Snooth - Articles

From the Source: Kentucky Bourbon

Sara Kay — Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

The Derby. The Mint Julep. My resounding love for Hot Browns. All of these things and many, many more were birthed in the state of Kentucky, including some of the most sought-after brown spirits on the market today. Bourbon, in its many different forms and figures, is a liquor that originated in the good ol’ US of A, without which, I believe, drinking as we know it would be a lot less interesting.

While whiskey-producers hail from many different states, Kentucky is the origin of some of the best. Having visited whiskey distilleries in Kentucky myself, I can say without the least bit of doubt that not only do the people of Kentucky love to drink bourbon, they are proud of their ownership of this beautiful liquid. Considering that Kentucky is the only state lucky enough to boast an entire trail dedicated to the production of Bourbon, I’d say there’s really nowhere else that even comes close in comparison. Read on for the top 5 bourbons that proudly call Kentucky home.

Bourbon Barrel image via Shutterstock

Gruner Around the Globe

Gregory Dal Piaz — Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Gruner Veltliner, arguably the original hipster wine, has grown up and become a standard in the classical pantheon of top white wines. Along the way it was revealed that in Austria, Gruner is often a simple table wine, served in crown-capped liter bottles and not the subject of fawning terms of endearment. Yes, Gruner Veltliner is capable of remarkable things, but it’s also a table top stalwart, and frankly therein lies its beauty. It has a flexibility few grapes can match.

Gruner image via Shutterstock
Gruner Veltliner, arguably the original hipster wine, has grown up and become a standard in the classical pantheon of top white wines. Along the way it was revealed that in Austria, Gruner is often a simple table wine, served in crown-capped liter bottles and not the subject of fawning terms of endearment. Yes, Gruner Veltliner is capable of remarkable things, but it’s also a table top stalwart, and frankly therein lies its beauty. It has a flexibility few grapes can match.

It’s not surprising then that producers outside of Austria want to cash in on the Gruner phenomenon. Having worked hard to establish Gruner Veltliner as a grape for everyone, the Austrians must now be a little concerned, as wineries from as far away as New Zealand and California try to capitalize on these renowned grapes. While the wines I tasted were pretty good, again attesting to the brilliance and potential of Gruner Veltliner the grape, I would say that for the most part the Austrians have little to fear as of yet.

What new world winemakers are able to produce are wines that certainly capture the essence of the grape, but they also reveal their warmer climates and perhaps richer soils with their rounded textures and riper fruit profiles. They are attractive wines for sure, but they will generally appeal to a different audience than the typical Austrian Gruner Veltliner, which shows a leaner, tauter style with bright fruit flavors and often the profound minerality the grape can exhibit.

Still, that’s not to say that disruptive forces are not at work. Consider for example, that Gruner Veltliner represents 50 percent of the new varieties planted in New Zealand in 2010 and 2011, and while plantings in California remain tiny, about 50 acres, the growth from the first planting of a third of an acre back in 2006 at the Von Strasser winery in Napa Valley’s Diamond Mountain up through today has been swift and has attracted lots of attention. One can only imagine what might happen in places like Oregon and New York’s Finger Lakes districts, where the climate seems ideally suited for Gruner.

It’s an exciting time to be a fan of Gruner with so many developments on the horizon, but at least for the time being Austria has little to be concerned about. If you want to learn more about Austrian Gruner Veltliner, make sure you check out the reports published last week by our friends who attended Snooth’s PVA Wine Writer’s Symposium this past March. We had an amazing tasting hosted and led by Aldo Sohm, who brought the terroir and styles of Austrian Gruner to life and inspired some exceptional articles.

[PAGEBREAK]

2011 Wimmer-Czerny Gruner Veltliner Frumberg Wagram 13% $16

Dusty and soft on the nose with honeycomb and smoky, gravel aromas that gain intensity and are joined by hints of tree bark and white pepper with air. A touch soft in the mouth, this is broad and supple with nice mineral and slightly candied citrus and pear flavors. Showing nice detail on a modest scale, this gains lovely floral notes on the back end and unfurls fine, spicy and deep white orchard fruits across the long finish. I really like the juxtaposition of the elegant palate with the powerful finish. 90pts

2011 Karl Lagler Gruner Veltliner Federspiel Burgberg Wachau 12.5% $22

Pops on the nose with an early rush of yeastiness, followed by aromas of mineral talc, violet floral notes, light hints of peach and tangerine topped with a light minty note. This enters the mouth with a fair amount of richness and intensity; very round on the palate though with nice mineral/acid cut. There's a lot of peppery flavor here along with quartzy minerality and light peach, pear and citrus pith tones that lead to an intense, long finish. This lacks some elegance but delivers a lot of intensity and depth. 89pts

2010 Darcie Kent Gruner Veltliner Rava Blackjack Vineyard Monterey 13% $14

A touch waxy on the nose, there's plenty of peach and mango-toned citrus fruit here. A touch soft and round in the mouth, this delivers a nice mineral back end mouthful of lemon pith, white peach and green plum flavors that lead to a firm, moderately long finish which shows a touch of mineral cut and a lingering hint of sweet green herb on the finale. 88pts

2011 Nautilus Gruner Veltliner Marlborough NZ 13% $15

Rather subtle with lime zest aromas, gentle green pea, cactus leaf and green peppercorn aromas. A touch soft in the mouth and relatively light-bodied, though there is some attractive depth to the citrus pith flavors that are colored with green herb and peppercorn shadings. The finish shows more of a lemon/pineapple aspect to the fruit as well as pretty good length. 87pts

2010 Dancing Coyote Gruner Veltliner Clarksburg California 13.5% $12

Peppery and a little green on the nose, though there is a little over-ripeness here with honied and cooked fruit aromas of peach and white cherry thats a bit waxy. This enters the mouth with a nice level of richness and good, firm acids. There's plenty of fruit here, but it's much fresher than the nose would indicate. There's a light grassy note here and a touch of spice as well that drifts onto a fairly long finish, showing lovely green fruit and a nice firm texture. 87pts

2011 Pratsch Gruner Veltliner Organic Niederosterreich 12.5% $15/Liter

Lightly aromatic on the nose with hints of white pepper and dried grass accenting the lime and green pear aromas. Rather spritzy right out of the bottle. This shows off rather assertively dried herbal and lightly spiced flavors with good intensity. There's some subtle fruit here, lime pith and melon rind, but this is as savory as it is fruity and turns somewhat steeley on the modest finish. Good intensity to the flavors and well-balanced, this is an interesting if small and somewhat simple wine. Should be great with simple food. Comes in a liter bottle. 86pts

Blind Tasting: 2009 California Cabernet

Gregory Dal Piaz — Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Blind tasting is the great equalizer. When you taste wines blind, you learn what you actually think of a wine, as opposed to what you expect to think. With this in mind, I assembled a set of eight wines to taste blind with one of my regular tasting groups. Having tasted some of the wines previously, I was going in with a bit of a stacked deck. I included wines that spanned a rather broad price spectrum, from $30 to $125 knowing, or hoping at least, that some of the less-expensive wines would perform quite well in this setting. Little did I know just how well they would.

Wine Tasting image via Shutterstock
Before we get into the wine, a little background on the vintage. 2009 has been described as both challenging and very successful. The first of a series of cool vintages, producers in 2009 were faced with late season rains that caused quite a bit of consternation, coming as they did right before harvest of late-ripping varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon. The party line in the growing regions north of San Francisco was that those who harvested before the rains avoided the dilution and rot that followed. On the flip side are winemakers who harvested after the rains, claiming that the wines harvested before the rains suffered from a lack of physiological ripeness, manifesting as green tannins and herbaceousness. The truth lies somewhere in the middle of course, and the success of the Cabernet in 2009 depended heavily on both the winemaker and the viticulturist.

To be sure, the cooler temperatures did produce a crop of wines that lack the power, depth and lush personalities that Napa in particular has become famous for, but one has to ask if that, in and of itself, is necessarily a bad thing. Wines with less weight, higher natural acids, and tannins that you can feel without having to imagine them are, after all, traits of wines grown around the globe, and in Napa and Sonoma prior to 2007, to varying extents. While this set of wines didn't particularly wow me, I would say that they broke down roughly into three groups: wines I would be happy to buy, wines that I would be curious to try again, and wines that were simply not my style, though I would try them again.

That last group was, for me, the most troubling of this tasting. They were wines that felt forced, as if the winemakers felt they needed to produce the powerful wines the region is known for regardless of the quality of the fruit they were able to harvest. I'm sure they felt that they did the best they could, and have a certain obligation to their customers to deliver the house style each year, but one has to question whether that is the best strategy. These wines were in a house style, of sorts. Their structure and weight was consistent with previous efforts, but the flavor profiles were not, lacking depth and the explosive fruit that many consumers might expect. Might it not be better to focus instead on educating the consumer a bit? Getting them to know and understand what vintage variation is all about?

That, to a certain extent, is my job, and I'll do what I can when I can. This tasting was in part an effort to educate a small group of wine lovers, not so much about vintage variation, with which they are well-versed, but rather more with house styles. This group is a bit of a Euro-centric group, and as such it's not surprising that the wines that typically show more restraint, and thus needed to make up less ground in this restrained vintage, came out on top. It's also not surprising that these wines tended to be the less expensive wines of the group. I hear the responses coming my way already, that these wines need some age to show their best, and we were judging these wines on how they were showing today, not their potential.

Guilty as charged, to a degree, but that is the way people drink wine. They buy it and drink it within a few hours or days. The percentage of people who cellar wine is minuscule, and in all honesty, even when trying to divine the future of these wines, a troublesome and imprecise art, our consensus was that with two exceptions, there simply doesn't seem to be much upside here. The winners were the best wines, they will age well over the short to medium term, say three to six years, and they taste better than the losers. That's the story. That's all there is to say here before revealing the wines. My advice to you if you want to try some 2009 North Coast Cabernet? Read these notes carefully, but don't ignore the facts of the group's rankings, a cadre of sophisticated drinkers, or the correlation with my notes. Doing so risks disappointment and frankly, paying too much for a bottle of less-than-satisfying wine.

These bottles were uncorked at noon, decanted at 6pm, and tasted from 7:30 through 10:00pm

[PAGEBREAK]

2009 Midsummer Cellars Canon Creek Vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 14.1% $45

My 8th place wine - The group's 8th place wine

This starts out with hints of savoriness, olives, spice and floral notes over a base of sweet fruit, but with time the aromatics turn matte with a dominant vanilla fragrance filling the glass. Starting out rather light and dilute on the palate, this fills in nicely with clear, slightly earthy dark fruit but as with the nose, the heavy oak load takes over with air, adding bitterness to the finish and obscuring the fruit. This seems to have some potential to age well, but for early drinking it's just too oaky tonight. 80pts

2009 Rodney Strong Alexander's Crown Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 15.5% $55

My 7th place wine - The groups 7th place wine

Opening with nice leather and spice aromas this quickly becomes dominated by lots of spicy, nutty oak on the nose. Dark, full and slightly dense on the palate, there's a lot of dark chocolate wrapped around dark fruit here with a spicy, almost peppery finish. This feels and tastes extracted, a bit of a black hole of a wine with a powerful if hot finish. 85pts

2009 Robert Mondavi Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 15% $90

My 6th place wine - the group's 4th place wine (tie)

Fine and focused on the nose with a simple expression of sweet blackberry fruit framed by hints of grilled meat and mint. A little sweet on entry, though nicely red-fruited, this turns a bit hollow on the mid-palate with lots of fruit tannins adding richness to the texture. It seems to lack a little intensity of flavor, but feels friendly enough in the mouth. 86pts

2009 Caymus Vineyards Special Select Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 14.9% $125

My 5th place wine - The groups' 4th place wine (tie)

Sweet and gingery on the nose with a classic modern Napa Cabernet profile that shows plenty of candied black cherry fruit and lots of coffee-toned oak. Smells a bit spoofy. Smooth, polished and extracted in the mouth with lots of black fruit framed by notes of chocolate, licorice, and toast. Fine grained tannins nicely match the density of fruit here, and in its style it's quite good if quite hot, particularly on the finish. 88pts

2009 Freemark Abbey Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 14.5% $30

My 4th place wine - The groups 6th place wine

Dusty and a bit sweet on the nose but showing nicely layered green olive, licorice, cedar and black cherry fruit with a hint of dried herbs. A bit diffuse on the palate, but showing a nice balance of integrated acidity and soft tannins that supports the light and lean core of red cherry fruit. This is a touch on the simple side but is drinking well with an attractive mouthfeel. 88pts

2009 Stuhlmuller Vineyards Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 14.2% $30

My 3rd place wine - The groups 1st place wine

This opens with a nose of used wood, wild herbs, red cherry fruit and nuanced mineral and leather notes. It opens slowly with air but shows a very attractive bouquet already. Velvety on entry with a modest and attractive richness that is supported by fine grained fruit tannins. This has lovely grip in the mouth with soft, polished red currant and cherry fruit nicely framed by a hint of green herbs and some mineral earth. A very appealing wine tonight, and the wine I built this tasting around, but I scored it a bit lower than the next two wines only because it is a bit atypical for a North Coast Cabernet. It's still a fantastic value and a wine I highly recommend. 91pts

2009 Chappellet Signature Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 14.9% $50

My 2nd place wine - The groups 1st place wine (tie)

Dense and oaky at first with buttery notes and a deep whiff of coconut which integrates with air, allowing the pure core of simple yet intense black cherry and mineral fruit to emerge with time. Starting off a bit hollow, this fills in in the glass, showing freshly crushed black currant and black cherry fruit supported by earthy and medicinal flavors. The wood is present but well-judged and lessing in impact over the course of the evening. Not the best wine tonight but the wine with the best potential for improvement in the cellar. Give this three to five years and it should show quite well. 91pts

2009 Frank Family Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 14.5% $30

My 1st place wine - The groups 1st place wine (tie)

At first dark and earthy in the nose, this quickly shows attractive black currant and weedy aromas that gain a modest sheen of oak spice along with hints of candied blackberry and wild berry fruits. Fruity on entry with a rather natural, unfettered feel, this reveals a fine core of bright and juicy black currant fruit supported by fine tannins that allow the almost delicate fruit to shine clear as a bell. With air this does turn a touch soft, and there is a hint of pruny-ness on the moderately long finish, but the texture and purity of this wine is very attractive. 91pts

Grilling Guide: Chicken

Gregory Dal Piaz — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Chicken is like the blank canvas of the culinary world. Mild and amenable, it’s an easy vehicle to bring global flavors to life. So this summer, instead of just slathering on the barbeque sauce, let your chicken take you to the far flung corners of taste.

With so many choices to choose from, you can be adventurous and inventive when it comes to grilling chicken. The meat tends to pick up flavors from marinades quite quickly, and if you are careful to prevent the skin from burning, you can really get a well-distributed layer of flavors that adds something to every bite. And don’t forget to cook some extra when you do grill up chicken. (I don’t know about you, but leftover chicken is one of the few foods that seems better the second time around.) Temps are rising fast, so without further ado, let’s begin our global chicken grilling tour.

Grilled Chicken image via Shutterstock

Cocktail of the Month

Sara Kay — Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

The first time I saw a caipirinha (pronounced Kai-Pee-Reen-Ya) on a cocktail menu, I assumed it was a typo. Not only had I never seen a caipirinha at a bar, I’d certainly never heard of the base spirit that makes it so exceptional, cachaca. A big advocate of trying new things, I jumped at the opportunity to try this new libation that I wrongfully assumed was a signature twist on a margarita. One sip and I realized that not only was this nothing like a margarita, it was one of the most refreshing and unique cocktails I’d never tasted, making it the perfect Cocktail of the Month for the month of May.

The star of the show in a caipirinha is the cachaca (pronounced Ka-Sha-Suh). Originating in Brazil, this spirit comes from fermented sugar cane juice, with a taste that is very often compared to tequila. I wasn’t sure how to differentiate it from tequila at first, but there is a certain je ne sais quoi about this spirit that makes it so much more complex and unique than anything else and virtually impossible to lump with any other liquor.

Caipirinha image via Shutterstock
Cachaca frequently stars in the caipirinha, which is quite simple in execution, but still manages to awe with each sip. A combination of lime, sugar and cachaca makes for a light and sweet drink that pairs perfectly with an outdoor lawn chair or a day on the beach, making it ideal for this time of year. If you’ve never had the pleasure of tasting cachaca before, I recommend a try-before-you-buy situation. There are some big cachaca players out there and some that are starting to come out of the woodwork, so if you’re a novice cachaca drinker, your best bet is to see which one works for you in this new cocktail venture. All you need now is an ice cold caipirinha and a sunny outdoor spot; your work here is done. Cheers!

Caipirinha

Adapted from Fine Cooking

1 lime

2 tsp sugar

2 oz Cachaca

Crushed ice

Slice the lime into wedges, and put four wedges into a rocks glass. Add in the sugar and muddle together until thoroughly smashed. Fill the glass with crushed ice and pour cachaca over the top. Stir well and garnish with a lime wedge.

Only In Piedmont

Gregory Dal Piaz — Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

I'm sitting here in Piedmont on a beautiful late spring day, lamenting the coming rains as well as the masses of tourists. The fact that this spring has been decidedly wet certainly contributes to a mad rush like this when the weather turns, but what I’ve seen is ridiculous!

Ridiculous, but expected. I mean how long can the treasures of Piemonte escape our collective attention? I am of course talking about the glorious wines, but also about the food. Even the people and the accommodations they offer are so Piedmontese!

There is so much that one has to come to Piedmont to experience. While many try to imitate what they have, there is no improving on these things. They are part of this place; authentic, original and inimitable. Though many try, you simply can't beat all things Piedmontese directly from the source.

PVA: Austrian Gruner Veltliner

Gregory Dal Piaz — Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

We're back with some great reports from Snooth's favorite online authors. Each attended the recent Wine Writer's Seminar Series offered during the People's Voice Awards Grand Tasting and has penned their own take on an exceptional masterclass delivered by sommelier extraordinaire Aldo Sohm.

Our attendees were presented with over a dozen examples of Gruner Veltliner, and Aldo lead us all through a fascinating tasting detailing terroir, vintage traits and the production techniques utilized to create such a diverse and dynamic set of wines. Each article included here reflects one person's take on the tasting, but taken as a whole they represent a detailed and nuanced look at the state of Gruner Veltliner today!

Indulge Your Senses

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Are you ready to feed your inner self? Need a getaway where you can take advantage of the culture, arts, weather and cuisine of one of the nation's great cities? If you win you'll be able to pick your destination from one of our five exciting options: New Orleans, Austin, Memphis, Portland OR, or San Diego. You'll enjoy a two night stay and a pair of fabulous dinners while you indulge yourself!

All you need to do to is enter in Kettle Brand's® Pros vs. Joes Cook-Off Sweepstakes, and vote for your favorite culinary creations. With over 100 recipes submitted by creative chefs across the country, you'll be choosing from entrees, appetizers and desserts that all share one unique trait: they've all been improved by the addition of Kettle Brand® chips. Adding flavor, flair, and of course crunch, these recipes incorporate a variety of your favorite Kettle Brand® flavors.

Get your vote out today! You have 10 votes per week -- that's ten chances to win -- and by voting you'll be supporting your favorite chefs as they vie to win top honors in our Pros vs. Joes Cook-Off Competition.

Enter to win now!

Bars We Love: The Wayland

Sara Kay — Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Alphabet City is one of New York City’s most eclectic neighborhoods, not just because of the diverse range of people who inhabit it, but because of the cultural attractions that are on every corner. Bars and restaurants of all different shapes, sizes and cocktail prices have set up shop in Alphabet City for the young and outgoing customer base that it attracts, making this a fairly overwhelming part of town, but a fun one nonetheless. The Wayland, a cozy cocktail bar on Avenue C, boasts an incredible cocktail menu that is bringing in more and more of these outgoing people who may enjoy the cheap beers that reside on Third Avenue, but are also looking for something with a little more character.

The Wayland Signage image via The Wayland
While the neighborhood and the live music are reasons to stop by, the cocktail menu at The Wayland is what will keep you coming back time and time again. While several of the house favorites stay on the menu year-round, seasonal cocktails constantly rotate to keep things interesting, and keep people coming back to experience all of the creativity that the bartenders at The Wayland have to offer. The food offered here is fairly exquisite as well; all made right behind the bar, all prepared fresh every day. If you find that when exploring Manhattan, you rarely travel east of First Avenue, mix things up and head over to The Wayland. A change will do you good. Cheers!

What to Drink:

The Wayland updates their website every day with the new cocktails being featured on their menu, so if you are looking for a new tipple every time you stop by, be sure to check that out. However, their house cocktails are what have kept me coming back to The Wayland over and over. The I Hear Banjos--Encore! is one of the most amazing cocktails I’ve ever had the pleasure of trying, not just because of the taste, but because of the execution. Applewood smoke is prepared in a glass bowl over top of the cocktail, making for a smoky taste explosion, followed by the sweet and spicy flavors of apple pie moonshine and rye whiskey.

What to Eat:

The food menu, as with the cocktail menu, changes constantly, so again taking a look at their website is a good plan of attack. While their meat dishes are always fantastic, I am automatically drawn to the fresh oysters and rotating cheese selections. Daily East coast oysters are always on the menu, and the cheese offerings change on a constant basis, giving you the opportunity to always try something new. If oysters and cheese aren’t exactly your bag, go for the BLT. The pork belly is slow-cooked in apple cider bourbon and maple syrup, making for a sweet and salty sandwich the likes of which you’ve never experienced before.

Where to Sit:

The Wayland isn’t a large place, and while it’s always nice to sit at a table, I am partial to sitting at the bar. The bartenders are always open to answering questions about the cocktails on the menu as well as their house made syrups and infusions (black fig-infused cognac, anyone?) and are more than happy to offer samples of whatever you may be unfamiliar with. Making nice with the bartenders here can only do you good, so do yourself a favor and sidle up to the bar to talk cocktail shop. You’ll be happy you did.

Barolo 2008 Revisited

Gregory Dal Piaz — Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

With just a few days to go before my departure for Piedmont, I was thrilled to have been able to join in Antonio Galloni’s brilliant La Festa del Barolo this year. Featuring a tasting of 2008 Barolo, it was perfect timing; a chance for me to revisit this excellent vintage, and to help set the stage for my upcoming tastings from the 2009 vintage.

In case you missed my report last year on my tastings of the 2008 vintage, which you can find here, let me just say that I was thrilled with what I tasted in Piedmont last year. Wine after wine showed a lean, racy character with terrific perfumes and pure, bright, crystalline fruit. The wines were fairly structured early on, if not large-scaled, and I had hoped that they would continue to gain weight and depth in the bottle, as Nebbiolo based wines so often do.

I was not disappointed by the wines I was able to taste. In fact, they have gained depth and complexity after a year in the bottle while retaining the hallmark freshness of the vintage. To be clear, not all the wines thrilled me; it was a vintage where winemakers needed to tread lightly and use a gentle touch if they were to be able to capture the essence of the vintage. I come to the table with a certain prejudice against excessive use of new oak in Barolo, particularly smaller-sized barrels, and several of the wines tasted this day did indeed show excessive wood influences that obscured some of the nuance of the vintage.

I’ll be following up with many of these producers over the coming days, tasting their 2009s; a ripe, overt vintage based on the general consensus as well as on barrel tastings from last year, and one that should be much better able to absorb the levels of new wood I found objectionable here. I just hope that these producers didn’t ramp up the wood to match the intensity of fruit the warmer weather allowed in 2009.

The takeaway here is that 2008 is a vintage to buy. In some cases it already shows very well indeed, though I do expect the wines to shut down in time. They should open up fairly quickly and will enjoy a moderately long life based as much on their bright acids as the moderate load of crisp tannins so many of the wines are carrying. It’s a vintage of uncommon transparency, meaning that you really can get a sense of the terroir that each of these vineyards expresses if the wood is not too overt, as well as the winemakers influence, which can be a positive or a negative.

Following a pair of rather exalted vintages -- 2006 for its power and structure, and 2007 for it’s opulence and intensity, and to be followed by another pair of vintages that promise to receive tremendous media endorsement -- I have a feeling that 2008 will get lost in the mix and end up being significantly discounted over the next two years. While it is a vintage to buy, with few exceptions, you might make out better by waiting a bit to see where the prices go.

NB I wrote this before researching the prices for these wines, which in many cases are kooky. This was a special event tasting featuring distinctly high end bottles. In light of the pricing of many of these wines waiting to see if they appear on sale is even more strongly suggested since I see little upside potential for these wines over the short term, say 2-4 years.

[PAGEBREAK]

2008 Giacomo Conterno Cascina Francia $150

Tight and minera on the nose with bit of cocoa dusted fruit under sweet floral base notes rich with tar, licorice, and macerated herb aromas. Rich if a bit tough in the mouth, this is all about grape skins today, with austere and almost bitter intense flavors of cherry, medicinal, and earth on the palate, all topped with aromatic floral and red fruited notes that drive the long, finessed finish. There is an innate sweetness here that will emerge with time, though there are suggestions of what this wine will become on the long finish which shows perfect density and superbly ripe tannins. 94pts

2008 Elvio Cogno Barolo Bricco Pernice $80

Sweetly fruited and bursting with aromas of rose hips, rose petals, just a fine edge of attractive jamminess, nice gentle spice, and hints of tar and licorice. Finely balanced on the palate with well managed tannins that are present, if not prominent, this shows a really lovely core of red fruit, that is rich, ripe and transparent, with lovely tannins and perfectly balanced supporting acidity. The finish is just a touch short but I expect it will lengthen with time. A great showing. 93pts

2008 Brovia Barolo Ca’Mia $80

Superb florality on the nose this open with intense, dark, muscular fruit filled with soil and medicinal tones and wrapped in the gentle sweetness of old wood. Tight, and yet showing real finesse here, this offers up lovely dark flavors accented with a hint of fresh peach and rich, ripe tannins that are seamlessly integrated. With air this turns slightly medicinal, and with a slight prune flavor and late arriving wild cherry fruit adding complexity, this shows off elegance and finesse in spades. A touch short today but this is superbly put together. 93pts

2008 E Pira Chiara Boschis Barolo Cannubi $90

Tight, floral, complex, savory and very precise on the nose with a light sheen of oak, both new and old topped with sweet rose petals. Bright and vivid in the mouth with rich yet transparent wild cherry fruit, lovely tannins are assertive but in balance allowing the wine to finish with a pretty sweetness augmented by a touch of wood sweetness, this shows the taut, austere elegance of cannubi very well 93pts

2008 Aldo Conterno Barolo Romirasco $185

Early on this is noticeably oaky, then it turns a bit hard with floral and spiced dark cherry fruit. Clean, precise and modern, this is a bit beefy at first, smooth and broad on the palate. This shows a little hollow on the palate, there's nice fruit, explosively pure and slight candied and medicinal wild cherry fruit that is sure to please many palates, but the structure is taking control here and this is very structured for the vintage. There is no doubt huge fruit here with added complexity from notes of herb, leather, and violets , but the wine shows a weird blend of super fruity fruit and classic structure. This is a super fresh fruit bomb. I don’t know how to score this, objectively it’s a 93pt wine though if there ever was a case of a wine having too much fruit this would be one of them, but it is delicious fruit. Blind I might guess this is a new world wine.

2008 Paolo Scavino Barolo Bric del Fiasc Riserva $NA

A unique bottling, first time a Riserva was made and this was bottled for charity. Just one barrel of this was produced, all Cappello sommerso, natural yeast fermentation, ten months in fourth passage barrique, then two years in cask, a year longer than the traditional Bric del Fiasc bottling.

Dark and pretty one the nose with obvious but not intrusive oak, there's some nice earthy spice and perfumy floral notes that drift up in the glass as well. Soft and almost opulent on entry, then rather firm and muscular with a dense core of dark berry fruit. This is tannic and tough on the finish, which is long and filled with nuanced burnished fruit, lots of cherry in alcohol and wild, woodsy berries all topped with aromatic rose hips. If the fruit hold out this could be special. 92pts

2008 Luciano Sandrone Barolo Cannubi Boschis $155

Lots of sweet, toasty oak spice on the nose is accompanied a touch of chalk and some savory, meaty, almost jerky tones. On entry a slight edge of sweetness is quickly washed away by bright and tart cherry and strawberry fruit. This is rather elegant, and fairly surprisingly transparent with good length still driving the light sweet edge here, tight with a traditional mouth feel that is less dark, matte and oaky than previous vintages. Finishes with excellent length rich with sour and astringent red fruits. Is this just a vintage anomaly? 91pts

[PAGEBREAK]

2008 Conterno Fantino Barolo Sori Ginestra $90

Perfumed with candied black fruits backed up with plenty of toasty oak. This is simple but assertive with lots of black cherry fruit and lovely herbal accents. Smooth on the palate, and nicely balanced with plenty of tart red berry fruit over well integrated oak spice. The tannins are relatively soft here, allowing this to deliver a nice sweet red cherry flavor on the palate, though the finish is cut short as the tannins reappear. Nicely done all around, sort of archetype middle of the road style Barolo. 91pts

2008 G. D. Vajra Barolo Bricco Delle Viole $70

Very pretty and perfumed on the nose with super wild cherry fruit and wild raspberry in alcohol aromas over nice low mineral, wild flower and wild herb notes. Just a hint of oak, gentle but it's there. Soft on entry, clean and fresh with lots of wild strawberry and lightly herbal fruit that has an attractive sweet/tart component to it. Tannins are quite soft, and the finish a bit on the short side. Elegant and refined with a very fresh and attractive flavor profile. 90pts

2008 Elio Grasso Barolo Casa Mate $85

Buttery at first then a little herbal on the nose with a touch of oak under bright herb and licorice inflected wild berry fruit. Focused if a bit small in the mouth, this is on the tighter side for the vintage with burnished cherry and wild strawberry fruit that’s a bit chewy and a bit on the spicy side. There's nice transparency here with soil tones and sweet wood on the backend, though the finish is tight and short showing hints of carob and nutella on the finale. This needs time. 90pts

2008 Pio Cesare Barolo Ornato $105

A Slightly oaky nose showing aromas of vanilla and toasted coffee bean over tight, earthy hints of used leather and soil driven spices. Shallow, with a meaty edge and taut in the mouth, this shows a nice prune and cherry in alcohol palate with plenty of leather and nice fine grained rather classic tannins that make this a little tough and austere on the finish, Smells attractive if a bit rustic, with nice cut, a bit small scaled but complete. 90pts

2008 Vietti Barolo Rocche $130

Nutty, cocoa, and sweet toasted spice oak on the nose tops the core of nice dark spiced cherries with a dusty, spicy character. High toned and bright on entry, unusually structured, lots of weight low on the palate with prominent acidity, fine grained but abundant tannins, and a little peppery spice on the backend. The finish is all structure, tannins, acids, the fruit is elusive here, and the wine just seems to lack complexity and oomph at this point but this does shows nice tannins with some sweet, darker cherry fruit popping on the finish. 89pts

2008 Borgogno Barolo Cannubi $ Not Yet Released

Tight and compressed sweet/sour cherry shows over a base note of old wood spice on the nose. Aromatically this is a bit tarry and heavy. The bit darkly fruited entry is a bit matte, showing some plummy fruit and sweet candy accents, with nice austere tannins, spicy and a bit spicy on the palate, though dry and tough through the long finish. A little chunky and compact if long and filled with fruit. 88pts

2008 Roberto Voerzio Barolo Cerequio $200

Sweet nutty and chocolate oak on the nose over floral hints with lots of fish sauce savoriness Fairly rich with a certain density this has a nice firm base but lacks some liveliness on the palate. The fruit is attractive with sour cherry notes and a little sweet hazelnut edge, dry and short on the finish, though the tannins are sweet, they are abundant. Attractive but the oak obscures too much at this point. 87pts

A Bonus bottle from the 2007 Vintage

2007 Cavallotto Barolo Riserva Vigna San Giuseppe

Lots of leather and camphor on the nose along with jammy dark fruit, this is a bit hot and a bit indistinct on the nose. Smells like essence of spicy leather and pollen. Light on entry, this turns a bit jammy and almost soft, though there are good supporting acids. The tannins are a touch rough here adding a rugged feel to the palate, which is powerful with late arriving cherry fruit followed by a short, tannic finish that shows licorice and earth inflected cherry in alcohol fruit with a touch of meatiness. This is packed with tannin. 90pts