50 Great Wines of 2009: We're there

I was going to wait until he'd posted his 25 best wine buy s of '09, but I'm going ahead with it because Domenico Selections is in such good company. As one of the wineries so honored commented, "Thank you for including Grgich Hills Chardonnay in your 50 Great Wines list. We enjoy your blog and appreciate being included in this prestigious collection of wines." Well, if Grgich Hills can say, I guess I can.

 
 I refer to today's article on Bigger Than Your Head by Fredric Koeppel.

With his customary thoughtfulness, FK lays out what his criteria are, methodically listing them in non-points order. (He eschews points.)

The two DS wines he included in his top 50 list are:

Borgo di Gete -- a very old-vine, 100% Tintore rarity from the small Amalfi area winery of Luigi Reale.

Serra del Prete -- another very-old vine wine -- this time made of Algianico del Vulture -- by the extremely young and talented Elisabetta Musto Carmelitano.

(By the way, these vignaioli share the same enologo, the Irpinia (Campagna) native, Fortunato Sebastiano.)

As you may have read here or on mondosapore many times, I regard Fredric as the best wine reviewer around. Unmoved by ideology and fads, he writes clearly and precisely about each wine. A fine palate tempered by decades of tasting and reviewing, Fredric gives you a vivid preview of the wine's sensory effects, from perfume to initial taste, to its finish. And he never fails to relate sensory impressions and perceptions of quality to price  -- something too many well-known reviewers fail to do. While his prose is crystalline, and his mastery of both matter and medium evident, he never indulges himself at the expense of the wine. Really, it is all about the wine with him.

Grazie per il riconoscimento, Federico.

 

Comments

[fredric koeppel]

Strappo, thank you for that summary, which eloquently encapsulates exactly what I try to convey to my Readers. Thanks for getting it.

[Strappo]

Prego, maestro.