NYTimes: Asimov On Weird Varietals....

Interesting and thoughtful article by Eric in today’s NYTimes on some weird/lesser-known varietals:

NYTimes: Asimove On Weird Varietals

Yoikes…where’s the love for Tazzalenghe??

Tom

Can’t wait to read about the weird wines. Thanks, Tom.

That article sums up where I am these days. Need to figure out a way to slowly transition out of my Cali-centric cellar and make room for the oddball ones.

Got my first shipment of Scholium Project on it’s way. Can’t wait to open them. I said this in the other thread, but I am looking more forward to opening them than the 07 Scarecrow.

Italy is such a treasure and I have only begun to scratch the surface.

I’ve had two of the oddball grapes mentioned: MENCÍA and LAGREIN mentioned in the article. Saw this whilest perusing Berserkers drinking a Xinomavro from Greece.

Would definitely try a MENCÍA again.

  • 2007 D. Ventura Ribeira Sacra Pena do Lobo - Spain, Galicia, Ribeira Sacra (5/4/2010)
    Don’t know if I’ve had a Mencía wine before but I took a flyer on this based mostly on price and wanting to try something new.

Inky color. Nose was pretty tight initially but opened up nicely after 90 minutes or so. There’s some funk and herbs along mineral components I usually associate more with white wines. Taste is dark ripe fruit (not overly extracted) over top some earthy undertones. There is nice acidity up front, medium tannins on the mid palate and a tartness to the finish. Just a bit of heat creeps up towards the end.

Pretty darn interesting wine. Glad I picked it up and would try a Mencía again. (88 pts.)


  • 2007 Andrianer Kellerei Lagrein Alto Adige - Südtirol Tor di Lupo - Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Alto Adige, Alto Adige - Südtirol (4/5/2010)
    Deep red/purple color. Tasted after being open 2 or 3 hours. Nose is a dusty fig but a little tight. Taste dark, earthy fruit with present tannins that don’t overpower your mouth. Its fairly well made, in balance and given the price point ($12~15) a nice different thing to try. I’ve only had a single other Lagrein and it was much more tannic; this was much more drinkable.
  • 2006 Santa Barbara Winery Lagrein Joughin Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley (2/15/2010)
    The week new wines continues. Tonight’s grape from Italy via California: Lagrein. Extremely dark color with ruby undertones. Nose is a bit challenged but is mostly oak influenced with some floral sub-components. Taste is dark fruits with heavy tannins, mouth drying tannins, you can taste them in the morning tannins. Its not unbalanced, nor is it memorable in a “wow” kind of way. Liked it more than the Counoise last week on night one.

Posted from CellarTracker

Good recommendations from what I’ve tasted. I’m a fan of Assyrtiko, Furmint, Frappato, Grignolino, Lagrein, Mencia and Trousseau and have at least had Blaufrankish and Pineau once.

I’m happy for anything that gets people looking outside the box!

Xinomavro definitely should have been on the list!

I’ve had the Blaufrankish (couldn’t find the umlaut button) from Moric twice in the last two months. Very good. Very interesting. Recommended.

Has anyone had Pax’s Trousseau Gris?

Yup…had it twice now. TrosseauGris used to be known in Calif as GreyRiesling.
Nice/interesting white, like most of the whites on Asimov’s list. Lightly floral w/ a nice
underlying minerality/chalkiness. Fairly priced at $25 for a “junk” grape.
Tom

This is one I’ve been meaning to try. Xinomavro along with Nerello from Mt. Etna gets compared favorably to Nebbiolo, so I’m wondering if these might be interesting alternatives (not substitutes necessarily) to the stratospheric prices of Piedmont.

Of that list, I’ve tried Mencia, Blaufrankisch, Lagrein and Pineau d’Aunis. The first two are really interesting to me and I definitely want to seek out more. Lagrein seems mostly like some sort of dark wine–hard to distinguish from other dark wines. The Pineau d’Aunis I tried was weird, though I suspect there was some ML fermentation going on in the bottle.

Try Domaine Karydas. You could close your eyes and think it’s a Rinaldi Barolo. I get much more of a nebbiolo similarity there than with nerello mascalese, which I’d probably sooner compare to aglianico.

nerello mascalese has been one of my big finds this year. i wasn’t interested in trying a Xinomavro, but now I am. thanks for the reco.

I don’t know if I have quite had an epiphany moment with Xinomavro yet but Lagrein and Nerello are two of my favorite of the “lesser known” varietals. I see the comparison of Nerello to Aglianico and in some ways to Pinot more so than to Nebbiolo.

I agree Lagrein can be a bit dark and anonymous but from the right producers it can also be quite beguiling. I’ve had great luck with the Kellerei Santa Magdalena Lagrein Taber Riserva.

I feel like Nerello has tremendous complexity and is in need of the right producer to catapult it to world class. I haven’t yet found one that wasn’t a little over oaked or over ripe or over rustic. Who is going to be the Bea, Conterno or Soldera of Etna?

Definitely the Etna Rosso I’ve had bore the greatest resemblance to a Pinot Noir. But I hate to attempt a comparison based on just one example. The Nebbiolo comparison is something I’ve read at some point, though it was not apt for my 1 data point.

For me, nerello is just way, way, way too tannic to sustain a pinot noir comparison.

I was on a lagrein kick for awhile but the ones that have the most flavor distinction are also huge, rich wines - a little much for me, so I’m not in the mood for them so often. Still, such a unique taste it’s a grape that should be better known. Great alternative to something like a Graves, with all its tarry, smoky things going on.

Good comparison… tarry and smoky for sure but w/o the tobacco and cedar of course. I tend to find sort of blue and red fruits and quite dusty, some elements reminiscent of Aglianico but quite distinct as well.

Hungary is a very good source for “weird varietals”. Blaufrankisch is known as Kékfrankos in Hungary, I had a few real nice examples there a few years ago. And the Furmint wines were great as well, both sweet and dry. And those are just the varietals that made the article. Some other fun varietals I had in Hungary are Kéknyelű and Kövérszőlő. Kéknyelű is the only wine grape I have heard of that does not self pollinate. They have male and female plants mixed in the vineyard.

Info on Hungarian wine grapes if you are so inclined.
http://www.chew.hu/szolofajtak.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I need to add Fumin to the “try list”, having tasted and enjoyed atleast a bottle of the others. The cellar at the moment contains Lagrein, Mencia, Romorantin, Trousseau and Furmint (just in the sweet blend). Eric should’ve commented on the noteworthy Roses made from Lagrein.

RT

Nice article.

I’m amazed that Tokaji seemingly isn’t even one tenth as popular as Sauternes.

Strange, huh?
Yquem is one wine whose price hikes haven’t made me shed a single tear.

I was really glad to see Assyrtiko on Eric’s list. It’s my single favorite varietal from Greece, a country rich with indigenous varietals. It’s also one of my favorite dry white wines, and a go to wine especially during the summer months. Sigalas on Santorini makes my favorite versions, which come in separate oaked and unoaked bottlings.