TN: '90 Umbrian and a Yecla
 

Saturday I spent the day working around the house, and rewarded myself
with a big porterhouse, grilled squash, grilled polenta, and a salad.
The wine was the 1990 Lungarotti "San Giorgio 2000" (Umbria). A little
browning, the first whiff & sniff showed high acidity, low fruit, and a
thin finish. Uh oh. If I'd had guests I probably would have run
downstairs for a replacement bottle, as it was I was reluctantly sipped
as I prepared dinner. Glad I did- the wine revived to almost full
health. Eventually there was plenty of fruit, a mix of red plums and
cherries, with a slightly roasted edge. Some secondary aromas of
cedar/cigarbox & mushrooms, the acidity remained high but seemingly
integrated. Resolved tannins. By the time the meal was finished it was
a fairly nice midweight if slightly international wine. The most
distracting thing was that roasted note to the fruit. I've seen similar
effects on some 1990 French reds and at least one Barolo, don't know if
that made it all the way down to Umbria (I know nothing of Umbria
vintages, I just extrapolate from Tuscany). I'm also not sure of the
storage history of this wine. Still, far better than I thought on
opening, B/B+

Sunday AM the hound and I traveled to JFK airport, where Betsy arrived
from California. We had a nice day, but sadly had to take her to LGA
that afternoon for a flight to NC for some concerts. After the dog and
I returned home, I cooked some sausages, told Lucy she couldn't have
any, and opened the 2002 Castano "Hecula" (Yecla). Really rich ripe
fruit, could almost pass for a new-wave CdP, though the oak is in the
background. There's some light meat/animal odors dancing around, but
the real focus is the blackberry/elderberry fruit. There's a sweetness
here that I just can't get past, however. Is there actually residual
sugar here? Sure tastes like it. Too sweet, which is too bad. B-

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.