I recently returned from a week in the Bay Area, where I had a few interesting wines. My mother decided to take me out to dinner for my upcoming birthday, and we decided on Rivoli as the venue. There, we had a tremendous meal, which started with a half bottle of:
2006 Bründlmayer Riesling Heiligenstein nose: lime, stones and apples palate: good acidity, fleshy fruit
It was a fine match to our assorted appetizers (blue cheese souffle, Portobello fritters and brandade gnocchi). We all got the same main course, a "Moroccan plate" that consisted of grilled, seasoned lamb loin, seasoned duck confit in a phyllo pouch and merguez sausage with saffron cous-cous and mint yoghurt. I conferred with the sommelier, a seemingly knowledgable fellow, about a good red wine pairing. He suggested, surprisingly, Bordeaux, but we came to agreement on Nebbiolo. Fortunately, on the list was:
2001 Sella Lessona nose: black fruit, smoke, stones, tar palate: medium body, resolved tannins, good acidity
After 30 minutes of airing, this wine was drinking great. My mother, who routinely claims not to like red wine (except for a Pommard consumed in the '50s) found the Lessona to be very fine indeed. FWIW, the wine worked well with the lamb and sausage but the spicing of the duck overwhelmed it.
The last day of my stay we went over for dinner at a friend's house, and were greeted with a previously opened bottle of:
Sorelle Branca NV Prosecco Extra Dry nose: muted, pears palate: light, sprightly
It had sat stoppered overnight, so wasn't as fresh or aromatic as it might otherwise have been. For dinner, I opened a bottle of:
1998 Joseph Phelps Insignia nose: mint, cassis, pencil lead palate: soft, rich fruit
Since the hostess only recently recovered her taste for red wine, and only so far with aged CalCabs, I had decided to bring this along with me. Had I not recently tried Cathy Corison's fantastic Cabernets, I might have been more forgiving of this wine, but it really lacked the backbone that I look for with Cabernet. The hostess, however, appreciated it, so it was a win/win (it no longer occupies valuable cellar space).
Mark Lipton