Tasting Report: 2006 Casanova di Neri Tenuta Nuova Brunello di Montalcino

The other night we went to Sweet Basil for dinner (review) and since the restaurant is BYOB friendly it provides an opportunity to choose a wine for the evening.

We were joining some of our best friends who are also wine enthusiasts and since we go in on a lot of the same deals there's significant overlap in our collections. As a result, choosing a wine becomes a bit of a mind game. I'm more new world biased than my friend, but rather than go from my comfort zone of California Pinot Noir, I often end up choosing something old world and vice versa.

Sure enough he brought a Reynvaan Syrah (which was fantastic) and, after toying with the idea of going with a Spanish wine (a 2010 Finca Dofi), I ended up going with an Italian wine: a 2006 Casanova di Neri Tenuta Nuova Brunello.

Casanova di Neri is a Montalcino producer founded in 1971 by Giovanni Neri then passed on to his son Giacomo in 1991. Their flagship wines are their Brunello di Montalcino (~$51) and Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova (~$80). Like all Brunello, they are 100% Sangiovese grown near the town of Montalcino.

The Tenuta Nuova bottling was first produced from grapes harvested in 1993. Since then it's gone on to international acclaim. In 2006, Wine Spectator named the 2001 Tenuta Nuova (97WS/$70) their Wine of the Year. James Suckling (former Wine Spectator editor covering the wines of Italy) recently rated the 2006 100 points saying, "What a bottle. Will it ultimately be better than 2001 Tenuta Nuova? Yes."

I bought this 2006 immediately after tasting the 2005 Tenuta Nuova at the Wine Spectator Grand Tour in Boston a couple years ago. The 100 point Suckling rating didn't hurt either.

Most drinking windows say "best after 2013". We're getting close to 2014, and since the winery describes Tenuta Nuova as lending itself "to a lengthy evolution through the years but also drunk young it will give great satisfaction" I thought it would be good to try. Indeed it was...

2006 Casanova di Neri
14.5% Alcohol
$80

Delicious liquified red licorice with other typical Brunello aromas and flavors. A tremendous amount of focused fruit for this category, but it's balanced very well by acid and supporting silky tannins. There is nothing harsh about this wine so although secondary characteristics should emerge with time, if you like drinking wines on the young side I see no problem popping a bottle of this now.

97/100 WWP: Classic

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Winery Website

Ratings:

• 100 James Suckling
• 97 Wine Enthusiast
• 95 Wine Spectator
• 95 Wine Advocate

This wine is still available at reasonable prices at some retail shops. In fact, Buster's Liquors in Memphis has 8 bottles available for $65.69 as part of a mixed case purchase. If you find yourself some in Memphis stop in and buy some (and drop me an email because I'd love if you could bring some to me in Massachusetts!). Sadly, Buster's doesn't ship anywhere.

Further Reading:

Only drink 100 point wines? Here's another recent one from Spain.

Question of the Day: Have you have Casanova di Neri Tenuta Nuova before? If so, what did you think? If not, what are some of your favorite Brunellos?

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Sweet Basil in Needham: The Perfect BYOB Neighborhood Italian Bistro

It's not much to look at from the street, and probably why I drove by Sweet Basil many times without thinking of going in. But a couple of months ago we joined friends there for dinner. And since then I've become obsessed with the place. Sweet Basil - an Italian Bistro in Needham, Massachusetts - is the perfect neighborhood BYOB bistro.

If there's one thing I can fault my friends who recommended it for, it's that they didn't endorse it enthusiastically enough. Perhaps they didn't want to be held responsible if it disappointed. After dining there twice and ordering takeout a couple times I'm here to urge you:

Stop whatever you're doing right now and make plans to eat there soon. You won't regret it.

In perusing their menu it's a little hard to classify this simply as "Italian" (as if there is such a thing given the diversity of the cuisine in Italy). Compared to Comella's (another Boston-area takeout restaurant with multiple locations) the menu at Sweet Basil is more diverse and more adventurous.

Whereas Comella's sticks to staples like Parmigiana, Scampi, and Alfredo, Sweet Basil has a couple of standard favorites on the menu (like Chicken Parm and Shrimp Scampi) but takes it mostly in other directions with dishes like Bolognese with beef, sausage and mushrooms over pappardelle ($21.50), Lamb shank slow cooked with polenta and roasted vegetables ($26), and Seafood fra diavolo with shrimp, mussels, clams, calamari, and cod in a spicy tomato brodo over linguini ($22), and Braised chicken with port wine, balsamic glazed peppers, tomatoes and mushrooms tossed with strozzapreti ($20).

When you visit, you'll likely see chef owner David Becker overseeing execution from the front of the restaurant he took over in 2000 from chef Paul Booras. I stopped in to pick up takeout the other night and purchased one of his cookbooks (Thrown out of an Italian Kitchen: Recipes from Sweet Basil) and asked him what they do to extract such pure depth of flavor in their dishes. He said it was all about balancing salt, acid, fat and sweetness. And "not being afraid to burn stuff."

In perusing the recipes in his cookbook it's clear simplicity is a focus, but it's unclear whether following the recipes will achieve similar results to what they deliver. I asked him about this last night when we were dining in and he said that not everybody's kitchen is the same. Even a frozen pizza cooks differently in different ovens. He said he's not keeping any secrets and it's all there in the book. He even encourages guests to try recipes at home and bring a taste in for suggestions for improvement.

Tips

• They don't take reservations so get there early especially on weekend nights
• They're BYOB-friendly with $5 corkage and they know how to serve wine - can't beat that
• Portions are huge so order lots of things to share
• No dessert or coffee so consider making plans after for another stop
• Bulk takeout seems pricey but with its fresh ingredients and massive portions (it says it serves 5 but easily serves a family of 4 two and a half times over) it's a value

Favorite Dishes

• The Bolognese is amazing with its satisfying, flavorful sauce and housemade pappardelle
• The seasonal Risotto is tremendous - fresh and delicious
• The Lamb Shank (osso bucco-style) over Polenta offers an amazing depth and range of flavors
• The Chicken Parm is solid if you're looking for a comfort food comparison point

Conclusion

If you live in the Boston area, do yourself a favor and get over to Sweet Basil as soon as possible. With it's BYOB-friendly policy, utterly delicious food, and warm neighborhood atmosphere it has quickly become one of my favorite restaurants in the country.

5 out of 5 Stars WWP: Bistro perfection

Check 'em out:
Sweet Basil
http://www.sweetbasilneedham.com
942 Great Plain Avenue
Needham, MA 02492
781-444-9600

Related Reading:
There have been rumors Sweet Basil would open a second location in Wellesley. While it's not a long drive to Needham, I would love to see more dining options in town. What's up with Needham having more good restaurants than Wellesley?

Question of the Day: Have you ever been to Sweet Basil? If so, what are some of your favorite dishes?

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Two Sub-$30 California Pinot Noirs to Buy Now

Remember that article I wrote a month ago about Good $30 Domestic Pinot Noirs for gifting? I checked in with my friend who posed the question and he said he was having a hard time finding the wines. That he called around to a couple nearby wine shops and they didn't have any of them.

This is a very common scenario. It can be time consuming and frustrating to track down recommendations for specific wines. It's not like trying to find a commodity item on Amazon - buying wine online is still more complicated than it should be. Wine-Searcher can help find retailers who carry specific wines, but it's not always clear whether you're dealing with a reputable retailer and whether they'll quickly fulfill your order.

I want to make it as easy as possible to try my wine recommendations at really good prices from reputable retailers. So when Liquid Discount gave me an opportunity to choose a couple of wines and write a guest column on their site I jumped at the opportunity.

If you're on the Liquid Discount mailing list you got this already but if not here's a link to the offer.

The two wines I chose were the 2012 Zepaltas Russian River Valley Pinot Noir and the 2010 Alta Maria Pinot Noir.

I've continued to enjoy Ryan Zepaltas' wines since naming his 2006 Zepaltas Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir my Wine of the Year in 2009. He graciously responded to my request for an interview and I enjoyed meeting him in person for a tasting a couple years ago. His 2012 released early and based on his track record and description I'm looking forward to tasting the 2012.

The Alta Maria is a wine I've tried before and one I'd recommend having a stash of on hand. It's so balanced and solid - it looks and drinks more like a $40 wine. Pinot Report rated it 93 points. I said 90. It's really quite an achievement for around $20.

You can buy these wines with the $20 off $200+ coupon code I mentioned a couple weeks ago: WWP

If you're looking to round out a 12 bottle case (for the favorable $15 east coast shipping rate) have a look at these 11 recommendations. If you can land around $200 this can be a really nice deal.

Head on over to Liquid Discount to read the offer and shop online. I was even able to work in a comparison between the 1983 NFL Draft and the crop of talented California Pinot Noir producers who surfaced in 2007.

Question of the Day: What other wines do you see at Liquid Discount that would be useful in rounding out a case?

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Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé $8 vs $80 Blind Tasting Showdown

The highly regarded Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé (left) retails for $85
Piper Sonoma is much more affordable sparkling wine from California

I'll be the first to tell you I'm inexperienced when it comes to sparkling wines. I've got very little in the way of reference points in this category and since mistakes can be especially costly with Champagne I've been hesitant to stretch my budget for more expensive bottlings.

When I first started exploring categories a few years ago I'd go about it differently than I do today. In the past I'd seek out 90+ rated wines costing as little as possible to gauge whether I liked a certain category. In hindsight that might not be the best way to go about categorical wine exploration.

For example, take 2005 Bordeaux. There are gads of wines rated 90+ points costing $30 or less - heck - even $20 or less. And they're fine, but they don't rise to anywhere near the levels of wines costing around $50-$100. The flavor profile might be similar but you really get a richer experienced with a nice, well aged Bordeaux than you do with most affordable entry level wines - even the ones which are rated well.

So rather than nibble at the bottom of the 90 point wines, I thought to instead go for the gusto and proceed immediately to one of the marquee wines in the category. After hearing so many independent glowing references for Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé the past few months I had to try it. But rather than taste it in isolation I thought it would be interesting to compare it side by side with an affordable domestic sparkling brut rosé. I went with Piper Sonoma Rosé since I had it as a Thanksgiving warm-up and thought it served its role nicely.

And to avoid pre-conceived notions from creeping in I served the two wines blind to our guests Christmas Eve. I told them we were tasting a (roughly) $80 Champagne and an $8 sparkler from California. Their challenge was to identify which wine they thought was more expensive and also which they preferred.

Since I was pouring the wines I knew which was which, so my opinions may have been clouded by the knowledge of which was which. But the preferences of our guests were clear: 3 out of 4 preferred the Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé and 3 out of 3 who were willing to wager a guess as to which was which correctly identified it as the one from Champagne.

We tasted the Piper Sonoma first. The color was more copper/orange than pink or salmon. The bubbles were larger and it was more bubbly in general than the Billecart-Salmon. The nose on the Piper Sonoma was fruity and the wine was more flavorful. But it was also rowdier and less refined than the Champagne.

The Billecart-Salmon was subtle, but very classy. It had an inviting nose and a gorgeous salmon color not too dissimilar from its attractive label. It had fine bubbles, a silky mouthfeel an overall elegance that made it stand out from the domestic wine it was being compared to. There was very little doubt in our guests' minds which wine was better and which was from Champagne. Some said you could "taste the forthcoming headache" in the Piper Sonoma.

The Billecart-Salmon costs almost 10x as much as the Piper Sonoma. Was it 10x better? Probably not. More like 2 or 3 times better. But isn't that the case with most wines?

I'll probably splurge for the Billecart-Salmon at some point again in the future. But more than anything tasting it gave me a feel for what you get when you spend a little more in this category. I like what I saw in the wine and I'll look forward to continuing to explore the category. I think it would make for a fine selection for New Year's Eve.

If you'd like to try these wines here's where I bought them:
Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé on Wine.com
Piper Sonoma Brut Rosé from the Wine Cellar of Stoneham

Question of the Day: Have you tried the Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé? If so, what did you think? What are some of your favorite sparkling wines?

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