Hello and welcome to my weekly dig through the pile of wine samples that show up asking to be tasted. I’m pleased to bring you the latest installment of Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better bottles that have crossed my doorstep recently.
This past week included a few more Albariños from Uruguay, all of which are worth your time if you enjoy the crisp qualities of that grape. The Bouza version has a classic profile and a nice price. Viña Progreso, an offshoot of Bodega Pisano, takes things to the next level, with electric acidity and alluring aromatics. The Garzon Single Vineyard bottling is perhaps not as demonstrative but does an admirable (and delicious) job of expressing one particular slice of the Uruguayan coastal countryside.
Next I’ve got a couple more new releases from Troon Vineyard in Oregon’s Applegate Valley. Over the past couple of weeks I’ve tasted their Druid’s White and Druid’s Pink wines, and this week I’m recommending their Druid’s Red. Like its siblings, the Druid’s Red is designed to be an inexpensive, easy-drinking red at an attractive price. Like those wines it is biodynamically produced and farmed with Gold Regenerative Organic certification. It has a dark berry character that balances more earthy and savory notes along with fruit. The winery’s Syrah has a similar, if more complex and nuanced personality, with a strong stony aspect.
I recently listened with interest to a press conference given by the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino, in which they explained the recent, somewhat esoteric, changes that they’re making to the Brunello di Montalcino appellation. Most wine lovers won’t be familiar with the minutia of regulations governing how Brunello and its sibling Rosso di Montalcino get produced each year. In short, an additional 870 acres of land that historically has been unable to produce Rosso di Montalcino under current regulations will now be able to produce Rosso di Montalcino. What’s more, the Consorzio has invested an impressive amount of time and effort in creating a rigorous and data-based assessment method for each vintage of Brunello di Montalcino, that will replace the Consorzio’s 5-star rating system with something more nuanced. You can look for this in the coming years, but for the time being, I’ve got a few wines to recommend from the 5-star 2019 vintage and the 4-star 2018 vintage.
The 2018 Frescobaldi Castelgiocondo bottling offers a classically old-school expression of Brunello with its dusty herbs and cherries. The Canalicchio di Sopra from 2019 is still young yet, with some time needed to integrate its oak influence with the very ripe fruit it offers. My favorite of the three Brunellos I tasted this week was the 2019 Fanti “Vallocchio” Brunello, which the estate produces only in the best vintages. The Vallocchio site is one of the oldest referenced by name in the history of Brunello, with mentions as far back as the 14th Century. Fanti’s five oldest vineyards sit in this little valley and are used to produce this very refined expression of Sangiovese.
Lastly, I can recommend two wines made by the Dunn Family, whose name is best known for their eponymous Cabernet Sauvignon made high on Napa’s Howell Mountain. Randy Dunn’s son Mike and his wife Kara run Retro Cellars, where they quite distinctly do not produce Cabernet, and instead make wines from Petite Sirah, Syrah, Zinfandel, and, quite interestingly, Peloursin (the obscure grape that is one of the parents of Petite Sirah, along with Syrah). I tasted their Syrah and their Petite Sirah this week, which are both big-boned, brawny wines, but with surprisingly restrained alcohols given their flavor profiles and tannin structures.
That’s all for this week. Notes on these wines below.
Tasting Notes
2024 Bouza Albariño, Uruguay
Pale straw in color, this wine smells of honey, golden apples, and wet chalkboard. In the mouth, lean green…
Source : https://www.vinography.com/2024/11/vinography-unboxed-week-of-11-3-24
