EIGHT ITALIAN WINE THIS MONTH ON THE TOP WINES MEDIA&PRESS
Matthew Jukes, writing in the Daily Mail, recommended a number of wines suited to enjoying over this week’s Bonfire Night celebrations.
He said: “This wine has been featured in my column before, but I am repeating the message because of the loony price reduction! Drink this scented, exotically flavoured, sumptuous red with the Maple mustard pulled pork buns and smile from ear to ear! PS – I think that there are a few vintages of this wine in store and all are delicious!”
Price: £7.49, reduced to £5.99 from 5 November to 2 December, Waitrose
Pietradolce Etna Rosso 2013, Sicily
He said: “Fine wine in modern Italy is a relatively new phenomenon. Of course plenty of wine has always been made in the peninsula. But, aside from a handful of exceptional producers, France was always miles ahead when it came to the truly thrilling stuff. In a recent article for the Wine Society’s magazine, the writer Nicolas Belfrage – an expert on the wines of Italy – dates the beginning of the country’s vinous renaissance to the 1970s. But Sicily’s current status as one of Europe’s most exciting wine regions is still more recent, a critical mass of quality-focused producers arriving only in the 1990s and 2000s. Pietradolce is most certainly among them, and this red from 2013 is a captivating mix of red-fruited delicacy and earthy textures.”
Price: £17.99, Armit Wines; Corks of Cotham
Valdibella Ariddu Grillo 2012, Camporeale, Sicily
He said: “Pietradolce’s is but one example of the wine style that has attracted most attention on Sicily: the local grape variety Nerello Mascalese from vineyards on Mount Etna. No surprises why – there’s something romantically perverse about a wine produced on the slopes of what is still an active volcano, especially when the pale but powerful results recall the haunting complexity of Burgundian Pinot Noir and Piemontese Nebbiolo. But while the complex Etna wines (both red and white) by Graci were a highlight of a recent tasting of Sicilians at smart retailer Berry Bros & Rudd, buyer David Berry Green’s selection proved that there is so much more to the island – this intense, exotically fruited, herb-streaked white from the western Camporeale region being particularly fine value.”
Price: £11.95, Berry Brothers & Rudd
Curatolo Marsala Superiore Dolce NV
He said: “Historically Grillo was the grape of Marsala, the island’s great neglected fortified wine, a style at which de Bartoli is also a modern master – as his dense, sweet but agile essence of citrus peel, figs and almonds, 1987 Marsala Superiore Riserva, shows. At £62 it certainly doesn’t come cheap, but Curatolo’s is a very credible alternative which, with its deep, dark dried fruit and nut sweetness tastes like – and is worth setting aside for – Christmas, if you can wait that long.”
Price: £11.99, Waitrose
David Williams, writing in The Observer, picked out three Sicilian wines “which show the island’s range”, including this 2013 red which he described as a “captivating mix of red-fruited delicacy and earthy textures”.
He said: “Fine wine in modern Italy is a relatively new phenomenon. Of course plenty of wine has always been made in the peninsula. But, aside from a handful of exceptional producers, France was always miles ahead when it came to the truly thrilling stuff. In a recent article for the Wine Society’s magazine, the writer Nicolas Belfrage – an expert on the wines of Italy – dates the beginning of the country’s vinous renaissance to the 1970s. But Sicily’s current status as one of Europe’s most exciting wine regions is still more recent, a critical mass of quality-focused producers arriving only in the 1990s and 2000s. Pietradolce is most certainly among them, and this red from 2013 is a captivating mix of red-fruited delicacy and earthy textures.”
Price: £17.99, Armit Wines; Corks of Cotham
Williams also recommended this “intense, exotically fruited, herb-streaked white” from the western Camporeale region of Sicily made using the Grillo grape.
He said: “Pietradolce’s is but one example of the wine style that has attracted most attention on Sicily: the local grape variety Nerello Mascalese from vineyards on Mount Etna. No surprises why – there’s something romantically perverse about a wine produced on the slopes of what is still an active volcano, especially when the pale but powerful results recall the haunting complexity of Burgundian Pinot Noir and Piemontese Nebbiolo. But while the complex Etna wines (both red and white) by Graci were a highlight of a recent tasting of Sicilians at smart retailer Berry Bros & Rudd, buyer David Berry Green’s selection proved that there is so much more to the island – this intense, exotically fruited, herb-streaked white from the western Camporeale region being particularly fine value.”
Price: £11.95, Berry Brothers & Rudd
This sweet Marsala from Italy’s Curatolo was highlighted by Williams as a “very credible alternative” to other premium producers such as de Bartoli.
He said: “Historically Grillo was the grape of Marsala, the island’s great neglected fortified wine, a style at which de Bartoli is also a modern master – as his dense, sweet but agile essence of citrus peel, figs and almonds, 1987 Marsala Superiore Riserva, shows. At £62 it certainly doesn’t come cheap, but Curatolo’s is a very credible alternative which, with its deep, dark dried fruit and nut sweetness tastes like – and is worth setting aside for – Christmas, if you can wait that long.”
Price: £11.99, Waitrose
Inama Carmenère Piu 2010, Veneto Rosso IGT
With Chile grabbing the headlines for its Carmenère, its easy to forget the variety is produced elsewhere, not least so in Italy.
Williams said: “It’s intriguing that Giorgio Flessati, the winemaker behind Falernia, is himself from northern Italy, since this part of the world had its own, less-publicised Carmenère moment around the same time as the Chileans. In this case, the sparkling producer Ca’ del Bosco in Franciacorta, Lombardy, spotted that much of what was thought to be Cabernet Franc in the region was in fact Carmenère. While not taken up with quite the same fervour or marketing budget as in Chile, the variety has been identified in a number of northern Italian regions. Inama, best known for its range of superior Soave dry whites, makes a very fine example: a meaty, savoury red with blackcurrant, spicy cherry and that leafy freshness.”
Price: £15.95, Wine Traders; Uncorked; The Wine Register; North and South Wines
US PRESS
2013 Il Mandorlo Malvasia Nera, Salento
“Ever drink a Malvasia Nera from Italy? Maybe you should,” wrote Michael Dresser in The Baltimore Sun this week.
He said: “Sometimes you find a wine that’s truly distinctive, not really like anything else. This is one of those wines. It’s a medium-bodied red wine with a super-long finish and great vibrancy. It’s earthy and rustic in a very good way, with intense wild berry fruit and hints of Italian herbs. It should stand up well to spicy tomato-based sauces. Drink up while young.”
Price: $13
Sandra Silfven, writing in the Detroit News, recommended a number of wines from northern Italy’s Alto Adige – a German-speaking region known for producing aromatic white wines.
She said: “Though affordable, these wines are still rare and somewhat of a curiosity for consumers because of their Italian origin and German names. It takes a well-schooled wine retailer to stock them and hand-sell them to you.”
Of this Pinot Bianco from Kellerei-Cantina, Silfven said: “This Bianco is crisp, refreshing, dry: a cocktail of lemon zest and grapefruit with a blast of mineraltiy. Cantina Adriano is the oldest collective of growers in the South Tyrol dating to 1893. It merged in 2008 with Cantina Terlano. Their slogan is nicely put: “Tradition in motion.”
Price: $16.99
Another white from the Alto Adige which came highly recommended by Silfven was this Tramin Sauvignon Blanc.
She said: “This Sauvignon Blanc is from the districts of Tramin and Montagne. It is 100% Sauvignon Blanc. This beauty is herbal, floral, packed with tropical fruit such as melon, grapefruit and gooseberry. It’s rich, dry and charming. Cantina Tramin is a wine collective that uses the grapes of 300 farmers to make its wines.”
Price: $14.99
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