Italy Wine Tasting – Part Six

Posted on April 10, 2025 by thewineraconteur

We were coming up to the final two wines for this tasting at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan.  It was getting a bit more crowded still, and I have to explain that the tasting was not a sit-down affair, it reminds me more of some of the  tastings at wineries, where the pourers actually remembered where each person was in the line-up for the next wine.  While I shuffled over a few feet to make room for some new to the tasting, I had time to admire some of the wine crate work that had been done in the new part of the shop.

The last two wines were from Corte San Benedetto in the Valpolicella district in the Veneto region.  The penultimate wine of the tasting was Corte San Benedetto “Camporal” Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico Riserva DOCG 2009.  The Lavarini family sold their property in Arbizzano di Negrar in the mountains of Lessinia, in the ancient rural court, hence the name of the winery, and bought land in a small town named “Camporal” in the hills of Marano di Valpolicella.  This was at the end of the 1800s and they produced enough wine for the family and the locals.  After World War II, the demand for wine increased and the estate grew, as well as growing additional varieties and even a small experimental grove of cherry tree and “Camporal” became a research center as well.  The wine is a blend of sixty percent Corvina Veronese, twenty-five percent Corvinone and fifteen percent Rondinella.  The fruit came from their vineyards in Negrar and Marano di Valpolicella, in the heart of the Classica region on soil that is clay and limestone.  The average age of the vines are forty years of age.  The fruit is hand-harvested in mid-September and placed in small wooden crates to dry, the classic “Appasimento” process. Around the end of January, the grapes are softly pressed and left to ferment slowly.   The wine is aged in oak tonneau (large casks) for three years, and then in Slavonian Oak barrels for another four years.  The deep garnet wine offered notes of stewed black cherries and prunes, potpourri and lavender, and sweet spices.  On the palate this was a full-bodied wine displaying tones of black cherries, blackberries and raisins, with traces of tobacco and blending harmoniously with velvet tannins and ending with a long-count finish of warm fruit and tannins. 

The last wine of the wine tasting was Corte San Benedetto Recioto Della Valpolicella Classico DOCG Veneto 2018.  Recioto is a sweet dessert wine only produced from the delineated Classico viticultural zone and made according to the rules of the DOCG.  The wine is sixty-five percent Corvina Veronese, ten percent Corvinone and twenty-five percent Rondinella.   The fruit is hand-harvested in mid-September and place in small wooden crates to dry, the classic “Appasimento” process.  Around the end of January, the grapes are softly pressed, and left to ferment slowly.  Once the alcoholic content reaches 13%, the fermentation is stopped (decanting, filtration, temperature control) to keep the wine sweet. It is then placed in oak barrels for six months.  The dark ruby red wine offered notes of black cherry, black plums and raspberries.  On the palate this full-bodied wine displayed rich warm tones of the dark fruits and a long lingering finish that almost seemed to beckon some dark chocolate and/or caramel. 

Posted in Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Italy Wine Tasting – Part Five

Posted on April 7, 2025 by thewineraconteur

The turnout for this Italian Wine Tasting was getting more jovial at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan as the crowds increased.  They were trying to have people come in at certain times of the day, but I think the word leaked out and it was definitely standing room only.

We next had a wine by Enrico Santini “Montepergoli” Bolgheri Superiore DOC Toscana IGT 2018.  The winery was founded in 1998 and is now a family-run business with fourteen hectares of vineyards in the heart of the Bolgheri district.  This wine is a blend of twenty-five percent Merlot, forty percent Cabernet Sauvignon, twenty percent Syrah and fifteen percent Sangiovese.  The vineyards have an East/Southwest exposure.  The fruit is manually harvested with careful selection of bunches.  The grapes go through the vinification process separately.   The Initial Fermentation takes place in a controlled temperature with indigenous yeasts and m the maceration process is for about twenty-eight days.  The wine then ages for a minimum of eighteen months in oak barrels, of which forty percent is new.  Then the wine is aged in bottles for an additional eighteen months before being released.  A deep red wine with notes of blackberries, currants, plums with smoky aromas, tanned leather, cloves, black pepper and toasted oak.  On the palate this medium-bodied wine displays tones of the dark fruits, spices and rich tannins and then a medium count finish of fruit and spices.

And the last four wines were all from the Valpolicella region of the Veneto district.  First we had the Bertani Valpolicella 2023.  Bertani was founded by two brothers in 1857 with a winery in Grezzana, Valpolicella Valpantena.  They now have more than 200 hectares across the Verona region.  The wine is a blend of eighty percent Corvina Veronese and twenty percent Rondinella.  The fruit comes from the Tenuta Novare vineyards in the heart of the Valpolicella Classico area and from the Valpantena vineyards near Grezzana.  There is two distinct soils, one of white limestone and the other of red limestone with Iron and Manganese.  After destemming and crushing the must is fermented in wide and shallow Stainless-Steel tanks while on the skins.  The wine is then aged in concrete vats covered with glass bricks, which allows constant temperature and micro-oxygenation.  The wine is aged for about eight months, followed by an additional three months in bottles, before distribution. This was a red colored wine that offered notes of redcurrants plums, raspberries and sour cherries and some pepper and cinnamon.  On the palate this medium-bodied wine displayed tones of red fruit blended with soft tannins and a short finish of fruit and spices.

We then followed with a tasting of Villa Ca Vendri Amarone Della Valpolicella DOCG 2021 by Ville di Antane.  In a revered wine region that is rooted in the last century, or longer, three young spirits lived their dream and about ten years ago began their winery in the Valpantena valley of the Verona region.  They have twenty hectares of vineyards surrounding the winery, with slopes that face east to west.  The wine is a blend of Corvina Veronese, Corvinone and Rondinella.  The fruit is harvested manually into small boxes where they dry for a period of three to four months.  This Appasimento Method is unique to the Amarone Della Valpolicella wines, and results in very concentrated raisiny full-bodied wines with low acidity.  The fruit then undergoes a slow fermentation and then Malolactic Fermentation before being aged in small barrels for twelve to eighteen months.  A deep garnet red wine that offered notes of plums, cherries and raspberries.  This is a full-bodied wine that on the palate displayed tones of soft and rich fruits with velvety tannins and a nice lingering finish of fruit.      

Posted in Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Italy Wine Tasting – Part Four

Posted on April 4, 2025 by thewineraconteur

The new room at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan was filling up as more and more people were coming in to try the wines.  The help was actually setting up additional tasting centers in the original part of the store, and the help were all knowledgeable about the wines being poured.

The next wine that was poured was Tenuta Col d’Orcia Brunello Di Montalcino DOCG 2019.  The estate on the outskirts of Montalcino in the Siena district of Tuscany was under the ownership of several noble families for several centuries, but significant wine making didn’t begin until the 1900s.  In 1933, under the name of Fattoria di Sant’Angelo they showcased three vintages of Brunello at the Wine Exhibition of Siena, Italy’s first wine tradeshow.  In 1958, the estate passed to the next generation and was divided, and one section became “Col d’Orcia” after the Orcia River that the estate overlooks.  In 1973, the estate was purchased by the Cinzano family, famed for their Vermouth products.  The property was then expanded and it now has 540 hectares, of which 142 hectares are devoted to vineyards, of which 108 hectares is planted with Sangiovese, and is the third larges planting in Montalcino.  With south-facing slopes, and limestone and marl soil, they now practice organic farming.  The fruit is manually harvested, with Initial Fermentation for about twenty days on the skins in specially designed wide and shallow Stainless-Steel tanks to extract tannins and color efficiently and delicately.  The wine is then aged for four years, three in Slavonian Oak casks of different sizes; a decision they made years before the debates of traditionalists and modernists in the district.  The wines are then bottled and stored in temperature-controlled rooms for an additional year before distribution.  A garnet-colored wine that offered notes of red fruits, florals, camphor and sous-bois.  On the palate a medium-bodied wine displaying cherry, raspberry and currants, blended with firm tannins and a good smooth finish of fruit, stones and asphalt (the classic terroir of the district).

From there we had another wine from Montalcino, Poggio Antico Brunello Di Montalcino DOCG 2019.  The vineyard is on one of the highest ridges in the district and has been recorded since the 1500s.  In 1976, Poggio Antico was born from the union of I Poggi, Madre and Le Martine; ten years after the DOCG was granted.  The estate was acquired by Marcel van Poecke in 2017 and a new team of agronomists and enologists under Frederico Trost.  The estate is 200 hectares and there are fifteen micro terroirs and six macro terroirs with recognized nuances of limestone and marl soils.  The soil units are vinified and fermented separately in designated fermentation tanks and barrels, with a plot-by-plot approach.  Three years of aging in a mix of French and Slavonian Oak barrels, followed by another year of aging in the bottle before distribution.  A deep garnet-colored wine that offered notes of black cherries, balsamic, salt, pepper and a dash of seaweed.  On the palate a well-balanced medium-bodied wine that displayed the black cherries mixing with blackberries, pepper, tannins, ethereal earthiness and a nice medium-count finish of fruit and terroir.

After the two different wines from Montalcino we then had Renzo Masi Fattoria di Basciano “Vigne Il Corto” Toscana IGT 2022.  The Masi family has been producing their wines for three generations since the early 1900s and located in the heart of the Chianti Rufina district.  The estate is seventy hectares, of which thirty hectares is devoted to vineyards on the classic Galestro soil of Tuscany which is a brown soil with clay schist rocks and fine layers of sand.  The “cru” vineyard “Il Corto” is on the south-eastern side of the property and is ninety percent Sangiovese and ten percent Cabernet Sauvignon.  The two varieties are harvested and vinified together with Initial Fermentation and maceration on the skins for twenty-five days.  Malolactic Fermentation is completed in Stainless-Steel vats and followed by eighteen months in French Oak, of which half is new, and then an additional six months in bottles before distribution.  The ruby-colored wine offered notes of black cherries, balsamic, dark chocolate, mushrooms and terroir.  On the palate this medium-bodied wine displayed tones of black cherry with hints of vanilla, ripe tannins, and a medium-count finish of fruit and terroir.   

Posted in Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Italy Wine Tasting – Part Three

Posted on April 1, 2025 by thewineraconteur

As the crowds increased around the latest structured wine tasting at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan; I was still slowing everything down with my need to take photographs. 

The next wine featured the island of Sicily.  We were tasting Passopisciaro Passorosso Etna Rosso DOC Terre Siciliane IGT 2021, and until 2012 this wine was labeled Passopisciaro Rosso.  Passopisciaro is a wine producer with vineyards on the lower northern slopes of Mount Etna and owned by the Tuscan winemaker Andrea Franchetti.   Etna’s unique terroir is characterized by volcanic soils made from old lava flows, in combination with the high altitudes (up to 1,000m) above sea level, provides perfect growing conditions for Nerello Mascalese, the most popular varietal on the island.   Passorosso is made exclusively with Nerello Mascalese blending across different altitudes and soil types (the higher altitudes have more gravelly soil, while the lower altitudes have deeper powder made from more oxidized, older lavas).   The wine is vinified originally in Stainless-Steel vats for fifteen days, and then aged for eighteen months between a mix of cement vats and large oak barrels, and the wine is then bottled unfiltered.  The ruby-red wine offered notes of red currants, juniper, cloves, camphor and sandalwood.  On the palate this medium-bodied wine displayed tones of juicy ripe red fruit, a touch of smoke, dry tannins and a nice finish of fruit and terroir.

From Sicily, we then went to another island, the island of Sardinia where we enjoyed Sella & Mosca Cannonau di Sardegna DOC Riserva 2020.  Sella & Mosca (Sella e Mosca) is the largest wine producer in Sardinia, featuring local varieties and “international” varieties.  The winery was founded in 1899 by two Piedmontese businessmen.  Their I Piani estate is one of the largest wine estates in Europe with five hundred-twenty hectares of contiguous vineyards.  Cannonau is the link of wine making and Sardinia and featuring Grenache, which originally was thought to be brought by the Aragonese but now may be indigenous to the island and then spread from there.  It is grown both on the warm and sandy seaside vineyards and the harsh and rocky inland soils of the hills.  Fermentation begins in temperature-controlled Stainless-Steel tanks and then aged for twenty-four months in big oaken barrels for the Riserva wines.  The ruby-red wine offered notes of plums, black currents, violets and hibiscus, tobacco and spices.  On the palate this medium-bodied wine displayed tones of plums and dark fruits with traces of flowers, balsam, chocolate and vanilla with a medium-count finish of fruit and spices.

The tasting then returned to the mainland of Italy with Podere Cioni Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2016 and based in Gaiole in Chianti.  The estate is forty hectares and was established in the nineties, and they currently have twelve acres of vines and two acres of olive groves.  The wine is a blend of ninety percent Sangiovese, eight percent Merlot and two percent Alicante Bouschet; and the vines are about seventeen years of age.  The fruit is hand-harvested, and the Initial Fermentation is for about ten days in Stainless Steel vats.  Then Malolactic Fermentation of the juice on the skins, is for about a month in French Oak.  With this being a Riserva wine, the wine then aged for twenty-four months in a mix of French Oak of which ten percent is new; followed by an additional twelve months in bottles, before being released.  A ruby-red wine that offered notes of plenty of red fruit, blood orange, baking spices and some chalky terrain.  On the palate this medium-bodied wine displayed tones of rich red fruits, velvety tannins and a nice lingering finish of fruit and terroir.   

Posted in Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Italy Wine Tasting – Part Two

Posted on March 29, 2025 by thewineraconteur

There I was at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan for a wine tasting of Italian wines.  We had just tasted three wines that were chilled and now we were going to start on the red wines.

The first of the red wines was Tenuta Ronci Rosso di Ne Lazio IGT 2019.  The winery was founded by Arturo Improta in the Eighties looking for an uncontaminated nature that was near volcanic lakes, a few kilometers north of Rome.  He planted both native and international varieties on soil made of disintegrated “peperino” stone, a volcanic rock, rich in minerals that would create a distinct terroir to the wines made.  The estate is about thirty hectares on the gentle hills of the Ronci Valley.  The wine is a blend of sixty percent Merlot and forty percent Cabernet Sauvignon and the vineyards are about twenty-five years in age.  The wine is fermented and aged in Stainless-Steel tanks to maintain the freshness of the fruit.  The ruby red wine offered notes of cherry and raspberry and a mix of spices and herbs.  On the palate the red fruits and spices blended with velvety tannins in a well-balanced wine and a smooth finish featuring fruit and terroir.

The second red wine of the tasting was Azienda Agricola Tintero Langhe Nebbiolo 2021 in the Piedmont.  Elvio Tintero founded his estate in the steep hills of Mango in the province of Cuneo and it is now represented by the second and third generation.  The vineyards are planted in the optimal position of south and southwest on the hills.  Langhe Nebbiolo is considered as a “junior” version of Barolo and Barbaresco and does not have the same stringent requirements as those designations.  The wine is pure Nebbiolo and the maceration and fermentation occur in Stainless-Steel tanks and then is aged in Slavonian Oak for six months.  The deep garnet colored wine offered notes of dark cherry and plum, scented with violets and roses and a wisp of graphite.  On the palate this medium-bodied wine had tones of dark fruit blended with soft tannins, fresh acidity and a medium-count finish of fruit.

The third wine that we tasted was Perla Terra Barolo DOCG Piedmont 2019 from the Dalla Terra group.  Perla Terra is a partnership of several small growers primarily in the communes of La Morra, Novella, Monforte d’Alba, Grinzane Cavour and Verduno.  The wine is vinified and bottled for Dalla Terra using traditional methods at a local winery in the Barolo region. The cru vineyard selections are vinified separately, and this “negociant” style blend is selected by the co-owners, Brian Larky and Scott Ades.  The wine is from “sustainable” vineyards with an average age of twenty-years for the vines.  The Nebbiolo fruit is de-stemmed and crushed and produced according to the regulations of Barolo DOCG.  A total aging period of thirty-six months, with a minimum of eighteen months in assorted size barrels, with twenty-seven percent in new French Oak and six months in the bottles, before distribution.  A nice ruby color wine that offered notes of dark fruit, violets, roses and sous-bois, but not the classic “tar and roses” of Barolo.  On the palate, this medium bodied wine offered tones of cherry and blackberry, mellow tannins and a lean medium-count finish of fruit, pecans and a trace of bitters.      

Posted in Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Italy Wine Tasting – Part One

Posted on March 26, 2025 by thewineraconteur

Since I was out, after recovering from pneumonia, I stopped by The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan to pick up the Wine Club selections as well as to enjoy a wine tasting that they were holding. 

The first wine that we tasted was Villa Giada Gavi DOCG 2021 by Andrea Faccio.  The Villa Giada winery was founded in the early 18th century and has grown and expanded in the Piedmont region and originally growing Moscato vines.  The  oldest part of the cellar dates to 1790 and the first bottles of wine were produced in 1934.  The land has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where the Langhe meets Monferrato.  This wine is from the Gavi region, where the soil consists of calcareous marl and is entirely made from the Cortese varietal.  The fruit is manually harvest, destemmed and pressed and fermentation occurs in temperature-controlled Stainless-Steel tanks with constant contact with native yeasts for a few months.  The wine is a light straw yellow color and offers notes of white fruits, white flowers, herbs and almonds.  On the palate a nice dry wine offering tones of green apples, honeydew, citrus and spices with bright acidity and a medium count finish of terroir and almonds.

The second wine that we had was Azienda Agricola Ottella Lugano DOC 2022, and the Lugano region straddles Lombardy and Veneto, but is considered part of Lombardy.  The grape for Lugano is known as Turbiana, Verdicchio and as Trebbiano di Lugano. The Montresor family has been running Ottella for four generations and it has been attested that the Montresor family were the only ones to produce Lugano in the province of Verona in 1905.  In 1964, the family began delineating the land and they began working to get a DOC designation.  The fruit is manually harvested and undergoes slow fermentation in temperature-controlled Stainless-Steel tanks for five months.   The wine is a straw-yellow color and offers notes of candied fruits, citrus, and minerals.  On the palate this dry wine offers tones of citrus, apples, tropical fruits, and lemon zest with a nice medium count finish of fruit and minerals.

The final chilled wine of the tasting was Podere Ciona Ciona Rosé Toscana IGT 2022.  I was reading the history of the winery on their website “Franca and Franco Gatteschi were looking for a place in the countryside to retire to, after many years of working in Italy and abroad, when they came across a small, beautiful, albeit run down property: 100 acres of land, mostly wooded with 10 acres set aside for cultivation, of which 2.5 acres already had vineyards; a house from the 18th Century, abandoned for more than 40 years; and, above all, a view without equal on the Chianti hills, with Siena in the distance.”  It really sounds idyllic and makes one ponder how this property was neglected and ignored for years.  “They purchased the estate at the beginning of 1990, and they immediately started the reconstruction work on the main house (it took nearly three years). They also set up a small but well-equipped wine cellar for making wine. In 1996 they permanently moved on the estate and the following year, the great 1997 vintage, saw the birth of the first “official” wine of Podere Ciona: A Chianti Classico DOCG Riserva.” The Rosé was made entirely of Sangiovese in the saignée method.  The vines are from six to nineteen years of age and planted on quartz, clay schist and marl.  The fruit is manually harvested in small baskets and then de-stemming, berry by berry for a slight crush in Stainless Steel vats for ten to twelve hours of skin contact and no Malolactic Fermentation. The wine is then aged for about six months in Stainless Steel and then further fined and bottle aged for six months before distribution. There were about one hundred-eighty cases produced of this wine.  A pretty salmon-pink color with notes of fruit and spices, just a well-balanced light and easy drinking wine with a nice medium count finish offering terroir.  

Posted in Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fine Wine Source Club – March 2025

Posted on March 23, 2025 by thewineraconteur

It felt so good to get out in the real world as pneumonia really beat me up.   It was seven weeks before I really attempted to join the world again, and did it feel good.  My first stop was at my local wine shop The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan.  Thankfully they still remembered me, and I was able to admire the updates done in the new addition, that we had discussed, it seemed so long ago, before I got sick  I decided to make the trip worthwhile as I was going to pick up my wine club selections and they had contacted me about a wine tasting that  would feature seventeen wines from Italy and two offerings of Extra Virgin Olive Oil from two different wineries. 

The first wine that I picked represented the Old World and it was a bottle of Il Colle Cabernet Sauvignon Veneto IGT NV.  Il Colle was established in 1978 by Fabio Ceshin and his wife Gianna, with the desire to pass on this wine culture to their three children.  The location of the vineyard is in the Hills of Treviso in Veneto, on clay soil, and the vines are ten to fifteen years old.  Prior to veraison, the grapes are thinned out, a process that favors over-ripening of the grapes and adequate phenolic maturity; the fruit is hand-harvested.  Maceration of the skins is for five days, and then a soft pressing, with fermentation for about ten days in Stainless-Steel tanks.  The wine is then racked and left to rest for six months in Stainless-Steel tanks, in the spring the wine is filtered and bottled.   The wine is described as ruby red in color with notes of berries and hay, which evolve over time to more complex scents from ripe fruit to spices.  On the palate the wine is described as full-bodied with supple sweet black and red fruit and a good medium-count finish.

Representing the New World for wines this month is Forlorn Hope Queen of the Sierra White Wine -Rorick Heritage Vineyards Calaveras County 2020.  When I saw Calaveras County, I immediately thought of the short story by Mark Twain written in 1865 called “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” that I probably read in Elementary School when literature and reading were promoted and is probably all but forgotten except perhaps for the named county.  Calaveras County is on of California’s original counties from the time of the Gold Rush of the 1850s and for wine is part of the Sierra Foothills AVA.  The original property was ranched by the Shaw family in 1844, and eventually acquired by Barden Stevenot in the Sixties, and he is deemed the “godfather” of modern Calaveras County winegrowers, when he planted original heritage Wente Chardonnay roots in the Seventies.  Barden eventually grew the property to seventy-five acres and in 2013 Matthew Rorick purchased the property and converted it to organic farming practices.  The estate is 2000 feet in elevation on limestone soil beneath a top layer of schist. The Queen of the Sierra wines is a celebration of the soil, the elevation and the vineyard.  The wines are pure estate grown fruit, hand-harvested, indigenous yeasts, unfiltered and unfined.  The Queen of the Sierra collection is not sold at the winery, but it sold to the trade for retail and restaurant distribution.  The wine is a blend of Chardonnay, Verdelho and Muscat.  The lots were fermented separately due to the different pick dates, then racked and blended together.  The wine is described as a soft yellow in color and offers notes of citrus, white peach and florals.  On the palate, it is described as fresh and crisp, with a touch of minerality and a lively, clean finish.   

Posted in Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Le Bistro

Posted on March 20, 2025 by thewineraconteur

Our final night at sea, and for me, it was fine.  About two days earlier I started getting very lethargic and my Bride was starting to give me static that I was getting old.  I did a quick check and self-diagnosed myself as having Mal-de-Mer or seasickness.  Thankfully, she had packed an entire pharmacy, so I was able to medicate.  On the first business day when we returned, my internist told me that I had a classic case of pneumonia, and then my Bride said that maybe I wasn’t too old.  In fact, she ended up with a chest infection.

We enjoyed our last dinner at Le Bistro, one of the four themed restaurants that we paid for in advance.  When in “France” we opened a bottle of Champagne Veuve Clicquot Brut Yellow Label Reims NV.  Veuve Clicquot is one of Champagne’s best-known houses and founded in 1772.  The house is also famed for inventing the process of riddling, which removed the dead yeast cells and the finished wines with a clear appearance.  The house was started by Philippe Clicquot and later his son Francois married Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin in 1798, and they began taking over the wine business, but then came the Napoleonic Wars, and Francois died in 1805.  Barbe-Nicolle continued on her own, including some smuggling of wines to Tsar Alexander I of Russia, and the brand took off from there.  Veuve Clicquot is built upon chalk quarries established in medieval times and stretch for twenty-four kilometers, maintaining a perfect temperature and humidity and now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.  Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin is now owned by the luxury giant Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH).  The Yellow Label is their emblematic cuvée and defines their signature of freshness, strength, aromatic richness and silkiness.  The wine is predominately Pinot Noir with Chardonnay and a touch of Pinot Meunier, and it can blend with up to forty-five percent reserve wines (some four hundred wines, aged up to thirty years).  The wine is a golden yellow with persistent fine tiny bubbles and offers notes of white and yellow fruit, citrus like mandarin and grapefruit and brioche.  On the palate this is a fully structured wine where there are tones of pear, peach, dried fruit and a nice medium to long count of fruit and brioche.  

While we were enjoying the bubbles, my Bride and I shared two appetizers: Steak Tartare au Couteau which is hand-cut beef with traditional garnishes and a grilled baguette and an order of Escargots a la Bourguignonne with Herbed Garlic Butter.  My Bride had “Carré d’Agneau Roti et Souris d’Agneau aux Saveurs Marocaines” or Braised Shank and Roasted Lamb Chop with Moroccan Spices, Dried Fruits, Sweet Potatoes and Cilantro.  I had a dish that I hadn’t had since I was sixteen at Anthony’s Pier 4 in Boston, as I had “Homard Thermidor” or Lobster Thermador with a Mushroom Cream Sauce and Rice Pilaf; which even carried an additional surcharge for the dinner.  We then were bad as we tried four different desserts with coffee: “Fraisier” Strawberries with Diplomat Cream and Pistachio-Almond Sponge Cake, “Marquis au Chocolat” Dark Chocolate Cremeux with Rice Crunch and Chambord Raspberry Sauce, “Poire Belle-Helene” Fortified Wine Poached Pear with Spices and Vanilla Ice Cream with Warm Chocolate Sauce, and finally “Ile Flottante” an Airy Meringue Pillow floating in Vanilla Crème Anglais and Raspberry Coulis.  I have no idea how it happened, but we may have come home with maladies, but no additional weight.

Posted in Dining, Wine | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cagney’s

Posted on March 17, 2025 by thewineraconteur

When I heard that the steak house on the ship was named Cagney’s all I could think of was “you dirty rat” as I guess I have watched too many Warner Brothers films and watched Rich Little and Frank Gorshin too many times as well.  It was a beautiful room with polished wood and the big bar in the center opened prior to seating.  

My Bride started off with Crab Cakes with Radish Salad and a Lemon-Mustard crème sauce.  I went with the Lobster Bisque with Roasted Lobster and Sherry.  We started with Los Vascos Sauvignon Blanc Valle de Colchagua, Chile 2023. Vina Los Vascos has been owned and operated by Domaines de Rothschild (Lafite) since 1988 in the Colchagua Valley.  The estate is six hundred-forty hectares on volcanic soil and clay.  The vines on the estate are from 15-70 years in age.  The wine is pure Sauvignon Blanc and the fruit is manually harvested, destemmed, and undergoes a period of maceration for about twelve hours, then the must is drain pressing begins.  After cold decanting, the wine is kept in cold storage for two weeks, the must is then inoculated and fermented in Stainless-Steel tanks.  Until recently this wine came from fruit in the Casablanca region, but now from Colchagua and better appreciation and notes commercially.  A soft greenish-golden color wine that offered notes of citrus, green apples and herbs, followed by additional notes of exotic fruits.  On the palate a good medium-bodied wine that offered green apples, herbs and a nice medium count finish of fruit and flint. 

My Bride had a Filet-Mignon with Sauce Bearnaise and we shared sides of Sauteed Garlic Mushrooms and Creamed Spinach to continue with the steak house theme.  She had Le Cellier des Princes Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2022.  Le Cellier des Princes is a cooperative cellar that has been producing Chateauneuf-du-Pape since 1925; and they are the only group in the appellation. There are 180 winegrowers with vines cultivated from the five villages of the appellation: Courthezon, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Sorgues, Bedarrides and Orange.  Grenache is almost ninety-five percent of the production, and the balance is composed of Syrah and Mourvèdre (Monastrell).  The soil is basically round pebbles and sand.  The fruit is hand-harvested, destemmed, and a four-to-five-week period of maceration, with daily pumping.  The wine is then aged for almost a year in concrete tanks, so there is no oak, as they are interested in allowing the purest expression of Grenache and terroir.  This is a much fresher and lighter interpretation of Chateauneuf-du-Pape.  A ruby red colored wine that offered notes of red currants, red cherries, blackberries, lavender and pepper.  On the palate a medium-bodied wine with tones of strawberry, raspberry, cherry blending with silk tannins and a medium count finish of fruit, spices and terroir.   She finished her meal with a Raspberry Crème Brulé with a Florentine crunch and chocolate twist.

For my entrée I went with Double-Cut Lamb Chops with Pearl Barley Risotto and a Red Wine Sauce.  I went with Dogliotti Barolo DOCG 2020. Giuseppe and Marcello Dogliotti began in 1870 in Castiglione, Piedmont and they became famed for their Moscato.  In 1929 Luigi Dogliotti took over and moved the winery to the present Castagnole delle Lanze.  The winery has continued to be a family business.  Barolo by definition is made from the Nebbiolo grape and allowed in eleven “communes” in the Lange hills.  The basic Dogliotti Barolo from them comes from all eleven “communes;” Barolo, Castiglione Falletto, Cherasco, Diano d’Alba, Grinzane Cavour, La Morra, Monforte d’Alba, Novello, Serralunga, Verduno and Roddi.  Destemming, soft-pressing of the grapes, the Initial Fermentation and maceration on the skins is for about ten days with dedicated pumping to extract further color and aromas.  The juice is then decanted twice to eliminate solids, before they begin the Malolactic Fermentation.  The wine is matured in an assortment of different size oaken casks (from France and Slavonia) for about thirty months, with weekly tastings and topping off of the barrels.  The total aging process is two years in oak casks followed by one year in bottle, before the wine is allowed to be distributed.  The wine is a deep garnet color offering notes of black cherry, violets, roses, leather and spices.  On the palate this was a full-bodied wine for such a young age, well balanced with tones of black cherry, sous-bois, rose petals with velvety tannins and a good medium count finish of fruit and terroir.  It also was quite lovely with a Seven-Layer Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream. 

Posted in Dining, Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Brief Stop at the Dominican Republic

Posted on March 14, 2025 by thewineraconteur

While we weren’t scheduled for any excursions we did go and briefly explore the grounds off the port landing in the Dominican Republic.  The island is rather unique in that it is known as Hispaniola and has two sovereign nations; Haiti (French) and the Dominican Republic (Spanish) and is the second largest island in the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean.  The immediate area that we were in, was definitely what I would call a tourist trap consisting of local cuisine restaurants and bars, plenty of souvenir shops, a Macaw photo op center, and an apothecary or druggist shop with the largest advertisement for “now available without a prescription Viagra.”  I also found out later, from others that went into the souvenir shops that they were selling assorted plates, trinkets and what-nots that showed the entire island while omitting the fact that Haiti was also part of the island.

After returning to the ship later, we met up with some others as it was our only other night of non-premium dining.  They bundled four nights as a special, and then you could eat at some of the casual dining spots, or you could go to the better locations and pay an additional premium.  We met at one of the two locations across from each other, that we went to every morning for breakfast, and it was always a lovely breakfast and the perfect way to start the day.  We started our dinner off with Shrimp Cocktails in a classical interpretation and we both had New York Strip Steaks with assorted sides.  We had Bodegas y Vinedos de Aguirre Morpho Helena Malbec DO Valle Central Chile 2020.  I could find basically nothing about this winery, other than people mentioning that they encountered the wines on cruise ship.    The Central Valley (El Valle Central) of Chile is one of the largest wine regions in Chile.  The region is noted for Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Malbec, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, as well as many Bordeaux style blends.  Malbec was planted in this region, before it was planted in Argentina.  The wine is a dark ruby and offered notes of blackberry, black cherry, sous bois and tobacco.  On the palate this medium-bodied wine had tones of black cherry, currants and herbs with high acidity, strong tannins and a medium finish of terroir.

We actually, both indulged with a liquid dessert of Inniskillin Icewine Reserve Vidal VQA Niagara Peninsula 2023.  It made us think of our two trips to Niagara-on-the-Lake in Ontario, Canada.  Inniskillin is best known for their Icewine offerings.  They were the first winery license in Canada since 1929 when they finished the winery in 1975.  Their first vintage was in 1977, but it was in 1984 when they started achieving fame with naturally frozen Vidal grapes.  The process they use differs from the process in Germany, but others in the area have now duplicated their success as well.  The fruit is harvested at night, when eighty percent of the water content in each berry is frozen.  The grapes are pressed while still frozen and the juice is highly concentrated, though with yields that are approximately fifteen percent of an average grape harvest.  A deep golden colored with notes of marmalade, candied pineapple, mango, apricot and honey.  On the palate this full-bodied wine offered tones of pineapple, tangerines and brown sugar with crisp acidity and a nice long finish of candied fruit.

Posted in Dining, Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment