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Survey of Italy
Our House (2033 Brandywine St., Philadelphia)
Tasted February 20, 2010 by jrobs7777 with 863 views
Introduction
This tasting was designed to provide a broad overview of Italian wines. We started with two generic whites. We then hit Nebbiolo for two flights -- Barbaresco followed by Barolo. We then turned to Brunello and had a nice sampling from that region. We finished with a grab bag flight that was based around the IGT classification. The finisher was a solid Vin Santo. Catering was by DiBruno Bros. Meatballs and Chicken Marsala were followed by a crowd pleasing tray of cheese, fruit, Italian dried meats and candied nuts. Overall, a terrific introduction into Italian wines.
Flight 1 - Generic Bianco and Prosecco (2 notes)
White
2007 Germano Ettore Langhe Binel
84 points
Rather plain. Nice chardonnay nose of green apple and a nip of brown sugar. Lighter acidity on the palate with minerals. Crisp and refreshing. A fine wine but a little lacking. Nice apertif style. Probably not worth the price tag.
White - Sparkling
N.V. Cantine Riondo Prosecco
86 points
Nice spritz. Good minerals. Dough and lemon peel. Very pleasant. Good bargain.
Flight 2 - A sampling of Barbaresco (4 notes)
These were all nice. The Gaja stood out followed by the Produttori. The Paitin may have been mildly corked. It was hard to tell, though.
Red
2001 Pio Cesare Barbaresco
87 points
Browning in color. Meaty, darker fruits. Black currant on the nose. Good fruit on the palate. Smooth, medium tannins. Cranberry and cherry. A shade watery.
Red
2001 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Ovello
93 points
Very impressive. Subtle, red fruit and red currant on the nose. Nice ripe cherry on the palate with some earth. Very nice concentration. Superb drying tannins. This has a long way to go. Balanced acidity. Very solid finish.
Red
2000 Paitin di Pasquero-Elia Barbaresco Vecchie Vigne Sorì Paitin
88 points
Consensus was that this *could* have been slightly corked, but there was still some nice aspects to this and the score is based on that. Earthy, cherry and darker fruits. Mushroom and forest floor. Dense with nice tannins. Slightly higher acidity than what I'd prefer. Good finish.
Red
1995 Gaja Barbaresco Sorì Tildìn
95 points
Exceptional. Earthy, mushrooms, cherry. Dense and concentrated. This shows its age, but is also very fresh and has a long time to go. Nice structure. The palate shows leather, tobacco and good secondary notes. Nice finish but you'd expect a little better from everything that comes before it.
Flight 3 - Wide range of Barolo (4 notes)
We had it all with the Barolo -- it went from average to outstanding. The Conterno Fantino was sublime and was my WOTN.
Red
2003 Giovanni Rosso Barolo Serralunga d'Alba
85 points
Average but for $5, it is just fine. Earthy, meaty. Cranberry. Candied nose. Rustic palate that is a bit watery. Short finish. Fine everyday drinker. Overshadowed in this company.
Red
2004 Pio Cesare Barolo
94 points
This brings the goods. Rustic, earthy, spicy dense and concentrated. This is so young and almost painfully fresh for a wine that is now almost 6 years old. Solid fruit concentration on the palate with nice secondary development of earth and leather. This is a powerful wine. Fine tannins that lead to a big crescendo finish.
Red
2001 Pio Cesare Barolo
89 points
Tasted right after the stellar 04, this was a considerable step down. A little surprising. This drank like a much older wine, considering that the 04 was so young and fresh. Leather, mushrooms, earth. Good fruit. The acidity was a bit high and disjointed leading to a moderate shorter finish. This is a very nice wine. Good fruit. Good secondary development. But it is clearly at the back end of the prime drinking window and may start to decline soon.
Red
2001 Conterno Fantino Barolo Sorì Ginestra
97 points
WOTN. Undisputed, I think. Red fruit on the big nose. Dense and concentrated. So powerful but everything is in balance. Palate is smooth but the tannins are there. This has a long way to go. Delicious palate leads to long lingering finish. Everything is in perfect harmony in this wine.
Flight 4 - Three very different Brunellos (3 notes)
This was a eye opening flight. The Lambardi was fresh and dominated by red fruit. The Lisini was darker and more brooding, framed by wood. The Casanova di Neri was clearly in the modern style with bigger dark fruits. All were very good. The Lambardi just edged out the Lisini for WOTF.
Red
2004 Lambardi Brunello di Montalcino
93 points
Spicy, red fruit and great freshness. Packed with red fruit on the palate. Concentrated. Mouth watering. Tannins are there. Nice finish.
Red
2001 Lisini Brunello di Montalcino
92 points
This is drinking very well. Dark, dense and concentrated. Wood and dark fruit on the nose. This developed well in the glass. Palate explodes with concentrated darker fruits. Anise, blueberry and plum. Good finish. 92+
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Comments (1)
Red
2001 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova
92 points
Departure from the previous 2 Brunellos. We had 3 and all were different. The most modern of the 3. This was deep dark and concentrated. Packed with dark fruit, anise, spice, plum. Sweet spice on the palate leads to long tangy finish. This is very good, very dense. Interesting to see how this will develop. Right now it is delicious.
Flight 5 - IGT and More (5 notes)
Three IGTs. The Bordeaux was used for comparison purposes. And then we threw in an Amarone. All of these wines were very good and provided good insight as to how the Sangiovese grape blends with the Cab and Merlot.
Red
2006 Brancaia Ilatraia
90 points
Interesting. Burnt sugar, caramel on the nose. There is also a slight herbal note. The palate is a bit more traditional. Dark fruit, cabernet notes tempered slightly but sangiovese. Good tannin. This is good but at this price point, I'm not sure I'd put it at the top of my IGT list.
Red
2005 Tenuta Sette Ponti Oreno Toscana IGT
93 points
This is a step up from previously tasted Ilatraia. Dark color, spicy, meat, dense and concentrated. Palate is chock full of dark fruit, mocha and dark chocolate cocoa powder tannins. Very solid finish. Great IGT.
Red
2005 Château Malartic-Lagravière
88 points
Included for comparison purposes. The 45-45-8-2 blend was the perfect foil to the 40-40-20 blend of the Oreno. Needless to say, the Oreno was a clear step up. This was fresh on the nose with some darker fruit nose. Good concentration on the palate but lacked the complexity and development of the Oreno. The finish is good. A fine example of lower to mid-range 05 Bordeaux, but at a price similar to the 05 Sette Ponti Oreno, this is not close.
Red
2003 Montevetrano Montevetrano Colli di Salerno IGT
88 points
This did not show as well as the previous time we tasted this. Herbal nose with darker fruit. Dark chocolate dominated the palate. This was a little too simple. Not enough complexity. A tasty wine with a nice finish. There was "oomph" missing from this tonight. We'll see how our other bottle does down the road.
Red
2001 Allegrini Amarone della Valpolicella Classico
91 points
Very good, but the nose is a bit awkward. Port notes. It seemed a bit disjointed. But the palate is good dense and concentrated. Good blend of red fruit and darker fruit. Chewy tannins. Good finish.
Flight 6 - Vin Santo Dessert (1 note)
I enjoyed the vin santo more than others. The contrast between the nose and palate was really interesting.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2001 Isole e Olena Vin Santo del Chianti Classico
91 points
While not a knockout, this is very good. Nutty caramel nose. Apple, pear and tree fruits on the palate. This is surprisingly juicy on the palate for a wine that more resembled a single malt scotch on the nose.