Six winegeeks and 14 bottles gathered last night at ROC Restaurant in
Tribeca. Our theme was "Who needs Tuscany or Piedmont?" , a fairly
random sampling of wines from elsewhere in Italy. Good group, good
food (in my case grilled octopus and elk ossobuco), good times.

My apologies if any of these are misidentified, we had a list with
some details in advance, but we were in a dim corner.

2008 Casa D'Ambra Ischia
Cliff said this had been compared to a Muscadet, and I can see why -
chalky minerality with a saline edge, a little hint of spritz, not
very fruit driven (though there is some green apple and lime
underneath). Bit softer acidity than most Muscadets, but good. B

2007 Lambruschi "Sarticola" Vermentino Colli di Luni
Considerably larger framed, sweet ripe fruit yet with an acidic core
(at least one person disageed finding it soft). Very minerally, solid
yellow fruits, a touch of herb. Very good with the octopus. I carried
the remainder with me, intending to have tonight, then ran into Alex
from my Dobbs wine group at train, we each had a glass on the 10:56.
Held up well, very expressive, even if a tad warm. The only problem
with this wine is the $47 pricetag- if it was in low $20s like the
Bruna Pigato a definite buy again, at this price probably not. B+

Scott had brought a couple of matched pairs, Torrette and Fumin from 2
Valle d'Aoste producers. Fun to contrast and compare

2006 Les Cretes Torrette
Bright, lively, raspberry fruit punctuated with herb. I'd definitely
buy this B+

2006 GrosJean Torrette
Softer, slightly plodding compared to the Les Cretes. Still nice, and
showed better on a revisit. B/B-

2007 Occhipinti Frapatto
Pretty, fragrant, with a Loire-like freshness. Floral on revisit,
lovely lighter styled wine. B+

2007 Occhipinti Nero d'Avola
Big dose of brett at first pour, it seemed to partially blow off.
Others found no brett, go figure. But this is pleasant "cow pasture"
brett, not a strain that bothers me. Quiet and closed, this needed
time and food. Better later. B

2002 Passopisciaro Franchetti Mt Etna
(some discussion re cepage here, either Nerello Mascalese with petit
verdot or cesanese with PV)
Slightly lifted nose, with a dill/green edge. Lots of oak, extracted
fruit, I didn't love this, but it was certainly interesting after the
other wines. Quite tannic, might show better with a thick steak. B-/C+

2000 Paolo Bea Sagrantino di Montefalco Secco
Thanks Ramon. Just a gorgeous wine, and I think consensus WOTN.
Someone said "like a comfy couch" and I offered to buy that couch.
Seamless, elegant, complex. I'm sure this can age well, but it's
drinking amazingly well now (it showed best early on, though it was
still lovely on revisit. A

1998 Emidio Pepe Montalcino d'Abruzzo
Young, fairly tight. Showed better after a decant. Earth, dark fruit,
forest floor. B++

2002 Nino Negri "5 Stele" Sfursat
Somewhat modern, quite ripe, a bit of Amarone meets Barolo. Quite
dense. Maybe better with time, I didn't love. B-/C+

2005 Les Cretes Fumin
High acids, tight. B-
2006 GrosJean Fumin
No notes written (that time of night) C+
I have to say neither Fumin excited me, I liked less than either
Torrette, but if I had to choose I'd take the Les Cretes over the
GrosJean.

(vintage?) Inama Carmenere
Dark fruit, smoke, but a bit empty on finish. B-

2001 Paolo Bea Sagrantino di Montefalco Passito
Moderate sweetness, raisins, caramel. VERY generous for Ramon to bring
both Beas. I liked this, but dubious QPR, this is good while the dry
wine was great. B

It was good to meet Scott and see everyone else again. Thanks to
Oswaldo for coming all the way from Brazil and organizing restaurant,
and to everyone for their company and vinuous contributions.


Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an
excellent*wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I
wouldn't*drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I
offer no*promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of
consistency.**