Giuseppe 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.

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.

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.

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.

There are better ways to spend $90 than on this wine. A fine producer, but give this one a miss.

$90, purchase, cork, 13.5%.

Primo Estate Joseph 'Moda Amarone' Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 1997

The 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.

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.

An auction buy at around $45.

Speri Ripasso 2010 (Verona)

A friend is sitting his Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) exam tomorrow in Sydney. Some last minute practice of WSET style 'structured tasting' across four lots of wine might have helped or hindered.  The tasting was 'double-blind' so no idea of what wines were in the overall set, let alone a particular bracket.

It was an interesting tasting, even if disconcerting. A bracket of four Spanish and Portuguese reds looked more Italian than Iberian. Then a bracket that turned out to be all Italian had the group thinking Spain and France. A delicate-fruit, jagged tannin Nebbiolo d'Alba looked like a Village red Burgundy or further down that tree, the tannins worked too hard for the fruit. A Brunello (2005 Banfi) looked Medoc-like in leafy flavour, oak and tannin (looked more sangiovese the more air it got). The fourth wine in the bracket, a Dolcetto d'Alba made with carbonic maceration technique, reminded us of carbonic maceration wines made from Monastrell in Spain or a good Beaujolais, more than Piedmont.

This Valpolicella Ripasso wine from Speri was a standout in the sneaky-Italians bracket. I thought of Spain first and foremost, due to the weight of dry extract the wine carries, which reminded me of Ribera or Priorat, and skin tannin like that of top-notch tempranillo. That inky, tarry extract flavour combines with deep, even fruit in the Speri wine, before the bittersweet and fine tannins finish it all off. Such good fruit in this, yet with a great sense of shape about it. Sure-footed wine.

Open three days now and still fine drinking. It gets a 15 day referment of the Valpolicella on the Amarone marc, before 12 months in oak. There is no sense of oak intrusion in this at all.

You should be able to find this at about $40, a bit less if keen. Sealed with a cork and 13.5% alcohol. A reminder of how good ripasso styles can be - combining some of the fresh fruit of Valpolicella with the depth & tannic interest of Amarone. Has gone well with lasagne but also by itself, sipped, with a book or film in front of the fire.

Primo Estate Joseph Moda Amarone 1993 (McLaren Vale & Coonawarra)

The two most important Australian 'Italianate' wines? For me, it is the Coriole sangiovese and Primo Estate's Moda 'amarone'. Both have a track record of success over decades, including refinements of source vineyards, techniques and styles.

The 1993 Moda is a blend of 80% cabernet sauvignon and 20% merlot. The cabernet was sourced from both McLaren Vale and Coonawarra, with the merlot from McLaren Vale. The 1993 was also the second Moda made by Joseph Grilli.

It may be an early example, but this bottle showed that key elements of the Moda 'amarone' style were in place from the beginning. There is a lot of development here, secondary and tertiary characters having overtaken primary fruit, but the structure of amarone-styled wines is there, as is the bittersweet flavour of the dried-grape tannins. Leather shows clearly, up against bitter chocolate and a faded note of berry compote. Perhaps a year or two into its dotage, but a good bit of Australian wine history in this bottle.

Cork. Auction. $45. 14% alcohol. Website here.

Primo Estate Joseph Moda 1999

The cork on this has worked so well the wine shows barely any development. This could be a three year old wine, instead of one past its 11th birthday. The 10% merlot (Coonawarra & McLaren Vale) is quite evident, especially as a hit of olive & plum to taste. The tannins are still to soften - a full wall of drying grip - but the fruit has weight and stability enough to wait it out. All the cabernet for the 1999 Moda 'amarone' came from McLaren Vale, and it is good fruit. Assuming you have a good cork, this is a Moda to leave until 2015 before re-trying. 14.5% alc.

Silverfish (Primo Estate Moda 1990)

The silverfish clearly appreciated this bottle of 1990 Primo Estate Moda 'amarone' cabernet merlot. A beautiful example of how the Moda wines can age, this was expressive and distinctly cabernet from opening. Resolved tannins with a touch of bitter-sweet to them, this was excellent drinking and showed no sign of being near the end of its life. Unlike the label.

Primo Estate Joseph Moda 1998

My three favourite Australian red wines would be Penfold's St Henri, Tyrrell's Vat 9 and Primo Estate's Moda. St Henri is its own creature, but both Vat 9 and the Moda have something 'Italianate' about their tannin, acid and fruit profiles, while also being distinctly Australian.

Where Vat 9, at least in its traditional form, is all about Hunter shiraz in large format old oak, built for drinking from 10 years of age, the Moda tells a different story. The 1998 version says 'Joseph 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot' on the front label, 'Moda Amarone' only appearing on the back of the bottle. This was Jo Grilli's 13th vintage make of an 'amarone' style wine, and it is 90% cabernet, 10% merlot. Sources vary with different vintages of this wine, with the 1998 taking the cabernet from McLaren Vale and the merlot from both the Vale and Coonawarra.

The cork on this bottle had just started to seep and fail - the barest of stained creases under the foil. Unusually for a Moda, the merlot component showed through quite clearly, though the overall impression was of dust, olive, bitter chocolate and beautifully mellow bittersweet tannins, courtesy of the grape drying process. Still fresh and bright, across fruit and acid, with no real dropping off of colour or a thrown crust. Lovely drinking, a wine in a good window at thirteen years of age.

Drunk with a rack of free range pork, roasted in the Weber over stock vegetables and herbs, the pan deglazed with dry marsala. A gratin of organic Desiree potato, cooked in butter in the oven, with lemon thyme and golden marjoram went well with the pork and the wine. Aged Moda and salty, puffy, crunching pork crackling is a very good thing indeed.

Freeman Vineyards 2005 Secco Rondinella Corvina (Hilltops)

The 2005 release of the Freeman Rondinella Corvina blend sports a different label to the earlier vintages I have tried, and a new name: Secco. It certainly is a dry, and drying wine, as much from extract as tannins, with fruit currently in more of a supporting than leading role.

This wine uses a CSIRO built solar/gas dryer at Prunevale to dry a portion of Brian Freeman's fuit, along the lines of an amarone wine. As well as using two of the traditional amarone varieties (rondinella and corvina) that are little planted in Australia, the partial drying of the fruit modifies the tannins, producing a characteristic bittersweet and dark chocolate profile. The drying takes around 30% of the wet-weight out of the fruit, concentrating juice and sugars, as well as affecting the tannins in stalks, stems and skins.

From this tasting, the wine needs a few years to come into itself, but was still an excellent accompaniment to beef cheeks braised in red wine, served with a saffron risotto.

Primo Estate Moda 1997

If pressed, I would probably pick the Primo Estate Moda part 'amarone' as my favourite Australian 'Italian' wine. The wine is mainly cabernet sauvignon, with some merlot blended in. The distinctive, 'Italianate' feature of the wine is the rack-drying of a portion of the grapes, in the method of amarone. The result is a wine built for ageing, developing attractive leathery and sometimes tarry characters after ten years. To my palate, the drying process modifies the cabernet tannins, adding an additional bittersweet character, somewhat like bitter chocolate.

The 1997 Moda is 90% cabernet sauvignon from McLaren Vale, with 10% Merlot from both Coonawarra and McLaren Vale. It opens up with bitter cocoa, resolved cabernet fruit, a hint of coffee and an attractive depth of fine, drying tannins. On the showing of this bottle, the wine will continue to develop over the next three years (though this had a perfect cork).