Craig Camp
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Posts posted by Craig Camp
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I was happy to have a wonderful (5 hour) meal at Il Brutto Anatroccolo with Andrea. Way out of the way from Alba, but worth the drive. Great wine list and great prices. We drank 95 Marcarini Brunate Barolo, 95 Aldo Conterno Barolo, 90 Terre di Barolo Castello Grizane Cavour Riserva, 98 Rinaldi Brunate-Le Coste and Andrea's lovely 96 Curra, which is just barely ready to drink.
None of the wines cost more than 45 Euro a bottle and the wonderful food was also an extraordinary bargain.
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Andrea is very much a hands on winemaker and is the vineyards most of the day - working not supervising. He will be responding to questions early in the morning or after work his time that is 6 hours ahead of Eastern time.
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Andrea Sottimano has established himself at the top of the new breed of Piemontese winemakers. We are very lucky to have him join us this week at eGullet. Please post your questions now. No questions are too complicated or too simple for this extraordinary winemaker that also happens to be a heck of a nice guy and the one of the best blues guitarists in Alba.
Click here to post your questions to Andrea Sottimano
If you have questions abou this Q and A post them here.
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Elena Walch Pinot Bianco 2002: Clean,light and crisp, with a pleasant balance of apple, herb and mineral, more Austrian in style than its Italian origin would imply. Nice with the prosciutto and melon.
Very nice wine, but as these vineyards are a lot closer to Austria than Rome or even Milan for that matter, the Austrian style is easy to understand.
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Where do Rosso di Montalcino and Rosso di Montepulciano fit in? Are they both Sangiovese? I tend to think of them as "baby" Brunello and Vino Nobile.........they're two of my go-to Italian wines in the $30-40 range when we eat out.
Rosso di Montalcino is 100% sangiovese just like Brunello di Montalcino. Rosso di Montepulciano is a blended wine based on sangiovese just like Vino Nobile di Montepulcino. (remember that Tuscan red wines from Montepulciano contain to wine from the vine called Montepulciano)
They are both great values.
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Perhaps Craig can respond to this curious bit of marketing:
Calvano's US importer Kobrand has Point-of-Sale material stating the Vino Nobile is 95% Sangiovese and 5% Prugnolo Gentile!
Is this just nonsense or can you shed some light on this, per favore!
No this is the reality. Prugnolo Gentile is just one group of sangiovese clones, but most producers have been replanting with clones selected by various research projects like Chianti Classico 2000 and the Banfi sponsored research in Montalcino. These clones are not Prugnolo Gentile, but the DOCG regulations only call for minimum percentages of sangiovese not Prugnolo Gentile.
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The low tannins and big fruit of Australian Shiraz can be a fine match for rare grilled tuna - au poive is a good touch when going with a rich red. Make the side dish red wine friendly like herb-roasted tomatoes and your should be all set. Finish with a cheese course to finish the bottle.
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The best sangiovese wines are from Tuscany followed by Umbria, Romagna and Marche. Tuscany is the clearly leader, but you can find some top wines in other regions. Most notably the fine wines from Fattoria Zerbina in Romagna. Here are some good flights to learn about the flavors of sangiovese
1. Low Price: Monte Antico, Banfi Rosso di Montalcino, Fattoria Zerbina Ceregio, Saladini Pilastri Rosso Piceno (70% sangiovese), Poggio Argentiera Morellino di Scansano BellaMarsilia, Terrabianca Chianti Classico Scassino, Fattoria Uccelliera Chianti
2. Medium price: Felsina Chianti Classico, Riecine Chianti Classico, Fuligni Rosso di Montalcino, Fattoria dei Barbi Rosso di Montalcino, Il Poggiolo Rosso di Montalcino, Boscarelli Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Le Fonti Chianti Classico, Terrabianca Chianti Classico Riserva Vigna della Croce
3. High price: Montevertine Le Pergole Torte, Costanti Brunello di Montalcino, Fuligni Brunello di Montalcino, Lisini Brunello di Montalcino, Fattoria Zerbina Pietramora, Monsanto Chianti Classico Il Poggio Riserva, Felsina Chianti Classico Riserva, Riecine Chianti Classico Riserva
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This may be a bit pedantic, but should you compare Brunellos with sangiovese wines as it is a slightly different (clone) grape called sangiovese grosso. It would be an interesting (and enjoyable) exercise to taste Brunellos against similarly priced and aged Chianti Reservas to see which offered the better quality/value.
Well this is not exactly the case anymore. While they call sangiovese Brunello in Montalcino and Prugnolo Gentile in Montepulciano, the fact is that none of these names refers only to one type of vine, but to segments of a broad family of sangiovese. Therefore it would not be unusual to have a Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montalcino or a Chianti Classico made out of exactly the same clone of sangiovese. Over the last decades research has continued to to identify the finest clones of sangiovese and producers throughout central and southern Italy are choosing from these same clones.
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Let's face some facts:
Most American consumers like the taste of oak in their wines. They like these heavy, sweet flavors more than tart wines with high acidity. They also like a bit of residual sugar.
Most American wine producers love the taste of oak in their wines. They also like the taste of a little residual sugar.
Most American wine retailers have abdicated from their position as a wine merchant and just regurgitate scores to sell wine instead of making their own selections. (importers and restaurants are guilty here too)
Because Robert Parker also scores wines highly that have plenty of oak and fruit does not mean the entire trend is his fault. Both producers and consumers, in general, like the same thing he does. It's not his fault that most consumers agree with him. It is not his fault that retailers don't have the guts to promote their own selections.
Robert Parker has never claimed to do anything else than write about his personal preferences and communicate those preferences to his subscribers. In this regard he does an extraordinary job. To blame him for the weaknesses of the rest of the market is not reasonable.
Robert Parker should be respected for his discipline and consistency. If there are problems there are others to blame: including ourselves.
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If I want to buy a wine for my dad I read Parker.
This is the great thing about Parker - he is amazingly consistent. When he gives a wine 88 points or 93 points I know exactly what he means. In this sense he is very reliable and helpful. You can really learn what his reviews mean and then adjust your buying accordingly.
I tend to go for his 88's and 89's (the points not the vintages.)
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In the end, we decided we are happy with our style. It's already big enough
That's the most beautful thing I have read in a long time.
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Agree strongly with Adam Balic about Fino as a companion for sushi - or alternatively a Manzanilla whose dry, refreshing and mildly bitter character works well.
A second strong agreement for Fino and Manzanilla with sushi. They should be very fresh though, otherwise they get bitter and too nutty.
Try Lustau Fino or La Gitana Manzanilla
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Of course all you have to do to make spaghetti and meatballs an "Italian" dish is to serve the meatballs as a main course after you served the tomato sauce you made with them on a pasta as a first course.
But that's so boring. Try this - instead of meatballs add some browned short ribs your tomato sauce instead of meatballs. Simmer for a few hours. Serve the ribs as a main course after you use the tomato sauce on your pasta for the first course. Recommended pasta: fresh or dried fusilli
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Most important to me also, is to have a great big red wine with the meal.
Thanks for the detailed advice! YES, a big fat wine will be served!
Big wine yes, fat wine no. The last thing you need with all that meat fat is a fat, low acid/tannin wine.
This calls for a Brunello or Rosso di Montalcino (look for Lisini) or a structured Vino Nobile like Boscarelli.
The tannins, acids and structure of these wines cut through all that meat and the richness of the steak makes a perfect foil for a young, structured wine.
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Produttori del Barbaresco may be the best value producer in the Langhe. Outstanding classic wines at good prices.
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Certainly no wine should ever be made by a passionless winemaker.
Unfortunately almost all the wine in the world is made by passionless technicians. Passionate wines are the exception to the rule.
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It is true that this has been well-discussed here in the valley for some months. When Robert retired, several of the sons made attempts to run the business to no avail. There have been more massive hirings and then lay-offs in the past several years so this isn't a huge surprise.
It is just sad.
It may be sad in an historical sense, but the reality of the situation is that Mondavi has been making boring wines for years and that is why they are in trouble. They have almost single-handedly destroyed what should be a good term: food wine.
They are getting what they deserve for making inferior product. That's how the market is supposed to work.
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Has any winery succeeded once it went public or was purchased by a conglomerate? I can't think or any, maybe someone else has a better memory.
Remember Inglenook and BV.
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outside people are better qualified to handle their company in a dispassionate and objective manner
A sure-fire plan for better wine quality. Nothing like getting rid of the passionate people.
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Click below for Raccolta
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Thanks to all. Actually we celebrated yesterday with a gita cruise around the northern villages of Lago Maggiore on the Swiss border. Lunch was grilled fresh lake fish (kind of like rainbow trout) with a no-name local vino bianco out of plastic cups at a stand put up by a local church group raising money. Franky, almost any wine you drink with such delicious fish while gazing at the Alps over the lake tastes fantastic!
However, the magnum of 1978 Prunotto Barbaresco Montestefano (made by the great Beppe Colla) I opened today tasted pretty good too!
Photos from Andrea
in eGullet Q&A with Andrea Sottimano
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