Month: September 2024

Wine Enthusiast Sip of Italy

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On September 10, Wine Enthusiast magazine held another in their “Sip” series of wine tastings. The last one was Sip of South America and this time around it was Sip of Italy.

The event was an opportunity to sample Italian wines from 50 wineries from all the geographic Italian wine regions.

Coming on the heels of Suckling’s great wines of Italy tasting the previous week, the start of the month of September was full of Italian wines. I attended the trade tasting in the afternoon and there was a tasting open to the public that evening.

The event was held at City Winery located at 25 11th Avenue on the west side Manhattan.

I wanted to sample as many Amarone as possible before moving on to the other regions.

Some of what I sampled:

2021 La Collina dei Ciliegi “Prea” (Veneto): Clear medium gold, spicy cinnamon on the nose, full juicy fruit with floral notes, good balance.

2022 Bozen Sauvignon Blanc “Mock” (Alto Adige): Clear light gold, peachy grass on the nose, moderate fruit with good acidity and balance.

2015 Pasqua Amarone “Mai Dire Mai” (Veneto): Medium opaque brick, tar and mint on the nose, juicy red fruit, firm finish.

2017 Santi Amarone (Veneto): Clear light brick with a tarry nose, chewy and tarry, ripe fruit, long finish.

2018 La Collina dei Ciliegi Amarone “Ciliego” (Veneto): Opaque dark brick, smoke, tar and ripe prunes on the nose, firm, chewy leather fruit with a smokey grip at the end.

2018 Zenato Amarone (Veneto): Opaque medium brick, crushed black fruit on the nose, chewy ripe fruit with a good grip and nice balance.

2018 Bolla Amarone (Veneto): Clear light brick, smokey black cherry on the nose, dusty, chunky black fruit ending with silky tannins.

2018 Covalli Amarone (Veneto): Clear light red, closed nose of woody tar, bright red fruit with bitter almonds on the finish.

2018 Santi Amarone (Veneto): Clear light brick, roasted nuts on the nose, juicy bright red fruit, nice balance.

2019 Cesari Amarone (Veneto): Clear medium red, smokey tar on the nose, big fruit with leather notes and good structure.

2019 Sartori Amarone “Reius” (Veneto): Clear light brick, sweet spices and roasted nuts on the nose, juicy, silky with slate notes, firm tannins.

2019 Ruffino “Modus Primo” (Tuscany): Opaque medium red with a brick rim, toasty pickle juice on the nose, chewy black leather fruit with firm, silky tannins.

2022 Gaddo Bolgheri Rosso (Tuscany): Clear medium brick, smoky black cherry on the nose, chewy, dusty black cherry fruit, good grip.

2022 Cascina Gilli Freisa “Il Forno” (Piedmont): An obscure grape varietal, clear medium brick, raspberry and red leather on the nose, bright red fruit, firm finish.

Vintus Portfolio Tasting 2024

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Vintus, a company founded 20 years ago, is one of the many importers in the New York City area. Like most importers they will have a tasting of the wines and spirits in their portfolio to showcase to members of the restaurant/hospitality industry. Those tastings are usually a couple of times a year, in the Spring and in the Autumn.

On September 9th they held this season’s portfolio tasting.

The event was held at Saint Bartholomew’s church, a Protestant Episcopal church founded in 1835. It’s located at 325 Park Avenue in midtown Manhattan.

As far as trade tastings go, this was one of the most spectacular venues in which to host a tasting, the interior of the church where the tasting was held is beautiful. And many of the wines in their portfolio weren’t too bad either.

Some highlights:

2020 Far Mountain Myrna Chardonnay (Sonoma Valley): Clear light gold, floral, roast peaches on the nose, moderate body with roasted nuts notes and good acidity.

2022 Chateau de Nalys Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Grand Vin (Rhone): Clear light gold, white flowers on the nose, spicy cinnamon fruit with a good grip.

2010 Chateau Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley): Opaque dark brick, cigarette smoke on the nose, silky, black olive fruit with silky tannins and a long finish.

2018 Hospices de Beaune 1er Cru Dames Hospitalieres (Burgundy): Clear medium brick, perfume of plummy leather and mint, tight with spicy tree bark fruit notes, goof grip on the long finish.

2018 Mondot (St Emilion): Opaque medium purple, dark chocolate and black olives on the nose, chewy black fruit, silky finish, nice balance.

2019 Tommasi Amarone Classico (Veneto): Clear medium brick, crushed green herbs on the nose, silky and juicy tarry leather fruit, balanced with a long finish.

2018 Chateau Troplong Mondot (St Emilion): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, crushed red fruit on the nose, concentrated and silky red fruit ending with silky tannins.

2020 E. Guigal Cote-Rotie Chateau d’Ampuis (Rhone): Opaque dark red, nose of sweet tar and dirt, chewy black fruit with a long finish and a great balance.

2020 E. Guigal Cote-Rotie Brune e Blonde (Rhone): Opaque medium purple, sweet roasted meat on the nose, concentrated and chunky with crushed stone notes on the balanced and long finish.

2020Le Macchiole Paleo Rosso (Tuscany): Cabernet Franc, clear medium red with a purple rim, dusty stone on the nose, juicy black licorice fruit, good grip at the end.

2020 Far Mountain Fission Cabernet Sauvignon (Sonoma County): Opaque black with a purple rim, black olives on the nose, concentrated black fruit of smokey leather with a long, tarry finish.

2020 Far Mountain Amotus Cabernet Sauvignon (Sonoma County): Opaque black with a purple rim, violets, dark chocolate and spicy black olives on the nose, concentrated with tobacco, pencil shavings and dark chocolate on the fruit, great balance, long finish. A big wine.

2021 Petrolo Galatrona (Tuscany): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, dusty red tar on the nose, tight and concentrated with a moderate finish.

2021 Lucien Le Moine Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux Saint Jacques (Burgundy): Clear light brick, nose of tar, dirt and cigarette smoke, juicy red fruit with bitter almond notes on the finish.

2021 Lucien Le Moine Chambolle-Musigny Rouge Reserve (Burgundy): Clear light red, nice perfume of tar, barnyard and smoke, tight black cherry fruit with a good grip at the end.

2021 Chateau La Fleur Petrus (Pomerol): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, woody, dusty sweet tar on the nose, silky red fruit, great balance with Asian spices on the long finish.

2021 Chateau Malescot St. Exupery (Pauillac): Opaque medium purple, perfume of slate and crushed black fruit, concentrated with dusty fruit, great structure, long finish.


Suckling Great Wines Italy NYC 2024

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Wine writer and wine critic James Suckling, presented and hosted another one in his series of wine tastings.

The Great Wines Italy wine event was held in New York City on September 4 & 5 at the Altman Building, an event space at 135 West 18th Street in Manhattan.

The two-day event featured 380 wines from 163 Italian wineries that rated 92+ points on Sucklings rating scale, .

Most of the Italian regions were on hand but the region with the most representation on the Wednesday I attended was definitely Tuscany. That’s not surprising considering the popularity of the wines of Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino.

There was a nice selection of the Brunello and Chianti but not very many Super Tuscans. To begin with, I focused my energy on the selection of Amarone and worked my way to the Brunello’s.

Some of what I sampled:

2018 Ripa della Volta Amarone2019 Tinazzi Amarone Aureum Acinum
2018 Masi Amarone Costasera2015 Farina Amarone Mezzadro alla Fontana Riserva
2010 Tenuta St Antonio Amarone Lilium Est Riserva2016 Sergio Alighieri Amarone Vaio Armaron
2018 Paradiso di Cacuci Brunello di Montalcino Riserva2019 Picini Brunello di Montalcino
2019 Altesino Brunello di Montalcino Montosoli2019 Altesino Brunello di Montalcino
2019 Carparzo Brunello di Montalcino2019 Carparzo Brunello di Montalcino Vigna La Casa
2017 Castelli Martinozzi Brunello di Montalcino Riserva2018 Ruppiano Famiglia Berselli Brunello di Montalcino
2019 Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino2016 Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino Poggio alle Mura Riserva
2019 San Polo Brunello di Montalcino2019 San Polo Brunello di Montalcino Podernovi
2019 Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino2019 Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Montosoli
2019 Uccelliera Brunello di Montalcino 2019 Voliero Brunello di Montalcino
2017 Villa Matilde Taurasi Petrafusa2020 Inama Cabernet Colli Berici Bradisimo
2017 Perla del Garda Merlot Garda Leonatus2019 Nino Negri Valtellina Valgella Vigna Fracia
2019 Giusti Montello Tenuta Abazia Umberto2020 Marco Bonfante Barbaresco
2019 Casteani Maremma Terra di Casteani

An Afternoon of Global Flavors

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On the afternoon of September 5th, I attended a wine luncheon sponsored by Wine Enthusiast magazine and Ventsiquero Wine Estates.

Wine Enthusiast is a wine magazine that focuses on wine and spirits related topics with the requisite wine and spirit product reviews. They run a series of “Sip” tastings for the trade and the consumer, the last tasting covered the wines of South America, and an upcoming tasting will feature the wines of Italy.

Ventisquero Wine Estates is a Chilean wine company with vineyards throughout the country including the Atacama Desert.

The luncheon was held at Naro restaurant located at 610 5th Avenue in Rockefeller Center. The restaurant specializes in the “subtle and delicate flavors” of Korean cuisine.

It was a sit-down lunch with wines paired with each course. Ventisquero wine maker, Felipe Tosso was on hand to explain the wines and the wine making philosophy of the winery.

Very often when I attend a mega tasting, I have to say that I usually bypass the Chilean wine tables, so I was looking forward to having a sit-down tasting of Chilean wines from a quality producer.

Menu & Wines

Summer Tomato: Summer Squash, Chopi Leaf, Tomato Eung-i

2021 Tara Chardonnay (Huasco Valley): Unfiltered, slightly cloudy light gold, barnyard, roasted hazelnuts and peaches on the nose, moderate fruit with nice acidity and balance.

Potato Jeon: Koreon Melon, Peanut White Wood Ear

2019 Herú Pinot Noir (Casablanca Valley): Clear medium red with a brick rim, perfume of stone and barnyard, silky fruit with crushed rock notes with bitter almonds on the long finish. Nice balance and acidity.

Pork Jowl: Pinecone Ssamjang Cilantro Salad, Gamchil Paste

2021 Vertice La Robleria Vineyard Carmenere, Syrah (Apalta/Colchagua Valley): Opaque dark red with a brick rim, crushed black fruit, mint, chalk and stewed fruit notes on the nose, juicy and concentrated with red leather and crushed rocks on the finish.

2018 Pangea Syrah (Apalta/Colchagua Valley): Opaque black with a purple rim, barnyard, crushed red fruit, mint and stewed fruit on the nose, tight with dusty and firm tannins, crisp acids.

Lemon Verbena Hwachae: Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Honeydew

Wines served with the hors d’oeuvres:

2023 Grey Single Block Sauvignon Blanc (Huasco Valley): Clear light gold, mowed grass, stone and kiwi on the nose, moderate fruit with slate notes, good acidity, easy drinking.

2021 Tara Pinot Noir (Huasco Valley): Opaque medium red with a brick rim, perfume of black tar and red leather, concentrated black fruit with crushed rock and tart notes on the finish.