Tag Archives: Vinmonopolet

News @ Vinmonopolet

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Norwegians are getting ready for all the wines being released on Friday. I’ve been lucky to try a few (or more) beforehand and here are some of my favorites.

Weingut Walter Kabinett Riesling 2018

I’ve grown more and more fond of Riesling the past year, and this was a pretty good one. Must admit I don’t know a lot about the winery and how the wine is made, but I quite like the Kabinett from Weingut Walter. And it’s available at a very decent price as well.

Available in BU at Vinmonopolet (11357201) 149,90kr

Cigliuti Langhe Nebbiolo 2018

You’re probably not surprised that a Langhe Nebbiolo for Piemonte made the list. Claudia Cigliuti from Neive makes really good wines. She might be most known for the Serraboella, but I quite like the Langhe Nebbiolo. I might have priced it a little lower (the Altare Nebbiolo is 285kr and the Trediberri Nebbiolo is 189kr), but it’s always good with some variety!

Available in BU at Vinmonopolet (11347301) 299kr

Lamy Saint-Aubin La Princée 2017

Summer is over but one need not fret; it’s king crab season! And it’s never wrong to pair Hubert Lamy with king crab. With notes of citrus and white stone fruit, and of course a hint of oak, Hubert Lamy does not disappoint!

Available in BU at Vinmonopolet (11347101) 388kr

Cavallotto Barolo Bricco Boschis Riserva San Giuseppe 2013

I think the words Cavallotto, Bricco Boschis and Riserva say it all. But I’ll say more anyways. Obviously still very young, but with incredible potential. Tannins are persistent, but disappear after a while and you’re left with wonderful notes of fruit.

Available in BU at Vinmonopolet (11336201) 1274kr

Altare Barbera d’Alba

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Elio Altare – the Godfather of Barolo

Elio Altare, aslo known as the Godfather of Barolo, has been making wines since about 1950. In 1976, Elio traveled to Burgundy and it was a trip that would change the course of history forever. Elio infamously took his father’s big barrels outside and chopped them up. He wanted to use small barrels instead, barrique, like the french. This act would eventually lead to his disinheritance. But Elio persevered.

Elio Altare

Elio Altare’s use of Oak

Elio Altare uses barrique for their wines, but the oak is not dominant in the wines, just a helpful tool. Use of oak allows for small amounts of oxygen to pass through, helping to work the tannins. Oak can also help combat reductive qualities and add a richness to the barbera. The wines of Elio Altare do not have a huge presence of vanilla or toast, which can be a common aspect of wines made in barrique.

Altare Barbera d’Alba

Elio Altare Barbera is made with 10-30 year old vines, from different plots. The soil is calcareous but also very sandy. The wine spends about 5 months in 100% used barrique before it’s bottled. A barbera is perfectly paired with pasta or cheese.

Vintage 2017

2017 was a “big” vintage. Nicola at Trediberri comared it to Pamela Anderson. 2017 was one of the hottest and driest vintages, with temperatures above average throughout almost the entire season. The vintage will also be known for the lack of rain. Because of both the high temperatures and the lack of rain, the harvest was very early, with some barolo grapes picked before September! Although these conditions don’t sound great, it was quite optimal for barbera.

Where can you find it?

In Norway, you can either order it online or check out these local Vinmonopol:
Ullevaal, Oslo – 15
Gjøvik – 8
Bagn – 18
Bergen, Valkendorfsgt. – 6

Pira Barolo Serralunga

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There’s a new law/rule in Piemonte, where the winemakers can put the name of the town on the label for their classic barolo. So when it says Pira Barolo Serralunga, it means that it’s a barolo blend from a winery in Serralunga. In La Morra, Giovanni Corino can write Barolo Del Commune Di La Morra.

Pira Barolo Serralunga

What do I mean when I say “blend”?

Back in the day, there was a “war” between the Modernists and Traditionalists. When I use the term “Traditional”, I mean a winemaker that uses big barrels (botti) and generally only make one barolo, a blend. Take Maria Teresa Mascarello – she makes one barolo. And it’s a blend of grapes coming from all her vineyards.

The alternative is the “modern” approach, spearheded by Elio Altare, where multiple barolos are made, one for each cru. So instead of blending the grapes from the different plots, it has become common to make different barolo cru. A modernist also uses small barrels (barrique). Although it’s common now to use all different size barrels. Vietti, for intance, uses barrique, big botti and sizen inbetween.

Contemporary Traditionalist

In my opinion, this whole modernist vs traditionalist is so 2003. Or 1992. But you catch my drift. Most winemakers these days love to experiment, trying new techniques and testing new methods. So many of those who used to be hard core traditionalists are what I like to call “contemporary traditionalists”. Meaning, they still mostly use botti, and many might have just one classci barolo, but some have adopted smaller barrels or cement. Maybe they have one cru barolo.

Cascina Fontana makes their barbera in cement instead of barrique. Why? Because that’s the way Mario likes it. I call it “Barbera the Mario Fontana Way. And i’ts damn good! Fratelli Alessandria make a Monvigliero cru. Do we really care what size barrels they use, as long as the wine tastes good?

Pira Barolo

Luigi Pira, from Serralunga, makes excellent wines. Apart from the Pira Barolo Serralunga, there are 3 crus, including the famous Vignarionda! The Serralunga barolo is a blend from the multiple vineyards Luigi has, including Marenca, Margheria and Vignarionda. Typically the younger vines are used in the blend, and the older vines are reserved for the different cru barolo’s.

Where can you find Pira Barolo Serralunga?

Unfortunately, you can’t order it online, but there are a few local stores that carry it! If you have your heart set on Pira wines, check out his Barolo Margheria or Barolo Marenca.

You can find the Serralunga at these Vinmonopol:
Sandaker, Oslo – 5
Strømmen – 23
Vinterbro – 16
Bergen, Åsane Horisont – 11
Stryn – 4
Kristiansund N. – 8

Trediberri Barbera d’Alba

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I talk about Trediberri quite a lot. For many reasons. One: Nicola rocks. He’s just an incredible person. Two: his wines also rock. He just makes good wines. End of story. Nicola and his team work so hard and their hard work pays off. Three: the prices are ridiculous. I mean, 189NOK (roughly $19) in Norway is almost too hard to believe.

Trediberri Barbera d’Alba Rocks

When I say that the Barbera d’Alba from Trediberri rocks, what do I mean? I could say things like:
Full body, long finish
Dark fruit, good concentration of fruit
But I won’t. Wine is so individual. Tastes are so individual. But I will tell you that I think this barbera from Trediberri is representative of a quality barbera. Very drinkable now but you can keep it for a few years (if you can stop yourself from opening them all).

Buy it?

So what am I getting at? You should be buying his wines! Did you know that some Vinmonopol stock them on their shelf? And if you’d rather buy online, you can do that too! So you really don’t have any excuses!

These are the stores that currently stock Trediberri Barbera d’Alba:
Aker Brygge – 16
Levanger – 15
Tromsdalen – 13

Nicola’s take on Vintages

Every year is different, for better or worse. 2014 is known for it’s massive amounts of rain. 2010 is considered a wine for the books. But I believe a truly great winemaker can make good wine in any vintage. If you work with nature, respect nature and generally just work hard, you can make magic happen.

In recent encounter with Nicola, this is what he said about the past vintages:

2016 is all class like Jaqueline Kennedy. 2017 is as huge Pamela Anderson. And 2018 is as skinny as Miley Cyrus.

Nicola
Trediberri Barbera d'Alba

Barbera – My Favorites

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I was recently asked about barbera, and if I had a favorite. This is a tough question to answer, because there are so many good ones. And so many different styles. I don’t think I could pinpoint just one, and here’s why.

Barbera vs Barbera Superiore

Barbera is a grape, and just like with Nebbiolo, there are multiple ways to make it. Most winemakers have a “classic” barbera, a wine made in steel tanks with no influence of wood. The wine completes both malolactic and alcoholic fermentation in steel tanks, and remain there until bottling. These wines tend to be high in acidity, full bodied with aromas of red fruits.

You will also find barbera superiore, and this wine will have influence of oak. After pressing the juice, the wine is transferred into barrels and complete the malolactic and alcoholic fermentation in barrels instead of steel tanks.* The wood gives the wine some tannins, helps balance the acidity and you might find hints of oak flavor.

“The Mario Fontana Way”

Mario Fontana is what we would call a “traditional” wine maker, and uses big barrels for all his wines. Except his Barbera. A few years ago, he decided to use cement for this grape because that made more sense to him. And we see this with other winemakers. They may chose to interpret the grapes in different ways, and use new types of material when cultivating them. Kinda cool, right?

Now, you can see where choosing a favorite can be difficult. However, there are a few I tend to chose over and over again.

Barbera

What’s available Vinmonopolet

Trediberri Barbera d’Alba 189kr
Altare Barbera d’Alba 285kr
Burlotto Barbera d’Alba 285kr
Azelia Punta (superiore) 289kr
Cavallotto Vigna Cuculo (superiore) 300kr
Vietti La Crena (superiore) 460kr

Other Favorites

Altare Larigi
Giovanni Corino Ciabot dù Re
Burlotto Aves
Marengo Vigna Pugnane

There are so many others, but if I had to chose a few then these are high on my list.

*this might vary from winery to winery, but is a general idea of how to make this wine

News @ Vinmonopolet

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New wines are coming in July, and here are some of my favorites. Keep in mind some you might have to order online.

Kruger-Rumpf

One new wine from Kruger-Rumpf’s lineup will be available at Vinmonopolet in July. Soon you can find Riesling Münster Kapellenberg priced at 225kr at a Vinmonopol near you! His other wines (pictured below) will also be released with new vintages.

I’ve recently become a fan of Kruger-Rumpf. Since I met him in person in February at a wine fair organized by Moestue, I’ve encountered his wines again and again at other wine events. And although my knowledge of Riesling or wines from Germany in general is quite low, it’s been a lot of fun to learn more this past year.

Riesling Phyllit – Feinherb 169,90kr
Riesling Münster Kapellenberg 225,00kr
Riesling Abtei Rupertsberg 237,90kr

Carillon

New vintages of Cariollon will also be released in July. Fresh & crips chardonnay, perfect for summer!
Carillon Bourgogne Aligote 239,90kr
Cariollon Bourgogne Chardonnay 269,90kr
Carillon Puligny-Montrachet 499,90kr

Adams Wein

Moestue can proudly present a new producer, Adams Wein. The two wines I tried, a Weissburgunder and a Grauburgunder were both dry with medium acidity. My knowledge of wines from Germany, but these two were fresh and easy to drink, and seems perfect on a warm summer day.
Adams Wein Weissburgunder Kaliber 9 199,90kr
Adams Wein Grauburgunder Kaliber 19 246,00kr

Favorites

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We all have our favorite wines or winemakers, and here are some of my favorites at the moment.

For Fun

Cascina Fontana Dolcetto 225,-
Looking for a wine to drink on a Tuesday night along with a bowl of pasta? Then this is your guy! And it the summer, chilling it a little may help cool you down in the hot summer months!

Trediberri Barbera 189,-
Trediberri’s first vintage was 2011 and his wines quality has skyrocketed! And at this price, this barbera is fricking steal!

Azelia Dolcetto 2013 179,-
A very interesting dolcetto, with grapes grown outside the Barolo area. This means that some of the best vineyards are actually used for Dolcetto instead of Nebbiolo, giving the grapes the best circumstances, making this Dolcetto extraordinary!

For Summer

Vietti Moscato 199,-
Get a bowl of strawberries and pop open this – it’s like you died and went to heaven. I love moscato, and I don’t even need a dessert. So good!

Trediberri Langhe Rosato 139,-
I am not a huge rose person, but if I had to pick one it’s for sure Trediberri’s Langhe Rosato. Fresh, not super sweet and made with love.

Agrapart Blanc de Blanc 508,-
Champagne is growing on me, and I really like this one. And as for Champagne, this is not super expensive. Blanc de blanc typically suits me best, and Agrapart makes a really good one!

Buy & Drink in 10 years

Marengo Barolo Brunate 599,-
Cavallotto Barolo Bricco Boschis 507,-
Corino Barolo 379,-

What would you do for a DRC 2015?

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Would you spend 16 days outside a wine store to get your hands on a 2015 DRC?

Bjørn Håvard is currently camped outside Vinmonopolet at Aker Brygge, waiting patiently for the Burgundy release February 7th and the DRC 2015. But this is not the first time Bjørn Håvard is sleeping outside to get his hands on rare and exceptional wines. His first stunt was in 2007, and has become a regular event in the following years. But this year he is taking it to a whole other level. 16 long days outside, breaking the record from last time, which was only 8 days.

Watch my 15 seconds of fame

How does this work?

In Norway, the wine is regulated with the monopoly, aka Vinmonopolet. So when rare and exceptional wines are available and released, they do so in a special way. Throughout the year they have “releases”. So one release for burgundy, one for riesling, etc. And because the number of wines released is so small, there is a queue system. In order to get your hands on one of these wines you need to be one of the first in line. This is why Bjørn Håvard is sleeping outside, to ensure acquisition of the rarities released from Burgundy this year. Another fun fact is that Norway is the cheapest place to buy these wines. So it might be worth checking into… if you’re not already camped outside.

DRC 2015

This year, the burgundy release is quite special. 2016 Bourgogne produced very little quantity of wine, but the quality is outstanding. And 2015 was a great vintage in Bourgogne, and although most other producers released their 2015 wines last year, DRC did not. So on the menu this year is Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 2015 and all the Bourgogne 2016. What would you do to get your hands on one of those? Sleep outside 16 days in Oslo during winter?

Dedication, patience and guts

Imagine you’re spending 16 days outside. In Norway. In January. It is not for the faint of heart. And as you can see, a lot of equipment is required to make it all the way to the finish line. Apart from warm clothes, you also need sleep gear, like cots and sleeping bags.

Waiting for DRC 2015

Brotherhood – a special bond

One of the most fascinating aspects of this phenomenon is the brotherhood between the participants. There is a mutual respect and understanding between them, which is helpful when one of them needs to use the restroom or get something to eat.

Be on the lookout – you might find me in line soon…