A bit shy on the nose, but showing notes of hay, green apple, brett, savory herbs, lambic yeast, and an interesting savory "coffee in the air" aroma (like if you ground some beans and then smelled the room).On the palate it is perfectly balanced with every front palate, mid palate and finish all prolongued and showing great texture and mineral grip.
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Going through a dumb phase? Not unusual in my experience with Valentini especially in the past. Youthful, with no signs of aging, but not very expressive vs numerous previous bottles I've had of this wine (although this is the first one I've opened since the pandemic). Will wait 3-5 years before opening another one
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100% organically farmed Bombino Bianco (more likely a local synonym for Trebbiano Abruzzese than Bombino Bianco the variety). The wine is made from approx. 5-10% of the best grapes harvested, the rest is sold off as bulk. Fermented spontaneously and aged in old oak casks. Spontaneous MLF. Bottled unfined, unfiltered and without any SO2. 12% alcohol. Tasted in a Valentini Trebbiano 2014-1999 vertical.
Quite intense and somewhat deep but also slightly hazy yellow-green color. Crisp and sharp nose with aromas of lemony citrus fruits, some flinty notes of reductive smoke, light crunchy Granny Smith apple tones, a little bit of hay, subtly bretty hints of leather and waxy funk, a touch of sweeter yellow fruit and faint whiff of minty lift. The wine feels fresh, lively and crunchy on the palate with a medium body and dry, youthful flavors of lemony citrus fruits and ripe green currants, some tangy notes of salinity, a little bit of phenolic spice, light funky notes of leather, slightly bitter hints of apple peel and a touch of stony minerality. The high acidity makes the wine feel refreshing and quite structured. The medium-to-moderately long finish is crisp, lively and rather lengthy with a dry aftertaste of stony minerality, some lemony citrus fruit tones, a little bit of ripe green currant, light saline nuances, a hint of leathery funk and a touch of phenolic spice.
A wonderfully clean, bright and refreshing vintage of Valentini Trebbiano. Compared to the other vintages we tasted, this seemed to be lacking a bit in concentration and dry extract - that typically tactile, even slightly viscous mouthfeel of Valentini Trebbiano was almost completely absent here, making the wine feel slightly lighter and more delicate compared to the other vintages. That, on one hand, made the wine feel perhaps slightly less impressive than those more concentrated vintages, but on the other hand, it also made the wine feel perhaps more refreshing and precise in character. I guess that with a bit more concentration and length, this wine could've gained one or two points more, but this was pretty darn lovely wine all the same - especially when the funky notes of brett (another very typical quality of Valentini Trebbiano) were very much in the background here, basically only adding to the complexity and not obfuscating anything. Great stuff that will continue to improve for years more, even if the wine is drinking pretty well already now.
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Popped and poured. Another stunning bottle. So cool and poised. Very youthful. Elegant and silky with flavors of lemon, lime, minerals and lychee. Just lovely.
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This is drinking incredibly well right now. Pineapple & tropical fruit - but with still nice dose of fresh acidity. A touch of salty minerality at the finish. Taste developed for 30 seconds. I WISH I had more from this vintage.
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Upon initial PnP: The color is very pale straw. The nose is funky with hints of sulfur. The palate is very steely without showing much fruit at all. After a 30 minute decant: The color deepens to a clear pale yellow. The funk blows off and the nose is very mineral with some white fruit showing. The medium bodied palate yielded some white fruit, balancing acidity, and lots of stony minerality. The medium finish showed touches of oak. An interesting wine, but not a blockbuster, that could hold for several more years.
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This was my first time trying a Vaelntini wine. We brought it to a special celebratory meal with us (ko). It did have the slightest spritz upon opening, but that disappeared. Tropical notes of under-ripe pineapple, a saltiness, and a deep, minerally finish are the things that I remember most. Very characterful, and lived up to the hype I had in my head. It seemed to do better with simple dishes, and was actually excellent with their sourdough bread and cave-aged butter. Was a great buy on SommPicks for $76 too.
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Abbruzzo study (Chicago, IL): Oddly, this had a slight spritz to it. There were the typical meat broth aromas on the nose here, but for me, the most distinctive thing was the heightened acidity, which gave this wine a little more freshness than some of the others. Overall, this was very similar to the other wines in the flight -- perhaps a reflection of the consistency of producer style over vintage.
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Superlative. Ripe with bushels of yellow and tropical fruits. Minerally and with cutting acidity. Beautifully structured. Big and ripe but effortlessly light. $115 at TA.
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Probably the best Italian white I had so far, complex nose with fruit, mineral,almond and smokey notes. On the palate honey,almonds,hazlenuts, integrated oak, camomille and mineral, long and complex. Great wine
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First time trying this wine (at Otto), after reading a lot about it. Savory and nutty nose. Medium-to-full on the palate with good fruit and decently balanced, but can get a little oak. Bit savory on the finish as well. Interesting and enjoyable, but didn't pair as well with shellfish as Salon 2002 did.
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VERTICALE VALENTINI (UNIVERSITA' POLLENZO): Paglierino scarico verdolino. attacco classico molto sulfureo, stenta a uscire, vitreo e quasi effervescente. Tufo pungente, pietra pomice, molto vivace e nervoso. Attacco sapido e salmastro, schiuma di mare, acidità stridente da spremuta di limone. Giovanissimo e teso, frutto schermato dalla giovinezza, manca di allungo e di qualsiasi complessità che rende i vini di Valentini straordinari. Non credo sia un' annata eccezionale, ma al momento il vino è chiuso, insepressivo, non è ancora nato. Attendere minimo 15 anni
3/6/2023 - The Wine Dispatch [b2w.wine] Likes this wine:
A bit shy on the nose, but showing notes of hay, green apple, brett, savory herbs, lambic yeast, and an interesting savory "coffee in the air" aroma (like if you ground some beans and then smelled the room).On the palate it is perfectly balanced with every front palate, mid palate and finish all prolongued and showing great texture and mineral grip.
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10/16/2022 - mclanew Likes this wine: 93 Points
Consistent with previous notes
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9/20/2022 - Smooth Jazz wrote:
Going through a dumb phase? Not unusual in my experience with Valentini especially in the past. Youthful, with no signs of aging, but not very expressive vs numerous previous bottles I've had of this wine (although this is the first one I've opened since the pandemic). Will wait 3-5 years before opening another one
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6/29/2022 - forceberry wrote: 92 Points
100% organically farmed Bombino Bianco (more likely a local synonym for Trebbiano Abruzzese than Bombino Bianco the variety). The wine is made from approx. 5-10% of the best grapes harvested, the rest is sold off as bulk. Fermented spontaneously and aged in old oak casks. Spontaneous MLF. Bottled unfined, unfiltered and without any SO2. 12% alcohol. Tasted in a Valentini Trebbiano 2014-1999 vertical.
Quite intense and somewhat deep but also slightly hazy yellow-green color. Crisp and sharp nose with aromas of lemony citrus fruits, some flinty notes of reductive smoke, light crunchy Granny Smith apple tones, a little bit of hay, subtly bretty hints of leather and waxy funk, a touch of sweeter yellow fruit and faint whiff of minty lift. The wine feels fresh, lively and crunchy on the palate with a medium body and dry, youthful flavors of lemony citrus fruits and ripe green currants, some tangy notes of salinity, a little bit of phenolic spice, light funky notes of leather, slightly bitter hints of apple peel and a touch of stony minerality. The high acidity makes the wine feel refreshing and quite structured. The medium-to-moderately long finish is crisp, lively and rather lengthy with a dry aftertaste of stony minerality, some lemony citrus fruit tones, a little bit of ripe green currant, light saline nuances, a hint of leathery funk and a touch of phenolic spice.
A wonderfully clean, bright and refreshing vintage of Valentini Trebbiano. Compared to the other vintages we tasted, this seemed to be lacking a bit in concentration and dry extract - that typically tactile, even slightly viscous mouthfeel of Valentini Trebbiano was almost completely absent here, making the wine feel slightly lighter and more delicate compared to the other vintages. That, on one hand, made the wine feel perhaps slightly less impressive than those more concentrated vintages, but on the other hand, it also made the wine feel perhaps more refreshing and precise in character. I guess that with a bit more concentration and length, this wine could've gained one or two points more, but this was pretty darn lovely wine all the same - especially when the funky notes of brett (another very typical quality of Valentini Trebbiano) were very much in the background here, basically only adding to the complexity and not obfuscating anything. Great stuff that will continue to improve for years more, even if the wine is drinking pretty well already now.
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2/19/2022 - mclanew Likes this wine: 95 Points
Popped and poured. Another stunning bottle. So cool and poised. Very youthful. Elegant and silky with flavors of lemon, lime, minerals and lychee. Just lovely.
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3/3/2021 - Ramon1947 Likes this wine: 95 Points
This is drinking incredibly well right now.
Pineapple & tropical fruit - but with still nice dose of fresh acidity. A touch of salty minerality at the finish.
Taste developed for 30 seconds. I WISH I had more from this vintage.
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4/19/2020 - VlgJeff wrote: 90 Points
Upon initial PnP: The color is very pale straw. The nose is funky with hints of sulfur. The palate is very steely without showing much fruit at all.
After a 30 minute decant: The color deepens to a clear pale yellow. The funk blows off and the nose is very mineral with some white fruit showing. The medium bodied palate yielded some white fruit, balancing acidity, and lots of stony minerality. The medium finish showed touches of oak.
An interesting wine, but not a blockbuster, that could hold for several more years.
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3/9/2019 - Nojomoschwa Likes this wine: 94 Points
This was my first time trying a Vaelntini wine. We brought it to a special celebratory meal with us (ko). It did have the slightest spritz upon opening, but that disappeared. Tropical notes of under-ripe pineapple, a saltiness, and a deep, minerally finish are the things that I remember most. Very characterful, and lived up to the hype I had in my head. It seemed to do better with simple dishes, and was actually excellent with their sourdough bread and cave-aged butter. Was a great buy on SommPicks for $76 too.
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12/24/2018 - Pierre-Yves wrote:
Some fizz that disappear with time. Very good with classic carbonara.
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12/19/2018 - acyso wrote: 90 Points
Abbruzzo study (Chicago, IL): Oddly, this had a slight spritz to it. There were the typical meat broth aromas on the nose here, but for me, the most distinctive thing was the heightened acidity, which gave this wine a little more freshness than some of the others. Overall, this was very similar to the other wines in the flight -- perhaps a reflection of the consistency of producer style over vintage.
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3/25/2018 - diggydan wrote: 96 Points
Superlative. Ripe with bushels of yellow and tropical fruits. Minerally and with cutting acidity. Beautifully structured. Big and ripe but effortlessly light. $115 at TA.
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6/6/2017 - Mingestrom Likes this wine: 94 Points
Probably the best Italian white I had so far, complex nose with fruit, mineral,almond and smokey notes. On the palate honey,almonds,hazlenuts, integrated oak, camomille and mineral, long and complex. Great wine
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4/13/2017 - sunnylea57 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Intriguing and complex, and D'Agata's TN echoed my experience.
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5/7/2016 - fcxj wrote: 92 Points
First time trying this wine (at Otto), after reading a lot about it. Savory and nutty nose. Medium-to-full on the palate with good fruit and decently balanced, but can get a little oak. Bit savory on the finish as well. Interesting and enjoyable, but didn't pair as well with shellfish as Salon 2002 did.
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2/28/2016 - Alemany wrote: 92 Points
nothing beats this wine
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11/8/2015 - dcwino wrote: 95 Points
2015 Villa d’Este Wine Symposium - Kelly and Kevin's excellent adventure; 11/3/2015-11/9/2015 (Villa D’este, Lake Como): Expressive nose displaying pineapple, grapefruit, marzipan, oyster brine and mineral. Excellent concentration, quite ripe yet precise due to bright acidity and strong mineral presence and lovely long finish. Very unique expression. Really delicious.
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6/18/2014 - galenico Does not like this wine: 85 Points
VERTICALE VALENTINI (UNIVERSITA' POLLENZO): Paglierino scarico verdolino. attacco classico molto sulfureo, stenta a uscire, vitreo e quasi effervescente.
Tufo pungente, pietra pomice, molto vivace e nervoso.
Attacco sapido e salmastro, schiuma di mare, acidità stridente da spremuta di limone. Giovanissimo e teso, frutto schermato dalla giovinezza, manca di allungo e di qualsiasi complessità che rende i vini di Valentini straordinari.
Non credo sia un' annata eccezionale, ma al momento il vino è chiuso, insepressivo, non è ancora nato.
Attendere minimo 15 anni
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10/12/2013 - jorivesud wrote: 91 Points
Pas de note. De memoire, nez de maquis, fleurs sauvages et herbes. En bouche, evlolue a chaque gorgée, litchi, peche, carambole...
Excellent.
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