The greatest thing about "owning" a wine blog is that you can really blurt and bltch about anything you want. People can stay away in droves, or they can comment and be either supportive or violently hostile -- fine, whatever. As you will. Sirrah.
As you may discern, I've drunk un pochino this eventide. I guess the dead giveaway is "this eventide." But I care not a fart, as Chaucer wrote, and I shall begin by telling you that I had a few of my favorite summer drinkies before dinner, Gosling's rum and tonic with a whole lot of lime squeezed in. Refreshing and intoxicating. (We need to expunge the wine & spirits world of the temperance/connoisseur thing and admit we like to get a good buzz going. Wot?)
Next, with dinner and, yes, a bit before, I had an interesting Greco di Tufo DOCG. This one is from one of the big dogs in Campania -- Mastroberadino, their Nova Serra 2005. Note the year. I bought the bottle across the street ($22.99), where the sun strikes all afternoon and the shop's temperature must hover at 100F. Not a great vintage, and not a nouveau one either. Yet the savory deliciousness of this bottle hints at the age-worthiness of this wonderful grape. No matter that this slightly aged wine is a bit oxidized (not that there's anything wrong with that -- some of my favorite whites are oxidized).
Indeed, this fine white displays all the usual virtues of a Greco di Tufo (my favorite white grape from Campania) -- a wonderful balance of fruit and acidity, a lively tinge of spiciness on the tongue. In short, it's a wine that I call "compulsively drinkable." Which means a) that it's very good and b) I'm not sharing this bottle with anybody.
I'm still drinking it. Nice. Very very nice.
And by the way, they haven't dumbed this Greco down for the export market like Feudi di San Gregorio has done. More power to you, Mastroberardino.
Mastroberardino may be a big company but they indeed have not dumbed down the wines for a mass market or to please some perceived trend.
Posted by: fredric koeppel | August 06, 2008 at 11:05 PM
um yeah, fk, that's sorta what i said. yet you're the sober one. hmm.
Posted by: Strappo | August 06, 2008 at 11:16 PM
the sad thing is, i've talked to many an italian my age who has claimed feudi's fiano as their vino preferito.
Posted by: tracie b | August 07, 2008 at 09:18 AM
The poor deluded fools.
Posted by: Strappo | August 07, 2008 at 09:26 AM
Living it Italy gives you immediate access to new releases and for three or four years I rushed out to buy the Fiano from Feudi. The last two vintages gave me such a headache I stopped rushing out to try it. So much for adding SO2 before bottling. After about three days this lightened up but by then the damage was done...to my head
Posted by: michele colline | August 07, 2008 at 11:05 AM
-Sigh- I just finished a bottle of the FSG Greco-- added it to the sauce. An '03, & whatever dumbed-down fizz it had was cooked & catatonic, as I am in the August swelter.
Posted by: David J | August 07, 2008 at 12:45 PM
oh, well, duh, sorry. remind me not to agree with you ever ever ever again.
Posted by: Fredric Koeppel | August 07, 2008 at 05:38 PM
Just being my prickly old self. Forgive me. And, by the way, I did pay you compliment in the post about the Doppelganger.
Posted by: Strappo | August 07, 2008 at 05:44 PM
Duddde, all your faithful readers are on August vacation--- sunnin' their crackzzz.
Lately, I've been crazy big on fruity. I'm into red lambrusco--- ULTRA FRUIT. I have become more of a crunkhead than a connoisseur. Halp.
Posted by: Lisa Qiu | August 08, 2008 at 12:11 AM
Don't come here lookin' for help. We are alike, young Risa Qiu.
Posted by: Strappo | August 08, 2008 at 08:14 AM