view of manhattan from williamsburg

1978 Chateau Latour... Un Grand Vin!

Had the pleasure to taste this 1978 Pauillac from Chateau Latour on my birthday.  Tasted both of these bottles and they were both very similar... something that doesn't happen so often in a wine having over 30 years on it.  The complexity was amazing.  Right away I tasted fireworks and gun smoke... which morphed into a spicy pepper, tobacco and pencil shavings.  Long in the mouth with some fruit present and just enough acidity but you can tell it is fading quickly.

A lot of Bordeaux wines have the same characteristics but depending on the quality the complexity and elegance will change dramatically.. as with this grand vin from Chateau Latour.  The 2002 Sassicaia (a rough year for Sangiovese, but much better for Cabernet from Sassicaia) went better with the food as it had a flawless acidity to it and the Latour was the wine of the night to meditate on.  Drink this 78 Latour now!

Notice the fill difference here with these 78's... giving them 33 years to slowly evaporate

Un Compleanno... Non da solo ma con una boccia di Krug!

im not ashamed... Krug is a guilty pleasure of mine...

As midnight struck turning me 27, I looked around.. everybody was gone except a lonely bottle of Champagne. Soon we became friends, and I was beginning to understand my love for Krug... I will take it any day over Dom Perignon.  So often are luxury goods over rated and nothing near what they are talked up to be.  For me this is an exception. Although usually not a fan of grand oakyness the Krug grand cuvee (a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier) fermented completely in small oak casks really shows the harmonious side of OAK.  The wine dances on your tongue and the components play together like a symphony.

All I need in this life of sin... is me and some Krug

Some of the wines opened tonight.  The 1999 Marcassin Pinot Noir was nice upon opening had a rich barnyard smell with dirty fruits.  Within only 10 minutes It completely cleaned up with bright red fruits and violets as if it had jumped in the shower, shaved put on a tie and said ''okay, I'm ready for ya!''.

French Mags' up in the spot

Had to do a post in honor of Wayne Young of old white wine, and which I drank a fair share of last week.  I put up these two bottles to mention briefly...


1995 Champagne Dom Perignon (Magnum)

This was a cool bottle of bubbly here.  I never thought to open champagne for the sake of breathing before serving.  You always pop the cork when you are ready to drink.  In this case we opened this vintage Champagne (which is roughly around 50/50 chardonnay/pinot noir) and I tasted it right before serving to the guests.  I wasn't expecting heaps from this wine, thinking it might be slightly past it's peak.  It had a very edgy, agressive oxidative character that bit at your toungue a bit.  We served it and that was that.  After service, maybe 3 hours later we opened it back up to share a drink before the nights end.  I wasn't even going to taste it as I had my eyes wrapped around a leftover Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco.  Someone said how great it tasted so I gave it another shot.  The wine changed completely!  Still fresh acidity and bubbles but that agressive oxidation was completely gone! and it smoothed out into a long finish.  Wow what an unexpected personality on this wine...


2003 Domaine Ponsot, Morey Saint Denis Clos des Monts, ''Vieilles Vignes'' (Magnum)

From the Morey Saint Denis Appelation in the Cote De Nuits - Domaine Ponsot produces red and white wines from Pinot Noir and Aligoté.  White wine only makes up 4% of the wine produced here.  This is the only premier cru burgundy made up of 100% Aligote.  This old white wine was killer though and had a perfect amount of cellar time on it.  The fruit still fresh, expressive and complex with a long finish.

Salute!

I'm going to Graceland, Eataly NYC

Was taken unexpectedly to Eataly for lunch this week by my Italian friend Arianna...  I knew it was going to be thrilling, and an incredible experience and that it was.. Probably more so then I expected.  We ate at the Rosticceria and had Brisket Bollito with salsa verde and a side of escarole.  Every day they prepare a different meat for a special.  Eataly...A market, a wine shop, 9 restaurants, a gelateria and 2 espresso bars all in one space.  To sit here and try to explain the experience would be pointless... get out of your chair and run don't walk!

Eataly
200 5th Avenue
New York, NY 10010

15th Floor, above the rest of Eataly lies the Birreria

Dante's stairs leading to the Birreria...

stroll through Manhattan...

stroll through Brooklyn...

Death & Co

1996 Asili in magnum

Bruno Giacosa 1996 Asili di Barbaresco Riserva (red label) Magnum, (bottle 048 of 1520)

One of the many reasons Nebbiolo is so fascinating is its versatility.  It can produce wines with different style and character depending on the terroir...but all within northern Italy, and mainly Piemonte.  As Angelo Gaja has said,  Nebbiolo is ''infinitely more complex'' than Cabernet Sauvignon, which is grown all over the world.

After tasting a very powerful and noble 1985 Bruno Giacosa Santo Stefano Riserva last week, it made it that much more meaningful to taste a younger 1996 Bruno Giacosa Asili Barbaresco Riserva.  Asili has been mentioned as the vineyard capable of producing the best expressions of Barbaresco and even Nebbiolo in some cases.

I tasted this wine throughout a 24 hour period from being opened and double decanted.  Although not as powerful and complex as the Santo Stefano (which we have said closely resembles a Barolo), it showed wonderfully.  The colour was still a very dark red and showing no signs of the classic orange reflections.  The first thing you notice when tasting this wine at 15 years out, is how powerful the tannins still are and how much more time this can spend in the cellar.  It started off gamy, slightly chewy and with notes of toasted hazelnuts.  After an hour it lost the gaminess and hazelnut, the beautiful fruit came out and it stayed pretty much the same for 24 hours showing a textbook nose of tar and roses with a beautiful acidity making it show best when paired with food.