#110 Picpoul Blanc

Moving right along. Tonight we begin our push into the second phase of the wine quest. This phase will be as much about finding the wines as it is about trying them. This bottle, a picpoul blanc from the Languedoc region in France was not hard to find (its popular at a local shop) and was not terribly expensive. For less than $15 the following experience can be yours.

Picpoul Blanc is one of the 13 accepted varietals allowed in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Given its notoriety for tight acidity it is typically used as a blending grape. It appears that the grape's name is derived from "lip stinger" or "hen peck" or some similar pucker inducing term. Imagine if you will, a reisling with the sweetness dialed down, the acidity dialed up and the whole product diluted by a quarter. Now imagine fresh oysters, a splash of lemon and a salt sea breeze. Welcome to the French Mediterranean.

Submitted for your approval......

Somewhere in the middle of that larger than desired gap between wine 108 and wine 109 this paperwork was submitted to the ardent operators of The Wine Century Club.

For a time I thought that I would endeavor to be the fastest member to get to 100 varietals via any means possible. I may have considered at one point a giant mixture of every variety I could find (and a pint glass to serve it in). One gulp and done! Then I thought perhaps I would try to get to 100 varietals by drinking the fewest bottles possible. I found a few great blends that would have gotten me right up to 25 in a matter of days.

I realized however that this would be more of a journey than a sprint. And more of a labor of love than just pure labor. It has been an informative delight tasting through every one of those 108 wines. Almost every bottle, save 2 or 3, were 100% pure varietal as far as my research was able to uncover so I hope that I was able to capture the core essence of each grape.

Now the question is "Where to now?". Thankfully for you my dear reader, that question comes pre-answered. I will focus on completing the two sheets in full (which likely will be harder than I imagine.)

So, as my 2008 quest warmly dulled the impact of our planet's ongoing financial calamity, I hope that my 2009 quest will continue to add a nice fuzzy edge to the swirling mess we are in.

Raise your spirits for raised spirits! Cheers.

#109 Vermentino Nero

"Vermentino!" I can hear all of my avid readers cry out in unison, "That's a repeat!" Sure enough a little over a year ago on January 11th 2008 I did in fact have a Vermentino from Sardenia. This however is a Vermentino Nero and it is a very difficult to find red from Tuscany.

From what I understand this wine is almost never available outside of Tuscany and it was a stroke of luck that allowed to me to pre-order this bottle from a now rapidly capsizing Chicago wine retailer. This retailer is a victim of a private equity buyout whose managers seem to believe that jamming gallons of Yellowtail down the consumer's throat is far preferrable to bringing them interesting varietals. Quantity over quality is their new rallying cry. It is very lucky for me that I was able to complete this quest before this famous retailer drove out all of the founding family, nearly all of their very experienced employees and most of their interesting wine. With sadness I tip my hat to a once great wine store and wish their employees all the best. I am graciously thankful for all the great wine they have secured for me in the past. For me I am now shopping almost exclusively elsewhere. I wish them loads of luck trying to become a wine version of wal-mart. Oh yes, where was I? Oh right.... the wine!

This bottle greeted me with a deep rich violet nose. Surprisingly the body of the wine did not hold up to the promise of the nose. That is to say that the wine wasn't a big juicy blockbuster but a lighter finer wine. Most remarkable was the bracing acidity. This bottle did run me closer to $40 if I remember correctly. I wouldn't repurchase it at that price but I would certainly enjoy the chance to try more efforts.... as difficult as that now appears to be.

#108 Garganega

"Garganega is a variety of white Italian wine grape widely grown in the Veneto (wine) region of North East Italy, particularly in the provinces of Verona and Vicenza. It is Italy's 6th most widely planted white grape. It forms the basis of Venetian white wine Soave."

Another crisp white wine but I can't really remember if there were any real defining characteristics that set it apart from ohhhh say a sauv blanc... Good value though near $10.

#107 Pecorino

"The Pecorino grape is legendary story of a variety that was literally brought back from the brink of extinction. Not too long ago, just a few vines were discovered in a nearly wild state in a narrow canyon in Italy’s Marche region. Clippings were cut, and identified as the historic Pecorino grape, which was long thought to have been extinct. Cantina Tollo took the torch of re-establishing the variety as a missing piece of the local Abruzzese viticultural history. The origin of the name is that the grape variety was once a favorite snack of the sheep that were often driven through vineyard lands on their way to lower pastures. In Italian “Pecora” means sheep." (for some reason I cannot credit the author of the above www.enotec.net)

This was a bright and lively and I hate to say sauv blanc like white wine. It is not terribly easy to find but is well worth the effort. I think I paid well under $20 for it and will buy it again soon.

#106 Cortese

How can you resist a wine which has the owner's dog on the label? This is a Gavi from the north of Italy. Since tonight's dinner is salmon on the grill a Cortese di Gavi is called for.

This straw colored wine has surprising sweetness while having such bracing acidity. The nose is reminds me of a sauvignon blanc but it has a lot more fruit. Maybe apple? Melon? Lychee? (I will stop making up stuff there).

At $15 or so its a decent value that I might just buy again.... I mean look at those puppy dog eyes!

#105 Corvina!

Feeling a bit too tired to blog but not too tired to open up a bottle of wine (which is quite good) I will leave the review to Mr. Parker's operation....

Vintage 2004
Wine Advocate - Issue #173 / October 2007 - 90 points - Exploring the Best of Northern Italy

"Allegrini's Palazzo della Torre (70% Corvina, 25% Rondinella, 5% Sangiovese) has long been one of my favorite ripasso-style wines and the 2004 is another winner. It reveals a plump, juicy personality loaded with perfumed, jammy fruit, roasted coffee beans and new leather. Although it is absolutely irresistible today, a few additional months of bottle age should help soften the wine further. It is a gorgeous effort at this level and a terrific value. Allegrini employs a unique variation of the ripasso technique for its Palazzo della Torre. The traditional method calls for the wine to undergo a second fermentation on the skins that are leftover from the vinification of the Amarone. The estate believes that this method leads to oxidized wines. Instead Allegrini dries a portion of the grapes (around 30%) and ferments them separately in the same style as an Amarone, then adds that wine to the larger portion of the wine, which is fermented in the conventional manner. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2010."