When: Friday December 9th, 2016 @ 7 pm
Theme: Naughty or Nice Nebbiolo & our Annual "Blanc" Elephant gift exchange
Bring: TWITs should bring:
1) A bottle of Nebbiolo within the price range (Up to $20/bottle for Single Attendee, between $20 - $40/bottle for Couples, couples only expected to bring 1 bottle per couple)
AND
2) A wrapped gift (under $15) for the "Blanc" Elephant Gift Exchange
Tasting Notes:
Welcome Wine: 2013 Langhe Rosso Nebbiolo DOC ~ $14.99 @ Le Caveau
13% alcohol
1) 2012 Fontana Fredde "Ebbio" Langhe Nebbiolo - $20 @ Minx
13.5% alcohol
rusty red color, floral nose, spicy flowers, slow drippy legs, not a whore but not a church lady, mushroom, smooth tart @ the end, ash, tar, licorice, lavendar, ash on the after palate, hits the back of the palate.
2) 2009 Panebianco Musso "Pora" Barbaresco - $34.99 @ Toco Hills
14% alcohol
smells like Westworld, leathery, could open up more, very dry, bone dry, rubbing alcohol, gritty, light palate, grippy, perfume, dark chocolate. needed air, it mellowed some after being open for 2 hrs.
3) 2010 Vendemmia Travaglini Gattinara ~ $33 @ City Wine and Spirits
13.5% alcohol
perfumey, herby, violets, thinner, lighter, vanilla, marshmallow, sweeter on the nose, caramel, roasted marshmallow, licorice, buttery palate, Jess's fave so far, quaffable.
4) 2011 Rocche di Castigliano Falletto Monchiero Barolo - $39 on sale
14.5% alcohol
smooth and well balanced, love the nose, butterscotch, tannins, bark, so lovely, dry, dried oak, cassis after palate.
5) 2015 Cren del Gufo Langhe Nebbiolo - $11.99 @ Total Wine
12.5% alcohol
the palate is flaccid, grape jelly, communion wine, gas station wine, I wish they were doing a Nebbiolo at communion, whiff of almond extract, ash on back end, back end of nose, garlicky, if I were stranded on an island Id trink it, gasoline, this is the worst Nebbiolo I've had, like a non-wino brought me wine.
6) 2012 Castello di Verduna Langhe Nebbiolo $24 @ an Integrity Wine Tasting
14% alcohol
cranberry, red, maroon, short finish, flat, fruity nose, welch's grape, it stops short, training wheels on, it's not ready, the cheese rounds commercial, tart, sangria, gas station wine, tangerine
7) 2014 Nada Fiorenzo Langhe Nebbiolo $24 @ Total Wine
14% alcohol
sea salt, butterscotch, dry, but lingering spice, caramel, chocolate, fuller on the palate, sour grapes, high tannins, "socks on your molars"
8) 2012 Damilano Lecinque Vigne - $42.99 @ Jackie's Fine Wines in East Cobb
14% alcohol
Matt's fave, smooth and velvet, alcohol, spice, white pepper, powdery chocolate, we all like it!
9) 2011 Pelissero Langhe Nebbiolo - $38 @ Merchant Package
14% alcohol
butterscotch, buttery, malty palate, ooh I like it, cassiss a little bit, smoother, smoky, velvet, white pepper on finish, I knew it when I nosed it, this is my style.
10) 2011 Franco Serra Barbaresco - $25
14% alcohol
put it in your mouth, dirt cherries, earthy, dark cherry, tobacco, grass, plums, sweeter palate, middle earth fruit, dirty plum, light flush, dirty socks, dark skinned fruit, I like it!
TRIVIA: Albiesa raised text on some of the bottles. Why? The Albeisa, expression of a wine area:
The Albeisa bottle dates back to the beginning of the 18th century, when the Alba-area producers, proud of their own wines and desirous of distinguishing them from other wines, adopted a bottle with a distinctive shape and named it the Albeisa, or Alba bottle. With the invasion of Napoleon, however, this bottle was gradually replaced by two shapes typical of French wines, the Bordeaux and Burgundy bottles. These were more economical and they had a more regular profile, since the glass was blown into moulds that were perfectly cylindrical. In 1973, 16 producers decided to resurrect the venerable Albeisa bottle, adapting it to more modern demands and adding the name Albeisa in relief on the bottle. The Unione Produttori Vini Albesi, the Union of Alba Wine Producers, was established, and an agreement was struck with Vetrerie Italiane di Dego, today Saint-Gobain Vetri, the only glassworks authorised to produce the Albeisa. The purpose is to showcase and to distinguish even more the superb wines of the Langhe and Roero hills. In fact, only the wines from the official denominations of this area may be bottled in the Albeisa. The Unione Produttori Vini Albesi is a non-profit organisation whose primary mission is to more fully develop and promote the wine production of the Alba area by means of events, such as the "Nebbiolo Prima" (preview tasting for the world wine press), and by the creation of promotional materials, such as the new Riedel-Albeisa tasting glass. Very few wine bottles across the globe immediately identify a wine area and its wines, and the Albeisa, with its unique shape, is in that select few. Over 200 wineries producing 12 million bottles of wine per year make the Albeisa bottle without any doubt a resounding success and an eloquent expression of an unsurpassed terroir, that of the Langhe and Roero.
