Tag Archives: Italy

Corbinelli ‘Fonte dei Borghi’ Chianti DOCG 2019, Tuscany, Italy

17 Thursday Mar 2022

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If you Google what wine goes with Shepherds pie the answer is Chianti.  Seeing as today is St. Patrick’s day, that is exactly what’s going down.  This particular bottle is pale to medium ruby in the glass with watery legs denoting a lower alcohol wine at 12.5% ABV.  The nose is classic Sangiovese.  Cherry, red raspberry, violets, a hint of leather and red licorice.  No sign of any oak at this point.  The palate is dry with racy acidity and medium (+) tannins.  The flavors are shrouded in the tannic grip but I get cherry, mushroom, raspberry, red licorice and a touch of the leather component.  Dried herbs and a floral note kick in on the medium length finish- which is very astringent btw.  I feel like I am stuffing pouches of black tea bags between my gums.  It needs a good aerating or decanting to soften this wine up a touch, it will pair nicely with my ground lamb based dish, cutting the fat nicely.  The intensity of this wine’s fruit is the only detractor, the balance is a little off for me.  I like it, don’t get me wrong, it’s just a little out of sorts.  89 points for this $15 effort makes it a 3 star wine to drink from 2024-2027.  Salut….

Bonacchi Podere Molino della Suga Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2016, Tuscany, Italy

11 Friday Mar 2022

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This Sangiovese is starting to mature- pale garnet in the glass with thick legs (14% ABV).  Pronounced aromas of cherry, leather and strawberry with hints of clove, rooibos tea, garigue and dried herb.  The palate is dry and quite tannic.  I get lovely crushed cherry, cranberry, pomegranate, strawberry coulis and earthy leather.  This wine has juicy acidity and a full body- it’s just now starting to become drinkable.  It is a very young wine with great structure and potential for aging that will allow tertiary flavor development.  Right now it is still relatively primal.  Delicious stuff that has a long finish and rather astringent mouthfeel right now.  It will drink beautifully till 2030 and pair well with Italian fare, grilled ribeye or game.  93 points from me for this $40 wine makes it a 5 star effort.  Salut….

Castello Romitorio ‘Romitoro’ Toscana IGT 2019, Tuscany, Italy

28 Monday Feb 2022

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This Tuscan blend of Petit Verdot and Syrah is a deep shade of ruby, bordering on purple in the glass.  The nose has pronounced aromas of violet, black plum, cedar, a touch of fresh funk, spice box and maduro.  The palate is quite zippy and fresh.  Dry, with gentle tannins and medium acidity it has a medium weight body and yummy flavors.  Plum, cedar, spice, maduro ( a dark tobacco), blackberry and that funk- perhaps a mushroom scent?  The mouthfeel is staggeringly smooth and delicious.  This wine is seamless in its component makeup.  The tannins are very nicely integrated, the acidity is balanced and the depth of fruit is great.  The finish is medium to long.  My only concern is the funk that is very persistent.  It is ever present and distracting, knocking a point off the total.  Overall this is a very good wine that gets 91 points from me and at $19- 5 stars.  I am pairing with meatballs and red sauce.  Drink till 2026. Salut….

Carpano Antica Formula Vermouth

22 Tuesday Feb 2022

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I recently did a taste test of two different Vermouths that got me thinking.  In my curiosity I delved into the history of the elixir to try and understand it better.  The nuts and bolts of which include a neutral wine, red or white.  Add aromatics and then fortify with alcohol to produce this unique aperitif or mixer.  The key ingredient by European law is the aromatic and herbaceous Wormwood (hello Absynthe) that gives it the bitterness we have come across.  The German name for this perennial (and somewhat poisonous) plant is Wermut, which was loosely translated to Vermouth.

I already tasted the Carpano Classico, today I will compare it to the Carpano Antica which runs $42 a bottle.  It is pale amber in color and has pronounced aromas of burnt caramel, orange peel, raisin pumice, bright floral notes and vanilla bean.  The palate is barely off-dry but the sweetness builds on the palate.  Very smooth, medium (-) acidity, low tannins and a crispness that is refined.  The wine is medium bodied and I can sense the alcohol on the mid palate.  The flavors are very precise and well integrated- citrus from the orange peel, raisins, walnuts, oak influence by way of the caramel and vanilla with a gentle bitterness.  The finish is medium (-) in length and bitter with the orange and nuts lingering.  I never thought I would drink Vermouth straight up but this is a seriously smooth drop that invites one to add a cube of ice and a slice of orange peel to sip at sundown.

As I mentioned in my original Vermouth post (https://caspernick.com/2022/02/14/vermouth-taste-test/), I prefer the Dolin for Manhattans but I think I would like to try this one in a Negroni, where the medium level off bitterness coupled with the not-so-sweet flavors will meld well with Campari and Gin.  Salut….

Negroni Recipe

Equal parts:

  • Vermouth
  • Campari
  • Gin

Garnish with a slice or peel of orange over ice.  Stirred, not shaken!

Gioso Barolo DOCG 2016, Piedmont, Italy

18 Friday Feb 2022

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This Nebbiolo is rather young at 5 years old but I have a hankering for something to go with our Tenderloin tonight.  It’s bordering on garnet but is clearly a pale shade.  The nose is of medium intensity and has aromas of steeped cherry, cooked strawberry compote, leather, dried herbs, coconut and charred oak.  Classic Barolo components- I’m excited to taste.

The palate is dry and tart, as expected.  The tannins are present but you can tell they have softened from their youth and are nicely integrating.  Medium (+) intensity flavors of cherry, leather, herbs, a medicinal note (from the oak presumably) and kirsch are noted.  Medium bodied- this wine has high acidity and a nice finish, albeit rather grippy and tart.  These are all qualities to look forward to in this varietal.  The wine is obviously still young and needs time to flesh out and gain more tertiary notes but it will drink nicely with our Beef and would pair well with stews and game.  I’m not convinced that it’s a 92 point wine as awarded by one pro, more like an 89 point effort that gets 3 stars for it’s $30 price point.  I have a few more in the cellar and will spread them out over the next few years.  Salut….

Famiglia Cotarella Falesco Vitiano Rosso Italia 2018, Italy

15 Tuesday Feb 2022

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It’s labeled as a Rosso Italia which means there is no rules the winemaker had to play by as far as varietals, blending, aging etc.  It’s the way it should be if you ask me- let the winemaker make the choices, not hamstrung by Byzantine Old World rules.

It is a deep claret color with medium intensity aromas of red cherry, blackcurrant, ripe plum, baking spice and a touch of charcoal.  The palate is dry and grippy with upfront, somewhat green tannins.  Medium (-) acidity, medium body and short finish.  The flavors are much more focused on blackcurrant and cherry, with a hint of spice and oak influence peeking out from behind the tannic veil.  The astringency is a little much to be honest, this is either a very young wine, or just out of balance.  At $12 per bottle it is a handy blend of Sangiovese, Merlot and Cab Sav that get 88 point from me.  Drink this 4 star wine with meaty dishes or hearty pasta till 2025.  Salut….

Tinazzi Poggio ai Santi Le Guardie 2019, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Italy

26 Wednesday Jan 2022

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Pasta for dinner means an Italian wine but I’m afraid this one might be a touch young.  Made from Montepulciano grapes it is medium opacity with garnet hues.  The nose is medium (-) in intensity and gives me aromas of red licorice, cherry, smoke, nutmeg, red plum and cherry cola.  The palate is not what I was expecting- much more approachable.  Dry, with medium (-) tannins, juicy acidity and medium weight body.  The flavors are medium intensity with notes of cherry, cola, strawberry, nutmeg, and a hint of red plum.  I don’t get the smoke component any more.  The tartness of the cherry is evident on the finish, which is relatively short.  I like this wine as a basic, no frills red that will serve the pairing well.  It gets 88 points from me and for the entry-level price of $11 it is worthy of 4 stars.  Keep a few on hand for a weekday spaghetti night.  Drink now.  Salut….

Casalforno Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2015, Tuscany, Italy

22 Wednesday Dec 2021

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It’s getting close to Christmas so Moxie ordered Mama Carlino’s Lasagna for our first family dinner with my folks.  I needed something with some acidity, grippy tannins and  a sour cherry note to go with the pasta.  This one is a scant 6 years young and is a light shade of ruby in the glass with watery legs even though it sports a 14% ABV.  The nose is typical for Sangiovese- red cherry, leather, cranberry, tobacco, oak, tar, red licorice and something red I cannot quite put a finger on.  The palate is truly what I wanted- tart red cherry, great acidity, medium (+) tannins that caress and loads of intermingled red fruit.  The oak nuances are present and the wine is starting to develop tertiary notes.  Light to medium bodied it is complex and has a refreshing mouthfeel that finishes long.  I like this wine, it offers good fruit flavors, structure to age gracefully and is reasonably priced for a Brunello at $40.  Getting 90 points from me it is a 4 star effort to drink till 2030 with pasta dishes.  Salut….

Feudi di San Gregorio Serpico Rosso Irpinia 2018, Campania, Italy

13 Monday Dec 2021

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This Aglianico is opaque and murky, a deep shade of garnet with slim legs in the glass.    The nose is showing bottle age- prunes, stewed black fruit, caramel, game, blackberry, coffee bean and black truffle.  The palate is fresher than I thought it would be.  Clean flavors of blackberry, coffee, game (also some bacon fat), caramel and a touch of the prunes/stewed fruits.  The wine is dry and the tannins are pretty integrated now but they have a presence- remember…. this varietal is extremely tannic in youth.  It’s not a very acidic wine but there is balance with the fruit, structure and body (mid to full).  The finish is medium but dominated by the tannins which have by now started to grip. A nice, mature Italian red that has softened with age, picked up tertiary nuance and will drink well till 2025.  I am pairing it with sausage and collard infused Arrabbiata on a bed of garbanzo pasta.  Should be interesting.  92 points for this $40 bottle makes it a 5 star effort.  Salut….

Cantine di Ora ‘Kellerei Auer’ Pinot Grigio Sudtirol – Alto Adige 2019, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy

09 Thursday Dec 2021

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Pale gold in the glass this Pinot Grigio has aromas of pineapple, lemon curd, peach and a floral note.  On the palate this dry wine has medium intensity acidity and brims with tropical fruit flavors interlaced with citrus notes giving it a juicy finish.  The wine is medium bodied and has a medium finish which has an almond tinge to it.  I’m drinking it at room temperature but will chill it some for the Shrimp Jambalaya that is getting pieced together.  It would also pair well with fresh oysters or grilled fish.  I like it and for $15 this 89 pointer gets 4 stars.  Drink now.  Salut….