2000 Fontalloro Super-Tuscan Sangiovese

Those of you local to Portland should really check this place out. Martinottis' has all sorts of interesting things from imported trinkets to an impressive wine selection. Bottle after bottle I was continually surprised.

When I entered, I walked to the most obvious wine shelf. Bottles there tended to be in the $15 to $20 range. The owner of course asked if he could help out, and then directed me to the other side of the store for more wine selections. I was not expecting to find cases and cases, wine racks, bottles stacked every which way---bottles as expensive as $900. There were a range of years, the oldest I saw was 1963 but I was only there for five minutes.

Entering that shop is how I remembered the other bottle we shared with friends the other night at dinner.

2000 Fontalloro Super-Tuscan Sangiovese (Tuscany)
The thing I remember most about this wine was that it tasted good, and that at first, my poor flavor indicator couldn't really decide exactly what it tasted like. It was pointed out to me that it had a heavy cherry flavor, which I then immediately recognized. It was an enjoyable bottle, also quite expensive, and definitely one I would want again sometime. This wine was very different than the Altamura Cab. Not being comparable on a flavor level, I can offer up that the Fontalloro had more discernible tannins. That fact did not negatively impact the likeability, however.

2000 Altamura Cabernet Sauvignon

Last night we were treated to a fantastic dinner. Out with friends, we had dinner more the way the Italians do. Things came in courses; I was full before my dinner got to the table, so I brought almost all of it home as leftovers. The restaurant, Bugatti's in West Linn, had a nice atmosphere and was packed---an affirmation that the food there is good. And it is.

The real surprise, I must admit, was the wine, however. We tasted several and I had saved the corks so I could remember what they were called. (Unfortunately, the waiter took them as he cleared the table and I didn't realize until it was too late.) Having not brought a pen, I had no way of writing down the information on the wine, so thinking smartly, I took a picture of the last bottle (which I liked the best) with my cell phone so I could at least remember the name.

2000 Altamura Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley)
This vintage is basically unobtainable with the oldest on their website being 2003. I have never tasted wine this expensive before. The waiter poured me a taste because (stupidly) I wasn't planning on drinking and since I had to get up very early, I didn't want to get tipsy. Had I been smarter, I would have demanded a full pour and then hoarded the bottle. Curse my sensibilities!

I like wine, and especially Cabernet Sauvignon. But I don't know the first thing about it. My palate is probably the most underdeveloped of anyone I know. I swirled the glass, I checked the density of the color, I breathed it in. When I tasted it, I found it to be the most beautiful and pleasant wine I've had thus far, and at this time I didn't know it was a Cab because the bottle was on the other side of the table. But no matter how much I tried, I couldn't pick out one definitive flavor---it was just...really good. It had a full flavor that didn't taper off into tannins as I swallowed it. It didn't make my tongue feel "squeaky clean" (like those old Tupperwear ads) as some other wines tend to do. Finally, I asked them to pass me the bottle whereupon I immediately knew why I liked it---my favorite varietal, Cab. Also I found the bottle itself to be appealing to the eye. Taller than I'm used to and slender, it seemed suited to the contents.

First Comment

This is the first post of my wine review and musings blog.

The next post will be a copy of the one from Hex on you, since I haven't had any wine tonight.