Home | Wine Reviews | Wine Journals | Updates

by Tom Hill

A self-admitted wine geek, Tom lives in Northern New Mexico and works as a computational physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory doing numerical neutron transport & large scale code development. He has been tasting wines since 1971, participates locally with a couple of large tasting groups in his area, and is practically a fixture at most California wine festivals, such as the Hospice du Rhône, Rhône Rangers, and ZAP. Other interests: Tom is heavily into competitive sport fencing (foil & epee), biking, cooking, basketball, skiing, backpacking, mountain climbing.

Some Northern Italian Varieties - June 6, 2012

We tasted tonight (6/6/12) Some Northern Italian Varieties:

  1. Rosa d'OroVnyds Arneis YoloCnty (LmtdRelease; 13%) 2010: Light gold color; rather fragrant/floral/pineapply/ spicy light earthy/pungent/smokey attractive almost GV-like nose; soft bit earthy/lush/ripe light floral/ pineapply slight mineral flavor; soft/lush/ripe bit earthy/loamy ripe/pineapple/floral finish w/ a very long/ lingering aftertaste of cotton candy/bananna candy; doesn't show the steely/stony character of many Arneis; an attractive wine at an attractive price. $16.00
    _____________________
  2. Vietti DOCG: Roero Arneis (13%; U; www.Vietti.com) AlfredoCurrado/CastiglioneFalletto 2010: Pale yellow color; very fragrant/perfumed/mango/pineapple almost muscat/floral slight mineral/stoney lovely/aromatic nose; fairly tart/lean rather stoney/mineral/flinty very floral/pineapple/mango almost R-like/muscatty quite dry/zippy flavor; very long floral/pineapple/mango/muscatty rather lean/mineral/ austere finish; a wine with beautiful aromatics and a laser-like mineral focus on the palate; lovely wine at a great price. $24.00 (KK)
    _____________________
  3. Alagna IGT Passerina del Frusinate (13%) Az.Agr. Marcella Giuliani/Anagni/Lazio 2007: Light gold color; very ripe/overripe/candied/peppermint ribbon candy almost raisened very strong/grapey nose; very soft/fat/underacid very ripe/candied/peppermint ribbon candy/dried pineapples slightly oxidized flavor; med/short soft/fat/porky overripe/candied/raisened finish; an overripe/porky white; the legs and flavor suggest much more than 13%. $18.00 (KK)
    _____________________
  4. Az.Agr. Antoniolo DOCG: Erbaluce di Caluso (12.5%; EB) 2010: Med.yellow color; very strong citric/grapefruity/ spicy very mineral/flinty metallic/dusty/root cellar/wet sidewalk/appley quite perfumed/aromatic nose; tart metallic/tangy strong citric/grapefruity/spicy/orangey bit dusty/wet pavement/stoney flavor; long tangy/metallic strong grapefruity/spicy/citric light dusty/wet pavement/ loamy finish; a very attractive bright/zippy interesting Erbaluce at a very good price. $18.00 (KK)
    _____________________
  5. Rosa d'OroVnyds Dolcetto ClearLake/LakeCnty (4 brls; EG/B; 13.6%) 2009: Dark color; strong earthy/grapey/classic Dolcetto slight smokey/pungent/oak fairly lush/perfumed nose; fairly tart bit tannic/rough/rustic quite grapey/ licorice/black cherry some vanilla/Am.oak rather classic Dolcetto flavor; fairly long rough/tannic/rustic rather grapey/licorice/pungent/black cherry/earthy some vanilla/oak finish; needs several yrs yet; rather classic expression of Dolcetto grape and a bit on the rough/rustic side; very attractive wine for the price. $20.00
    _____________________
  6. Rivolia DOC: Dolcetto di Diano d'Alba RenzoCastella (14%) 2007: Very dark color; slight musty/ TCA/corked light earthy/grapey/licorice nose; soft rather coarse/rough/rustic/tannic slight licorice/grapey slight musty/corked flavor; med.short rough/tannic/hard slight musty/corked very light grapey/licorice finish; some good Dolcetto things there but probably compromised by the TCA. $26.00 (PMW)
    _____________________
  7. Poderi di Luigi Einaudi DOC: Dolcetto di Dogliani (13%) 2010: Very dark color; very strong black cherry/licorice/ grapey rather pungent/earthy/smokey very slight VA/EA/volatile lovely nose; soft very rich/lush quite grapey/licorice slight earthy/pungent/smokey flavor w/ slight tannic bite; very long rich/lush grapey/licorice soft pungent/earthy/ smokey finish w/ slight tannic bite; a beautiful classic lush/grapey Dolcetto w/ a bit of a tannic bite; needs a yr or two; delicious wine for $18.50 (KK)
    _____________________
  8. Poderi LuigiEinaudi VignaTecc DOCG: Dogliani (Dolcetto; 14%) 2005: Very dark color; rather aged/complex/earthy/ loamy slight licorice/grapey somewhat old-wine/aged-Barolo nose; bit dried out/tannic some aged/old Barolo light licorice/grapey/earthy some complex flavor; long bit tannic/dried out/hard complex/old Barolo light licorice/ grapey finish; some like an old Barolo but w/o the aromatics; lost much of the lush Dolcetto fruit & starting to dry out. $30.00 (MW/SPas)
    _____________________
  9. Rosa d'OroVnyds Nebbiolo Riserva Calif (4 brls; 13.8%) NV: Very light purple color; strong pungent/grapey/licorice slight tarry/pungent light floral/rose petal/lilacs lovely aromatic nose; fairly tart bit tannic/hard pungent/ grapey/licorice slight tarry light floral/lilacs/violets slight earthy/loamy flavor; med.long bit tarry/pungent/ road tar some tannic/hard/structured light floral/lilacs slight earthy finish; not so much the high-toned aromatics of Nebb but good pungent/tarry/earthy character; needs several yrs yet; quite a good characteristic Nebb at a very reasonable price. $20.00
    _____________________
  10. Az.Agr. Antoniolo Nebbiolo Juvenia DOC: Coste della Sesia (13.5%) Gattinara 2009: Med.dark color; lovely very floral/violets/lilacs light pungent/tarry/licorice slight earthy/wet pavement very aromatic nose; slight tannic/ hard very attractive floral/lilacs/violets/Nebb fairly tart bit lean lovely/perfumed flavor; long light bit tannic/hard lovely fragrant/floral/violets/rose petal/Nebb slight tarry/pungent/licorice finish; lots of lovely floral/classic Nebb aromatics and less of the pungent/tarry character; a very good Pinot-like expression of Nebb; beautiful Nebb for a great price. $22.50 (KK)
    _____________________
  11. Az.Agr. Antoniolo DOCG: Gattinara (EB; 14%) 2007: Med.light color; lovely floral/lilacs/violets/Nebb light pungent/tarry slight herbal/grassy/Kansas hay mow rather elegant/perfumed slight cherry/Pinot; bit tannic/hard very attractive floral/lilacs/violets/Nebb slight earthy/rustic/bretty light pungent/tarry/road tar flavor; bit hard/tannic very fragrant/perfumed/violets/lilacs/Nebb light tarry/pungent/road tar finish; needs 2-6 yrs of age; much the same floral aromatics of the Juvenia but a bit more of the tarry side of Nebbiolo; lovely Nebb and fairly priced at $40.00 (KK)
    _____________________
  12. Castello di Verduno DOCG: Barbaresco (14%; www.CastelloDiVerduno.com; OliverMcCrum) GabriellaBurlotto & FrancoBianco 2004: Med. color; light tarry/pungent/earthy slight floral/lilacs/Nebb slight leafy/herbal/grassy/ appley rather interesting/unusual nose; slight tannic/bitey attractive floral/lilacs/Nebb some pungent/tarry/ road tar rather elegant/nuanced/restrained/complex quite attractive flavor; med.long bit tannic/hard/bitey light floral/lilacs/perfumed/herbal complex attractive finish; probably not going to get much better; a rather elegant/nuanced Nebb on the tarry/pungent side and not the ethereal aromatic character of some. $45.00 (WoP)
    _____________________
  13. Az.Agr. Antoniolo DOCG: Gattinara SanFrancesco (14%) 2007: Med.dark color; strong pungent/road tar/tarry some fragrant/floral/violets somewhat smokey/pungent/earthy/licorice complex nose; rather tart strong pungent/road tar/ smokey/charred/licorice/earthy slight floral/violets somewhat tannic flavor; long bit hard/tannic pungent/road tar/ licorice slight floral/violets/Nebb rather tart finish; still needs some age; lacks the floral/aromatic perfume of the Juvenia; pretty classic big Gattinara; not worth the premium. $57.00 (KK)


And the wee BloodyPulpit:

1. Rosa d'Oro: This is a relatively new wnry up in LakeCnty. Last year, afore the RhoneRanger's tasting, I went to a tasting of LakeCnty wines at BrianKane's wnry on TreasureIsland. Never before had the opportunity to tast so many LakeCnty wines together. It's an area that doesn't get a whole lot of respect. I think many of their grapes go South into Napa for annonymous use in those wines.

Pouring at this event was PietroButtitta, winemaker. They focus primarily on Italian varietals, some of which are pretty uncommon. I invited Pietro to our NAP#2 event in Napa in August, where he showed his current Nebbiolo, which I liked a lot. As I interacted w/ Pietro in preparation for NEB#3, I decided I should like to order a mixed case of his wines to share w/ my group. The one in which I was really interested in was the Refosco. Alas, it had long ago sold out, but Pietro sprung for the last remaining btl in his stash. I decided to pair his wines w/ some representative varietals from Italy; not to show them up or anything, but to mostly get a handle on their varietal
character, both in Italy and in LakeCnty. Pietro has a Blog (www.rosadorowine.blogspot.com/) that is packed with information. I think these are sound/solid/well-made wines that express their varietal character very well. They are all reasonably priced. And they're sold by DarrellCorti...as strong a recomendation as you can get. One of the strongest players in the underappreciated LakeCnty scene I would say.
_____________________
2. Dolcetto: I'm not a huge fan of Piedmont Dolcetto. It's an early ripener and, therefore, planted in areas that Nebbiolo will not ripen. It is often described, because it's made to be drunk young, as the Piedmonte Beaujolais... a comparison that I just don't see. I find that many of the Dolcetto d'Alba wines are often on the tart side and have astrong tannic/bitter bite to them I don't much care for. I generally prefer the Dolcettos from Dogliani as being more attuned to my Calif palate. This Einaudi '10 is, to me, what Dolcetto is all about... one of the best I can recall.
_____________________
3. Erbaluce: I was first introduced to both Erbaluce and passito wines back in the '70's by DarrellCorti; his coming from a Dr.??? that I don't think produces anymore. I try nearly every (dry) Erbaluce di Caluso I stumble across. I find them rather mean/acid little wines, often a bit on the insipid side. This Antionolo Erbaluce is the best dry Erbaluce I can recall in many a year w/ good aromatics and lots of minerality.
_____________________
4. Antoniolo: It's been quite a number of yrs since I've had any of the Antoniolo wines. I recall them as being on the rough/rustic, maybe coarse side. So I was surprised when the wines showed up here in NewMexico, coming thru Guliana Imports of Boulder.

I was very much taken by the Juvenia, which come from along the Sesia river to the East of Gattinara proper; a DOC you don't often see. It, to me, captured what I like most about Nebbiolo...that beautiful/ethereal aromatic almost Pinot-like character the grape can show. The two Gattinaras were bigger/more structured Nebbs that showed more of the pungent/tarry character of the grape. The high-end Osso SanGrato Gattinara, at $75, I've not yet tried.

TomHill

[Additional Wine Reviews from Tom Hill]

 

Home | Wine Reviews | Wine Journals | Updates

Copyright © 1993 - 2012, Tom Hill- All rights reserved
No original material may be reproduced without written consent
Mail & Comments - Grape-Nutz
Updated 4.01.12