Maule 2010 “I Masieri” (Veneto) – Garganega (not 100%, I believe, but mostly…though I don’t have recent data at hand). Salted lemons, bold and weirdly compelling. More precisely, compelling and weird, and compelling in part because of that very weirdness. There’s a bit of a stale note that emerges later, whether from exposure to air (Maule tends to be very low-sulfur even amongst the low-sulfur crowd). Drink quickly, is what I’d say, though there’s every chance that other bottles will be different. (7/12)
Browse Tag
italy
Almondo Wilder
Almondo 2008 “Fosso della Rosa” (Piedmont) – 5% alcohol. A sweet, sparkling wine made from brachetto, but unlike the (enjoyably) sweet familial cousins named brachetto d’Acqui and so forth, this has an exciting bitterness to it, almost as if it’s being groomed to be a chinato. It’s positively electric with food, great without, and I very much adore it. (7/12)
For he’s a jolly good Chicchivello
La Querciola 2007 Langhe “Chicchivello” (Piedmont) – Dolcetto, barbera, & nebbiolo. I usually find such blends a confused jumble, and as a rule have little use for the vast majority of such Langhe rossos that employ this trio, but this isn’t bad. It takes the fine-grained adhesion of nebbiolo, chunks it up with bold dolcetto, and then gives it a little airspace with barbera. It’s a dark-fruited wine, leaning heavily on its tannin (which is, I fear, an unavoidable consequence of this particular blend), but it’s an amenable partner with food. There’s even some minerality. Maybe time will bring more? I wouldn’t place a large bet on it, but I’d probably wager a bottle or two. (7/12)
Myrina Sirtis
Buceci 2010 Nero d’Avola “Myrina” (Sicily) – Chewy and just a bit wild, as if the grapes couldn’t quite be wrestled into politesse. Fiercely dark, of course, with a fair bit of prominent (rather than lush) structure for a sun-drenched southern red, though of course there’s more tannin than acidity. Rocks and dark, dark soils…or perhaps charred old-growth forests…as well. I don’t expect much from this wine, and as a result it somewhat exceeds my expectations. (7/12)
By the horns
Taurino 2003 Salice Salentino “Riserva” (Puglia) – In days of yore (momma) this was a regular favorite. Time has not been kind, both to the wine and to my memory of it, and of course the year is no help. Like drinking fruited lead. (7/12)
Corazon
Gaetano d’Aquino 2011 Pinot Grigio delle Venezie (Veneto) – Sticky, confected lime candy with very spiky acidity that doesn’t seem entire ripe (or there are other possible interpretations, I suppose). Industrial. (7/12)
Calatroni, the Lombardese treat
Calatroni 2010 Oltrepò Pavese Pinot Nero (Lombardy) – Dirt and blackish fruit with a fair bit of space between its components. Slightly gritty but non-aggressive, structurally, yet with the balance to age for a bit. There’s even a bit of swagger. I’m intrigued. (6/12)
Waltzing Martilde
Martilde 2009 Barbera “Sportello” (Lombardy) – From what I call the “third way” of barbera vinification: neither an acid razor nor a floozied-up international travesty, but the crisp yet full-fruited version, here done in darker berry (even a bit of black cherry) tones, yet retaining the essential, food-desiring throb of crispness. Delicious. (6/12)
Cerasuolo performance
La Valentina 2011 Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo Rosé (Abruzzi) – Succulent. Red berries, both tame and with the slightly bitter wildness of some trailside plumpness that you know you probably shouldn’t eat, but which you just can’t help popping into your mouth anyway. Balanced, finishing with just a little grace note of spice. (6/12)
Yes’ worst album
Sella & Mosca 2009 Alghero Terre Bianche Torbato (Sardinia) – Vivid fruit in the white/lime green/yellow spectrum, seeking to be bright but stumbling a bit under a little excess weight. It’s not a complex wine, nor is it (I think) intended to be, but it requires a fairly constant chill to avoid a bit of over-belt sag. (6/12)