Lunch with Lamberto Frescobaldi

I caught up with Lamberto Frescobaldi recently in Calgary where he hosted lunch at La Chaumiere Restaurant for a select group of Alberta private wine shop owners. Frescobaldi spoke to a number of new releases and led the group through a tasting of the several new releases. As well as the wines tasted in Calgary I've added several other notes involving wines made by Frescobaldi and the Robert Mondavi family.

WHITES:

89 Frescobaldi 2000 Castello di Pomino Benefizio Chardonnay

Tuscany, Italy

The Pomino Benefizio chardonnay is blended with small amounts of pinot grigio and pinot bianco. It's barrel fermented for 12 months and handled in a classic way. Look for a grassy /honey resiny spicy nose with vanilla and citrus flavours. The oak should settle out with time. A reserved version of chardonnay as winemaker Lamberto Frescobaldi says you don't need to shout say something intelligent. BC $29.95, AB $22.00

REDS:

90 Frescobaldi 1999 Mormoreto

Tuscany, Italy

Very stylish cabernet from a single estate in Tuscany. It's rich, soft and thoroughly modern with layers of sweet mocha, fine oak spice, leather and ripe maraschino cherry fruit. Elegant and plush with excellent length. Not identifiably Tuscan, but fine wine that's accessible now, and should hold through 2007. Expensive but excellent. BC $50.00, ON Vintages $49.95 (WA)

87 Frescobaldi 1998 Castelgiocondo Lamaione Merlot

Tuscany, Italy

The '98 harvest wasn't easy with heavy August rains and showers throughout the harvest. The result is less firm, much softer Lamaione. The fruit is slightly green and the palate is dry but it remains an elegant wine. The good news is it's drinking well now - perfect for restaurants. This is the eighth edition of Lamaione and the second since the vineyard was officially subdivided into two - the other half goes to Luce the Mondavi Frescobaldi joint venture. We look for better things to come. BC $49.95, AB $55.00

89 Castelgiocondo 1997 Brunello di Montalcino

Tuscany, Italy

Good fruit intensity of black cherry, spicy, pepper, sweaty licorice toasty aromas. Ripe plum, smoky, black cherry and licorice flavours with spicy garrigue in the finish. Quite elegant with dry tannins but very balanced. Newer style with oak, balance and nice ripe fruit. Mid-term ageing potential. BC $47.95

91 Castelgiocondo 1993 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva

Tuscany, Italy

Lovely old Brunello that's just coming into its own. Classic Tuscan restrained fruit aromas with sweaty leather and licorice streaks. Spicy earthy tones fade into an elegant old red. Quite elegant with dry tannins but well made and well balanced. BC $65.00

Joint Venture Mondavi Frescobaldi Wines

86 Danzante 2001 Pinot Grigio delle Venezie

Veneto, Italy

Fresh floral nose with streaks of slate, mineral and grapefruit. Fresh and soft, we like the round characters and the slightly nutty finish. This wine appears to improving with each vintage. Worth trying. BC$16.95, AB $15.45, MB $19.85, ON $15.75 (WA)

83 Danzante 1998 Pinot Grigio delle Venezie

Veneto, Italy

The Frescobaldi/Mondavi union has spawned another Italian wine made from pinot grigio. Earthy grapefruit mineral characters with some herbal hints too. Decent richness and body but quite a simple summer sipper Veneto style. BC$17.95, AB $14.20 (WA)

RED

85 Danzante (Frescobaldi Mondavi) 2000 Sangiovese

Marche, Italy

Cherry jam, prune, chocolate, earth and orange rind aromas with hints of compost and spice. Round and dry with light tannins, quite elegant but finish is somewhat dry and lean with gritty tannins. Earthy, spicy sour cherry flavours predominate with some compost notes. OK with food but lacks fruit in the finish. BC $16.95 (ST)

86 Danzante (Marchesi de' Frescobaldi - Robert Mondavi) 1999 Merlot

IGT Della Sicilia, Italy

Leafy dill, varietal merlot nose with a bit of cherry and cassis. Supple on entry and mid-palate with spicy, medium-weight earthy red currant fruit. The finish is dry and earthy, like many Argentine reds, with a bit of the leafy compost character. Grilled meats would be perfect here. BC $16.95 (WA)

90 La Vite Lucente 1999

Tuscany, Italy

Big spicy cherry peppery almost Bordelais nose with streaks of cardamom throughout. Very smooth elegant entry with dried cherry and vanilla fruit and spicy cola in the finish. New World overtones undercut by Tuscan acidity and still some tannins to shed. Good effort. You sense both Tim Mondavi and Lamberto Frescobaldi have stop circling each other in the winery and begun to mesh their obvious talent. Better fruit is helping too. BC $37.95, AB $32.95, MB $36.95, ON $39.95, QC $37.50 (WA)

90 Luce della Vite 1998 Toscana IGT

Montalcino, Italy

Full-blown vanilla spice and pepper mark the nose and flavour. The attack is aggressive with cherry kirsch flavours and more spicy peppery fruit in the finish. Big and dry at this point with spicy oak dominating a light mid-palate. It's too early to tell which way this wine will go but it's going to be along the Tuscan-Euro style. BC $93.00, AB $84.00, MB 80.00, ON $85.00, QC $99.00 (WA)

92 Luce della Vite 1997 Toscana IGT

Montalcino, Italy

Tasted for a second time a year after release and '97 Luce is really beginning to blossom. It's a vibrant, gracious, powerful, fifty-fifty blend of sangiovese and merlot from the Montalcino area. Look for a ripe open nose with black cherries/soya/prune and spice mixed with toasted earth and leather. Slender, dense, chiselled styling on the palate. Firm bitter chocolate flavours and tannins encase the finish. Elegant mid-weight red with all the trimmings including the dry Toscana finish. We like the wine despite the price. It needs a minimum three years of ageing. BC $93, AB $85 ON $93 (WA)