Half Italian Night

Another day, another dollar, so it was time to try to put a dent in the Rittenhouse cellar, with some real treats on the list. The Zind-Humbrecht Brand was an epiphany for me, my first Zind as far as I recall, this was the perfect aperitif. I am not normally a big fan of Rieslings with much in the way of residual sugar, but this wine really carried it off. And that 1997 Scavino (my second bottle) was another standout, showing as distinctly more open and accessible than the backward, brooding monster I had tasted only a few months before.

• 1999 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Brand - France, Alsace, Turckheim, Alsace Grand Cru AOC
  A sweet viscous attack, then a wave of fine acidity sweeps through and transforms this wine on the finish--delicate, intricately detailed, and a good 30 seconds in length. Sort of like those firework displays where the big initial explosion is followed by a scintillating shower of sparks that settles slowly to the ground. This wine is all about its finish, where the Grand Cru status I suspect would be obvious even to the complete neophyte. A musky nose offers up notes of soil and honey that infuse the floral aromas, maybe something like what a bee picks up when it zeroes in on its target. I think this was my first Zind-Humbrecht and I became an instant believer. (94 pts.)

• 2007 Bruno Giacosa Roero Arneis - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Roero DOC
  Straw yellow, with lively aromas of mineral-laden citrus and a lurking floral element currently dominating the nose. In the mouth, the wine really struck me as almost racy, at least not the lush and full-bodied palate that Antonio Galloni describes, but then my experience with Arneis is minimal. And I might have been influenced by the decadent Zind-Humbrecht Grand Cru we had just finished. A bracingly good drink, I need to find some of these... (91 pts.)

• 1997 Paolo Scavino Barolo Bric dël Fiasc - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  The second bottle tasted within the space of a couple of months, this one didn't show the same backwardness and reserve--in fact, the wild brambly dark cherry aromas cascade out of the glass, skillfully melded with spicy oak notes that seem to have transformed to something more like underbrush on the sweeping finish. In the mouth the wine shows dense and deeply pitched flavors of dark cherry and plum, with surprising liveliness that is conveyed by the deeply seated tannins and acidity that provide a scaffolding for the wine. As before, there is great depth to this wine and a long and bright future if anybody has any bottles resting... (94 pts.)

• 2003 Château La Tour Blanche - France, Bordeaux, Médoc
  From a 375 ml bottle, I still find this one of the more attractive of the 2003 Sauternes that I have tried, although I am not a big fan of the vintage. Very dense and sweet in the mouth, the wine comes across as well-balanced even at this relatively early stage, although a touch more acidity would still have provided some additional structure and space for additional complexity to develop. (91 pts.)