Decanterberry Tales - A Willamette Valley Wine Blog - italy tag

Negroamaro, Rosso, Salento, 2006

Sun, 08 Mar 2009 01:29:03 GMT

Small Vineyards was at my local Zupan's recently, sporting their wares with a free tasting. And here was this $14 of Italy in a bottle. Small Vineyards is a importer, and they describe this wine this way:

"Terrific body weight while retaining great balance, with ripe, steeped plum and coffee bean aromas. Perfect for those who want a big, powerful wine that is not your usual Cabernet."

Yep, plum -- plum in a big, big way. The nose was nutmeg plum, earth dirt, bark, wood, dusty dirty road, dry moss, and rotting wood. Not just a dry wood, and not moist like peat -- somewhere in the middle. The taste was pretty much PLUM! Maybe a bit of raisin too. The taste starts sweet with the plum, then goes completely dry. In fact, it's a super dry finish, with the taste of stems. But not over bitter.

Denise said something funny that I think captures this wine perfectly: "I didn't notice the wine". What she meant was that it wasn't so great nor so terrible that it was noticeable. She was eating dinner and looked done to find her glass empty. It was just part of the meal. That is to say, that this is really a perfect table wine to accompany a meal.

Cost:

Rating: 7.5

Avignonesi, Rosso, 2005

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 01:32:47 GMT

Our son (who's four) loves Sal's restaurant. His favorite dish there -- strangely for such a young one -- is their butternut squash raviolis. And if that isn't enough, it's done in a drawn-butter sauce with crumbled gorgonzola and toasted sage. He turns down pizza for this. Seriously.

Anyway, we go there every so often and they have this Montepulciano there that I really like -- the Avignonesi, "Vino Nobile di" (2005). So here I am at Zupan's and here's this wine in their news letter. Same vintner, but half the cost. I have to to try ...

The nose is bark, red cherry, pepper, artichoke, squash, and dusty. At first the taste is pomegranet. It's very light; lighter than expected. Light red cherry flabors, and some -- seriously -- watermelon. However, it's totally dry (not sweet at all). The finish remains dry, along with pepper, subtle anise, something earthy and cola. Definitely cola!

This is not a bad wine; but then, it's not great. It has some of the earthy characteristics of it's big brother. Yet it's a little too thin. It's probably a good wine to chill slightly and serve on a hot day.

Cost:

Rating: 6.0

(40% Prugnolo Gentile, 30% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon)

Rosso di Montalcino DOC, 'Mocali', 2006

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 19:56:51 GMT

Recently, I really enjoyed the Avignonesi, which was a Montepulciano. And seeing as I'm happy to admit novice in terms of Italian wines (and you thought French wines were complicated?), I thought this and that were the same. Apparently Montepulciano and Montalicino are, well, not the same. Who can remember at the store. Oops. So here I am, and here's this wine. Best to just drink it.

The nose was a little bit vanilla. Now, I don't mean new-world vanilla. Nothing like a California or even a Spanish wine. But, there was a bit more than you might find in, say, a typical French wine. Just a hint, let's say. Then there was this ... and this admittedly sounds terrible to write ... but it smelled a bit like that old model paint -- "Testers". And I really don't mean it in the "it's burning my nose hairs off" sort of model paint. I don't mean turpentine. But there was something there that reminded me of those little "testers" paints nonetheless. The intriguing part was the earth. Denise and I both love earthy wines. It was mainly dusty, and a bit musty. That's the stuff we love.

Then I take a swallow. Strawberry and marionberry. There's a bit of that "musty" in the taste too. I swallow and then it's pepper! Along with strawberry and marionberry. It's very dry -- not quite as dry as some of those French Cabardes wines we've had recently.

This is a medium to light body wine. Just slightly thin; but then, I'm just a sucker for those earthy notes.

Cost:

Rating: 7.0

Avignonesi, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, 2005

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:51:13 GMT

I really want to like Italian wines. The history. The diversity. All those names to learn -- is that a village or is that a grape (maybe both). But it's rare for me to find a Chianti that I really like. This, however, isn't a Chianti exactly. This wine is from the DOCG region located in Tuscany, just south of Chianti, and is composed mostly of Sangiovese (like a Chianti). But this was different.

The nose was chemical at first, and then vanilla/wood, vegetable (maybe artichoke, maybe brussel sprout). The vanilla is both subtle and prominent. It's intertwined in the other aromas. There was a hint of violet in there too. Very nice nose.

The taste was smooth. Earthy. And a bit musty -- not exactly dirt, not peat, not barnyard ... more veggie I suppose. But then, this is Sangiovese, and the finish was light to medium -- lighter than the smell might lead one to believe. Cherry. Wood. And red leaf lettuce (seriously).

Overall, I really liked this wine. However, this is not your garden-variety cheap Chianti (it's not really a Chianti of course), so you have to pay for that goodness.

Cost:

Rating: 8.0