A Taste of Italy - |
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Notes and impressions from a tasting of some Italian wines - Saturday, May 5, 2001, at the Wine Exchange in Orange, CA. Eighteen wines were poured for a tasting fee of $18. |
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Overall impressions: good flight, and a nice cross-section of wines from Italy. I don't get a lot of exposure to Italian wines, so this was a excellent re-introduction. Probably the most surprising thing I found about these wines, was that the acid-balance seemed much more in tune with [my] New World tastes. What a delight to find that the blow-torch acids that I half expected, were essentially gone. It also probably didn't hurt that I was delving more into the display of cheeses and breads while tasting. Anyway, I was impressed. Now, about those prices.... One of the things that deters people (well, me) from "getting into" Italian wines, are the prices for what appear to be the better wines. Unfortunately, I think this serves to discourage experimentation with the many varietals and appellations involved. So, what about bargains in this flight? Well, the Ca'Viola Barbera was very nice, along with the Calbello Merlot/Cab blend and the Nittardi CCR. The Coltibuono Chianti and Il Colombo Dolcetto seem like no-brainers at $14. |
1999 J.
Hoffstatter Pinot Grigio. $15.99.
Nearly clear in color. Sweet grass and slightly citric nose. Moderate
mouthfeel, sweet citrusy fruit, crisp medium-long finish. Somehow
this seemed to fall a little short of expectations. Maybe more time
would add some complexity to the citrus qualities. 1999 Pieropan
Soave Classico Superiore Calvarino. $13.99. Slightly
yellow in color. Nose of newly cut grass, hay and Asiago cheese.
Off-sweet slightly plush mouthfeel, grass/hay and citrus flavors,
seems to have nice acidity initially, but gets just a bit flabby
toward the finish. 1999 Coltibuono
Chianti Classico Roberto Stucchi. $13.99. Light-medium
garnet color. Nose of black cherry, anise, and a cheddary aroma.
Medium-full body, nice balance, tasty ripe fruit, and nice long
finish. 1997 Nittardi
Chianti Classico Riserva. $23.99. Medium-dark garnet color.
Huge ripe black cherry nose, with anise and toasty oak background
notes. Big mouthfeel, noticeable oak and acids, but fruit just keeps
on pumping. Nice CCR. 1997 Poliziano
Vino Nobile de Montepulciano Asinone. $35.99. Medium-dark
garnet-cola color. Complex nose of toast, dried cherries, anise,
and nice meaty quality. Big and tasty mouthfeel, fabulous balance,
and gobs of fruit. There are still plenty of tannins and well-integrated
oak to resolve, but what a great drink right now. 1995 Fanti
Brunello di Montalcino. $44.99. Dark garnet-ruby color. Nose
of very ripe and spicy black cherry fruit, vanilla, and cheese toast.
Huge mouthfeel, with tarry ripe flavors, nicely grained oak and
tannins, off-sweet fruit, with a very long slightly grainy and cheese-flavored
finish. Absolutely dee-licious. 1998 Calbello
Ardingo. $32.99. Dark garnet ruby color. Initially big
vitamin/herbaceous nose. Vigorous swirling reveals more fruit, chocolate,
and mocha aromas. Big ripe mouthfeel, with flavors of stemmy fruit,
Kalamata olive, and a hint of sweet pine, on a big chewy finish.
75% Merlot; 25% Cab Sauv. 1997 Fattoria
Montellori Salamartano. $39.99. Dark garnet ruby color.
Big floral and buttery cassis nose. Chewy mouthfeel, very nice balance
through mid palate, with acids playing a bigger role at latter palate.
Really nice nose, but the fruit seems to drop off a bit on the finish.
50% Merlot; 50% Cab Sauv. 1999 Vietti
Dolcetto d'Alba Tre Vingne. $11.99.Medium-dark purple
ruby color. Big stemmy, floral, and tarry nose, with some cranberry/blueberry
aromas, and a oaky/toasty back ground note. Very subtle fruity flavors,
coming on strong at first, then settling into a steely and stemmy
quality, with a toasty and somewhat Spartan finish. 1999 Aldo
Conterno Dolcetto d'Alba. $11.99. Medium dark garnet ruby color.
Restrained stemmy floral nose of cranberry/blueberry fruit and toast.
Medium-full mouthfeel of off-sweet cranberry/cassis fruit and toast,
with very nice balance, along tasty finish. 1999 Il
Colombo Dolcetto delle Langhe Monregalesi. $13.99.Dark ruby
garnet color. Nose of ripe cassis and black cherry, with toasted
oak, ink, tar, cheese and anise. With narrowly focussed fruit and
somewhat tight mouthfeel, the oak and tannins seem to take front
stage from the moderate fruit.
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1999 Agostino
Pavia Barbera d'Asti Moliss. $9.99.Medium-dark ruby garnet
color. Nose of ripe fruit, black olive, oak, toast, ink, and balsamic
aromas. Very tasty mouthfeel, and the fruit seems to integrate seamlessly
with the acids and tannins at the finish. Great price! 1998 Ca'Viola
Langhe Rosso Bric du Luv. $29.99. Dark garnet ruby color.
Big inky and fruity nose, with a meaty marinade aroma. Nice ripe
fruit on the palate, with a tasty and chewy, if slightly hot, mouthfeel,
and a very long fruit-filled toasty finish. Very nice! 100% Barbera. 1997 Pelissero
Barbaresco Vanotu. $54.99. Dark garnet-cola color. Nose
of ripe tarry fruit and anise, with a singed and somewhat "old vine"
quality to the nose. Smooth and subtle mouthfeel, slightly spicy
ripe fruit, smooth long finish. After the very intriguing nose,
the subtlety of flavors seem sort of a let down. Maybe since this
is still a youngster, more time is needed. Or, maybe Barbaresco's
aren't my bag. 100% Nebbiolo. 1996 Claudio
Alario Barolo Riva. $44.99. Medium garnet-cola color.
Lovely ripe and slightly burnished fruit, with a cheesy/toasty background
aroma. Medium-full mouthfeel, very nice balance, with ripe fruit
and lots of dark olive and cheese flavors through a long tasty and
still slightly tannic finish. 100% Nebbiolo. 1998 Zenato
Valpolicela Ripassa. $13.99. Medium-dark ruby garnet
color. Nose of sweet toast and ripe meaty aromas. Ripe mouthfeel,
very nice balance, tasty fruit and herb flavors, with along, slightly
coarse finish. Very nice wine for the price. 70% Corvina. 1996 Allegrini
La Poja. $45.99. Dark ruby garnet color. Toasty, and
slightly earthy nose, with herbed cheese-bread and spicy marinade
aromas. Smooth, yet still young mouthfeel, nice ripe fruit, very
nice balance, and a very long somewhat astringent finish.100% Corvina. 1996 Allegrini
Amarone. $39.99. Dark ruby color. Effusive nose of ripe and
inky fruit and a bit of Port. Sweet mouthfeel, very nice balance,
and showing a trace of heat on its extremely long finish.75% Corvina. 2000 Dante
Rivetti Moscato d'Asti Riveto. $9.99.Slight brown-gold
color. Raisiny and spicy nose, that even smells spritzy and a bit
swampy. Nice moderate bubbles on the palate, clean mouthfeel, with
a slight aspirin quality to the tasty finish. But hey, for $10.... |
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Mail & Comments - Eric Anderson
