WAYWARD WINE

A few weeks ago, Pietro Ratti of Renato Ratti in Barolo came to town. We set up a buyer lunch at Gino’s Restaurant, especially because Gino’s had older Ratti vintages to open.

We started with Ratti’s Barbera d’Asti 2013: sprightly, brambly-fruited and lightly spiced: $16, very good 4 of 5.  Then his rosy, pomegranate, silky, Nebbiolo Langhe 2012: $19, very good 4 of 5.  Next, 2012’s gold-labled Marcenasco Barolo pounced out of the glass with cherry liquor, rose, and tobacco, more intensity, body, and serious but forgiving tannins: outstanding 5 of 5. Then lunch proceeded simply and pleasantly.

Soon, however, we got serious:

We pulled from Gino’s cellar two different 2008s and a 2006, decanting them an hour prior. But what might two different vineyards, merely a handful of miles from each other create?

2008 in Barolo was cool and wet, leading to delayed and staggered harvests through late October.  We’ll vet tiny, historic Conca against its southern neighbor, Rocche.

RenattoRatti.com

2008 Rocche: a 1.5 hectare vineyard that faces southwest, comprises of blue marl soil and sand. These typically drive elegance, depth, and persistence with roses and licorice. But let us see:

APPEARANCE looks a medium intense garnet core with a medium minus rusted meniscus with washy thin candlestick legs.

AROMAS smell intensely spicy, architectural, with iron filings, dried potpourri, and dried black cherry.

The PALATE is dry, notably bright. It feels soft with balsawood-like tannins. Alcohols feel warm like a sparking fire. The texture is mellow like a raw cotton.

Rich FLAVORS match the aromas: dark-fruited blackberry jam, tobacco, nutmeg, pepper, and iron-oxide lasting a medium plus length. It is outstanding (5 of 5) but will strut more in a few years.

2008 Conca: same vintage, different spot. Conca vineyard is smaller than Rocche, forming a bowl. Power and longevity are its hallmarks. Well…

The APPEARANCE looks a moderate garnet, but with a short clear rim and thick legs.

AROMAS and FLAVORS waft floral and intense of perfume, violet, blackberry, cranberry, red cherry liquor, and pine: Conca smells fresher, brighter, more floral and red fruited.

Conca’s PALATE is dry, less acidic, with fuller tannins, alcoholic warmth, and a much lusher, voluptuous mouthfeel.

2008 Conca needs a decade for all that structure to loosen up. But it is also outstanding (5 of 5).

Luckily, Pietro insists on openning:

2006 Conca 

The APPEARANCE already looks lighter and older: showing a garnet core with a wider, clear, brick-colored meniscus.

AROMAS and FLAVORS come at you open, heady, and all-consuming reminiscent of iron, tobacco, musk, black cherry, truffle, and lavender.

The PALATE balances medium acidity with supple tannins and pleasant alcohol: full bodied and mellow.

Drink 2006 Conca now. It has years ahead of it, but reads easy like an open book at present. It is outstanding (5 of 5). It sings with the savor of the lamb dish.

Courtesy of Angela Scott

Pietro Ratti is a good man: kind, witty, and giving. He remains humble, respecting his father’s legacy. Yet, Pietro pushes his winery to focuss on purely fruit-driven Nebbiolo, eschewing blending with Barbera. His Langhe Nebbiolo and Barbera d’Asti provide easy, pleasant yet pure entries into his world. The Marcenasco is more complex and intense, but dances a line between approachability and ageability. But if you have the chance to give his single vineyard Barolo a decade, they will reward you.

Enjoying the Sunday sun at Three Mugs with their Hibiscus India Pink Ale and the Irish Stout.

I near four years of selling wine for the same company.  Although our book is massive, I suffer from cellar palate.  Luckily, my wife makes beer and makes me judge beer. We are both certified judges with the BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program).  The BJCP exams also lump mead, honey wine, as a separate exam.

Mead provides a happy halfway house between wine and beer.  Much like wine, descriptors dwell on fruits, esters, tannins, and acids. Alcohols average around 12%. With mead, one need not boil wort nor add hops, as the fermentable sugars and flavors are right there.  Just take honey, blend water, add yeast, and pray. So, last weekend my wife made us take the mead tasting exam.

Six meads of various styles lay ahead of our blind tasting.

The first turned out to be the best: a straight-laced, clean, clear, pale Dry Mead with racy acidity and balancing sweetness that reminded me of trocken riesling. Sulfur did detract a bit. 4 of 5: very good.

Next a Braggot: which blended an American Amber Ale beer with orange blossom honey mead. This example seemed fine, but the fizzy amber beer dominated the honey. The head dissipated too quickly. Worse, it tasted stale, overly bitter, piney, and had sediment. Still, 3 of 5: good.

Third, a Metheglin (aka spiced mead), a golden-colored, wildflower honey mead with ginger popped with mulling spices and a viscous alcohol. However, solvent, hot alcohols kept it from perfection. 4 of 5: very good.

A Melomel (mead with fruit) from clover honey looked pink thanks to mulberries. Yet haze, musk, barnyard, acetic acid, and oxidation hid a floral and tart red apple flavor. Something was up here. It turned out the admin blended four homemade meads…uck 2 of 5: acceptable

Fifth up, another Melomel, made with peaches. Again though, musky, barnyard-like, even mousy aromas from infection and oxidation, including rampant volatile acidity ruined this rough attempt.  2 of 5: acceptable

Lastly, our tricky admin gave us a raspberry blossom, rich, fizzy, sweet mead. Declared as sparkling, it clearly looked flat, hazy, but sweet flavors of red pear, caramel, and cinnamon still hung on. It turned out to be a six year old mead our admin made. It was tired but good 3 of 5

I felt close on most of these, close enough to pass (60% is all it takes).

That day’s reward included Margaux, a Sommelier and Liaison for Alberta’s Liquor Stores, who came all the way from Canada to take the test. With her she brought seven professional meads from Alberta, Canada.

Birds & Bees “Honey I Have Meads” 2010 medium sweet still mead drank surprisingly clear, pale, and of fresh white pear (4 of 5: very good). Their “Sassy Saskatoon Berry” was actually a fruit wine, but looked dark, tasted dry, crisp, and tannic with black cherry and cassis flavors (4 of 5: very good).

Fallen Timber Meadery’s “Hopped Mead” hydromel lived up to the name and green label: imagine a light, pale, dry honey drizzled over fresh pine needles and limes and then put that in your mouth. Exactly as billed (4 of 5: very good).

Chinook Arch Meadery’s “Black & Blue Melomel” looked purple, felt rich, sweet, yet refreshing, flavored with fresh-crushed black and red berries: very good: 4 of 5.

Their “John Cameron Classic Mead” pushed at 13.1% alcohol but tasted clean and felt fully fleshed with honey, wax, musk, vanilla, and rose water lasting a long length: a textbook, outstanding mead: 5 of 5. Their “Fire n Spice” showed a similar rich honey but layered with clove, cinnamon, and other spices, made it seem a bit much, cloying, but very good: 4 of 5.

Last but not least, Chinook Arch Madera’s Bochet with ginger:

Wholly smokes! Literally!  Bochet is a 14th century French style of mead that toasts honey. The result was an intense, syrupy, caramel-laced, marshmallow, ginger cookie flavored mead of endless length. Outstanding stuff 5 of 5.

With sticky palates and hands, we headed home. After today, I had a renewed appreciation for honey wine. Thank you BJCP and thank you Alberta for a great Saturday.