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Tag: Italy

Wine of the Week

Just be COS

I thought I had focused this fabulous winery in a “wine of the week” post. But in spite of having enjoyed their wines so much, when I chequed, that wasn’t the case. They have been mentioned though, at several ocations, like when I visited Spanish tinaja (big clay vessel) maker Juan Padilla. This wine is a masterpiece, and made in clay from Padilla.

COS was formed in 1980 by three students of architecture whose last names were basis for the name, the O standing for Giusto Occhipinti, who is related to Arianna. Take a look here for one example.

We find them in Vittoria at the southeastern tip of Sicilia, where they cultivate 35 hectares biodynamically. This wine is made from nero d’avola 60% and frappato 40% in soils containing clay, sand and limestone.

It was spontaneously fermented, underwent an 8 month period of skin maceration in clay pots, then further ageing in clay. It’s not fined nor filtered.

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Pithos Rosso 2015 (COS)

Bright ruby colour. Complex aroma, notes of morello, violets, red plums over earthy wild forest and mushroom. In the mouth lush, juicy and very vibrant, slightly chalky, gentle tannins, but red fruits are dominating. You can almost feel the energy of the winemakers in this wine.

Price: Medium

Food: Poultry and game, lamb and swine, fresh and hard cheeses, delicious alone (you or the wine)

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Wine of the Week

From Soave’s highest vineyards

Soave signifies something soft and mellow. This area itself is not especially dramatic either. But the geography is capable of showing big differences in expression. And garganega, the most prominent grape in the area, is a very successful interpreter of these different terroirs. For me, both aspects were clearly demonstrated for the first time, in a guided tasting during the VinItaly fair in nearby Verona some years ago.

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Vigne della Brà (photo: courtesy of Cant. Filippi)

Cantina Filippi disposes of the highest vineyards in the Soave area. 400 meters above sea level might not seem enough to challenge your fear of heights, but all is relative, and these plots have an advantage over other Soave sites in terms of natural acidity. Most of their 16 hectars of vineyards were planted in the 1950s. These are divided into several crus with different characteristics.

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There is a high volcanic content in the vineyard

In all vineyards organic farming is practised, and the soils are volcanic rock, limestone and clay. Filippi keeps the pergola training of garganega inherited from his ancestors. He doesn’t wish to blend garganega with more acidic grapes, as he more appreciate a saline form of minerality. Having said this, 6 g/L isn’t that low either.

The wine was fermented with native yeasts is stainless steel, and it stayed on fine lees for around one year. Not filtrated.

Bilde av flasken for Filippi Vigne della Brà Soave 2013

Vigne delle Brà 2013 (Cantina Filippi)

Light yellow. Mature apple and some citric notes in the aroma, some nuts and saline minerality. Round and mellow in the mouth, a slight bitterness in the finish.

Price: Medium

 

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Wine of the Week

A real Verdicchio

100% Verdicchio from Castelli di Jesi in Marche on the Italian Adriatic coast.

After harvest and pressing the must was fermented spontaneously. The wine was kept 9 months on lees in big, old oak vats and steel.

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PassoLento Classico Riserva 2013 (La Marca di San Michele)

Orange, light brownish. Fresh, juicy, appley with citrus, slightly buttery with some nuts. Good acidity and length.

Price: Medium

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Wine of the Week

Perricone, Sicilia

The Perricone grape variety originated from western Sicilia. In the past it was mostly noted for full bodied, bitter and alcoholic wines. But with today’s farming methods, often organic growing, low yields and early picking (or earlier, as it ripens very late) it has more appeal for modern palates, and still with high antioxidant qualities.

The small cooperative Valdibella in Camporeale (Palermo province) was among those who took part in the rescue operation, as the variety was in danger of extinction. Valdibella takes their pride in preserving the biodiversity, and they make natural wines in the sense that the interventions in vineyards and cellar, as well as chemical additives, are held on an absolute minimum, for some wines absolutely nothing.

Acamante is made only from perricone, hand-harvested, only with indigenous yeasts, and with no fining nor filtering. It comes with a low alcohol at 12%.

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Acamante Perricone 2013 (Valdibella)

Dark colour. A floral, perfumed scent, red berries, with some earth and spicyness. Balanced tannins, and refreshing acidity on the palate, a slight hint of bitterness. Delightful drinking.

Price: Medium

Food: Light meat, pasta, antipasti with salami and other…

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Wine bars and restaurants and Wine of the Week

A Lazio delight in London

This week’s wine was enjoyed at Soho’s DuckSoup restaurant (in the same block as Ronnie Scott’s famous jazz bar), that has a focus on natural wine and simple but tasty dishes inspired from anywhere. Music lovers will find a home here too, as they have a collection of vinyl records for varied tastes.

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The DuckSoup cookbook displayed

Anyway, the wine is a elegant and fruity red carbonic maceration wine from Gradoli, Lazio in central Italy.

Gianmarco Antonuzzi and Clémentine Bouveron dispose of around 14 hectares, oak and chestnut, and olive trees as well as vineyards. We are near the volcanic Lake Bolsena in the north of the Lazio region, 600 meters above sea level.

While the sites and microclimates of their 20 parcels vary, all are found on volcanic soil.

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Some of the vines are ungrafted. This is a real artisanal project, carried out with a lot of patience, according to biodynamic principles, and without additions of any sort.

Le Primeur is a varietal aleatico that underwent a carbonic maceration for three weeks. Comes in magnums – or by the glass at DuckSoup.

Le Primeur 2015 (Le Coste)

Quite light in colour. Pure fresh fruit, flowers, red berries and stone fruit. Vivid and energetic, slightly carbonic in the mouth, simply delicious.

Price: Medium

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Wine of the Week

A long time bargain favourite

Here is a long time bargain favourite, Pilastri’s Rosso Piceno, in other words a red wine from the Marche region near the Adriatic coast of Italy. It’s made from 70% sangiovese and 30% montepulciano, organically farmed and aged in steel.

Saladini Pilastri Rosso Piceno 2014

Rosso Piceno 2014 (Saladini Pilastri)

Quite dark, purple tones. Aroma of cherries, herbs and a little spiciness. Fresh and fruity all the way, with a dry mouthfeel and a youthful acidity.

Price: Low

Food: Pasta, chicken, salads

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Wine of the Week

Not just another Prosecco

I have followed this wine for some time. In a market that overflows with uninspiring proseccos, this one has personality and a statement. This is a prosecco made today by Maurizio Donadi at Casa Belfi, just like they did all over the Valdobbiadene-Conegliano in the old days – in sharp contrast to today’s mainly industrial products.

Unfiltered, unfined, unsulphured, un-whatever… The usual glera grape variety is used 100%, biodynamically grown.

Colfondo means that it comes with the residuals. Don’t throw it away, just turn the bottle upside down and you get all the delicious taste from it.

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Colfondo Prosecco 2014 (Casa Belfi)

Light yellow colour with some sediments. Pure and delicate aroma with yellow apples, freshly baked bread and scented flowers. Creamy and full in the mouth, with a taste of apples, with a long persistence and some bitterness in the back.

Price: Low

Food: Aperitif, antipasti, red fish, light meat

 

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Wine of the Week

White from black earth

With the designation Santo Spirito this wine must be said to be quite appropriate in the so-called Holy Week we are in. Now I don’t always see the importance of chosing themes and content according to the season (there is always a reason for chosing a specific wine anyway). So we hereby leave the religious aspect.

The 25-60 year old grapes are grown in volcanic soil in the eastern corner of Sicilia, north of Catania. They are mostly carricante (about 65%), but a “field blend” of several others like inzolia, catarratto and grecanico constitutes the rest. The wine is made quite naturally, with malolactic fermentation too, that contributes to its roundness.

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Etna Bianco Santo Spirito 2014 (Tenuta delle Terre Nere)

Golden colour. The aroma is clearly tropical, with mango, apricot, cooked apple maybe, a bit lactic, and with a sensation of prolonged skin-contact. In the mouth it is unctuous, waxy, not very long and with moderate acidity. But nice drinking after all.

Price: Medium

Food: A full, round, and “tropical” wine, it was no big hit with yesterday’s varied cheese board. Next time I will try some Asian food, with some sweetness, maybe soy sauce. More safe suggestions would be fish and fowl, and why not a Sicilian style pasta dish with vegetables.

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Wine of the Week

Poggio al Vento Riserva 2007

A recent tasting of Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino showed a great variety of styles, from the classic wines of Banfi, the structured Fonterenzas, the “wild” Il Paradiso di Manfredo, some top end, and some old…

This was one of the best, but definitely not the most expensive. Located by the Sant’Angelo hill in the extreme south of Montalcino, Col d’Orcia has delivered good value organic wines on the fruity side for many years now. This is a special reserve that originates in a special vineyard in a (as the name suggests) “windy ridge” overlooking the river Orcia.

Grapes from the different parts were kept separate, the alcoholic fermentation was carried out in stainless steel and the malolactic in concrete. Then followed four years in big oak barrels.

Poggio al Vento Brunello di Montalcino Riserva DOCG
Poggio al Vento Riserva 2007 (Col d’Orcia)

Dark, deep colour with hints of development. Fruity, quite cool with cherries and morello, some spice and balsamic notes. Full, lots of soft tannins, a matching acidity, and a long and lightly spicy aftertaste. Delicious now and, for me, the next 5 years or so. Good airing recommended.

Price: High (not for a brunello riserva, but generally speaking)

Food: Wild boar and a lot more

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Wine of the Week

A Bardolino chiaretto

Fresh, appealing rosé wine that costs “no money”. Made from corvina (80%) and molinara, and made in the stainless steel low temperature fermentation tradition.

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Bardolino Chiaretto Organic 2014 (Villabella)

Light salmon pink. Discrete notes of red fruits, apricots, and lime. Dry, yet with a smooth texture, quite full on the palate.

Price: Low

Food: White fish, delicate shellfish, salads

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