Rich in the mouth with a long finish. It was almost too sweet for my tastes. I was hoping for some shhhpritzy-ness for balance. This was one of two wines that I got through the auction in June on the wine cruise I took with Nikki and Sam.
Prince de Tabourg 2005 White Bordeaux- French single estate, 50% Sauvignon Blanc, 50% Semillon
And here’s the second bottle. This one, upon opening, I detected the unmistakable scent of sauv blanc’s signature smell and was heading into major sad face, but I persisted and swirled and swirled it until it opened up and gave me the goods. Then I was swooning in delight over its zesty and tight flavors- fruit and acidity in a wonderful balance with an slight hint of pencil lead- you know, when you sharpen a pencil and sometimes get that graphite kind of taste in your mouth?. Weird I know. That’s me and you all know that. It was better as it sat, and I swirled some more. Have it with crabcakes.
Caldora 2004 Trebbiano D’Abruzzo- Ortona Italy, white wine, 100% Trebbiano
The first pour from the bottle of this Italian white nearly startled the skin off me- it was so richly and intensely yellow that I thought for certain that it had corked in the bottle. Full of pear and apple, this is a crisp minerally medium bodied white with plenty of flavor and a fresh clean finish.
2006 Layer Cake Primitivo- Italy, red wine 100% Primitivo
I am no stranger to Zinfandel’s mellow little brother Primitivo, and neither are the Nutz. We’ve had a few stellar tastings and this one screams to be added to anybody’s rotation. I loved Layer Cake’s Shiraz- one of the finest Shiraz I have had- and this Primitivo lands right up there. Warm and rich with lush jammy black cherry fruit, deeply structured and warm, it’s a complex but easy drinking red- perfect with prime rib and even grilled chicken stuffed with sundried tomato and basil. This bottle falls into the ‘Under $20.00′ and ‘Great Finds’ categories.
Of course, don’t think that just four bottles have made it into my glass lately- there have been others but I wasn’t coherent enough (no, not tippled, just not coherent- as in ‘On the Ball’) to gather the significant information on them to pass along. I hope Nikki has down the name of the stellar $70 Zinfandel we shared at her house, resplendent alongside grilled Nutella and banana sandwiches (oh the life….so truly decadent it was) because that was one bottle worth sharing that I didn’t take enough mental notes on.
Anyways, Nutz- onward and upward. The September gathering will be at my house- details in the tab above. Come one come all and let’s get the show on the road again.
Kate, you didn’t think I would let you down did you?
It was a 2004 Martinelli Zinfandel, “Giuseppe & luisa” from Russian River Valley. WoW! I wish Sam would have been there for that one. Lush ripe fruit with just the right amount of pepper and a whopping 16.6% alcohol. It is a good thing we didn’t start with that one. Cheers!