Southern Italian – Aglianico and Nero d’Avola Blindtasting
Kenwood, California
Tasted Saturday, May 24, 2008 by rjonwine@gmail.com with 1,989 views
Introduction
I've been very impressed with the wines I've been tasting from Southern Italy in the past year and a half, especially Nero d'Avolas and aged Aglianicos. Inspired by these tastings, I collected some newer releases from a few sources, including Roberto on this board, to do a group blindtasting, both to learn more about this region and these varietals, and also to see which ones I might want to buy more of for long-term aging. Fifteen friends joined me for the tasting this past Saturday at my sister's Kenwood home, in Sonoma County, where we blindtasted 16 Aglianicos, Nero d'Avolas and blends from Campania and Sicily, and some additional whites and a red from the area and elsewhere poured during our dinner break, ending with a couple of sweet Italian wines for dessert. Each of the blind wines was double splash decanted and returned to its bottle before the tasting.
The following report gives the group's rankings of the 16 wines we tasted blind, in two flights of eight wines each, along with my TNs on those wines and the non-blind wines we had with dinner and for dessert. Interestingly, Nero d'Avola bottlings from Firriato topped the group rankings for both flights, with the '05 Chiramonte being particularly impressive, and a great value at $12-15.
Flight 1 - Blindtasting Flight 1 (8 Notes)
Flight one was a mix of Aglianicos and Nero d'Avolas, at least one of which was a blend. Two of the Aglianicos ranked in the top 3 of that flight for me, and I enjoyed them, but not as much as the mature Aglianicos I've had, with 7 to 15 years bottle age.
Flight 2 - Dinner Flight (5 Notes)
Our dinner wines were served with Caesar salad, roasted chicken and pasata from Café Citti, a family-owned Italian restaurant in Kenwood. Our dinner wines consisted of four whites--three from Italy and one, a Chardonnay, made by one of our tasters, Greg Bjornstad--and one 2001 Nero d'Avola that had been decanted for two hours.
Flight 3 - Blindtasting Flight 2 (8 Notes)
Flight two was all Nero d'Avolas, and I especially enjoyed flight two, and ranked most of the wines in that flight higher than the wines in flight one. I find I am enjoying Neros even with minimal bottle age, although the better ones do have the complexity and acidity to age well. My personal, final takeaway from the tasting: Keep buying well priced Nero d'Avolas from good producers for everyday drinking, and selected Aglianicos for longer aging; and plot a trip to Sicily for the coming year.
Flight 4 - Sweet Flight (2 Notes)
2003 Firriato Nero d'Avola Sicilia Ribeca 93 Points
Italy, Sicily, Sicilia
Group's #1 (my #1) – 39 pts; 6 1st place rankings, 4 2nd place rankings, 1 third place, 0 last places – Dark red violet color with cherry meniscus; blackberry and charcoal nose; tasty but tight cherry, berry, bittersweet chocolate and charcoal palate; medium-plus finish (60% Nero d'Avola and 40% Perricone)
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2004 Colle Acre Eloro Thyonianus 90 Points
Italy, Sicily, Eloro
Group's #2 (my #5) – 49 pts; 4, 3, 3, 0 – Medium red violet color; tarry, graphite, dried cherry nose; tasty, red fruit, cherry and graphite palate; medium-plus finish
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2003 Mustilli Aglianico Sant'Agata dei Goti Vigna Cesco di Nece 88 Points
Italy, Campania, Sant'Agata dei Goti
Group's #3 (my #6) – 56 pts; 1, 4, 4, 0 – Dark red violet color; tight herbal nose, with notes of sage and oregano; tight, very tannic, tart red fruit; medium-plus finish 88+ pts.
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2003 Feudi di San Gregorio Irpinia Serpico 91 Points
Italy, Campania, Irpinia
Group's #4 (my #3) – 70 pts; 2, 1, 2, 1 – Dark red violet color; beautiful blackberry and dried berry nose (someone suggested “auto body shop,” which somehow also fit); tasty, youthful, tart blackberry, berry, and black fruit with some obtrusive oak showing up mid-palate toward the medium-plus finish 91+ pts.
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2004 I Favati Irpinia Cretarossa 92 Points
Italy, Campania, Irpinia
Group's #5 (my #2) – 73 pts.; 1, 3, 2, 2 – Dark red violet color; boysenberry, herbal nose; tight but good berry, mulberry and licorice palate; medium finish
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2001 Aminea Taurasi Baiardo 88 Points
Italy, Campania, Taurasi DOCG
Group's #6 (my #7) – 88 pts.; 0, 1, 1, 1 – Bright red violet; oaky, dried red fruit nose; tart, tight, red fruit, cherry, with tangy acidity; medium drying finish (100% Aglianico)
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2005 Colle Acre Sicilia Convivium 79 Points
Italy, Sicily, Sicilia
Group's #7 (my #8) – 98 pts.; 2, 0, 2, 9 – Medium red color, paler than the other 7 Southern Italian wines in the flight; smoky, graphite, oaky nose; funky vegetal flavors on the palate, and reduction; medium finish
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2002 Mustilli Grifo di Rocca Campania IGT 90 Points
Italy, Campania, Campania IGT
Group's #8 (my #4) – 103 pts.; 0, 0, 1, 2 – Medium rust red color; slightly stinky (sulfur?) dried strawberry nose; tight but tasty, spicy and mineral palate with good acidity and chewy tannins; medium finish 90+ pts.
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