Posts Tagged ‘Critter label’
¿Oso de peluche?
Vino de la tierra de Castilla 2009, Venta La Ossa, Bodegas Mano a Mano ($22.80, 11465161)
Tempranillo (95%) and Syrah (5%). Spent 12 months in French oak barrels. 14.5% ABV.
Intriguing nose: candied cherry, plum, spice, slate, a green (not unripe) streak, oak. Full-bodied and plush. The fruit could be deeper, especially on the mid-palate, where it leaves a hollow that’s filled by a mildly astringent ashiness. The sneaky tannins reveal themselves only on the pepper and bitter chocolate finish. I was ignorant of what grapes this was made from and would never have guessed Tempranillo. Drinkable is about the best that can be said of it. The ursine label is pretty cool though.
Mystery white
Orvieto 2011, Tragugnano, Sergio Mottura ($19.25, 11660830)
A blend of organically farmed, well, what? The winemaker and the Quebec agent say Grechetto (50%), Procanico (40%) and Sauvignon Blanc (10 %). Several retailers and reviewers, including the Gazette’s Bill Zacharkiw, say Procanico, Verdello (by which they surely mean not the Iberian grape but… what? Friuli’s Verduzzo?) and Grechetto. I’m going with the winemaker since I get whiffs of Sauvignon. Whichever variety they are, the grapes come from the estate’s oldest vineyard and are vinified separately and blended just before bottling. Fermented (with selected yeasts) and matured (on the lees until the spring) in stainless steel vats. 13.5% ABV.
Lemon blossom and stones with a hint of gooseberry, powdered mustard and dried pine needles. Soft, round, even a little sweet-seeming on entry: quite extracted though not what you’d call fruity. Citrusy acid and minerals surge on the mid-palate and are joined by a bitterness that lingers through the clean, dry, lemon leaf finish. The combination of richness and minerally bite is special – Zacharkiw talks about Chablis but I keep returning to certain Alvarhinos and Godellos.
Not a good match for bay scallops and blanched, chopped rapini sautéed together in olive oil with minced anchovy, garlic and chile. The rapini brought out the wine’s bitter streak while the anchovy and garlic did a number on the fruit. In isolation the scallops worked with the wine, indicating that simply prepared seafood might be the way to go. Or try the winemaker’s suggestion of fresh pecorino or mozzarella with tomato and basil.
Brett happens 