Vino di Anna (Anna Martens)
Qvevri '14 (Vino rosso)
Anna Martens is a very charming Australian who has worked in vineyards all over the world and settled on mount Etna in sicily to make wine. I had the pleasure of meeting her and tasting her last wines last march at a wine distributor's tasting. her wines are super fresh, full of acid and edge and really electric. she is a big part of the natural movement in this region, winemakers producing wine without commercial yeasts and preservatives like sulphur, with little filtering and long maceration times. the qvevri is her vermilion cuvee which is fermented and then aged in "Qvevri," huge clay or concrete jugs -- basically the way romans used to make wine. These are Anna's Kvevri
This is primarily old vine nerello mascalese with some other nerello and alicante. it tastes concentrated, bursting with flavor and structure- quite light on the palate but with a huge creeping tannic structure, producing this surprising contrast. the volcanic soil the grapes were grown in is all over the nose and palate with a gravelly, black minerality. the wine is cloudy and full of creamy particulate sediment. the kvevri impart a slight grip to the body of the wine-- wines aged in amphora/kvevri leech out flavor from the concrete or terra cotta, giving it the flavor of red clay and spicy tarmac (?).
the somm who sold me this bottle told me it can often be very reductive right out of the bottle and suggested we decant it. i foolishly disagreed, enjoying the sharp greenness of the wine as it came right out of the bottle-- textured with high tone, underripe red and black berry flavors. thirty minutes later in air, the wine gained a very unfavorable brackish, wooly component on nose and palate. after some aggressive aeration the wine changed again, with berries turning into ripe cherry, secondary to a wild volatile acidity and oxidative notes of raisins and hazelnut. always listen to your somm!
tasty juice A+ want more
Statistics: Posted by can- — Mon Sep 05, 2016 10:32 pm
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Terpin Franco
Sauvignon '10
Friuli, IT
Skin contact Sauvignon fron Friuli, just across the border from Slovenia - one of those borders where national styles blur and the wine is much more Slovenian than classic Italian styles. Really wild lychee and ruby grapefruit across the nose and palate with secondary notes of acetone, a touch of smoke, and stewed tomatoes. Some salinity. A touch of the greenness you'd expect from sauv blanc. A slight hint of oak, probably Slovenian, really rounds this wine out in a way that is so rare with this style. Delicious stuff
Fruit: Keeved cider, lychee, grapefruit
Secondary: Varnish, stewed tomatoes, smoke
Serve with: lasagna, prawns, mussels/frutti di mare, paella
Body: m
Acid: m
Statistics: Posted by can- — Fri Sep 02, 2016 8:49 pm
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Chateau Musar '98
Bekaa valley, Lebanon
Classic cab blend from heavy hitter musar. Surprisingly light in body and tannins for Cabernet, maybe explained by its age. Some orange color around the rim, another sign of age. Super bright acidity. Surprisingly refreshing and juicy for vintage cab. Lots of fall spices, candied orange peel, spicy neutral French oak, baked black and red fruit. Amazing !
Fruit: baked/dried plums, overripe rasbos
Secondary: damp earth, charred wood, cured ham
Serve with: Mac n cheese, raclette, duck confit, creamed corn, coq au vin
Body: M+
Acid: M+
will never see this bottle again! a real treat.
Statistics: Posted by can- — Thu Sep 01, 2016 8:10 pm
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Raisin a Plume (Jacques Fevrier)
Le Moulin '14, Vin de France (VdF henceforward)
Natty Melon de Burgogne from Ancenis which is basically Nantes which is basically Muscadet. I can't find very much info on this wine on the internet. bought this wine on recommendation of SA at a wine store, sold as "basically orange Muscadet." The wine definitely sat on the skins for a bit and was only gently filtered as evidenced by the amber tone, (very) slight tannic structure, floating sediment and an almost pungent tartness on nose and palate. High salinity like most muscadet and wines from west Loire. Came right out of the gate with a very unpleasant wet dog/deep umami thing on nose, has blown off slightly into a truffle/baby poop aroma.. not exactly pleasant, kind've like the way gently cooked lamb and veal can sometimes smell like poop.
Fruit: lemon, mealy orchard fruit, figs & dates
Secondary: Acetone, pickled/fermented melon, cooked tomato
Body: m+
Acid: m+
Serve with: fritto misto, oysters, anything with natto, szechuan cucumbers/pickles, any earthy veg asparagus/beets/artichoke etc.
probably would not buy again
Statistics: Posted by can- — Wed Aug 31, 2016 10:01 pm
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I dont know that I feel compelled to pursue advanced cert because generally the level of service the court is interested in super stuffy for me and also the wine they focus on is not very interesting to me, but who knows! it feels good to have this, and getting to witness 6 master somms is super inspiring.
Statistics: Posted by can- — Thu Mar 24, 2016 8:28 pm
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dad always buys pretty gross california cabernets, pinots, cab sauvs and pinot grigios but some genius at the liquor store sold him two bottles of this CdJ saying it would be 'great with a turkey dinner.' 100% poulsard, pretty farty out of the bottle w some very gentle sulfur. bitter, savory, light bodied and delicious -- like a petillant arbois -- tasty AF. dark red tone, almost like a lambrusco.
my contribution to dinner. super phenolic, showing beautifully, lots of savory green pepper flavor and iron/flint with strong baked cherry for fruit, medium body. i'd buy a case of this in a heartbeat. this was so good i felt bad drinking it.
Statistics: Posted by can- — Thu Nov 26, 2015 7:18 pm
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Statistics: Posted by can- — Sat Nov 07, 2015 1:47 am
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Statistics: Posted by sknss — Thu Nov 05, 2015 2:16 pm
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7/10.
Statistics: Posted by can- — Wed Nov 04, 2015 3:34 pm
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