Mid-month Tasting Notes: Corona Edition, April 2020

I don’t write public tasting notes all that often, but I do try and jot down a few words about every wine we drink when I record it on CT. I’ve found it absolutely invaluable when trying to remember what we thought of our last bottle.

Given I’m bored and we’ve had a number of fun bottles this month, I thought I’d transfer my personal consumption notes (with just a bit of brushing up here and there) over to public and post them here in bulk.

This is a pretty representative sampling for us, and a window into what we choose to drink. Mostly modest, over-performing, food friendly bottles. Hope it’s enjoyable!

• 1998 Giovanni Corino Barolo Vecchie Vigne - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (4/12/2020)
  A promising nose gave way to too much heat for my taste. There was still some nice black fruit and touch of spice, so it didn’t lack enjoyment entirely, just a little awkward and hot.
• 2015 Cleto Chiarli Lambrusco di Sorbara del Fondatore - Italy, Emilia-Romagna, Lambrusco di Sorbara DOC (4/12/2020)
  Opened by accident on pizza day instead of a different lambrusco, then drank the next day with leftover toppings (aka "antipasti). As usual, this was a vibrant little wine with plenty of watermelon on the nose and good all around balance. The fizz was still humming along despite having been open overnight. If there’s a better match then lambrusco and antipasti, I’m sure I have never had it.
• 2015 Cleto Chiarli Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro Villa Cialdini Secco Frizzante - Italy, Emilia-Romagna, Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro (4/11/2020)
  With pepperoni and onion pizza on homemade take out night. Like the world’s best sparkling grape juice without being sweet. I never want pizza without it. Classy lambrusco for the price, too.
• 2015 Domaine Brana Irouléguy Harri Gorri Rosé - France, Southwest France, Pays Basque, Irouléguy (4/11/2020)
  Almost to the end of our 2015 stash. After ~50 bottles of this wine, I’d say I know it pretty well, and this bottle was right there with all the others. My favorite full bodied rose without question, and the best pairing with margherita pizza known to man. In fact, it’s one of the best food pairings in our cellar, which is why we buy so much of it. It has a unique chocolate and tomato combo on the nose which I’ve never encountered elsewhere. Love Brana.
• NV Eric Rodez Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée des Grands Vintages - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru (4/11/2020)
  Opened before pizza takeout night, so we didn’t get to finish the bottle until the next day as we got distracted. Liked it a lot more than the first one last August. Still a great nose and classy juice, broad scaled with nice deeper oxidative notes. Shows its Krug connection. Not disjointed at all (JR’s complaint the last time), but a little bit surprisingly sweet impression on the back, even though I believe it’s pretty low dosage. Sweet impression didn’t take away from enjoyment, and even faded a bit on the next day - overall the bottle was better day 1, though.
• 2010 Domaine Billard-Gonnet Pommard 1er Cru Rugiens-Bas - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pommard 1er Cru (4/10/2020)
  Impressive bottle. Opened maybe 20-30 min before drinking. Very good depth and complexity, some Lyle green notes, nothing too strong, but also snappy red fruit. A serious wine, quite a pleasure. Think it will put on some weight with a few more years as well. Shows the breeding of producer and vineyard, not to mention a good vintage.
• 2004 Ferrando Carema White Label (Etichetta Bianca) - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Carema (4/9/2020)
  Over Zoom. What an impressive bottle. Started out a bit mute on the nose, showed young and a bit tight, startlingly so. Core of black licorice and red fruit. Jujubees. After almost an hour it really blossomed. Give it some time next time. Great consistency on these bottles, so glad we have more and some of the black label as well. Reference carema.
• 2012 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco (4/9/2020)
  Last bottle of the evening. I found it a little dusty and roasted, but Jonathan didn’t get that at all. I would have liked it to be cleaner, which Produttori normally is. We didn’t give it all that much time, maybe some air would have brought it together? Enjoyable to drink, even though I wondered if it could be slightly heat damaged. JR said no. Maybe damaged by heat in the vineyards. Note added - drank a second bottle a few days later which was less dusty, but still a little roasty to me. No worries - not every vintage can be great, and good is sometimes just fine.
• 2006 Weingut Münzberg Weissburgunder Spätlese trocken - Germany, Rheinhessen (4/8/2020)
  With fantastic pork chops. Needed air, amazingly, given I wasn’t sure how lively it would still be. I got something that smelled like cork, but knew that was impossible given the glass stopper. It didn’t last, though. Overall this was the oddest bottle of this we’ve had and I didn’t like it as much as I normally do, there was something a little off on the aromatics, even when the corky scent blew off. That said, air helped a lot, it tightened up, and it was enjoyable, with many characteristics still intact. See note from 2016.
• 2014 Andreas Laible Durbacher Plauelrain Weissburgunder Kabinett trocken - Germany, Baden (4/8/2020)
  With pork chops alongside the 2006 Munzberg. Really bright and lively, very aromatic, lots of lift and excitement. Had some lime and savory notes as well as something a little spicy. Very good showing. Laible makes the best Weissburgunder out there, for my money. While this isn’t up to the great 2012 GG, it was delightful. One of the best overall producers in Baden for sure.
• NV De Sousa et Fils Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée des Caudalies Blanc de Blancs - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru (4/8/2020)
  With Normandy brie after dinner when we probably shouldn’t have opened another bottle, but had a f’'k it moment. And so glad we did!! This was a dynamite showing, really striking in its intensity and balance. There was both good fresh cut as well as a nice buttery toastiness. Lovely elegant fruit. Out performed many other similarly priced grower bottles we’ve been sipping. Even the kiddo loved his sip and talked it about the next day - “this wine is good, dad, but not as good as the champagne last night.” Not bad for 10 years old. No one seems to talk about it, though. From 60 year old vines, 100% Chardonnay and 5g/L Dosage. Aged for ten months in wooden barrels (15% new). Disgorged in July 2017.
• NV Marc Hébrart Champagne Premier Cru Brut Rosé - France, Champagne (4/5/2020)
  Second bottle with quiche, on the terrace. Very nice, restrained nose but quite pleasing on the palate. Enjoyable. Some bitter almond notes, we both found it “Spanish” though we’re not quite what that means exactly. Has more weight and seriousness than the price would suggest. A good drink, if not exactly compelling.
• 2011 Domaine Jean-Jacques Girard Pommard Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pommard (4/4/2020)
  With roast chicken. Very nice bottle, typically Pommard, with a particularly impressive nose. Red fruit, good sappiness. Not a lot of weight, but wouldn’t expect it. Maybe give it a little air next time. Very good effort for the vintage and showing nicely now.
• 2014 Camin Larredya Jurançon Sec La Virada - France, Southwest France, Jurançon Sec (4/4/2020)
  Damn this is a great wine. Why don’t people drink more Jurancon sec? Well, not everyone is Jean-Marc, so not all jurancon sec is created equal. This is a big step above the Part Davant and shows it’s class and breeding. Deep rich honey and peaches and walnuts with a touch of cream, a little waxiness. Great acidity and balance. Consumed with a wonderful burrata on toast appetizer with olive oil and flakey salt. Love this wine.
• 1998 Isole e Olena Cabernet Sauvignon Collezione de Marchi Toscana IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT (4/3/2020)
  Very nice youthful nose, classic elements in place, crunchy and brambly. Ultimately, the mid-palate was a little dull but the attack and finish were still nice and shiny. Jonathan liked it more than I did - I found it a bit past its prime in the end. Fun to drink these singletons and see how they are holding up.
• 2008 Domaine Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Mouchère - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru (4/3/2020)
  Popped and poured into Riedel vinum burgundy stems. Served at first a little too cold since we only decided late in the evening to open another bottle. Even too cold this hit me like the one big wave the knocks you over after an hour of jumping over the small ones. My lord what a beautiful nose! All full of white flowers and white peaches and savory pastry dough and do I detect a tiny touch of mint? It was voluptuous in the mouth, especially when it warmed up a bit, with a creaminess along the edges that almost had me smacking my lips like a cartoon character. There’s still a touch of oak signature, but it’s part of a nice framing structure, not an overlay, and the acid is so on point that you don’t at all care about the touch of wood. This is an emotional wine, when it’s clean, with its own unique character. 2008 is the oldest vintage I have left now, as I started drinking up my older bottles more quickly when premox started showing up. This '08 was nearly as good as the best '01s and '02s I had back in their day. The only white burgundy I still buy in every vintage despite it all.
• 2013 K.H. Schneider Sobernheimer Domberg Riesling trocken - Germany, Nahe (4/3/2020)
  With leftover roast pork. It was very enjoyable. Great attack and energy, love the minerality. It’s pretty seriously structured, which keeps it from being slurpable (not a criticism, just something to be aware of when you’re choosing what to drink), though I would have a liked a bit more complexity. Very fun wine, priced well, with nice acidity and cut.
• 2008 Ratzenberger Steeger St. Jost Riesling Großes Gewächs - Germany, Mittelrhein (4/2/2020)
  Opened for virtual tasting. Great nose, very pretty, fruit dominated. Nice structure and good mouthfeel. Falls off into a dull finish, which didn’t really improve with air. More time? This is normally Ratz’s best GG, so this was a little disappointing. Wish they were more consistent.
• 2013 Weltner Rödelseer Küchenmeister “Hoheleite” Sylvaner Großes Gewächs - Germany, Franken (4/1/2020)
  Paled beside the 2015 Riesling opened the same night. Jonathan found a strong smell of spoiled milk, which didn’t totally take away the enjoyment, but was enough to be odd. I saw what he meant, though it didn’t smell like milk to me. Not a bad bottle, wished for more sylvaner quality. Have liked other vintages a lot more.
• 2015 Weltner Rödelseer Küchenmeister “Hoheleite” Riesling Großes Gewächs - Germany, Franken (4/1/2020)
  Fantastic showing on this bottle. Densely packed, mineral driven, great energy and verve. Hits your tongue like the opening guitar lick of some justifiably famous classic rock tune. Lots of lime and white fruits, but it’s the minerality that’s in charge. If this came in normal bottles, I’d have bought multiple cases in 2015.

Posted from CellarTracker

Where did you find the Brana? Alan Weinberg and I visited Brana a few years ago and have been searching for their wines and especially their liqueurs ever since. We did manage to get a few of the lower end wines including the rose from Fast but haven’t seen any since.

What great notes! And what a wonderfully diverse set of wines!

I loved these, particularly. My Lambrusco epiphany was a bottle consumed with pizza outside in a piazza in Modena in 1997. This sums up the experience:

Ditto about Modena, except it was December of 2019. Seems like a lifetime ago.

Hi Jerry - I don’t think Lyle (assume you meant Fass, not Fast) ever got the rose, though I could be wrong. How funny you visited them - we have, too, several times, and agree their eau de vies are fantastic. I’ll send you a PM.

Thanks, John! Anyone who has had that experience (I have as well), knows what it’s all about. Anyone who dismisses lambrusco doesn’t know what they are missing. You and I both have a plethora of great, serious Italian wine in the cellar. Is it what I want with pizza? Almost never. Not because it’s insulting or something, but because it’s not an enhancing match.

I had a 1991 Dominus this past weekend with my pizza. I guess I’m doing it wrong.

I dunno. I could be making pizza wrong - maybe it needs a whole lamb shoulder on it.

Drinking the '14 of this tonight with king mackerel steaks and ratatouille. Wonderful nose full on honeysuckle and jasmine maybe the slightest lime peel. About the same on the palate with some lanolin. Nice long finish. Not sure how it will age. Not a ton of fruit to start with.

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Agreed this is probably a mid-term ager - the '13 wasn’t particularly fruit driven either. It really needed food. No worries as it’s admirable now.

When you post notes like these, Sarah, it makes me want to order you to post more of them. A marvelicious read from top to bottom. Hopefully these consumed soldiers will help your monthly check-in numbers?

Hugs to both of you

Mike

Yep, day two show significant less interest. Still a good deal for what Fass was charging.

Thanks for the notes - I love the Lambrusco + Pizza combo, and don’t have it nearly enough!

We had a bottle of this last night and I remembered Sarah’s note from back in the Dark Ages. It was purchased on release and decanted about three hours and drank over the following three. I have to say that it was disappointing and probably the least interesting Produttori normale I’d ever tasted going back to 1990. It had sort of a dull, muted nose without much of interest. While the tannins and acidity were in check and balanced well enough, it just seemed rather coarse and hot. I can see how Sarah got roasted. It did not show any improvement over time, but I don’t believe it was in a shut down phase. A bottle a few years ago was about in the same place. Given that all of the SVD went into this in 2012, the whole didn’t end up being better than the parts. I liked 2010 much better (also a declassified vintage). This makes me wonder if the hot 2018 will be a similar let down. Not a big deal when this was a $23 bottle, but now it is $39.