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Showing posts with label Italy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Italy. Show all posts

04 August 2017

Italian wines @ Lidl

Lidl (UK) continues to be 'on a roll' (seeded bap, wholemeal or ciabatta more likely?) with another new batch of its special Italian wine buys now in store (the posher ones in the wooden bins), although some of these are bound to be available in Lidl Ireland stores too and elsewhere in Europe. Mind you, a slight mystery lingers a casa mia regarding one Lidl white from the Campania region enjoyed and reviewed a few weeks ago, Sassi del Mare Falanghina 2016, which we tried again recently although it was £1 more, had an extra 0.5% abv and appeared to be in a heavier bottle (from memory), but it just wasn't as good somehow? Or was it 'just a dream within a dream' (as the Propaganda song sort-of said)? In any case, here are a few more Italian whites and reds worth looking out for at Lidl, some of them commendably unusual and hard to find; hopefully you'll get the same wine as I did. And the 'message' here is spending more than a fiver, even towards ten, does reap rewards. Image copied from www.lidl.de, where you'll find better information on these wines if your German is up to it - you're lucky to even find them on their UK site!

Masseria Metrano Fiano 2016, Salento IGT Puglia (12.5% abv) - Fiano is another star white grape variety, more commonly found in and probably originates from Campania (or Sicily?), but obviously capable of great things 'over the other side' in Puglia (Apulia seems to be the 'English' term although looks like Latin to me). At £7.99, it's fairly dear for Lidl but definitely worth the money with plenty of depth of flavour and texture too, aromatic and rich yet elegant.
Corte Allodola Terre del Vulcano 2016, Soave Classico DOC (12.5% abv) - A good example of 'gets what you pay for', since this tasty zesty and quite intense Soave is £6.99, obviously a couple of quid or so dearer than the many often rather bland examples usually found on the lower shelves. Very nice with trout or salmon.
Musita Grillo 2016, Sicilia DOC (13% abv) - At least I think it was this one with the eye-catching white label and arty vine drawing rather than the slightly cheaper one they do, this one being £5.99. Delivers what you'd expect from this lovely Sicilian white grape, quite apricot-y and honeysuckle-edged flavours, and nice mouth-feel combining weight with freshness.
Vigna la Capa Riserva 2014, Brindisi DOP (13.5% abv) - Not sure what the correct UK price is, as I paid £5.99 since that's what it said on the shelf-ticket (bargain, serves them right for not checking), but it scanned at £7.99 (probably more likely given it costs €6.99 in Germany with their low taxes on wine?). Sumptuous southern red brimming with ripe dried fruits and liquorice, lightly smoky with fairly soft tannins and a bit of oomph. Good with grilled Angus burgers and organic wholewheat pasta filled with potato and porcini mushrooms (man), also bought in Lidl. Made from old-vine Negroamaro grapes (50 year-old vineyards translating from the label in my best Italian) from a smaller area of Puglia around the town of Brindisi.
Montejanu 2015 Cannonau di Sardegna DOP (13.5% abv) - Cannonau is actually what they call Grenache or Garnacha in Sardinia (linguistically mind-boggling as it is) and isn't so easy to find over here. Not the finest example perhaps, with its lightly rustic 'volatile' edges, but tasty enough summer quaffing red with sweet and spicy fruit. £5.99
Other Italian reds to look out for in Lidl, available on and off:
South: Ciro Classico Superiore Riserva (from Calabria). North: Teroldego Rotaliano Riserva (Trentino); Valpolicella Ripasso (the black label one).

23 July 2016

Italy: Sicily, Puglia, Veneto, Trentino

Here's an easy-to-find pick of Italian 'wines of the moment', including a red and white pair each from the far south and far north...

Grillo 2015 Terre Siciliane IGP - Sicily (13% abv): Grillo is a fab and fairly rare white grape variety; well-made tasty examples like this one are quite rich and rounded with aromatic peach and apricot fruit, lightly spicy and zesty on the finish too. £7.50 Marks & Spencer.
'Vigna la cupa' 2013 Salice Salentino DOC Riserva - Puglia (13.5% abv): Made from the local Negroamaro variety, meaning 'bitter black', this sunny red has a wild mix of very ripe cherries, dark chocolate, liquorice and more savoury, earthy, rustic and tobacco notes; quite full-on and firm palate vs nice sweet/savoury finish. £6.99 Lidl.

Pinot Grigio 2015 Trentino DOC, CaVit - Trentino-Alto Adige (12.5% abv) - This juicy fragrant and nutty white shows there's more to PG if you look beyond the big brand offers. Asda £6.
Amarone della Valpolicella 2012 DOCG, Monteforte d'Alpone - Veneto (14.5% abv): Special occasion red - or why not push the boat out with posh BBQ food - crafted from dried grapes (a classic local blend of Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara) giving plenty of body and rich flavours. Asda £16 (sometimes on offer for a few quid less though).

03 December 2015

Italy: Bottega Prosecco


Or perhaps 'all that glitters is not gold' (read on)... The Bottega winery is found in Bibano di Godega in the Veneto region, a crow-flight to the north of Venice and not far from the pretty town of Conegliano in the (otherwise rather vast) Prosecco zone's epicentre, where there's also a long tradition of making grappa (northern Italy's speciality grape-based spirit that often manages to combine finesse and head-banger). The cellars are housed in the expansive and handsomely renovated 19th century farm-buildings pictured above, and are stalked by 10 hectares of vineyards (25 acres) according to their blurb. The Bottega brand now encompasses additional wines from almost neighbouring Valpolicella and Montalcino in Tuscany following 'recent acquisitions'.
It isn't a small-scale operation either producing '10 million bottles' of fizz, meaning they must buy in grapes as well otherwise the 'math' doesn't add up? Bottega Gold Prosecco, which as you might have guessed comes dressed in a glitzy 24-carat bottle, is obviously an unashamedly gimmicky bit of celeb marketing; but you could see the appeal of having this sitting on your table in a trendy bar or Italian restaurant, and the wine itself is quite attractive although a couple of others in the range (without the Goldfinger touch) are better. Catalyst Brands is the UK agent where these bubblies retail for around £20-£25 a bottle, so they're pretty dear although there are a few festive offers flying around online retail sites at the moment. These Proseccos also come in all sorts of sizes from minis to massive, from jazzy to sober looking... More @ www.bottegagold.com.

Vino Biologico Prosecco DOC 'Extra Dry' ('Quality Aromatic Sparkling Wine', organic, 11% abv) - Elderflower citrus and almond tones, attractively frothy with crisp-ish 'chalky' mouth-feel vs off- to medium-dry finish. Nice fizz although could do with just a little more character.
Fundum 'unfiltered' Prosecco Frizzante Treviso (crown cap, 11% abv) - Cloudy 'real cider' / 'Weizenbier' / 'ginger beer' reminiscent style with flowery grapey nose and yeasty backdrop, fairly dry with lingering yeasty biscuit flavours and crisp elegant finish. Tasty and different.
Il Vino dei Poeti Prosecco DOC Treviso Brut 2014 - Richer toastier and more 'serious' than the others and 'winier' too, quite dry and crisp with toasted nut and savoury biscuit flavours. Good.
Il Vino dei Poeti Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG 2014 'Extra Dry' (Varieties: Glera 85%, Glera Lunga 10%, Perera 5%; 11.5% abv) - Honeyed, almond biscuit and floral aromas, a touch of crisp bite and some depth of character on the palate; pity though it's not that dry (despite the confusing terminology used for sparkling wines) as those appealing complex flavours end up a tad sweeter and blander on the finish (there's about 17 grams/litre residual sugar in their 'Extra Dry').
Bottega Gold Brut Prosecco DOC Treviso - Enticingly frothy light and elegant, quite good with light floral almond and subtle yeast notes, crisp and refreshing style. Attractive and quaffable even if not exactly super exciting.

04 June 2015

Italy: Campania

Is Campania one of Italy's most exciting wine areas? It surrounds the region's capital Naples and spreads up and down the coast and inland, where the best-known vineyards lie on steep hillsides; as well as on the Vesuvius foothills and on the coast and islands of Capri and Ischia. Although it's a very southern region, Campania plays host to several excellent white varieties such as Falanghina, Fiano, Greco and the even more obscure/rare Coda di Volpe. On the red front, there's a fair amount of the sometimes star Aglianico grape planted, although I did find some of these a tad firm and extracted even after a few years ageing. The wineries tasted and reviewed in this post are found in the neighbouring subzone appellations of Sannio, Greco di Tufo and Taburno. € prices quoted are cellar door.

Downloaded from www.facebook.com/AnticaMasseriaVenditti
See bottom of post for notes on their wines
Cantina Fontana delle Selve 2013 Falanghina, Sannio DOC - exotic peach and banana notes, quite soft and juicy vs underlying 'chalky' acidity.
Cantine Iannella 2013 Greco di Tufo DOCG - lively lemon apricot and yellow flower aromas, subtle yeasty edges and zesty texture, nice fresh vs weighty finish.

Vigne di Malies - Sannio DOC
Opalus 2013 Falanghina - quite rich and characterful, zesty and juicy vs fatter banana fruit, good wine.
Fojano 2013 Fiano - zesty and intense with floral notes and 'chalky' texture, juicy and delicate then weightier on its very nice finish.
Callida 2013 Coda di Volpe - zesty and 'chalky', tighter structured white with long intense finish.
Aedo 2013 Greco - more exotic perhaps and zestier, quite intense too with tasty complex finish.

Cantina del Taburno
Falanghina 2013 Sannio - lighter style perhaps, still nice and zesty / 'chalky' with long mouthwatering finish. €7.30
Greco 2013 - delicate and 'chalky' with floral celery tones vs juicy pear and ripe peach, crisp and tight on the finish. €7.50
Fidelis 2010 Aglianico del Taburno DOC - lively berry and cherry fruit vs firm structure, nice sweeter and perfumed fruit finish with liquorice notes vs that dry grip. €7.30
Bue Apis 2008 (100+ year-old Aglianico) - dark and smoky with peppery liquorice vs savoury aromas/flavours, still fairly solid structured palate vs lush dark and spicy fruit. Pretty serious red, needs food and a substantial bank account... €45.

La Fortezza
Falanghina 2013 Taburno DOC - quite concentrated peach and banana fruit vs zesty crisp mouth-feel, very nice. €7.50
Fiano 2013 Taburno DOC - similarly concentrated, a little richer and more exotic with rounder palate then zesty long finish. €8
Greco 2013 Taburno DOC - again quite rich vs intense, oily vs nutty palate with tasty long finish. €8

Cantina di Solopaca
Falanghina Frizzante Beneventano IGP (aged 1 month on the lees) - attractive style light fizz with floral notes and 'chalky' crisp bite.
Falanghina del Sannio 2013 - quite 'mineral' / 'chalky' texture with crisp delicate length.
Falanghina Spumante Brut, Sannio DOP (10 months on lees in tank) - a touch yeastier, fairly light and delicate too with refreshing frothy finish.
Fiano 2013 - nutty and intense with tight and crisp mouth-feel, lots of interesting flavours on the finish.
Intenso Moscato Dolce (5.5% abv) - lovely fresh Muscat aromas vs yeastier side, light and easy-drinking, nice sweet fizz.
Solopaca Rosso Classico 2011 Sannio DOP (60% Sangiovese 40% Aglianico, 18 months in barrel) - enticing smoky dark fruit nose with dried cherry and liquorice, firm and fresh mouth-feel vs savoury maturing notes and cooked berries, drinking well now.
Aglianico 2011 Sannio DOP - more structured and grippier vs ripe damson and kirsch flavours, fairly firm and tight still but drinking well enough now.

Masseria Venditti
2013 Assenza Barbetta Sannio DOC (Barbera, organic, no added sulphites) - shows lots of enticing vibrant berry cherry and cassis fruit vs lightly grippy texture, fairly intense actually with peppery liquorice on a long finish; very good.
2009 Marraioli Aglianico Sannio DOC (organic, no oak) - smoky & leather tones with liquorice and meaty edges, attractive firm vs sweet texture, very nice smoky finish; concentrated and tasty red.

22 November 2014

Italy: "wines of the moment"

A few late-autumn tips for looking beyond Pinot Grigio and Chianti (ok, there's one of these recommended here as well) on your local (UK) supermarket's Italian wine shelves, either posh own-labels at slightly higher price points (but often considerably less than for a fancy winery brand yet made by big names and of equivalent quality) or bottles you might overlook as they aren't familiar. In no particular order then...

Teroldego Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT 2012 (12.5% abv) - Seeing more of this style of light to medium-bodied red around nowadays, made from the obscure and very northern Italian (Alpine almost) grape variety Teroldego. Attractive fruity spicy wine with a bit of character too. Tesco £7.99
Nero d'Avola Sicilia IGT 2011, Corte Ibla 'single estate' (14% abv) - quite serious and full-on, a lovely Sicilian red made from Nero d'Avola with big ripe dark fruit and fairly firm-textured palate too. M&S £12
Lugana DOC 2013, Tenuta Roveglia (variety: Trebbiano di Lugana, 12.5% abv) - I've been through a few vintages of this consistently tasty dry white with a touch of richness yet fresh and crisp too, from vineyards near Lake Garda just in Lombardy on the border with neighbouring Veneto. Asda £7 although now de-listed as I haven't seen it recently? Shame.
Barolo DOCG 2009, Cantine Ascheri Giacomo (Nebbiolo, 14% abv) - You can often pay more than this for Barolo and still be disappointed, this a very good example balancing meatiness and grip with nice maturing fruit. Tesco £14.99
Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG 2011, Cantina Valpantena (Corvina, Rondinella, 15%) - Similar comments on price/quality as above could apply, this very tasty blockbuster red has lush and spicy fruit, balsamic notes and full-on rounded vs grippy tannins. Enjoyable now with rich food, but it will probably get better if left alone for a couple of years. Sainsbury's £16.50
Chianti Riserva DOCG 2010, Piccini (Sangiovese, 13% abv) - Fairly straightforward wine but well-made (Piccini is a reliable producer), attractive and drink-now version of this popular Tuscan red. Asda £7
Grillo Terre Siciliane IGP 2013 (13% abv) - perhaps one of Sicily's most exciting white varieties, Grillo offers exotic ripe vs juicy fruit with body, a hint of honeyed spice and lightly tangy finish. M&S £7
Greco 2013 Sannio DOC, La Guardiense (13.5% abv) - another star southern Italian white grape from the Campania region, Greco also gives you rich fruit and honeysuckle notes with full-bodied mouth-feel then crisper finish. M&S £10
Notte Rossa Primitivo di Manduria DOP 2012, Cantine San Marzano (14% abv) - Primitivo is the same as, or closely related to, California's Zinfandel (yes, it's a black variety) and can produce some of the best reds in Puglia, especially good wineries in the Manduria zone like this delicious smoky vs dark Med red. M&S £10
Aglianico del Vulture DOC 2009 (14% abv) - Aglianico is another slightly obscure grape worth seeking out, and this example from the Basilicata region (in the deep south found between the two regions mentioned above) shows enticing liquorice and wild herb notes. The 2009 is looking a bit old now, so enjoy it this winter: on offer at Sainsbury's for £6.75 (usually £9).
Vermentino 2013 Tuscany (12%) - another new Italian white at Asda, give it a go for its floral character and elegant style; worth £6 on offer, although I wouldn't pay the "full" price (whatever that really is in any supermarket, with their deliberately confusing promotions and pricing policy, allegedly).

15 November 2014

Italy: Nino Franco, Prosecco


This top-notch Prosecco winery isn't far off its 100th birthday and was established by Antonio Franco in Valdobbiadene, right in the beautiful heart of the 'original' production zone marked by often steep hillside vineyards at altitude (hence the snowy shot above), which has recently become a much smaller and more quality-focused sub-zone (Prosecco can be made pretty much anywhere in the Veneto region or virtually the entire northeastern corner of Italy it seems). Nino Franco then expanded the family operation and grandson Primo, who's been in charge for over 30 years, has boosted exports substantially - it shouldn't be too difficult to find their wines in your neck of the woods.
The three tasting-noted below are all made 100% from the Glera variety, the 'old' name for Prosecco which has been re-adopted especially in the Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG zone, to make a point of distinction presumably. They're all produced by the 'charmat', 'cuve close' or, less pretty sounding, 'tank' method, where the second fermentation and lees-ageing take place in a sealed vat, then the wine is cleverly bottled under pressure retaining the natural CO2 bubbles. Franco's sparkling wines just go to show that there's Prosecco and there's Prosecco...
These ones are available in the UK/Ireland from JN Wine, Wine Drop and Sommelier's Choice among others starting at £13.50-£14 (€23) up to £25-ish; or Wine.com and many other outlets in the US (from about $18). Photo copied from www.ninofranco.it.

Rustico NV - lively with lightly toasted almond and yeasty biscuit edges, quite intense fruity vs earthy flavours with long crisp vs toasty finish; very nice fizz.
Vigneto della Riva di San Floriano 2013 - more 'vinous' and concentrated, attractive fruity vs baked bread-y mix of flavours with intense bite and length, lingering oat biscuit notes vs fresh and 'salty'; stylish and elegant.
Grave di Stecca 2010 (old steep vineyard, longer lees ageing, only 7 gr/l residual sugar which is pretty dry) - quite rich and toasty with tangy nutty dry mouth-feel, more serious foodie fizz with lovely rounded vs crisp finish.

23 January 2014

Wine Education Service NI tastings and courses UPDATE

Updated February 26

The wine-tastic WES NI courses and tastings being poured over the next few months, at the Ramada Encore in Belfast city centre and tutored by RMJ, are outlined below. All events run on Thursdays 7 pm to 9 pm, apart from the Saturday workshop (doh!).
Essential Wine Tasting five-week course - 3 April to 1 May £125 per person. More details here: wine-education-service.co.uk/introductory
Tour de France tutored wine tasting - 27 March £25.
Australia and New Zealand tutored tasting - 8 May £25.
Wines of Italy Saturday workshop - 31 May £90 including two-course lunch. More info here: wine-education-service.co.uk/workshop
More details about the two evening events above and online booking: wine-education-service.co.uk/wine-tasting-belfastYou can also pay for these tastings by PayPal using the button below. If you're a regular user of Local Wine Events.com, you can get in touch with me from this page: www.localwineevents.com.


Select tasting:


31 December 2013

S Africa, Italy, France, Chile: 'whites of the mo' Chenin, Fiano, Sauvignon.

Following in the red-tinted wake of my previous New Year-y Italians of the mo type posting, here are a few gratuitous and varied white recommendations sampled recently hailing from the deep Italian south (Puglia, Sicily), South Africa, Chile and France...

The Garden Route Chenin blanc 2013 Western Cape (13% abv) –

30 December 2013

Italian "reds of the moment"

Featuring a couple of well-known names from northeastern Italy and a slightly more senior one from Tuscany (another Tuscan will follow too), all suitably red, full-flavoured and New Year-y...
Le Tobele Valpolicella Ripasso 2011 (13.5% abv) – 'volatile' balsamic notes on the nose, turns to very Italian morello cherry and almond aromas/flavours, floral and fruity with peppery edges; nice ripe cherry fruit with dry yet soft tannins vs fair acidity adding freshness, kirsch notes and perfumed crunchy fruit with attractive bite vs maturing savoury flavours. Nice 'sweet and sour' thing going on, fruity vs savoury balsamic, has good depth too. Went well with a creamy mushroom risotto. €10.99 Lidl Wine Cellar (Ireland, will confirm £ price in UK).
Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2010 (15.5% abv) – the initial nose is a little heady/porty, chunky and austere when first opened too; turning to dried plum with balsamic meaty gravy notes even, thick tannins with a touch of oak texture/flavour, that alcohol's quite punchy vs lush cherry and olive fruit; it's still pretty firm powerful and 'porty' vs attractive sweet/savoury fruit. Quite good, the other dearer Amarone (links to note on that) Lidl 'wine cellar' has is better and finer (and dearer of course); this one's more in your face but is still attractive. Good with chocolate pudding. £15.99, €17.99
Casato dei Medici Riccardi 2008 Brunello di Montalcino (14% abv) – surprisingly herby/earthy tones at first (for its age, this went with airing though) vs mature smoky notes, dried fruits (morello/kirsch) with savoury 'cheesy' edges, balsamic and black pudding too! Smooth mature palate with dried cherries and meaty flavours, melted-in tannins although still has a bitter twist of grip and structure too, a bit of oomph vs balanced finish. Nice old-fashioned red, not 'top top' but reasonable quality and authentic style for £19.99 – Brunello can be mega expensive.

15 August 2013

Sicily: Bosco Falconeria

This Sicilian estate winery's full title is Bosco Falconeria Azienda biologica Simeti Taylor (goes to their Facebook page, where I pinched the photo from), hence the "Simeti Taylor organic farm." Found near Partinico a good trek to the west of Palermo "in the hills overlooking the Gulf of Castellammare", farm is very much the right word; as you can see from the fresh mulberries below, they grow a variety of fruit, veg and nuts here as well as wine grapes, and have done organically for almost 25 years.


This old family property was resurrected in the 1970s as a holiday home initially, then brought back into production in the 80s by Antonio Simeti, an agricultural specialist, and his American wife Mary Taylor. The estate is now managed by Natalia Simeti and her husband Rami Salo, a Finnish Tai Chi Chuan instructor - that should come in handy for handling the stress at harvest time! They also run courses and seminars in this ancient Chinese body and mind art, by the way. And there's a market on the first Sunday of the month... this place sounds interesting, will have to go there some day... Anyway, here's what I said about three of their wines:

2011 Catarratto white - nutty with crisp appley notes, pretty fresh on the palate layered with nice nutty richness & intensity.
2011 Falco Peregrino white (Catarratto fermented on the skins, no added sulphur dioxide) - more exotic and perfumed, light bitter apricot character then softer finish, again refreshing acidity with good depth of fruit and more nutty flavours on the finish. Good stuff, unusual.
2011 Nero d'Avola red - it was a little 'baked' when I tried it (could have been open too long / too warm) with rather firm tannins. Not sure, would like to try it again sometime...
More info @ boscofalconeria.it

And more Sicilian and Italian wineries and wines HERE.

13 August 2013

Pink Port and Amarone: a couple of "headbangers of the moment"

I don't usually recommend wines based purely on alcohol content - and I'm not really going to this time either - yet the alcohol is an intrinsic part of these two totally different wines (but 'still only' 19.5% and 16% abv respectively, so we're not talking schnapps/eau de vie here). Besides, a Sun-style headline doesn't do any harm every now and then, and helps bring a 'little theme' nicely together...
So, over to Croft Pink Port then: I first tried it over five years ago when just launched, in Barcelona of all places (links to feature on the 2008 Wine & Climate Change conference; not sure what this wine has to do with that, but maybe Croft was a sponsor...); and again in 2010 in the line-up of a special Douro Valley 'masterclass' tasting (links to post about this). If you can be bothered clicking on that, you'll see that I was trying to like it but was "... struggling... too techno... boiled sweets and bubble gum in that ester-y chemistry lab kinda way..." Well, I've sampled it again a few times recently, on its own and with different things; and I think I was being a bit mean before. I doubt the wine's changed much, if at all, winemaking or style-wise, so I must have. It was still a touch ester-y and 'nouveau' at first, but got more interesting in an ultra-fruity sweet rosé way with intriguing earthy kirsch aromas/flavours, nice zing and kick too (without being overpowering) to counteract the quite high residual sugar. Serve well chilled as a summer dessert or milk chocolate wine, or with/on fresh red berry fruits. Or a few sips with salty crisps or peanuts is also strangely quite nice... And Croft is keen on promoting it in trendy bars as a cocktail base: check out croftpink.com for some ideas, there are quite a few. I like the look of simply mixing it with Champagne, especially their 'Decadent' recipe including Pink Port, Champers, tea, lemon juice and "Absinthe soaked sugar lump." Mind you, I'd dispense with the sugar though! Anyway, in the UK, it's £11.99 for 75cl at the Co-Op, selected branches of Majestic and Selfridges, which might sound a tad dear, but this would do you for a week or so kept in the fridge and poured half a glass a go.
Back to the Amarone red finally, obviously no similarity whatsoever as a wine; though, as I said, with 16% (natural rather than added like Port) abv, it certainly 'packs a punch'. This one's full title is Tenuta Pule 2008 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico and is new to Lidl's 'wine cellar' range (£19.99 UK). The raised alcohol content comes from the grapes being dried out before fermentation, which concentrates the sugar in them while water evaporates; then they make it like a regular dry red wine (with cask ageing in this case). So, you get plenty of rich earthy cherry and damson flavours with balsamic and toasted almond (!) touches, big powerful and rounded mouth-feel with lush dark berry and spice fruit vs attractive meaty leather edges; turns gamier and more savoury after opening for a day or two, yet still retains that nice wild kirsch fruit. Went well with South African style chunky sausage (a version of Boerewors made by my local butcher with beef pork and coriander) and a slightly wacky spiced red cabbage risotto I made up as I went along!

23 July 2013

Italy: whites and reds "of the moment", south & north

Three Sicilian whites, a red from Puglia and one from Trentino to be precise, all hot off the shelf from Marks, Lidl and Asda. I've mentioned a certain fondness for white wines from Sicily before (okay, reds too), especially made from the exciting native variety Grillo. New to both M&S (who now stock more Sicilian wines than any other large retailer I'd guess) and Lidl too, both 2012 vintage and labelled under the sweeping 'Terre Siciliane IGP' zone. Here's my verdict:
2012 Grillo (12.5% abv) - a hint of SO2 on the nose, which goes with airing, delicate yeasty notes vs rich peach and apricot, honeyed and rounded vs crisp and zingy, fat texture vs dry bite, full-bodied vs refreshing. Rounded palate with lingering yeast-lees/SO2 notes, dried apricot, peach and almost toasted/honey-coated almond flavours yet quite steely and 'mineral' really; nice wine in the end. Lidl £5.99
2012 Grillo (13% abv) - hints of Viognier in style with that sweet apricot and honey fruit, but more white peppery and fresher with zesty pear edges, quite crisp acidity vs ripe sunny and rounded. Good stuff. £6.99
And Asda has been promoting the 2012 vintage of its Fiano dry white from Sicily, which I recommended last summer and continue enjoying it every time I buy it, for a fiver I think (as they do: don't know what the 'usual' price is, as I only get it when on promo like the rest of the world!)
Moving east to the other side of southern Italy to the Puglia region, Marks has also taken on a 2012 Negroamaro red (another indigenous variety) at £6.99 (13.5% abv): Nice and fruity with jammy damson and black cherry, spicy earthy edges, ripe rounded and warming with liquorice flavours vs dark chocolate twist.
Heading about as far north north as you can go in Italy, towards the border with Austria, Lidl has taken the fairly brave step of listing a Teroldego Rotaliano from Trentino (you only find this variety there), a 2010 Riserva red (12.5% abv) for £6.99 as well (price-point of the moment obviously): Surprisingly dense with a coating of coco-choc oak (these reds are often on the lighter side and un-oaked), fruity and spicy though with nice smooth tannins giving attractive dry vs ripe profile, peppery and earthy with hints of toasty coconut grain vs dark cherry/berry fruit; quite structured and serious yet drinking nicely now. Developed more liquorice and spice the following day with sweet/savoury fruit, wilder edges vs fairly smooth texture.

02 July 2013

Wine tour: Verona & Veneto weekend

Piazza Bra and Arena, Verona amphitheatre
The latest 'wine weekend', this time going to northern Italy in the autumn, has just been slotted into wine travel company Wine Voyages' increasingly busy schedule, taking in Verona and some of the Veneto's lovely vineyard areas and wines of course. From Thursday 17th to Sunday 20th October 2013: more info on what's included, wineries visited, prices and booking are here:

30 March 2013

Italy: Tuscany - San Polino, Brunello di Montalcino

According to their site, Luigi Fabbro, Katia Nussbaum and family practise "permaculture and biodynamic-organic farming..." at their four hectare estate (10 acres divided roughly into two thirds / one third of vines and olives, which are made into their own extra-virgin olive oil) up in the pretty Montalcino hills. I've never seen or heard the former term used by a winery before, which apparently implies an element of sustainable design or building within a self-sufficient and environmentally friendly farming model (man). The vineyard is planted entirely with the Sangiovese grape, and their first Brunello, as they call this variety here or rather the local 'clone' of it, was released in 2001 following several years of restoration and replanting work between 1991 and 1998. Winemaker and viticulturist Alberto Gjilaska, originally from Albania, has been on the team since those early days. Importers include Integrity Wines in the US, Vintage Roots (£ prices below) and Dynamic Vines in the UK; € prices quoted are approx. cellar door. So, chill out and enjoy the view (copied from www.sanpolino.it)!


2011 Sant Antimo Rosso di Montalcino - lovely fruity vs 'inky' red with dark morello cherry flavours, easy going and tasty. €7
2008 Brunello di Montalcino - light toasted coconut tones, rich vs firm palate, quite extracted and chewy yet has nice tannins and plenty of ripe 'sweet/savoury' fruit, some fresh acidity lingering too on its balanced long finish. €20 £27-£30
2008 Brunello di Montalcino Helichrysum - perfumed floral wild herb and minty notes vs dried fruits, attractive maturing fruit yet still firm and dry mouth-feel, tasty concentrated 'sweet/savoury' finish. €30 £52
2007 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva - similar profile but more developed and softer, lovely dried fruits with meaty edges, still structured with subtle concentration but riper tannins and long finish.

13 February 2013

World Grenache Competition part 3 - Sardinia: Cannonau di Sardegna

Enzo Biondo's book on Cannonau
The third thrilling installment of my 'World Grenache Competition' coverage brings us back to Sardinia featuring my pick of the Cannonau (= Grenache) di Sardegna reds we tasted in the competition, along with a few succinct nuggets and couple more older Cannonaus plucked from a presentation given in the afternoon. Any medals awarded are stated in brackets, and/or my own 100-point style scores come afterwards (for wines tasted blind in the competition at least). You'll find Part 1 with a bit of background and comment on the competition below this post and Part 2 on my French Med blog, which focuses on the Roussillon and Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
Part 4: Spain, Garnacha/Garnatxa...

Cannonau di Sardegna DOC
Something of a mostly enjoyable voyage of discovery for me, this flight of Sardinian reds received my most extreme scores, the highest and lowest of the three flights we tasted! My top scoring five on our table were:
Sartiglia 2011 Azienda Vinicola Attilio Contini (Trophy winner) - hints of maturing tobacco notes vs 'sweet' and peppery aromas, lovely blackberry and liquorice; concentrated and grippy palate, powerful with tight long finish; classy wine, needs time to develop. 93. Roberson Wine in London has the 09 vintage of this for £10.95.
Olianas 2011 Societa Agricola Olianas (Gold) - attractive nose, lively and spicy with lots of dark fruits; very concentrated with nice tannins and a touch of freshness too, lovely lingering rich peppery flavours with good balance and style. 92
Tuvara 2006 Vitivinicola Alberto Loi, Isola dei Nuraghi (Silver) - enticing developed meaty nose with dried cherries and tobacco tones, concentrated with nice rounded tannins, quite mature with a touch of class. 90

Su'entu 2011 Societa Agricola Varoni - aromatic sweet plum and liquorice, peppery vs savoury vs ripe with attractive lingering meaty fruit, fairly restrained and tight on its long finish. 90
Chio Riserva 2008 Cantina Il Nuraghe-Mogoro (Silver) - lifted peppery nose with nice sweet liquorice fruit, quite soft palate vs a bit of punch, still quite structured though with fairly complex finish. 87

And these two older wines were shown as part of a presentation on the island's big-gun red (get it, ho ho?) by Enzo Biondo (winemaker and author of 'Cannonau Mito mediterraneo', pic. top) and Mariano Murru (winemaker at the Argiolas co-op winery):
2007 Riserva Nepente di Oliena Cantina Oliena (15% alc.) (their 2010 non-Riserva won a Silver medal) - very ripe 'sweet' fruit with floral and kirsch tones, 'volatile' maturing edges; savoury leather notes vs 'sweet' dried fruits, dry tannins but not drying, tasty developing finish, a tad cider-y perhaps but good in that old-fashioned 'volatile' way.
The northeastern part of Sardinia boasts about 70% of Cannonau/Grenache production, and most of it is concentrated in the Nuoro region a little inland from the east coast, where this wine is comes from. The whole island is made up of over 80% hills and mountains by the way. Here the variety is planted on old bush vines, and the wine sees traditional ageing in large old tuns. Oliena itself has the biggest surface area of Grenache planted at 668 ha/1650 acres (along with star white variety Vermentino): "You hardly find it anywhere else in Italy," Enzo continued, "and I prefer it as 100% of the wine here. It gives less colour but I like all those ripe Mediterranean flavours." So do I Enzo. He also said that picking dates are tricky in this neck of the woods, as ripening isn't even across all the different zones.
Mariano showed us the 1997 Turriga from the Serdiana co-op in the south of the island, found a little north of Cagliari on "slightly west-facing vineyards at 140 metres altitude...  we don't get many bunches per vine here." Cannonau/Grenache is often blended here with Malvasia Nera, Carignan and Bovale Sardo (I think he said the latter is the same as Mourvedre, but it's a clone of Bobal according to Jancis Robinson's guide?). This wine was very ripe and savoury with sweet dark fruit and soft palate, mature with earthy edges; a bit past its best perhaps but interesting nevertheless. The 2008 vintage of Turriga won a Gold medal.

30 July 2012

Sparkling wine: France, England, Germany, Spain, Chile, Oz, Italy, S Africa...

THE LATEST VERSION OF THIS PAGE CAN NOW BE FOUND IN THE PAGE ARCHIVE HERE.
 
A gratuitously fizzy post simply to create one central URL for a handy 'wine words' side-bar link (below right) to all pieces on sparkling wine... Updated: from June 2015 posts and features on Champagne are now appearing on a special page HERE.

Gusbourne Estate, Kent

25 July 2012

Italian reds: Sicily, Barbaresco, Amarone...

The first Sicilian red recommended here is made entirely from an obscure indigenous variety called Nerello Mascalese from vines grown in the Agrigento area in the southwest of the island. The second is another co-op winery red moulded from the better-known Nero d'Avola grape (I wouldn't have said that a few years ago but I've noticed more and more Nero d'Av wines around, which is nice) sourced from southern Sicily. Finally, the dearest one, also from the south and 100% Nero d'Avola, is a bit of a Mediterranean treat although still quite good value for the quality at £12; I'd much rather drink this than a 'cheap' Barolo at the same price.
Talking of which, or next door at least, Marks & Spencer sell a Barbaresco for £12 as well, which I found a tad austere though still pretty typical Nebbiolo in style I guess. The Barby I've included here - 100% Nebbiolo too as they all are - is more than twice the price unfortunately but is in a different class; shame that you have to pay so much to get something very good from the Piemonte region. And travelling east to the other side of the north, if you get my drift, we have a rather yummy Amarone from Valpolicella. It's fairly expensive as well, as they naturally tend to be, and not everybody's cup of red tea, being typically full-on and towards head-banging in style, so save it for a special and very hearty meal (wild boar stew perhaps?! Matured hard cheeses certainly).

2009 Nerello Mascalese Cantina del Coppiere, Sicily (13% alcohol) - 'sweet' floral fruit with wild lavender edges, tasty 'sweet/savoury' palate with ripe maturing fruit vs a touch of grip. Nice Med style. M&S £5.99
2009 Baglio Rosso Nero d'Avola Cantina Sociale Viticultori Associati, Sicily (13%) - similar profile to above, perhaps more intense and lusher with lovely sweet fruit and wild herb undertones, again attractive soft and easy mouth-feel vs structured too. Good stuff. M&S £7.99
2007 Nero d'Avola di Sicilia Casa Girelli (13%) - rich and seductive nose with savoury and almost tar-like notes, ripe dark fruit for sure; concentrated gamey and savoury palate with lush structured underbelly, very long finish. Delicious wine. M&S £11.99
2007 Barbaresco Cascina Morassino, Piedmont (14.5%) - has all that enticing firm and fresh character you'd expect from Nebbiolo vs much richer and darker than the 'cheaper' one, meaty powerful finish; classy wine. M&S £27
2008 Villalta Amarone della Valpolicella Speri, Veneto (mostly Corvina and Rondinella plus Molinara and others; 15%) - perfumed dried cherry notes with meaty 'tar' edges, powerful and firm mouth-feel vs nice and lush vs dry texture, big stylish finish. M&S £25

18 June 2012

Italy: "whites of the moment"

Asda "Extra Special" Fiano
Asda has been making an effort with its Italian white wines stocking a few lesser-known ones from Sicily, the mainland south and north. A nutty floral example is their 2011 Extra Special Fiano (13% alcohol) made by Cantine Settosoli in Sicily, which offers great value and taste for a fiver on offer. Try their slightly more exotic 2011 Extra Special Falanghina (12.5%) from Puglia too, also from the deep south and £5 at the moment. Or 2011 Lugana (13%) from the Lake Garda area in the north, a little dearer at £6.98 but has plenty of flavour and style for the money. Lidl can surprise too if you look beyond Pinot Grigio, Soave et al: give their 2011 Vernaccia di San Gimignano (12.5%) a go for £4.99, an elegant zesty white from Tuscany.
Updated:
July 2012: Asda now has their 2011 Extra Special Gavi on promo for a fiver, a delicate floral citrus-y and lightly chalky-textured dry white from Piedmont in the northwest.
August 2012: Tesco has been punting out the Inycon "Limited Edition" 2010 Grillo (12.5% alc.) - another native Sicilian white variety and possibly the most exciting one wine-wise - for £4.49, which is definitely worth investing in with its towards exotic fruit and texture with yeast-lees edges and fresh dry bite.

Italy: Ciró, obscure "red of the mo"

Ah yes, Ciró, one of my favourite red tipples actually... While browsing Lidl Ireland's fairly limited Italian wine selection (apart from all the usual suspects) this weekend gone, I came across this mysterious bottle from Ciró in the Calabria region - that's Italy's 'toe' reaching out to give Sicily a kick. What a pleasant surprise too: it sounded vaguely familiar as something commendably obscure from the south, so I had to give it a go to take to a dinner party. Made from the local Gaglioppo grape variety, this 2009 Riserva weighed in at 13.5% alcohol with dense colour, rich earthy dried black cherry and raisin aromas / flavours with wild herb edges; smoky and lush with ripe dark fruit encased in attractive firm vs rounded tannins, lingering wild 'sweet' vs meaty finish.
€7.99 in Ireland, £5.99 on offer in Lidl UK stores. By the way, here's a fascinating "everything you need to know about..." page on About.com; or there's even a Ciró wine Facebook page.

04 September 2011

Belfast Wine Festival, the aftermath…

Belfast's first Wine Festival appeared to go swingingly last Bank Holiday Monday at St. George's market, which proved a perfectly satisfactory venue for the show (light enough, laid-back, has a lived-in food & drinkie feel to it). As I mentioned in my previous post, Olly Smith was on hand to liven up a couple of tastings with his usual enthusiasm or throw in wine matching tips for the chef demos that also took place live. There were a few good food stands there too, including Spanish caterer Tapitas who did a tasty wee platter of tapas for a fiver (paella, cured ham, chorizo, tortilla...) and the Co. Down Honey Farm (Crossgar) matching it with goats' cheese, sweet wines etc.
One small criticism perhaps: seems a tad mean to charge £16.50 entry, then another £5 if people wanted to try a further wave of ten wines (and then another fiver for the big samplers...). I appreciate the organiser would want to make a decent profit and it's not wise to let people 'try' as many as they like... But why not, e.g. put out more tip-buckets and encourage punters that they don't have to drain every drop in their glass (naïve, moi)?! I've knocked up notes on my twenty-something favourite wines deemed to be very good for one reason or another: post a comment if you agree or disagree, or with yours…

Torres' Fransola vineyard, Upper Penedès

Whites
Italy: 2009 Primo Bianco Vermentino di Sardegna (13% alc.) – lovely example of the usually pleasant-surprise Vermentino grape variety, with floral honeysuckle aromas and peachy lightly tropical fruit notes, weighty vs elegant mouth-feel, tasty and intense finish. £10.99
France: 2009 Patrick Piuze Petit Chablis (Chardonnay, 12.5% alc.) – riper and fruitier (and less expensive) than a still good 2008 Chablis on show (by Domaine des Marronniers), this has nice classic creamy vs quite ‘mineral’ profile, attractive juicy fruit with good bite and zest. £14.99
2010 La Croix Gratiot Roussanne, Domaine Sainte Croix, Languedoc (13.5%) – quite rich with perfumed honey blossom and subtle toasty / yeast lees edges, nice balance of oomph and interesting flavours as the Roussanne grape often delivers. £9.49
South Africa: 2010 Paul Cluver Noble Late Harvest Riesling, Elgin (the most southerly region on the coast, 10.5% alc.) - gorgeous linseed-oily and honeyed tones, rich sweet palate with dried apricot, pineapple, honey and citrus flavour combo vs attractive underlying fresh acidity. £12.49 half-bottle.
Spain: Torres 2009 Waltraud Riesling, Penedès (13%) - Torres must be the only one in Spain to plant Riesling (?), up in the hills northwest of Barcelona (see photo above taken from torres.es), and what a result! Floral 'mineral' style, quite intense and definitely Riesling-like showing hints of ripe citrus and oily development on nose/palate with enticing 'chalky' bite. £9.99

Rosé: Torres 2010 De Casta rosado, Catalunya (13.5%) - much simpler wine than above, and totally different of course, but this typical Catalan rosé is always enjoyable vintage after vintage. Ripe perfumed raspberry and rose petal notes, quite full-on mouth-feel with rounded vs crisp finish. £7.99

Reds
Italy: 2010 Gran Sasso Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (the grape, the region) - tasty chunky red with liquorice tones and hints of coconut, powerful firm palate with well-integrated oak and ripe vs dry finish, good stuff. £9.99
2005 Allegrini La Poja, Verona (100% Corvina variety from a single vineyard, 14.5%) - complex maturing nose with savoury and old-wood tones, has a fair kick and acidity too lending nice bite to its grip, quite fine actually with attractive maturing fruit. £57!
2007 Allegrini Amarone Classico (same area as above, different grapes and winemaking 15.5%) - full-on style with maturing fig, date and liquorice fruit; grippy vs sweet-fruit palate, pretty classic Amarone style, tastes rounder and older than the above, funnily enough. £49
South Africa: 2010 Ernie Els Big Easy, Western Cape (Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, Viognier; 14.5%) - some varietal blend that, giving a punchy spicy red with herby minty tones vs dark fruits and liquorice, concentrated solid mouth-feel with 'sweet/savoury' profile and plenty of flavour; very South African but 'modern' if you follow me. £14.99
2008 Glenelly Cabernet Sauvignon, Stellenbosch (14.5%) - hints of coconut oak layered with concentrated 'inky' cassis fruit, quite extracted tannins vs rich liquorice too, big smoky and lush vs tangy finish. Pretty serious stuff, successful SA / Bordeaux combo (the owner was a top chateau owning nob from the latter). £10.99
2008 Glenelly Lady May Stellenbosch (91% Cabernet Sauvignon & 9% Petit Verdot, to be precise! 14.5% alc.) - even more Pauillac leaning, leafy vs spicy new-oak edges, concentrated firm and tight palate vs tasty long finish and lingering 'sweet/savoury' fruit. Wow. I'd perhaps prefer a touch more ripeness / less austere style although classy stuff. £25
2008 Spice Route Mourvèdre (14.5%) - spicy minty nose with a bit of slightly clunky oak, this has good substance though with again those herbal red pepper tones vs punchy dark fruit palate and chocolate oak texture. £9.99

All the wines above were supplied by Nick's Wines (Belfast, on-line) / Harry's Road Fine Wines (wholesale to restaurants). 
These reds below are available from Mundus Wine Company (Belfast):
Australia: 2008 Crackerjack Riverbend Shiraz/Viognier, Victoria (14%) - oak spice and black pepper notes plus sweet black cherry and blackberry; rounded mouth-feel with sweet fruit vs oomph and dry grip, aromatic too on the finish and fairly classy in the end. £11.99
2008 Nick Faldo Selection Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra/South Australia (made by Katnook Estate, 13.5%) - cassis and coconut on the nose, quite intense palate with 'sweet/savoury' fruit, attractive tannins and punch vs tasty maturing and subtle too.
2007 O'Leary Walker Pinot Noir, Adelaide Hills/S. Australia (12.5%) - elegant and juicy with typical 'sweet/savoury' perfumed Pinot style, fresh bite and a bit of oomph too, quite fine and long on the finish. £15.99
2003 O'Leary Walker The Ghan Sleeper Reserve Shiraz, Southern Flinders Ranges/S. Aus (15%) - delicious maturing meaty nose with liquorice and spice too, complex and big chewy mouthful, lush and concentrated, powerful yet with soft tannins; tasty foodie red with lots of flavours. £25

And a trio of tantalizing reds from Nouveau Wines (Groomsport):
Argentina: Pascual Toso 2009 Malbec, Mendoza region (14%) - spicy and punchy, hints of oak layered with red and black fruits, rounded tannins and 'sweet/savoury' finish. £10.25
South Africa: Simonsig Pinotage 2008 - smoky maturing complex nose with liquorice notes too, lively tangy mouth-feel vs lusher smoother side, powerful finish with 'earthy'/'tar' characters even! £10.25
Spain: 2008 Carlos Serres Old Vines Tempranillo, Rioja (13%) - light oak tones enhanced by developing savoury meaty and dried fruit, intense concentrated palate with rich maturing finish. Classy. £9.99

France: Chateau de la Ligne, Bordeaux - owned by N. Ireland businessman Terry Cross, more info and stockists @ chateaudelaligne.com - 2008: slightly leafy blackcurrant nose, quite smooth and tasty, fairly light but has substance too for not a great vintage. 2007: also a difficult year in Bordeaux weather-wise, this is a touch richer and firmer with a bit more oak, well-balanced though and more closed up than the 08 actually. £12.99

Finally, back to Spain and a couple of Torres reds:
2009 San Valentín Garnacha (14%) - aromatic ripe Grenache style with juicy cherry fruit and liquorice, soft vs punchy mouth-feel; attractive sweet vs dry texture, powerful yet very drinkable! £7.99
2007 Celeste Crianza, Ribero del Duero (relatively new wine and territory for Torres, this is probably mostly made from Tempranillo in this increasingly trendy region of northern-central Spain; 13.5% alc.) - scented cedar-y aromas with ripe berry and cassis fruit, quite lush and structured yet elegant and stylish, even if a little too Rioja like. £12.99

Anyway, enough of my ramblings: see you there next year. I might think about doing a tutored tasting or something like that, if the organiser is game on. Watch this futuristic space...

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Header image: Château de Flandry, Limoux, Languedoc. Background: Vineyard near Terrats in Les Aspres, Roussillon.