Selection of the best wines tasted during 2016: Part III, other venues

This is the final of three posts recapping a selection of the "best" wines I tasted during the past year. This post covers wines tasted outside of the Galloni or winery-visit environments. Of course, the list is both subjective and incomplete as one of the requirements for inclusion is documentation of my thoughts at the time of the tasting; or shortly thereafter.

Norman's Tasting
Juan David Valencia is one of the bright young Somms on the Orlando wine scene who had (i) recently passed the Court of Master Sommeliers Certified Sommelier exam and (ii) taken the position of Assistant General Manager at Norman's, one of the most prestigious Orlando-area restaurants. I was extremely pleased with both of these developments as I have played the role of mentor to Juan. I told him that we would be there on his first night of work to lend support and enlisted Ron for this effort. Ron suggested that we each bring along a Champagne, a Bordeaux, and red and white Burgundies as dinner accompaniments. The wines from that tasting that made the "best" list are presented below.

Ron began the proceedings by opening a bottle of Jacques Selosse Substance. Substance always impresses me with its vibrancy. On the nose, honey, orange rind, nuttiness, and creme brulée. Weighty on the palate with burnt orange, bitter lemon, walnut, a syrupy tangerine, and a rich creaminess. As the wine matured in the glass, the sensation of floating on a tangerine sea. The 1999 Cristal that I took was yeasty on the nose with notes of golden apple. On the palate, rich and fresh with great acidity. Two radically different Champagne styles.

The 2007 Remoissenet Le Montrachet was sublime. It was pale gold in color and restrained on the nose with elegant, classic apple-pear notes and hints of baking spices. Lemon, orange, pineapple, faded lemon rind, and a hint of smokiness on the palate. Perfect weight. Perfect texture. Perfect balance. Tight focus. Elegant, lengthy finish.

The 1988 Echezeaux was rich and creamy on the nose with red fruits, smoke, baking spices, tobacco, thyme, and beeswax. Savory on the palate with a balsamic note. Balanced with a long finish.

The 1982 Pichon-Lalande exhibited green-bean, bell-pepper notes along with sweet spices, dried herbs, cedar, and mocha chocolate. On the palate mature black fruit, dark chocolate, and smoke. Drank younger than its age. A producer and vintage that Ron does not mind trotting out because it always shows well.

The 1995 Latour showed earth, soy, spice, nutmeg, squid ink, dried tree bark, graphite, roasted coffee, and black fruits. On the palate, saltwater taffy, butterscotch, black olives, soy, dark fruit, and a savoriness. Focused. Balanced. Long finish.

Cavallotto Barolo Winemaker Dinner at La Pizza Fresca Ristorante
At the conclusion of the formal tasting, a small group of hardcore Barolo fans refused to leave the premises. We stood around talking for a bit and then decided to order something off the vaunted La Pizza Fresca list. The wine we opted for was the 1964 Barolo Giacomo Conterno. This wine was decanted. When poured into the glass, it displayed a delicate golden color, as of a faded tawny port. Heavenly on the nose. First scent as of an elegant rose. The tar was also delicate and faded into a hint of molasses. Burnt orange. Savoriness and spice on the nose as well as on the palate. A textured wine with an exceedingly long finish. We meditated on this wine.

Rioja Blind Tasting
There is a group of young Somms here in the Orlando area who are at various stages of the Guild Of Sommeliers certification process and have banded together to hone their skills as they pursue higher levels of individual accreditation. From time to time I act as a resource for the group by facilitating focused tastings which allow the group to do deep dives into a region, variety, or soil type. Earlier this year we conducted a tasting focused on the wines of Rioja. In addition to the Somms, I had invited Ron Siegel and Andres Montoya to lend their expertise to the effort. The tasting was conducted blind. At the reveal, it was discovered that the wines that showed best fell into what we classified as the "traditional" category.

The 1994 Rioja Alta 904 was both Ron and Andres' Wine of the Night! "Gorgeous nose of mushroom, forest floor, pine needle, pickled fruit, beef broth (umami sensation) and great acidity. Drinks like a Gevrey Chambertin." 

The 1991 Lopez Heredia Bosconia exhibited coffee, earth, and great integration between oak and fruit. Intense pepper spice, great acidity, and an expressiveness on the palate. This wine was drinking beautifully. Andres tagged it as his second wine of the night: "dried flower, wet earth, forest floor, road tar, lovely aromatics, very Burgundian." 

The Cune Imperial 1994 showed barnyard, cherry, spice, fruit, herbs and flowers. Restrained, subtle, elegant. For Andrew, "Delicate, floral, pinot-noir-like intensity, gravel/mineral, chewy tannins.

Andres found the 1973 Valoria to be surprisingly youthful, exhibiting scorched earth, ripe cherry, and tobacco. Bold. He was extremely surprised at the reveal because he had had this down as a wine from the 90's.

One of the surprises for us all, and not necessarily fitting neatly into this category, was the 2011 Vivanco Maturana Tinta. It had an intense color along with black cherry, olives, and leather on the palate. Balanced. Northern Rhone character. Everyone liked this wine.

Photo Credits: Anne Ryan

Hipster Tasting
In Orlando, distance, consumer demand, and distributor choice conspire to restrict the types of wines available on the market. To combat this state of affairs, a number of wine lovers travel to the major metropolitan areas in order to stay abreast of trends "under the brighter lights." One such traveler is Ron Siegel, a good friend, travel buddy, and, in addition, one of the biggest collectors in town. We tend to drink mostly the five Bs but, over the last few trips that he has taken to NYC, the Somms have been recommending wines that are not normally on his radar screen.

Ron thought that this required further attention and had some discussions with Pascaline Lepeltier MS (Rouge Tomate) and the Wine Director at Jean-Georges to get a sense of some of these "new wines" that he should be drinking. At the conclusion of that investigation, Ron curated a number of wines for a Hipster tasting and invited a number of local Somms and friends to participate. The wines from that tasting that made the list are shown below.

White Wines
The whites were tasted in two flights, an approach grounded in convenience and ease of use. The order of, and within, the flights is illustrated in the pictures below.

The 2011 Antoine Arena 'Grotte di Sole' Blanc was the most interesting of the wines in the first flight and was so designated by the team. This 100% Vermentinu from Corsica had apple and smoke on the nose and a Montrachet-like quality (more Chassagne than Puligny). Weighty, waxy, and oily on the palate. Complex with a long, spicy finish.

The Moreau-Naudet Chablis 'Forest' 1er Cru 2012 destroyed all of my pre-conceived notions as to what a Chablis is. I approach a Chablis looking for that knife-edge, flinty sharpness but this wine did not exhibit any of those characteristics. It was more tangerine than lime. Excellent, rounder, fuller Chardonnay than expected. This wine is a result of the winemaker picking later than his peers in search of riper fruit.

The Stephane Cossais Montlouis Sur Loire 'Le Volagre' 2008 was the wine of the second flight. Barrel spice, vanilla, nutty, rich, waxy, oily, and lime. Lees character evident. Great acid level. Steve characterized this wine as lush and balanced.

Courtesy of Steve Alcorn

Courtesy of Steve Alcorn

Red Wines

Pierre Gonon St Joseph - "The epitome of hipster juice" according to one of our panelists. "I put this alongside Jamet Cote-Rotie with its hipster upbringing."  "Wow. Mind-blowing quality here! Extremely eye opening...This is what amazing Syrah is about." according to another.

Benetiere Cote Rotie Cordeloux 2012 - Fresh game (blood), orange rind, elegant and refined finish. According to one of our panelists: "Beautiful. I hope this producer stays under the radar because I could definitely see these wines doubling in price in the near future. I loved the finesse for a region that typically commands aging to be accessible. Jet black minerals, black olive, and dark brooding fruit yet it came with a snap and brightness I wasn’t expecting. This guy only owns 2.5ha. If I come across this wine, I will buy it."

Thierry Allemand Chaillot Cornas - Packed with layers of earth, game, spice, olive and fresh herbs. Very polished, very tight. 

Flight 2. Courtesy Steve Alcorn

Flight 3. Courtesy Steve Alcorn

Wednesday Lunches

On many a Wednesday, Ron and Bev Siegel and Parlo and I go to one of the local restaurants for lunch. We tend to bring nice wines to accompany the establishment dishes.

1937 Giacomo Conterno Monfortino Riserva
This was an awesome wine. Had it at lunch at Dovecote. Evolved beautifully. Muted to begin, with a hint of maderization. Dried stewed fruit and olives with pine tar resin. Then moved to a cupric finish with blackpepper. Ended up with tar, roses, olives, and balance.

1983 Cheval Blanc
At a perfect place (Also at a Dovecote lunch). Very complex nose to include mint, chocolate, cocoa, plum, red fruits. Palate delivers with perfect balance.

2013 Louis Benjamin Daguenau Pur Sang
Assyrtiko-level acidity, intense lime. Stony, crisp minerality, citrus rind. Engages all aspects of the palate. Long, sour finish.

1967 Enrico Serafino Barolo
Impressive. Rose petal, tar, earth, sweetness, balsamic, mushroom, dry cherry, licorice, and moth balls. Great acidity. Linear. Orange peel. Drying character. Drying finish. Balsamic tang. The acidity keeps it going. Leathery finish.

2001 Romanée-St. Vivant
Also at a DoveCote lunch. Expressive on the noseDelicate rose petal along with soy, sandalwood, cinnamon, and blackpepper. Rose, charcoal, and beer on the palate. Drying finish with a rose-petal aftertaste. Elegant.

Ron's Birthday party at Bern's
The wine that stood out on this evening was the 1970 Romanee-St Vivant. Rusty nail strawberry initially, yielding to rich, floral pinot fruit. Alive. Drying tannins. Long intense finish. Beautiful representation of Burgundy. Vineyard owned by Leroy in this vintage but wine made by Romanee-Conti.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Out and about in Havana (Cuba): Day 1

First some context. We traveled to Cuba during the official period of mourning for Fidel Castro's death. The restrictions on public activity put in place to honor his death colored the lenses through which we saw Havana and served as a limiting factor on our Havana experience.

When Fidel's death was first announced, I was unsure as to whether it would be a good idea to embark on the planned trip. After many consultations with my wife (who would be accompanying me on the trip), my family, and friends, I decided to continue as planned.

Once we got to Cuba, the effects of the mandated restrictions on daily life became readily apparent. First, no public playing of music or dancing was allowed. And this held true for the man (or woman) in the street as well as the professionals plying their trade in the nation's cultural centers.

On the day of our arrival, the restriction on alcohol sales was still in effect. This curtailed the sales of alcohol beverages except at a restaurant in a hotel. And if the hotel/restaurant was government owned, they were excluded from the exception. The restriction on alcohol sales expired on our second day in town but the restrictions on music and dancing remained in place for our entire stay.

The impact of these restrictions manifested itself in interesting ways. For example, we met a group of Rice University boosters who were traveling with the baseball team as part of an educational visit. The team was slated to travel around the country, playing against teams and attending lectures, all contributing to college credits for the athletes. With Fidel's death, the Cuban players were no longer able to play the scheduled games, leaving the Rice University tour leaders with the unenviable task of keeping 40+ players occupied when more than half of their daily activities had been wiped out.

So back to the task at hand.

After a lengthy check-in process (not the norm), we decided to do lunch in Sierra Maestra, the Havana Libre's top restaurant located on its 25th floor. The views of Havana and the sea from the vantage point of the dining room were stunning. One of the things which struck me as unusual though was the lack of boating activity in the waters around Havana. The waters off the coast of Havana are the Florida Straits, the body of water that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. One of the givens in the waters of the coasts of Florida and the Caribbean islands, is a lot of boating and other water activities. For the duration of my stay in Havana, the only boats I saw in the water were the two cruise ships pictured below and a Roll on-Roll off cargo ship exiting the harbor.

While we were at lunch, Parlo struck up a conversation with a grandmother, mother, and kid and was so engrossed in it that I decided to vacate the premises. I figured I could get some writing in while she was otherwise engaged. After a while, the daughter and son accompanied Parlo back to our room (the young lady was of Cuban heritage and lived in Miami) to give me pointers as to the way things were during the mourning period, things I could and could not do, and places to avoid. From our room we had a pretty good view of Old Havana so she was able to physically point out areas to me as she spoke.

After the young lady left (we were going to meet them for dinner at 8:00 pm at a location outside the hotel), Parlo and I began discussions as to what to do with the remainder of the day. I preferred to start exploring on the morrow but she wanted to get out immediately. Neither of us were budging so she decided to go tour the city on her own. She rented a CoCo taxi (a three-wheeled vehicle with a single seat for the driver upfront and space for up to three passengers in the rear). She was gone for  a while and came back all bubbly and full of stories of the places they had visited and the pictures she had taken. I regretted my decision.

After Parlo's return, we began preparations for dinner. As mentioned, Parlo had arranged for us to have dinner with the family she had met at lunch. The dinner was scheduled for 8:00 pm at a restaurant called La Torre, located on the 35th floor ( or 33rd or 36th, depending on your source) of the Focsa Building. The Focsa building was within walking distance of our hotel so we strode out of the hotel lobby and into the streets of Vedado. Our destination is the tallest building in Vedado so finding our way there was not going to be a problem.

As we were walking a man approached us, engaging us in conversation as we went. He asked where we were from (He loved the US), how did we like Cuba so far, and where we were going. When we told him the name of the restaurant, he told us that it was closed as a result of Fidel's death. We said we wanted to see that for ourselves so he offered to show us the way. We got there and the restaurant was closed. He then offered to take us to one of the best paladares (small, family-run restaurant, usually setup in a converted part of a home) in Vedado for our dinner. We walked with him to this paladar named Santa Barbara, but it was full. He walked us to a second paladar but, after we were seated, we found out that this establishment was not selling alcohol beverages because of Fidel's death. Faced with the choice of a drinks-free dinner at that establishment versus dinner with wine at the hotel, we opted for the latter.

In Havana, tourists are a key part of the city's income source. The needs of these tourists are met by restaurants, hotels, bars, nightclubs, craft shops, and suchlike. But there is a thriving industry of business facilitators. These are folks who approach you on the streets and try to steer you to a particular establishment be it a restaurant, a taxi, or cigar co-op (as we will see in my upcoming post). These "steerers" are compensated by the benefiting establishment but are not averse to receiving a token of the buyers appreciation. The gentleman who attempted to help us find a place to eat that night was a steerer.


©Wine -- Mise en abyme

A selection of the best wines tasted in 2016: Part II, winery visits

In Part I of this topic, I had promised to complete the series in two posts. I lied. After compiling the data for the second post, I realized that I had to further segment my intended second into two distinct posts, one dealing with winery visits (mostly current releases) and the other with wines tasted "around the way" (older wines). This post covers the winery-visit wines.

Winery visits reported on the blog during the course of 2016 include:

• Portions of the North Greece wine tour not otherwise reported in 2015
• Visits to Domaine Skouras in Nemea and the Wines of Athens producers during the Winelovers 4th Anniversary Trip
• Visit to wineries in Sicily, as facilitated by Brandon Tokash
• Visit to Piemonte for the launch of Suzanne Hoffman's Labor of Love
• Visits to port houses and estates in Porto and Douro as part of a DWCC-reverie trip
• Visits to port houses and estates as part of the recent Winelovers Conference
• Visit to Umbria as part of an Art in Voyage trip.

The regions, and the selected wines, are presented below.

North Greece 

Ktima Kir Yianni

Ramnista 2011 and 2005 (PDO Naoussa Xinomavro) -- More muted on nose; spicy; more vegetal character but more elegance. The 2005 exhibited some more developmental characteristics to include truffles and kerosene.

Wine Art Estate
The first wine poured was the 2013 Techni Alipias, an 80/20 Sauvignon Blanc-Assyrtiko blend. The wine was aromatic with a grassy nose accompanying grapefruit and tropical aromas. The minerality and mouthfeel reflected the Assyrtiko contribution. Bright acidity with some bitterness and a lengthy finish.

The next wine up was a 2015 Malagousia. This wine exhibited fruity and floral aromas and a slight reductiveness. White flower, white peach, white melon. Uber pleasant.

The 2011 Assyrtiko was tank fermented. Less mineral than Santorini Assyrtikos. As is the case for all the estate's white varieties, the fruit was sourced from the Kali Vrisi vineyard. Citrus and complex tropical fruit suggestive of riper grapes. Citrus rind. The 2014 Assyrtiko was barrel-aged and showed toast notes and grapefruit. The oak (medium toast) was beautifully integrated.

The 2014 Chardonnay spent six months on oak. Sweet vanilla notes and great acidity. A burnt toast flavor is late-arriving. This could be a Chardonnay in the class of Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay or Capensis were it not for an overt oak presence

Sicily
Cantine Paolo Cali
Cantine Paolo Cali is located in the Salmé district of Vittorio in the heart of the Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG and Vittoria DOC regions. Within the larger estate, 15 ha of organic vineyards are planted on pre-historic marine dunes at elevations of 180 m. Two of plots -- Forfice and Frappato -- are planted on these beach sands.

As the capper to the morning's tastings, Paolo brought out a bottle of 1932 Cerasuolo. As he explained it, this was a family wine that has been stored in a 250 L chestnut vat and is only tapped for special events like holidays, festivals, and family occasions. He was somewhat sheepish in offering it, apologizing ahead of time for any injury that it might cause. He had nothing to apologize about.

The wine was golden in color, providing a visual clue to the presence of oxidative notes (or oxidation). On the nose, an elegant tawny port, figs, dates, walnuts, coffee, dried cocoa, and burnt orange. On the palate smooth, balanced with a surprising amount of acid still present after all these years. Oxidative notes that struck the right tones. Surprisingly different than what I was expecting. Still a lot of life left in this baby. Long, smooth tropical finish. I luxuriated in this wine and rued the fact that we had to leave abruptly -- with most of the bottle still intact -- in order to get to another appointment.

Barone di Villegrande (Milo, Mt Etna)
The 2012 Etna Rosso was unctuous with faded sweet strawberries, red plum, nutmeg, dried herbs, dried bark, and mahogany on the nose. Great weight on the palate along with strawberry, raspberry, and spice notes. Great acidity. Long, dried herb, spicy finish. The tannins and acidity tell of a long life to come.

Barbara Liuzzo preparing to lead us in a tasting

Lineup of the wines tasted

Azienda Frank Cornelissen
After our discussion and tour of the cellar we tasted four of the Cornelissen wines beginning with the Munjebel bianco 2014. This white wine is made from 60% Grecanico Dorato and 40% Carricante. Unlike the majority of Etna producers, Frank does not see Carricante as the best grape for the region's white wines. He feels that it is too acidic. The grapes for this wine are grown on 40+-year-old vines grown in the Calderara soprano and Borriglione vineyards. A total of 4000 bottles of this wine is produced annually. This wine is amber in color, a result of fermentation on the skins. Florality, spice, and a savoriness on the nose. Savoriness flows through to the palate. A textured wine with great acidity and a long finish.

Our next wine tasted was the estate'e entry-level red wine, the Contadino 2014. This wine is made from 85% Nerello Mascalese with contributions from Nerello Cappuccio, Alicante Bouchet, Minella nero, Uva Francesca, and Minella bianco. This 24,000 bottle production is sourced from 50+ year vines grown in the Piccolo, Malpasso, Campo Re, Crasa, Piano Daine, and Porcaria vineyards. This wine is red-fruit dominant but has some blueberry notes. Rich and earthy. Structured.

The Munjebel rosso 2014 is a pure Nerello Mascalese from 60+ year vines grown on the Chiusa Spagnolo, Monte Colla, Porcaria, Barbabecchi, Rampante, Piano Daine, and Crasa vineyards. Red berry fruit and drying tannins. Rich and balanced.

The final wine tasted was the 2014 Munjebel Feudo di Mezzo, in this case an en primeur sample. Savory with a preponderance of black olives. Long, bitter finish.

Benanti
The tasting included 2011 and 2012 Rovitellos. This is a Nerello Mascalese-Nerello Cappuccio (10%), single-vineyard blend which has been aged for 12 months in barrique and an additional 12 months in bottle. Savory dried-herb note overlaying tobacco, cigar box (more prevalent in the 2011), mahogony, spice and fig. On the palate, raisin, fig, dried and green herbs, spiciness, and an oily finish. Raisiny character more prevalent in 2011 but beautiful fruit character on both wines. The fruit masks some of the complexity of the 2011.

Tasting lineup

Piemonte

Vietti

The first wine tasted was the Arneis 2015. The grapes for this wine are sourced from vineyards planted in 1967 in Santo Stefano Roero on calcareous clay soils. The training system is guyot and the planting density is between 4500 and 500 vines/ha. The wine is fermented in stainless steel tanks and remains on the lees for 25 days.

Walnut and creamy richness. Lime and lime rind. Minerality. Attention-grabbing acidity. According to Elena this wine should be put aside for a while; maybe 1 year.

The La Crena Barbera d'Asti 2012 is sourced from vines planted in 1932. South-facing vineyard on clayey silt soils and vines trained guyot. Twenty-day fermentation in open-top steel vats and then transferred to barrels for MLF. Aged in barrels and barriques for 16 months. The old vines generally yield structured, powerful wines and this drives the decision to keep the wines in bottle for an additional year before commercial release.

Rich red fruit. Savoriness. Oily. Concentrated. Hint of sweetness. Great acidity. Full round mouthfeel yielding to a long finish.

The Barolo Brunate 2012 is sourced from 43-year-old vines grown on chalky-clay soils in the historic Brunate vineyard in La Morra. The 1.6-ha plot is planted to 4600 vines/ha. Three days of cold maceration is followed by 15 days of fermentation and five days of maceration. MLF in barrels followed by 36 months of aging in large barrels and barriques. Blended and bottled without filtration.

Classic tar and rose notes. Pine. Asphalt. On the palate, rich yet focused. Silky tannins. Fresh, fruity, and elegant.

As was the case for the Brunate vineyard, the Lazzarito vineyard is also blessed with chalky-clay soils. The 1.7 ha Vietti plot is SW facing and the 39-year-old vines are planted 4500 vines/ha. The 2012 Lazzarito had a nose of beautiful, rich red fruit with baking spices, black pepper, and a savoriness. Powerful wine with sweet red fruits dominating the palate.

I have described the Rocche di Castiglione MGA in greater detail elsewhere. The Vietti plot is 1.3 ha in size, is SE-facing and is planted to 4600 plants/ha with 47-year-old vines. A 29-day fermentation-maceration period is followed by MLF and 31 months in barrel.

The 2012 Rocche di Castiglione exhibited red cherries, roses, licorice, and spice on the nose. Power and bright acidity on the palate. Full, round mouthfeel. Lengthy finish.

Umbria

Paolo Bea
The first wine tasted was the 2011 Arboreus. The Trebbiano Spoletino vines are more than 100 years old and each plant can produce between 40 and 60 kilo of grapes. The vines are in excess of 3 m tall and grow around trees, eventually killing them. The wine spent 22 days on the skins during fermentation. The wine had an orange color and and orange peel on the nose along with a savory, nutty, asparagus character. Spicy and bright on the palate. A lovely wine.

The second wine was the 2009 Sanvalentino Umbria Rosso IGT and is made from second-passage grapes from all vineyards. In 2009 it was a blend of Sangiovese (60%), Sagrantino (30%), and Montepulciano (10%). This wine spent 32 months in oak. On the nose, sweet herbs, baking spices, and a savoriness. On the palate, sweet red fruit and power with biting acidity. Full-bodied. Mouth-coating tannins. Lengthy finish

The 2008 Pipparello Montefalco DOC Rosso Riserva is a blend of Sangiovese (60%), Montepulciano (25%), and Sagrantino (15%). This wine spent 10 months in stainless steel tanks and 33 months in 25 hl slavonian oak barrels. High-toned, focused, concentrated dark fruit with spice. Huge wine on the palate. Concentrated. Savory with tar and mint notes.

The 2008 Rosso de Vèo Umbria Rosso IGT exhibited red fruits, tar, and a little bit of stewed fruit on the nose. On the palate it showed as relatively simple and lacking in concentration. Giampiero was not satisfied with this wine and opened a second bottle. This second bottle was far more expressive on the nose and showed a lot more concentration. Anise, licorice, tar, and black fruits. Balanced.

We next tasted the 2008 Pagliaro. This is the estate's flagship wine, a 100% Sagrantino that was macerated for 38 days after which it spent 10 months in stainless steel and 33 months in large oak barrels. The vines from which the grapes for this wine are sourced are between 35 and 45 years old. Spice, anise, licorice, tar, and jammy sweet fruit on the nose. Dense and fleshy on the palate with expressive tannins.

The final wine tasted was a new entrant onto the market, the 2007 Cerrete Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG. The vines for this wine are planted in a 3-ha vineyard at the highest point of the Sagrantino area. Total production is 4000 bottles. This wine was produced in 2007 for the first time and was not produced in 2008. Grapes from the vineyard that were not used in this wine in 2007 were used in the Rosso de Vèo wine. Sweet, concentrated, dark fruit along with licorice and tar.  Delivers fully on the palate. This is a beautiful wine. I was so impressed that I bought a six-pack on site.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

The best wines tasted in 2016: Part I, Antonio Galloni events

This year, I am going to present this topic in two parts: the wines tasted at Galloni events and the wines tasted everywhere else. As the title indicates, we begin with the Galloni-events wines.

I attended a total of four Galloni tastings during the course of the year:

• Bartolo Mascarello: A Historical Perspective (1958 - 2010), a tasting dinner held at the 28º - 50º Maddox Street location (London, April 26th)
• Soldera: Brunello di Montalcino Through the Ages (1981 - 2006), a tasting dinner held at maze Restaurant in London, on April 27, 2016. 
• Vietti Barolo Rocche di Castiglione: A Historical Retrospective (1961 - 2011), a tasting dinner held at Vaucluse in New York City, May 10th, 2016
• Ornellaia and Masseto Retrospective (1995 - 2010), from Magnum, a tasting dinner held at Bouley Test Kitchen, December 5, 2016.

The Bartolo Mascarello Tasting

Used with permission of Vinous Media LLC

The wines that were on my radar screen coming out of the tasting were the 1995, 1997, and all of the wines in Flights 4 and 5.

1995
I had tasted this Mascarello vintage three years ago and at that time had described it as having "a bouquet of dried cherry, soy, and sandalwood. Medium length with red fruits, leather, and mushroom." I found the wine at this tasting to be elegant on the nose with evidence of sweet flowers, tar, asphalt, and dark fruits. Intense red fruits on the palate with some stemminess. Dried rose petal, mushroom, and tobacco on the palate. Long sour finish with a drying towards the end.

1997

This wine exhibited the classic tar and roses but, in addition, an intense spiciness. Great structure and acidity. No rough edges on the palate. Long, sour finish. Best wine tasted up to that time. Antonio had similar sentiments, remarking on the sensuality, roundness, and harmony of the wine. He thought that it was the best wine of its flight.

Flight 4: Greatest Four Wines of Recent Vintages
2004
Tar, roses, green herbs. Young, balanced, focused, round. Sensation of heat. One of the first great vintages that Antonio had reviewed and he sees it as a vintage of incredible pedigree.

2006
Not very expressive on the nose. Cherries. Red fruit on the palate. Tannins present. Rich with a hint of molasses. Long, sour finish. I loved this wine. This, according to Antonio, was a vintage of structured Barolos, masculine and brooding. These wines will be long-lived.

2008
Hints of roses, tar, cigars, tobacco. Antonio saw it as having incredible aromatics and being light and delicate on the palate. He described it as being Pinot-like.

2010
Young. Spice and high-toned red fruits. Not very expressive of traditional Barolo aromas. Structured. Rich. Powerful. Brooding. Antonio considers it the greatest vintage of his time.

Flight 5: Magnum Flight
This flight included the 1986 and 1958 vintages in magnum.

1986
A very special vintage in Piemonte, according to Antonio. This vintage was under the radar. No one had paid any attention to the vintage because of hail. Few producers actually made Barolo in that year. When he speaks to producers who made wine in 1986, they consistently tell him that they prefer the 1986 to the 1985. This magnum was sourced directly from the winery.

Dried rose petals, tar, sauvage, dried herbs, leather, cigar box, and spice. Ripe and lively on the palate. Balanced. Long, sour finish. A beautiful wine. Antonio described it as powerful and pungent.

1958
Antonio thinks that this is the greatest wine ever made at Mascarello. The magnum is actually 1.9 L so that it could be used to fill two .750s while leaving the sediment in the wine remaining in the bottle.

Pungent, piercing nose with laser-sharp focus. Tar, roses, cherries, peeled green mangoes, and coriander. Savoriness. Hint of sweetness. Drinking younger than expected.

The Gianfranco Soldera Tasting

The tasting was organized into five thematic flights with the intent of allowing attendees to "trace the evolution of the wines and house styles all the way back to 1981." The flights were named and ordered as shown in the table below.

Flight	Nomenclature	Inclusive Vintages
1	The Early Years	1981, 1982, 1987, 1988
2	Sleeper Vintages	2000 Riserva, 2003 Riserva, 2005 Riserva
3	The Mid-1990s	1993 Riserva, 1994 Riserva, 19995 Riserva, 1996 Riserva
4	Reference Points	1997 Riserva, 1999 Riserva, 2001 Riserva, 2004 Riserva
5	The Icons	1993 (Magnum), 1983 Riserva (Magnum), 1990 Riserva, 2006 Riserva

After this tasting, it was clear to see why Antonio had fallen under the spell of this wine. High quality across the board and basically variations on a theme. Even in the years when vintage effects significantly affect the quality of his competitors' products, Soldera manages to produce wines that are clearly recognizable as his. I kept all of my glasses during the course of the tasting and went back at the end to taste all of the wines. Even with some of the wines being in the glass for well over three hours, they had all retained their integrity.

As it would be impractical to reproduce the notes for all of the wines in this post, I encourage you to follow the link in this title section to get to the tasting notes. Each one of these wines fall into the category of the best wines I tasted in 2016.

The Vietti Barolo Rocche di Castiglione Tasting

Used with permission. Courtesy of Vinous, LLC.

The first wine tasted was the 1986. Luca was attending enological school during this vintage when the area was hit by hail on a late morning in early May, causing the loss of 2/3 of the crop. If the hail occurs early enough, you can still make good wine. And they did. This was the wine of its flight. Balsamic, stewed fruit, iron, tea, dried rose petals, herbs and a savoriness on the nose. On the palate intense red fruit along with olives, mushroom, leather, licorice, and white truffle. Balanced with a long, elegant finish.

The 1996 was the wine of its flight. Balsamic, dried rose petals, and dried herbs on the nose. Tight focus. Elegant. Engages all elements of the palate. This wine will age forever. According to Luca, Rocche likes cool vintages and such conditions prevailed for this wine. Luca likes it because of its freshness. He called it "super classic."

The 2004 exhibited spice, red fruit, lead pencil, and licorice. Unctuous. Sweetness on the palate along with great acidity, tar, licorice, and anise. Weighty. Rich, long finish. A long growing season and the first vintage of finesse in Barolo (Antonio Galloni).

The 2006 exhibited tar, earth, and licorice on the nose and licorice and anise on the palate. Virile and powerful but with silky tannins.

Rich red fruit on the nose of the 2010 along with rose petal, mint, and tar. Rich red fruit and anise on palate. Powerful. Lengthy, tart finish. According to Antonio, has been fantastic from the beginning.

The Ornellaia and Masseto Tasting

The 2006 Ornellaia was the first of the wines tasted to exhibit any noticeable acidity. Rich and intense, with juicy acidity surrounded by a beautiful core of fruit. Good levels of fruit and acidity in the 2006 Masseto. Rich, structured, powerful, and balanced. This wine is a buy.

The 2004s were the first wines to show really well on the nose. This illustrated the relative youth of the previous wines. The Ornellaia had floral notes along with tea, licorice, and olives. Full-bodied. Heavier than the earlier vintages. The Masseto was a beautiful wine. Classic older Merlot. Granny's attic, spice, and a dankness. Weighty and structured.

The 1998 Ornellaia was a beautiful wine. Cigar box, tobacco leaf, and black fruit on the nose. Textured and structured. A "come-hither" wine. The Masseto presented cigar box, tobacco, orange peel, and spice. Textured and balanced with a long finish. Axel remarked on the "smoky tobacco leaf character" of both of the wines in the 1998 vintage.

The 1997 Ornellaia was a desirable wine with still a lot of life ahead. A little green pea and coconut on the nose along with a restrained orange peel. Fresh on the palate. Fine-boned and elegant. Long finish. 

The 1995 Masseto showed tobacco and Granny's attic. Great acidity and sharp red fruit. Lengthy finish. An excellent wine.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Selected Cuba accommodations for the discerning traveler

In May of 2015, I wrote a blog post titled "Short- and long-term implications of US-Cuba travel liberalization for Caribbean tourist destinations" wherein I posited:

• In the short term, a slow but steady increase in the number of US tourits visiting Cuba
• Displacement of European and Canadian tourists by US tourists if liberalization accelerated
• US tourists will demand higher levels of service than the OECD tourists they will be displacing 
• A need for between 98,000 and 116,000 additional hotel rooms, in the longer term, to support the potential 3.2 million yearly US tourists.

In my recent trip to Cuba, I kept an eye open for currently available accomodations with which these higher-services-demanding US tourists would be comfortable.

Accomodations on the island currently fall into two categories: Hotels and casas particulares. The casas particulares came about as a part of the government's "initiative" to allow private ownership of selected types of businesses and allows a homeowner to rent a part of the home to a visitor. This type of accomodation varies all over the map in terms of consistency of service and location, is relatively bare-boned, and has limited applicability to the non-adventurous US traveler.

More to the liking of this type of tourist will be the hotels located to the west of the old town and currently grouped around the area close to the beginning of the Malecon, the 5-mile-long boulevard that stretches from Vedadao to Old Havana. I will share some pictures of two of these establishments in this post.

Traveling in from the airport to Havana, my eyes soaked in the countryside of this heretofore unvisited land. And everywhere you looked, you saw signs of disrepair: the cars; the buses; the buildings; and the people. After about a 40-minute ride, we arrived at a reasonably modern-looking structure, our hotel for the duration, the Tryp Habana Libre. This hotel is one of three in the area currently managed by the Meliá Hotel Group. The hotel's location is indicated on the map below.

Source: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/

Tryp Habana Libre had been owned by the Hilton Group, under the name Hotel Habana Hilton, before being expropriated by Fidel Castro . The hotel became Fidel's HQ when he entered Havan ain January 1959 and was eventually nationalized, along with all other US hotels, in October 1960.

The hotel has a total of 25 floors with standard accomodations below the 20th floor and executive-level accomodations on floors 20 and above. These two groups both have separate check-in and breakfast facilities. The hotal has seven associated restaurants and a pool on the topmost floor. The pictures immediately below were taken in our room and show, in my opinion, the type of accomodation that a discerning traveler would be comfortable with.

In addition to Tryp Habana Libre, we spent a fair amount of time at the Hotel Nacional, the 85-year-old luxury hotel that sits on a hill on the Malecon in Vedado and affords absolutely beautiful view of sunsets, the ocean, and people, both on the Malecon and on the hotel grounds. Some pictures of/from the Malecon follow.

Hotel Nacional from the upper dining room at Tryp Habana Libre

Jesse Jackson -- contemplating the future at
Hotel Nacional 

Dining Room at Hotel Nacional

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

2016 Blog year in review and 2017 prospects

This past year I continued to build a body of work, with an especial focus on Greek and Italian wines and wine history. I have also begun an effort to further improve the cohesivness and accessibility of the blog content.

North Greece
The early part of the year was devoted to detailing the story of the North Greece wine region using data collected during an EWBC pre-Conference trip sponsored by Wines of North Greece. At the conclusion of the series the reader would have been cognizant of the environment, the wines, and the issues that market players confront as they strive to make quality wine as well as improve the standing of Greek wine on the world market while confronting strong headwinds at home. The individual posts produced as a result of that trip and subsequent efforts are shown below.

• North Greece
• Physical Environment
• Physical Environment vs W-MEA Model
• Viticultural Environment
• Varieties 
• Xinomavro
• Variety, growing regions, and wines
• Malagouzia
• The Malagouzia story
• Deep Dive
• Gerovassiliou history of the variety
• Rootstocks
• Vine Training and Vineyard Management
• Wine Production
• The Wines of North Greece
• Wine Regions
• Amynteo PDO
• Alpha Estate
• Ktima Kir-Yianni
• Goumenissa PDO
• Naoussa PDO
• Ktima Kir-Yianni
• Rapsani PDO
• Tsantali Rapsani
• Slopes of Meliton PDO
• Domaine Porto Carras
• Mikrochori
• Wine Art Estate
• Other
• Domaine Stelios Kechris
• Tasting Greek Wines
• Sparkling and Whites
• Reds

Italy
The Italian campaign rolled out on a number of fronts. First, I visited Sicily and, with the leadership and direction of the most connected man on the island -- Brandon Tokash -- was able to meet, amd spend quality time with, some of the leading winemakers in broader Sicily and Mt Etna. Combining that primary material with secondary data from Nesto and di Savino's The World of Sicilian Wine resulted in a number of high quality posts on the regional landscape, wine infrastructure, and wines.

I also paid a visit to Umbria and the highlight of that trip was a visit and tasting at Paolo Bea.

Another angle of attack in the Italian campaign was participation in, and reporting on, themed tastings of significant Italian wines organized by Antonio Galloni and Vinous and held in both London and New York. In many of the cases the winemaker was also in attendance at the event. These tastings allowed deep historical perspectives on the wines of Gianfranco Soldera, Vietti Rocche di Castiglione, Bartolo Mascarello, Ornellaia, and Masseto. And my efforts did not only focus on the actual wines tasted. If I had not previously profiled the winery or the region associated with the producer, I did so prior to publishing the post on the tasting.

Unfortunately for Piemonte, this year the region has been in the news for reasons other than its great wines. Sometime in August it was announced that the Vietti family had sold its winery and vineyard holdings to an American company named Krause Holdings. This news caused an uproar among Barolo fans. I had sat next to Luca at the Galloni Vietti tasting and had visited the estate a few weeks later as part of the launch of Suzanne Hoffman's Labor of Love. I wrote a couple of relevant posts following the announcement, one looking at the implications of the sale for the broader Barolo region and the other looking at the practical implications for Krause holdings of being in control of both the Vietti and Enrico Serafino (an earlier purchase) properties. Some of the fears I had voiced in the first post on the broader implications will be validated if a rumored purchase of Roberto Voerzio by LVMH does come to fruition.

The History of Terroir
In his sweeping treatment of ancient versus modern wines (Inventing Wine), Paul Lukacs identified the seminal terroir events in France as the demarcation of the Burgundy vineyards by the Cistercian monks beginning in 1098 and the AOC system implemented in the early 20th century. But this apparent terroir desert misses the true formative period -- as well as the ups and downs -- of this concept, beginning during the Renaissance and continuing for two centuries thereafter. A period and history that is detailed in Thomas Parker's Tasting Terroir: The History of an Idea. I summarized Parker's history in a number of blog posts and further summarize the effort in the timeline below.


Book Reviews
I read a number of excellent wine books during the course of the year but only reviewed three of them on the site.

Suzanne Mustacich's Thirsty Dragon is the War and Peace of wine literature. I had to read it twice in order to tease out the many threads and fully internalize and embrace the story that it related. It is a tour de force, throughly researched and impeccably sourced with 40 pages of chapter-specific notes and an index; but the fullest potential is unrealized. That being said, the reporting and analysis contained within the book are exceptional. The epilogue, titled Shangri La, is an especially cogent and insightful piece of analysis.

While a lot of attention, as regards Piemontese winemaking, has revolved around the battle of the modernists versus traditionalists, or the Burgundization of Barolo, the region has also been undergoing an under-reported transformation: the rise of women into the wineries' leadership ranks. And it is this under-explored story that Suzanne Hoffmann captures, and tells effectively and empathetically, in her initial publication Labor of Love: Wine Family Women of Piemonte.

The World of Sicilian Wine (Bill Nesto MW and Frances di Savino, University of California Press(UCP)) is simply the best region-specific wine book I have ever read. It is comprehensive, detailed, informative, well-structured, revealing, and an ode to research well done. In addition, the writing style makes it easy to read and comprehend -- traits not equally shared by all books issuing from UCP.

Blog Organization and Futures
As shown in the bulletized material regarding North Greece above, I have begun a process of tightly tieing all posts to a region. This allows for a more cogent presentation of the material as well as providing me with a road map of uncovered areas. I have begun to do this with all new posts and will go back during the course of the next year, to painstakingly allocate each of my past posts to its appropriate slot(s).

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This has been a personally rewarding year. I hope that you have derived some value from my musings. I hope to continue along the same path during the course of the upcoming year: learning new things and sharing them with you.






©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Antonio Galloni and Vinous Ornellaia and Masseto Retrospective (1995 - 2010), from Magnum

Antonio Galloni had had to work overtime in order to convince Axel Heinz (the Ornellaia and Masseto winemaker) to agree to a wine tasting that would, essentially, allow direct comparison of the estate's two major wines. Antonio's powers of persuasion carried the day and now here we were, at Bouley Test Kitchen on December 5, 2016, ready to participate in the Ornellaia and Masseto Retrospective (1995 - 2010), from Magnum.

As early arrivals stood around the dining area chatting, or searching out their appointed seating, we were served 2008 and 2009 Pierre Peters Champagne. The Champagne was then followed in short order by a number of passed Hors-d'Oeuvres, each, in its own manner, pleasing to both vision and palate.

We were eventually called to order and grudgingly took our seats with longing, backward glances towards the origin point of the Hors-d'Oeuvres. Antonio shared the particulars of the tasting with us:

• The wines would be tasted in flights arranged from the youngest to the oldest
• Every wine was to be poured from magnum
• Each magnum had been sourced directly from the winery
• The wines had been opened at 5:30 pm that day and were all in good condition
• The tasting included all of the significant vintages falling between 1995 and 2010. 

From an operational point of view, the tasting would be broken into four flights, each flight containing two vintages and each vintage having both an Ornellaia and Masseto included. Each flight would be paired with a course, but the wines would be presented at the table prior to the associated dish being served.

Amouse Bouche

Flight 1: 2010 and 2007 Vintages
Axel was called upon to introduce the first flight. He characterized the 2007 vintage as an early year with cool conditions during harvest while the 2010 was the latest ripening vintage he had ever seen up to that time. 2010 was not, he said, the most typical vintage of the estate.

Both of the 2010s were still very young to the taste. The Ornellaia showed powerful, intense dark fruit, some structure, and a licorice coating on the palate. I found the Masseto to be unyielding on the nose. Full finish with a hint of green.

The 2007 Ornellaia was broader-based than the 2010. Dark, ripe fruit. The 2007 Masseto was perfumed with hints of balsamic and licorice. Tight. Rich dark fruit and some green on the palate.

Forager's Treasure of Wild Mushrooms with
Sweet Garlic and Special Spices

Flight 2: 2006 and 2004 Vintages
According to Axel, 2006 was a strange wine. It had not been easy to make but turned out well having, as it did, a richness, high tannins, high acidity, and concentrated fruit. The 2004 was a textbook vintage with ideal conditions yielding grapes that had ripened evenly and uniformly (masseto.com).

The 2006 Ornellaia was the first of the wines tasted to exhibit any noticeable acidity. Rich and intense, with juicy acidity surrounded by a beautiful core of fruit. Good levels of fruit and acidity in the 2006 Masseto. Rich, structured, powerful, and balanced. This wine is a buy.

The 2004s were the first wines to show really well on the nose. This illustrated the relative youth of the previous wines. The Ornellaia had floral notes along with tea, licorice, and olives. Full-bodied. Heavier than the earlier vintages. The Masseto was a beautiful wine. Classic older Merlot. Granny's attic, spice, and a dankness. Weighty and structured.

Organic Millbrook Venison with Wild Pawpaw
Fruit

Flight 3: 2001 and 1998 Vintages
The 2001 and 1998 vintages are two of the most important reference points for the estate. Michel Rolland, the long-time consulting enologist for the estate, calls 2001 the best vintage that he has ever seen in Tuscany.

The 2001 Ornellaia presented cigar box, cedar, cocoa, and coffee. Diminished fruit levels and pleasing acidity. Classic Bordeaux nose. The Masseto had been decanted earlier in the day due to "tightness." It presented green pea, a mustiness, curry, and tobacco. Sweet ripe fruit on the palate. Axel feels that the 2001 is the most opulent Masseto that he has tasted.

The 1998 Ornellaia was a beautiful wine. Cigar box, tobacco leaf, and black fruit on the nose. Textured and structured. A "come-hither" wine. The Masseto presented cigar box, tobacco, orange peel, and spice. Textured and balanced with a long finish. Axel remarked on the "smoky tobacco leaf character" of both of the wines in the 1998 vintage.

Organic Colorado Lamb with Organic Snow
Peas, Sweet Peas, Fava Beans, Okra, and
Organic Rosemary-Perfumed Quinoa

Chef's Surprise: Eggs and White Truffles

Flight 4: 1997 and 1995 Vintages
According to Axel, 1995 was a cool-climate vintage while 1997 was the year that the estate introduced a second wine at Ornellaia.

The 1997 Ornellaia was a desirable wine with still a lot of life ahead. A little green pea and coconut on the nose along with a restrained orange peel. Fresh on the palate. Fine-boned and elegant. Long finish. The Masseto was all Grandma's attic, black fruit, cedar, cigar box, tobacco, and talcum powder. Elegant. Great weight on the palate along with tobacco, dark fruit, a savoriness, and spice. A lengthy, slightly pruney finish. This is one of the vintages where I distinctly preferred the Ornellaia to the Masseto

The 1995 Ornellaia was unyielding on the nose.  A little blue fruit. Tired. The 1995 Masseto showed tobacco and Granny's attic. Great acidity and sharp red fruit. Lengthy finish. An excellent wine.

Chef's Selection of Mature Artisanal French
Cheeses by Maitre Affineur Rodolphe le Meunier

Axel Heinz signing bottles

My memento

This tasting more than lived up to expectations. I went in looking to taste as much Masseto as I could and came away with  a new-found respect for Ornellaia. I will be buying that label in a more studied fashion going-forward, rather than reflexively, as I do today.

The dishes that accompanied the tasting were all of exceptional quality. The standoiut for me though was the Organic Millbrook Venison. It had a nice spicy undertone and was so tender that the knife glided through. Great texture.

This was a memorable evening. And I made a bunch of new friends at my table.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme