tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40043032336860203812024-03-06T11:27:16.348+11:00bianco-rossoitalian grapes and wines in australiaPaul Starrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02672763330169377305noreply@blogger.comBlogger174125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4004303233686020381.post-45543815672904015392014-02-23T09:21:00.000+11:002014-02-24T11:08:56.776+11:00Matteo Correggia Arneis DOCG 2012 (Piedmont)Go over the Tanaro River from Barbaresco, or north of Alba, and you are in Roero. As with their Piedmontese neighbours, Arneis, Barbera and Nebbiolo grow across the Roero communes, with a sprinkling of the 'international' varieties. Arneis is grown for sparkling and still white wines here, as well as being used for co-fermentation with Nebbiolo. <br />
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Matteo Correggia took over his father's mixed farm in 1985 and until his death in 2001 drove many improvements in the viticulture, winemaking, marketing and reputation of the Roero. Correggia now manage over 20 hectares of vines on mainly sandy soils, with the Arneis and Brachetto grapes given to the sheltered slopes.<br />
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Well known as a forward-thinking producer (though no mad modernist), it is not a surprise to see the 2012 Roero Arneis under a Stelvin Lux closure. The packaging looks good and so does the first impression given by this wine. Attractive to smell, this has pear, apple, white blossom and some lime on the nose and these carry through to the mid palate, along with some astringent and slightly bitter characters. This feels a bit too forced, pushing for flavour but copping extracted and boozy character. It holds together, just, on a first day of opening, but the astringency and alcohol dominates and the wine unspools by a second evening open.<br />
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Not a convincing argument for Arneis, to my taste, but fair value at $20.<br />
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Screwcap, purchase, $20, 13%, brought in by Beaune & Beyond, website <a href="http://www.matteocorreggia.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.Paul Starrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02672763330169377305noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4004303233686020381.post-37431735969649151832014-02-22T10:12:00.001+11:002014-02-22T10:12:49.460+11:00Girlan Pinot Bianco 2012 (Südtirol/Alto Adige)<a href="http://www.girlan.it/images/weine/Weissburgunder.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.girlan.it/images/weine/Weissburgunder.png" height="320" width="105" /></a>Cantina Girlan is a co-operative established in 1923, working with a wide range of Northern Italian white and red grape varieties as well as making blends of these. This wine is from their "Classici" range.<br />
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Ripe, balanced, pleasantly weighty and even-textured along the palate, this is a good value example of what <span class="st">Südtirol and Alto Adige can do with grapes like Pinot Bianco. The fruit is from Cornaiano and the wine is entirely about stainless steel fermentation and some aging in tank on lees. </span><br />
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<span class="st">Aromatics are subtle, a gentle push up of apple, pear and pome fruit blossom, with most of the action on the front and mid-palate. Not exactly waxy, there is a smooth and silky texture here, more than a straight acid line. Alcohol is nicely folded in to the wine and does not show on the finish at all.</span><br />
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<span class="st">A good option for antipasti, seafood pasta, chicken dishes or roast pork with a potato gratin. I bought this from Prince Wine Store at $22 a bottle, and it is fine value there, but will often be in retail closer to $30 a bottle. </span><br />
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<span class="st">Also a smart listing at Jamie's Italian in Canberra at $72 a bottle and described as "a favourite for any chardonnay drinker". That might suggest oak treatment (which this has none of) but is not a bad way to introduce new drinkers to the texture and feel on offer here. Quite a few restaurants in Australia listing Italian wines could do with looking to how that list translates Italian grapes and wines for an Australian audience.</span><br />
<br />Brought in by Bibendum. Purchase, $22, cork, 13% alcohol, website <a href="http://www.girlan.it/en" target="_blank">here</a>.Paul Starrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02672763330169377305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4004303233686020381.post-32745450675436775962014-02-15T10:19:00.000+11:002014-02-15T10:19:57.961+11:00Giuseppe Quintarelli 'Primofiore' IGT 2007 (Veneto)This is the entry point red from famed Amarone producer Quintarelli. There is Corvina and Corvinone here, but not Rondinella or Molinara grapes. Bringing up the rest of the blend is some Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Some of the fruit spent time racked and boxed, as per Amarone method, prior to crushing and fermentation.<br />
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The name of the wine, 'Primofiore', means first press. Fruit destined for Quintarelli's Amarone barrels is crushed with the free-run juice sent to Amarone and some of the first pressings sent into the Primofiore. A kind of reverse Ripasso, in a way.<br />
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I wanted to like this, tasted without reading about the wine, alongside smoked ham, good bread and salads. There are red fruits of interest, mostly cherried in flavour, with a bit of an olive character. There is length and persistence here too, a light and brightly-acidic expression of the Veneto.<br />
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But fundamentally this wine is simply too green. There is a dominant green bean character pressing down on all other aspects of the wine, with capsicum spice threaded through as well. This mix of green smells and flavours, overweighting the red fruits, gives a sense of stuffing-absent, of under-ripeness verging on shrill.<br />
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There are better ways to spend $90 than on this wine. A fine producer, but give this one a miss.<br />
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$90, purchase, cork, 13.5%.Paul Starrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02672763330169377305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4004303233686020381.post-44297947733745751312014-02-15T09:55:00.000+11:002014-02-15T12:47:42.713+11:00Luciano Sandrone Dolcetto d'Alba 2011 (Piedmont)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Serious Dolcetto here. A silky line, fuzzed up by well-extracted fruit tannin. Lots of length<span id="goog_723250469"></span><span id="goog_723250470"></span>. As with the Sandrone Nebbiolo d'Alba, there is a beautiful lift of mouth-perfume here, on top of the floral and gently musky smells in the glass. Again akin to the Nebbiolo, there is a mixture of cherry and cherry stone characters in the wine, with no oak influence.<br />
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One of the best examples of Dolcetto I have tried - as much a Sandrone wine as the 'little, sweet one' of the variety. More interest, length, texture and layered flavour than a lot of basic Nebbiolo. Give it a decant. Try with a pork sausage pasta dish or pizza with cured meats. Fine value too.<br />
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$35, purchase, cork, 13%, imported by Bibendum, website <a href="http://www.sandroneluciano.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.Paul Starrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02672763330169377305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4004303233686020381.post-35570494446131292622014-02-14T08:56:00.000+11:002014-02-14T08:56:44.479+11:00Luciano Sandrone 'Valmaggiore' Nebbiolo d'Alba 2007 (Piedmont)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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While I am still not convinced that Nebbiolo is for me, wines like this make a persuasive case for their place on the dinner table.<br />
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The 'Valmaggiore' in the name of this bottling is a reference to a single vineyard. There is not a long history of single vineyard expression in Piedmont, but many producers have headed down this path in recent years for at least some of their nebbiolo-based wines.<br />
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This 2007 has a beautiful, assured feel about it. Lithe and long, tannins ripple around the cherried fruit. Mouth-perfume. A lick of a cherry-pip, nutty character here that is really appealing. The absence of new oak shows with a clear expression of nebbiolo tannin that does not dominate the fruit. A well-balanced example of the quality to be had outside Barolo and Barbaresco bottlings.<br />
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Very easy to drink at the moment, though a few more years in bottle would not hurt either. Worth a purchase.<br />
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Cork, purchase, $90, 13.5% alcohol, imported by Bibendum, website <a href="http://www.sandroneluciano.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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<br />Paul Starrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02672763330169377305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4004303233686020381.post-62603491421059183212014-02-14T08:16:00.001+11:002014-02-14T08:17:22.741+11:00Pizzini 'White Roman' 2012 (King Valley)This is a new white blend from Pizzini, with a different varietal mix and character from the initial release. Riesling, Gewurtztraminer and Pinot Grigio are the varieties used. That mix says the very north of Italy to me rather than Rome, and I'd prefer a name less passing-off Italian geography than 'White Roman', but to give the Pizzini's their due, this is a successful example of an acid-driven but still textured white blend.<br />
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If anything, the gewurtz is muted here. Overall alcohol is labelled as 12%, so perhaps the gewurtz fruit was picked without the heady lychee & Turkish Delight aromatics it is capable of. Acid kicks off on the front palate and carries the wine through, with a wash of soft and generous fruit in the mid-palate. Citrus runs the line, but this is clearly about more than riesling drive. Lighter pasta with a chilli kick would be a good idea with this, or Cajun-spiced fish dishes. Would not go astray with a prawn sandwich either.<br />
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Drink now. Screwcap, $18.50, purchase from cellar door, 12% alcohol, website <a href="http://www.pizzini.com.au/pizzini/" target="_blank">here</a>.Paul Starrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02672763330169377305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4004303233686020381.post-35145940133009989262014-02-14T07:59:00.000+11:002014-02-14T08:00:06.654+11:00Isole e Olena Chianti Classico 2010 (Tuscany)I had hoped the 2010 vintage of Isole e Olena's Chianti Classico would come close to the quality of their 2006 release, which has been a favourite Chianti of mine. But not to be.<br />
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I looked at this over several nights and while it is likely to improve with time in bottle, it is medicinal, herbal and does not hold its shape from front to back. The fruit poked up more evidently on day three, but on the showing of this bottle it is a pass from me.<br />
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Cork, $38, purchase, 14% alcohol, brought in by Negociants.Paul Starrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02672763330169377305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4004303233686020381.post-20777071259233334842014-01-24T09:40:00.002+11:002014-01-24T18:33:04.863+11:00Grove Estate 'The Italian' Nebbiolo Primitivo 2010 (Hilltops)Hilltops (draw a circle around Young in New South Wales) is a good region for a range of Italian red grapes. As the cherry and prune plum orchards in both regions indicate, there is a fair fit between Hilltops and the landscapes that produce Valpolicella and other good things from the Veneto.<br />
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Grove Estate are one of the more established Hilltops vignerons and labels, growing sangiovese and barbera as well as the grapes in this bottling. 2010 was a challenging Hilltops vintage, being the year the drought broke, with the rains coming part way through the red vintage. This wine, well-packaged in a Lean & Green lightweight burgundy bottle, shows little sign of washing out or warm-year over-ripeness.<br />
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The nebbiolo dominates the nose and starts into the palate, carrying along cherried and cherry pit notes. Light, bright, direct acid then gives way to a rounder, plum-flavoured finish, showing the primitivo (zinfandel) influence. While a bit of a wine-in-two-acts, there is still good drinking to be had here, especially with food that has a similar balance of acid and richer finishing flavours. I had it with a pasta dish using coppa, broad beans and a little fresh tomato.<br />
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$20, screwcap, 14%, purchase, website <a href="http://www.groveestate.com.au/" target="_blank">here</a>.Paul Starrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02672763330169377305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4004303233686020381.post-69678378634079450522014-01-04T11:47:00.000+11:002014-01-04T11:47:01.483+11:00NocinoNocino is one of my favourite things to drink after dinner. Gentle, complex, faintly herbal, more cola-like flavour than anything particularly nutty; my first batch is three year old and drinking well.<br />
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Nocino, or its French walnut-liqueur relations, is an easy thing to make. A delivery of a couple of kilograms of green walnuts turned up on the doorstep yesterday, so it was time today to put down another Nocino batch.<br />
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Pick at least 24 green walnuts before the inner shells develop (test this with a skewer, which should be an easy push-through). Halve them and pack into a clean glass jar of about two litres in capacity. As you fill the jar, add in 8 cloves, a cinnamon stick, one whole nutmeg, the zest of a large lemon and a vanilla pod. Fill the jar with vodka or other neutral spirit (I used a one litre bottle of Absolut this time) to cover the walnuts, spices and lemon zest completely.<br />
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Leave the jar in a sunny spot for 40 days. Then strain the infused spirit through fine muslin or coffee filter paper. Make a sugar syrup, cool it, and add the syrup to the strained spirit base until you reach the level of strength and sweetness you like.<br />
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Add to clean bottles and store for at least a month before sampling. For my tastes, this is best left for a year to mellow and smooth out, then drink neat as a <i>digestivo</i>. It will keep for years.Paul Starrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02672763330169377305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4004303233686020381.post-18464015815656974592013-11-13T20:36:00.003+11:002013-11-13T20:38:22.369+11:00Castellari Bergaglio Gavi 'Fornaci' Cortese 2009 (Piedmont)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sherried at the front, honey and lemon juice through the middle. Aromatics are quite subtle, lemon, pear and dry hay. Length is good, mostly about a salty, mineral character and the last bits of the mid palate. Like an aged cold and flu remedy, in a way. The kind of wine you like, but are not quite sure why.<br />
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Perhaps it is because I like the Cortese grape, something the Lost Valley winery in Victoria provided my introduction to.<br />
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This 2009 Gavi (a part of Piedmont close to Liguria) comes from the Castellari Bergaglio winery and the 'Fornaci' is a reference to a brick furnace that used to be found on their site. Tasted over three days, with and without food, and looked best on the second day.<br />
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Brought in by Trembath & Taylor.<br />
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Cork, purchase, $28-35 for the current vintage which is the 2012 pictured, 13% alcohol, website <a href="http://www.castellaribergaglio.it/web/en/" target="_blank">here</a>.Paul Starrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02672763330169377305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4004303233686020381.post-54284699608883686652013-11-12T19:35:00.000+11:002013-11-12T19:35:21.921+11:00Feudo Zirtari Inzolia Chardonnay 2011 (Sicily)Lemon juice and curd, a bit of dry herb, a salty, briny lick of flavour, this attractively-priced Sicilian white blend of Inzolia and Chardonnay is a Costco offering. Not a wide, mouth-filling shape of Sicilian white, but there is solid flavour here, especially in the mid-palate. Length, not so much, but with a plate of sardines I think this might take some beating as a $10 white.<br />
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Gift, $10, screwcap, 13% alcohol.Paul Starrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02672763330169377305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4004303233686020381.post-87735493234044942352013-11-11T18:29:00.000+11:002013-11-11T23:44:42.779+11:00Tiefenbrunner Pinot Grigio 2012 (Südtirol / Alto Adige)Lots of flavour in this Tiefenbrunner Pinot Grigio, mostly in the pear (gris) spectrum. A little dried apple and the faintest trace of citrus, carried along by residual sugar to a finish that is astringent and slightly hot. Just under four grams per litre of residual sugar left in this, but it sticks out as much as the alcohol.<br />
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On the plus side, there is a screwcap and the price is reasonable if you are looking for a lighter style gris, or heavier style grigio, to pair with richer foods. Sound, but could have been picked a little earlier (or cropped a little lighter) and fermented out to dryness, for my palate.<br />
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Tasted with a simple, gentle Spring pasta dish of bucatini with broad beans, chilli, garlic, mint and fresh goats curd.<br />
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Imported by Negociants, purchase, screwcap, $20-$25, alcohol 13.5%, website <a href="http://www.tiefenbrunner.com/en" target="_blank">here</a>.Paul Starrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02672763330169377305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4004303233686020381.post-76747903883981575332013-11-10T08:57:00.001+11:002013-11-10T08:57:55.490+11:00Querciabella Chianti Classico 2010 (Tuscany)Brought in by Beaune & Beyond, this 2010 Chianti Classico from biodynamic Tuscan producer Querciabella needs some time to settle and mesh. Previous Querciabella Chianti releases have had a 5% boost from cabernet sauvignon, but this 2010 is all sangiovese. Oak use is a small amount new and the majority as one or two year old French barrels.<br />
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Gentle, subtle, even-tempered, this is a good example of mid-weight sangiovese suited to a wide range of foods. Lamb sausages went well; even better, a garlic and balsamic dressed green salad.<br />
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But there is something brittle about this wine, verging on unconvincing. On first tasting, it was all-akimbo, jangling mixes of fruit, acid and tannin, lacking harmony. It took time, and a spell for the decanter in the fridge, to tighten up and pull together. So if you have some of this, be careful about serving temperature, give it time in a decanter, or leave it alone for another year or so.<br />
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Worth a look closer to $30, questionable value at $45.<br />
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Purchase, cork, $38-$45, 13.5% alcohol, website <a href="http://www.querciabella.com/Home.htm" target="_blank">here</a>.Paul Starrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02672763330169377305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4004303233686020381.post-26970381102499505292013-11-08T07:27:00.000+11:002013-11-08T07:27:41.891+11:00Vecchie Terre di Montefili Chianti Classico 2009 (Tuscany)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Vecchie Terre di Montefili site, between Panzano and Greve, is high (550m), rocky and low in soil fertility. Aside from the incongruity of those cypress (which reminds me a little of a Jeffrey Smart painting), you can see the stone and almost feel the sparseness of these soils, holding back the natural vigour of Sangiovese.<br />
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This 2009 Chianti Classico is 100% Sangiovese and is deep, dark and rich, especially to look at, where it is purple verging on black. Usually that would be a possible flag of blending, but this is all Sangiovese and all about the warm 2009 vintage. The rich, ripe fruit, full of black cherry and dark bramble berry, is reined in with varietal tannin washing over the mid-palate and carrying through the finish of the wine.<br />
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For my personal tastes, I would prefer a little less ripeness here, more brightness and red fruited character, but this is a balanced wine and would be a good match for richer Tuscan dishes like a peposo beef and pepper potter's stew. A good t-bone grilled over rosemary would suit this too.<br />
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Purchase, cork, $32-$40, 13.5% alcohol, website <a href="http://www.vecchieterredimontefili.it/Inglese/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />Paul Starrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02672763330169377305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4004303233686020381.post-21510253927717798542013-11-08T07:07:00.000+11:002013-11-08T07:10:59.610+11:00Peter Zemmer Pinot Bianco 2012 (Alto Adige / Südtirol)Here's a good example of a flavoursome white from the north of Italy that does not rely on fruit character. The Südtirol / Alto Adige producer Peter Zemmer makes a dozen different whites with an interesting split into two categories: wines with varietal character (like this wine) and wines with regional character. Smart and clear for the market, I suggest.<br />
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This Pinot Bianco from the 2012 vintage is ripe and long. Nothing along the line of the wine says any particular fruit character; lemon being as close as you might get. What you have here is some fresh acid and non-fruit flavour, particularly a mineral character that is almost salty (in a good way). Very easy to drink and fair value if you can get it under or about $30 a bottle. Good cork too.<br />
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Went very well with a spring risotto of peas, asparagus & french tarragon, made with an asparagus stock. Would suit schnitzel, I suspect.<br />
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Purchase, cork, 13.5%, $29-$37, website <a href="http://www.peterzemmer.com/en/about-us/welcome.html" target="_blank">here</a>.Paul Starrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02672763330169377305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4004303233686020381.post-63000726940916972682013-11-01T10:38:00.000+11:002013-11-01T10:38:10.879+11:00Fattori Roncha 2011 (Veneto)Continuing my run of northern Italian whites.<br />
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Fattori is a family-owned and run producer, operating since the 1970s out of the Veneto. Their white wines come from a mixture of varieties grown on the basalt slopes of the Alpone valley, including the hills of Roncà.<br />
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This 'Roncha' white blend starts with 50% Garganega, including 5% of partially-dried grapes. Pinot grigio (picked a little early) and Trebbiano di Soave are 20% each in the blend. The final 10% component comes from the late-ripening, high-acid Durella variety.<br />
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The fruit sees a mix of stainless steel and barrels, but the complexity, the sense of 'work' in the wine is quite subtle. The most distinctive feature here is a clean and clear hit of mandarin flavour and mandarin acid. Perhaps this is the Durella influence, but regardless, this is the most mandarin-y wine I can recall having. Tasty, bright and fresh, yet not lacking fruit weight, this was a good fit with a Cantonese meal and I think even better with dishes containing fresh or dried citrus.<br />
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$28-$35, cork, purchase, 13% alcohol, website <a href="http://www.fattoriwines.com/en/" target="_blank">here</a>, imported by Deja Vu Wine Company.Paul Starrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02672763330169377305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4004303233686020381.post-12866786106672174582013-10-23T19:45:00.000+11:002013-10-23T21:16:22.837+11:00Schiopetto Collio Friulano 2010 (Friuli)Friuli has been in the news a bit of late, courtesy of Fulvio Bressan, and for attitudes about race rather than their wines. Producers from the region, such as Schiopetto, deserve a different kind of attention.<br />
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But 'region' is a bit of a strange notion in this north eastern corner of Italy. Friuli is bound up in a partnership, as Friuli-Venezia Giulia, which in turn is a third of the Tre Venezie 'region', alongside Trentino-Alto Adige/Sudtirol and the Veneto.<br />
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There are cultural threads linking these regions, including influences Slavic, Austro-Hungarian and Teutonic, which have had a bearing on the grapes grown and the wines made. Collio, where this Friulano wine from Schiopetto comes, is right up against the Italy-Slovenia border, in the foothills of the alps but with a maritime climate as well, being also close to the Adriatic. There are some red wines made in Collio, but white wines dominate, and white wines of richness, intensity and weight.<br />
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This wine is made from the Friulano grape and carries off its ripeness and driving weight well, but blends are common here too. Friulano, chardonnay, malvasia, ribolla gialla, pinot grigio, pinot bianco, sauvignon blanc - it is a rich palette for single variety or blended white wine making.<br />
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As complex and balanced as the blends can be, this was attractive drinking as a single-variety bottling, giving pear juice, lemons and an astringent lift on the finish. The 13% alcohol tucked itself in well on the first night, but started to show a little on a second day open as the fruit backed away. Made in stainless steel, the weight and power is pretty much all fruit here. The juice does see a little air early in the winemaking, which shows in the richer-yellow colour of the wine, but fruit wins out over winemaking.<br />
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A stirfry of asparagus and mushrooms, steak rested in good soy sauce, and fried rice made with pickled radish & sour-pickled mustard greens was a fair challenge for a wine, but this Friulano was up for it, being the pick of the table over a good 2011 Hunter shiraz. I have another bottle of this, which I reckon might be headed for a crumbed veal cutlet.<br />
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Well worth a look if you are interested in rich & full whites that are not reliant on oak input.<br />
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Purchase, $45, cork, 13% alcohol, website <a href="http://www.schiopetto.it/eng/azienda" target="_blank">here</a>, importer Deja vu Wine Company.Paul Starrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02672763330169377305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4004303233686020381.post-16172889247594479222013-10-23T07:20:00.000+11:002013-10-23T07:20:13.866+11:00Primo Estate Joseph 'Moda Amarone' Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 1997The twelfth Moda 'amarone' made by Primo Estate, this is 90% cabernet sauvignon from McLaren Vale and 10% merlot from both the Vale and Coonawarra. This bottle (apalling, powdered cork, but sound) shows more of cabernet than of the grape-drying amarone processes, but in a good way. Gentle black cherry, a little dusty, olive character, and an attractive bitter chocolate edge on the resolved tannins.<br />
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It may be a bit of cork influence showing, as well as bottle age, but there is a lightness to the cabernet fruit here that lets the acid shine and the wine offer some real delicacy and refreshment. At the end of its drinking life, this bottle, but a better cork may have more years yet to offer this vintage of the Moda.<br />
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An auction buy at around $45.Paul Starrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02672763330169377305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4004303233686020381.post-8747376844760994012013-09-22T21:11:00.000+10:002013-09-22T21:11:38.135+10:00Rocca de Montegrossi 2011 Chianti Classico (Tuscany)Big, rich, wild & juicy, this is still characterised by the sour cherry, acid cut and drying tannin of Sangiovese. There is 5% Colorino to lift the colour and weight of fruit. The mulberry and wild bramble characters seem those of the 5% Canaiolo, unless a bit of something merlot-like slid into the vat. The tannin and acid say Tuscany, but the fruit looks more Australian - a good mix. Drink this young, while the fruit has sway.<br />
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Tasted over two nights: first with smoked lamb & cous cous; second with penne, bacon & mushrooms. The fruit more expansive, the tannins more assertive the second night, but both times good drinking.<br />
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Cork, 13.5% alcohol, brought in by Trembath & Taylor, $36, purchase, website <a href="http://www.roccadimontegrossi.it/estate.htm" target="_blank">here</a>.Paul Starrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02672763330169377305noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4004303233686020381.post-21071356003029194872013-09-20T19:38:00.000+10:002013-09-20T19:38:06.489+10:00Pieropan La Rocca Soave 2011 (Veneto)Earlier this week, I made it along to a tasting of a dozen Mencia wines from Spain. I have a lot of time for the Mencia grape and was keen to see wines from Bierzo, Ribeira Sacra and parts nearby in a group. The first thing to say is the wines were tasted without food and the second that quite a few of the wines were talked down by tasters for being 'short' and having 'short fruit'. I was puzzled for a while at hearing this about wines where I thought there was some length. It took me a while to realise I was content to see tannin, acid and non-fruit flavours carrying the wine out, with the fruit bunching up in the front and middle of the wine. But for other tasters, this was not length. Length was fruit, fruit the way along. So only a small number of the Mencia wines appealed to them, those with length of fruit.<br />
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So why a note on a Soave starting off in the north of Spain? <br />
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This Soave Classico from Pieropan is a good showing of what the Garganega grape can do. It is a single vineyard bottling, from a vineyard on the side of the
Monte Rocchetta hill. Pieropan are old hands and sure; first making a Soave
under this label in 1978.<br />
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A combination of sweet, floral and gently nutty smells here that I think of as like good nougat. Tasting the wine, there is an overt pear character, a bit of apple tucked away underneath and some bright lemony acid stitching things together. The fruit is generous, nothing stinting, but leaves room enough for a finish that is all about mineral, acid and some subtle grip. A classic example of a wine with a lot of length that uses more than fruit to get there. Judging this for length of fruit alone would miss the point. Much as with some of those Mencia wines, for my tastes.<br />
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Going strong on a second night open, this could be enjoyed by itself or with a fish or chicken dish using some grain and lemon. Fish tagine with pickled lemon and cous cous, maybe. I had it out at Pulp Kitchen with an excellent chicken liver dish, so lighter terrines and pates would be good too. A fine reminder for me of how much interest and versatility there can be in the best of Soave.<br />
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Cork, $37, purchase, brought in by Trembath & Taylor, 13% alcohol, website <a href="http://www.pieropan.it/en/" target="_blank">here</a>.Paul Starrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02672763330169377305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4004303233686020381.post-66140551678201680692013-09-04T19:17:00.000+10:002013-09-04T19:17:32.373+10:00Biondi-Santi Rosso di Montalcino 2009 (Tuscany)Biondi-Santi's Rosso di Montalcino is intended for earlier drinking than their long-lived Brunello. The 2009 Rosso is a softly-spoken kind of wine. Quietly assured, no clamour for attention, no tickets on itself, but lacking nothing.<br />
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It shows how sangiovese need not rely on fruit for appeal. There is only a faint hint of cherry here, with the wine relying on a savoury balance of tannin and acid. There is perfume, softly so, and gently persistent length. Ample room for food alongside a glass of this and fair value for the pleasure it offered.<br />
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Cork, $80-$90, 13.5% alcohol, Mondo Imports.Paul Starrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02672763330169377305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4004303233686020381.post-69329113141748802762013-08-05T18:12:00.000+10:002013-08-05T18:12:36.993+10:00Morrisons of Glenrowan Fiano Garganega 2013 (Glenrowan & King Valley)Earlier this year I spent a bit of time tooling around Glenrowan, checking in to the old vine Trebbiano at Booths Taminick and a quick look at the Bailey's vintage port. Whereas I went to Baileys expecting to buy and left empty handed and disappointed, the punt taken on a first visit to Morrisons came off.<br />
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While I often think of Beechworth as the 'higher country' for Rutherglen and Glenrowan, the latter has its own slopes over and up to Mt Glenrowan and the Warby Range. The Morrison's site feels different to other Glenrowan vineyards. It looks like ideas tipped out at random across a hillside. A plot of vines here, a bit of green building over there, a winding track designed to disorient and lift SUV driving blood pressures. You half expect a grove of miniature, chainsaw-carved Ned Kellys or a nudist colony, or some full-beard mix of both.<br />
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Bob and Dianne Morrison run the place, but there are vines over in the King Valley as well as the art-farm-colony on the hill at Glenrowan. The ideas carry inside their sheds and cellar door, or maybe spilled out from there in the first place. Bob's a gregarious guy - a distracted air about him, a sense it's the women that yoke the ideas to the ground.<br />
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The more you talk with the Morrisons, the more you get a sense the whole thing is a blend of the deliberate and the accidental, a pinball rythym of ideas across time and site. Lets try a distinctly lighter style of Durif from a NSW-developed, lower alcohol durif clone, but grow it at Glenrowan? Sounds good. Cock a snoot at that Rutherglen durif. Why not a bit of Glenrowan tempranillo as well?<br />
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And then something wilder still. Why not a blend of Fiano and Garganega? But let's turn Soave & Campania inside out and around. Why not ripen the Garganega to a rich texture of pear-juice and apple-candy, but do the Fiano light, bright and lean, then put them together? They won't see that one coming. It'll be a bit Barbie, a bit Bride of Frankenstein, all off to a school dance, corset holding in the pieces.<br />
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I didn't see it coming. But I liked it. And did I mention Bob is keen on the Zork closure, so there is no screwcap or cork? A bottle drunk at home in Canberra perked up early and held its own with chicken & pasta. Towards the end of the bottle the air started to show in cut-apple-brown, but in a group on a warm day at lunch, I'd wager this wouldn't last long enough.<br />
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I still don't think I completely understand what's going on at that Glenrowan hill, but the distinctive, scatty vision, stitching ideas and places together, experiment piled on... there is a freedom there, a sense of plowing your own road. Worth some attention and regard, for mine.<br />
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<a href="http://www.morrisonsofglenrowan.com/" target="_blank">Website</a>, $18, 12% alcohol, Zork.Paul Starrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02672763330169377305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4004303233686020381.post-16177117497855421782013-06-29T20:16:00.001+10:002013-06-29T20:16:38.551+10:00Corte Sant'Alda "Ca' Fiui" Valpolicella 2008 (Veneto)More Valpolicella.<br />
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Peppery spice, sap and stalk to smell. Fruit to the rear, but it is there, as are tannin and acid, tucked down under. If Valpolicella had a cool climate shiraz love child, this would be what it is like.<br />
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Which is not bad. Especially with braised lentils and cotechino sausage. No mustard fruits to hand, but a bright tomato pickle worked well in Cremona's stead. A touch of some dull, woody note, which could be oak or the mildest of cork taints. The final impression is somewhat underdone, the 12.5% alcohol shows as gaps in the weight and carry of fruit. A week more of good weather (or a different picking choice and winemaking style preference) would have made a more convincing wine.<br />
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Cork, 12.5% alcohol, $40, Mondo Imports.Paul Starrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02672763330169377305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4004303233686020381.post-48235816038367802902013-06-23T08:53:00.000+10:002013-06-23T08:53:04.613+10:00Alpha Box & Dice 'Blood of Jupiter' 2008 Sangiovese Cabernet (McLaren Vale)Higher alcohol does not preclude balance in sangiovese, but can make it hard to present a wine that tastes varietal. Which can be no big deal, if what you are aiming for is something other than varietal expression.<br />
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The 2008 blend of sangiovese and cabernet sauvignon from Alpha Box & Dice rolls in at 15.4% alcohol. Whether dictated by the hot vintage McLaren Vale experienced in 2008 or a set of conscious choices I do not know, but the ripeness level is all here. The dominant impression is cherry cough syrup (Brondecon, to be precise), which kicks up into a spirited lift of cherry brandy at the end. Dark fruits all the way along.<br />
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Tasted blind, this seemed like a durif, with zinfandel as a second choice. Acid, tannin, structure and shape - none of these are what the wine is about. What you do get is a big pulse of soft, warm flavour. Would work for some, but I am not one.<br />
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Cork, gift, 15.4% alcohol, $30-35.Paul Starrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02672763330169377305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4004303233686020381.post-18198291541974442662013-06-20T14:21:00.000+10:002013-06-20T14:22:10.702+10:00Quintarelli Bianco Secco 2010 (Veneto)Continuing my recent run of wines from the Veneto.<br />
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The 2010 dry white from Quintarelli ended up on the same French bistro table (Pulp Kitchen in Ainslie) as the Tommasi Ripasso. With a plate of chicken terrine, chervil and a lemon relish, this was an outstanding bit of drinking and eating. Fresh bread and mushroom butter suited it well too.<br />
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Texture is the key here. 'Serious' Italian dry whites can be a minefield of overworked and underfruited, with the occasional cork claymore added in. This strikes that mesmerising balance of bright acid and waxy texture that the best garganega and trebbiano based wines can achieve, even before they age. Length and more length. <br />
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Quintarelli's blend of garganega, trebbiano, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and soarin is not a wine where you think fruit, as in 'lemon, pear, apple'. While there is some fresh lemon and a touch of lemon butter to smell and taste, what gets you is an insistence of even flavour, a sense of thoughtful purpose behind the winemaking, and a quiet voice saying 'now this is wine'.<br />
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Cork, $60, purchase, 12.5% alcohol.Paul Starrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02672763330169377305noreply@blogger.com3