Tasting #4: The Italian Job

Bad blogger, bad blogger! How many weeks late is this post on Tasting #4? A few, just a few. Let me see what I can recall from that lovel evening. Usually I just have to contend with a hangover when blogging a wine tasting but this time I am confronted by Time and memory. Damn. Let me see. Well first off here are the six wines we drank:

A. Capitel San Rocco Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso 2005 14% alc $20.95
B. Synthesi Agliancio del vulture 2004 Paternoster Barile, Italy 13% alc $15.20
C. Nemea Driopi 2005 Greece 13% alc $17.90
D. Castello di Fonterutoli 2001 Chianti Classico 13.5% alc $44.00
E. Duca di castelinmonte Cent'are 2005 Nero d' Avola Sicilia 13% alc $13.70
F. Azelia Barolo Bricco Fiasco 1998 di Luigi Scavino 14% alc $88.00

And oh yes we welcomed a new member to our group Chianti Kev. We call him "Father" :

And oh yes! we are now a wine "league" and no longer a "club": we don't mind a bit of competition do we?

Now as for the tasting. What can be recalled?

Well, I am digressing here but I am now recalling that Cabernet Chris brought the best cheeses we have had to date: Truffle Molinaro, Testun Capra, Valedon, Pied de Vent. Excellent, just excellent. Chris, is now the "cheese guy".

But the wine, the wine.

Oh, I'm remembering that I vowed to fall on my corkscrew if I didn't guess the $88 Barolo. And sure enough I confused it with the very lovely Chianti.

Can you imagine falling on this?

Well I almost did it but one of the boys saved me from a painful death.

I remember that moment but I can't remember the wine. Damn. Let's look quickly through the notes to atleast see how we ranked the wines as a group:

1. Azelia Barolo Bricco Fiasco 1998 di Luigi Scavino 14% alc $88.00

2. Castello di Fonterutoli 2001 Chianti Classico 13.5% alc $44.00

2. Capitel San Rocco Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso 2005 14% alc $20.95

3. Synthesi Agliancio del vulture 2004 Paternoster Barile, Italy 13% alc $15.20

4. Nemea Driopi 2005 Greece 13% alc $17.90

5. Duca di castelinmonte Cent'are 2005 Nero d' Avola Sicilia 13% alc $13.70

Interesting that the rankings pretty closely followed the prices of the wines. As a group we ranked the $88 Barolo number one. Though I clearly did little to help with the ranking.

It's a mystery to me how I can have had so many bottles of Barolo over the years and not been able to pick one out in a blind tasting.

Don't know what that says about me. But maybe that's one of the many things that make doing tastings such fun: they are challenging and bit like a game - like hockey.

So perhaps it is a good idea after all that we have moved from being a wine club to a wine "league".

But if this is going to be a league, I'm going to have to be better at blogging. Otherwise...someone might take my spot in the line-up...