Ycoden Daute Isora (Borja Perez), Artífice Tinto, 2018
Somewhere along the way, I lost touch (and maybe some faith) in the Tenerife imports to Israel. Then, a friend opened a bottle of the 2017 Artífice Tinto, which he had opened a few hours in advance, so I decided to try the same thing with this bottle. The main reason I'm trying this is I was hoping to avoid the touch of reduction or brett or whatever the dirty notes were that had turned me off from the Tenerife reds. I have to say that the first glass shows both minerals and some reduction, but very quickly the nose turns out to be a very intense, pungent, almost intoxicating display of minerals and dying rose petals. The palate does need to flesh out, so air was a good idea, indeed. Here is what I wrote about the 2017 three years ago and it holds true for the current vintage: "Best of all is an intoxicating floral note which will make you think of Chambolle and a bong."
Oddero, Barolo, 2015
Almost surprisingly elegant, with an iron earthiness that takes me to Rioja, until the rusty tannins kick in. More telltale signs come in: black tea, sour cherries acidity, Nebbiolo’s unmistakable savouriness/savory tannins. As I said, surprisingly elegant, to which I’d add: surprisingly nuanced and complex for a relatively young Barolo. Virtually all of my experience with Oddero was with the basic Barolo, the first of which I bought 10 years ago. The normale always struck me as rustic, but I have to say that this one has some of the elegance and magic of a higher tier.
Guimaro, Ribeira Sacra, Blanco, 2019
Godello made in a broad-shouldered, slightly nutty, Burgundy style. Ripe apricots and ash on the nose, echoed on the palate.
Lahat, Roussanne, 2020
While not the longest or deepest of white wines, it is a very provoking wine, because of its richness of minerals and quinin. Itay Lahat seems to have eked out just about all the minerals that Roussanne has to give, knotting them up around a core of ripe peaches. A dry, lightly bitter finish.
Niepoort, Douro, Redoma, 2018
Niepoort's calling card is the freshness of their wines. The Niepoort data sheet says July was the coldest in the 21st century and then August 4th was the hottest day of the century. Whatever happened, the end result is a wine weighting in at 12.5% ABV with good phenolic ripeness and a lovely overlay powdered earth. A very lovely, elegant wine, indeed.
The Redoma was Neipoort's first Duoro table wine (the series also includes two whites and my all-time favorite rose). This is a blend of Tinta Amarela, Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, and Tinto Cão, the vines are over 70 years old from north-facing vineyards from Quinta de Nápoles and Pinhão Valley.
Domaine Pierre Duroché, Gevrey-Chambertin, Le Clos, 2018
Fleshy Pinot fruit, flowers, meat without stink, iron on the nose, iron and blood on the finish. While the texture is a bit rusty, this is a more refined wine than the above descriptors would have you think, a wine I wish I'd drunk in tandem with the Redoma, they'd have had an interesting date.
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