2007 Masi Modello delle Venezie

What I love about Masi is the consistency - the wines are ubiquitous, and yet almost every Masi wine I have ever tasted has been above average quality and a great value for the price. I would have to think long and hard of a winery that comes as close to a sure thing - sure to be in the shop or on the restaurant menu, and sure to represent a good value (Campofiorin and Brolio labels come to mind). Tonight's wine further affirms this.

The 2007 Masi Modello delle Venezie was a "hey, never seen this before" pick, and Masi once again delivers. Dark, earthy, leathery raspberries, later some pruneyness ... so deep and brooding on the nose that I was rather surprised when this light, crisp, and fresh juice crossed my palate, delivering earthy, minerally berries and some enjoyable bitterness. A short finish, but who cares? Drink this tasty red now - great with food, at an astonishingly great price. Bravo! (made from local varietals Corvina and Raboso)
cork. 12% alcohol
Score: 16/20
Price: C$13.95 (SAQ)

2003 Zenato Ripassa

Been busy with work and on the road, but I am still taking notes so keep an eye out - I will be catching up as I have the opportinity to post them.

Tonight's Valpolicella is a favourite of mine. The 2003 Zenato Ripassa (Valpolicella Superiore) showed a very attractive and complex nose of smokey dark berry fruit, some meaty, floral, and spicy notes (musk, cinnamon, pepper, liquorice) as well. Gentle acidity and smooth, velvety tannins envelop delicious berry fruit - a luscious wine, but without the heavy alcohol that I usually associate with the word 'luscious'. Drinking very well today, this is a tremendously good wine at this price point.
cork. 13.5% alcohol
Score: 17.5/20
Price: C$26.45 (SAQ)

2004 Pasqua Valpolicella Sagramoso

The 2004 Pasqua Valpolicella Sagramoso was a gift dating back to our Christmas party. Musty at first, followed by some pepper, black earth and dark cherry notes. It starts crisp, coating the palate with velvety green tannins, some almondy flavours. A modest finish, but very few faults in this flavourful, polished valpo after a 30 minute decant. Great Value.
cork. 13.5% alcohol
Score: 16/20
Price: C$21.65 (for the '05 at SAQ)

Off the Beaten Path in Italy: Negroamaro and Ripasso

Keeping with the Italian theme this week I thought I'd try some more Italian reds, a negroamaro from Salento and an IGT Valpolicella using an "innovative" ripasso method.

Crafted from the Negramaro grape in Italy's Salento appellation, the aromatic 2003 Tormaresca Masseria Maime burst forth with dark cherries, leather and black tea, meaty earthy notes, some rose petal. But the haunting nose did not fulfill its promise on the palate - powerful, crisp and dry, with a neat slatey/minerally texture, but it became hot and unbalanced as the evening wore on. Perhaps a minimal decant would be more appropriate? Anyway, a rustic, interesting, pour, but that's a hefty price tag.
cork. 14% alcohol
Score: 17/20
Price: C$34.25 (SAQ)

A classic Valpolicella blend of corvina and rondinella, with a touch of sangiovese, the 2004 Allegrini Palazzo Della Torre was cherry candy on the nose, adding some vanilla, coffee and a hint of tar. Luscious, but not flabby on the palate, with velvety tannins and a nice long finish, and unlike the wine above it improved in the decanter. The Palazzo Della Torre is a consistently reliable bottle at a decent price, and always has a home in my cellar.
cork. 13.5% alcohol
Score: 17/20
Price: C$27.70 (SAQ)

So, the initial excitement for the negroamaro faded over the evening, while the cherry candy nose on the Allegrini was misleading. For a cheaper (maybe even better) negroamaro I highly recommend the Taurino Notarpanaro. Both paired well with a Greek-styled lamb stew, but the negroamaro worked a bit better in this role.

Wasn't That a Party

It's holiday time so I have been busy away from the blog, but with last night's party out of the way I can catch up on the pile of tasting notes exceeded only by the pile of snow in my driveway.

For the past few years my wife and I have hosted an open house for close friends and neighbours. But rather than simply put a bottle of wine on a table, every year I conduct a mini-tasting. Too chaotic (kids are invited) for anything formal, I simply serve a variety of wines and blind the guests.

Tonight, the wines were "Santa", "Mrs. Claus", "Rudolph" and "Frosty":

Armed with the following riddles our guests were invited to guess which was which, if they so chose:

A - "Viva Italia!" Oops, I mean "Viva Argentina!"
B - Chianti, but not Classico
C - Shiraz, or Syrah?
D - Who added that dash of white to my Aussie red?

This rather simple exercise integrated well into this social event. Some guests tried to solve the riddles, some simply asked me lots of questions, others secretly pondered the wines and listened to the others, and some simply chugged whatever was closest to them. But as evidenced by the army dead soldiers on my dining room table, the forty-five adults in attendance were "enthusiastic".

The winner? Well, that wasn't really a question, as all of these were terrific wines, but Rudolph was hero tonight and I had to work hard to keep that decanter full. Rudolph was the 2005 d'Arenberg "The Laughing Magpie" (1,2). No surprise - in my experience the big fruit of the Aussie wines always seem to win in such a chaotic setting, and this wine had enough complexity to keep the interest of our more experienced guests. A good party choice (but not cheap), but very sludgey wine so decant carefully.

The 2004 Masi Corbec comes from their Tupungato estate in Argentina. Made from Corvina (the grapes used in Amarone) and Malbec, and in the appassimento method used for Amarone, I thought this would be the one to confuse even the best tasters - and it did. A big bruiser, it shows similarities to real Amarone, at a price ($27) much closer to a simple Valpolicella. It probably needs some time.

The 2004 Nipozzano Riserva Chianti Rufina (90% Sangiovese, plus Malvasia nera, Colorino, others) is a JoeFave (1,2), but in this setting this flavourful but very dry wine just didn't work. The same went for another JoeFave, the 2003 Guigal Crozes-Hermitage (1,2) - the Syrah of the group. Crisp and elegant, but with all of the sights, sounds and flavours thrown at our guests it was ignored by all, except my bro-in-law Cam who happily gulped it up.

Some may have noticed other wines. A late arrival was Cosme, the man who started me on this vinous journey. Together we and the remaining seven guests raided the JoeCave for some Montepulciano, the 2001 Don Luigi by Di Majo Norante to be exact, a wine made from 90% Montepulciano and 10% Tintilia. A wine enjoyed in the past, I put it away for a few years after my last bottle. Awkward when first poured (it was still at cellar temp), it opened up to a terrific and complex (leafy tobacco and dark berries, spicy) nose. Flavourful, with crisp acidity and big tannins and nice cherry fruit, I can't believe this is six years old. This wine screamed for a helping of homemade meat lasagna.

Cheers!