Celebratory Dinner at Bonta

E and I went down to Bonta to sample their white truffle menu in celebration of her finishing her thesis. Couple of interesting wines. One surprisingly good, the other surprisingly bad.

• 2008 Garofoli Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi 84 Points

  Italy, Marche, Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi

  I had the 2007 sometime back and found that quite decent. This was just about drinkable. A disappointment especially when paired with a range of Italian dishes which should have been more or less perfect pairings. The wine had a nice nose, but that was about it. Earthy, minerally, with white fruit scents, a whiff of fresh leafy herbs and white flowers, a little touch of nuttiness - very attractive. Unfortunately, the palate was just too imbalanced to be very pleasurable. The attack flattered to deceive with nice bits of smoky mineral and sweet white fruit held up with decent acidity and touched with a ring of white flowers. Unfortunately, there was an obvious sear of heat from the midpalate and into a rather bitter finish that marred the experience. Better with food, with the bitter heat going down a bit, but even than nothing to shout about. Drinkable but not any good.

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• 2009 Attems Pinot Grigio Venezia Giulia IGT 89 Points

  Italy, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Venezia Giulia IGT

  A very decent wine that went very well with our food - this was good value. It must be said that it had a very neutral nose, all subtle scents, with slightly funky earth tones, a bit of white fruit, a bit of chalk, a bit of cream, some musky flowers drifting out of the glass. Not terribly expressive - very much an Italian Pinot Grigio nose in other words. It was much the same thing on the palate at first - subtle flavours of white fruit, some gently perfumy florals and a nice citrusy, lemon and grapefruit lift, all very understated, but very pleasant, with a nice, zippy freshness that carried the wine into a well balanced finish. There was just a hint of minerality in there as well, adding a sense of a backbone. As a bonus though, this was a perfect foil for a very nicely prepared Chanterelle and White Truffle Risotto dish, with the acidity from the wine cleansing the palate and somehow drawing out an almost meaty umami response from the food. I was very pleasantly surprised by this.

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