A haircut, some artisan cheeses, and a bottle of wine.
We drove out of the mountains Saturday morning, at quite an early hour, spent a few hours with good folk in Albany outfitting the most deserving winner of a fashion makeover, then swung north to Saratoga to get my mop cut and visit my old wine haunts. We oversaw a nice young lady extract 5 pounds of goose liver paté from a vacuum-sealed tub, with great difficulty, just to wrap a few guilty ounces in paper for our future enjoyment. I kept saying, “A little goes a long way,” in an attempt to justify our minimal purchase against her impressive effort.
The wine was unexpected. It appeared recently on the front of Wine Spectator as part of a cover article on Piedmont wine—this being a 90-point value play that is capable of making some serious waves at an entry price point.
From my tasting notebook:
Decisive and lean. Powdered cherry, delicate florals of cherry blossoms and violets, and a hint of grape soda. Balanced and mineral rich with a strong acidic snap. Lightly rustic with just a trace of leather and dry earth. Green herbs are predominant, offering thyme and lavender.
A confident wine that bucks any perception of an old world/new world identity crisis that has dogged many Italian wines in recent years. This is a summer red that will pair perfectly with fine cheeses, cold antipasto dishes, and even shellfish, if you prefer a red wine instead of a more traditional white pairing.
Any chance of buying that wine down here? Sounds divine.