From white to red and north to south

One regions wines that is impossible to find in Sweden is Valle D'Aosta in the northern part of Italy bordering France.  Many of the grapes used in Valle D'Aosta is more French than Italian. One grape used is the Petite Arvine. It gives a white wine that I like. I have tried the producer Les Cretes wine made by this grape with no oak. The colour were straw yellow.  The taste is of fruits, minerality and lingering grapefruit. Very good, fresh and rich. When I visited Valle D'Aoste I had the chance to visit Les Cretes. It is beautifully situated in the Aoste valley and is nice to visit. Still have their Fumin wine to taste.

Down in Sicily the local grapes Gracianico and Catarratto were used to produce the wine Lausu Bianco from producer Costantino. The taste is of apples, strong citrus and an aftertaste of grapefruit. Very good wine.

A couple of weeks ago I had the chance to sample a bottle from producer Mazzei. Now is the time for yet another of their bottles. Namely their Belgvardo Serrata from 2012. It is a blend of San Giovese and Alicante aged 12 months in barrels. The nose is very strong and it smells very good. The taste is rich and complex. Dark cherries, sage and vanilla. Very good. 

From south to north

The grape greco is used to produce the wine wine DOGC Greco di Tufo in Campania in southern Italy. One producer from Campania is Feudi di San Gregorio. I have tasted their Taurasi before but now it is time for their white wine Greco di Tufo from 2013. It is a strong wine but very well tasting. Notes of apples, pears and minerals. Very good and can be probably stored for a couple of more years before drinking.

Going north we have the Soave region and this time I taste to the big producer Masi and their white wine Levarie Soave. This wine is also from 2013. The taste is  fresh, pears and some citrus. A decent wine.

Planeta and Fonterutoli, two producers from Italy

Planeta started their production of wines in 1995 and they have been producing many good wines since then. They have many different wineyards in Siciliy. On a airplane trip I found a bottle of Planeta Syrah Maroccoli from 2009. It is produced in the wineyard Maroccoli in the south western corner of Sicily near lake Arancio. The grape is Syrah which I have never drank so much of before. The colour is very deep red. The taste is of black peppar and red cherries. A very strong wine with long aftertaste which can handle spicy food very well. And I can imagine that this wine can be stored for several years before drinking.

I have not drank so much wine from Tuscany as there is so much different wines produced in Tuscnay. I received information that the Fonterutoli No 10 was a very good wine so I decided to try a bottle. Fonterutoli is owned by the Mazzei family and is situated in the heart of Chianti Classico. The No 10 is made of Merlot grapes with a small amount of sangiovese grapes added and it is from 2012. The colour is deep red and the taste is of red cherries with herbs and soft tannins. Very nice.

Two very good red wines from Italy.

Heavenly wine from Abbazia Di Novacella

Abbazia Di Novacella in Alto Adige (South Tyrol) produces very fine wines. I have tasted some earlier but in 2013 I had the chance to visit the monastery and buy wine at the monastery. One wine that I bought were their white wine Praepositus Kerner from 2011. The Praepositus is their premium line. Kerner is the grape and is usually grown in German speaking countries. The smell is pleasent but the taste surprised me, especially as the alcohol level is 14% and I was expecting a very strong wine. Instead it is very elegant with an almost pear like taste with a lot of aromatic taste. A wonderful wine, unfortunately I cannot find it in Sweden.

Sardinia is a place I would like to visit and until then another wine from Sardinia. Aragosta is a white wine made from Vermentino grapes. It is of vintage 2013 and has a very good taste of apples and pears with acidity. A very good drinking wine.

Soave is a very nice place to visit and especially to see the beautiful castle. The wines from Soave classico is quite famous. I tasted the white wine Monte Tondo from 2012. It is of straw yellow colour and should be served very cold. It has a taste of apricots and some citrus. If it gets to warm it loses some of its charm.

Sparkling wine from new year

A tradition on new year is to drink sparkling wine. But the best idea is to start with the best wine first before ones taste buds have become numb.

A bottle which has been lying in my cellar for a couple of years now is a Ruinart brut Millésimé from 2000. It is dry and has a taste of apples, bread, some citrus and blood oranges. Very good and a perfect start of the evening. Very elegant sparkling wine.

A sparkling wine producing region that I have never tasted anything from before is Franciacorta in Lombardy in Italy. But this were to change after tasting the wine Lo Sparviero brut of vintage 2008 by the producer of the same name, Lo Sparviero. It is very nice, taste of citrus and bread. Lot of bubbles to start with so I had to let it rest a half a minute before drinking it.

Birthday and good wines

When it is time for my birthday it is always nice to celebrate it with good food and wines. This year the food was four cheeses from Italy, a tuscan brasato and a lemon meringue pie.

The first wine of the day were a Rotari Millesimato from 1999. This sparkling wine has character and tasted of citrus and bread. A strong vintage that worked very well with the cheeses. Next wine up was a Taurasi from 2003 from producer Di Prisco in Campania. Has a misfortune with the cork but after some struggle I could decant the wine. It is interesting how the older wines change their character with decanting. Just poured into the container it tasted very closed and not that good. But after an hour it had completely changed character. Now it was very elegant with notes of tobacco and liquorice. Very good. To finish the evening off were the sweet wine Kabir from island Pantelleria from producer Donnafugata. As usual one can through the smell say that this wine is from Pantelleria. Very good and full of flavour. Since this was from 2010 it didn't have the strong perfume tones of the 2012 vintage.