Amarone x 2, Castelforte and Ca'Mantini

 Amarone is a popular wine in Sweden but I don't drink it that much. It is from the Veneto region and is made by partially dried grapes of the varieties Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella. This process will give a wine that has full flavours and has an high ABV around 15%. The first Amarone wine is the Castelforte Amarone Della Valpolicella from 2010. It has been stored for six years before being drunk. The ABV is 15%. In the taste I get cherry, black currant and rose hip in a good mix. Quite elegant after six years of ageing. Very good.

The next wine is the Ca'Montini Valpolicella Della Amarone. It is of the vintage 2014 and has an ABV of 15%.In the taste I get black cherry, red cherry and tobacco. Very good also. Although this has more power while the Castelforte is more elegant.

Older red wines from Italy and Spain

It is quite interesting to try older red wines and this time I have tasted two older red wines and also a younger red wine.

The first older red wine is the Marques De Arienzo Reserva from 2004. This I found at a lower shelf and I had forgotten about it. I think I bought it in 2010 and had been forgotten. It is a rioja wine and it is made of the Temopranillo (85%) and Graciano and Mazuelo (15%). The colour is dark red with a brownish tint indication an older wine.In the nose I get a smell of red and black currants. In the taste if get dark cherries, black currants and some tannins. I think that it has reached maximum maturity and it should be drank right now. As I don't feel that it will increase in complexity. A very good wine but I don't think that it increases so much in complexity by this long aging. 2-4 years of aging is recommended.

The net older wine is a wine that I have tasted before. It is the Les Cretes wine Fumin from Valle D'Aosta. The vintage is 2009 and the ABV is 13%. In the taste I get a dark fruity taste with red sour cherries and some black currants. In the aftertaste I get some viols and oak. I like this wine and it ages very nicely. I think that this wine can be stored maybe for 5 more years.

To finish it off I go with a younger wine from Veneto and it is a Castelforte Appassimento from 2014. The ABV is 14%. In the taste I get red fruits with some spices. A quite easy drinking wine.

Passito, Prosecco and two good white wines

I love passito wines from Pantelleria and I drink them way to seldom. The producer Nun is a new experience. This passito from 2008 has a dark amber as usual these wines have. The taste is like burned candy. Strong and good. But still the Donnafugatas passito wine is still my favorite. When I visit Siciliy I have to see if I can drink many different passito wines there.

Staying in Italy I have tried two different wines from the north of Italy. The first is from producer Gregoletto from Colli Trevigiani. It is a Chardonnay from 2012. The taste is very strong and goes very well with food. They make very good Chardonnay wines in the north of Italy. The second wine is a Prosecco by producer Castelforte. It is dry and have strong notes of apple, pear and citrus. Very nice as an aperitif.

Going even further north is a riesling wine from Germany by producer Gustav Adolf Schmitt. It is from 2012 and is trocken (dry). Good drinking wine for the sauna.

A return to San Gimignano

I had the chance to try a couple of different wines. The white wine Vernaccia Di San Gimignano has became of one my favourites. This time I had the chance to try the producer Montendoli and a bottle from 2011. It has the characteristics of a Vernaccia but the aftertaste is not so much bitter almond as the other ones I have tried. Very good wine.

I usually prefer red wines from Italy than France and this time I have tried a bottle each from each country. First up is a Ripasso from Valpolicella by producer Castelforte. It has a taste of cherries and is not that strong, definatley not as complex as the Castelforte Amarone. Goes well with pasta.

Couvent des Jacobins Bourgogne Rouge is Louis Jadots standard Bourgogne red wine. It has a spice tasty but lacks something for me. Does it need a one or two more years of storage?

Birthday celebrations with Rotari and two strong Italian reds

For birthday it is good to have good food and wine and this time the food consisted of three different parmesans, a four year old, a three year old and a Modena bianco 30+ months and two different Pecorino, one stored in a grotta. Extras were parma ham and three different salamis.

The wines served for this food delight were all Italians. The first wine served were a sparkling wine from Trentino made by producer Mezzacorona and it is an old Rotari from 1996 which were sboccatura in 2013. The taste is very good. Strong citrus notes with some apples followed by bread notes. Excellent wine and it is fun to taste an older Italian sparkling wine. I have to admit that this wine were all drank before the food as it was such an easy drinking.

The first wine together with the food were something new for me. A Brunello di Montalcino by producer Castiglion del Bosco from 2008. Very strong wine that goes very well together with the food. Tastes of cherries, dark berries with a hint of tobacco. Very interesting.

The next wine is an amarone, Castelforte Amarone della Valpolicella from 2007. Now this wine is very complex and also has very strong flavous and it also goes very well with the food. Wonderful wine. Both of these red wines need food or they will be to strong.