Southern Italy

Last night my tasting group met. The rules for this group are $20 to $40 and purchased locally, but we had to spread our base to find enough wines for this theme. There used to be a lot more of these wines available locally than there are now. In addition, I threw in a horizontal of Terre Nere as I had been looking for an opportunity to try these wines blind against each other. The wines were consumed blind (initially) over the course of 3 hours. Breads and cheeses were served.

• 2010 Calabretta Carricante Sicilia 87 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Sicilia

  Light golden in color. The nose is vanilla lemon cream sickle. Odd as I doubt this seems any oak at all. Still, very strong flavor. Light to medium bodied. Slightly tinny on the attack. Turns to lemons with a good finish. I wouldn't mind a bit more acidity, but this is nice. My first time trying a Carricante IIRC.

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I was disappointed at first in these wines. I had popped the corks at 4 and we did the flight at 8. The wines showed older and not as powerful. By the end of the night, the three better ones had improved IMO. Some never felt so. Certainly, they behave more like a Barolo in that they are not monster fruit wines despite having tannins. It was a treat to try a Prephyloxera wine, but nothing seemed to stand out about that quality to me. It was the best wine, but not significantly better than the wine half its cost. I am not sure if I would buy any of these again to be honest, but the Guardiola is the most likely for me. Something I would not have said at the end of flight one. Luckily I went back 1.5 hours later. Still, it was a cool, geeky way to taste the wines, so that was fun.

• 2009 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso Santo Spirito 91 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

  Ruby in color with some brown. The nose has spice, cherries, and cranberries. On the palate, cherries. Long finish. This did not improve much over the night, but stayed about the same. No real hint of "volcanic" soil whatever that might be. Seemed to be the crowds 3rd place in the flight of 09s.

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• 2009 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso 85 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

  Ruby in color, actually the youngest looking of the wines. The nose has light cherries. Nice texture, some tannins. Cherries and root beer. Not much depth and tastes past prime. How long do these normally last? Compared to an 11 later in the evening, about the same complexity, but that one is at least fresher tasting. I would drink these up.

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• 2009 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso Guardiola 92 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

  Really opened up over the evening. Ruby/brown in color. The nose started off dusty and with some cedar, but with air, it developed cherry and dried cherry notes. A bit of earthiness as well. Similarly, on the palate, this was thinner and hollow, but with air it puts on weight and resembles a Pinot or Barolo. Cherries, some gravelly notes and some macerated cherries. Nice balance. Long finish.

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• 2009 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso PrePhylloxera La Vigna di Don Peppino 93 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

  This was just about everyone's WOTF, but it still needed a couple of hours to show its stuff. Ruby/brown in color. The nose is nice with floral notes and sea air (not something I have noted before in a red). With air, cherries and earthy notes come out. Not really any more concentrated than the other wines, but there is more depth here. Great texture. Firm tannins. Lots of cherry and minerals layers. I don't think I would pay the $85 again for the wine, but it is very good.

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• 2010 Argiolas Costera 86 Points

  Italy, Sardinia, Cannonau di Sardegna

  Purple/ruby in color. The nose is spice and cedar. A hint of raspberry powdered candy. Medium bodied. Dark cherry fruit. Nice follow thru though a bit of a bitter finish. Decent value here, the group liked it more than I.

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• 2010 'a Vita Cirò Classico Superiore 87 Points

  Italy, Calabria, Cirò Classico Superiore

  Ruby/brown in color, slightly flat. The nose has a nice barnyard quality to it. On the palate, seems a bit old and I wonder about storage. Leather, firm tannins, but lacking a lot of fruit. Some cherries.

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• 2003 Calabretta Etna Rosso 89 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

  This was the groups WOTN. Interesting wine. Ruby/purple in color. The nose has dried meats, cherries and dried cherries. Nice texture. Medium tannins. Dark cherries and gravel on the palate. Nice finish. Did not taste old in any way.

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• 2007 Casa Vinicola D'Angelo Balconara Basilicata IGT 89 Points

  Italy, Basilicata, Basilicata IGT

  I liked this far more than the group did. Purple in color. The nose is tight but eventually shows some black cassis, bramble and leather. Somewhat like a Primitovo crossed with Cabernet although I assume it is Aglianico. I don't really know. Anyway, it has depth and firm tannins but plenty of cassis and cherry fruit on the palate. It got better all night long. At $35, its a gamble on how well it ages, but I think it will improve.

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• 2009 Arianna Occhipinti Nero d'Avola Terre Siciliane Siccagno Flawed

  Italy, Sicily, Terre Siciliane

  Other than the Serpico, highest priced bottle in the tasting, this had to have been flawed. God awful The nose has this pine meets spoiled vinegar cole slaw quality to it. I could barely get myself to take a sip, but the flavor is worse on the palate. Easily the last place wine. What happened here?

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• 2010 Azienda Agricola Natalino del Prete Salice Salentino Torre Nova 79 Points

  Italy, Puglia, Salice Salentino

  Light ruby in color. The nose is dusty with powdered sugar and fresh herbs. A bit better on the palate, but not much. Very simple. Watery and a bit green. No noticeable defect.

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• 2011 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso 87 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

  Not remarkably different than the 09 but a bit fresher and ready to drink. Nice cherries on the nose. A palate to match. Got better on pouring and then stayed there for the night. At $18, this is fine enough, but not a screaming value either.

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• 2008 Cantina di Santadi Carignano del Sulcis Riserva Rocca Rubia 89 Points

  Italy, Sardinia, Carignano del Sulcis

  I probably liked this a bit better than the group. Purple in color. The nose has cherries and powdered cherry drink mix. Nice texture. More plums on the palate. Some heat. A nice wine that is ready to drink.

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• 2001 Feudi di San Gregorio Irpinia Serpico 88 Points

  Italy, Campania, Irpinia

  How many times have I had this since release. A dozen maybe? This was blind and I did not pick it out (it was my second guess). Purple in color. The nose has plums, pencil lead, oak and is pretty interesting. Best nose of the night. On the palate, this is big and fruit and one dimensional. Heat on the finish. Lots of new world wines that are similar for 1/4th the price. I still have hope for this based on other Aglianicos, but I think this needs to be held until 2021 at a minimum. Curiously, my Bordeaux loving friend Ray found that to be an issue. ;-) At $75, is it worth it though?

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Overall, I was a bit disappointed. I hadn't explored this area in a while, but there used to be good wines at this price range. It would seem that is still true but the better wine have crept (or leapt) past the $40 mark. There is still some value to be found under $20 though.