Open That Bottle Night XIV

I love Open That Bottle Night - both the concept of it and participating in it. Now in its 14th year, OTBN is the brainchild of former wine columnists for the Wall Street Journal, Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher. They saw their weekly "Tastings" column as a means to show that "wine is more than the liquid in the bottle. It's about history, geography, relationships and all of the things that are really important in life" and they noted that "whether it's the only bottle in the house or one bottle among thousands, just about all wine lovers have that very special wine that they always mean to open, but never do."

The idea is that everyone should grab one of those bottles on the last Saturday of February and revel in all the "memories of great vacations, long-lost loved ones and bittersweet moments" that are released with the wine. For no other reason than to celebrate the moment - and, hopefully, to ensure that you don't wait so long before opening it that you've let the wine turn to vinegar.

Diving head first into the deep end this year, Boo and I decided to open one of those bottles that are few and far between - at least on our budget - and just scream out for a special occasion. We picked it up during our brief vacation around Italy back in 2008 and it was one of the limited bottles that we were able to bring back with us.

While luxuriating in Piedmont for an extended weekend, our B&B hosts set up a visit to La Spinetta - a winery that we'd been tipped off to by the folks at Marquis Wine Cellars before we left. La Spinetta is a relatively new winery - at least by Italian standards. While this branch of the Rivetti family originated in Piedmont, it took a bit of a side trip when Giovanni Rivetti emigrated to Argentina in the late 1800's with hopes of some day returning to Italy as a rich man to make wine. Giovanni never made it back to Italy, but one of his three sons, Giuseppe, did. The Rivetti family set up residence in the heart of Moscato d'Asti country in Piedmont and began making wines that raised the level of the sweet, light wine. In 1985, La Spinetta ventured into making its first red wine, a Barbera. They then added an innovative, if not revolutionary (for its time), blend of Barbera and Nebbiolo in 1989 and progressed to making Barbaresco in 1996.

Having found itself making a good collection of Piedmont's wines, the family finally purchased some lands in the classic Barolo region. A state of the art winery was built and, voilà, a new star in the Barolo firmament was established.

1264. 2001 La Spinetta - Campè Barolo (Barolo DOCG - Piedmont - Italy)

The 2001 is only the second vintage of Barolo made by La Spinetta and, even still, fewer than 2000 cases of the wine is generally made. Like all Barolos, it is made from 100% Nebbiolo grapes; however, La Spinetta subscribes to a newer school of Barolo making where the goal is to produce a wine that is both structured and approachable - and drinkable on an earlier time table. Co-owner and winemaker, Giorgio Rivetti, has been quoted in the Wine Spectator as saying that "some people around here think that if a Barolo or Barbaresco doesn't punch you in the stomach from the high tannin and acidity levels, then it is no good. I don't agree." Rivetti's Barolo sees more oak and the juice isn't left to soak and ferment on the skins as long as traditional Barolos (the latter practice can lead to the incorporation of stronger tannins). His Barolo also sees no filtration or fining when it is bottled as he hopes to accentuate the wine's aroma, flavour, texture and ageing potential as much as possible.

Presuming that our La Spinetta would be up to the task, we cooked up some lamb in olive oil and garlic. It was, indeed, up to the lamb. This wasn't so much a sipping wine as it was one full of gusto, waiting for the next bite of meat. Even with Rivetti's modernist take on Barolo, it was still no fruit bomb. The wine was definitely up Boo's alley when it came to a taste profile as he tends to enjoy a more austere bent to his palate than I do but we were both sorry to see the last of the wine poured out of the bottle.

The winery's website suggested that the wine could age for 25-30 years; so, perhaps we opened it a bit prematurely but, you know, when Open That Bottle Night calls out to you, sometimes you just have to give in baser impulses. Opening this bottle certainly took us back to our time in Piedmont and reinforced the desire to make our way back to Italy - hopefully, sooner than later.

Open That Bottle Night 2012

I had an inkling that Open That Bottle Night was either just around the corner - or that it might have actually passed us by for 2012. Good thing I checked online because it turned out that OTBN2012 was this weekend. For those that aren't familiar with Open That Bottle Night, the event was the brainchild of Dorothy Gaiter and John Becher back in 2000 when they were the wine writers for the Wall St. Journal.

They regularly heard stories from people who held onto that special bottle of wine, just waiting for the right occasion to open it. Problem is, the occasion never seemed to actually arrive or it came along long after the wine had turned to vinegar. Gaiter and Becher urged their readers to make the last Saturday in February a special occasion in its own right and plan an evening around that bottle that was hidden away. What makes a bottle special to us will differ from person to person - maybe it was a gift from someone special, or you picked it up while on a memory-packed vacation or perhaps it's simply a bottle with a price tag that you rarely agree to. Regardless of the reason, Gaiter and Becher's response to the perennial question, "When should we open that special bottle of wine?" was "now, with the people who make it special."

Boo's and my special night was rather impromptu, with no special planning, but I realized that today would have been my brother's 50th birthday - were he still around to celebrate it - so, I decided to pull out a bottle we easily could have left tucked away for years to come. I just thought that this would be the type of bottle that would have turned Ronnie's crank. Besides, with the No Buy Leash firmly tightened around my neck for the foreseeable future, we're going to have to start opening some big ticket bottles. Might as well start here.

1070. 2005 Château Palmer - Alter Ego (AOC Margaux - Bordeaux - France)

I had to do a little reading on this wine and winery. I definitely can't say that I'm a pro when it comes to classified Bordeaux wineries. I know the whole "classification" concept goes back to 1855 and Emperor Napoleon III's desire to classify the best of Bordeaux wines for display at the world exposition about to take place in Paris. The top estates were ranked in "importance" from first to fifth growths ("crus") based on the winery's reputation and trading price. As controversial as that classification has been, it has remained in place - with only two changes - since that time.

Obviously, to even be ranked, a winery has to have been around long enough to have a history that pre-dates 1855. Château Palmer is such a winery, having been named after a Major General in the British army who had purchased a property from a young French widow in 1814. The resulting winery enjoyed success in both French and British society; however, Charles Palmer was known for his life in the fast lane as much as he was for his wine and he fell on hard times, having to sell the winery in 1843.

The estate was purchased in 1853 by the Pereire brothers from the financial institution that had operated the winery during the intervening years. Although the brothers quickly took to rebuilding the estate's reputation, their short control at the reins before the 1855 classification wasn't long enough to garner them a higher ranking higher than the Third Growth or Troisième Cru. The fact that there were only sixteen estates named to the First and Second Growths still says something as to the status of the winery at the time, but, nowadays, Château Palmer is widely recognized as ranking among Bordeaux greats.

Alter Ego is a relatively new wine for Château Palmer as this second label was only introduced in 1998. The winery looked to take a different approach to selecting and blending fruit to capture the vineyard's terroir. When compared to the first label, Alter Ego is generally seen as being a little more intense, with juicier fruit on the palate. I don't think anyone would be so bold as to call it a New World wine, but it does skew to a New World palate a bit more than traditional classified Bordeaux wines.

Château Palmer is also regarded as somewhat unorthodox in the Médoc - where Cabernet Sauvignon rules supreme. Palmer vineyards are planted almost equally with Merlot and Cab Sauv and the 2005 Alter Ego sees a blend where the Merlot has a higher percentage than the Cab - 57% to 43% - a fact that took both Boo and I a bit by surprise.

Of course, the 2005 vintage is one of the most heralded from Bordeaux. Drought-like conditions through the summer in the Médoc resulted in lower yields, with more concentrated fruit. The estate's website says that 2005 saw the highest sugar levels that anyone at the winery had ever seen up to that point.

All I know is that there's no doubt that we can do our own little classification of this bottle and easily confirm that it meets our criteria for "special." Full bodied with elegantly integrated tannins, fruit and acidity, we worked hard to squeeze out the last few drops from the bottle. The website says wine will peak between 2010 and 2025; so, we might have been a bit early with our pop of the cork, but you'd never have known it. The wine was drinking beautifully.

I can honestly say that Boo and I rarely open $100+ bottles of wine. It sure is nice when the wine lives up to the price though. I tip my glass towards Gaiter and Becher for envisioning Open That Bottle Night. I'm sure that we would have postponed our enjoyment of the Alter Ego for some time had it not been for this special event. If they can all be this enjoyable, I might have to look to having a few more, unscheduled, Open Those Bottles Nights.

Open That Bottle Night - 2011 Edition

Needing to drink ourselves through 2001 bottles, there's no question that Boo and I will need to drink our entire cellar and much more. We have, however, managed to gather a few cellar-worthy bottles over the last so many years - and there's always the question of when will it be the right time to open some of them. A continual parade of big ticket bottles, night after night, may be a sinful thought - but it's hardly practical. At least not on our budget.

As a result, we get caught up - like many other people - in the practise of buying some nice bottles with the thought of opening them when a special occasion comes our way. The bottles seem to collect a little faster than the occasions come along though and it's not all that difficult to find yourself in a situation like the Tyrant was in just the other night - having a 1983 vintage of a wonderful wine that just didn't age as gracefully as the owner did.

Welcome "Open That Bottle Night." The concept is the brainchild of the former wine columnists for the Wall Street Journal, John Becher and Dorothy Gaiter. In 2000, they wrote on the topic of so many of us having one or more special bottles of wine hidden away in a closet or cellar - waiting for just that special occasion to open it. Somehow that extraordinary occasion often takes longer than expected and many of those special bottles, unfortunately, go off. Becher and Gaiter urged everyone to make an exceptional event out of nothing - make the wine the centrepiece of the event - open that bottle, with or without friends, just for the thrill and the memory of it. Capitalizing on that line of thought, Boo and I are going to re-live a bit of a Tuscan escape.

Becher and Gaiter actually advocate that there's no reason why every night can't be open that bottle night, but the formal event is traditionally scheduled to be the last Saturday of every February - and that's tonight, the 12th edition of Open That Bottle Night.

742. 2004 Altesino Brunello di Montalcino (DOCG Brunello di Montalcino - Italy)

It's taken awhile, but I'm finally adding a Brunello di Montalcino to The List. I've come close with a Rosso di Montalcino, also called a "Baby Brunello," and there have been a few Sangiovese based wines sampled along the way, but I decided that Open That Bottle Night was a great opportunity to pop the cork on the real deal.

Along with Barolo and Amarone, Brunello di Montalcino is seen as one stars of Italian wines. Before the Super Tuscans arrived on the scene as the new darlings of Italian wine production, the relatively small Brunello district was well regarded as producing distinctive wines of high quality and longevity. Altesino - the winery we're trying tonight - has been referred to, by none other than top British wine writer Jancis Robinson, as having "long been a standard bearer for Montalcino" and one of the "more senior, more distinctive vineyards" in the region.

Back in 2008, when Boo and I had a brief stay in Tuscany, we knew nothing about Brunello but Terry and Marcello, our B&B hosts, hooked us up with a tour at Altesino. It was the only winery tour we managed to pull off in Tuscany but, luckily, we happened upon a good one.

As a wine, Brunello di Montalcino has a great story - limited production, scandal involving the possible use of international varietals, old school producers facing the introduction of new procedures to increase the wine's allure to foreign markets and, not the least, a romantic Medieval village centring the regional adaptation of the local grape. This posting will barely scratch the surface but it's an example of how the story behind the wine can be as enjoyable as the wine itself.

Brunello must be made from 100% Sangiovese grapes; however, the region has excelled in its adaptation of particular clones of the grape to local hills. The Montalcino district is barely 40 miles from the centre of the Chianti Classico region - where the Sangiovese grape is also foremost - yet, the wines made from the same grapes see very different results.

Brunello has traditionally been aged for a minimum of between three and four years in large Slovenian oak botte as they impart far less of an oak influence on the wine than the smaller French or American oak barriques do. However, as some producers have introduced the use of French barriques to their winemaking process, the appellation regulations have been revised to allow a shorter minimum of two years oak aging.

Altesino produces three Brunellos - the bottle we're trying, a single vineyard label (Montesoli) and a Riserva that requires even longer aging and is only produced in exceptional years. Our "basic" Brunello is somewhat "old school" in its approach. The winemaker isn't going for a big, modern, fruity style. Rather, there's an earthiness that is front and centre and cries out for some great, Italian cuisine. Our choice of moules/frites isn't likely what we'd have been served in the local enoteca but the acidity of the tomato broth and the richness of the mussels worked fine for us. The dinner certainly brought back memories of Tuscan decadence and fanned the fires of a desire to return sooner than later.

According to the powers that be, the 2004 vintage was a particularly good one for the Montalcino region and the Altesino picked up some big scores, in the 90's, from publications like Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast. I'm hardly a point-chaser, but I always like seeing that a wine we're drinking has earned a bit of a badge of honour.

Part of the allure of Open That Bottle Night is to live and re-live life to its fullest while enjoying a special bottle of wine to heighten the experience. I think our Brunello and the accompanying memories of Tuscany is exactly what was intended.

Canadian Rocks are golden

So, it's the final weekend of the Vancouver 2010 Games. The downtown streets are jammed with people wearing red, white and black and, you know, everyone is in a pretty darned good mood. Any concerns about Vancouverites not taking up the cause and joining in with the party has long passed - particularly since the Canadian team has been on a bit of a roll with the medal count of late. Yippee.

I don't think I'm overstating anything when I say that the marquis event at these Games - at least now that Canada will be playing - is the Men's Hockey gold medal game. But, that's tomorrow. Today is the Men's Curling final and Boo and I are greatly invested in that game as well. The Canadian Women's team lost their chance at a gold medal last night on two final shots. Heartbreaker. So, today's game will, hopefully, have a happier ending.

We decided to have a bit of a party to watch the big game since Merlot Boy is in town. It'd be a chance for some friends, who hadn't caught up with him yet, to eat, drink and be merry while our Canadians and the Norwegians play "harder" and try to finesse their rocks. Merlot Boy is playing coy, but we really think that his loyalties lie with the checkered pants of his cute Norwegian skip. He'd best not be too vocal about it around here though.

It also just happened that tonight is "Open That Bottle Night." The concept is the brainchild of the former wine columnists for the Wall Street Journal, John Becher and Dorothy Gaiter. In 2000, they wrote on the topic of how many folks have one or more special bottles of wine hidden away in a closet or cellar - waiting for just that special occasion to open it. Somehow that extraordinary occasion often takes longer than expected and many of those special bottles, unfortunately, go off. Becher and Gaiter urged everyone to make an exceptional event out of nothing - make the wine the centrepiece of the event - open that bottle, with or without friends, just for the thrill and the memory of it.

We let everyone coming to the party know that this would be a perfect opportunity for them to open that bottle with us. I was getting giddy with the thought of the bottles that could potentially be added to The List.

The guest list and their enjoyment of the grape ranged from Tyrant and his fabulous cellar to my sis, Vixen, who generally finishes off any bottles that are in her house within hours of them arriving there. The assortment of wines went all over the map. But, we also had to pace ourselves because the curling game started at 3.00 pm and Boo wouldn't be getting home from work until around 8.00.

Because of that last point, I didn't drink every wine that graced our counter. I don't even have pictures of all the bottles that were finished off, but I do confess that I at least indulged myself of part of all the wines being added to The List.

379. 2006 R Wines Boarding Pass Shiraz (South Australia)

From the same folks that bring us Bitch Grenache and Evil Cab Sauv, I had to take a second look when Mr. Cool opened this bottle. The packaging was such that I thought that it might have been a home-brew, but the label is made to look like a boarding pass. I think R Wines makes fine , tasty entry levels wines - and they have an incredible sense of humour and marketing savvy. Staying in theme with this Boarding Pass, they even have a higher end wine that they call "First Class." It's like a quick flight Down Under - very appropriate given Merlot Boy's impromptu visit here.

380. 2005 Kettle Valley Rock Oven Red (Okanagan Valley)

381. 2005 Laughing Stock Vineyards Portfolio (OkanaganValley)

These two were opened to keep in with our Olympic theme of honouring wine-producing countries that won gold medals the previous day. Our kids won two - so, why not hail our champions with two of the big blends coming off the Naramata Bench.

Kettle Valley has generally been known for its love of big, extracted (if not necessarily the most finessed) wines and their Rock Oven Red is a Cab/Shiraz blend that delivers. I don't think there was any deliberate thought to the fact that the name evokes the rocks from the curling ice and the red that everyone was wearing in support of the team. Who'd have been that calculated?

Laughing Stock came out of the blocks with guns blazing in 2003 and their Portfolio Meritage almost immediately became one of the most collectible wines from the Okanagan Valley. The 2005 vintage features all five of the Bordeaux varietals with Merlot forming the backbone at 59%.

382. NV La Fiole du Pape Pere Anselme (AOC Chateauneuf-du-Pape - France)

I can't believe that I didn't get a shot of this bottle for the blog with Bittr & Sweet. It's such a unique package - down to the fake cellar dust. Luckily, it's one of the Chateauneuf-du-Pape's that sees the highest sales in the world. It's all over the web; so finding a picture of the bottle was no task. I find it interesting that Pere Anselme is sold as a non-vintage wine. Their idea is to keep a continual blend of vintages as they become available to keep the flavour profile the same year after year. The wine is predominantly Grenache-based; however, the Pere Anselme isn't as fruit forward as many of the newer fruitier Chateauneuf-du-Poofs that my sister accusing us of having a hankering for.

383. 1997 Elderton Shiraz (Barossa Valley - Australia)

Without fail, the Tyrant came through with another oldie, but goodie, from his cellar. Unlike the rest of us, he was actually buying wines back when this 1997 was readily available and laying them down. Consequently, he's at the point where he needs to drink some of these older vintages before they're past their prime. He needs more Drink That Bottle Nights in his life (and we're just the guys to help him out of his predicament). Since he was actually at the Gold Medal Curling match, it was great that he came by afterwards and brought some big guns to boot. Although most online sites think that this wine was at its peak a couple of years back, it still had plenty of verve for our liking - still lots of fruit and complexity.

384. 2004 Chateau du Trignon Sablet (AOC Cotes-du-Rhone Villages - France)

Lady Di was in her full pin glory. That girl had more pieces of Olympic metal that anyone I know, outside of the folks on the street selling and trading pins as a living. She'd clearly stayed passionate about her pin collecting throughout the Games and she was thrilled to see our own little pin-queen, Boo's, jaw drop when he saw her all decked out.

When not collecting pins nowadays, she's been on a bit of a French bistro cooking jag and we benefited - not only from her stove-top contributions to the dinner - but to another bottle from the Rhone. Sablet is a village in the Southern Rhone and this CDR Villages bottle is a bit of a "baby" Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Had we paid a little more attention to the bottles that had arrived, we could have tasted it at the same time as the Pere Anselme. Alas, mon frere, there was no Pere left - anywhere - to compare it with.

The game was hardly a walkover for the Canadian rink. Merlot Boy's favourite pants put up a grand effort, but the gold stays with us Canucks. We'll just have to wait and see if I've picked up any of the stellar shot-making or strategies by osmosis as our curling league starts up again next week.

Great game. Great wine. Great friends. This is what this blog is meant to be all about.