Vigne della Bra 2013
Quite powerful and builds on the palate, quite fresh but lovely citrus pith texture. Richness without excessive warmth.
Monteseroni Garganega 2013
Fresh mineral oxidation. Full yet light? Fresh but mellow? A bit odd.
Turbiana 2013
Nice density concentration still very light and fresh with hints of savoury.
Filippo Filippi
Filed under Tasting Notes
NV Motivo Rosé
Very bright fresh red fruits, plenty of fruit sweetness, good acidity to support, it’s more rosé in colour rather than wine as the glera dominates the palate. Pretty lovely wine though.
2014 Motivo Prosecco DOC
Tighter leaner on the palate, quite crisp, very dry, a bit of texture, the glera is a bit more subdued in this. A much drier style of prosecco.
NV Valdobbiadene DOCG
Quieter cleaner on the palate, unctuous on the palate, bight and crunchy, R/S well integrated, fresh bright. Not quite good enough for the price.
Cuvee Extra Dry
Crunchier tighter more mouth puckering but still very focused, a bit drier, the glera is well tamed by the manzoni bianco, but it is also a little less expressive.
09 Millesimato Brut 2014
Pure quiet elegance, very dry but lacking in the palate a bit, sharp and a little awkward, not as good as the others. Prefer the Extra Dry wines. Perhaps just a bit young.
Prosecco Frizzante
Actually quite pleasant, very fresh, nice and lean, bubbles fade quite quickly, great for spritz. Very very easy to drink, quite good for the price.
Corte delle Rose
Very delicate light spritz perfect for spritz drinks, under screw cap may mess with people’s head a bit. Needs more research, also needs soda water with the aperol. Enough fruit though, actually a pretty lovely wine on its own.
The Intrepid Wino with Pietro Nardin from Borgo Molino
Filed under Tasting Notes
Last year was a particularly good year for drinking for me, I have to admit it. Thanks to all the fantastic people I met and venues I discovered, who all work with some beautiful products, I got to both taste and drink (sometimes a bit too much) some amazing stuff. Some of these wines were tasted at events or trade tastings, some at my favourite bars & restaurants, and a few were tasted at wineries I visited (which was too rare in 2014). You’ll notice that many of these wines are Italian which very much reflects where I was at this year working for an importer of Italian wines, and also visiting Italy in June.
Let me know what you think, and tell me in the comments what were your highlight wines for 2014.
2014 was a momentous year as it was the first time I tasted Claret!
Filed under Musings
Castelcerino Soave 2013
A little closed at the moment, showing the salty shellfish, hints of volcanic. Vibrantly fresh with fantastic balance of fruit, acid herbs and minerality. Long.
Vigna della Bra 2012
Lovely briny capers, juicy vibrant and a little fat. Rich fantastic and complex, mouth-filling, delicious and unique.
Turbiana 2012 (trebbiano)
Similar shellfish notes, wild herbal green fruits. On the palate slightly haunting, still bright and fresh, more open and elusive though.
Filed under Tasting Notes
Moscato Fior d’Arancio 2006
Very pretty orange blossom bright aromatics. Super smooth elegant soft intense fruits and lifted acidity. Brighter style.
Moscato Rosa 2005
Slightly darker more intense aromatics, spicier herbal notes. Broader in the palate and rounder, denser deeper, more masculine expression.
Mele Cotogne 2010
Super soapy citrus intensity, tight florals. Silky candied characters on the palate. Intense bite yet soft.
Pere Williams 2011
Classic and shows the fruit beautifully, intense and a bit oxidative in nature. Amazingly soft and luscious, rich and long but wonderfully fresh.
Pesche Saturno 2006
Smells like something Japanese (soy, miso, mirin, that brown paste with beans mum makes). Warm rich sweet but also umami, dense warm bold. Fruit character comes very late.
Albicocche 2009
Unmistakable apricot character in a medicinal way, so intense it stings the nostrils. Has a wildness to it, sweet yet dark and intense.
Ciliege Duroni 2006
Smells savoury again, very interesting. Bright tight lean and a bit hot.
Amarene & Marasche 2009
I prefer this one much more, more focused fresher and intense.
Starting to get a bit sloshy…
Filed under Tasting Notes
Casa Coste Piane (2013 vintage)
Fresh bright gleaming in the glass, nice texture salinity, vibrant peach pear fruit, seamless acidity and salinity, refreshing without a lot of bubbles.
Filed under Tasting Notes
Prosecco Superiore 2013
Concentrated juicy fruit, extremely varietal, lots of crisp apples. Clean consistent long nice fruit with minerality showing much stronger on the palate.
Cartizze 2013
Much more subtle on the nose, more mature fruits and spices. Very bright on the palate very serious fruit concentrated and longer on the palate, deep complexity.
Metodo Classico 2011 (50 months on lees)
Lees autolysis veritably jumps out of the glass, but fruit supports quite nicely. Rich creamy brioche sitting over apple fruit, almost like an apple tart. Settled down a lot, almost shy, very unusual unexpected expression.
Filed under Tasting Notes
Lugana 2008
100% trebbiano, which had a very ripe honeyed lemon barley nose, robust rich weight and texture partly from oak, and seemed somewhat aggressive and too heavily worked.
Valpolicella Superiore 2009
A very full dark plum and currant nose, brightness and intensity at the same time, with good firm but soft tannins.
Ripassa Superiore 2009
The same intensity but a more earthy character, with some dark floral notes and a little warmth that will settle down given time.
Cresasso 2005
100% corvina, bold and tannic, oak and alcohol very well-integrated but looking a little too macerated and not enough fruit.
Amarone Classico 2007
Dense spicy jammy nose, very big and powerful on the front but a little disjointed and fruit sweet on the back. It is difficult to see the balance of acidity and fruit in this wine.
I love this kind of tasting, unique to Italy
Filed under Tasting Notes
Valpolicella Classico 2011
A lovely bright light ruby colour, has a fresh spicy red cherry nose, and is very clean and palatable to match with simple local food or on its own.
La Roverina Valpolicella Classico 2010
Technically of Superiore quality but not classified as it is sealed with a screw-cap. Softer yet fuller, quite juicy and plump with great balance and flavour.
Ripasso 2009
Valpolicella Superiore that has had additional maceration on Amarone skins, has a deeper dark cherry cassis nose, much more velvety and slightly toasty characters, but with good balance of acidity that would push it through at least five years.
Amarone della Valpolicella 2007
Has had at least three years of cask age and another year of bottle age. Lovely chocolate and hazelnut aromas greet you, with dark plum and cassis fruit plumpness on the palate, but it is so gloriously well-integrated that you don’t notice the alcohol or the residual sugar sweetness.
Amarone della Valpolicella 1983
Still showing very young, but as the tannins alcohol and oak had subsided the fruit sweetness was coming through a lot more, supported with nutty toasty caramel and cocoa notes.
Recioto La Roggia 2008
Showing gentle raisined chocolate notes, with some complex oxidative characters and intense tannin sweetness to boot.
The amazing 1983 vintage I tasted with Luca Speri
Filed under Tasting Notes
Soave 2011
Very crisp and fresh, with some nice depth and texture, something I like to see in the style.
Valpolicella Classico 2011
Bright floral juicy nose, and was pleasant and spicy on the palate.
La Grola 2009
Much darker and tighter, slightly fuller and darker as well – a good wine but hardly unique.
Amarone Classico 2008
Very fresh and had lovely fruit sweetness, supple yet firm tannins and great balance.
La Roya Amarone 2007
A significant step up; very deep and intense (possibly due to the warmer vintage), very prominent on oak at the moment, showing some great signs of complexity but requiring a bit of cellaring to open up some more.
A gorgeous view over Valpolicella
Filed under Tasting Notes
A podcast about wine, wine culture and wine people. Every week a different guest from the wine industry joins host The Intrepid Wino (aka James Scarcebrook) for a casual chat about the world of wine.
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