Il Roncal, Friulano and Ribolla Gialla 2019

 Time for a return to the producer Il Roncal in Friuli in Italy. I have received two new vintages of the white wines Friulano and Ribolla Gialla from the vintage 2019.

Il Roncal is a wineproducer situtated in Cividale del Friuli in the Italian region of Friuli Venezia-Giulia close to the border of Slovenia. This wine producing area is know as Friuli Colli Orientali. Il Roncal own 20 hectars of vineyards on the Montebello hill. The winery name comes from a local Friulian expression meaning “estate on a hill cultivated in terraces” (also known as “ronchi”).Il Roncal was founded in 1986 by Roberto Morealo and is run today by his wife Martina Moreale. They produe several different wines and here I will focus on two white wines amde from two local grapes called Friulano and Ribolla Gialla.

The first wine is the Friulano from 2019. Friulano from Friuli-Venezia Giulia was known as Tocai Friulano until March 31, 2007 when the European Court of Justice prohibited of using the name Tocai in the name of the wine^. Since 2007 Tocai Friulano is merely known as “Friulano” in Friuli and is labeled as such.This is a quite aromatic grape. For the production no oak is used. The ABV is 13%. In the taste I get honey, minerals, pear and citrus. All the flavours are in a very good combination. Perfect for warmer weather or spicy food. Would love to try a sweet version of this grape.

The second wine is the Ribolla Gialla 2019 with an ABV of 12,5%. It is made from the grape Ribolla Gialla which is mostly grown in Friuli. In Slovenia this grape is known as Rebula. The first written documentation of the grape was in 1289 so it has been around for many years, In the taste I get per, elderberry and citrus. This is an excellent fresh and young Ribolla Gialla and an excellent vintage.

Il Roncal continues to show a high quality in their winemaking and so far all their wines have been very good to excellent. 

Bartoli Giusti Tenuta Comunali, Brunello Di Montalcino Riserva 2010

Bartoli Giusti Tenuta Comunali is an estate in the Montalcino region of Tuscany, Italy. Its main wines are Sant’Antimo Rosso DOC, Rosso di Montalcino DOC and Brunello di Montalcino DOCG. The Bartoli Giusti family has deep roots in Montalcino and a long history of cultivating vineyards. Wine has been made here by the family since the 1700s, as a map found whilst renovating the cellars shows. Today the company is run by siblings Gino Antonio and Anna Maria Focacci. I bought several of bottles from them when I visited Montalcino in 2016.

The wine Brunello Di Montalcino Riserva 2010 is made of 100% Brunello grapes.  The ABV is 14%. The taste is quite strong of sour cherry, black currants and some plum. Very strong despite the age and with a long aftertaste. A very good Brunello.

Blandy's Verdelho and Malmsey ten years old

One type of wine that is many times overlooked are Madiera wine. Once you get by the cheaper cooking wines you will find a lot of very good Madeira wine. It is made in different styles from dry to sweet. A lof of the flavour of Madeira wine comes from the oxidizing process that all Madeira wines undergo. Because of this process it is one of the wines that can survive for several hundred of years, this is especially true for the high quality wines.

Blandy's is a one of the few producers of Madeira wine. This time I have tried two of their wines. One Verdelho 10 years old and the Malmsey 10 years old. Verdelho is a grape grown on Maideria that produce a version of Madeira that is between dry and sweet called medium dry. In the taste I get caramel, raisin, walnut and some citrus. A very good aperitif wine. This is one Madeira that I would go for on a warm summer day.

Next up is the ten year old Malmsey wine. This grape gives the sweetest Madeira wines of them all. In the taste I get a lot of rich sweetnes with burnt sugar, raisin, nuts and honey. Quite a complex taste and a very good dessert wine or even meditation wine.

LVNAE, Auxo and etichetta grigia

Cantina Lunae is a wine producer from Liguria in Italy. Earlier on I have tried only their Vermentino but this time I have tried also their red wine Auxo. Their wineyards are in the Colli di Luni. This is in the eastern corner of Liguria bordering Tucany.

The Auxo red wine is from the Colli di Luni DOC. It is a mix of the grapes Sangiovese, Cillegio and caniolo. The wine rests ten days on the skin before fermentation. After the fermentation the wine is stored six months in large oak barrels. The ABV is 13% and the vintage is 2017. This is a lighter fruiter wine with a lots of red cherry and a hint of strawberry and red currant. Very nice.

And then it is tie again to try their Vermentino wine Etichetta Grigia of the vintage 2018. This wine is still excellent. Such a good combination of fruit and acidity and is still my favourite Vermentino wine.

Rosenberg, Cantina di Ruscio, white wines from Marche

 In my last blog post I tasted the red wines from Rosenberg and this time it is the white wines that are the focus.

Rosenberg wines is a wine importer that imports wines from Italy to Sweden. It started when the Rosenbergs bought a villa in Marche and they discovered the wines of the winery Cantino di Ruscio. Marche is situated along the coast with Emilia-Romagna above and Abruzzo below and on the west side it has a long border with Umbria.

There are many white wine grapes in Marche and the most famous ones are Verdicchio, Passerina and Pecorino. The most famous wine is probably the Verdicchio Castelli di Jesi. 

The winery Cantino Di Ruscio is family owned and has been producing wine since the fifties. It is situated in Campofilone in Marche. So therefore the first one that i try is the white wine Campofilonis 2019. It is made of equal parts Trebbiano, Passerina and Pecorino. This is a lighter wine mix with nice acidity. Taste of pear, citrus and some notes of elderflower. Goes very well with fish.

The next wine is the Passerina 2019. This is a very good structured wine. In the taste I get minerals, tropical fruit and apple with citrus. Quite a high acidity. Very good.

The last wine is the Pecorino 2019. In the taste I get apple, citrus, elderberry and some melon. This is a very good expression of Pecorino.

It was very nice tasting all these white wines from Marche and it shows that Marche can producer very good white wines. Many people think of Italy as a red wine country but there are so many regions in Italy that produces top notch quality white wines using native grapes to Italy. 

Rosenberg, Cantina di Ruscio, red wines from Marche

Rosenberg wines is a wine importer that imports wines from Italy to Sweden. It started when the Rosenbergs bought a villa in Marche and they discovered the wines of the winery Cantino di Ruscio. Marche is not a region which I have written so much about. Marche is situated along the coast with Emilia-Romagna above and Abruzzo below and on the west side it has a long border with Umbria.

In this blogpost I will focus on the red wines that Rosenberg imports to Sweden. For the second part I will focus on the white wines. The red wine grapes used in Marche are normally Sangiovese and Montepulciano. Rosenberg imports wines that either falls into the denominations Marche Rosso and Rosso Piceno. The Rosso Piceno has the following rules. It has to contain 35-85% Montepulciano and 15-50% Sangiovese and up to 15% other authorized red wine grapes.

The winery Cantino Di Ruscio is family owned and has been producing wine since the fifties. It is situated in Campofilone in Marche.

I have tried three red wines from Rosenberg. The first wine is Rosenberg Marche Rosso 2017 with an ABV of 14%. The grapes are 50% Montepulciano and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine has been aged for 12 months in oak barrels and the at least six months in the bottle. This is quite  heavy wine with a dry finish. In the taste I get sour cherry, liquorice, violet and some oak. This is an excellent food wine and I wonder how it will do with a couple of more years of ageing.

The next wine is the Rosso piceno 2019 with an ABV of 13,5%. This is a nice red fruity red wine. Taste of red cherry, black currants and plum with some tannins at the end. Lighter than the previous wine but very good.

The last red wine is the wine Rosso Piceno del Poeta 2017 with an ABV of 14%. I have no information about the grape blend for this wine except that it should be a majority Sangiovese and Montepulciano grapes. This is a quite dry and stringent wine. Taste of black currant, plum and oak. Quite a lot of tannins at the end leaving a dry finish. Goes very well with food.

Three good red wines from Rosenberg wines with different characters. For the next blog post will be three white wines from Rosenberg Wines.

Casal Thaulero, Sangiovese Terre Di Chieti

 A month ago I tasted a Montepulciano D'Abruzzo from the producer Casal Thaulero in the region of Abruzzo in Italy. This time it is a Sangiovese Terre Di Chieti from the same producer. Cantina Casal Thaulero takes its name from the small town of Casal Thaulero (TE) where the hills of Abruzzo meet the Adriatic Sea. In 1961 some winemakers joined together and developed a cooperative winery to produce and export Abruzzo wines to the world. 

 The wine Borgo Thaulero is a Sangiovese wine. The vintage is 2019 and ABV is 13%. This is a light fresh easy drinking wine. A lot of red cherry with some black currant and some plum with some tannins at the end. A decent wine.