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

2006 Vincent Girardin Savigny-les-Beaune Permier Cru Les Vergelesses

Another Solid Premier Cru Burgundy

Ah, Burgundy.

I keep finding myself in possession of a glass full of Permier Cru Burgundy. Almost never the top stuff, the Grand Crus. I am tasting the second-tier vineyards up-and-down Burgundy’s famous Côtes-de-Beaune, and I am always at least impressed. Sometimes, I am blown away.

This one wasn’t one of the latter. But it certainly falls in with the former.

Vincent Girardin’s offering from the Les Vergelesses vineyard in Côtes-de-Beaune’s Savigny-les-Beaune commune (got all that?) is a classic Burgundian red.

It doesn’t offer a ton of fruit, on either the nose or the palate. What it does offer up is a balance of notes and aromas, a “clean” feeling to all its elements. Everything seems very well put-together, in balance, perhaps even a bit stuffy. But not boring.

The wine has a bright red core in the glass, and lightens to pretty pink edges. The nose shows off some bright red fruit, but very subtly, mixed with an earthy forest floor action.

On the palate, the wine shows good structure and balance. There’s a little tannin, not much. A bit of acid, the alcohol peeks through here and there. Major notes are actually red fruit—strawberry and raspberry, mostly—and not the forest floor from the nose (and that, frankly, is often associated with French pinot noir).

It’s nothing spectacular. But it’s very, very good. And available for $25-$30, and quite worth it.

Verdict: B+

2006 Vincent Girardin Savigny-les-Beaune Premier Cru Les Vergelesses

2006 Vincent Girardin Savigny-les-Beaune Premier Cru Les Vergelesses

2006 Riesling to Live Méthode Champenoise

Sparkling Riesling? Ja Wohl!

2006 Riesling To Live

I love it when winemakers get creative.

Over two decades ago, Bonny Doon Vineyards’ Randall Grahm earned the nickname “The Rhône Ranger” by embracing the southern Rhône varieties for production in California, among them grenache, syrah, marsanne, and viognier.

He could have made chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon, and merlot. He probably would have done alright with it. Instead he bucked the trend.

And now? Now that grenache and syrah (especially) are growing all over California? What trend is he bucking now?

Well, my wife and I, and our families, drink a fair amount of sparkling wine. And 99% of it is made from some combination of chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier—the traditional grapes of Champagne. There’s a good reason for using these grapes, and it’s not just tradition. They work excellently in the style.

This wine, however, is a méthode champenoise (i.e., traditionally-crafted sparkling wine) made from 100% riesling.

I’d never had anything like it.

In the glass it truly sparkles, a very light color (more like a blanc de blancs than a blanc de noirs) with small, fast bubbles. On the nose is an unmistakable scent to me: aged gouda. The good kind, with those little crystallized something-or-others throughout the cheese. Know what I’m talking about? Dry, aged, gouda. Some sourdough on the nose too.

More of the same on the palate, the wine tastes like a wonderful combination of bread and cheese. A little yeasty, a bit sour, just a little nutty. It’s delightfully effervescent, with a light, crisp mouthfeel.

Back in the mid-80s, Randall Grahm convinced a winedrinking world that Rhône varieties could not only survive, but thrive in California. And in the summer of 2010, when he poured me a glass of the “Riesling to Live,” he convinced me that sparkling wine can be made from this noble German grape.

And well, at that.

Verdict: B+