Braida Barbera Montebruna

The world famous estate of Giacomo Bologna, “Braida” has done it again!

The estate, made famous by the late Giacomo Bologna, is now managed by his wife and children. Brother and sister team Raffaella and Guiseppe, third generation oenologists, produce world-class wine from their father’s vineyards. Their flagship wine “Bricco dell’Uccellone” Barbera d’Asti has received worldwide acclaim, and is the wine that put Barbera on the map. I, personally, am a HUGE fan of the Bricco dell’Uccellone, I even carried a 2005 1.5-Liter magnum all the way to NYC to have Raffaella sign the bottle for me!

Their ‘baby barbera’, “Montebruna” is far from immature. The name Montebruna comes from the collection of vineyards that were purchased (and re-purchased) to reconstruct a historical vineyard site. The grapes are initially fermented for two weeks in stainless steel tanks, then aged for twelve months in a variety of large oaks vessels.

The wine that is bottle is a younger, fresher, fruit-forward wine than the big-boy Bricco dell’Uccellone. The 2010 Montebruna has just been added to the “Smart Buys” list from Wine Spectator for the second year in a row!

In regards to the Braida Barbera d’Asti Montebruna 2009, Wine Spectator said this:

“A structured and tightly knit red, this features black currant, blackberry and spice aromas and flavors, plus more tannins than typical of this varietal. Fine length adds refinement and dimension. Best from 2013 through 2018. 9,000 cases made. –BS”

The latest release of Wine Spectator Advance, which will be published in the March 31, 2013 issue included a review of the Braida Barbera d’Asti Montebruna 2010:

“A rich, vibrant red, offering tangy black cherry and blackberry flavors. Balanced and long, with a lightly smoky finish. Drink now through 2014. 10,000 cases made.—B.S.”

I’ve often found that by the time Wine Spectator reviews are printed, the wines they’re reviewing are already sold out. In the extreme case of the annual Top 100 List, trying to find the wines to buy in retail shops is very near impossible. Even as a wine lover with some great connections, nationwide availability isn’t really something that Wine Spectator considers when their reviews go to print.

Lucky for you (and me) the Braida Barbera d’Asti 2010 is indeed currently available in the New England region! I can’t speak for every market, but I know for sure that you can check your local wine shops for the latest vintage of Montebruna. Not only is it available, but the Montebruna 2010 can be found in both 750mL bottles as well as 1.5-Liter magnums. And let’s face it, few things are more impressive than a great wine in a big bottle!

If you have any trouble finding the Braida Montebruna at your local wine shop, feel free to let me know, I’ll help you track it down!

Eli
Bibo Ergo Sum

Morning with Canalicchio di Sopra

A Thursday morning meeting with Francesco Ripaccioli, third generation producer at Canalicchio di Sopra...(these are my notes from Francesco's presentation)

Brunello was first documented as a wine in the late 1800's, as a single varietal wine that could be aged for long periods of time. From 1888 until 1945, only one producer was documented to have produced a few vintages of Brunello. That winery, Biondi-Santi, paved the way for other producers to emulate the style of Brunello. The region developed as a quality production in the 1950's and 1960's, and in 1968 the region was granted DOC status. At first it struggled to find it's identity as quality against the French wines of the time.

Canalicchio was part of the 'second-coming' of brunello. Canalicchio is one of the twelve members of the consortium of Brunello, in 1967. The estate of Canalicchio di Sopra was founded in 1962, and the first bottling of Canalicchio was 1966 by Primo Pacenti, Francesco's Grandfather. Primo Pacenti learned his way around Brunello vineyards working as a farmer for Biondi-Santi. Many wine producers considered Primo to be crazy in the '70's for the developing the Green Harvesting that everyone now utilizes as a perfectly normal practice. [Green harvesting is the practice of cutting away lesser quality fruit in the late summer and early fall. This allows the vines to put more energy into the remaining, better quality grapes.]

In 1987, Francesco's father's estate, Le Gode di Montosoli and grandfather's estate, Canalicchio di Sopra combined. Canalicchio is a very famous Cru on the northeast side of Montalcino, and produces a very elegant style of wine. Le Gode di Montosoli tends to produce more structured, higher acidity wines. Montosoli is famous for being one of the very first vineyards used for the very first Brunello from Biondi-Santi. The two properties are only 1 kilometer apart, yet produce very distinctly different wines. Only about 20 producers have property (or rent vineyard space) in this Montosoli hill. Canalicchio owns one of the largest holdings on the hill of Montosoli.

All of today's Canalicchio di Sopra wines are blended in the cellar from the two estates. The Riserva is roughly 95% single vineyard wine from the Canalicchio property. 16 hectares of vineyards are divided into 12 plots. Each plot is vinified separately in small French oak barrels. Vineyards younger than 15yrs old are only used for Rosso (DOCG rules require 3yr old vineyards). In August, a green harvest cuts back total production drastically (grapes that are too big, not maturing at the correct rate, etc.). Production works roughly to one bottle of wine per plant in the vineyard. The 2012 vintage was another successful vintage, and introduced two more selection processes. They harvested at two separate times, to maximize picking at just the right ripeness. They also introduced a hand-sorting table to further discard 3% imperfect grapes.

We then tasted the three latest releases of Canalicchio di Sopra, as well as two Cellar Selections from our warehouse...

2010 Rosso di Montalcino DOC - made exactly like Brunello, but from the younger vines. After one year of aging, barrels are selected that are not going to be aged into Brunello. All of their wine starts as if to become Brunello, but they pick the best to be aged into Brunello. In the past, less Rosso was produced and more grapes were sold. Now they sell less grapes and make more Rosso. Considered one of the top 1% of Rosso quality for the price. This vintage is a much bigger and bolder than usual Rosso. Very elegant, very structured, subtle fruit, long-long-long finish.

2008 Brunello di Montalcino DOCG - 27,000 bottle production - aged for three years in large Slovanian oak casks (minimum requirement is two years), aging can range from 32-38 months, and will be bottled as the wine is ready. They consider this as they're calling card. The Brunello is their flagship and is already a fine selection process. Francesco described 2008 as a very typical vintage. Really bright acidity, yet very elegant and soft for what I expected. He considers this a better wine than the 2006 vintage. The 2006 required more aging and wasn't ready to drink. The 2008 is ready to drink much younger. Much more elegant and structured than the Rosso.

2007 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva DOCG - 5,000 bottle production - production is so small that it's not a marketing ploy. They're intention is to make Brunello a great bottle, the Riserva is only the tiny little "pick of the litter" selection. The Riserva is not made every vintage, only when they see fit. Since 1966, the Riserva has only been produced 15 times up through 2007. Over the last 10 years, the Riserva has been produced 5 out of those 10 vintages. In years that the Riserva is not produced, the Brunello is that much better. Right out of the bottle, the Riserva is much denser and darker in color. As a vintage, Francesco considers 2007 an atypical vintage, of much more international of style. Much bigger, fruitier, and opulent than the traditional Canalicchio style. Brighter acidity, but a leaner finesse of a finish. Smells more old world to me, even though they describe it as more opulent.

2001 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva DOCG - he considers this his favorite Riserva vintage, a much more traditional vintage for Canalicchio. Says the bottle never seems to age, everytime you open a bottle of 2001 it's just as young as it was last time. Not really showing the age in color, very little brick coloring, still plenty of bright reds and burgundy colors. Very soft fruit, very bright acidity, soft tannins, bright acidity. Smells much more old world, with just the tiniest little touch of aged-sherry aromas. Super soft mouthfeel after the acidity fades, with a super long elegant finish.

1995 Brunello di Montalcino DOCG - ageless, like that of the 2001, every bottle seems to be just as young as the next. Right out of the bottle the wine looks older, a very dark aged color of dark red. Almost no reds in the color of the wine, more rust color than anything else. Smells less like sherry than the 2001. Very, very mild fruit, with still very bright acidity. Extremely elegant, but a little too old for the average customers that wouldn't appreciate it. As the wine opens, the balsamic nature burns off, and a little subtle fruit shines through. Just stunning.

[I apologize if sentences are scattered, this is a copy & paste from my iPad notes during our morning meeting.]

Eli
Bibo Ergo Sum

Month of Montalcino

You know what the greatest part about January is? The new releases from Montalcino, Tuscany are on their way to the U.S.!

Each year during January and February, wine lovers everywhere begin drooling on their keyboards with thoughts of Brunello di Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino, Brunello Riserva, and even the occasional super-Tuscan. Italian DOC/DOCG laws dictate the aging requirements for wines to be labeled as Brunello and Brunello Riserva. After those requirements are met, the wines are imported into the U.S. during the first few months of each year.

The exciting part for me is that I get to work with three of the top producers Montalcino has to offer. Canalicchio di Sopra is an old family estate that makes very traditional, old-world, world-class wine. Castello Romitorio, owned by the world famous artist Sandro Chia, is a relatively young property that has quickly proven themselves as a phenomenal estate. And of course the incredible wines of Valdicava almost need no introduction. Owner Vincenzo has demonstrated for more than a decade that there is something supernatural about his property, his cellar, and his winery. The Valdicava Brunello Riserva named "Madonna del Piano" has set new benchmarks for Italian wine.

If you want to stay on-point with these latest releases of phenomenal Brunello wines and Montalcino producers, make sure you follow up with your local wine merchant. If you need some help or guidance, don't be afraid to contact me directly. I'm always happy to offer a little guidance in the world of Italian wine!

Eli
Bibo Ergo Sum

Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino 2007

My colleagues and I toss around the name James Suckling as if it was Time Magazine, the New York Times, or CNN; we automatically assume that everyone knows who we're talking about. For those of you that don't know, James Suckling is a world-famous wine critic/journalist. Now publishing under his own name, he is the former Senior Editor and European Bureau Chief of Wine Spectator (maybe the best known wine journal in the world). James Suckling has always been an authority on European wines, and many of us in the business respect his opinions more than some others out there that seem to have flexible integrity.

In any case, James Suckling just released his "Top Ten Wines in 2012" list, a much more to-the-point version than the Top 100 list we've all come to laugh at. Well, I'm writing this blog post today, because a wine that I know very well is pretty high on that list - Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino 2007.

Proprietor Vincenzo Abruzzese is an absolute rock-star in the world of incredible wine. While some people make very old-world wine, and others make new-world wine, Vincenzo can often be described as "in his own world." His attention to detail is mind-blowing. While he's never come right out an fessed up to any of these stories, rumors have it that he specifically had a unique strain of grass planted in his vineyards between rows of vines. This grass was selected because it would absorb just the right amount of water from the ground in order to make the vines struggle just a little to get their own water. Allegedly, if his vineyards yield any excess grapes in a particular vintage that he isn't going to use, he burns the access to that no neighbor or competitor might get the same quality of grapes to use for their wine. I've tasted many expensive Brunelli that didn't hold a candle to his less expensive Rosso di Montalcino, available at about half the price of most Brunelli.

The 2007 vintage was a very good vintage in Montalcino, and along with the fabulous 2006 growing season, the two vintages back to back represent quality that hasn't been seen before in my lifetime. When James Suckling originally reviewed the Brunello in January of 2012, this is what he had to say about his 98pt score: "What beautiful clear fruit here, with plums and spices and hints of flowers. Class. Full- bodied and luscious, this Brunello fills your mouth, with polished velvety tannins and gorgeous fruit. So wonderful and gorgeous. Irresistible. Better than 2006. Best after 2016."

And Wine Spectator said: "A big, muscular style, yet with sweet fruit to balance the dense tannins. Black cherry, plum, tobacco and soy flavors mingle, and this has some elevated alcohol on the finish. Best on the early side. Best from 2013 through 2024. 4,500 cases made."

And don't forget the 95pt Review from Wine Advocate's Antonio Galloni: "The 2007 Brunello di Montalcino is gorgeous. Dark red cherries, plums, spices, leather and tobacco wrap around the palate as this dense, powerful wine starts to open up. Expressive aromatics are woven throughout, giving the 2007 a measure of polish and sophistication that is not always present in this wine when it is young. Finessed, suave tannins reinforce an impression of elegance. The 2007 can be enjoyed with minimum cellaring, but it will also age gracefully for many years. Readers who want to try the 2007 today should give the wine plenty of air, as the more refined qualities only emerge over time. When tasted next to the 2006, the 2007 shows redder tonalities of fruit and less sheer muscle. Hints of tobacco, crushed flowers and spices wrap around the sensual finish. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2027. ...Vincenzo Abbruzzese has been one of Montalcino’s most consistent producers over the last few years, an impression that was reinforced during my visit earlier this year. I tasted every wine in cask, and they were all terrific. I also had a chance to revisit the 1988 and 1990 Madonna del Pianos, both of which have aged beautifully in bottle."

While we all know that the Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino 2007 is an incredible wine, it's very exciting to have someone like James Suckling name it as his #3 favorite wine of the year. It should retail for somewhere around $100/bottle, a fraction of comparable quality from Bordeaux or Burgundy. If you've never had a bottle of the Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino, you should splurge (at least once) and buy a bottle. Better yet, buy two - one to drink immediately, and one to save for a few years and a special occasion!

Eli

Bibo Ergo Sum

P.S. - I realize that the wine in the picture is the 2006 Valdicava, but I thought it better to use my own photo and a different vintage as opposed to stealing someone else's picture just to get the vintage correct. Thank you for noticing, but the labels still look the same.

P.P.S. - If you need some help finding a bottle of this incredible wine, please feel free to email me!

HItachino Nest Beer 3 Days

Today I'm going to look at what appears to be the only Japanese brewery that we get in the States that still makes their beer in Japan. I'm talking about none other than Hitachino Nest Beer! (I am now going to refer to them as "Hitachino Nest" only.) Brewing out of Tokyo, I first heard of these guys when I saw a beertuber and friend of mine post a video of his personal tour at the brewery. The video was in Japanese, as expected, and Winton (BeerichiTuba on youtube) wrote all the subtitles himself; it looked like a really nice brewery, and I hope to visit it someday. Anyway, on to the beer.

3 Days has an interesting story behind its birth. If you can read the label in the picture you can get the full story, otherwise you'll have to live with my short summary. So, March, 2011 an earthquake hit Japan, as we know, and the brewery also went down for a while. Due to a power outage the mash tun, with wort in it, sat for three days and developed natural fermentation with in-brewery cultured lactic acid. They say that this beer was limited to 8,000 bottles only. That may sound like a lot, but a case of bombers and non-six-pack beers is 12 bottles, so that is around 666 cases. Moving on...

3 Days pours kind of caramel-like orange brown with a light beige head resting atop the fluid. For those of you who are big on visualization, it looks pretty good but amazing. The aroma is somewhat surprising. The closest style I can come to for this is a "Belgian Strong Ale" (courtesy of www.ratebeer.com) and that is basically a catch-all for higher gravity Belgian beers that are not sours, saisons, or "abbey" styles (dubbel, tripel, quadrupel) and are often hard to distinguish from the abbey styles. The 3 Day smells like salted caramel coupled with some sort of barnyard funkiness. I am not sure how I feel about that; I can't really say I like it a lot, but it is not bad.

The taste is more in line with what I would expect, but there is still a twist. We have big caramel and bready flavors, typical of the Belgian styles barring sours, and the twist comes in with a hint of sour fruit. This sour character must come from the lactic acid and the fruit aspect is also typical of Belgian styles.

3 Days has a thicker body, as expected for the style, and is very smooth but is lacking in that typical Belgian carbonation and finishes with some funk on the back end.

From what I've gathered, this brewery is certainly worth trying if you can find their stuff. Check Florida and Wisconsin and California, I don't know where else. If you can find this beer, pick it up. It is rare.

Kiuchi Brewery
Hitachino Nest Beer 3 Days
TCSH - 7/10
Aka - limited, rare, average

Dallas

Theakston Old Peculier

Hey guys, I'm back after a long, inexplicable hiatus of a month and a half and I have something that is special in its simplicity. Today I bring you Theakston Old Peculier, an import from Masham, England, that used to be readily available in the States many years ago (my father said he used to drink it all the time thirty years ago) and then disappeared for a while and has now made a comeback to the States.

So what do we have? For starters, this import is NOT in a clear or green bottle, which is a relief. "The Legend," as they refer to it (see picture to right), pours a deep red, maybe like a dull ruby, with a large light beige head similar to those slacks we lads used to have to wear to church when we were little kids that were somewhere between white and khaki.

The aroma is, unfortunately, not very impressive. There subtle hints of both malts and hops but nothing is very distinct. I would be disappointed, but from my understanding of British beers the aroma is not something they focus on, so I'm hoping they make up for it in the taste. Onward!

The taste was the the redeeming factor for the Old Peculier. Big caramel, mild burnt coffee, red fruits, and some hints of wheat sweetness. At first it seemed almost like a hodgepodge of disjointed flavors that just would not work together, but as it warmed up a tiny bit and as my palate adjusted to what I was tasting I came to find this rather pleasant. The wheat gave way to subtle, back-end sweetness while the caramel and burnt coffee blended with the vinous character from the red fruits.

Old Peculier is velvety and supple while drinking and has a very subtle dry bitterness on the finish. You can find Theakston Old Peculier at beer stores in the Dallas area (Keg and Barrels is my place) and it should be available in other beer markets around Texas, such as Houston and Austin. Be prepared to pay import prices; $13 for a six-pack, but if you think about the per beer cost it is cheaper than if you were to try to purchase six single bottles (most likely).

Theakston
Old Peculier
TCST - 7.5/10
Aka - Worth trying at least once, even if just for novelty.

Dallas

P.S. - I will likely do at least one pumpkin beer, as it is the season, and I will do an Oktoberfestbier as well. Today is the official start of Oktoberfest in Germany. PROST!

Firestone Walker Double Jack Double IPA

Happy International IPA Day, everybody! This day, August 2nd, is dedicated to the glory and praise of the hops. I used to be a big Hop Head back in the day and I do still enjoy the bitter every now and again. Today I will focus on a gloriously hoppy beer from Firestone Walker.

Firestone Walker is a very popular brewery out of Paso Robles, California, and like a lot of other West Coast breweries (Stone, Sierra Nevada, etc.) they are masterful in their use of hops. When I saw this in Missouri, I just had to have it (since Firestone Walker doesn't make it down to Texas). Shall we dive in?

Double Jack pours clear copper orange with a large, LARGE, white head from the 22 oz bomber. At 9.5% ABV there is no alcohol presence on the nose, and it explodes with citrus and pine and has a hints of light sweeter malt aromas. The taste on the Double Jack is SO BITTER but so amazing. There are lots of tropical fruit flavors and a pleasant sweetness that lingers underneath the bitterness that is reminiscent of caramel.

Double Jack coats the mouth, lingers, and then fades. It is not too thick, but thick enough to handle the bitterness, is very smooth feeling in the mouth and does not have very much carbonation despite the giant head that formed when poured. The finish reminds me of spicy hops, usually from the Czech Republic, and is still quite bitter, but not all that drying. 22 oz and 9.5% ABV, perfect for sharing.

Firestone Walker Brewing
Double Jack Double IPA
TCSH - 10/10
Aka - Near perfect, but as they say "best enjoyed in moderation."

Dallas