It is another busy day in December and I stop at a good account with a couple of wines to taste. As I fight the wind and snow, I enter the store and there is this incredible smell and the sound of laughter in the back room. The people in the back look up and say “T-bone!!” and invite me to join in the festivities.
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FROM DAVID SCHILDKNECHT FOR ROBERT PARKER’S WINE ADVOCATE: The 2005 Blaufrankisch Neckenmarkter delivers aromas of blackberry, smoked meat, and walnut, making for a pleasantly bitter, rather Cabernet Franc-like cast. Juicy, faintly bitter and salty, with subtle tart black fruit and walnut oil on the palate, this clings with a tart, bitter-sweet cast and striking salinity. There will be plenty of rewards for anyone who takes this wine through its paces at the dinner table. And it may gain over a couple of years in bottle, but will, I suspect, be best drunk within 3-4 years.
2005 Rocca di Frassinello Poggio alla Guardia Maremma Toscana IGT
A collaboration between Baron Lafite Rothschild and Castellare di Castellinathis, this is the entry level wine of this estate of Rocca di Frassinello. On the nose it has ripe plum anise pepper and Granite. 45 Merlot, 40 Cab and 15 Sangioveto and ages in steel and concrete. Great structure and length. Great value compared to the higher end wines from this estate. Great texture on the palate mochaey and black berries not red berries.
Every Friday…almost……I participate in a ritual where I and some of my contemporaries gather at a co-conspirators wine store on Milwaukee’s chic east side on the even chicier Brady Street called Waterford Wine. http://www.waterfordwine.com/
