JUDGEMENT OF CHICAGO PARK
Here at Montoliva Vineyard & Winery I have a fairly intense focus on Italian varietals, particularly central and southern Italian varietals. You can read more about why this is here. The varietals I work with are all Italian, my approach to winemaking approximates the central Italian winemaking style. That being said, no Italian winemaker would ever mistake my wines for wines grown and produced in Italy. While the geology here is similar, the climate is somewhat different, and it is reflected in my wine. So, how exactly do my wines stack up against their Italian counterparts? Most of you are familiar with the so-called Judgement of Paris that occurred in 1976, and was immortalized in the highly fictionalized movie "Bottle Shock". Well, meet The Judgement of Chicago Park. Periodically I sit down with one of my wines, and one or more of their Italian counterparts. There is no pretense of impartiality. I make wines that I like, so there is an inherent bias. It is fun, nonetheless.
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This almost isn't fair! In this episode of the Judgement of Chicago Park, I am contrasting and comparing our 2016 Dolcetto with a 2015 Sandrone Dolcetto D’Alba. Our 2015 Dolcetto won a Double Gold at the 2018 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition; the 2016 won a Silver at the same competition this year. I purchased the Sandrone through wine.com and it cost me $29, not including tax/shipping, so it is comparably priced to Montoliva Dolcetto. This is probably one of the most difficult “Judgements” I’ve ever done, simply because I hold Sandrone in such high regard. It has always been a favorite Dolcetto of mine. So, naturally I’m interested in how it compares to my Dolcetto. The Montoliva Dolcetto has an aroma that says “Little Sweet One”, with a playful spearmint, with hint of white pepper on the nose. The pepper follows through into the mid-palate, where it gently gives way to a soft, lingering finish. Although perhaps a little more full of itself than a traditional Dolcetto, it is nonetheless a really good example of a California Dolcetto.
By contract, I was quite disappointed in the Sandrone. The entire wine reeks of trying to obscure the fact that it was pretty likely harvested underripe, although without the usual brightness that that would also imply (I need to do a little research and see what the Piedmonte growing season was like in 2015). The nose exhibits a bit of dull, dry fruit, the mid-palate almost borders on being vegetal, it finishes with a wood-smoke linger that is out of place. It is not uncommon for wineries to use some kind of tannin treatment to mask a vegetal character, and it can come off as giving the wine an odd oakiness kind of profile. I suspect that’s what’s going on in this wine. Whatever it is, I don’t like. No sir. My Judgement has to go to the Montoliva Dolcetto. It is a very good example of a California Dolcetto. The Sandrone is a good example of what happens when a winery does a poor job of trying to address what I presume was a less than stellar growing season. |
In this episode of the Judgement of Chicago Park we contrast and compare our 2015 Barbera with a Riva Leone 2014 Barbera from Piedmonte. This wine was gifted to me, so I don't know what the actual retail was (thank you Charles & Mellisa!). Some on-line sites list it for around $15, and it seems to get pretty good reviews. It appears to be imported by The Bronco Wine Co. (I'm going to try really hard not to let that effect my judging. I'll probably fail at that). I am a fan of Barbera grown in the Sierra Foothills. But don't take my word for it, here's noted 19th century Italian enology professor Guido Rossati, Barbera "is the Italian varietal that best reproduces it's Italian characteristics in California". I would go further, to say that of all the Italian varietals I work with, Barbera is the one that frankly expresses itself better in the California Sierra Foothills than it does in the Piedmonte. On to the review...the Riva Leone is lighter in color than the Montoliva Barbera, more of a garnet than the nearly opaque Montoliva. The nose does not exhibit the bright fruit that I would expect of a good Barbera (the Barbera grape is moderately high in acid, which means the nose typically really pops). It's a little...almost musty. On the tongue the fruit of the Riva is also duller than I would expect. A well-made Barbera should be lively and bright, kind of like the 2015 Montoliva Barbera is. Don't get me wrong, the Riva Leone isn't a "bad" wine. No glaring faults (besides the slightly musty nose, which actually blew off after about 10 minutes in the glass). It just doesn't taste like a Barbera. I suppose coming from Bronco Wine Co. (the fine folks who brought us "Two Buck Chuck") that is not all that surprising. Since it was gift, I really wanted to like this Piedmonte Barbera...alas, my judgement must go to the 2015 Montoliva Barbera. I know...Shocking!
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 6 April 2017
6 April 2017. When I do my "Judgements" I like to contract and compare one of my wines with one of its Italian cousins, typically a much more expensive cousin. In this episode, I change that up and compare my $28 a bottle 2013 Aglianico with a Cantina di Solopaca Aglianico, which I purchased for about $7 at Grocery Outlet. Let's get something out of the way straight away, the Montoliva Aglianico is heads and tails a better wine. But, duh, right? It better be for $21 more dollars. However, viewing from a different perspective, is it four times better? This is where we get into a discussion about what we should expect from a very inexpensive wine. The Cantina di Solopaca had no obvious, glaring flaws. It wasn't over-the-top bretty. It didn't exhibit that mean edge that really cheap chiantis used to. It was a little on the thin side, but not underwhelmingly so. Here's the thing, though, it also didn't exhibit any varietal character. For all the flavor it provided, it could have been a cheap Merlot, or a "hearty burgundy" (whatever it is in that wine). Call me crazy, but I want my Aglianico to taste like Aglianico. Otherwise, all I'm getting is a cheap alcohol delivery system. I generally find this to be true of wines priced below $10. They may not be "bad", but they also aren't enjoyable to drink. If it's not enjoyable, what's the point? My Judgement is for the Montoliva Aglianico, by default.
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29 November 2016. In this episode of the Judgement of Chicago Park we contrast and compare our 2014 Negroamaro with a Vini Menhir 2012 Numero Zero Negroamaro from Puglia, Italy. The 2012 Numero Zero won a Gold Medal at the Los Angeles International Wine Competition. Good quality Puglian Negroamaros are hard to find in the US. I purchased this one through wine.com and it cost $20, not including shipping. Right off the bat, this is the most challenging "Judgement" I've ever done. The Vini Menhir Negroamaro is a really good wine, exhibiting the black tea spiciness that I look for in a Negroamaro and has some really nice structure with a lingering finish. In these "Judgements" I'm always looking for ways that my wine is superior (as I mention in the lead-in, there is no pretense to impartiality here), and it was hard to do tonight. The Numero Zero is a bit darker and richer than the Montoliva Negroamaro, although my wine shows more of a delicate balance that allows the spiciness to show through a bit more. The Puglian's tannins are more pronounced, but well enough integrated to (just barely) pull back from being overbearing. With its more aggressive tannins, the Numero Zero may very well hold up long term better than the Montoliva Negroamaro, but at this moment in time, I have to give the edge to the Montoliva delivering on the balance. And besides...zero isn't a number.
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11 March 2016 In this episode of the Judgement of Chicago Park we contrast and compare our Montoliva 2012 Aglianico with a Cantine Antonio Caggiano 2009 Taurasi (retail $35) and a Tenuta Del Portale 2010 Aglianico del Vulture (retail $27). The two Italian wines were purchased a few days ago, all three opened Friday evening. Let’s get the easy part out of the way first…the Aglianico del Vulture was disappointing, the brettanomyces so strong it overwhelmed the wine. Both the Taurasi and the Montoliva Aglianico had similar aromas of dark cherries and musk. The Taurasi has the kind of brooding, lingering finish that caused me to fall in love with southern Italian wines in the first place. The Montoliva Aglianico is brighter in fruit throughout, with noticeable tannic structure, but not quite lingering as the Caggiano. Just for fun I did a 50/50 blend of the two…now we’re getting somewhere! My final judgement, well, first it is obvious I need to visit Vulture in the Basilicata region. I know there are some amazing wines made there, I just need to find them. Finally…boy, that Taurasi hits a sweet spot on my palate, but the Montoliva Aglianico is a really good wine and only $22 (for members of the Chicago Park Wine Society). So, my final judgement has to go to (surprise!) the 2012 Montoliva Aglianico.
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16 February 2016 Today on the Judgement of Chicago Park, we pit a 2007 Ghisolfi Bussia Barolo (retail $85) against the 2012 Montoliva Nebbiolo (retail $28) we are releasing tomorrow. The Ghisolfi is a bit darker than I would expect of a Nebbiolo-based wine (one of those things that makes you go 'hmmm'), noticeably darker than the Montoliva. The nose has the distinct tar character of a Barolo, ours is a bit more subtle, not surprising as it is a much younger wine. On the tongue, the Barolo is a little brett-y, but not distractingly so. The tannins on both are pronounced, perhaps a bit more gripping on the Montoliva, again not surprising given the Barolo is much older. Our Nebbiolo isn't quite as brilliant in color, probably because it was not filtered prior to bottling. Both good wines, but sorry Italy, I've got to give the nod to the Montoliva Nebbiolo. (I'm shocked! Shocked to find bias in this review!)
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14 August 2015 You've heard of the "Judgement of Paris". This week we hosted "Judgement of Donner Lake"! A 1999 Tiezzi Brunello di Montalcino, side-by-side with a 2012 Montoliva Estate Sangiovese. The results....why, Montoliva in a landslide (of course). The Tiezzi was good, had some serious depth to the mid-palate. The Montoliva was cleaner and brighter.
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