Two wines from Italy, Pian Del Griso and Bianca Vigna

The wine Pian Del Griso Conti Bossi Fedrigotti is from the produer Masi and this is a white wine made of Pinot Grigio grapes from Valdige in Italy. Masi is a big and famous wineproducer in Italy and is very known for some of their red wines. The grapes used for this wine is grown at 300 meters of height. The vintage is 2018 and the ABV is 12,5%.  I get a lot of pear in this wine with some citrus and minerality. A good pinot grigio.

Next wine is a sparkling wine  called Bianca Vigna Cuvee 1902 from the producer with the same name, Bianca Vigna. It is a non vintage wine and has an BV of 11,5%. The wine is from Veneto in Italy. This is a nice Spumante with a taste of citrus and some brioche.

Barbera and Gavi wines from Marchesi di Barolo

Marchesi di Barolo is an old producer of wine in Barolo, Piemonte. They do much more than Barolo wines and nowadays Marchei Di Barolo is run by the Abbona faily for a long time.
 

Unfortunately their Barolo wines are at this moment not available in Sweden but I have found some of their other wines. For this tasting I have one red wine and one white wine. The red wine is called Rure Barbera d'Asti which is made of 100% Barbera grapes. The ABV is 13% and the vintage is 2017. The wine is aged in traditional Slavonian oak barrels before being bottled. The taste is of black currants, blueberry and some red cherry.  A quite stringent wine with some tannins. I like this Barbera wine.

The next wine from Marchesi di Barolo is the white wine Gavi. The vintage is 2017 and the ABV is 12,5%. As for the rule for Gavi wines it is made of 100% Cortese grapes. I fins this white wine to be quite austere with a taste if apple and citrus. A lovely wine.

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Sparkling Elena from Azienda Agricola Stefanio Morra

Elena is a sparkling wine from Azienda Agricola Morra Stefanino in Roero, Piemonte, Italy. It is made 100% Arneis grapes.It is made in the classic sparkling method and the wine is made to rest two years on the leese of the yeast. The ABV is 13% and the vintage is 2014. There is a lot of bubbles and taste of lemon and brioche. It is a very nice complex sparkling wine from Stefanino Morra.

Three sweet wines from Italy from I Pastini, Fattoria Zerbina and Monte Del Fra

Sweet wines are one of my favourite kind of wines but unfortunately I don't have so much chances to try them out but here are three wines that I have tasted over the last three months.

First up is the sweet wine Elogio Alla Lentezza from producer I Pastini in Puglia from the Valle D'Itria. I have tasted several good wines from I Pastini so far and it will be interesting to see how this sweet wine is. This wine is made of the grape Minutolo and the grapes are grown at 350 above the sea level. The grapes are picked in October after the berries has been left to wither on the vine. The vintage is 2015 and the ABV is 13,5%. In the taste I get some spice with dried apricots and some flowers.  A nice wine but I expected more. I think that this wine would go very well with some strong cheese.

Next up is the wine Arrocco from producer Fattoria Zerbina in Romagna in Italy. This wine is a passito wine made from Albana grapes and the Arrocco wine is only produced in 3000 bottles each year. Passito is a wine made from grapes that has been left to dry. The vintage is 2016 and the ABV is 12,5%. The taste is deep and rich. I find apricot, orange and some honey. This is a very good passito that will probably get better with a couple of more years of storage.

The last wine is a passito wine from Veneto in Italy. It is Monastero from the producer Monte Del Fra. It is made of 60% Garganega, 20% Cortese, 20% Chardonnay. The grapes comes from a vineyard in Custoza in Veneto. The grapes are harvested in October after some withering on the vine they are dried in boxes. The wine is aged 6 months in Barrique and then 8 months on the bottle. The wine that I tasted is from 2012 and the ABV is 12%. The colour is deep amber as it has been aged for a couple of years before drinking. On the nose I get almost a smokey raisin smell. In the taste I get a lot of raisins and apricots with an abundance of sugar. Not for everyone due to the strong taste and the sweetness but for me this is a wonderful passito. Love it!

Two older red wines from Italy, Capo di Terra and Syrah Maroccoli

Time to taste two older red wines from Italy. The first red wine is the Syrah Maroccoli from the producer Planeta in Sicily. The grapes for this wine comes from the estate Cantina Ulmo near Menfi in Sicily. It is made of 100% Syrah grapes and the vintage is 2010. The ABV is 14%. It has been two years ago since I tasted this vintage so it will be interesting to see how two years has changed the wine.The spicy tones in the wine remains but the extra two years has toned down the strength a bit leaving a more complex wine. Very good.

Next up is a wine from Valtellina in Lombardy. It is the wine Capo di Terra from the producer Conti Sertoli Salis. The ABV is 12,5% and the vintage is 2009. The grapes used are Nebbiolo. I get black currants, plum and some tannins. A bit lighter than I expected maybe due to the 12,5% ABV. A nice wine that is easy drinkable despite the age.

As a bonus review a younger red wine from Sicily. The de Aetna from Terra Costantino is made of 90% Nerello Mascalese grapes and 10% Nerello Cappuccio grapes. The vintage is 2016 and the ABV is 13,5%. In the taste I get strawberry, oak and red cherries all superbly balanced by a high acidity. A very good younger red wine.

White wines from La Staffa, Fontanafredda and Rocca di Montemassi

This time I have one new wine and two wines with a new vintage.

First up is the new experience and that is the wine Verdicchio from La Staffa. This wine is produced by Ricardo Baldi who is a wine producer near the village of Staffolo in the Marche region and makes about 2500 cases of wine a year. This Verdicchio is of the vintage 2017 and the ABV is 13%. This is a very fresh Verdicchio. I get apples and minerals in the taste. Probably the best Verdicchio that I have ever tasted.

Next up is one favourite producer for me, namely Fontanafredda situated in Piemonte. I have tasted this wine before but it was another vintage. The vintage is 2015 and the ABV is 12,5%. This is a white wine made of the grapes Chardonnay and Nascetta. Being a rare grape is true of Nascetta as at one time it was only grown around the hamlet of Novello in Piemonte. Now it is more spread around in Piemonte.How is the taste? It is a very fresh wine with some tropical fruit, honey, apple and some acidity. As last time it was very good.

Driving from Montalcino towards Pitigliano in southern Tuscany one passes by the town of Montemassi. It is situated on top of a hill and is dominated by old Rocca (castle) looming over the village. Here they produce a wine called Calasole made of Vermentino.I have tasted several vintages of this wine such as 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017 and they have all been good. The 2018 vintage gives me green apple, papaua, citrus ad some almonds in the taste. A very fresh and fruity wine. This is the best vintage that I have tasted from this producer.