NewsletterNovember, 2004
Tasting CalendarA three business day cancellation policy is in effect for all tastings. December 5th, 5:30 - 8:00 COALTRAIN’S (IN)FAMOUS CHRISTMAS WINE TASTINGThe holiday season is beckoning once again, and that means it’s
almost time for our most popular annual tasting, where you’ll
have the opportunity to sample around 30 of our featured wines
for the holidays and plan your pre-yuletide purchases accordingly.
From Champagnes and sparkling wines to dessert wines and ports,
the libations offered for tasting will cover all the bases—and
then some. THE tasting event of the season takes place on Sunday
evening, December 5th, from 5:30 to 8:00, at The Briarhurst Manor,
for the screamingly low price of $30.00 per taster (including hors
d’oeuvres, tax and tip). Avoid the social gaffe of the season
by calling us at 475-9700 to reserve your space! December 10th, 7 p.m. BEST OF THE BEST DINNER AT LA PETITEAs we grow steadily older, our "Best of the Best" dinner
seems to be happening more and more frequently (though it occurs
just once a year). Maybe it has to do with Einstein’s "time
dilatation" bit. Whatever, we have a monster "best of
the best" for this year. We’re going to focus on some
of the extraordinary 2002 Burgundies and some of the equally extraordinary
2002 Oregon Pinot Noirs. Maybe, we’ll go head to head, blind,
to see what reigns supreme. We haven’t picked all of the
wines as of printing, but we do know for sure that the 2002 Lafarge
Volnay, Clos de Chene (95-100 points, WINE SPECTATOR) will be in
the mix. Of course there will be artisan Champagne, dessert wine
and maybe a little Barolo or Barbaresco to serve as the benchmarks
of red wine greatness. The wines will be paired with dishes from
La Petite’s super-star kitchen. This will be a five course
dinner. The price per gourmandizer is $100 (plus sales tax and
tip). The event will take place on Friday December 10th at 7 p.m.
Participants must be limited to ensure the quality of the tasting.
So, to avoid disappointment, please call us soon (475-9700) to
secure your places. "A bientot." December 14th, at 6:00 p.m. OUR "EMERGENCY" PINOT NOIR TASTINGWe’re calling this an "emergency" tasting for two reasons: The 2002 vintage in Oregon is virtually unsurpassed in the state’s pinot noir producing experience and we want you to have a chance to taste some of these wines before they’re gone; AND, its been six weeks since we returned from Oregon wine country, and, frankly, we’re going through pinot noir withdrawal! Come join us for an evening of hedonistic delight—and some spectacular wines, too—on Tuesday, December 14th, at 6:00 p.m., at the Briarhurst Manor. Given the quality of these wines, the $35.00 tariff (per person, plus tax and tip) is mind-bogglingly low. To keep the cost down, however, only light finger foods will be served…and we encourage you to stay afterward for dinner at the Briarhurst. Ring us now at 475-9700 to secure your seat—this one is sure to fill up fast! Wines of the Month2003 La Tour Boisee, Minervois, Regularly $10.99/Sale $9.99: Have you ever been to Narbonne? It is bisected by the Canal de la Robine, dug by the Romans. While in Narbonne, the Romans erected many statues. For us, the most significant is of Silenus, Dionysius’s fat, old tutor, gross and in his usual state of drunkenness. We feel comfortable here. Wine is made west of town. In this huge and geographically varied viticultural zone, Grenache, Carignan and Cinsault have been the historic grapes. But, recently, Syrah and Mourvedre have been making a presence, and this is seen in the rising complexity and quality of Minervois’ wines. This bottle is a dandy sipper with appealing dark and red fruit aromas, and similar flavors. It’s easy drinking and definitely doesn’t assault you with alcohol and tannins as the Minervois of 20 years ago normally did. With food it is a multi-use performer…fowl, game, meat and cheese. 2003 Pra Soave Classico, $12.99: For those who really, really, really know Italian wines, Soave has become the best white wine in that land (see the following story on "Soave: Turning the Fiat into a Ferrari"). They have some guys (and girls) there who definitely know what they are doing. Graziano Pra is one of those people. He experiments with barrel aged Soaves and does quite well, particularly with his Monte Grande bottling. But barrel aged Soave is not particularly our thing. We want to taste the fruit, particularly the fetching Garganega fruit. This wine comes from the original and best area of Soave, in the volcanic hillsides between Monteforte d’Alpone and the walled village of Soave. It is a place of twisting roads, steep vineyards with the Alps humped-up northward. This is not Bolla Soave land on the flats by the murderous A4 expressway. This Soave Classico is so fulsome and mouth filling that you would think that steroids have been applied. We don’t really know what to compare it too, maybe a good Condrieu because of the peach and apricot notes. Anyway, it’s delicious. New Arrivals2000 Mas d’en Compte, Priorato, Regularly $39.99/Sale $29.99: If you have wondered what the Priorato sensation is all about, come down and get this wine before it disappears. It gives you all the richness, extract and dark fruit flavors that have made the Priorat wines international darlings. We just spent several days in the ruggedly, lovely zone and left hopelessly bewitched. And after visiting there, we must point out that this Priorato is a supreme value. We saw a dozen of these wines selling for over $100/bottle at the very point of production! WE CAN GET NO MORE OF THIS WINE AND IT WILL NOT LINGER LONG IN THE STORE, WE GUARANTEE IT. 2002 Cousino Macul Cabernet Sauvignon, Antiquas Reserva, $13.99: A decade or two ago, Cousino Macul was one of the prime quality driven wineries in Chile. It remains so. What does that mean in a country where the overall quality is so low? It means that you have depth, complexity, even a sense of place in this Pinochet dominated land. There is dirt, dark fruit and a scent of the brooding Andes. We would love to taste this wonderful wine with alpaca or vicuna on the grill.
2003 Tres Ojos, Old Vine Garnacha, Calatayud, $7.99: It beats us why this Spanish wine is named Three Eyes (Tres Ojos) but it’s so good that we don’t want to upset the makers by asking. This is big, fruity, rich stuff. It’s no "girly wine." With Manchego cheese, cabrito or lamb chops it would shine. Incredibly, this winery near Zaragoza, produces about 250,000 cases of wine a year. We’ve got to move there. * 2002 Rosa de Golfo, Rosato, $11.99: In truth, we’ve featured this rose from southern Italy before. But, we’ve gotten more and for the last hurrah of fall and Thanksgiving dinner we want to push it again. Of course, it’s a dry rose with cranberry essences in the nose and on the tongue. With turkey, yeah. It’s generally thought to be the best rose made in Italy. We won’t argue. 2001 Brigaldara Valpollicella, $12.99: It’s back…the erstwhile "wine of the month" that almost created a vacuum in Coaltrain as it flew out the door. That was actually 2000, this is 2001. This vintage is considered superior to 2000 in the Veneto. And you definitely sense that in the power and size of this bottling. Again, there are the mesmerizing dried fruits, vanilla and coffee notes. But the 2001 has a bit more tannin and punch than the 2000. This is the closest thing you will get to a good Amarone, at an attractive price. * 2004 La Yunta Torrontes, Famatina Valley, Argentina, $10.99: Viticulturists believe this grape (Torrontes) to have come from Galicia in northwestern Spain. And, it is believed, that finest Torrontes is made in Argentina. This is the best Torrontes we’ve tasted. It has an intriguingly aromatic nose. It’s round in the mouth with good balancing acid. We’re impressed. 2001 Rosenblum Zinfandel, Rust Ridge Vineyard, Regularly $29.99/Sale $22.99: From one of California’s best Zinfandel producers, this medium bodied zin exhibits the fruit driven style for which Rosenblum is known. Flavors of blackberry sprinkled with Asian spices make this a perfect wine for grilled lamb chops or pork tenderloin. It is zesty without being overpowering. 2003 Trumpeter Merlot, Argentina, $8.99: By now all of you know our loathing (not contempt) for many things with "Merlot" on the label, particularly if they are in the "bargain range." Insipid jaminess is not for is. Now here, however, is something interesting. Sure, there is fruit and some jam, but there is some dirt and spine too. This is a bargain that really is a bargain. Brilliant. * 2001 Juliette Avril Chateauneuf du Pape, $24.99: Forget about a woman always making a lithesome, unserious wine. Yes, Juliette’s 2000 Chateauneuf was soft and refined, almost Burgundian. Perhaps that was more a reflection of the vintage than her gender. This is more assertive with "garrigue," tannin and earth. Yet, there is a fineness here that few Rhone Valley men seem able or willing to explore. Above all there is mystery here. Take that Jean-Louis! 1999 Robert Stemmler Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma Valley, Regularly $21.99/Sale $14.99: Crusty, old Robert Stemmler for eons focused on Pinot Noirs and on Chardonnays. By accent, name and general Zeitgeist, we would take him to be Teutonic, much so. Thus, when he came out with this Cabernet we were considering a fast retreat to Vichy. But, he surprised us with a wine which is very Bordeaux in style. It’s not a powerhouse. It is instead an interesting Cab with hints of green pepper and herbs in the nose and flavors and a bit of Bordeaux earthiness. Drinking well now, this is a great value at this sale price! N.V. Porto Feist Rich Ruby Baronial Port $12.99: What a bargain! This Portuguese port is the real thing. It has a beautiful nose and classic port flavors. While it doesn’t have the depth of its more expensive brethren, it is remarkably good. * these New Arrivals we particularly recommend for your Thanksgiving feast Gewurztraminer for GobblersIt’s the darnedest thing…the compatibility of a relatively idiosyncratic grape with turkey and Thanksgiving dinners in general. The Gewurztraminer shines with white turkey meat, dark meat, stuffing and all sorts of tubers. And there are sweet Gewurztraminers that can enhance any dessert you pull out of your oven or out of the local supermarket. Following are some of our favorite Gewurztraminers and some recommendations for Thanksgiving usage. 2003 Husch Gewurztraminer, Anderson Valley, $13.99: This is a slightly sweet version of Gewurtz which is lively on the palate and very quaffable. Gewurtz means "spicey" in German, and this wine has that attribute. You can happily drink it with the appetizers or with the big bird. 2002 Martinelli Gewurztraminer, Russian River Valley, Dry Select, $25.99: Yes, Martinelli makes some great wines other than Zinfandel. This is exotic stuff in a much drier Alsacian style with more body weight than the above Husch. Actually, we think this would be a celestial match with ham, though it would be good with turkey, too. 1995 Marcel Deiss Gewurztraminer, Vendanges Tardives, $34.99/500ml: Dessert time. With pumpkin pie, it’s harder to imagine much better. This is sweet, but not too heavy from one of the best Alsacian produers. Hazelnut ice cream would be interesting with this too. 2002 Andrew Rich Gewurztraminer, Willamette Valley, Oregon, $20.99/375ml: Dessert in a bottle. This has 16 percent residual sugar which translates as "very sweet." But the acidity is so good that it doesn’t taste "very sweet." You drink this ice cold, out of small glasses. Keep the insulin handy. Wine/Travel ReportTHE SPECTACULAR 2002 OREGON WINESWe recently took an enthusiastic group of twelve customers out to the Willamette (pronounced like "dammit") Valley in Oregon, about an hour south of Portland. After sampling about fifty of the 2002 wines, the consensus of our bibulous group was "brilliant." As the wine authority, Robert Parker penned, "overall 2002, a year of superb conditions, offered Oregon wineries the opportunity to craft the finest wines they had made to date, particularly with Pinot Noirs…consumers will find many outstanding Oregon Pinot Noirs on retailers shelves." Thus, our arduous sojourn to Oregon…to taste and procure those wines. We spent five nights in this young wine growing region, where there is a genuine excitement and camaraderie among winemakers. We came away believing that the Willamette Valley is the finest Pinot Noir growing region in the world, outside of Burgundy. As for highlights: One was lunch at Beaux Freres with our old buddy, Mike Etzel (he used to work for a wine distributor in Denver who sold to us). We tasted Mike’s 2002 Beaux Freres and 2002 Belles Sours Pinots. Wow…no wonder the WINE SPECTATOR scored them 95 and 94 points respectively. Another highlight was an afternoon with Harry Peterson-Nedry of Chehalem when we tasted his impeccable, Burgundy style Pinots. The next prized tasting was with Steve Doerner of Cristom. Harry and Steve are both impassioned pioneers of Pinot Noir winemaking in Oregon and are doing world class work. Finally, a dinner with Ken Wright at his home was something to cherish and remember. Ken is considered by many to be the guru of Oregon Pinot Noir. We were there during crush and Ken and his wife, Karen, still had time to entertain us and have us taste his single vineyard 2002 Pinots. They were gorgeous. In conclusion, this was an epiphany. We know that is hard to believe, but after visiting 12 wineries we were more than impressed, we were inspired. The 2002 vintage is likely Oregon’s best performance to date. And we think the future is without bounds. Here are just a few of the 2002 Pinots we tasted with brief notes: 2002 Cristom Jesse’s Vineyard: Floral and red fruit aromas, medium-bodied. Red cherries and raspberries on the palate with a long and well-integrated finish. A very pretty wine. In the feminine style…like a stylish Volnay. $44.99 2002 Andrew Rich, Cuvee B: A bright, fruit forward offering from a consistently fine maker. Lighter in style with more red raspberry essence than than his Les Vigneaux Pinot Noir. What is particularly striking is the wine’s value. $18.99 2002 Chehalem 3 Vineyard: More heft than the above two Pinots …we call it "medium-bodied". This gives the classic nose of plums and cherries with similar flavors. A well integrated wine with a long, lingering finish. We tasted it over four hours and it improved with each tick of the clock. $25.99 2002 Ken Wright: We have several different single vineyards from Ken. These are landmark efforts from one of our favorite makers. The Carter is "medium-bodied and has an outstanding depth of red fruit flavors and a long sweet finish." 90 Points, Wine Advocate. The Canary Hill is "medium to full-bodied and offers rich layers of cherry-laced fruit." 91 Points, Wine Advocate. All sell for $45.99. WINE BLISS AT BLUE STARThe Blue Star is offering a casual, hugely fun wine tasting once a week. They pour wines off their wine list, many of which are available at Coaltrain. The tastings are every Thursday, at 5:45 p.m. The cost is a wildly low $10/taster. To sign up, call Blue Star, 632-1086. If you have specific questions, ask for the restaurant Sommelier, Billy Adams. Drink a glass at Blue Star and stop by Coaltrain for a case! Favorite Thanksgiving Wines1995 Guigal Cotes-du -Rhone, $14.99: Wait ‘til you hear the story on this one. Yeah, you’re reading the vintage right…1995. As it goes, Marcel Guigal found this in his cellar in Ampuis, in a bin, unlabeled and virtually lost in time. He tasted it. "Tres bien." And he decided to sell it. We tasted it. "Very good." And we decided to sell it. The wine is soft and complex, like drinking silk. We kept saying, "My God, this wine is almost 10 years old." That’s pretty old for a "generique" Cotes-du-Rhone. 2001 Bott-Geyl Pinot d’Alsace, Beblenheim, Regularly $13.99/Sale $11.99: Honeyed flavors with lots of body weight on the palate and a satin texture. This pinot gris is a steal at this price. It doesn’t seem to be completely dry which is all the better for a Thanksgiving feast. 2003 Beaujolais, Jean-Paul Brun, L’Ancien, $10.99: Who has been in the raspberry patch? This has one of the most explosive noses of any wine we’ve seen this year. And, it’s a raspberry essence nose. The wine is pure joy…nothing difficult or confusing. You can drink it with a slight chill. Jean-Paul Brun provided us the tasty white Beaujolais we sold a couple years back. He seems to know what he’s doing. 2002 Savigny-les-Beaune, Domaine Pavelot, $35.99: Our admiration for the maker of this wine, Jean Marc Pavelot, has almost no bounds. He’s one of the very best in his village, perhaps only eclipsed by the genius, Maurice Ecard. This wine bursts with cherries and strawberries. What wins us is its charm and elegance. It’s like drinking a Louis Vuitton ad. 2002 Reichsgraf von Kesselsstatt "RK" Riesling QbA, Saar-Ruwer, Regularly $13.99/Sale $12.49: Introduced in 1999 for the winery’s 650th anniversary (!!!), "RK" is a cuvee of estate-grown riesling from vineyards along the Saar and Ruwer. Nuances of apple, pear, apricot, lemon grass and slate flood the palate, balanced beautifully by bracing acidity and a tender sweetness. Citrus and mineral accents linger in the luscious finish. 2001 Peirano Estate Viognier, Lodi, Regularly $12.99/Sale $11.99: Lush aromas of peach, tangerine and wildflowers precede flavors of apricot, honeysuckle, and citrus peel in the mouth, with hints of vanilla. Excellent balancing acid lifts the fruit, creating a rich, yet refreshing finish. Perfect with the diverse flavors of roast turkey with all the trimmings. 2001 Cristom Pinot Noir "Mt. Jefferson Cuvee," Willamette, Oregon, Regularly $24.99/Sale $19.99: A wine of silky elegance with underlying depth and power, this cuvee carries aromas of exotic spices and herbs, mingling with pepper, earth, vanilla, green tea and tobacco leaf. Delicate flavors of black cherries and dried herbs roll into a long, multi-faceted finish. A phenomenal value! WINE ALERTSoave: Turning the Fiat into a FerrariMonteforte d’Alpone, Italy—Soave was the Fiat of Italian white wine. For years the mass of winemakers (mainly cooperatives) were making bland wines with little or no flavor. But a handful of makers kept striving for excellence, experimenting and improving the wine with each successive vintage. One of their wines was named "Italian white wine of the year," a few years back, by Italy’s most influential wine periodical, GAMBERO ROSSO. The Fiat had turned into a Ferrari. You might say that Soave’s evolving excellence was slowed by the wine’s commercial success. Everything looked promising when the wine received its DOC in 1968 and the vineyard zone consisted of the volcano born hills between Soave and Monteforte d’Alpone. But, shortly after this, pressure was exerted by the big makers to enlarge the zone so they could satisfy their burgeoning international markets. Vineyards were expanded onto the fertile plains by 10,000 acres, almost to the shoulder of the A4 “autostrada,” where trucks belch pollution 24 hours a day. And on these flat vineyards they planted the vines in “tendone” style, a high trellis training that allows for mechanical harvesting and huge grape production, but with low quality. If that weren’t enough, the big makers were able to push through a change in the classical grape recipe for Soave. The wine was traditionally made with a predominance of Garganega and a small amount of Trebbiano di Soave. They finagled to get the inferior, but more productive, Trebbiano Toscano to be allowed in the blend. Also, Chardonnay (up to 30 percent) became allowed due to its productiveness and ease of growth, though the quality is not near that of Chardonnay grown on the Cote de Beaune of Burgundy. They had made Soave the Corona beer of wine…a boring, virtually flavorless beverage, but with massive popularity and thus, nicely profitable. But in the early 1980s a band of rebels, quality rebels, began operating in the hill’s of Soave’s heartland. They bore names such as Anselmi, Pieropan, Pra, Gini and others. The found it abhorrent and intolerable the lowly state Soave had dropped to. They vowed to fight to resuscitate Soave. But they probably didn’t grasp the ferocity of the battles that were waiting. Roberto Anselmi was one of the fiercest of these rebels and one of the major casualties of the combat (he abandoned the Soave DOC in 1999). He was the first person I heard make the Fiat/Ferrari comparison saying , “I wanted to make a Ferrari, not a Fiat and that was impossible in the old Soave appellation.” He addressed the Soave consortium, wrote letters, lobbied the international media and led the cause by example…making stellar wines worthy of Ferrari’s rearing stallion. Still the relentless drive for quantity, not quality, steamed on powered by the big producers. Perhaps the thing that riled Anselmi the most was that his high quality wines were hard to sell because they bore the “Soave” name. He told the story, “I make a study recently in Finland, where my wine is bought by the government ‘monopole.’ Because of taxes the wine is quite expensive there. I go, I watch people look at my wine in the store. They say about it, ‘This bottle looks good, the color is nice, the label attractive. What is it?’ They look at the back label and see Soave, and then they say, ‘Oh, Soave, I won’t buy at that price.’ Being Soave makes my wine harder to sell, not easier.” That was the “addio” moment for Anselmi. In coming vintages, his wines became IGT (“Indicazione Geografica Tipica”). But he doesn’t rule out returning to the Soave appellation in the future. “If they would change the laws to decrease quantity and promote quality, I could return,” he shrugged. To the surprise of some, none of the other quality oriented Soave makers have deserted the appellation like Anselmi (but Allegrini dropped some of its wines out of the Valpolicella appellation for similar reasons). Perhaps because none had put so much time and heart into the fight for quality as Anselmi. Some of these people are content to be making their own wines and not selling their grapes to cooperatives or mass produce wineries. An example of this is Suavia in the heart of the Soave Classico zone. In 1982, Giovanni Tessari, began making wine from his vineyards for the first time. “It was my lifetime dream to make wine, not sell the grapes to others,” he said with a smile. Though not an old man today, two of his daughters have taken over the winery and are expanding his dream…making significant Soaves. Some of the makers are resigned to work in the appellation. Nino Pieropan, a close friend of Anselmi’s, said, “I just do the best I can within the appellation. As long as it doesn’t prevent me from making good wine, I can go on with it.” And it certainly has not prevented him from making good, if not great wine. In fact, it was a Pieropan wine (2000 La Rocca Soave) that the GAMBERO ROSSO cited as Italian white wine of the year. There is indeed a small cadre of winemakers making superb Soave. I describe six below with the renegade Anselmi in the mix. Naturally, these are not the only good makers, just the ones I have the most experience tasting and visiting. Before describing these makers it should be said that the normal Soave maker produces three of four different styles of wine. Usually they will make a Soave Classico from the middle of the zone that could be a blend of different vineyard sites. And, usually, a single vineyard wine will be bottled from the Classico zone. Often a barrel aged wine from a single vineyard, or a mix of vineyards, is made. Almost always a “recioto,” sweet wine produced from dried grapes is bottled. Of course, as most everywhere in the world of wine, some of these makers experiment with grapes from outside the appellation. If you taste the best from these makers, you will see that Soave is nothing to be denigrated and avoided. Rather, it is a wine to seek and enjoy. In fact, some of these makers might well be producing the best white wines of Italy. ROBERTO ANSELMI Though technically no longer a Soave producer, Anselmi’s heart and soul still belong to the wine and all his wines could qualify for the appellation. His basic San Vincenzo (we have this wine in Coaltrain for $11.99/bottle) is almost yearly one of the best values in the world of white wines. Though produced entirely in steel, it has more richness and complexity than most Soave Classicos because he keeps the wines on the lees for a longer period. His single vineyard Capital Foscarino is also made in steel. In good vintages, it can have the flintiness and minerality of a 1er Cru Chablis. He makes one barrique aged dry wine, Capitel Croce, which is the darling of the wine media. It’s not my favorite Anselmi wine, but he does seem to handle the oak more deftly than many other Soave makers. The jewel of his production is the sweet recioto, I Capitelli. Often it will give you apricot in the nose and pineapple framed in honey on the palate. It’s never too heavy. Interestingly, Anslemi recommends it with lobster. GINI Claudio and Sandro Gini are two of the most experimental makers in the Soave zone. Besides making DOC Soave, the winery bottles a Sauvignon Blanc (Maciete Fume) and a Pinot Noir (Campo alle More). But Soave is their specialty and first love. And, boy, do they make a great one. It is the La Frosca bottling. That is the name of the 40-year-old vineyard that has more clay and limestone than the volcanic soils typical of the Soave Classico zone. It gives a wine of finesse and power. Gini prevents malolactic fermentation with this wine which preserves all the Garganega vitality. A barrique aged Soave called “La Salvarenza” is also made. Though other wine writers have adored this wine, I find the oak masks the Garganega’s greatness, making for another cookie cutter, “international style” wine. INAMA If anyone thinks that Soave is a wimpy white for picnics or for sitting in a café on the Piazza Bra in Verona and sipping while gazing at the Roman arena, they should try the wines of Stefano Inama. The two single vineyard wines are big boys, barrel aged. Of these, the Vigneti di Foscarino bottling is the biggest, most muscular and most extracted. The other, Vigneto du Lot, is more nimble and graceful, and is my preference. Besides the oak curing of these wines, Inama’s methods include late picking of the grapes and some maceration on the grapes’ skins. Tasted blind, most people would not identify these wines as Soave. The unoaked Soave Classico is good too and classic in style. PIEROPAN By any measure, Nino Pieropan is one of the world’s finest winemakers. I’ve never tasted a wine from him that has been less than very good. The La Rocca and Calvarino bottlings are his feature performers. La Rocca sees some oak and is rich and powerful. Calvarino is all steel and it is fresh and vibrant. Pieropan’s skilled application of oak in La Rocca is probably only equaled by Pra’s Monte Grande in all Soave. He also bottles two terrific dessert wines. These are Passito della Rocca and Recioto di Soave (La Colombare). Pieropan is the realization of all Soave’s potential. PRA All you have to do is taste the 2003 Pra Soave Classico (this is Coaltrain’s “wine of the month,” selling for $12.99/bottle) and you know the Pra brothers are formidable wine makers. It has rich, yet pure Garganega flavors. The winery is perhaps most famous for its barrel fermented and barrel aged Sant’ Antonio Soave. I find it overly oaky, but recent vintages have shown improvement. The Pra Soave I enjoy most is the Monte Grande bottling. It is one of the most complex and complete. It offers lush fruit and minerality in a frame of vanilla from some barrel aging. With Pieropan’s La Rocca, Monte Grande seems to be the best of the Soaves with some oak curing. The Pra products are a little more tender than Pieropan’s. SUAVIA “Suavia” is the Roman word for Soave. The winery is in the hilltop village of Fitta, in the heart of the Soave Classico zone. It is owned by Giovanni Tessari, but his two young daughters, one a trained enologist, run most of the operation. They make the usual line-up one of wines. The most outstanding is the Monte Carbonare (“Coal Mountain”) single vineyard bottling. The vineyard has dark soil that gives the wine a distinctive mineral aspect, along with peach and pear aromas. The palate offers fresh fruits and vigorous acidity. The Tessaris believe the wine improves for four or five years after bottling. Their barrique aged bottling is called Le Rive. I’ve only tasted the 2001 vintage which had too much honey and vanilla for my taste. But, their straight Soave Classico and recioto are very good like the Monte Carbonare. |
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COALTRAIN
Wine & Spirits
330 W. Uintah
Colorado Springs, CO 80905
719-475-9700