Dominio Alto Rioja Gran Reserva 2013 is a spanish wine from the Rioja appellation. Gran Reserva says that the wine needs to be aged two years in a barrel and three years in the bottle before being sold.The name Dominio Alto is a Swedish Brand name and the real producer is Bodegas La Eralta. The taste is of violet, plum, tobacco and oak. Very dry finish with oak in it. This is definitely a food wine. Just a bit to much oak for my taste.
The Gradis'cutta wine Rosso 2014 is a red wine made from 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes are grown in the territory of Vecchia Contea of Gorizia close to the border of Slovenia. The wine is aged 12 months in large wooden casks for about 12 months and then aged in the bottle.
In the taste I get black currants, cherry and tannins in the back that leaves a long aftertaste. Quite a slow drinker due to the long aftertaste but very good. This bottle just shows how good the Merlot grape is in Friuli.
The first white wine is the wine Alvarinho Contacto from producer Anselmo Mendes i Portugal. It is a Vinho Verde from the subregion Moncao and Melgaco. It is made from the grape Alvarinho which is grown in the north of Portugal. The vintage is 2020 and the ABV 12,5%. I get a lot of fruit in this wine. Pear, green apple and some tropical fruit with some minerality, honey and lime. A good wine but lacks some acidity to take it to another level.
The white wine from Germany is the Grauburgunder Gutswein from producer Wagner Stempel in the region of Rheinhessen. The vintage is 2019 and the ABV 12%. The grape is Grauburgunder which is also known as Pinot Grigio or Pinot Gris. This wine has a lovely fresh taste of apple, minerals and citrus. A very good expression of the grape Grauburgunder.
The last wine is from Italy. It is the Bonea from producer Masseria Frattasi in Campania. The grape is Falanghina and the DOP is Taburno Sannino. The vintage is 2018 and the ABV 12,5%. In the taste melon, honey and papaya and everything is very nicely integrated. Good.
The Castiglion Del Bosco, Brunello Di Montalcino 2009 is wine that I tasted the last time 2014.A long time ago now and I remember that I thought that it was quite heavy at that time so it will see what seven more years of ageing has brought on. The producer Castiglion Del Bosco is a producer in Tuscany, Italy. They own 62 hectares of vineyards near Montalcino
In the taste I get red cherry, red currant and black currants. Some tannins in the back that has became smooth after seven years of ageing. Quite complex wine with flavours that go very well together. This wine definitely needed some more ageing and now it is excellent.
However, this wine cost 189 SEK when I bought it seven years ago. Now it costs 495 SEK. Very expensive but very good.But way out of my price range nowadays.
Time to step outside of Italy for some white wine from Austria and France. First is a the Riesling wine from the Region of Wachau in Austria. It is called Selection Riesling and is made by Domäne Wachau. it is a big producer and the cooperative owns at least 420 hectars of vineyards and that is almost 30% of the vineyards in Wachau. The wine is of the vintage 2019 and the ABV is 13%. In the taste I get pear, melon and some stoney minerality, A nice easy drinking Riesling.
The next wine is Chardonnay from the Cotes Du Jura region in France. The producer is Fruitiere Vinicole D'Arbois which is a cooperative having 250 hectars of land and consist of 100 members. The vintage is 2019 and the ABV is 13,5. This is dry style Chardonnay with a taste of pear and apple with some grapefruit. A good wine but some higher acidity would have lifted the wine.
The first red wine is the the wine Nur from the Sardinian producer Sardus Pater of the vintage 2017. This wine is made Carignano grapes, also known as Carignan in French. It is from the DOC Carignano Del Sulcis in Sardinia. This is a very fruity red wine with cherry, jam and some tannins at the back which leaves you with a dry finish. Very good.
The next wine is from the region of Marche in Italy, it is called Il Segreto and is made by Sangiovese grapes. The vintage is 2017. This is a wine which is specially bottled for Sweden by Poggio Fiore. It is a nice heavy Sangiovese with a taste of red cherry, coffee and vanilla. Probably some newer oak casks have been used for this wine.
The last wine is a Montepulciano D'Abruzzo called Miravigna from producer Casal Thaulero. The vintage is 2019. This is a youthful Montepulciano with a taste of red cherry, plum and some tannins. It is slightly spicy. Very good and nice.
