Weekly Wineup

Summary of this week’s wine potpourri:

1. Nickel & Nickeltasting of 11 single-vineyard 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from 2006 vintage:  Nickel & Nickelis such a winery which, in 1997, was created by the owners of Far Niente to produce only single-vineyard Cabs with a focus on procuring fruit from some of the finest vineyards in Napa Valley. Their goal is to find distinct locations that have the best combination of climate, soil and vineyard management practices that lead to the best fruit that expresses the unique location of the vineyard. With their portfolio, one should be able get a pretty good feel for the Terroir of Napa. Yes, there, I said it, or at least tried to because my French, well, isn’t probably considered French at all. All you wine connoisseurs know what terroir is, so no need to explain it here. Their current portfolio of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon are sourced from six subappellations including Oakville, St. Helena, Howell Mountain, Rutherford, Stags Leap and Yountville.  Check out the rest of my post at http://atlantawineschool.ning.com/profiles/blogs/sense-of-place

2. Rick Bakas and St. Supery are coming to Atlanta on October 20th.  If you live in the ‘Burbs and can’t make the trek to Murphy’s in Virginia/Highlands, join me at the Atlanta Wine School Wine Room in Roswell to join the fun!  YOU MUST RSVP for either location –> Murphy’s: http://stsuperyatlanta.eventbrite.com/  AWS Wine Room in Roswell: http://atlwineschool.eventbrite.com/

3. Wine notables:

See Nickel & Nickel above

2006 Michel-Schlumberger Chardonnay La Brume - Bright golden hue, light citrus, butter on the nose, rich and creamy and still crisp and nice finish

2006 Jerome Quiot Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Combes d’ Arnevel - Barnyardy and forest floor on the nose with light oak. Dark fruit and spice. Long finish

2008 Montaluce Chardonnay – Check out my recent review here 

2008 Montaluce Merlot – Yes, Merlot, and I might even put my ‘stache on itif I still had mein Goat, but, alas, I shaved it off this week much to the delight of my wife.  This wine is very fruity, like sticking your nose in a fruit bowl with blueberries and strawberries being significant.  The wine changed a bit for the better after 15-30 minutes in the glass and was very enjoyable.  There is not a lot of wine-fiddling going on here, as this is just plain good fruit coming from the vineyard to the glass.  And this is the approach Montaluce is taking with their wines.  With a European lifestyle and sustainable approach, they are making wines to have with your meal and not necessarily be the life of the party on their own.  Granted this is a Bordeaux variety, but the essence of the grape is presented in this wine and is a nice Wednesday night quaff with dinner.  We enjoyed it with some bruschetta with chicken breast, fontina cheese, prosciutto and strawberry jam.  Dee-lissh.

2005 Ciacci Piccolomini Toscano Rosso – Great value!  This was on the lower end dollar-wise, but I enjoyed the classic brick hue and earthy nose.  It was very smooth on the palate.

2006 Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona Rosso di Montalcino- some horse blanket, barnyard and earth on the nose with a classic sour red fruit notes on the palate and minerality and spice at the end.

2000 Borgogno Barolo Riserva - Ryan may need to clarify that vintage for me, but this wine really rocked.  It was unfined and unfiltered, which was evident by the copious amounts of sediment in the glass, and showing some age in the color variation.  I got some notes of licorice on the nose, great mouthfeel and it was well-balanced.