Spirit Log: La Castellina Squarcialupi

Grappa again. Am I the only person in the UK who likes grappa? Come on, what’s wrong with you all? That goes for those of you from elsewhere in the world as well. And the Italians! Put yer wine down, and get on to the hard stuff.

What do we have this week then? This is La Castellina Squarcialupi, from last year’s Tuscan adventure. It was one of two bottles I chose to bring home, and was actually the one I was most excited about because it was a bit more expensive than the other (25 euros as opposed to Mille Lune’s 15), and the bottle is numbered – 394 out of 2000 produced each year.

It is bottled at 42% ABV and comes in a long-necked 50cl bottle with a neat and modern label.

What’s it like, and would you be spending your money wisely on it?

 

For me, 25 euros is still a snip for 50cl of authentic grappa. If you were buying this in the UK – if you could buy it in the UK – I can’t imagine you’d be paying less than £40, so that’s certainly a consideration.

Put it in context though, and if you scour the towns and villages of Tuscany, you’ll see an enticing smorgasbord of affordable grappas, and until I’ve tried them all, how good they are is anyone’s guess. I’m guessing… good – to great.

So fuck it, how can I describe this for you? It’s hard to do so without referring to its direct rival, Mille Lune. It’s not quite as good as that. For all the Squarcialupi’s colour, that makes me expect a lingering sweetness… there is very little sweetness. Nor is it as oily and texturally pleasing as I had expected.

So while I don’t want to advise you against purchasing this one, should you be in the area… you can do better.

Yes, it’s just a short one this week. Next week though, the word count will be slightly higher when I discuss two Canadian whiskies I picked up earlier in the year – Lot 40 2012 edition and Highwood HighCentennial limited edition. I expect to see you then.

Taking centre stage this week is another example of one of my favourite spirit varieties, grappa. This one has a ridiculously long name, so we’ll just call it Mille Lune, as that appears to be the particular expression. It was purchased directly from the Castello San Donato in Perano vineyard in the Chianti region of Italy, for the modest sum of 15 euros for 50cl, and has already featured on this blog as one of my 2013 Spirits of the Year . Time now for a bit more depth…

Chianti, we learned, is made mostly with Sangiovese grapes, though apparently there is also some merlot in this one.

It comes in a classy, two-tone box with gold lettering and a long, narrow bottle with a crest embossed onto it. It is bottled at 42%. It doesn’t look like it’s available in the UK, so it definitely achieves the booze tourism objectives of exclusivity and value.

It wasn’t the only grappa I bought on this trip, as you would find out by reading here, but it was the first I opened of the two I took home. The other is an aged (and even numbered) variety, so I’m expecting that to be the most special.

Fulfilment was announced by a strong scent of white chocolate emerging from the newly opened bottle, an impression that continues over to the palate, though there is also a touch of liquorice (in a nice way) if you hold it at the back of your tongue. For maximum enjoyment, see if you can hold it just over your molars.

The finish is a little tart (just how I like my women), though it isn’t bitter so you’re left with a perfect balance against the sweetness.

The strong impression of white chocolate inspired me to acquire a bar of Choceur (Aldi’s finest) to try with it, but I’m sorry to say they don’t go together. The chocolate is far sweeter, and that means the grappa comes off less favourably. But that’s fine, just drink the grappa on its own.

I don’t recall being as impressed as this at the vineyard tasting, but I’ve been loving this since I opened it. For the moment it surpasses even the Domenis Storica that had been my favourite grappa up to this point, and in comparison this is great value compared to the 32 euros I paid for that.

At the moment, all I want to drink is this grappa and the 100 Proof Stolichnaya (another Spirit of the Year), so you know it’s good stuff. 

Spirits of the Year... 2013

No, I don’t believe in doing an annual review post or anything like that. If you want to know what happened in the year, look back over the blog. Nor do I think I try enough of everything to be able to make sweeping generalisations about such and such being the year’s best single malt or whatever. I would though, just very quickly, like to pay tribute to what I’m going to call my Spirits of the Year. Without getting too formal or anything, these are bottles that I enjoyed massively over the course of 2013. There’s only three, and you’ll notice that there isn’t a single malt amongst them. Single malt is probably what I drink most of, but the reason there isn’t one here – despite some excellent drams this year – is that nothing came out of nowhere and surprised me. Yep, Ardbeg 10 is great, yes, I definitely enjoyed the Caol Ila Distiller’s Edition and the Glenfarclas 10… but I kind of expected all that. So just put that aside and let's pay tribute to the unexpected… in no particular order, other than that in which I thought of it.

Vodka: Stolichnaya 100 Proof

You know that I love Stolichnaya, right? Course you do. I’ve been singing the praises of the 40% ABV red variety for years now, so it is undeniably to the blue variety’s credit that it absolutely rocked my world when I finally got around to buying a bottle. You’ll be able to read more about it in the coming weeks, but let’s just say for now that it is all the red variety is and more – with an extra 10% of ABV thrown on top. Awesome.

lended Scotch: Jim McEwan’s Symphony No 1

You might remember this from my Distilgrimage adventure. This one makes the cut because it was an absolute bargain (£13) and whether you factor in the price or not, it was a delight; the first time I’ve enjoyed a blend so fully – though not the last in2013 (shout outs but no awards, to Ballantine’s Finest and White Horse).

Grappa: Mille Lune

Another spirit that delighted and amazed in equal measure, and that you will be able to read about in more detail in the coming weeks. Despite trying it at the vineyard prior to purchase, it still surprised me on opening at home. Clean and beautifully balanced, this rocketed right to the top of my grappa league table.

So, here’s looking forward to another fun year of fine spirits and heavy drinking. I’ve already got some single malts, blends, and Canadian whiskies to open, and have just broken the seal on another grappa… Then there’s plans for trips to Florida, as well as to various countries within the EU that should yield some interesting purchases.

All of the above were so good that for me, they represent the best that their spirit genre has to offer so let’s hope 2014 brings some examples that challenge their supremacy. I don’t know what the year will bring yet, but you can be sure I’ll be telling you all about it. See you soon for the first proper post of the year and, in the meantime, you can tell me about your favourite spirits of 2013 in the comments.