Kerner from Abbazia Novacella

I visited Abbazia Novacella, Alto Adige, Italy in 2013. It is a wonderful monastery that produces wine. For German speakers it is known as Stiftskellerei Neustift. If you have the chance visit the place. Enjoy the beautiful monastery, the amazing landscape and after that drink some wine at the monastery shop. 

  The wine that I have tried is a Kerner 2015 from Abbazia Novacella. Kerner is a child of Riesling and has some characteristics of Riesling.  This wine is fresh and tastes of pear, citrus and grapefruit. Some mineralic after taste. An excellent wine yet again from Abbazia Novacella.

Tasting A Taurasui from Feudi San Gregorio again

In September 2014 I tasted my last Taurasi from Feudi San Gregorio and at that time I bought several bottles and laid them in storage. Unfortunately the one I tasted were from 2008 while the one I bought some time later were from 2009. So how has the 2009 vintage aged? Lets try it but before some info about the Taurasi.

Taurasi is always made by 100% Aglianico grapes. The wine has matured in 18 months in medium-toasted French barriques and finally minimum nine months in the bottle before being sold.

The colour is very dark. In the nose I can feel vanilla and dark fruits. The taste is of dark cherries and liquorice. The tannins are good structured. When comparing it to the 2008 I think the two extra years of aging has softened the tannins a bit making this wine more elegant. An excellent wine. The last bottle that I will be stored for two more years before drinking.

Passito from La Crotta Di Vegneron

I love sweet wines but I drink it so seldom. In my winecellar I saw a bottle of passito from La Crotta Di Vegneron so why not try it out? La Crotta Di Vegneron is a cooperative in Valle D'Aosta in Italy and it consist of 75 partners today. The production is approximately 200 000 bottles a year. All the wineyards are facing south and they are at altitudes 500-850 meters above sea level. In 2014 I had the fortune to visit La Crotta Di Vegneron shop in Valle D'Aosta. Unfortunately I could not buy as much as I wanted but a bottle of Chambave Moscato Passito from 2011 I managed to bring home.

Passito wines are made from dried grapes. This Cambave Moscato Pasito has an interesting story as in 1494 George of Challant gave Moscato Passito di Chambave to Charles VIII, King of France. So this golden nectar has been produced for a long time. It consists of 100% Moscato grapes and has an ABV of 13,5%.

The colour of this wine is amber. I think that the three year of extra maturation has deepened the colour. In the nose I can feel aromatic fruits. It smells like a passito from Pantelleria. The taste is sweet and warm. The wine has a taste of dried apricots, honey and very intense. An excellent wine, as good as a passito wine could be. I think that with a few more years the taste would increase even more, alas this was my only bottle. Next year when I hopefully will travel to Valle D'Aosta and then I will make a longer visit to La Crotta Di Vegneron.

A note on the spelling. I write Valle D'Aosta but in the local spelling Valdôtain it is spelled Vallée d'Aoste. And this is the spelling that you see on the bottle.

Trebbiano vs Grüner Veltiner

It is fun to try two different wines and compare them. This time I tried a Trebbiano D'Abruzzo and compared it with a Grüner Veltiner. The Trebbiano wine from Abruzzo if manufactured by producer Orlando Contucci Ponno and is called Adrio and it is from 2015. The Trebbiano grape is one of the most planted white wine grapes in Italy. This wine is very fresh, has a lot of fruit with green apples in the mix. I could also feel a bit minerals. It is very good but should be drank young.

The Grüner Veltiner wine is from producer Leth in Austria and is of the vintage 2016. This wine is very similar to the previous wine. Very fresh, with fruits and apples in the taste. Also some minerality. I would not be able to feel the difference between these wines in a blind tasting.

I recommend both of these bottles. Very good fresh young white wines.

Bruichladdich, the classic laddie

The Classic Laddie from Bruichaddich is made from Scottish barley and then matured in American and French oak. It is un-chill filtered and uncoloured. It has been bottled at 50% ABV which is good as then I can choose how much water to add. This is a whisky which I have completely changed my mind about when drinking it the last year. Sometimes it takes time to appreciate things.

The smell is the sea, with some fruity aromas. The taste is a bit aggressive due to the high ABV. A bit sour in the taste but some citrus and fruits. A bit fiery after-taste due to the alcohol. The ABV feels like it is much higher than 50% . With some water I get a dryness in the after-taste. Must be the tannins from the oak. I also get like a salty taste in the mouth. It is young and vibrant, quite interesting and I believe that this whisky need some time to open up, let it oxidise in the bottle for a couple of months to let it shine. Definitely a non typical Islay whisky and definitely not for everyone.

Mastroberardino, older white wine from 2007

Old white wine is very rare. I have only drank old white wine from France.  Mastroberardino is a producer from Italy that produces older white wine. They have old wine from the grapes Fiano and Greco di Tufo. I managed to buy a bottle of their Greco di Tufo wine from 2007. It is made of 100% Greco di Tufo grapes and it is from the Greco di Tufo DOGC in Campania. All grapes are from the estates of Tufo and Petruro Irpino at heights of 450meters. The wine was refined for nine months in steel tanks before being bottled for at least four years before being sold. 

The colour is straw yellow. I can smell fruit and dried fruits. The taste is quite intense with a taste of fruits and dried fruits. Sometimes it almost feels like a dry passito wine. Very interesting and I have never tasted anything like this before. I don't think this wine is for everyone as it may be to intense. Now if I can find their Fiano wine also.

 

Passito wine from Marche and then to Etna

I don't drink so much sweet wine nowadays unfortunately as some sweet wine is the best wine that can be drunk. The Dorato is a passito wine from Marche and it is produced by Garfoli. It is made 100% Moscato grapes and has the vintage 2013. To make a passito wine the grapes are dried before making the wine. This wine is then matured in wood for six months before bottling. The colour is golden yellow, not as amber as many passito wines has. The smell is very aromatic with fruits and dried fruits. The taste is intense, full of dried apricots and tropical fruits. A very good wine. Not as good as the Pantelleria passitos but it is much cheaper.

Nerello Mascalese is a red grape that is grown in Sicily. For the wine Ciure it has been used to produce a white wine. Terrazze Dell'Etna is the producer and the vintage is 2014. The taste is very good. Minerals, citrus and some apples. I thought I was drinking a Carricante. Highly recommended.