The UnCorker

Weird Wine of the Week- 2005 Vinedo de los Vientos ‘Angel’s Cuvée’ Ripasso de Tannat

OK- There’s nothing intriniscally weird about Tannat, the country of Uruguay, or ripasso wines- put those three together, and you have the unusual 2005 Vinedo de los Vientos ‘Angel’s Cuvee’ Ripasso de Tannat. Uruguay isn’t your average wine-lover’s go to country, but it is a country on the move(viticulturally speaking). The 4th largest wine producer in south America, the people of Uruguay consume on average 32 liters of wine per year- a significant amount- with almost half the population living in and around the capital of Montevideo, the demand is high, so until recently, they hardly exported a drop. Wine has been produced in Uruguay for 150 years, from vines brought over by immigrants from from Italy and Spain’s Basque country, but the focus has been on quantity at the expense of quality. At least until the last decade when quality wines from Argentina and Chile started flooding  markets in North and South America- Uruguay has been rushing to catch up- and it seems as though tannat will be their signature grape.

Continue reading Weird Wine of the Week- 2005 Vinedo de los Vientos ‘Angel’s Cuvée’ Ripasso de Tannat…

The Great Whites of Campania

It’s 60 degrees today, and we at The UnCorker are looking to spring and all that means to us; grilled seafood, warm days and cool nights, the end(for now) of slow cooked heavy meals with big warming reds, and the chance to drink white wine all night long. The whites we’re thinking about right now; the bright, focused, unoaked whites from sunny Campania. The Romans knew Campania, with its capital of Napoli as the premier viticultural spot of the isthmus, if not the whole Mediterranean world. The region offers endless hillside sites, volcanic soils, plenty of sun, and temperature variations from day to night extreme enough to allow grapes to ripen over a very long growing season(Aglianico grown here is often not harvested until November) without cooking the grapes.

When the Northern Italians were producing oxidized whites that could only be characterized as drinkable at best, Campanians were making bright, focused white wines of real character. While Campania saw a decrease in quality and consumption in their whites for a time, the 1980’s saw investment in the cellar, and a lot of hard work in the vineyards; together, these factors have brought recognition and a big market for these remarkable, well-priced wines.

2007 Fiano Di Avellino Colli Di Lapio Clelia

Pale yellow. Intense nose opens slowly to offer  aromas of green apple, minerals, thyme and a bit of minty herbacousness. Green pear and stone fruit, menthol and a bit of brinyness typical of these southern whites  emerge on the palate, with strong, bright acids giving them focus. Finishes very long and clean, with lingering flavors of lemon, pine needles and powdered stone.

The Romans knew Fiano Di Avellino as Vitis Apiana, meaning the bees were all over it, prized for its almond hazelnut nuttiness and its fresh green pears, there are plenty of producers to be on the watch for; Ocone, Matroberadino, Terredora to name a few.

Falanghina is another ancient grape, the name deriving from the phalanges the Greeks would use to train the vine. Falanghina is bright and juicy like Fiano, with fewer savory aspects, but often with more bright tropical, zesty fruit.

2007 Falanghina Cantina del Taburno

Bright yellow with green tints, zesty lemon and stone fruits- beautifully fresh and appealing, with hints of almonds and white flowers. Acid and crisp minerality balance the fruit perfectly- a wine for sipping with shellfish, or a light meal, or sitting out in the sun on a warm afternoon.

Other good producers are abundent, just remember that these are wines to be enjoyed young-  We at The UnCorker even found a Puglian Falanghina (a real oddity) that knocked our socks off; from Alberto Longo, worth seeking out.

Greco di Tufo is believed to be the ancestor of Siciliy’s Grecanico, and Umbria’s Grecchetto- grapes that don’t really resemble Greco all that much, but show how long its been around, and how over time, vitis viniferia can mutate and change. Greco di Tufos have that typical Campanian brightjuicyacidity, on a slightly leaner frame then Falanghina or Fiano; they can be racy with a mineral delicacy that is quite refreshing.

2007 Greco di Tufo ‘Loggia della Serra’ Terredora Dipaoalo

A single vineyard Greco di Tufo from one of Campania’s premier producers, this is a powerful Greco di Tufo with aromas of white peach, green fruit and an herbal almost minty quality. Very precise delineation on the palate, with a great deal of focus, and the typical juicy acidity and pronounced minerality one expects from Campania.

Coda di Volpe is not a wine you’ll bump into many shops or restaurants, small production and small demand adds up to not much imported, and thats a shame, because Coda di Volpe is capable of producing memorable wines with real character. The name means foxtail, a reference to the shape of the elongated bunches on the vine, sometimes used in blends, Coda di Volpa can be a bit fuller and fleshier then Greco, Fiano, or Falanghina, but still has ample Campanian traits.

2007 Coda di Volpe ‘Bianco’ Perillo

Bright straw yellow with green tints, the Perillo Coda di Volpe has bright juicy green pear and an almost lifted nose with a hint of chamomille and white flowers and vanilla. With a layer of fat richness underneath all that fruit, its followed by a long liltingly acidic finish- a real beauty that makes us think about fat shrimp coming right off a grill.

2006 Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil La Martinière

The 2006 Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil from La Martniere is a hard wine to figure- Cabernet Franc can be many things; dark and peppery, rich and plush, or in this case bright red, spicy, and almost aggressivly acidic, this one needs a chill and some cured meats, or perhaps some cold chicken. Rarely does stainless steel vinification seem so evident; we would have guessed carbonic maceration as well. On the nose this is all bright juicy cherries, extremly fresh on the palate, again, so bright and fresh that without some kind of fattiness, it just doesn’t work.

2004 Condado de Haza Ribera del Duero

Another delicious Tempranillo, this one from the Ribera del Duero. Ribera del is the Cotes du of Spain, literally the banks(coast, rib) of… these wines tend to be gutsier more extracted wines then Rioja- about 80 miles Northeast, with vineyards on both sides of the Duero river, further West, the famous Douro river of Portugal- The Ribera del Duero lies on a plateau at 850 meters, the summer days are hot, dry and bright, the night temperature can drop as much as 40 degrees- this kind of temperature variation is the key to lively acidity in big extracted red wines, and Condado del Haza has all that. Big, extracted bright fruit, blueberries, cassis, chocolate and espresso dominate the palate along with a bit of smoked meat. On top of all that, bright juicy acidity lend a freshness that makes this wine seem lighter then it is. 15 months in American oak rounds out the tannins and gives notes of cedar and vanilla- another wine for grilled meat or rustic cheeses.

2004 Finca Allende Rioja

From time to time you’ll hear people compare Tempranillo to Pinot Noir, a comparison that almost never stands up to scrutiny- with the 2004 Finca Allende Rioja, the comparison stands up. 100% Tempranillo aged in new and used French oak, this doesn’t taste like Pinot, but like good Pinot, this wine is packed with dense fruit, dark rather then light, has a smoky, earthy aromatic complexity, leather and mint, and with all this denseness and complexity, it has a lightness that dances on the palate and keeps you reaching for the glass. This is modernist Rioja, very drinkable at this tender young age, french oak and no designation on the bottle telling us that its a crianza, which it is-Great to drink now with roast or grilled meat, definitly be cool to lay a few of these down and watch their evolvution. Available for $20-$25, a definite deal.

Weird Wine of the Week: 2006 Gugiarolo Pinot Nero Vercesi Del Castellazzo

Weird? Maybe not, when you think about it, lots of white wines come from red grapes- a blanc de noir from champagne is 100% Pinot Noir, as are plenty of white sparklers from around the world. Still wines like this are pretty rare, so it makes you wonder, why take Pinot Noir and vinify it white? Often, as in the case of lots of those sparklers, its that that Pinot adds aromatic complexity and loads of acid despite(or because of) the fact that it often doesn’ t fully ripen in northern zones. The 2006 Gugiarolo from Vercesi del Castellazzo is a case in point; straw yellow with green highlights,  delicate floral aromatic complexity that includes a bit of lime skin, lemon and a bitter almond skin like finish and a ton of acidity-  the Gugiarolo a wine thats gonna blow your hair back? Probably not, itsclean, its bright and easy to drink, but to us at The UnCorker, its instructive- from this bottle, we learn that red wine gets its color from its skin, not its flesh, that its fun to say Oltrepo Pavase,  the DOC, which clearly allows almost anything if it allows for this unusual wine.

Montecillo Rioja Crianza 2006

We love a bargain, but when big, aged Riojas wind up in the bargain bin – something  is probably wrong.  This wine is a Crianza, which means this wine was aged at least two years, with six months of that on oak, yet it costs about $10 in US wine shops.  It starts promising, with a concentrated, berried aroma and obvious fortitude.  A  slightly barnyard quality on the nose blows off after a minute or two.  It’s the taste where this wine really breaks down.  Slightly musty, astringent and bark-like, even after 24 hours.   We don’t see the craftmanship here, at least in their entry level Crianza.  And even at this price point, this is not an enjoyable bottle of wine.  This is a big, corporate winery (part of Grupo Osborne) – who also has a controlled image on the web – so be wary of reviews that read like press releases and trust us on this one.

2006 Hans Lang Spatburgunder Pinot Noir

The color is the first thing you’ll notice –  ruby colored, but with more of a brownish tint than you’re used to seeing in a pinot noir. Then the nose hits you – tart, red cherries and currants with a deeper, warmer scent underlying it all of figs and brandy. Like a lot of German pinots,  it’s pale and smooth and the flavors are subtle – but there is a rangy, smoky, gamy quality that makes this a unique and expressive wine. Paired with something fatty and smoky, like speck or a cured sausage, it is truly magic. In fact, this is one great charcuterie wine, and holds it’s own with any French pinot noir we’ve had in the price range (about $22).  German reds deserve a lot more attention.  The Rheingau is still growing about 80% reisling, but plantings of pinot noir (called Spatburgunder in Germany)has tripled since the 1980’s, and the country overall is now growing almost 40% red wines – including huge increases in vineyard acreage devoted not only to spatburgunder, but to unique regional varieties such as dornfelder, portugeiser, and lemberger (also known as blaufrankish).   We’re looking forward to drinking a lot more of these wines in the year to come.  If you like old world pinot noir but want to try something different, give this a go.  100% Pinot Noir aged 12 months in French barriques.

Weird Wine of the Week: 2002 Damijan Bianco “Kaplja”

From Venezia-Giulia in the far Northeast of Italy comes this unusual beauty- Damijan Podversic is something of a maverick, shunning stainless steel, commercial yeasts, and strives to make “living wines”. His vineyards straddle the Italian-Slovenian border, and his methods are so old, they’re practically new. A blend of Malvasia Istriana, Chardonnay, and Tocai Friulano (now referred to simply as Friulano) fermented on its skins in old upright Slavonian oak, Damijan uses bio-dynamic practices, neither fines nor filters, and bottles under a full moon. The Bianco Kaplja is a cloudy, heady brew- served at cellar temperature, it reveals orange blossom on the nose, and a piercing apricot stonefruit on the palate- from the skins comes a tremendous amount of structure, mostly in the form of tannin, which keeps the wine endlessly interesting- this is a wine to meditate over, sniff, swirl and contemplate- this is what white wine was before stainless steel, refrigeration, and temperature controlled fermentations-

2006 Boarding Pass Shiraz

Sometimes we’re just in the mood for something with tons of flavor – even if it is one dimensional.  This is TV-night wine.  A touch of cedar, and slightly overripe black and red fruit on the nose…. resolves to big dark purply plums that pleasantly linger.  Soft and approachable, it seems to rely on its high alcohol (15.7%) to simulate balance.  Googling around a bit reveals that this wine is well marketed and has a controlled image, which isn’t surprising given its theatrical branding and label design… but we weren’t picking up much in the way of the nuanced flavor profiles that exist in the official tasting notes from the winery.  All in all, count us in … hey, under 20 bucks (barely!) gets you into a big concentrated wine that’s satisfying and tasty even if it’s not particularly stimulating to the intellect.  Sort of like an episode of Lost.  100% Shiraz from The Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale.