Random Party: April 6, 2026
Six bottles from an impromptu gathering that turned into one of the most emotional evenings of the spring.
By Boris · Hosted by Boris Buliga
Oleksandr had one last bottle from his trip to Italy, where he'd visited Nadia Verrua at Cascina Tavijn - she'd given him something you can't buy. We randomly decided to gather, and then suddenly it's a proper wine tasting event - six wines, five people, no plan.
While so random, this was a truly emotional evening. Nadia's TOC #5 - an experimental skin-contact Vermentino, 700 bottles in the world, grapes from a friend's vineyard that no longer exists - blew my mind. Benda's Rosso di Montalcino was finally rehabilitated after a 2022 that disappointed so thoroughly we still joke about it. The 60th-anniversary Carema Selezione from Cantina Produttori turned out to be a quiet beast. And Burlotto's half-bottle Barolo was, as always, a beautiful surprise. We opened with a fresh-release Jacquesson 748 that needs years, and somewhere in the middle a Franciacorta that tasted like ayran. Not every bottle was a revelation, but the evening was.
| Wine | WAVG | SD | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cuvée 748 (2020)(2020) NV Jacquesson | #5 | 3.97 | 0.13 | – |
 TOC #52023 Cascina Tavijn | #4 | 4.08 | 0.30 | 3 |
 Franciacorta Demetra (d2023)(2020) NV Mirabella | #6 | 3.76 | 0.24 | 1 |
 J.G. Benda | 🥇 | 4.36 | 0.15 | 3 |
 Carema Selezione2015 Cantina Produttori Nebbiolo di Carema | 🥈 | 4.35 | 0.05 | 3 |
 Barolo Half2021 Comm. G.B. Burlotto 375 mL · Half | 🥉 | 4.27 | 0.35 | – |
Jacquesson Cuvée 748 (2020) NV
Jacquesson, founded 1798, transformed under the Chiquet brothers into one of Champagne's most singular houses. Their numbered cuvée series (starting with 728) replaced the traditional non-vintage blend with a single-vintage approach, each year a fresh blending decision. Large old oak barrels, extended lees ageing, minimal dosage, no filtration. Since 2022 under Artémis Domaines (François Pinault). The 748 is based on the 2020 vintage, disgorged August 2024 after 36 months on lees. Extra Brut.
Very aromatic - duchess pear candy, flowers, honey, lovely barrel, vanilla. The palate is quite cider-like, still very young with sharp acidity. Raw hazelnut. Finally got to try a fresh release, but as always with Jacquesson - it needs more time. Despite the ownership change, everything seems to be in good shape with this wine.
Cascina Tavijn TOC #5 2023
Cascina Tavijn is Nadia Verrua's project in Asti, Piemonte - seven hectares of indigenous varieties farmed organically with limited sulfites. TOC #5 is from her experimental "TOC Collection" - a one-off edition. 100% Vermentino from a friend's organically farmed vineyard nearby - the vines were pulled up last year, making this wine unrepeatable. Destemmed, fermented on skins for one week, aged in fibreglass. 700 bottles produced.
Wow - this is Friulian-level in the best sense. Honey, overripe peaches, dried herbs, pencil shavings. High acidity, but largely thanks to very skilful use of VA that genuinely works as lift rather than flaw. And how beautifully balanced it all is. Great tannin - powerful but softened by fruit, lovely structure with a solid fruit core and concentration. A wine that's fun to drink despite all its seriousness.
Mirabella Franciacorta Demetra (d2023) NV
Franciacorta producer. Demetra is their Brut Nature Blanc de Blancs - 100% Chardonnay, base vintage 2020, 24 months on lees, disgorged 2023. Zero dosage.
Toasted walnut, sugar snap peas (the super young sweet kind), rusks, yellow fruit, soap, flowers, slightly spoiled peach juice, canned pineapple, and a touch of sour dairy. On the palate it's tasty enough, but something is missing horizontally - it doesn't quite stretch. Super friendly yet strange at the same time. Like drinking ayran.
J.G. Benda Rosso di Montalcino 2023
The redemption bottle. Benda's 2022 Rosso disappointed twice in a row - cherry, spices, harsh tannin, lots of oak, two bottles, same story. We'd turned it into a running joke. The 2023 is a different wine entirely - performing, blind, at Brunello level.
Beautiful rose, carnation, earth, blackberry, ripe cherry, blueberry, extinguished cigar. Great acidity, but very dry tannin - not fine-grained. Thought it was Nebbiolo, but maybe Sangiovese after all? Coffee, smoky notes, very dry, very young. Beautiful. Performing at Brunello level. A touch of mint or lemon balm. Still green, and be careful with aeration - it goes a bit thin and loses body over time, turning into unripe red apple, which makes it rougher and harder to drink.
Cantina Produttori Nebbiolo di Carema Carema Selezione 2015
Alpine Nebbiolo from heroic terraced vineyards at the Valle d'Aosta border - Carema at its coldest and most elegant. Cantina Produttori is the local cooperative, and the Selezione is their top cuvée, released for the producer's 60th anniversary. The 2015 has had over a decade to develop.
Wow, what a beautiful nose. Wild strawberry, dried berries, dried red flowers, black tea, earth. Fallen leaves. Gorgeous acidity, fine-grained. Complex, structured, very chalky. The beauty of cold-climate Carema. Really, really lovely.
Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Half 2021
Historic Verduno producer, bottling since the mid-1800s when most sold in bulk. Under Fabio Alessandria, the style is unmistakable: foot-trodden whole clusters, extended maceration, large botti ageing. The result is Barolo with Burgundian finesse - aromatic, elegant, tense. The half-bottle format concentrates the evolution.
Beautiful. Wild strawberry, dried roses, white pepper, a touch of chalk. Quite a fine wine, but very tight, very even, yet gorgeous. Love it. Great structure, light, delicate, deeply charged yet so open today. That trademark Burlotto elegance - floral, silky, floating. My bet was Nebbiolo - I even named Burlotto, though I wasn't sure. Beautiful stuff.