 Two CDP- Marcoux 1998 and Beaucastel 2005 for a wonderful wine evening (followed by dinner 🤪).
After fidgeting for a good 15 mins on whether to decant the 1998 or just open and air, decided to decant. Fully mature and integrated tannin, very little fruit, very elegant, pleasing, just the last hints of acidity, near end of life before a last hurrah. In hindsight maybe if we had let it breath instead of decanting, may have given a bit more love 💘 CDP Beaucastel was elegant, last vestige of fruit amidst silky tannins.
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 The sparkle to add a sparkle to your evening.
Try the award winning Andrea Biasiotto Prosecco from @vini_biasiotto . It's a work of art and more. Rated the best Prosecco a few times over 🏆🏅 Pair it as an apertif or to refresh your palate or with light second course such as fish. Also almost universally works great with a majority of South East Asian native dishes. So next time in doubt on what to pair 🥘 your Laksa with, you know what to reach for 🍾 DM/WA 91089395 and we will round this up in no time for your long weekend celebration 🥂 📸 courtesy @vini_biasiotto  My own introduction to this then emerging Bolgheri superstar was via their 2010 vintage.
In 10 yrs Orma and the wider @tenutasetteponti portfolio has achieved 🏆🏅 what every vintner probably hopes to achieve in life and more than a few who spend the lifetime waiting, unsuccessfully in some cases, for such moments. Tenuta Sette Ponti takes its name from the seven bridges🌁 connecting Florence and Arezzo towns in Italy and is located in Valdarno di Sopra. This is among the four major historical winegrowing regions of Tuscany (as identified in the edict issued by Grand Duke 👑 Cosimo III de' Medici in 1716). The estate 🏡 has been in the family for almost seven decades from the time Alberto, Antonio Moretti Cuseri's father bought this directly from Princess Margherita and Maria Cristina of Savoia. While the land always likely had the potential, it wasn't until Antonio set about to improve the suitability of wine growing in the region in general and estate in particular that things started coming together. Orma, a blend of Merlot (50%), Cabernet Sauvignon (30%) and Cabernet Franc (20 %) was first released in 2005 and caught the imagination of the wine world. The team at Tenuta Sette Ponti hasn't looked back since. You can say the vineyard vicinity next to those of Ornellaia are a major driver. I would say, perhaps the quality of Ornellaia so close to home, more than the vineyards vicinity remains the inspiration. Orma is a super Tuscan that earns the highest praise and yet, still remains beautifully & thankfully affordable. 2015 earned the superlatives of Fabulous, gorgeous, viscerally exciting across critics scoring highly. But the consistency of this bottle is such, scores are almost secondary now. DM/WA 91089395 and we will be bring these around to make your weekends fabulous, gorgeous and viscerally exciting 😀 📸 @tenutasetteponti 
Many thanks Brendon (@iwoodwoodu) for sharing this beautiful moment and an opportunity to serve your family.
Excellence runs in this historical family of Riojas.🏅🏆@lariojaaltasa 904 is an adaptation and a star successor of the original 1904 representing the year the winery came into being with the merger of La Rioja Alta & Ardanza Winery. Rioja, from Northern Spain 🇪🇸 has a few sub-regions with Rioja Alta, the most famous. Known for wines of elegance, La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 904 is a blend of 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano. Gran Reservas by law must be aged for five years, at least two of those years in oak. La Rioja goes some considerable distance beyond this minimum by spending 4 yrs in barrels and another 5 in bottle before these are released. Apart from their bottles, I personally find their passion to improve every aspect of wine making is unparalleled. From spending heavily on R&D to modernise the wineries, to use of optical guided lasers for sorting berries to actually creating their own barrels, directly importing oak that is specially selected in the United States and naturally dried on the estate in Spain, its like the winery doesn't want to leave any opportunity to improve where they can.  Some rules ⚖ are meant to be changed, some (crazy ones) meant to be broken, and some are meant to be respected and followed.
The Appellation rules ⚖ governing the main wine ⛰ regions are all of these 😅🤪 and thus do get subjected to all kinds of arguments at the same time by many enterprising and enthusiastic 🙋♀️🙋♀️ 🙋♀️ winemakers. One such argument, a vote on whether Rosso di Montalcino which is 100% Sangiovese should remain as such or other grape varieties should be allowed went a bit too far. Some driven (commercially 💰 more likely) wineries even put it to vote in the main governing body in Sep 2011. Fortunately, the vote was defeated and we still have Rosso as 100% Sangiovese (for now). Ofcourse, this is not to say one can't make a great wine by blending Sangiovese from the hills of Montalcino ⛰ with other great varieties. But the argument to still call it a Rosso and link it to the heritage 🔆 is facetious and devoid of logic. Rosso can be thought of as a second wine for Brunello producers. It brings in the 💵 with an earlier release while the Brunello ages in the cellars & is produced from younger vines from the same vineyards (well mostly, rules to classify a vineyard for Rosso are more relaxed compared to Brunello but a lot of Brunello grape for quality producers goes into Rosso due to severe selection). These are great value bottles that can be opened with a lot less guilt and a lot more frequently. What we also found was the diff in quality across top producers is a lot less compared to their Brunellos. (Only exception are situations where a producer declassifies their Brunello and calls it a Rosso. E.g. Cerbaiona 2015 Rosso which is basically their Brunello harvest). In the glass Barbi Rosso 2017 has flavors of sweet cherry, a touch of wild flowers and mint on the finish. The wine was rated 90 by Antonio Galloni and is drinking beautifully. DM/WA 91089395 and these joyous jewels will be headed your way in a jiffy.
Thank you Brendon @iwoodwoodu for the opportunity and this lovely share.
Loved your follow up call bro to share how much you enjoyed it. 💕🍷🙏 @ariannaocchipinti wines are an absolutely inspired effort and in a class of their own. Siccagno Nero d'Avola, like its owner is passionate and honest with a personality of its own. The two hr decanting respect brings out the bouquet. The wine is long, juice with a spiceness of the terroir and a long lingering finish. As I said before, Arianna, doesn't just make a Sicilian Nero d'avola, she makes 'the' Nero d'Avola. She has set the standards that, to us have become a benchmark for how good and how incredibly exciting a bottle of red can be. We think if you still haven't tried her wines, your Sicilian wine pilgrimage is incomplete. Nero d'Avola Siccagno is on a great offer for this week. $69 now (Normally $85). For 6, $65/- DM/WA 91089395 and we will get this elixir your way in no time.  When the night demands something extraordinary🏅
Tignanello 2016 (it has been proving harder to wait to hold these bottles in the cellar)- Tig, the dependable, always rises to the occasion. 2016 will probably go down in history as among the best till date. 🍷 Pontet Canet 2013- I think sometime in the last fifteen years, this started feeling like among the very best Bordeaux has to offer. Classified fifth growth hardly does justice to this amazing estate that has been churning 100 pointers in the best vintages and extremely well rated wines across vintages. Just the perfect bottle for such a night. Vieux Telegraphe La Crau 2012- brings the Rhone Valley to you. A classic Chateauneuf du Pape. Just about perfect to drink but could have easily been hidden for two decades to pass to the next generation. 📸 @sidpathak31. Wines from God. |
AuthorWine Scholar, seller of quality wines that reflect the terroir and the passion of the winemaker. Love to share a glass of great wine. Archives
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