New from Italy
Italian wine is all too often misunderstood. The bewildering array of grape varieties, wine styles, and unpronounceable names has misled many a wine drinker into seeing the often austere and aloof Chianti as representative of Italian wine as a whole.
Of course, there is a but! The word “Renaissance” has never been more appropriate for describing the changes that have occurred in Italian wine culture over the last twenty years or so. Gone is the image of the thin, astringent red wine covered in sackcloth. More and more wine drinkers are discovering the veritable cornucopia of vinous delights that are to be had from one of the oldest wine-producing countries in the world. Every region of Italy has something unique to offer, from Alto-Adige and Piedmont in the North, to the hotter regions of Puglia, Campania, and the always-improving Sicily. Even Tuscany has taken the bull by the horns in recent years and is now producing some stunningly deep, complex wines, in the Chianti region and elsewhere, that can often match many of the very best wines of Bordeaux.
With this in mind, we have decided to give a new lease of life to our Italian range, putting more emphasis on indigenous grape varieties and all things peculiarly Italian. We have spent many an exhausting (honestly) day tasting our way through scores of Italian wines, and have now added several of these to our range. There will be more to follow, but here are a few examples of the wines that will now be gracing our Italian corner :
Falanghina Rami, Di Majo Norante, Campomarino, Molise – £8.99 per bottle (white)
Falanghina is a wonderfully obscure white grape variety with a long history in the South of Italy, but which has only just emerged from the shadows onto the international scene very recently, thanks to a handful of determined, talented winemakers. Alessio Di Majo is one such producer. He is known in Italy for striving to produce the best quality possible at an affordable price, and also makes all of his wine from organically grown grapes. We think that this Falanghina over delivers on quality. It is a wonderful example of this grape variety. It is typically perfumed with just-cut lime and some melon aromas. While being no more than medium-bodied, it has a slightly creamy texture, and on the palate there are lots of flinty fruit and sweet melon flavours, with a fabulous almond and honey finish. This is a must have for any Falanghina enthusiasts, and all those wine drinkers who want to know what all the fuss is about with Italian wine!
Greco di Tufo, Cantina Vadiaperti, Avellino, Campania – £11.99 per bottle (white)
Without doubt, Greco di Tufo is the oldest grape variety of the Avellino area. It was imported from the Greek region of Thessaly by the Pelasgian peoples. A confirmation of the millllenial origin of the wine is provided by the discovery of a fresco at Pompeii, traced in the 1st century BC. A brief poetical inscription was added to the fresco, apparently by a frustrated lover: “You are truly cold, Bytis, made of ice, if last night not even Greco could warm you up.” . The province of Avellino can even boast of one miracle involving the beverage! According to the story, San Guglielmo of Vercelli emulated the miracle of the Marriage of Cana in turning water into wine at Bonito. The Greco variety was originally cultivated on the slopes of Vesuvius, where it was given the name Lacryma Christi. This is a classic example of a Greco from this historic province. A classic food white, it has elegant refined notes of ripe fruit, golden delicious apples lifted by floral and acacia honey nuances. The wine has wonderful structure and good length with a bitter almond finish. This would be fantastic with any fish, particularly stuffed cuttlefish.
Barbera “Le Verrane”, Vittorio Bera at Figli, Piemonte - £11.99 per bottle (red)
The region of Piemonte in the North-West of Italy, with its rolling hills, and hauntingly beautiful, almost ethereal mists, is perhaps most famous for its muscular Barolo, often dubbed “The King of Wines”. However, the red wines made from the Barbera grape variety, often seen as “younger brother” of Nebbiolo, which is the sole variety used in Barolo, is well worth seeking out, and is so different in style to Nebbiolo that it does not o either any justice to compare. To me, Barbera is one of the true stars of Italian wine, and is often known as the most food-friendly wine of the most food-friendly wine country! Its zingy acidity and forward fruit flavours make it perfect for any tomato-based dish, and is probably the best wine to have with pizza! The Barbera “Le Verrane” is such a fabulously different wine that it just had to have a place in our new range. While it has good typical Barbera freshness and fruit, this wine is truly a party in a glass. It undergoes a malolactic fermentation in its bottle, and thus has a slight, Lambrusco-style tongue prickling epiphany! The initial fermentation is in cement tank, and the wine is completely unfiltered. It is true to type with notes of mulberry, Cherry-soda, balsam, mint and liquorice. This is a wine that will perhaps offend some traditionalists, but is utterly delicious.
Nero di Lupo, COS, Vittoria, Sicily – £14.50 per bottle (red)
Sicily seems to embody the new-wave of Italian winemaking as much as anywhere else in this country. Historically known for producing the fortified wine Marsala, Sicilian wine has only become readily available in the UK in the last ten years or so. It initially gained a reputation for producing inexpensive, juicy, but rather bland wines, more often than not emulating the new-world rather than showing what Sicily can achieve in its own right, with its own indigenous varietals. Very recently, a small handful of producers have been able to thrust the Sicilian red grape variety of Nero d’Avola well and truly onto the world stage with some staggeringly good wines. More approachable than most Italian red wines, Nero d’Avola is the star, and surely the future, if Sicilian winemaking. COS is a biodynamic winery started on a shoestring by three classmates in the early 1980s. The leading producer Giusto Occhipinti states the aims of the winery perfectly: “Our goal isn’t to make wines that impress wine critics, but to make wine that expresses our great terroir.” Having tasted these wines, we fully agree, and this 100% unfiltered Nero d’Avola is a great example of what Sicily can now achieve with its wines. It is fermented in stainless steel and aged for 24 months in oak cask. It has remarkable finesse with rich earthy-leathery fruit flavours balanced by flinty notes.
Valpolicella Superiore Roccolo Grassi, Valpolicella, Veneto – £25.99 per bottle (red)
This wine is truly a million miles away from the traditional image of trattoria Valpolicella, quite often, a thin, light red wine that tastes better chilled. This is one of the great Valpolicellas, and we were absolutely blown away by it when we first tasted it. It is a somewhat paradoxical wine, in that it is light in texture and silky in the mouth, but we were hit by such an explosion of concentration in the fruit that it seemed that sorcery was at play somewhere! The winemaker is an extremely talented young man named Marco Sartori, and is clearly one of the big new talents of the Italian scene. He achieves such concentration in his fruit by limiting the yield to just 1kg of grapes per vine. A blend of 60% Corvina, 20% Rondinella, 15% Corvinone and 5% Croatina. The grape s were hand harvested from 10 year old vines grown on volcanic soil with a south-east aspect. Around 40% of the berries were dried on racks for 20 days, then pressed and fermented for 20 days in French oak where the wine underwent malolactic fermentation. This wine is rich, sensual, deep and complex. Leather, cedar and spice complement blackberry, dried fruit and raisin flavours. We believe that Roccolo Grassi Valpolicella represents the very best of Veneto winemaking and, admittedly, is not cheap, but it is worth every penny and more. Treat yourself.
Loam, Tramin, Alto Adige – £25.99 (red)
Whilst we have stated our intention to showcase what Italy can do with its indigenous grape varieties in our new range, we thought that stocking this wine was too good an opportunity to miss. Loam is a Bordeaux-style blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, and is an absolute blockbuster of a wine. Tramin is the most acclaimed winery in Italy in terms of tre bicchieri nominations in the Italian wine bible Gambero Rosso. The winemaker Willi Sturtz was voted winemaker of the year in 2004, the year before this current vintage of Loam, and we can see that he is at the very top of his game. The winery is situated in the Alto Adige, one of the most northerly regions of Italy, in the foothills of the Dolomites. The cool air helps to ripen the grapes slowly, and preserves the muscular intensity of these red varietals. This vintage of Loam shows a brilliant ruby colour, with perfumed aromas of blackberry and spice, while remaining rich and intense. The layers of fruit are endless, but still refined. Only the very best fruit from the top vineyards are used in the production of this wine. One would be extremely hard pushed to find a wine of this class and pedigree in Bordeaux at the same price level. Absolutely brilliant, with any red meats.
Montepulciano San Calisto, Valle Reale, Abruzzo, £28.99 (red)
Valle Reale is another young winery which is really making the headlines. It is situated in the rugged and beautiful Canestro Valley in the Majella National Park. It is a stunning area with bears and wolves often sighted in and around the vineyards. The high altitude and cooler climate, (not to mention state of the art winery) lead to wines with much more polish and class than most of the regions wines. Their “basic” Vigne Nuove 2004 was voted best value red in the whole of Italy by the Gambero Rosso. Their Cerasuolo was the first Rose ever to achieve 90 points from Parker. The San Calisto, being their flagship product, is a serious bottle of wine. Some may baulk at the price tag, but when one considers that it was voted the 3rd best red wine in Italy at the respected Annuario dei Migliori Vini Italiani in 2008, it seems very reasonable indeed. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo has, like Sicily, had a reputation in the past for producing inexpensive, but good-value and approachable reds. Whilst we believe that this still meets these criteria (well the last two anyway), the Montepulciano San Calisto is a totally different proposition. It has incredible power and elegance. Imagine Abruzzo meets Mouton-Rothschild. It is dense in colour with a complex nose of leather, fresh herbs, plums, and just a hint of mocha. Silky smooth and perfectly structured, it has a wonderfully long finish. This wine could not fail to impress. Absolutely sensational, and it would be a great match for a venison dish or even mature cheeses.