This was a really fun impromptu tasting where I had at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits two really very fine Neil Empson wines that I had opened the day before at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel:202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com ) where I have managed the wine department now for nearly ten years here in our nation's capitol. What a grand ride it all has been!
The two wines are the Aglianico del Vuture from Basilicata, Italy. It's the 2003 VULTUR from a single vineyard and it was better on the second day than on the first! I have it ON SALE for $18.99 and we still have some in the store to sell. It needs to age more to get to that point where it is really ready to drink. Don't rush it and serve it now unless you have to. My advise is to buy some and hide the wine for another two or so years and at that point it will be hopefully completely ready to drink and enjoy fully? That's the plan anyway. The challenge is that it may indeed need more time : it's hard to judge unless you buy enough now to open a bottle every six months or so to get a really good reading.
I also offered my three customers here a taste of the 2002 Barolo from CANTINO FANTANI ( ON SALE for $39.99 ) and it showed still quite well this second day. That impressed me quite a bit as it was such a difficult vintage and to have it still taste very good on the second day was impressive indeed. It had lost some of it's elasticity and it was not quite so fresh or firm and composed. It had lost some of it's form and was simply not as flavorful or distinct. However, it had some lovely nuances of flavors that was beginning to show their various nuances and distinct tastes within the whole. I liked this and think that in this medium-to-light-bodied state that with a slight chill of twenty minutes or so and a meal that it would shine nicely all over again.
On the first day this 2002 Barolo ( what a difficult vintage it was and how amazing to get such a fine wine here - amazing, impressive! ) it was heartier, firmer, more closed and less revealing. The nose and the intense flavors were all there and I quickly agreed with Gary Diamond that the wine still offered up quite a bit to be enjoyed today. Thanks for telling Sal Furfari about these two wines Gary. I am glad to still have both in the store and I think that they both offer amazing values for what they are and give us.
Funny, as the Barolo CANTINO FANTANI 2002 showed so well on the first day the VULTUR Aglianico Del Vulture single-vineyard " Terr Dei Re " from Basilicata , Italy was closed and tight and though the bouquet was there the flavors were tight and closed and hard. I just could not wrap my palate around the inner core of these flavors as the wine would not open enough for me. That's okay. This is why there are wines to enjoy now while you wait for those that need more time in the bottle before opening.
Tonight I took a bottle of the Neil Empson 2002 declassified Barolo PODERI COLLA to the Jameson's to enjoy with the lamb stew that he had made. The combination was great! Paul opened the wine at the table and it was ready to enjoy within ten minutes. I immediately poured some to try to be sure that there were no problems as the 2002 was a very challenging vintage. Here PODERI COLLA decided not to make any Barolo at all and call it all Nebbiolo. Smart decision I believe as the wine is a great buy at $12.99 ON SALE ( we bought it all as we have sold so much PODERI COLLA red wine over the past six or so years at Cleveland Park. We bought lots of the 2003 Barbaresco and Barolo I believe. I think we started with the wines going back to the 1997 vintage and even some of the 1996 vintage, too? It's been awhile now so I will have to check my notes at the store.
I am home now and it's Sunday, April 25th, 2010 at 11:39 Pm as I get ready for bed now. I want to post this tonight as there is a Neil Empson Barolo tour of the current vintage to try with the owners/wine-makers traveling through the United States currently. Tomorrow's tasting is in Washington D.C. at the popular and trendy Potensa restaurant. I will have to call Naomi Barber at the Empson headquarters in Old Towne, Alexandria tomorrow to get the time as I have forgotten. I would like t go to see the owner of PODERI COLLA that has now been to our store at least twice to do in-store wine-tastings for our customers. I have already blogged about him here at chatwine so simply use this search engine to read that blog entry as well.
I also have some of the single-vineyard PODERI COLLA Dolcetto 2006 ( ON SALE for $16.99 ) in the store : maybe a case now? ) for sale. It's smooth and silky and very polished and elegant. It's medium-to-light-bodied and showing a tremendous brightness and finesse as the dusty-dryness of the flavors blossoms into a really pretty toasty red berry/cherry freshness of flavors and taste with an hour and a half or so from when it was opened.
The declassified Barolo Nebbiolo 2002 from PODERI COLLA was a silky, velvety and elegant traditional style that is immediately ready to enjoy now. It's got all these lovely dried fruits and herbs and subtle spices in both the nose and the flavors. Pour it and drink it up don't wait. The bottle tonight needed to be drunk within an hour or so to get all the " blush " of brightness and freshness and fruit that the bottle still held.
Funny, the original bottle that I opened a month ago at the store was amazing the fist day and into the next still delicious and fresh and bright and lively. On the third day it was definitely pale and fading but still quite drinkable and enjoyable with a meal and a slight chill. There is always some bottle variation and so you have to evaluate bottle by bottle to be fair.
I have enjoyed all these bottles from the Neil Empson portfolio and I hope to make it to the Grand Tour Barolo wine-tasting tomorrow with Paul Jameson. We will see. I will add any notes from that here as soon as I can if we are able to attend.
In parting I want to say that I was having fun taking these pictures and letting my artistic temperament dictate the style and the poses and the compositions which I hope you all enjoy. These three certainly enjoyed these first two wines.
Cheers and stay-tuned for more. TONY
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