2006 Luigi Pira Barolo

Barolo Never Seems To Let Me Down

One of my favorite wines in the world is Barolo. This northern Italian DOCG wine is 100% nebbiolo by dictate. It’s dark, it’s powerful, it goes well with Airwolf.

The Barolos I’ve talked about in the past, the 2004 Ceretto and the 2005 Renato Corino are better than this wine. But that’s all relative. There’s no plonk here, nothing for anyone to be ashamed of. The mark is just missed barely by the 2006 Pira.

2006 Luigi Pira Barolo

The 2006 Luigi Pira Barolo (not to be mistaken for its big brother, the Luigi Pira Barolo Marenca) is a very pretty ruby red in the glass, with significant clearing to the edges, common among Barolo due to the DOCG-mandated 3 years (2 in oak, 1 in bottle) minimum aging.

On the nose is an almost-rubbery earth note. Seems like the alcohol is a bit out of balance and showing off here. There is a hint of moss here, and some—but not much—red fruit. On the palate the dark fruit of Barolo appears and greets you heartily. Blackberry, raspberry, kirsch and black cherry. The wine is medium bodied, and the finish is mid-level as well. The tannins are tight (tight tight tight) and the wine really feels like it needs more time.

Perhaps it’s simply a bit too young, but I was a touch disappointed by this Barolo. That having been said, it’s still delicious, bold wine. I love Barolo, and I can still recommend this one. I can also recommend, however, if you do pick it up: lay it down for two, maybe three years. Should drink marvelously around 2014.

Price Point: $30-$40

2005 King’s Ransom Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

Earthy RRV Pinot Doesn’t Disappoint

In case you weren’t aware, pinot noir has a couple different faces it can show. As I mentioned when I paired its duality with Moonlighting, there are more fruit-forward pinots, and earthier, subtler pinots.

I tend to like them both for different reasons, but if I was pushed to choose, I would go with the earthy, mushroomy, a little dirty version of pinot noir popular in Burgundy. It’s not that I don’t like fruit1 but the earth-tone side of pinot noir is simply more unique. There are plenty of grapes that make big, fruit-forward wine. But few that make the subtle dirty-but-you-like-it flavor profile of a good pinot noir.

2005 King's Ransom Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

Now, the issue, of course, is that if you try this and screw it up, you have wine that tastes like dirt. There are people who will like this, no matter what. But the true elegance, in my opinion, is arrived at when you can please the mushroom, forest-floor-seeking pinotards and still bring some of the “I like juicy juice” folks into the fold at the same time.

Obviously, one cannot please everyone, nor should anybody try. It makes for muddled shit, frankly. Have a perspective, go for it, don’t compromise. I just personally like it when some elements of both of pinot noir’s personalities end up in the final product.

Which brings us to this wine, the quite aptly-named King’s Ransom RRV Pinot Noir. In the glass, the wine is ruby in the center and clears up considerably to the edges. On the nose, you discover which kind of pinot this is: you get mushroom here, and forest floor. But there is a sweetness present as well, which I believe is actually the presence of the 14.5% alcohol. The sensation isn’t hot or burning, but rather a touch sweet. Like smelling Porto, which I have to admit, was a bit off-putting here.

The palate is balanced fairly well, neither the perceived sweetness nor the masked alcohol show off here. More forest floor, more moss, more mushroom. What tiny bit of fruit is here tastes spicy in a way, like lightly-brined raspberries. It’s strange, but not altogether unpleasant.

The worst thing I can say about this wine is that it simply does not live up to its price point. While it is tasty, and should please those who like this style of pinot noir, the price—truly a king’s ransom—will shy many, if not most, away.

Price Point: $80-$100

Footnotes

  1. I am by no means a member of the anti-flavor wine elite ↩

Pairing Wine With 1990s Sitcoms: Frasier

Frasier

Hey baby I hear the blues a-callin’,
Tossed salads and scrambled eggs…

I was never into this show. I’m not sure if I was scared away by its well known intellectualism1 or if I just never gave it a fair shake. Then I met my wife, and for a myriad of reasons, she loved Frasier. She loved Seattle, she loved that Frasier Crane was a psychiatrist, she loved Eddie the dog. And she forced me to fall in love with this crazy show while I fell in love with her.

From L to R: Daphne Moon, Niles Crane, Frasier Crane, Eddie, Martin Crane, Roz Doyle

From L to R: Daphne Moon, Niles Crane, Frasier Crane, Eddie, Martin Crane, Roz Doyle

For those, I’m guessing incredibly few, who don’t know about this show, Frasier was a spin-off of one of the most popular television shows in history, Cheers. After Frasier’s (Kelsey Grammer) divorce from his wife Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth), he decides to leave Boston and return to his childhood home of Seattle, Washington. With a job as a local radio call-in psychiatrist, and looking forward to life as a bachelor 3,000 miles from his frigid ex-wife, Frasier is dismayed when he has to take in his father, Martin (John Mahoney), a retired Seattle Police detective, who cannot live alone after being shot in the line of duty. Frasier hires Daphne Moon (Jane Leeves) to be Martin’s live-in physical therapist and caretaker, and Frasier’s competitive also-psychiatrist brother Niles (David Hyde Pierce) is a constant part of his life. And there is an adorable dog named Eddie.

Whew.

If my memory serves, the opening credits sequence was limited to simply a drawing of the Seattle skyline, the famouse Frasier logo, and the theme song actually played over the end credits after each episode. However, for syndication, the end credits theme was repurposed as an opening credits theme.2 Either way, it was a jazzy, catchy tune sung by Kelsey Grammer himself.

So what to pair with this, among the most commercially and critically successful comedies of all time?

“Sherry, Niles?”

That’s right, the Spanish fortified wine that Frasier always has on-hand in a decanter located between his kitchen and his grand piano. Just about any time Niles walked in the door, Frasier would, after greeting him, ask, “Sherry, Niles?” They drank the stuff like it was going out of style.

So here’s the big admission on my part, and a pledge. I admit, I have never had Sherry. I pledge that I will, and soon; at least three different Sherries3 within the next six months.

I’m sure Fraiser Crane would approve.

Footnotes

  1. This seems just a skosh unlikely ↩
  2. Someone feel free to correct me if I’m wrong here ↩
  3. And not “sherry-style wine”… actual Sherries from Spain ↩