2006 Capanna, and a two day shredding break in The Berkshires...

The 2006 Capanna, Brunello di Montalcino is an excellent brunello for consumption shortly after the release.

After a month of unsuccessful escapes (due to rain) into the countryside for the first day of riding this 2012 season, finally tuesday presented a promising forecast.  I took a later train in from Grand Central Station and arrived just in time for a classic NY Strip steak dinner at Big Franks.  In a rush (baked potatoes in oven) I had to run into the local wineshop for a reliable classic from their selection.  spotted the 2006 Brunello di Montalcino from Capanna, and having tasted the 2004 and 2005, the new 2006 release sounded like a go.

The 2004 was delicious but bigger and slightly closed (will obviously benefit from bottle age) when I tasted it open release.  The 2005 was a bit leaner, easy drinking and not super complex.  I could have gotten a lucky day with the 2006 but it was drinking gorgeous.  There was a delicious gameyness and aromatics that I didnt find in either of the other two vintages.  Capanna from northern Montalcino (Montosoli) practices longer maceration (about 25 days) and ages 3 years in Slavonian Oak casks.  For $45 a bottle its pretty reasonable and a great expression of approachable, traditional Sangiovese Grosso from Montalcino.

The next day followed with warmth and sun, and many turns on soft snow.  Above, A view from the top of Jiminy Peak in Hancock, MA.  A textbook ''Ice Coast'' landscape.

birthday culinary snapshot mayhem!

A splendid september 14th, spent with good friends, between restaurants exploring new places and food...
First up, was a lunch at Nudel Restaurant, in Lenox MA.. seasonally inspired food, with magical creations supporting local farms.  This place blew me away and is just the type of place I have been looking for in the berkshires...
I will let these photos speak the rest....

beet salad with walnuts green beans pesto shavings of parmigiano reggiano dressed in olive oil and lemon juice.

 

braised berkshire pork, vegetable pickles and sambal aioli.

mostly all u.s.a. wines on the list, but i must say this aligote from WA paired superbly with all of the food.

celebrating a threesome of september birthdays... nico 14 jay 30 huck 16

stopping into lenox coffee for a much needed after lunch caffè.

mid burn toscano sigaro...

later that night a sushi dinner at bizen, in great barrington.

and grappa next door at allium.

for the 15th of september, i met up with big frank and family for a brunello-bistecca fiorentina dinner... which i have now made an annual happening for my birthday.. what better way to spend the day...

a first course of a ribollita i cooked earlier that day, followed by a porterhouse and some newyork strips on the grill, for juice a capanna brunello di montalcino 2004.  very reasonably priced, a traditional brunello.  this one showing classic brunello dark fruits, but very tamed tanins and approachable as shit! nice vino...

some after dinner calvados, a new obsession...this one a great pick. the ''fine'' not aged terribly long which allows the apple flavor to show more and detatch itself from the typical brandy your used to.

mastrojanni e ragù

opened this 2008 mastrojanni rosso di montalcino... for about 20 bones its a beautiful straight forward, delicious food friendly wine...
frutti di bosco, for a moment a very vibrant electric raspberry note in the mouth, with classic montalcino notes following

a slightly chilly day in the berkshires, called for a ragù... a beautiful match.... afterwards some local melon...davids melon....

il poggione vertical brunello tasting in rome

Hotel Parco Dei Principi

Roma Vino Excellence / Merano Wine Festival 2010


Grandi Verticali di Ian D’Agata

Fabrizio Bindocci e il Brunello di Montalcino Il Poggione:

Una degustazione unica per un produttore storico di Montalcino: 

A bottle of the epic 1955 vintage beside the 88 and 95 riserva.

Sunday morning woke up quite late with a beautiful hangover,  and while drinking a late morning ''cappuccio'', i browsed upon this epic tasting being held in the city that day.  Somehow I got onto the list last minute. This vertical, was quite an experience, and never having  tasted wines this old, i was quite stoked. We tasted 10 Il Poggione brunello di montalcino including: 2001 riserva, 1995 riserva, 1993 riserva, 1988, 1980 riserva, 1975, 1970, 1969, 1966, 1955

The 66 and 69 vintages decanted.

Ian D'agata with Fabrizio Bindocci of Il poggione.

Here I'm tasting the 1955 vintage (a wine older than my pa duke.)

-In 1958 the winery splits and Il Poggione is born.

-(13-11-2010) I have added the official brunello vintage ratings of the consorzio del vino brunello di montalcino courtesy of Alessandro Bindocci over at montalcino report.

★= insufficient vintage
★★= fair vintage
★★★= good vintage
★★★★= excellent vintage
★★★★★= exceptional vintage

the tasting notes for il poggione brunello di montalcino. (from oldest)

1955 il poggione brunello di montalcino ★★★★★

this wine goes back to the use of chestnut barrels during the aging process.  the chestnut gives more tannins, and the barrels would be seasoned first with cheap wine, before being used with brunello.

tasted this twice, the first contained heaps of sediment. very brick in colour, and almost brownish.

very light in the mouth followed by a thick punch of concentrated fruits, fichi secchi, very interesting. 

1966 ★★★★

made with slovenian oak.  this '66 and the '69 being the only two decanted at this tasting.

beautiful wine, especially when compared to the 69.  this shows wonderful fruit still, a much more appealing swampy/cantina, terroir nose.  in the mouth, much more graceful than 55, traces of concetrated blackberry, raspberry, fichi secchi.  

1969 ★★

this wine was quite rough. nose full of basement, and swamp type of aromas.  on the verge of a corked smell.  harsh tannins. maybe a bad bottle.

1970 ★★★★★

picking up a nice taleggio cheese on the nose, less particular fruits.

e probabile, la prima annata, dove si sente l'argilla, nella terra. (''the first vintage you start to notice the use of clay in the soil.'' -ian)

1975 ★★★★★

beatiful colour. first of these wines that is becoming more ruby. a type of garnet, or rosso granato.  really balanced.  probably my favorite of these wines, classic brunello character, you can taste montalcino in this glass. long gorgeous finish, concentrated fruits, figs.

1980 riserva ★★★★★

very particular nose here. wood, coal, dirt. very different in the mouth, more appealing, nice fruit.  much less elegant than the 75.  more concentrated in the fruits.

1988 ★★★★★

cleaner nose, even some acidic notes on the nose.

1993 riserva ★★★★

bringin' the ruckus, with the camembert, taleggio on the nose. mamma mia,  one of the first wines, i have tasted with the taleggio essence in the mouth, just as on the nose. very particular.  

1995 riserva ★★★★★

begining of the use of french oak or barriques.  nothing really shocking me too much with 

this one here. 

2001 riserva ★★★★

this wine really packing a punch. and taking a stun gun to the palate.  this reminded me of opening a

new pair of sneakers, and smelling that new shoe, factory, chemical smell.

once you get past that, its quite jammy, hard long tannins in the mouth, excellent fruits though,

very ruby in colour.  

The '66 and '75 were the standouts for me here. The '75

was by far the best structured wine, beautiful hints of fichi secchi,

all around a classic brunello vintage for Il Poggione.

After all of this brunello action, in a following degustazione that day, I tasted a
1981 chateau d'yquem sauternes

cantine aperte, montalcino, toscana 2009

At the end of may, i took off with some mates, to Montalcino to taste the 2004 brunellos. 
Every year in italy, usually the last sunday in may all of the wineries open their cellars to the public for free tasting and tours. it is called cantine aperte (open cellars) and is part of the movimento turismo del vino its quite a beautiful thing.


we left from rome early as shit, and after going the whole night without sleep, me and my mate piovanelli, were a shot pair. we were also unaware, there wouldnt be sleep this night either as the hotel we were shooting for was booked. we would have an epic time trying to sleep 4 people in jacopo's freezing, and quite miniature car later that night.

That morning, we cruised into montalcino with a couple bottles of wine to get the blood flowing. we first got to the caparzo estate followed by altesino, donatella cinelli colombini, and then tenute silvio nardi. it was pissing out like a mother fucker.  but still a good ass time in montalcino. we managed to get tours of all the estates, and after silvio nardi, we went to check out the center of montalcino. after an unsuccessful attempt to try and sleep we sat in a dark soggy car at 6am, and decided since we were up, we should check out siena before heading back to rome.  still raining harder than ever, we took a quick stroll and gunned it back to rome, and out of the fucking rain.
Here are the photo's from the trip...

 (above: starting the trip off with a stop at mario tornatora in rome, for cornetti and a textbook cappuccino. below: jeffery's Ford Fiesta that became our home for a couple of days.)

(above: photo's from caparzo, below: onto altesino)

 (below: the driver gets hungry and thirsty too! we feed jeffery on the way to donatella...)

(above: quite stoked on the bottle of 2001 silvio nardi brunello di montalcino, i picked up with jeffery... turned out to be a keeper. below: foggy and mythical palazzo in the center of montalcino. 2nd below: a shot from siena, at the end of the trip.)