Wines Tasted, May 12, 2010

Masi - Serego Aligherieri - 650th Anniversary - Valpolicella - Veneto - Italy - 1999 - (Classic, Classic, Classic, Ager, Food Wine) - $110/Magnum - (This was an auction lot wine and it's real price remains a matter of extended research) Tasted from a magnum this wine was a clear, pale ruby with a slight orange rim, some sediment thrown.  A stellar example of Corvina and Molinara at their peak of maturity.  A wine crying out for food, we drank it all by itself (sadly).  Leather, nuttyness, clove spice, and a raisinated tertiary note underly the dusted red cherry, and red plum fruit.  This wine surely saw some Recioto lees during a Ripasso process, and at 14% alcohol represents that fact.  I kept being drawn into its subtle "over ripe" nuance, but could not put aside it's dry earth notes and apparent oak spice which balanced this wine between modern and classic.  An eye opener for those of you not impressed with "regular Valpolicella" but not yet into Amarone(what are you waiting for?).

Food and Wine Pairings for Vintage Pine Ridge Cabernets - 1995 - 2000

Food and Wine Pairings for Vintage Pine Ridge Cabernets - 

For the 1995 and 1996 Rutherford Cabernets, I’d take the maturity of the wines in mind when considering a food pairing.  Paramount in a pairing are body/structure acessments, and fruit/acid acessments.  In these two vintages, I see wines that display a structure more in tune with Rioja Crianza than with lets say, Bordeaux (not a bad thing!).  The wine has lost its grip on oak and is still delivering its primary fruits, but has gathered in bunches, its secondary and tertiary aromatics.  Dried flowers, sherry, almond and walnut all lay side by side with red berry and currant.  This takes me to a few potential places in the market: 1.) Poultry Counter: Roast or grilled whole or half chicken (even beer-can chicken!), Duck or Chicken Sausage, Rotesserie of Pheasant, or even Chicken Satay for an appetizer (with peanut sauce perhaps).  2.) The Nut Bins or “Area”:  Here we can incorporate Marcona Almonds, Cashews, Pistaccios or Pine Nuts in our dish to compliment or bird as well as add additional protein.  3.) Cheese Counter:  Here we can find great nutty, tangy,  Sheep’s milk cheese to incorporate into our meal with these wines.  Abbaye de Belloc, Petite Basque, Petite Agour, Ossau Iraty or Sao George all come to mind as great options.

As we get into the 1997, 1999 and 2000 vintages, we see wines with more varietal freshness, as well as more observable oak.  These wines express more flesh as well as “sweetness” of fruit.  They also keep me safely in the: Season-it, Grill-it, Eat-it camp.  All I want with a Cab of this caliber is a well seasoned piece of steak on my new Webber!  I’d not think twice about grilling up some sliced eggplant, zucchini and summer squash, then tossing them with fresh thyme and basil and wrapping them up to rest and keep warm on the top shelf of my grill, while I prepared the, “feast of beast”: a NY Striploin or Rib-Eye of beef generously salted and peppered, rubbed with a little oil and grilled to medium-rare.  Have a little coarse sea-salt on hand to sprinkle about as needed and you’ve hit a Major League Home Run!  If we have some wine left for a little cheese course, I’d feel like harder is better (it’s hot outside and soft cheese tends to run quickly); 3 Year Aged Gouda, Aged Pecorino; or Pitxun are all hard cheeses with more to offer with big Cabernet with plush texture.  Good luck and enjoy your 4^th of July Holiday!