A return to San Gimignano

I had the chance to try a couple of different wines. The white wine Vernaccia Di San Gimignano has became of one my favourites. This time I had the chance to try the producer Montendoli and a bottle from 2011. It has the characteristics of a Vernaccia but the aftertaste is not so much bitter almond as the other ones I have tried. Very good wine.

I usually prefer red wines from Italy than France and this time I have tried a bottle each from each country. First up is a Ripasso from Valpolicella by producer Castelforte. It has a taste of cherries and is not that strong, definatley not as complex as the Castelforte Amarone. Goes well with pasta.

Couvent des Jacobins Bourgogne Rouge is Louis Jadots standard Bourgogne red wine. It has a spice tasty but lacks something for me. Does it need a one or two more years of storage?

New Year is sparkling

Sparkling wines and new year go hand in hand and this year is no different. The first sparkling wine were a champagne, namely a Taittinger Millesime from 2004. I bought it five years ago and it was time to try it now. The bouquet was wonderful, a lot of floral notes. The taste were of strong notes of citrus, bread and apples. It had a very long lingering aftertaste. Excellent champagne.

The second sparkling wine of the evening were a South African sparkling wine. From producer Simonsig comes Kaapse Vonkel Brut from 2011. A first time for me. Very good wine. Complex taste with citrus and some almost smokiness in the aftertaste. Delightful, I hope I can taste it again soon. The grapes used in this were the same as used in Champagnes (Pinot noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier.)

The evening finished with Cremant D'Alsace and a bottle of Kabir (Moscato di Pantelleria) from producer Donnafugata. The Kabir taste better now after a year of storage so will the last bottle taste better in one years time? Only time will tell.

Birthday celebrations with Rotari and two strong Italian reds

For birthday it is good to have good food and wine and this time the food consisted of three different parmesans, a four year old, a three year old and a Modena bianco 30+ months and two different Pecorino, one stored in a grotta. Extras were parma ham and three different salamis.

The wines served for this food delight were all Italians. The first wine served were a sparkling wine from Trentino made by producer Mezzacorona and it is an old Rotari from 1996 which were sboccatura in 2013. The taste is very good. Strong citrus notes with some apples followed by bread notes. Excellent wine and it is fun to taste an older Italian sparkling wine. I have to admit that this wine were all drank before the food as it was such an easy drinking.

The first wine together with the food were something new for me. A Brunello di Montalcino by producer Castiglion del Bosco from 2008. Very strong wine that goes very well together with the food. Tastes of cherries, dark berries with a hint of tobacco. Very interesting.

The next wine is an amarone, Castelforte Amarone della Valpolicella from 2007. Now this wine is very complex and also has very strong flavous and it also goes very well with the food. Wonderful wine. Both of these red wines need food or they will be to strong.