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WHITLEY ON WINE

                                                | ROBERT WHITLEY |

                                    WINE FOR THE AGES



               was invited on a recent Sat-                                           were no off aromas. With a bit
               urday night to join my friend                                          of air and a little time, it began
               and colleague Jeremy Parzen                                            to exhibit aromas of tart cherry
               for dinner at a wine savvy                                             and nuances such as leather and
                c
               o
               l
         I al restaurant. Jeremy, a                                                   spice. So far so good.
          native Californian who is fluent in
          Italian, writes the closely watched                                         Finally, the taste test. Despite its
          Do Bianchi wine blog. The focus, as                                         age, the Brunello had structure
          you might imagine, is on the wines                                          and tannic grip, with complex
          of Italy.                                                                   savory elements on the palate
                                                                                      and ever more intense fruit as
          We would be joined on this eve-                                             it got more air. I did a little fist
          ning by winemaker Paolo Cantele,                                            pump. The wine was that good.
          one of the young lions of the wine
          industry in the Puglia region of                                            Not to be outdone, someone
          southern Italy. Everyone would                                              produced a bottle of 2001 R.
          bring some wine to share, as is the                                         Lopez Heredia “Vina Tondonia”
          custom. And our small group grew                                            Rioja Reserva; only 12 years old
          as the evening wore on and the                                              but a wine of legendary longev-
          wine flowed.                                                                ity.  At  my  favorite  wine  shop,
                                                                                      this is the vintage of Vina Ton-
          I confess I was a bit nervous about                                         donia Reserva that is currently
          my contribution, apologizing in                                             available.
          advance should the wine I chose be
          over the hill. You may have heard                                           You would think this Rioja would
          that wine improves with age. That’s                                         show some signs of age: loss of
          not always the case, and even when                                          color, taming of its fruit profile,
          it is, there comes a time when any                                          soft tannins. Instead, the color
          wine is completely shot, devoid                                             was brilliant. On the palate the
          of flavor and past the point of re-                                         wine was remarkably fresh. The
          demption.                                                                   structure was bold and firm.
          I hoped for the best but feared the                                         It took me back to a recent time
          worst as we pulled the cork on my                                           when I ordered a 1970 Vina Ton-
          bottle of 1971 Argiano Brunello                                             donia Reserva from the wine list
          di Montalcino. When this wine                                               at another restaurant. It was de-
          was made, the producer was bare-                                            canted and brought to the table,
          ly known outside the boundaries                                             and my guests at dinner were
          of Tuscany. The only Brunello pro-                                          convinced it was a “young” wine.
          ducer of world renown was Biondi
          Santi. And there was serious doubt                                          Older wines are not for every-
          that  many  of  the  rustic  wines  of                                      one, and they may not be for you.
          the era would improve over time.                                            They evolve over the years and
                                                                                      the flavors change. Most wines
          As the cork came out intact (at 42                                          sold today are consumed within
          years on, it would not have been a                                          days, if not hours, of purchase.
          surprise if the cork had crumbled)                                          You get a blast of fruit and a
          there was a sigh of relief around the table. The cork was in   blast of alcohol and that’s just fine for most people. Nothing
          excellent condition, always a good sign after four decades in   wrong with that.
          the cellar.
                                                               But if you are at all curious about profound wines for the ages
          The first glass was poured and all around we marveled at   and can’t afford the high price of Bordeaux or Burgundy, you
          the bright color, for red wines tend to lose color and brown   could do worse than explore the possibilities presented by
          around the edges with significant age.  Based upon the visual   top-notch Brunello di Montalcino and Rioja Reserva.
          inspection, the wine appeared to be very much alive.
                                                              Then you, too, might be inclined to add a little fist pump to
          After a few quick swirls for aeration came the smell test. There   your wine-tasting experience.


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