Weekly Wine Roundup: A Terroirist’s Favorite Wine in the World!

Posted by | Posted in Wine Reviews | Posted on 03-05-2012

This week marks Winn Roberton’s inaugural appearance in the Weekly Wine Roundup, and he doesn’t hold back. Read on to find out which wine might just be Winn’s favorite wine in the world!

Rebecca Canan
Although I tried quite a few wines this week, only two to report on for the round-up – both pretty interesting. First I opened a fun bottle of Israeli rose that was recommended to me by the staff at Columbus Wine & Spirits. It was the 2010 Recanti Rose from Galilee. Without the recommendation, I would have likely overlooked this wine due to its color. It is REALLY aggressive, like Legally-Blonde-style, pink. However, the wine is dry and, while bursting with fruit, not cloying or fruit punchy. It’s lively, refreshing, packed with strawberry, and balanced by a nice acidity, perhaps due to the chillier growing conditions in upper Galilee, well above sea-level. Great wine for a picnic or summer brunch.

My other wine for the week was one I ordered at dell’anima last weekend at the recommendation of sommelier Joe Campanale. I *think* it was the 2002 Calabretta Etna Rosso (not 100% positive of the vintage). I was dining with a couple of my best friends and this wine was the perfect accompaniment. Worthy of conversation, but not overly demanding or distracting. Dried cranberry, some smokiness, something very southern Italian, and a really cool hit of graphite and minerality. Perfectly enjoyable and also a bit mysterious/heady.

Winn Roberton
For my first contribution to the Weekly Wine Roundup, I may need a disclaimer. The 2003 vintage of this wine was one of those wines that made me say, “Damn, wine is awesome,” thus continuing my delve into the world of fermented juice. The wine in question is the 2005 Paolo Bea Sagrantino di Montefalco, Pagliaro Vineyard. The unassuming Bea family is documented to have been in Italy’s Umbria region since 1500. They keep things very traditional, dedicating their 5 of their 15 hectares to grapes, leaving the rest to olives, fruits, vegetables, and grains, on all of which the family subsists. Paolo Bea, the patriarch of the current Beas, still works in the vines daily. He is in his early 70s.

I always make sure a prospective buyer of this wine is familiar with, and isn’t afraid of a bunch of earth and tannins. After finishing off a Barolo and a Brunello, I suggested the host “lower the boom,” with the Paolo Bea. My first taste, just to determine the wine’s health, was overrun with metallic taste and a hard clayey minerality. This is to be expected from such an elephantine wine, but no flaws, so into the decanter it went.  The wine went over well at the table, and the host was generous enough to leave about 8oz in the decanter as they left. Ah, the troubles of being a sommelier.

I finally got to the decanter at the end of service, about 3 hours later, about how much time the wine needs. The nose was full of violets, plums, black cherry cola, leather and roasted meats. The palate introduced itself with a haunting taste and weight of sweet prunes, and fennel. The first inkling of tannins were supple and velvety but left with a noticable grip on the gum lines and cheeks.  The finish was an integration of savory herbs, smoked meats and a beautiful soft clay minerality. I can still taste it.

This is serious wine. Seek it out, have some time to decant it, and have a big piece of red meat nearby. My future wine roundups won’t be waxed so poetically, but seriously, this might just be my favorite wine in the world.

Greg Golec
While skiing in Illinois (yes, Illinois) for my birthday, I popped a bottle of 1995 Graham Porto Malvedos to warm the soul. Unfortunately, this juice was too warm. Hot, in fact. I opened the bottle eight days ago and it’s still sitting in my fridge, too hot to handle. I did catch a bit of raisin and toffee beneath the heat but I’m hoping it has more to offer down the road.

This past weekend I opened two bottles that were wonderful for different reasons. First up was a 2008 Brewer-Clifton Chardonnay Gnesa. I was anxious to taste this as I’ve been trending more toward old world chardonnay in recent months and I know the SRH appellation has a reputation for towing the line between the new and old worlds. This bottle didn’t disappoint. The nose, initially, was a bit off putting with some sulphur but that blew off pretty fast. The fruits are certainly present, and at times almost heavy, but there is also lots of lemon, juicy acidity, and a touch of saline. For more on the SRH appellation, see this piece from Jay McInerney in the Wall Street Journal.

I also popped a 2008 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast to celebrate the shipment of Rivers-Marie’s 2010 pinots. This wine has a lofty reputation in its price range and it’s well-deserved. You’ll be hard pressed to find a better value at $25. Popped and let breath for 30 minutes, found a great nose of baking spice, oranges, and raspberries. The fruit is the star but it’s not jammy. Wonderful apple up front with raspberries and cranberries. Great acidity, perfect food wine, and awesome value!

Comments (3)

  1. Haha, “lower the boom” — love it.

  2. Just picked up some late 90s Paolo Bea Sagrantino bottles on auction. We’ll see how they are holding up.

  3. Rebecca- All is takes is a smile and a power phrase.

    Eric- Oh man, i bet they’re great. The better vintages will last 40+ years. I don’t have much of a personal cellar, but that’ll be at the core of it when it comes together!