I arrived late as I had many things to do before getting there and I got a late start. I had my camera and my sketch pad and my oil pastels and so I was prepared.
When I arrived the first two people I saw were both Shannon and Brennan Downey, Guillaume and also Max : all of the Downey Imports crew. I said " hello " to Shannon, she said " hello to me twice, thanks Shannon, I said : " Bonjour " to Guillaume, got my wine-tasting glass from Brennan and tasting sheets and order form and asked him : " Where's Andrea, I want to see him first before anything. " Brennan responded and pointed straight ahead and said : " He's over there, outside. " I was off with that to find Andrea.
I found Andrea quickly and loved that. With a big smile on his face he greeted me as he was just finishing up talking to a lady and tasting her on his D&N Primitivo 2010 ( in a magnum ), 2012 Primitivo in a 750ml bottle, and his 2007 D&N Vino Nobile : three really fine, classic, ' value ' Italian dry reds with complexity, balance, distinct flavor and taste - real treats.
I started drinking the 2010 magnum/ 1.5 ml bottle of the Primitivo dry red from Puglia and that pretty much stopped me quickly to pay further attention and to concentrate more on these exciting flavors and tastes as I told Andrea that we carried both sizes in the store and that they both sold well. I also told him that we had the 2007 Vino Nobile on our shelf and that all three were selling well.
I then quickly mentioned that from the Country Vintner portfolio that we carries his FOSSI Chianti Classico on our shelf. This made Andrea really smile broadly - he knows no other smile - and he thanked me for that.
We spoke about many things and I will include them here tomorrow. It's late and I am tired now and need my rest.
I just want to say once again tonight that for me today, tasting the complexity and the broad range of flavors in the magnum of the 2010 D&N Primitivo dry Pulglian red - from the real highs to the solid and gutsy, raw lows - with everything in flavor and taste and balance in the middle ranges made it THE " value " Italian dry red that I tried at today's tasting and I will buy more of it and work to promote it with even more conviction and focus than before as it is so fresh on my palate, with flavors that lingered and lasted way after I swallowed. I went back and tried it at least three-four more times to be sure that I liked it as much as my initial tasting of it. Not to worry, I did!
In case you all do not know Andrea is THE ' Old Vine ' there covered in a red shirt among us with fiery silver hair and blazing bright eyes. On the table in front of us are first his three red wines and then those of Mauro from the Piemonte region.
As I said I will write more tomorrow, enjoy this now ' as is. ' Cheers, a presto, a la prochaine, and ' in a few ' which is what Michael Downey liked to say. Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn Monday evening at home now in northern Virginia at 11:07 PM with a steady drizzle, cool and refreshing, much like the afternoon which was a prefect temperature to taste and evaluate and appreciate all these wonderful wines which started for me with the three from Andrea Fossi. Hard to beat! An impressive start ... TONY
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