Guitar slingin' somm and scholarly scribe of vinous humanism Jeremy Parzen, author of Do Bianchi, has just been interviewed in the latest edition of Tom Wark's "Bloggerview." Check it! And thanks for the mention, Jeremy. I'm honored indeed.
Showing posts with label Do Bianchi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Do Bianchi. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Do Bianchi on Bloggerview
Guitar slingin' somm and scholarly scribe of vinous humanism Jeremy Parzen, author of Do Bianchi, has just been interviewed in the latest edition of Tom Wark's "Bloggerview." Check it! And thanks for the mention, Jeremy. I'm honored indeed.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Guest Post: Do Bianchi Does Barbaresco
If you've been visiting here for any length of time, you know by now that I’m a big fan of Jeremy Parzen’s blog, Do Bianchi. Whether he’s writing about the pleasures of orange wine, controversies afoot in the world of vini Italiano or the joys and rigors of touring with his band, Nous Non Plus, Jeremy’s work is always on point, insightful and entertaining.
When he wrote me a while back, to self-flagellate for having missed Wine Blogging Wednesday, “A Passion for Piedmont,” I told him he could make it up to me by guest blogging here at MFWT. Happily, he agreed to do just that. Doubly happily, he recruited a willing collaborator, his sweetheart Tracie B. of My Life Italian, to take the candid photos you’ll see below.
If you’re already a regular reader of Do Bianchi – and if you’re not, you should be! – Jeremy’s topic of choice will come as no surprise.
The podium is all yours, Dr. Parzen.
* * *
One of the things I love the most about Produttori del Barbaresco is how its winemaking practices have remained virtually unchanged since it began making Barbaresco in 1958 (technically the winery was launched as a Cantina Sociale in 1894). Few Italian winemakers can rival this iconic label for the terroir- and vintage-driven characteristics of the wines.
And as much as I love its single-vineyard expressions of Nebbiolo, my favorite is always the blended classic Barbaresco: on my palate, these are the truest expressions of Barbaresco and its unique power and elegance because they represent an overarching manifestation of the entire appellation, made from grapes grown by multiple growers across the territory. Each year, the best grapes from the best growing sites go into this wine. How do you determine where the best rows are? Simple: just observe where the snow melts first, they will tell you. 1967 and 1982 are two memorable vintages of the classic Barbaresco that I have tasted over the last few years (and I've tasted the crus going back to the late 70s): the wines of today are very true to the winery's beautiful, natural terroir-driven style.
The 2004 is surely to be one of the great vintages of this decade and the winery compares it to the "mythic 1990." I've tasted it a number of times over the last year and it seems to be closing up right now and showing more tight than it was last summer. I believe it's going through a tannic period of its development and as much of a joy as it is to drink it, I think it's best to lay it down for a while. I want to revisit it again around Christmas and see where it's at.
Although 2005 was a very good vintage and classic in its profile (part of a string a good vintages, 04, 05, and 06), unusually high temperatures in September made for a wine with fruit more forward than the 2004. Unfortunately, this more "American-friendly" vintage has driven up the price slightly. It showed wonderfully in the tasting the other day and while I don't think it will age quite as long as the 2004, I think this is an excellent Barbaresco that we can enjoy sooner than later.
2006 was another classic vintage, although again warmer than the 2004. I was thrilled to taste the 2006 Langhe Nebbiolo (made from fruit not destined for the Barbaresco) and I think it's an excellent value for the quality. I like to call it my "Saturday night wine" (the Barbaresco is a "special occasion" wine at my table).
I've translated the winery's 2006 vintage notes below.
My advice: buy these wines, drink them, lay them down, live with them, pair them with food, save a glass of each and taste it the next day, open them on special occasions, revisit them, record your impressions, blog them... They never disappoint and their value simply cannot be beat.
When he wrote me a while back, to self-flagellate for having missed Wine Blogging Wednesday, “A Passion for Piedmont,” I told him he could make it up to me by guest blogging here at MFWT. Happily, he agreed to do just that. Doubly happily, he recruited a willing collaborator, his sweetheart Tracie B. of My Life Italian, to take the candid photos you’ll see below.
If you’re already a regular reader of Do Bianchi – and if you’re not, you should be! – Jeremy’s topic of choice will come as no surprise.
The podium is all yours, Dr. Parzen.
One of the things I love the most about Produttori del Barbaresco is how its winemaking practices have remained virtually unchanged since it began making Barbaresco in 1958 (technically the winery was launched as a Cantina Sociale in 1894). Few Italian winemakers can rival this iconic label for the terroir- and vintage-driven characteristics of the wines. And as much as I love its single-vineyard expressions of Nebbiolo, my favorite is always the blended classic Barbaresco: on my palate, these are the truest expressions of Barbaresco and its unique power and elegance because they represent an overarching manifestation of the entire appellation, made from grapes grown by multiple growers across the territory. Each year, the best grapes from the best growing sites go into this wine. How do you determine where the best rows are? Simple: just observe where the snow melts first, they will tell you. 1967 and 1982 are two memorable vintages of the classic Barbaresco that I have tasted over the last few years (and I've tasted the crus going back to the late 70s): the wines of today are very true to the winery's beautiful, natural terroir-driven style.
The 2004 is surely to be one of the great vintages of this decade and the winery compares it to the "mythic 1990." I've tasted it a number of times over the last year and it seems to be closing up right now and showing more tight than it was last summer. I believe it's going through a tannic period of its development and as much of a joy as it is to drink it, I think it's best to lay it down for a while. I want to revisit it again around Christmas and see where it's at.
Although 2005 was a very good vintage and classic in its profile (part of a string a good vintages, 04, 05, and 06), unusually high temperatures in September made for a wine with fruit more forward than the 2004. Unfortunately, this more "American-friendly" vintage has driven up the price slightly. It showed wonderfully in the tasting the other day and while I don't think it will age quite as long as the 2004, I think this is an excellent Barbaresco that we can enjoy sooner than later.
2006 was another classic vintage, although again warmer than the 2004. I was thrilled to taste the 2006 Langhe Nebbiolo (made from fruit not destined for the Barbaresco) and I think it's an excellent value for the quality. I like to call it my "Saturday night wine" (the Barbaresco is a "special occasion" wine at my table).
I've translated the winery's 2006 vintage notes below.
- The 2006 vintage began with nice spring weather. The warm temperatures in the first half of May caused early flowering around May 25 (flowering usually occurs in early June for Nebbiolo). Temperatures lowered at the beginning of June but without adversely affecting the flowering and fruit set of the vines. These conditions led to an abundant harvest. July brought temperatures higher than average. But August saw milder and more pleasant weather with warm days alternated with cooler and more ventilated days. Unlike other regions in Italy, rainfall was scarce and as a result, the season was relatively dry, especially for vineyards with the best exposure, which were warmer and drier. The abundant amount of fruit made summer thinning all the more important in order to rebalance production and allow for good ripening.
September arrived with healthy fruit with somewhat high sugar levels. But the development of the fruit and its aromas was however delayed, especially in the warmest vineyards with the best exposure. Two intense September rainstorms marked a break from otherwise summery conditions. The first happened around September 10 and this actually helped aromatic ripening to begin again and thus was helpful. The second rainfall arrived later, on September 25 and 26, when the fruit was already ripe. At that point, there was no point in waiting any more and as soon as the sun dried the fruit, we began to harvest on September 29 and we finished picking on October 7 after nine days of good weather that allowed us to harvest excellent, healthy fruit.
2006 Barbaresco will be an excellent Barbaresco with natural alcoholic content higher than 13.5%, with intense color and good acidity. A good wine for aging, from another vintage in a string of good vintages including 2004 and 2005.
My advice: buy these wines, drink them, lay them down, live with them, pair them with food, save a glass of each and taste it the next day, open them on special occasions, revisit them, record your impressions, blog them... They never disappoint and their value simply cannot be beat.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Music and Wine
It comes as no surprise to me that more and more people in wine blogging circles are drawing parallels between music and wine or peppering their normally vino-centric sites with occasional (or regular) musical interludes. Both media offer, when at their best, a certain visceral sensation that can cut to the quick of personal expression and experience. Energy, soul, flavor… they’re all there, or at least should be, both in the glass and on the turntable or stage.Sites like Rockss and Fruit and Old World Old School come immediately to mind, with Jim Eastman’s Music and Wine (whose unabashedly straightforward blog name I’ve borrowed for this post) following hard on their heels. I’ve been known to throw my hat into the ring from time to time. The guys at Wine & Spirits, Wolfgang Weber and Peter Liem, have both gotten into the act. And more recently, I’ve seen some pretty cool cross-referencing happening at Saignée. There's little doubt that I’ve missed a few others….
I also have little doubt that there are plenty of wine (and food) bloggers out there that dabble with a musical instrument or two.
But how many wine bloggers can you think of that also happen to be in damn good rock and roll bands? Please correct me if you know of others but I can only think of one: Dr. Jeremy Parzen. The fact that he’s freakishly talented in both arenas (and a scholar and gentleman to boot) only makes it all the more fun to follow his wine, music and food related musings at Do Bianchi and to check out the new video from his band, Nous Non Plus.
NN+'s new album, Ménagerie, is scheduled for release tomorrow, February 3. Advance copies are available for purchase through Aeronaut Records and CC Now or via Amazon. They'll also be playing next Monday, February 9, 2009 – fresh back from a quick European tour – at New York’s Mercury Lounge. Advance tickets are a must.So what are you waiting for? Get on out there and do your part to support independent music. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to keep that dial tuned in to the work of your favorite independent bloggers.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
My Two Cents on Brunellogate
I don’t love Brunello.
I’ve never been able to drink it often enough to form that kind of bond with it.
But I do respect Brunello – Brunello di Montalcino, to be more exacting. I respect its tradition, even if it is a relatively new one.
So I’m very glad to report, no matter how late, that the producers who make up the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino have voted overwhelmingly in favor of maintaining the apellation rules requiring Brunello to be produced from 100% Sangiovese. That’s what Brunello is after all, the local name for the clone of Sangiovese unique to the hills surrounding the town of Montalcino.
Making only a passing reference to what my fellow wine writers have alternately called Brunellogate and Brunellopoli, I’ve remained all but totally quiet on the recent scandals in Montalcino up to now. I’ve left it to those fellows who do love Brunello – guys like Jeremy Parzen at Do Bianchi and Alessandro Bindocci, scribe of Montalcino Report and member of the wine family at Tenuta Il Poggione – to give much more connected and impassioned day-to-day coverage than I possibly could have.
The scandal basically boils down to the disclosure that a number of producers have knowingly been adulterating their Brunelli with grapes other than Sangiovese, a practice strictly forbidden by the DOCG discipline for Brunello di Montalcino. This is hardly a revelation, as there’s a long history of adulterating wine in some of the most famous viticultural regions of Europe. Whether tankerloads of Southern Italian juice were added under cover of night to fermentation vats in Tuscany and Northern Italy or whether Rhône and Languedoc wines were used to darken and enrich the more exalted wines of Burgundy and Bordeaux, winemakers have been playing loose with tradition for centuries, even longer.
Estates such as as Il Poggione (pictured at left) and Castello Banfi found themselves on very different sides of the debate.
In this case, though, the issue was less surreptitious. Brunellogate received global attention on a scope that few wine scandals had drawn before. In answer to the scrutiny drawn by the scandal, some major wine figures – among them Barbaresco ultra-star Angelo Gaja, winemaker and consultant Ezio Rivello, and American Cristina Mariani, owner of Montalcino-based Banfi Vintners – came forward to argue that the rules governing the production of Brunello should be changed to allow for the inclusion of so-called international varieties such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.
In Rivello’s own words, “You don’t win 100 points from the Wine Spectator using just sangiovese.” And you know what? He’s right. But the point of creating the discipline for Brunello di Montalcino was not to create a vehicle for winemakers to produce inky, rich blockbusters. Rather, the discipline was meant to give voice to the hills of the area as expressed through wines made from Sangiovese, Montalcino’s own, unique vine. That’s what Brunello is. Allowing for blending in other varieties may have made economic sense to some producers, but it wouldn’t be progress. It would simply be another step toward global wine homogenization.
Though I expect there were many forms of motivation driving the 662 votes against (versus the 30 for) changes being made to Brunello’s existing guidelines, I applaud – even love – the final decision. Upholding tradition does not always equate to halting progress.
I’ve never been able to drink it often enough to form that kind of bond with it.
But I do respect Brunello – Brunello di Montalcino, to be more exacting. I respect its tradition, even if it is a relatively new one.
So I’m very glad to report, no matter how late, that the producers who make up the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino have voted overwhelmingly in favor of maintaining the apellation rules requiring Brunello to be produced from 100% Sangiovese. That’s what Brunello is after all, the local name for the clone of Sangiovese unique to the hills surrounding the town of Montalcino.
Making only a passing reference to what my fellow wine writers have alternately called Brunellogate and Brunellopoli, I’ve remained all but totally quiet on the recent scandals in Montalcino up to now. I’ve left it to those fellows who do love Brunello – guys like Jeremy Parzen at Do Bianchi and Alessandro Bindocci, scribe of Montalcino Report and member of the wine family at Tenuta Il Poggione – to give much more connected and impassioned day-to-day coverage than I possibly could have.
The scandal basically boils down to the disclosure that a number of producers have knowingly been adulterating their Brunelli with grapes other than Sangiovese, a practice strictly forbidden by the DOCG discipline for Brunello di Montalcino. This is hardly a revelation, as there’s a long history of adulterating wine in some of the most famous viticultural regions of Europe. Whether tankerloads of Southern Italian juice were added under cover of night to fermentation vats in Tuscany and Northern Italy or whether Rhône and Languedoc wines were used to darken and enrich the more exalted wines of Burgundy and Bordeaux, winemakers have been playing loose with tradition for centuries, even longer.
Estates such as as Il Poggione (pictured at left) and Castello Banfi found themselves on very different sides of the debate.
In this case, though, the issue was less surreptitious. Brunellogate received global attention on a scope that few wine scandals had drawn before. In answer to the scrutiny drawn by the scandal, some major wine figures – among them Barbaresco ultra-star Angelo Gaja, winemaker and consultant Ezio Rivello, and American Cristina Mariani, owner of Montalcino-based Banfi Vintners – came forward to argue that the rules governing the production of Brunello should be changed to allow for the inclusion of so-called international varieties such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.
In Rivello’s own words, “You don’t win 100 points from the Wine Spectator using just sangiovese.” And you know what? He’s right. But the point of creating the discipline for Brunello di Montalcino was not to create a vehicle for winemakers to produce inky, rich blockbusters. Rather, the discipline was meant to give voice to the hills of the area as expressed through wines made from Sangiovese, Montalcino’s own, unique vine. That’s what Brunello is. Allowing for blending in other varieties may have made economic sense to some producers, but it wouldn’t be progress. It would simply be another step toward global wine homogenization.
Though I expect there were many forms of motivation driving the 662 votes against (versus the 30 for) changes being made to Brunello’s existing guidelines, I applaud – even love – the final decision. Upholding tradition does not always equate to halting progress.
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