Wine (alt.food.wine) Devoted to the discussion of wine and wine-related topics. A place to read and comment about wines, wine and food matching, storage systems, wine paraphernalia, etc. In general, any topic related to wine is valid fodder for the group.

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to alt.food.wine
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 4,554
Default TN: Bday wines, with arteries clogging (2 Bdx, 2 Barolos, Burg, Loires, NZ, etc)

I spent Saturday dashing between work and buying Betsy a new car, by
dinner time I was too tired to think of cooking (Betsy was working),
and went with takeout pizza. I opened a 2004 Mezzogiorno Negromaro.
Soft red fruit, a little tar and tobacco, but a bit short and lacking
concentration. Negromaro imitiating cheap Cal Merlot. Saved the
majority to join some VdP and a bottle of Cotes du Rhone in a double
recipe of brasato the following night. C+/B-

Yesterday was number 46 for me, and we had invited 8 good old friends
to help celebrate. None were geeks, but all enjoy wine, and indulged my
geekiness. Betsy and I had discussions about menu options, but realized
a bit late that our menu was a celebration of animal fats, especially
pork. So we decided to go with theme and hung a sign by porch to greet
guests that said "welcome to the Cardiologist's Nightmare."

We had smoked whitefish and slices of lomo (a birthday gift from Betsy)
as munchies while we gathered (one guest was unavoidedly delayed one
hour). Starter wine was the NV Pinon Vouvray Brut. Light and easy,
lemon-apple fruit with a hint of biscuity yeastiness. Fun and frisky,
B+

The only hot hors d'oeuvres were pancetta crisps (pancetta baked, and
then topped with goat cheese,pear, and thyme). Some stuck with the
Vouvray, but I added the 2005 Coopers Creek Sauvignon Blanc to the mix
due to the chevre. Pleasant $10 SB with gooseberry fruit, a little
grass, and good acidity. B

Once the final guest had arrived and the dogs (she brought her 6 month
old Dachshund) had marrow bones to play with, we sat down to the first
course, a creamy garlic soup with proscuitto (Jeremiah Tower recipe). I
served two Chardonnays as our first sitdown wines:

1999 Domaine Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet
This village level wine showed quite well right off the bat. Deep pear
and apple fruit surrounded by accents of butterscotch and toast. Nice
mineral finish. though without the length that the '99 Caillerets
exhibited a few months ago. Excellent for the level. B +

1997 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay (Napa Valley)
This was all oak and lemony acids at first, just blown away by the
Burg. But it actually rounded and integrated with a little time, with
the oak seeming more subdued and the acids more refined. Not my
favorite Montelena Chard of all time,but nice enough. B

Main course was a Judy Rodgers (Zuni Cafe) brasato (she did two
recipes, each with a bottle of red wine first reduced to a cup, and
with a pigs foot for broth richeness), mashed potatoes (with butter,
cream cheese, sour cream, and milk), and green beans with sesame oil.
Burp.
As the recipe suggested a Barolo, and the brasato is essentially the
same dish as beef in Barolo, wine choices were easy:

1995 Marcarini "La Serra" Barolo
Both Barolos were opened but not decanted several hours before dinner.
There's tar, leather, and earth over a body of rich red fruit. The
tannins are not fully resolved, but are not intrusive. Good acidity,
good length, a nice almost mature Barolo. B+

1995 Oddero " Rocche di Castiglione" Barolo
Whoa, what happened here? Acidic red raspberry fruit, decent earthy
nose, but a lack of concentration, short finish. I felt this the
poorest wine of the night, but it actually was the first red emptied.
Go figure. C+/C

But my original plan for dinner had included Bordeaux, so we opened two
after the Barolos, and followed them through the cheese course- Keen's
cheddar, aged comte, a Pyrenees cheese called Pere Toinou, Stinking
Bishop, and a Spanish blue cheese wrapped in leaves (there was also
a salad of watercress and orange in there- a wine killer, but one must
have one low-fat course!).

1979 Chteau du Tertre (Margaux)
VHS fill, this was a tad stinky on decanting but cleaned up and filled
out nicely after a short rest. I was looking forward to this one based
on reports by Mark Golodetz and John Gilman, but even so found this a
very pleasant surprise. Fully mature, with round cassis and black plum
fruit, some cedar and tobacco, a little graphite. Holds steady
throughout dinner, though it had faded by the time I had the last
half-glass while doing dishes. Easily WOTN for me. A-

1978 Chteau Talbot (St. Julien)
The Cordier funk was overwhelming at first. But it seemed to moderate,
leaving behind a still muscular wine with blackcurrant fruit and
coffee. There's still that touch of barnyard, but a nice wine for its
level. B+

For the blue cheese (and the Stinking Bishop, though that did not work
well) I opened the 1995 Pierre-Bise "Les Rouannieres" Coteaux du Layon.
This is all about orange- orange color, candied orange and orange peel
aromas. Ok, so there's apricot and honey too. Huge hit around the
table. That lanolin/waxy Chenin thing adds a fun note to the sweet
fruit and flowers. I like this for its moderate sweetness and good
acidity. A-/B+

There was a lemon tart and a cheesecake for the dessert eaters. Fun
night, with good friends. Hopefully evening didn't shorten our lives
too much.



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.

  #2 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to alt.food.wine
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 629
Default TN: Bday wines, with arteries clogging (2 Bdx, 2 Barolos, Burg, Loires, NZ, etc)


DaleW wrote:
> I spent Saturday dashing between work and buying Betsy a new car, by
> dinner time I was too tired to think of cooking (Betsy was working),
> and went with takeout pizza. I opened a 2004 Mezzogiorno Negromaro.
> Soft red fruit, a little tar and tobacco, but a bit short and lacking
> concentration. Negromaro imitiating cheap Cal Merlot. Saved the
> majority to join some VdP and a bottle of Cotes du Rhone in a double
> recipe of brasato the following night. C+/B-
>
> Yesterday was number 46 for me, and we had invited 8 good old friends
> to help celebrate. None were geeks, but all enjoy wine, and indulged my
> geekiness. Betsy and I had discussions about menu options, but realized
> a bit late that our menu was a celebration of animal fats, especially
> pork. So we decided to go with theme and hung a sign by porch to greet
> guests that said "welcome to the Cardiologist's Nightmare."
>
> We had smoked whitefish and slices of lomo (a birthday gift from Betsy)
> as munchies while we gathered (one guest was unavoidedly delayed one
> hour). Starter wine was the NV Pinon Vouvray Brut. Light and easy,
> lemon-apple fruit with a hint of biscuity yeastiness. Fun and frisky,
> B+
>
> The only hot hors d'oeuvres were pancetta crisps (pancetta baked, and
> then topped with goat cheese,pear, and thyme). Some stuck with the
> Vouvray, but I added the 2005 Coopers Creek Sauvignon Blanc to the mix
> due to the chevre. Pleasant $10 SB with gooseberry fruit, a little
> grass, and good acidity. B
>
> Once the final guest had arrived and the dogs (she brought her 6 month
> old Dachshund) had marrow bones to play with, we sat down to the first
> course, a creamy garlic soup with proscuitto (Jeremiah Tower recipe). I
> served two Chardonnays as our first sitdown wines:
>
> 1999 Domaine Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet
> This village level wine showed quite well right off the bat. Deep pear
> and apple fruit surrounded by accents of butterscotch and toast. Nice
> mineral finish. though without the length that the '99 Caillerets
> exhibited a few months ago. Excellent for the level. B +
>
> 1997 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay (Napa Valley)
> This was all oak and lemony acids at first, just blown away by the
> Burg. But it actually rounded and integrated with a little time, with
> the oak seeming more subdued and the acids more refined. Not my
> favorite Montelena Chard of all time,but nice enough. B
>
> Main course was a Judy Rodgers (Zuni Cafe) brasato (she did two
> recipes, each with a bottle of red wine first reduced to a cup, and
> with a pigs foot for broth richeness), mashed potatoes (with butter,
> cream cheese, sour cream, and milk), and green beans with sesame oil.
> Burp.
> As the recipe suggested a Barolo, and the brasato is essentially the
> same dish as beef in Barolo, wine choices were easy:
>
> 1995 Marcarini "La Serra" Barolo
> Both Barolos were opened but not decanted several hours before dinner.


Several hours? A ten year-old wine? Barolocide. Unbelievable. You
should be punished in the most excruciatingly painful way possible.

> There's tar, leather, and earth over a body of rich red fruit. The
> tannins are not fully resolved, but are not intrusive. Good acidity,
> good length, a nice almost mature Barolo. B+
>
> 1995 Oddero " Rocche di Castiglione" Barolo
> Whoa, what happened here? Acidic red raspberry fruit, decent earthy
> nose, but a lack of concentration, short finish. I felt this the
> poorest wine of the night, but it actually was the first red emptied.
> Go figure. C+/C
>
> But my original plan for dinner had included Bordeaux, so we opened two
> after the Barolos, and followed them through the cheese course- Keen's
> cheddar, aged comte, a Pyrenees cheese called Pere Toinou, Stinking
> Bishop, and a Spanish blue cheese wrapped in leaves (there was also
> a salad of watercress and orange in there- a wine killer, but one must
> have one low-fat course!).
>
> 1979 Chteau du Tertre (Margaux)
> VHS fill, this was a tad stinky on decanting but cleaned up and filled
> out nicely after a short rest. I was looking forward to this one based
> on reports by Mark Golodetz and John Gilman, but even so found this a
> very pleasant surprise. Fully mature, with round cassis and black plum
> fruit, some cedar and tobacco, a little graphite. Holds steady
> throughout dinner, though it had faded by the time I had the last
> half-glass while doing dishes. Easily WOTN for me. A-
>
> 1978 Chteau Talbot (St. Julien)
> The Cordier funk was overwhelming at first. But it seemed to moderate,
> leaving behind a still muscular wine with blackcurrant fruit and
> coffee. There's still that touch of barnyard, but a nice wine for its
> level. B+
>
> For the blue cheese (and the Stinking Bishop, though that did not work
> well) I opened the 1995 Pierre-Bise "Les Rouannieres" Coteaux du Layon.
> This is all about orange- orange color, candied orange and orange peel
> aromas. Ok, so there's apricot and honey too. Huge hit around the
> table. That lanolin/waxy Chenin thing adds a fun note to the sweet
> fruit and flowers. I like this for its moderate sweetness and good
> acidity. A-/B+
>
> There was a lemon tart and a cheesecake for the dessert eaters. Fun
> night, with good friends. Hopefully evening didn't shorten our lives
> too much.
>
>
>
> 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.


  #3 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to alt.food.wine
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 262
Default TN: Bday wines, with arteries clogging (2 Bdx, 2 Barolos, Burg,Loires, NZ, etc)

>>1995 Marcarini "La Serra" Barolo
>> Both Barolos were opened but not decanted several hours before dinner.

> Several hours? A ten year-old wine? Barolocide. Unbelievable. You
> should be punished in the most excruciatingly painful way possible.


How should they be handled?

Jose
--
"Never trust anything that can think for itself, if you can't see where
it keeps its brain." (chapter 10 of book 3 - Harry Potter).
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.
  #4 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to alt.food.wine
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 629
Default TN: Bday wines, with arteries clogging (2 Bdx, 2 Barolos, Burg, Loires, NZ, etc)


Jose wrote:
> >>1995 Marcarini "La Serra" Barolo
> >> Both Barolos were opened but not decanted several hours before dinner.

> > Several hours? A ten year-old wine? Barolocide. Unbelievable. You
> > should be punished in the most excruciatingly painful way possible.

>
> How should they be handled?


Opened not more than 15-30 minutes before being served.

>
> Jose
> --
> "Never trust anything that can think for itself, if you can't see where
> it keeps its brain." (chapter 10 of book 3 - Harry Potter).
> for Email, make the obvious change in the address.


  #5 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to alt.food.wine
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 68
Default TN: Bday wines, with arteries clogging (2 Bdx, 2 Barolos, Burg, Loires, NZ, etc)

"UC" > wrote in message
ups.com...
DaleW wrote:
> I spent Saturday dashing between work and buying Betsy a new car, by
> dinner time I was too tired to think of cooking (Betsy was working),
> and went with takeout pizza. I opened a 2004 Mezzogiorno Negromaro.
> Soft red fruit, a little tar and tobacco, but a bit short and lacking
> concentration. Negromaro imitiating cheap Cal Merlot. Saved the
> majority to join some VdP and a bottle of Cotes du Rhone in a double
> recipe of brasato the following night. C+/B-
>
> Yesterday was number 46 for me, and we had invited 8 good old friends
> to help celebrate. None were geeks, but all enjoy wine, and indulged my
> geekiness. Betsy and I had discussions about menu options, but realized
> a bit late that our menu was a celebration of animal fats, especially
> pork. So we decided to go with theme and hung a sign by porch to greet
> guests that said "welcome to the Cardiologist's Nightmare."
>
> We had smoked whitefish and slices of lomo (a birthday gift from Betsy)
> as munchies while we gathered (one guest was unavoidedly delayed one
> hour). Starter wine was the NV Pinon Vouvray Brut. Light and easy,
> lemon-apple fruit with a hint of biscuity yeastiness. Fun and frisky,
> B+
>
> The only hot hors d'oeuvres were pancetta crisps (pancetta baked, and
> then topped with goat cheese,pear, and thyme). Some stuck with the
> Vouvray, but I added the 2005 Coopers Creek Sauvignon Blanc to the mix
> due to the chevre. Pleasant $10 SB with gooseberry fruit, a little
> grass, and good acidity. B
>
> Once the final guest had arrived and the dogs (she brought her 6 month
> old Dachshund) had marrow bones to play with, we sat down to the first
> course, a creamy garlic soup with proscuitto (Jeremiah Tower recipe). I
> served two Chardonnays as our first sitdown wines:
>
> 1999 Domaine Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet
> This village level wine showed quite well right off the bat. Deep pear
> and apple fruit surrounded by accents of butterscotch and toast. Nice
> mineral finish. though without the length that the '99 Caillerets
> exhibited a few months ago. Excellent for the level. B +
>
> 1997 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay (Napa Valley)
> This was all oak and lemony acids at first, just blown away by the
> Burg. But it actually rounded and integrated with a little time, with
> the oak seeming more subdued and the acids more refined. Not my
> favorite Montelena Chard of all time,but nice enough. B
>
> Main course was a Judy Rodgers (Zuni Cafe) brasato (she did two
> recipes, each with a bottle of red wine first reduced to a cup, and
> with a pigs foot for broth richeness), mashed potatoes (with butter,
> cream cheese, sour cream, and milk), and green beans with sesame oil.
> Burp.
> As the recipe suggested a Barolo, and the brasato is essentially the
> same dish as beef in Barolo, wine choices were easy:
>
> 1995 Marcarini "La Serra" Barolo
> Both Barolos were opened but not decanted several hours before dinner.


UC: Several hours? A ten year-old wine? Barolocide. Unbelievable. You
UC: should be punished in the most excruciatingly painful way possible.

It is posts like this one which demonstrate UC's failure to acknowledge his
ignorance, and his inability to participate in civilized discussions. So
many here have bent over backwards to accommodate this moron. I commend them
for having more patience than I do, but I cannot just stand by while he
shows his ass and attacks Dale this way.




  #6 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to alt.food.wine
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 629
Default TN: Bday wines, with arteries clogging (2 Bdx, 2 Barolos, Burg, Loires, NZ, etc)


Professor wrote:

>
> UC: Several hours? A ten year-old wine? Barolocide. Unbelievable. You
> UC: should be punished in the most excruciatingly painful way possible.
>
> It is posts like this one which demonstrate UC's failure to acknowledge his
> ignorance, and his inability to participate in civilized discussions. So
> many here have bent over backwards to accommodate this moron. I commend them
> for having more patience than I do, but I cannot just stand by while he
> shows his ass and attacks Dale this way.


The morons are the ones who would ruin a wine by leaving it open for
several hours before serving. Absolute rubbish! A MATURE wine needs
little or no breathing. A young Barbera, maybe. Certainly neither of
these wines should be treated in such a dastardly, ignorant way! It's
appalling and an outrage.

  #7 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to alt.food.wine
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 125
Default TN: Bday wines, with arteries clogging (2 Bdx, 2 Barolos, Burg,Loires, NZ, etc)

DaleW wrote:
<snip>
>
> Yesterday was number 46 for me,

<snip>
Happy Birthday Dale!
You ain't a teenager, or even middle age anymore. It won't
be long before we can call you a certified old fart with
an educated palate. :-)
Happy Birthday,
Dick R.
  #8 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to alt.food.wine
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 68
Default TN: Bday wines, with arteries clogging (2 Bdx, 2 Barolos, Burg, Loires, NZ, etc)

"UC" > wrote in message
s.com...
> Professor wrote:
>>
>> UC: Several hours? A ten year-old wine? Barolocide. Unbelievable. You
>> UC: should be punished in the most excruciatingly painful way possible.
>>
>> It is posts like this one which demonstrate UC's failure to acknowledge
>> his
>> ignorance, and his inability to participate in civilized discussions. So
>> many here have bent over backwards to accommodate this moron. I commend
>> them
>> for having more patience than I do, but I cannot just stand by while he
>> shows his ass and attacks Dale this way.

>
> The morons are the ones who would ruin a wine by leaving it open for
> several hours before serving. Absolute rubbish! A MATURE wine needs
> little or no breathing. A young Barbera, maybe. Certainly neither of
> these wines should be treated in such a dastardly, ignorant way! It's
> appalling and an outrage.


No one but you thinks this way. You can't show me even one respected wine
critic who shares your uninformed opinion. Perhaps your brain has had too
much exposure to radiation.


  #9 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to alt.food.wine
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 629
Default TN: Bday wines, with arteries clogging (2 Bdx, 2 Barolos, Burg, Loires, NZ, etc)


Professor wrote:
> "UC" > wrote in message
> s.com...
> > Professor wrote:
> >>
> >> UC: Several hours? A ten year-old wine? Barolocide. Unbelievable. You
> >> UC: should be punished in the most excruciatingly painful way possible.
> >>
> >> It is posts like this one which demonstrate UC's failure to acknowledge
> >> his
> >> ignorance, and his inability to participate in civilized discussions. So
> >> many here have bent over backwards to accommodate this moron. I commend
> >> them
> >> for having more patience than I do, but I cannot just stand by while he
> >> shows his ass and attacks Dale this way.

> >
> > The morons are the ones who would ruin a wine by leaving it open for
> > several hours before serving. Absolute rubbish! A MATURE wine needs
> > little or no breathing. A young Barbera, maybe. Certainly neither of
> > these wines should be treated in such a dastardly, ignorant way! It's
> > appalling and an outrage.

>
> No one but you thinks this way. You can't show me even one respected wine
> critic who shares your uninformed opinion. Perhaps your brain has had too
> much exposure to radiation.


As a matter of fact, you are wrong about that. The two books I looked
in last night (Wine for Dummies and The Everything Wine Book)
specifically state not to breathe mature wines other than (a few
minutes) to cast off what they call "bottle stink". Many other books
have made the same point. You're simply wrong, and so is Dale. You're
ruining your wines.

  #10 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to alt.food.wine
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 629
Default TN: Bday wines, with arteries clogging (2 Bdx, 2 Barolos, Burg, Loires, NZ, etc)


Professor wrote:
> "UC" > wrote in message
> s.com...
> > Professor wrote:
> >>
> >> UC: Several hours? A ten year-old wine? Barolocide. Unbelievable. You
> >> UC: should be punished in the most excruciatingly painful way possible.
> >>
> >> It is posts like this one which demonstrate UC's failure to acknowledge
> >> his
> >> ignorance, and his inability to participate in civilized discussions. So
> >> many here have bent over backwards to accommodate this moron. I commend
> >> them
> >> for having more patience than I do, but I cannot just stand by while he
> >> shows his ass and attacks Dale this way.

> >
> > The morons are the ones who would ruin a wine by leaving it open for
> > several hours before serving. Absolute rubbish! A MATURE wine needs
> > little or no breathing. A young Barbera, maybe. Certainly neither of
> > these wines should be treated in such a dastardly, ignorant way! It's
> > appalling and an outrage.

>
> No one but you thinks this way. You can't show me even one respected wine
> critic who shares your uninformed opinion. Perhaps your brain has had too
> much exposure to radiation.


http://www.wine-lovers-page.com/cgi-...st/ga.cgi?q=33

"Breathing - Does the wine need air?
As a general rule, I consider the practice of giving wine time to
"breathe" before it's served to be somewhat overrated.

The idea behind it is simple: Wines that need aging may be shy on aroma
and flavor when they're first opened, a characteristic that's sometimes
described in winespeak as "closed" or "tight." Give them a little
exposure to air, the theory goes, and you're providing a
rough-and-ready substitute for the more gentle oxidation that occurs
with fine wines as they age in the cellar.

While there's some truth in this, it's worth remembering that it only
applies to certain wines. Most wines are fresh and fruity and ready to
go as soon as they're put in the bottle, and letting these wines
breathe risks missing out on their first blush of freshness. Worse
still is the risk you take in breathing an older wine that's fully
mature, as some older wines - like some older people - become fragile
with age and may give up their spirit very quickly after the cork is
pulled.

So I recommend breathing only for young, tannic wines, typically reds
(or, even more so, youthful Vintage Ports), as a way to ease the
initial "closed" quality or harshness from tannins. But if you do it at
all, don't simply pull the cork, which exposes only a tiny circle of
wine the size of a dime in the bottleneck to the air. Rather, pour a
glass, and do it briskly so the wine gets a good exposure to the
atmosphere. Then leave it for an hour or two, and you may find that the
wine "opens up" before dinner.

Another approach, of course, is simply to open the wine at the time you
serve it, take it as it comes, but if you find it shy, harsh and
astringent, push back your glass and enjoy it after dinner, when it's
had time to breathe. "



  #11 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to alt.food.wine
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 629
Default TN: Bday wines, with arteries clogging (2 Bdx, 2 Barolos, Burg, Loires, NZ, etc)


Professor wrote:
> "UC" > wrote in message
> s.com...
> > Professor wrote:
> >>
> >> UC: Several hours? A ten year-old wine? Barolocide. Unbelievable. You
> >> UC: should be punished in the most excruciatingly painful way possible.
> >>
> >> It is posts like this one which demonstrate UC's failure to acknowledge
> >> his
> >> ignorance, and his inability to participate in civilized discussions. So
> >> many here have bent over backwards to accommodate this moron. I commend
> >> them
> >> for having more patience than I do, but I cannot just stand by while he
> >> shows his ass and attacks Dale this way.

> >
> > The morons are the ones who would ruin a wine by leaving it open for
> > several hours before serving. Absolute rubbish! A MATURE wine needs
> > little or no breathing. A young Barbera, maybe. Certainly neither of
> > these wines should be treated in such a dastardly, ignorant way! It's
> > appalling and an outrage.

>
> No one but you thinks this way. You can't show me even one respected wine
> critic who shares your uninformed opinion. Perhaps your brain has had too
> much exposure to radiation.


http://www.wine-lovers-page.com/cgi-...st/ga.cgi?q=33

"Breathing - Does the wine need air?
As a general rule, I consider the practice of giving wine time to
"breathe" before it's served to be somewhat overrated.

The idea behind it is simple: Wines that need aging may be shy on aroma
and flavor when they're first opened, a characteristic that's sometimes
described in winespeak as "closed" or "tight." Give them a little
exposure to air, the theory goes, and you're providing a
rough-and-ready substitute for the more gentle oxidation that occurs
with fine wines as they age in the cellar.

While there's some truth in this, it's worth remembering that it only
applies to certain wines. Most wines are fresh and fruity and ready to
go as soon as they're put in the bottle, and letting these wines
breathe risks missing out on their first blush of freshness. Worse
still is the risk you take in breathing an older wine that's fully
mature, as some older wines - like some older people - become fragile
with age and may give up their spirit very quickly after the cork is
pulled.

So I recommend breathing only for young, tannic wines, typically reds
(or, even more so, youthful Vintage Ports), as a way to ease the
initial "closed" quality or harshness from tannins. But if you do it at
all, don't simply pull the cork, which exposes only a tiny circle of
wine the size of a dime in the bottleneck to the air. Rather, pour a
glass, and do it briskly so the wine gets a good exposure to the
atmosphere. Then leave it for an hour or two, and you may find that the
wine "opens up" before dinner.

Another approach, of course, is simply to open the wine at the time you
serve it, take it as it comes, but if you find it shy, harsh and
astringent, push back your glass and enjoy it after dinner, when it's
had time to breathe. "

http://www.wineloverspage.com/winead...wa010709.shtml

"In fact, most wines don't particularly benefit from this practice, and
a few might actually suffer from it. In practice, exposure to air is
helpful only with immature, ageworthy wines of the type that benefit
from aging. Many Bordeaux, a few Rhones and some Burgundies, some of
the best Italian red wines and Vintage Port fit into this category, as
do their New World counterparts in the pricier realms of Cabernet
Sauvignon, Syrah (Shiraz) and a few others."

  #12 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to alt.food.wine
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,849
Default TN: Bday wines, with arteries clogging (2 Bdx, 2 Barolos, Burg,Loires, NZ, etc)

DaleW wrote:
> I spent Saturday dashing between work and buying Betsy a new car, by
> dinner time I was too tired to think of cooking (Betsy was working),
> and went with takeout pizza. I opened a 2004 Mezzogiorno Negromaro.
> Soft red fruit, a little tar and tobacco, but a bit short and lacking
> concentration. Negromaro imitiating cheap Cal Merlot. Saved the
> majority to join some VdP and a bottle of Cotes du Rhone in a double
> recipe of brasato the following night. C+/B-


*cough* NegroAmaro, Dale. Too bad about the spoofulation. I like it in
Salice Salentino quite a bit.

>
> Yesterday was number 46 for me, and we had invited 8 good old friends
> to help celebrate. None were geeks, but all enjoy wine, and indulged my
> geekiness. Betsy and I had discussions about menu options, but realized
> a bit late that our menu was a celebration of animal fats, especially
> pork. So we decided to go with theme and hung a sign by porch to greet
> guests that said "welcome to the Cardiologist's Nightmare."


And before I go farther, a very happy birthday to you, Dale. Your
celebration sounds like a wonderful event.

>
> We had smoked whitefish and slices of lomo (a birthday gift from Betsy)
> as munchies while we gathered (one guest was unavoidedly delayed one
> hour). Starter wine was the NV Pinon Vouvray Brut. Light and easy,
> lemon-apple fruit with a hint of biscuity yeastiness. Fun and frisky,
> B+


OK, I give: what's a lomo? Mr Google is no help here, unless you're
referring to an optics company in Leningrad (something tells me "no")

> But my original plan for dinner had included Bordeaux, so we opened two
> after the Barolos, and followed them through the cheese course- Keen's
> cheddar, aged comte, a Pyrenees cheese called Pere Toinou, Stinking
> Bishop, and a Spanish blue cheese wrapped in leaves (there was also
> a salad of watercress and orange in there- a wine killer, but one must
> have one low-fat course!).


Stinking Bishop! Wallace and Grommit would be proud. And do you prefer
the Keen's to the Montgomery? It's a tough choice for me.

What a marvelous lineup of wines, and the food sounded great, too
(arteries be damned!). Best wishes to you and the family!

Mark Lipton
  #13 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to alt.food.wine
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 4,554
Default TN: Bday wines, with arteries clogging (2 Bdx, 2 Barolos, Burg, Loires, NZ, etc)

You and I have different ideas about what is mature in a Barolo (I
think the '82s are there, and some '78s and '85s. While most '94s and
'93s are ready, good '95s aren't).
Your quotes are from Robin Garr. I've dined with Robin and his wife
Mary the last two times he has come to NY, he has never had an
objection to my double-decanting wines (1983-1995) well before dinner.
It's pretty clear from your lists of wines that you think you like
Italian wines, but actually just like F_____ oak.
Oops, sorry folks, knew I wasn't to respond.

  #14 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to alt.food.wine
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 4,554
Default TN: Bday wines, with arteries clogging (2 Bdx, 2 Barolos, Burg, Loires, NZ, etc)

I AM middle-aged. I plan on living till 92, so I can drink my 2005 Bdx.

Thanks

  #15 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to alt.food.wine
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 4,554
Default TN: Bday wines, with arteries clogging (2 Bdx, 2 Barolos, Burg, Loires, NZ, etc)


Mark Lipton wrote:
>
> *cough* NegroAmaro, Dale. Too bad about the spoofulation. I like it in
> Salice Salentino quite a bit.


Oops, thanks. This was less spoofed than empty. If anything it was
under-extracted.

> > We had smoked whitefish and slices of lomo (a birthday gift from Betsy)
> > as munchies while we gathered (one guest was unavoidedly delayed one
> > hour). Starter wine was the NV Pinon Vouvray Brut. Light and easy,
> > lemon-apple fruit with a hint of biscuity yeastiness. Fun and frisky,
> > B+

>
> OK, I give: what's a lomo? Mr Google is no help here, unless you're
> referring to an optics company in Leningrad (something tells me "no")


Cured pork loin:
http://www.tienda.com/food/pop/ic-09.html

this one was from Salumi in Seattle (after we both read "Heat", she was
looking for lardo, but they said it didn't ship well-basically it
melts).

>
> Stinking Bishop! Wallace and Grommit would be proud. And do you prefer
> the Keen's to the Montgomery? It's a tough choice for me.


It's like comparing Barolo to Barbaresco- different, yet related, but
not qualitatively different.
Actually I've recently become fond of Quickes (sp?)

cheers



  #16 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to alt.food.wine
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 629
Default TN: Bday wines, with arteries clogging (2 Bdx, 2 Barolos, Burg, Loires, NZ, etc)


DaleW wrote:
> You and I have different ideas about what is mature in a Barolo (I
> think the '82s are there, and some '78s and '85s. While most '94s and
> '93s are ready, good '95s aren't).
> Your quotes are from Robin Garr. I've dined with Robin and his wife
> Mary the last two times he has come to NY, he has never had an
> objection to my double-decanting wines (1983-1995) well before dinner.
> It's pretty clear from your lists of wines that you think you like
> Italian wines, but actually just like F_____ oak.
> Oops, sorry folks, knew I wasn't to respond.


To give any wine of this sort "several hours" is nothing more than
negligent Barolocide. I looked in Parker's wine buying guide too. He
said 15-30 minutes.

  #17 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to alt.food.wine
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 629
Default TN: Bday wines, with arteries clogging (2 Bdx, 2 Barolos, Burg, Loires, NZ, etc)


Mark Lipton wrote:
> DaleW wrote:
> > I spent Saturday dashing between work and buying Betsy a new car, by
> > dinner time I was too tired to think of cooking (Betsy was working),
> > and went with takeout pizza. I opened a 2004 Mezzogiorno Negromaro.
> > Soft red fruit, a little tar and tobacco, but a bit short and lacking
> > concentration. Negromaro imitiating cheap Cal Merlot. Saved the
> > majority to join some VdP and a bottle of Cotes du Rhone in a double
> > recipe of brasato the following night. C+/B-

>
> *cough* NegroAmaro, Dale. Too bad about the spoofulation. I like it in
> Salice Salentino quite a bit.


Not to mention Notarpanaro and Patriglione.

Reply
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules

Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
TN: Good Loires & Champagne, plus Burg, St Emilion, and CA reds Emery Davis[_3_] Wine 4 15-11-2014 05:57 PM
TN: Mostly French wines over a couple days bday celebration DaleW Wine 2 03-10-2012 04:19 PM
TN: Bdx, Bojo, Burgs, and wines that don't start with B on Bday DaleW Wine 5 05-10-2011 01:26 PM
TN: Loires, Burg, CA, and Ribera del Duero, with nice sunset DaleW Wine 0 28-06-2009 10:44 PM
TN: Bday wines- Bdx, Burg, Loire, Alsace DaleW Wine 11 08-10-2008 10:31 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 01:55 PM.

Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 FoodBanter.com.
The comments are property of their posters.
 

About Us

"It's about Food and drink"