Italian night

An exploration of Italy. Three flights: Tuscany, Piedmont, and "other Italy", presented in an unknown order of unknown wines.

The wines will be tasted blind, and the initial aim is initially to work out what flight is what. Then we'll be given tasting notes for the actual wines in the flights and assess the wines, discuss them, and try to assign levels of quality and/or price to them, using the tasting notes as a guide.

Quite a treat: some of the older wines are reasonably rare and not the sorts of things the guests will be encountering in the outside world.

• 2000 Il Molino di Grace Chianti Classico Riserva 92 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG

  Revelatory Chainti. Bright red. Bouquet full of fruit with oak. Acidic style. Floral tones. This is very good indeed.

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• 1990 Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Poggio All'Oro 93 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Brown red colour. Deep and confident. Bouquet full of fruit and spice/oak. Well balanced. Deep. Lovely texture. Delicious. Very good, and amazingly vibrant for its age.

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• 1999 Isole e Olena Cepparello Toscana IGT 93 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

  Showing well, and everyone's favourite wine of the night. Bright red. Bouquet fruit and spice. Some wood. Zingy and inviting. Palate follows up perfectly. Good texture and structure. Juicy. Fruit, spice, herbs, deep.

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• 1988 Elio Altare Barolo 86 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Colour nice brownish red. Bouquet reticent. Delicate. Palate delicate. Little fruit or flavour. Good structure. Too old though.

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• 1990 Moccagatta Barbaresco Cole Flawed

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco

  Lovely red colour. Very good structure. However, completely oxidised in bottle. Taste and scent of strong sherry. Down the sink it went. Damn.

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• 2001 Marco Maci Copertino Duca d'Antene 88 Points

  Italy, Puglia, Copertino

  Good southern Italian wine. Nice assertive and clean fruit. Southern alcoholic-extract style, but all in balance. Nothing amazing, but very pleasant.

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• 2004 Bressan Schioppettino 91 Points

  Italy, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Venezia Giulia IGT

  A lovely clear bright red. Bouquet "lifted" and fresh. Flowers, fresh fruit and forest floor. Palate likewise pleasantly fresh, though deep as well. Very nice wine.

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• 2006 Recchia Ripasso della Valpolicella Classico Superiore Le Muraie 85 Points

  Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Ripasso della Valpolicella Classico Superiore

  Profoundly boring wine. Nothing wrong, but typifies supermarket-branded wines: all correct and right, and no interest whatsoever. 84-85

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