The addendum had Duras on it which is a killer SW grape. My favorite place for oddball grapes. Tannat, Fer Servadou, Duras, Mauzac (for sparkling) are all worth investigating. As are the whites Gros Manseg, Petit Manseng and Courbu.
I agree. Just had a Lagrein last night, the 1998 Niedermayr Aus Gries. Could use a little more time, but wasn’t shut down hard. I’m also quite fond of the Nusserhof Lagrein that Dressner brings in.
My fave lagrein by far is the “Praepositus” riserva from Abbazia di Novacella.
I guess teroldego should also be mentioned in any lagrein discussion! Granato is the easy one, but still awesome. Donati is another fave of mine (how can you not love the name Sangue di Drago?) and I know Roberto sells it but I’m not sure if anyone else does…
I had Blaufrankisch at a restaurant earlier this summer. A Michigan winery, I think. Frankly awful, but I don’t have enough experience with the grape to say whether the wine was a fair example. I was much happier with the Sigalas assyrtiko I had at a Greek restaurant recently. For me, food and wine are independently great. I rarely have wine-pairing epiphanies. This was one of them.
Nice. Add another one (two with the Terrano).
RT
The Wine Century Club (for people who have tasted 100+ different wine grapes) has a PDF and a spreadsheet which list most grapes used in wine making – 190 or so. You can download them here:
I do think that problem may have been solved and that her name is Arianna Occhipinti (even though based in Vittoria). Frank Corneliussen is based on Etna and may be a contender, but I feel his wine frankly are to uneven and eccentric.
We had a Blaufränkisch last night, TN to follow. Sunday is the annual Tomato Dinner at Carrboro’s Acme restaurant which will feature a Ruché, and Grignolino from Luca Ferraris (Castagnole Monferrato in the Piedmont) and a Teroldego from Endrizzi in Trentino. Obscure wine week for me!
An even larger list :
http://www.winecentury.com/blog/2010/05/313-grape-varieties-in-a-day/
I threw this into a spreadsheet a while back and was cleaning it up for my own education. I am at something like 150+ varieties tasted singly and well over 200 counting blends. To be fair, hybrids make up a big chunk too.
Love Xinomavro and agree on Karydas.
I often find of more interest than new varieties when a familar variety expresses somethiing in a unique way. A Deiss Muscat did that for me once - fierce, penetrating and one of the most painfully precise wines I’ve ever had.
A.
I was surprised he hadn’t tasted the Heitz Grignolino. I didn’t think it was that hard to find. The rosé is very nice and different enough to note.
Giacosa also made a Grignolino d’Asti which looks to be pretty unknown. I blundered onto a bottle of '03 in Cyprus and, even at 5 yrs of age, it was really good stuff.
A.
I went home at lunch and found my old copy of Janis Robinson’s little Guide to Wine Grapes. Highly recommended.
Unfortunately she lists 800 wine grapes but many are alternate names (Mourvedre/Mataro/Montastrell).
Jancis’ description:
“Tongue-stingingly tart specialty of the far north east of Italy, notably the Colli Orientali.”
Eric is not particularly conscientious when gleefully recommending treixadura (a.k.a. trajadura in Portugal) - this is the main grape variety from Galicia’s Ribeiro appellation, indeed, but there are strictly NO treixadura varietals made in Ribeiro! (And almost none in Vinho Verde country across the border.) The local tradition is of rich blends of three or more varieties, usually dominated by treixadura, but never anything resembling a varietal wine.
Indeed Asimov’s enthusiastic endorsement of varietal wines may be construed as a disservice to those regions of the vinous world where, due to climate, tradition and/or viticultural wealth, typicity is most effectively served through blending: for instance, Rioja, the southern Rhône, Languedoc-Roussillon or indeed Ribeiro.
While I love the Occhipinti wines do you really consider them so far superior to Cos? Certainly I find the Pithos a wonderfully fascinating wine.
No, not really. I was wondering if I should mention her uncle. But her singlehanded determination and great strides the last few years makes me still put my money on her as the most likely Conterno-to-be of Sicily.
This is a great article and a great service to both consumers and the trade. I agree wholeheartedly with some recommendations, disagree completely with others, have the wrong experience with one and have never tasted or even heard of another.
Here’s my take, free, and worth every penny: Because of the season, the analogies are baseball.
ASSYRTIKO – Eric starts with a Grand Slam Home Run! A very great white varietal with searing acidity magically balanced by something pleasingly plump, great minerality and subtlety. Ageworthy! No, it won’t replace dying Meursaults, but from 3 – 7 years of age this can be incredible. Not recommended to drink young. I’ve probably had about 30.
BLAUFRÄNKISCH – Eric Strikes Out! I’ve had about 10. Basically boring. He says “combine the grace of Pinot Noir and the spice of Syrah”. I say it tastes like a blend of the two, as muddied as you would expect.
FRAPPATO – Never heard of it!
FUMIN – Eric hits a triple. I’ve had one, it was magical and just like Eric said.
FURMINT – Long fly ball caught at the warning track. One of the very great varietals for dessert wines, the dry ones I’ve had have been assertive leading to assaultive. I’ve had about 15, a few very good, most just too aggressive.
GRIGNOLINO – Weak grounder to short. Somebody said ‘No Wimpy Wines’. If you believe that, avoid Grignolino. I’ve had half a dozen.
LAGREIN – A solid double. Iconic, ironic reds with tons of minerals, lots of color, plenty of black fruits in a light-bodied format. In the Middle Ages, when I was a middle-aged retail wine salesman, I bought cases of Lagrein Dunkel and swilled them down with fresh-ground grilled hamburgers, never regretted a sip. I’ve only had half a dozen, but I’m a believer.
MENCÍA – A clean single. There’s some real character here, lots of black fruit, wild fruit as Eric says. But nothing great, interesting and at times intricate, but rarely worth the price of admission. These are expensive! I’ve had about 10.
PINEAU D’AUNIS – Soft fly to shallow right. I’m 63 years old and for me attractively funky applies to women in their 50s, not to wines. Light but boring. I’ve had half a dozen.
ROMORANTIN – Eric dribbles a single between 2nd and short. The romantic name leads to expectations that are rarely met. Slightly succulent, slightly floral, too often too acid. I’ve had a dozen.
TREIXADURA - I’ve only had them from Portugal and Rias Baixas, and then usually as blends, never Ribeiro, so can’t really comment.
TROUSSEAU – Eric strikes out. What Eric calls presence I call dirty (‘earthy’ if you’re being polite). Light in body but stinky. Offputting, so light you wish it would just disappear. I’ve had 3 or 4, have avoided ever since.
Dan Kravitz
Interesting article. I agree with the enthusiasm on this thread for xinomavro; I also like the Karydas, as well as others like Vaeni Naoussa and Boutari - a lot of the less modern ones provide pretty good value. Can’t agree with folks on assyrtiko yet - wanted to like them, but the ones I had (including the Sigalas wines) had a savory, pinot-grigio like aspect that I just couldn’t get into. Maybe with the right food.
Dan, can’t agree with you that blaufrankisch is a strikeout; at a tasting of 20-30 of them earlier this year, I found strong examples that had qualities ranging from pinot noir-like (in the case of Moric) all the way to cab-like. Prices are a bit high, I admit; anyway for fuller notes: http://www.amateurwino.com/?p=350" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Lyle, thanks for the reminder, I’ve got a bottle of Plageoles duras that I’ve been meaning to get to for a while now - in my opinion, a varietal to check out if you’re a Left Bank Bordeaux fan.
+1 on the Praepositus Lagrein, but try to find NIEDRIST Berger Gei Lagrein, as well.
Guys,
1-2 years ago I tasted some aged Blaufränkisch MORIC from the vintage 2002 with the winemaker Velich. Outstanding!
Cheers,
Martin