Notes from an Italian evening.
2004 Inama Vigneti di Foscarino Soave Classico Sup. - nice rich lemony nose with a hint of vanilla, quite full bodied, tasty and long. Soave on steroids.2000 Mastroberardino Aglianaco 'Radici' (Taurasi) - this reserve wine showed medium colour and body and slightly high acidity at end, and it went well with food. A bit rustic but very pleasant.
1995 Dal Forno Valpolicella - only fitting to have a Valpolicella like this after a Soave like that - both over achievers. Good deep colour, ripe sweet nose (a tad warm at 14.5%), medium body, a ton of acidity, still with some tannin and good flavour concentration. No rush at all on this one. As always, a shame about the pricing on these wines!2001 Damilano Barolo - quite light in colour, and lean, tannic and acidic but without being mean about it. Didn't appeal to me and I didn't think it would improve.
2002 Aiello Furat - this Sicilian wine is a blend of Nero d'Avola, syrah, merlot and cab, but the Nero d'Avola is what comes across in the nose, but in a dark sweet New World sort of way - I didn't see this as at all traditional like the Feudo Maccari and Morgante wines one might be used to from this area. It drank well, mind you.1990 Terrabianca Campaccio Riserva - I tried a 1993 earlier in the week - pretty good, but I decided to bring the big gun as the 1990 has always been a wonderful wine. This super Tuscan is mostly sangio with a dollop (20%) of cabernet, and there was a nice toasty nose of berries and cedar, an appearance that had them guessing up to a decade later. In the mouth it was delightful, maturing, with a dusting of soft tannin and blackberry cassis flavours, good balance without obtrusive acidity and excellent length. Just wish I'd bought more of this over achiever.
2004 Campagnia de Ermes Cesanese do Olevano Romano - I can hear the "What?" already. This is an oddball varietal from near Rome (Lazio) that showed on this occasion as a dead ringer for a Northern Rhone. It had the spice, bright cherry aromas, and white pepper in the sweet nose, elegant on palate, finishing dry and well balanced. If you get the chance to taste this varietal don't pass it by. Wish I had a bottle to toss into the next N. Rhone blind tasting that comes my way!2005 Altare Dolcetto - we are no strangers to the new age big whacking Dolcetti being made today, although the pricing leaves me cold ($39 for this one). A dusty nose of berries and cocoa, it came across very much like a cab/merlot blended wine. Certainly a nice example and it has a few years left, though it won't get any better than it is now.
1999 Antinori Tenuta Marchesi Chianti - these wines are a step up from the basic Chianti - they see small oak, and it usually shows in the nose. I thought this one was a particularly pleasing example, slightly musty but decent nose with some oak, showing a hint of maturity now, and good fruit with a smooth finish. Drinks very well now and will hold.1998 Sette Ponti Crognolo - I must admit to never having been a big fan of this wine (I prefer the Oreno), but it had a ripe nose, good weight, still quite a bit of tannin and decent length. Pleasant.
2005 Braida Brachetto d'Acqui - a fun way to end. A slight spritz, the colour of a side of lox, somewhat soapy nose, somewhat sweet, only 5.5% alcohol, this Muscat was a pleasant alternative to the usual Moscato d'Asti.