The week runs Dec 18-25 and is hosted by myself.
The theme is Outside Your Comfort Zone.
The charity will be the Against Malaria Foundation.
Against Malaria Foundation:
The Against Malaria Foundation purchases and globally distributes long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets to protect people against Malaria. This prevents a significant number of deaths - the estimates are that roughly every 100-1000 nets save a child’s life, and $2 buys and distributes a net. Of course, many others are protected from the other harmful health and economic effects of Malaria even when it does not lead to death. AMF is very transparent about their work, so if you’re interested please do check out their website.
Donation Details / Rules:
The idea here is to explore wines that fit into a category that you’re generally unfamiliar with: an unfamiliar grape, unfamiliar region, perhaps very old wines if your experience is only with young wines, etc.
I will donate $5 for every tasting note, +$5 if you include a photo of yourself with the wine, or +$5 if you explain why it was outside your comfort zone, why you picked it, and whether or not it makes you want to explore more wines in a similar vein. However, I’ll round up to $20 if you do all 3 of these things. My employer will also match this – making it $40 all-in, or 20 nets per tasting note!
Hopefully we all have some fun trying something new, and thanks for participating!
I don’t own or drink enough nebbiolo. While it’s not off the beaten path for most people I just don’t have a cellar full of the stuff. I should. This was a nice wine and a nice value, more along the lines of pizza wine personally, but still nice.
2014 Travaglini Gattinara- Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Gattinara (12/18/2019)
I like the previous tasting note, hits on all the points I want to make. Floral aroma, dark cherry, mild fruit, strong woody note and slightly astringent.
I have no idea what possessed me to pop a Gattinara. Two came in last week in the waves of boxes from shipping season, and frankly, I had zero recollection of even having ordered this. Have never had it, heard of this producer, and have none other in my “cellar”. Well, I still have one more of this 2006, a lithe, floral, red-fruited, crispy beauty, that paired ever so well with some hearty cuban fare. And can still use some time. The materials in this wine are ever so fine, textured and layered, and as light as it might seem in appearance and nuance, it actually packs some grip. Love the sheen of road tar after a brief summer rain storm.
2014 Feudo Solaria Sicilia “Mammertino di Milazzo”
I, too chose an Italian wine. Outside my comfort zone because it’s comprised of Grillo and Inzolia. I have no experience with either grape.
Deep yellow gold, good clarity. On Day 1, a few bubbles. Aromas are tree fruit dominant: green apple, white peach. Subtle hints of white flowers, white pepper, slate and flint. Day 2, subtle grapefruit hints joined in. On the palate, fruit remains distinct and so acidic I’m going to say it “bites”. Body is light/medium, bright, texture. Very high acidity. My first thought after Day 1: a mix of dry Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc. Same impression Day 2. I’ll call it complex as it was a most interesting wine. Part of a wine club shipment: now a former member as I’m having so much fun exploring on my own.
I went a bit weird. 2008 La Madrid Bonarda Single Vineyard. Apparently I bought this from K&L many years ago, no idea why. On CT I have the only bottle! Moderate acid, low remaining tannin. A bit too oaky and it’s almost got some interesting secondary flavors, but just falls short. Not a sink wine, we’ll drink it, but nothing too exciting. No need to explore this avenue further.
Don’t usually drink Beaujolais and I have never ordered one off a list before but the spot I visited last night has a rather interesting list. I took a chance on this bottle and it paid off big time.
George Descombes, Morgon 2017
TN: Extremely light and pure red fruit (cherry, strawberry, raspberry) and beautiful orange zest and floral notes. Not thin with tons of concentration but elegant. This is going to sound ridiculous but it reminded me of a poor man’s Fourrier Bourgogne. Great bottle to start the night.
I have a pet saying—“the path to greatness has plenty of sideroads to obscurity”. I live on a lot of those roads in the wine world and love having fun with it. A great theme, Joe…let me see about finding something on theme to open.
2013 Friedrich Becker Becker Family, Pfalz Spätburgunder, Pinot Noir
Outside my comfort zone as it’s my first Spatburgunder (after months of searching for a reasonably-priced local option).
Garnet with tinges of orange; rim variation consistent with age. Aromas are first earthy: forest floor, mushroom, garrigue and subtle straw and stems. Minimal red fruit: raspberry, cranberry. On the palate, earth aromas still dominate and red fruit persists, but is subtle. Light/medium body, medium finish, medium acidity. Impression: not quite balanced due to dominant earth notes. Still, a nice introduction. Next time I plan to try one from Ahr.
I admit I tasted this earlier in 2019 and liked it, and grabbed an extra bottle at the winery to bring back home with me. But beyond that one tasting, I’ve never had any Baco Noir. I do like some of the craft coming out of Girardet winery and so it’s a pleasure to try another one and share it here. Of note, this bottle really screams a lot of watermelon and shows it more than any other wine I can remember tasting. PS…the dog photo bombed me so I figure maybe Joe can pay another $1 for that fabulous appearance of Shanti!
2016 Girardet Baco Noir- USA, Oregon, Southern Oregon, Umpqua Valley (12/20/2019)
Brought this bottle back from Oregon from Father’s Day 2019 weekend. Opened about 30 mins ago, seems ready to go. Serving at 66f without food. Has the same stalky note in the aromatic, along with a lift of fragrant red fruit. This bottle shows a leather note, akin to something I might think of as Mourvedre. The red fruit is juicy with cherry, along with some blueberry and a good burst of watermelon that flavors the finish. The acidity gives the finish a good lift. I’d be stumped if this was poured blind to me, as I’d be guessing all over the board as to what it is. A fun wine with lots of approachable flavors and expressive fruit.
NV King Frosch Nürnberger Markt Glühwein- Germany (12/20/2019)
Off the beaten path. Mulled wine, new best friend. Loaded with Christmas spices, dark cherry and cinnamon. It’s a German version of hot sangria for the holiday season.
I can’t say that the wines Jura are totally outside my comfort zone but in all honesty I don’t really drink them at home ever. I believe this is the second Jura red I’ve ever brought home and the first from the Poulsard grape. This producer however was a complete stranger to me when I bought the bottle. I knew the now infamous Caves Augé wine shop in Paris had a stellar selection when I walked in in 2014 and I had heard great things about the wines of Ganevat that they carried at least at the time. Alas, when I asked for it the clerk responded very confidently and not in a particularly nice way: “They are all sold out, buy Bornard instead.” Very soon after I heard that this shop is quite well known for deciding who can buy what and directly asking for something is not the way to get what you want. I have no problem with this, though, and I’m quite happy that they recommended this bottle to me.
2012 Philippe Bornard Poulsard Arbois Pupillin Point Barre- France, Jura, Arbois Pupillin (21.12.2019)
My gf hates ruby colored wines - this is the polar opposite of that. Earthy, savory and funky on the nose with tons of tangy, fairly intense and very bright red fruit. Definitely somewhat volatile but I’m totally charmed by it. On the palate light to medium bodied with fantastically lip-smacking high acidity. Really juicy and drinkable, paradoxically it does not feel tannic but it sure does feel grippy. I can’t call it massively complex but I don’t see it lacking much either; I think it’s simply delightful both on its own and with burgers. The finish is rather lean but regardless this is a rather neat, joyful wine. 23 € at Caves Augé five years ago, a decent QPR.
Cheers Joe, and thank you for the charity donations that you are making.
Going outside the comfort zone:
Spanish reds are not in our usual playground. We have had a bunch of them over the years and many were OK, but we seldom felt an urge to go get some more. In fact, this was the only bottle of Spanish wine that we currently have in our cellar. Thanks for this thread theme, Joe, because it gave us a reason to open it.
2014 Arzuaga Ribera del Duero Crianza
We tasted this wine over a couple of days. Yesterday, the first glass without food was very promising: intense dry fruit, with spicy, chocolate notes on both the nose and the palate, followed by a warming diminuendo finish (14.5%). Very smooth and balanced. BUT & HOWEVER & UNFORTUNATELY, after several minutes in the glass, a tart, almost scratchy acid showed up and started getting noisy, drowning out the pleasant first impressions. A glass with dinner of tortellini with Rao’s roasted garlic tomato sauce was just OK. Today, again I had a glass by itself and then another with a “what-do-we-have-on hand” meal of hummus, salsa, goat cheese, and Tostito Scoops. The acid in the wine is a bit toned down today, but it still dominates the fruit and spice that is also there, and makes this wine unbalanced to my taste. Once again, I feel no urge to go get some more!
Verdict:
We will probably stay at zero Spanish reds in the cellar for now. From this wine tasting experience and also extrapolating from years of trying but not buying more Spanish reds, I am going to say that the dominant acid is what I find unappealing in these wines. I might have opened this RdD(and my other Spanish reds in the past) too young for all the elements to come together and show their better stuff. I don’t rule this out. Maybe I should seek out a Spanish red with some age on it or maybe one intended for earlier drinking, before I completely bar the cellar door to them.
2014 Giacomo Montresor Soave Classico Castello di Soave:
Yellow gold, rim variation consistent with age. Medium+legs. Aromas are primarily white fruit: apple and pear. Subtle lemon, pineapple, and apple blossom. On the palate, pineapple strengthens and could that be banana? Definitely tart, lemony taste. Light body, high acidity, short finish. Very approachable; lemon influence and bright texture enhance appeal. Outside comfort zone as I’ve had very little if any Garganega in the past. Party wine for summer and casual wine drinkers. Drink now.
Don’t have much outside my comfort zone. Tonight I made spaghetti, meatballs and garlic bread so I grabbed this 2008 Banfi Brunello di Montalcino which I thought would be a great pairing with the red sauce and all the garlic. Unfortunately it was done. Color was brown but it has been temp controlled in my cellar since purchase. The wine wasn’t vinegar, just didn’t have anything going on. Fruit dropped out, not much structure at all. I had 4 various Banfi Brunellos from the same purchase and the first 3 were great. Was very odd.
A blend of Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon from Mendoza. The last time I had an Argentine wine had to have been at least 10 years ago…and I don’t drink a lot of Bordeaux or cabernet-based wines, other than Chinon or Bourgeuil. First sniff reminds me a great deal of a well-made red from The Sud, maybe a grenache-heavy blend like some Chateauneuf. It takes quite a bit of time for the tannin and structure to show up, but they eventually do, with a slight palate astringency on the finish. Nothing to remind you of Cahors, though. The fruit is pure and clean, and the overall impression is quite pleasant and gluggable. It’s very possible that this has the stuffing to improve with age, and it’s a good value at $22, but not back-up-the-truck good value – though if you’re a fan of old-school Chateauneuf, you may find more value here than I do.
![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Cheers Joe, and thank you for the charity donations that you are making. 
