Caroline Wine Shop - Italy Walk-around tasting

A walk around tasting that I made short notes. I split them into the tables that they were served on

• NV Cantine Collalto Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene Brut 86 Points

  Italy, Veneto, Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene

  Attractive perfumed notes with lemon peel, Galia melon and ripe green apple. The palate has a chalky texture, and crisp acidity with an earthy, slightly vegetal note.

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• NV Duca di Castelmonte Pinot/Prosecco Simply Pink Rosato 85 Points

  Italy

  Salmon pink with gentle mousse this is a fun and fruity pink wine. A bit of citrus and apple, with fresh acid leads to a soft sweetness on the finish, making it enjoyable. Short to medium finish

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• 2009 Marziano Abbona Roero Arneis Occhetti 88 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Roero

  Exhibits a light floral note with white peach and smear of vanilla; the palate is chalky and flinty, reminiscent of white Burgundy styling. It displays minerally notes giving texture, fresh acid, and a touch of spiciness and pepper. A good wine that closes quite long and is pretty appetising.

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• 2008 DeLucia Falanghina del Sannio 89 Points

  Italy, Campania, Falanghina del Sannio

  The aromas of Galia melon and grapefruit are reasonably intense. It is a robust and full-bodied wine with ripe fruit flavours, exhibiting a phenolic grip adding structure to the wine. Good depth of flavour, with a fresh and lively character, finishing with a waft of sea breeze.

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• 2009 Altana Di Vico Pinot Grigio Veneto IGT 84 Points

  Italy, Veneto, Veneto IGT

  Delicate almond notes, the wine is rather neutral, almost innocuous. Perhaps fun and approachable, lively and fresh I found it rather mild and unobtrusive.

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• 2008 La Zerba Gavi Terrarossa 87 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Gavi

  A floral, fruity wine that shows white melon and grapefruit. Narrow mid-palate towards a long finish. Fresh, tingling acidity. Good.

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• 2008 Duca di Castelmonte Grillo Sicilia Dinari del Duca 85 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Sicilia

  Offers spice and pepper on the nose with celery salt and a savoury element. The mid-palate is quite phenolic, again narrow in gait and lacking substantial flesh.

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• 2008 Duca di Castelmonte Sicilia Inzolia-Chardonnay Cent'are 84 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Sicilia

  A fun and fruity wine with a floral lift may come across as artificial or confected to me. Perhaps 1-dimensional, there is a pleasant citrus rind and a touch of creme fraiche that works with its lively acidity to make it work

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• 2008 DeLucia Aglianico Campania IGT 90 Points

  Italy, Campania, Campania IGT

  A soft, creamy, approachable wine that features prominent cherry wood notes, dry spices, crushed rocks and chalky, There are also hints of damp, older wood.
  More restrained on the palate are some tertiary elements, a sour cherry skin texture and chewy tannins that provide a pleasantly bitter edge. A little green on the finish with more minerals and stone, made it an alert, enjoyable wine that needs some food.

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• 2009 Caleo Primitivo 86 Points

  Italy, Puglia, Salento IGT

  Intriguing aromas of saddle leather, sweet cherry and a sprinkle of spice lead to a soft and fleshy fruit, providing an approachable wine. Has a slightly rustic charm to it yet remains relatively smooth on the tannin profile reflecting its southern Italian origins.

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• 2008 Caleo Nero d'Avola 81 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Terre Siciliane

  Gentle aromas of Bing cherry, dried rose petals, and some dried earth reflect on the entry, which is soft and fruity. Some blue fruits peek through this dry red wine, yet is a little monochrome, and whilst dry, the tannins are a little thin and without merit. Didn't rock my boat.

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• 2008 Cantine Pellegrino Nero d'Avola Sicilia Cent'are 80 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Sicilia

  Intense flavour, lifted with green elements. The wine itself though, feels oxidative with jammy qualities and the pH seemed high as it gave a soupy and flat, lacking any excitement.

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• 2006 Quercia Al Poggio Chianti Classico 89 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG

  This chianti had that classic tomato box, red cherry, tilled earth and soft, spicy wood character. Appealing, there are warmer, almost sun-dried tomatoes on the palate with red cherry offset with energetic acidity and chalky tannins and a medium finish. Enjoyable.

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• 2004 Quercia Al Poggio Chianti Classico Riserva 89 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG

  The Riserva was far more complex with much more depth. The nose exhibits worn leather, sour cherry, chocolate and furfurol with less of the tomato note. More layered on the mid-palate, the wine is dry, and savoury (older larger wood?) with lively acid and a compact chalky-edged tannin that leads to a pleasant bitter finish. Perhaps the wood was a little dominated, slightly muting the full effect?

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• 2008 Marco Bartolini Baldelli Chianti Colli Fiorentini Fattoria di Bagnolo 81 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Colli Fiorentini

  My note seems smudged with some wine but I scored it fairly low so I didn't particularly enjoy it!

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• 2006 Le Ragose Ripasso della Valpolicella Classico Superiore Le Sassine 87 Points

  Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Ripasso della Valpolicella Classico Superiore

  Fresh and bright cherry notes on the nose with a touch of cola tonic and black plum flesh.
  A sweet palate entry with plenty of plum and cherry and notes of spice start to emerge. Felt a little one-dimensional, lacking complexity or depth, but not too bad.

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• 2007 Marziano Abbona Barbera d'Alba Rinaldi 91 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d'Alba

  Striking purple colour. Gorgeous nose of vibrant ripe blackberry and liquorice, the entry is thickly textured and intense with chunky tannins, this full-bodied Barbera is robust, complex with a dynamic to energetic acidity. Smart wine it closes with dark 100% lindt chocolate!

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• 2006 Marziano Abbona Nebbiolo d'Alba Bricco Barone 89 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Nebbiolo d'Alba

  The nose has a fresh cherry, roasted meat, tilled soil and some dried undergrowth. More complex than the previous wine, the entry is softer and succulent with good length, yet I find it lacks depth in the mid-palate and stuffing compared to the Rinaldi Barbera.

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• 2005 Giacomo Fenocchio Barolo Bussia 93 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  A deep ruby with a wide-ish orange rim, the nose shows liquorice, mineral, quarry dust with melted tar. Quite a deep wine; there is complexity and a persistently lingering finish. Powerful/brooding?

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• 2005 Giacomo Fenocchio Barolo Villero 90 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Deep tar, rose aromas on the nose with gentle spice and dried earth develop an intriguing nose.
  Somewhat chewy texture, there is an imprint of dried and fresh roses supported by firm, densely structured tannins. Yet the wine is lighter-weight and more linear, lacking some mind-palate depth. Planted on schist soils in the vineyard on a south-west facing vineyard.

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• 2004 Marziano Abbona Barolo Pressenda 92 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  A smoky character with toast suggesting newer oak with some red berries and subtle spices. The wine is intense and exhibits a lovely texture, contributing to its complexity. It has a long finish, plenty of depth and complexity if still youthful. Single vineyard site.

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• NV Toso Moscato d'Asti Dolce 84 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Moscato d'Asti

  An approachable and enjoyable Spumante that is inviting, gentle, sweet and juicy with some fruit cocktail notes and a touch of ripe citrus. Easy and approachable.

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• 2009 Cascina Castlet Moscato d'Asti 86 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Moscato d'Asti

  This Moscato d'Asti is a fresh and bright wine with lovely ripe citrus and a touch of stone fruits notes. Lifted, gently sweet and fragrant, plenty of mousse adds a delightful effervescence to the drinking experience.

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