As Valentine's Day prepares to wrap us in its warm, fuzzy blanket, we're diving headfirst into the robust, tannic “charm” of Brunello di Montalcino (and taking a look at its dubious past)
Yeah, that Trader Joe's Brunello is...fine. For the price not bad but so many better wines for $25! Interesting the Carpazo scored so high. I was not a fan of the 2017 and haven't looked back, but I heard that was an extra-challenging year for Brunello on the whole.
Yeah 💯. The 2019 Caparzo was insanely good, but 2019 is also a legendary recent vintage so probably plays a pretty big part in the differences vs 2017. Hopefully you'll get a chance to try the 2019 and let us know what you think!
I used to be a wine producer in the Languedoc. Back in the day when all appellation wines had to pass a tasting panel, I was (once) invited to taste for the higher Grès de Montpellier jury. We tasted 12 wines and 7 were immediately disqualified. 2 more were unanimously passed by all 3 of us. We argued over the remaining 3 wines. 2 over quality (they did not pass). The last wine was excellent quality but I had a small problem. It was a Cabernet Sauvignon, something that my fellow tasters failed to notice. Cabernet Sauvignon is not an authorised variety in the Languedoc AOCs.
They overruled me and passed it anyway. And I was not invited back on to that tasting panel.
That's interesting, so what is your take on the state of regulations in AOCs with long standing policies surrounding what can be grown and bottled there? Given that the Cab sounds like it was the highest quality wine you tasted on that panel, it seems a shame that something like that would not be permitted. Of course, it shouldn't be passed through under false pretenses, but perhaps an indication that some regulatory changes would benefit the region?
It helps if you think of the appellation system as one that protects tipicité rather than as a qualitative system. As it happens wines made from the varieties best adapted for the climate and soil tend to have the best potential so it's easy to think of AOC as a guarantee of quality. But we also all know how often AOC labelled bottles disappoint.
I for one, am happy that Cab Sauv. is not in the Languedoc AOCs because it doesn't produce distinctive enough wines there. They can be excellent quality but could you pick them out in a line up of similar quality CSs from elsewhere?
Of course, neither does Syrah in my opinion and that's now the backbone of the AOC. And just to further confuse things, Trevellon manages to make an enormously distinctive Syrah/CS blend not far from the Languedoc.
Yeah, that Trader Joe's Brunello is...fine. For the price not bad but so many better wines for $25! Interesting the Carpazo scored so high. I was not a fan of the 2017 and haven't looked back, but I heard that was an extra-challenging year for Brunello on the whole.
Yeah 💯. The 2019 Caparzo was insanely good, but 2019 is also a legendary recent vintage so probably plays a pretty big part in the differences vs 2017. Hopefully you'll get a chance to try the 2019 and let us know what you think!
I used to be a wine producer in the Languedoc. Back in the day when all appellation wines had to pass a tasting panel, I was (once) invited to taste for the higher Grès de Montpellier jury. We tasted 12 wines and 7 were immediately disqualified. 2 more were unanimously passed by all 3 of us. We argued over the remaining 3 wines. 2 over quality (they did not pass). The last wine was excellent quality but I had a small problem. It was a Cabernet Sauvignon, something that my fellow tasters failed to notice. Cabernet Sauvignon is not an authorised variety in the Languedoc AOCs.
They overruled me and passed it anyway. And I was not invited back on to that tasting panel.
That's interesting, so what is your take on the state of regulations in AOCs with long standing policies surrounding what can be grown and bottled there? Given that the Cab sounds like it was the highest quality wine you tasted on that panel, it seems a shame that something like that would not be permitted. Of course, it shouldn't be passed through under false pretenses, but perhaps an indication that some regulatory changes would benefit the region?
It helps if you think of the appellation system as one that protects tipicité rather than as a qualitative system. As it happens wines made from the varieties best adapted for the climate and soil tend to have the best potential so it's easy to think of AOC as a guarantee of quality. But we also all know how often AOC labelled bottles disappoint.
I for one, am happy that Cab Sauv. is not in the Languedoc AOCs because it doesn't produce distinctive enough wines there. They can be excellent quality but could you pick them out in a line up of similar quality CSs from elsewhere?
Of course, neither does Syrah in my opinion and that's now the backbone of the AOC. And just to further confuse things, Trevellon manages to make an enormously distinctive Syrah/CS blend not far from the Languedoc.
That's wine for you.