04.12.08/ Sam's Wine Tasting 2004 Broadley Pinot Noir

Kelly was away in New York for a dinner with her Bon Apetit buddies, and left Sam to babysit the kids. He invited Jamie and I over after dinner to try a few wines. The first we cracked was a Broadley Shea Pinot Noir from 2004 (I think). I should have taken better notes, but asked Jamie to be the note taker as I was a little beat. And now I am suffering, as I am trying to decipher the notes.

I remember liking this wine more that I thought I would. It kept bugging me that I couldn't remember the connection, then I did a few days later - Mike is a big fan of the wine when he is out of their imported Oregon Pinots.

"Pinot Like No Pinot" is the heading. Slightly orange at the rim for such a young wine. Rusty, faints whiffs of raspberry but not sweet with floral notes of rose petals. Cedar and ash on the tongue with mild tannins. There was a debate about pencil lead vs. soil. I think we left it undecided.

In Sam's handwriting: smells like a used condom with minimum viscosity a slight dash of KY. I don't know if this refered to the Broadley, or one of the other 4 wines we tasted.

I'll post more on the rest.

03.18.08 /RGWD Syrah Le Pousseur

This was my favorite wine of the night. It was paired with dry baby back ribs. The menu said it was accompanied by a slaw, which was not served. There was no fat on the ribs, and for such a rich wine as this Syrah, you need a bit of fat.

The wine had the characteristic Rhone stinky inky baby diaper scent, followed by roasted plums and blackberry on the palate. Randall called it an "anomalous new world wine that captures the life force". I should have taken better notes, as he rambled on about the wine and the process.

It is definitely a new world wine, but made in an old world style that you don't find in Central Coast Syrahs.

The price was right, and I bought five cases for BONDA to serve by the glass.

Mongibello 2 by Frank Cornelissen

To start off, I think this wine is amazing. That being said, it is not for everyone. My wife said it looks like the piss of someone sick, and when she took a sip, she spit it out. The colour is a rich amber, like a Belgian Ale or a light cider. The taste gives you a little spark on the tongue, and follows with a mellow mouth filling rich sensation similar to drinking cologne - which I have done before (just to see what it tasted like). The finish is dry, also like the finish of a perfume. And I like this.

I have never heard of the grapes: 52% Grecanico dorato, 28% Coda di volpe, and 20% Carricante. Huh? Mark discovered the winemaker, a crazy German, in Italy - I think at VinItaly - and went to visit him in Sicily. He brought back this white, and two reds, which are also very unique.

This is the second bottle I have drunk, the first of which I brought to Sam's house a few weeks back. He liked the wine, but I got the impression he wasn't a big fan. Jamie tried it as well, but again it was uncertain how he felt about it. I just love it because it is so different. There is no point of reference for me to compare it to anything else. It just exists in its own space. At least for my palate.

2003 Cascina Garita Bricco Garitta Barbera d'Asti

This Barbera is a wine imported by the boys at the Fountainhead, that I have loved since the 1998 vintage. It was the first wine we had by the glass at BONDA, and keep circling it every year when the timing and supply is right. The wine is unfined and unfiltered, and can throw off some serious sediment.

This bottle though, is just right. Featuring a nose of dried plums, eucalyptus, acetone, herbaceous leather and pepper. Not an overbearing wine - you can drink it alone - but not that light either. This vintage offers big high toned fruit like bosenberry or gooseberry without being fruity by a dry, smooth, lingering finish. Medium tannins support and grip the tongue.

I remember the first night I fell in love with the '98 vintage. I was by myself in our Rowayton apartment in the fall of 2002 - Jamie was a away for the weekend and I hadn't started dating my wife yet. I had lasagna take-out from Abbondanza and cracked the bricco. I hadn't loved the wine when I first tasted it, but Mark gave me a bottle "for my head". I had a glass, nice I thought. Had another with my meal and the bottle was soon empty. I left a message for Mark praising the wine and have been a loyal follower ever since!

Now here is the hard part of my job. I love the wine, but entering into the summer is not the best time for it to be by the glass. I would love to have it on the list as an inexpensive Italian at 34 bucks, but the minimum is a 2 case order? I would also like some for myself, so maybe I will order the two cases, keep 1 and put one on the list! Decisions, decisions.

04.10.08 /2006 Kingston Family Alazan Pinot Noir

Full disclosure - I went to college with Sam Kingston and he lives about 1/4 mile from me, is a BONDA customer and a friend. I have been sitting on a case of this wine since Xmas. Sam and I had a bottle then, and it was a little tight.

Court and I went to BONDA for dinner after we went to the Kickoff Party for Autism Speaks Fairfield County Walk Now For Autism. I had a glass of Gruner, and we cracked the Alazan - named for a favorite horse of the family. Just like the stallion, the wine was very lively and spirited with dried raspberry and whiffs of alcohol on the nose. Candied strawberry and hints of effervescence on the tongue. No oak, but cedar plays and salted buttered popcorn on the finish (thanks Jamie!).

I had a braised short rib with celery root and horseradish puree that was a perfect complement. The fruit of the wine playing off the bass notes of the beef and the sharp cut of the horseradish. There was a big salt play to the dish that the sweetness of the wine counterbalanced. As my main I had a roasted Halibut with pea and potato puree - it held up the pinot as it is not so heavy, I think the '05 Tobiano was a "heavier" wine with more oak and hard finish, whereas the Alazan is playful and light, but still has serious fruit.

It is on the BONDA list at $50.

2001 Cianferoni Doccio a Matteo

This Sangiovese has always been a favorite of ours since the '98 vintage, it is just a little pricey @ $40 on the shelf. I bought a bottle tonight at the Wine Thief because Court wanted me to make a bolognese - as we still have 6 lbs of frozen beef in the freezer from our last Horizon Foods order - and I really do not have any Italian wine I can drink in my collection. After I went through all that Larcille and Montevertine, everything is too young.

One spirited night at BONDA with Rob Mackin, the importer, and Matt from Pasta Nostra, we tried a bunch of Italian wines, and this Chianti from Caparsa - Doccio di Matteo - translated into "Matthew's Shower". Needless to say, there were lots of jokes, and then we drank more and they just kept on coming!

Black licorice and violet on the nose, with notes of leather and touches of meaty spice - restrained fruit. Unfortunately I do not have a chianti glass, so I am using a bordeaux glass- and the nose keeps changing - closing and expanding.

On the tongue, pure delight. But descriptions for Sangiovese always escape me. Medium tannins, some berry with little to no oak. It is just good! I have to rethink putting this wine on the BONDA list.

2004 La Torre Rosso Di Motalcino

This is one of the four wines that was served at my birthday dinner party. I had never heard of the producer, but it is quite nice - from Rosenthal. Jamie left a bottle at my house last week, so I figured I would try it on a fresh palate, as the last time I had it, I had imbibed a Hendrick's Gibson and some Bastianich Tocai.

On the nose, immense black fruit with woody notes, cigar box, button mushrooms, beefy hints hints of earth and licorice. A little closed on the palate, with fine tannins, and some high cherry notes. Plush mouth feel with a a dry finish. Good on its own, but would benefit from food.

03.18.09 /RGWD 2006 Albarino Ca Del Sol

Albarino in California? Randall bought the Soledad Vineyard near Solinas, and realized the climate and salt air really mirrored the micro climate of Galicia. He planted the vines 7 years ago, and the '06 is his first bottling. I bought a case for the spring.

On the nose, notes of plasticy goodness. Randall called it an "acoustic version" of Albarino, a little milder than what you would find from Spain, with hints of saline and citrus in the finish. A nice, dry wine, luscious in the mid-palate.

To pair, Seared Day Boat Scallops (I don't know how local these could have been this time of year) with beets, pomello segments, micro arugula and mustard oil. The arugula and mustard oil really jazzed up the perfectly cooked scallops - one of the best dishes I have had at the Dressing Room. The pomello didn't really add anything, and the beet added nice earth tones.