This evening was yet another example of Facebook creating friendships that wind up in real-life, face to face meetings. In this case, a group of Israeli wine lovers meeting up with Aviv Tzur, a great wine, sports and music lover from Miami that we'd all been corresponding with on various Facebook groups and forums.
It was an evening where all the wines more or less played up to the expectations.
The evening kicked off with a fourteen(!) year old Oregon rose from a cult winery that Aviv brought.
Cayuse Vineyards, Walla Walla Valley, Armada Vineyard, Edith, 2007
Aviv himself didn't age this for so long and wasn't sure what the story was. 2007 was the first release of this Grenache rose and I must admit time was more than kind to it. It's still lively with plenty of minerals and hints of leather and lovely with food.
Domaine Matrot, Meursault Premier Cru, Perrieres, 2014
One of the most consistent names in Meursault, a producer of taut, racy mineral-lavish whites that are tough to call blind. This is a very understated wine whose nose and palate need time to unfold and I wish we spent more time on it. But I did get enough to warm my heart.
Fontanafredda, Barolo, Vigna La Rosa, 1990
I'll start with the good part. The nose is bewitching and complex, all tertiary notes of rust and tar. The palate is tasty and savory, sour cherries and terrific acidity. But it's not a great, wow wine and it seems older than it actually is. To wit, almost all the blind guesses were a Barolo from the 1970's. There was a majority opinion that a single-vineyard Barolo from a vintage like 1990 should be in a more robust stage of maturity.
Here is what Kerin O'Keefe had to say about Fontanafredda in general in her book, Barolo and Barbaresco: The King and Queen of Italian Wine:
“Yet by the 1980s, Fontanafredda once again went into decline. A number of grape growers turned to winemaking and became boutique producers, crafting a new breed of softer Barolos. Production and quality at Fontanafredda on the other hand became stagnant. By the 1990s, in Italy the brand became associated with supermarket wines.”
On the other hand, she also writes that the Vigna La Rosa is Fontanafredda's calling card. In 2012, O'Keefe attended a vertical of the wine at the winery. The 1990 wasn't tasted then, but she described the wines from the 80's and 90's as having already reached their peak. My take on this is that the Vigna La Rose is an overperformer from what was at the time an underachieving producer and that the combination wasn't enough to make for a Barolo that would last and evolve slowly for decades.
Roagna, Barolo, Pira, 2011
This wasn't decanted, just slow-oxed for a couple of hours. As a result, it took its sweet time to open in the glass and unfolded to everyone's delight (those who were patient with it). The consensus was that it went beyond the expectations of 2011 and did not torture us as it opened, something young Barolos are prone to do. It's a very fragrant wine, actually, its bouquet is downright stirring, with rust, menthol and dried flowers. The palate pulls off a trick only the very best producers can conjure and balance penetrating power with a silky ease. A Bourgogne Grand Cru in Barolo.
Vega Sicilia, Único, Ribera del Duero, Reserva Especial (1990/1994/1995 blend)
This was a tough one to call, because its sheer elegance, black pepper on the nose, plus hints of citrus fruit on the palate, took us all over France before we were told it was a Spaniard. When you think of Ribera, you rightfully think about a muscular wine (not, tough or necessarily over the top, simply muscular), but they also have good acidity. This has amazing acidity, not one that overwhelms, one that gives everything else going on in the palate a vibrant, aristocratic sheen.
Chateau Haut-Bailly, Pessac-Leognan, 1989
There's a hint of earthy funk here, not brett, more like a stretch of ground alive with flora, fauna and their remnants. Also, market spices and black fruit. It's very tasty, a sort of Claret Play Ground, which is a tier lower than Claret Heaven. Simply a classic Bordeaux that took its time to peak.
This makes me sad. I drank it five years ago and it was still a little rough. I thought it would always be a little tough and I realized that if a mid-rung classed Bordeaux takes 20-30 years to be ready, then my Bordeaux-buying days were numbered. I thought I had five more years to buy young Bordeaux and have reasonable odds to drink them at their peak. Well, here we are, five years later, and two years ago I bought the last young classed Bordeaux I will ever buy for myself.
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