Case Nere

Here is another of the Barolos that showed up at the dinner discussed below, a 2001 Enzo Boglietti Case Nere Barolo.  A stablemate to the first wine if you will.

2001 is regarded as a better vintage and I have two bottles of this wine aging so I was delighted to try it.  The flavor profiles were very similar, but after some breathing time this wine added one more element to the profile - elegance.  The Fossati was bolder and riper but this wine had a smoothness that made the difference for me.  There was an aroma difference also.  Both wines smelled of flowers but the rose scent in the Case Nere was much more pronounced while the Fossati had other flowers in the mix.     

Added minutia: Case Nere translates to black case.

I would be perfectly happy drinking either one of these wines again - and with the Case Nere I will.


2001 Enzo Boglietti Case Nere Barolo.  $75 and 14% alcohol.

Fossati

The wines at last night's fifth annual Barolo dinner were very, very good.  My contribution was a 2000 Enzo Boglietti Fossati.  I decanted the wine early in the day and then returned the contents to the bottle (minus enough to taste and take the picture in the post below this one).  Dinner was beef Barolo, a large section of cow cooked slowly in Nebbiolo wine.  In this case a Langhe Nebbiolo was used since the price of a true Barolo for cooking was prohibitive.   

The wines were definitely the star of the show. Boglietti wines are a more modern approach to Barolo in that they are more approachable at a younger age with a wee bit less tannin and a bit more color.  That said this wine was anything but shy or unassuming.  It was a big wine with a lot of tannin.  After being open for more than eight hours the wine  gave up it's aromas of deep fruit in waves intermingled with a bouquet of roses and wildflowers and earth.   The more I swirled the glass the more aromas came out.  The flavor was full, but delicate at the same time - a wonderful juxtaposition that stayed on the savory side of things.  The tannin gave great support to the fruit.  Fun to drink and great with the beef.

2000 Enzo Boglietti Fosatti Barolo.  $70 and 14.5% alcohol.

Open the Pod Bay Doors, Hal

I just decanted the first bottle of red wine for a multi-wine Barolo dinner tonight and had to pour just a bit in a glass.  It took me back to Stanley Kubrick's 2001 A Space Odyssey.  The wine is a 2000 Enzo Boglietti Fossati Barolo. 

Peachy

Normally when I open a bottle of Riesling I'm expecting tart apple aromas and flavors to work their way to the foreground.  Not so with the Weingut Jakob Schneider 2008 Niederhauser Klamm Kabinett from the Nahe region.  After the initial bit of kerosene and minerals this was a lesson in peaches.

The aromas were most like what one gets when you start peeling a peach and the flavors were mostly about fresh, white peaches.  There was a bit of lime and lemon peel, but this was peaches the rest of the way.  Wonderful wine to just sit and sniff when peaches are out of season, and an even better wine to sit and sip. 

2008 Weingut Jakob Schneieder Niederhauser Klamm Kabinett.  8.5% alcohol and $18.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

Irish soda bread still warm from the oven. 

Shrimp and Pineapple

Along with the second half of the bottle of the 2006 Grosset Watervale Riesling pictured below there was this.

In the center is basmati rice cooked in coconut milk and a wee bit of lemongrass. The shrimp and pineapple were grill roasted after being brushed with peanut oil, salt and red pepper flakes.  And there was a Thai peanut sauce with peanut butter, coconut milk, soy sauce, lime juice, ginger, garlic, hot sauce and a few other things that came a long for the ride in the blender. 

Great match with the wine as both had sharp acid and sweet undertones. 

Down Under

Sharp and tart.  Crisp apples.  A bit of earth and mineral.  Refreshing.  Delicious.  Proper age and ready to drink.

2006 Grosset Watervale Riesling.  Australia.  12.5% alcohol and $20 a couple of years ago.