South Italian wine dinner

Chicago, IL
Tasted Friday, February 8, 2008 by salil with 925 views

Introduction

Wally Kerr set up a fun dinner at Trattoria Caterina in the South Loop themed around wines from Southern Italy. Good company and a fun evening, although I found a few of the wines a little hit and miss - a few were done in a very generic/'international' style and didn't show well over time and with food.

Flight 1 - Starter whites (4 Notes)

Flight 2 - Reds - Nero d'Avola and blends (2 Notes)

  • 2002 Feudo Montoni Nero d'Avola Sicilia Vrucara (Selezione Speciale) 91 Points

    Italy, Sicily, Sicilia

    Bright ruby red colour. This has a stunning, perfumed nose with aromas of cedar, incense, red fruits and spices. Palate is medium bodied and elegant with spicy red fruits and cedar notes, silky tannins, good acidity and a medium length finish.

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  • 2005 Cusumano Sicilia Noa 86 Points

    Italy, Sicily, Sicilia

    Reddish-black colour and dominated by oak at first. Both the nose and palate were fairly monolithic with strong buttery oak notes, but that blew off a little with some time to show some spicy red and dark fruits underneath with smooth tannins and a polished medium length finish. Not particularly complex or interesting though.

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Flight 3 - Reds - mixed (3 Notes)

  • 2002 Montevetrano Montevetrano Colli di Salerno IGT 93 Points

    Italy, Campania, Colli di Salerno IGT

    Dark red in colour. Stunning, complex nose shows lots of cassis, dark fruits, tobacco leaf, mint and graphite. Palate is elegant and medium bodied with clean dark fruits, herbs and more graphite notes with silky tannins and good acidity adding lift. Finishes with length. My WOTN.

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  • 2002 Argiolas Turriga Isola dei Nuraghi IGT 88 Points

    Italy, Sardinia, Isola dei Nuraghi IGT

    Very impressive at first with flavours of bright red fruits, herbs and spices on the nose and palate - but with time this starts to fall apart, showing a little volatile acidity and some heat on the finish.

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  • 2004 Cantine San Marzano Primitivo di Manduria Sessantanni Old Vines 79 Points

    Italy, Puglia, Primitivo di Manduria

    Very generic/international in style with an inky red-purple colour and intense aromas of vanilla and blueberries with some faint raisiny notes also on the nose. Palate has a creamy texture with bright red fruits, more raisins, low acidity and soft tannins leading to a medium length finish.

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Flight 4 - Aglianico (3 Notes)

The Serpicos were double decanted several hours in advance and showed very well.

  • 2001 Feudi di San Gregorio Irpinia Serpico 93 Points

    Italy, Campania, Irpinia

    Almost black in colour with a red rim. Intense, complex nose shows lots of tar, black fruits, spice, herbs and licorice. Chewy and full bodied on the palate with spicy dark fruits and herbs, large tannins and good acidity with a long finish.

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  • 2003 Feudi di San Gregorio Irpinia Serpico 91 Points

    Italy, Campania, Irpinia

    Inky reddish-black in colour. Nose is again incredibly intense but lacking some of the complexity of the 01 - this shows more tar, black fruits and some herbs but there's some volatile acidity and a faint pruney note that spoils it a bit. Concentrated red and dark fruit flavours follow on the palate with moderate acidity, firm tannins and a medium length finish.

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  • 2001 Vesevo Taurasi 87 Points

    Italy, Campania, Taurasi DOCG

    Purple-black colour, lightening a little at the rim. Nose shows dark fruits, spice, tar and some meaty notes. Full bodied and a little monolithic on the palate with dense dark fruit flavours and firm tannins. Finishes with length but a little heat.

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Closing

Thanks again Wally for setting this up.

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