Four Sangiovese wines from Umbria and Tuscany

Time to catch up on some new vintages from some producers that I like.

First up is Lungarotti from Umbria in Italy. Their wine Rubesco is made from mostly Sangiovese grapes and some colorino grapes from the Torgiano area in Umbria. Compared to the 2015 and 2016 vintages  the 2018 vintage has more red berries and less black currant. A very good Sangiovese.

Antonellis Rosso di Montefalco is of the vintage 2012 and I have stored it for five years. The grapes used are 70% Sangiovese, 15% Sagrantino and 15% Montepulciano. In the taste I get a lot of red cherry and some sour cherry with black currants and some tannins. This red wine can handle several years of ageing very well. Still well structured and quite powerful.


For the next two wines we move from Umbria and travel to Tuscany. Forst up is the Cold D'Orcia 2018 Rosso di Montalcino. Made from 100% Sangiovese grapes. This is a quite a multifaceted wine.  Red cherry and red currants first on the taste followed by blask currants and tannins in the back. Quite a long aftertaste. A very good expression of a Rosso Di Montalcino.

Last up is the Chianti Classico wine from Terreno of the vintage 2017. It is made from Sangiovese grapes and a little Merlot grapes. In the taste I get red cherry, red currant and some violet. Some smooth tannins in the back. Better than the 2013 vintage.

 

Bocale Montefalco Rosso and Villa Poggio Salvi Caspagnolo

Bocale is a producer in Montefalco, Umbria. The Valentini family created the Bocale winery in 2002. This winery produces several different wines such a Sagrantino di Montefalco and Montefalco Rosso. For their Montefalco Rosso the following grapes are used, 70% Sangiovese, 15% Sagrantino, 10% Merlot and 5% Colorino. The ABV is 15% and the vintage is 2017. The wine is aged in Bottis and Barriques for 12 months before being bottled. In the taste I get black pepper, dark sour cherry, some blackberry and tannins. Very well integrated and the taste is very good. Yet again a wine from Montefalco delivers. And as always I would recommend to visit Umbria, one of the hidden gems of Italy.

The next wine is the wine Caspagnolo from producer Villa Poggio Salvi. This wine is from the Chianti Colli Sienesi. I have tasted one wine from Villa Poggio Salvi earlier and that was their Brunello di Montalcino. So it will be interesting to see how a non Brunello tastes. This is a Chianti wine and the grape composition is 90% Sangiovese and 10% Merlot. The vintage is 2016 and the ABV is 13,5%. This is a nice light red wine. I get cherry, some strawberry and some tannins in the end. Very good and it looks like Villa Poggio Salvi delivers all across the board.

Chianti classico and a Prosecco

Time to go to Chianto region in Tuscany to try red Chianto classico riserva from producer Castelgufo. It is of the vintage 2015 and the ABV is 13%. In the taste I get black currants, some red cherries and some tannins and oak. Quite light for being a riserva. Nice and easy drinking wine.

Next up is the Prosecco Astoria Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG. As the name says, it is not the normal Prosecco but a higher quality prosecco.   It is light with citrus with a bit of yeasty character. A very good Prosecco, light but still flavourful.

Two Italian red wines

In this review I will visit Tuscany and Umbria.

Tenute Lunelli is an Italian wine producer in Italy and they have estates in Tuscany, Trentino and Umbria. Their Umbria estate is called Tenuta Castelbuono and is near Montefalco. Their wine Ziggurat is a Montefalco Rosso and contains 70% Sangiovese, 15% Sagrantino and the rest 15% is Cabernet and Merlot. The ABV is 15% and the vintage is 2015.There is a strong smell of dark fruits In the taste I get dark currants, spices and dark chocolate with strong tannins that integrates well. A good wine that will become better with a few more years of aging.

The last wine is Vernaiolo from producer Rocca della Macie from Tuscany. It is a Chianti wine and contains 85% Sangiovese, 10% Caniola Nero and 5% Merlot. The ABV is 13% and the vintage is 2015. I find it to be a light fruity Chianti with some red fruits and some tannins in the end. The wine for for food when you want an easy drinking wine.

Three reds from Italy

Italy produces much good red wine. Some of it are made with indeginous grapes while other are made from international grapes.

The wine Syrah Maroccoli from producer Planeta is made using 100% Syrah from the vineyard Maroccoli situated at 400 meters height near Menfi in south western Sicily. The winery is Cantina Ulmo. The wine is matured in oak barriques of which 30% is new. The ABV is 14% while the vintage is 2010. The taste is rich and spicy, some black pepper. I think that this wine would go very well together with Oriental spicy food.

The wine Un Poco is a red wine from Puglia. It is made of the primitivo grape, in USA it is known as Zinfandel. This wine comes from producer Cantine San Marzano, however this is not written on the label. The vintage is 2016 and the ABV is 13,5%. The nose is very good on this wine. The taste is spicy and cherries with some soft tannins.A good wine.

The last wine comes from the one of the most famous wine districts in Italy, namely Chianti. Terreno Chainto classico from 2013 has and ABV of 13,5%. The grapes used for this wine is Sangiovese and Merlot.  The fields are located at a height of 350 meters above sea level. The smell is of red fruits. The taste is of cherries with some violets, a bit softer than expected. Some mild tannins. A nice wine.

Magliocco, a rare grape from Italy

Magliocco is a red wine grape that grows almost only in Calabria in Italy. I had the chance to try the wine Magliocco from the producer Cantine Lento which is run by the Lento family. The wine Magliocco from 2010 is made by magliocco grapes which is grown on soils at 500 meters of height. The aging is done one year in French oak. The color is dark red and the taste is quite strong with a taste of cherries and some black berries. For me it would have tasted better with two-three years of storage. Quite interesting grape and one worth checking out.

The producer Falchini is situated in San Gimignano, Tuscany, which is famous for the many towers of the town. Their wine Falchini Chianti Colli Senesi is made of 100% Sangiovese grapes. It is a bit lighter than the Magliocco. The taste is of red currants, light cherries and is very nice. I have earlier tried their 2012 vintage and their 2013 vintage keep up the quality but I think tat the 2013 vintage is a bit lighter than the 2012.

Montefalco vs Chianti

This time I have tried one wine from Chianti and one wine from Montefalco. Chianti is situated in Tuscany while Montefalco is in Umbria which is just east of Tuscany.

The wine Brolio from 2013 by producer Barone Ricasoli is from the Chianti Classico region. It contains 80% Sangiovese grapes and The rest Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The taste is of cherries and herbs but I found it lacking a bit. Not as powerful as I wanted it to be.

The wine Montefalco rosso is from 2011 by producer Antonelli in Montefalco. It contains 70% Sangiovese, 15% Sagrantino and 15% Montepulciano. It tastes of cherries and has tannins but these tannins are soft and good. A wine that can be stored for several more years and will age well due to the Sagrantino added to the wine.

For more about Montefalco see my blog post about Montefalco.

Tuscany and Umbria

The Italian regions Tuscany and Umbria lie side by side butTuscany is so much more famous.

I tried the wine Rubesco riserva from Umbria producer Lungarotti a month ago and now I have tried their normal Rubesco wine. This wine is from 2012 and is a Rosso di Torgiano DOC and have an alcohol level of 13,5%. The taste is of cherries, tobacco and currants and is very easy to drink and still feels a bit elegant. One can see the start of the riserva in this wine.

Next up is a red wine from 2012 from the Chianti Colli Senesi DOCG which is an area south of Siena. The producer Azienda Agricola Casale Falchini in San Gimignano produces a wine called Chianti Colli Senesi DOCG Titolato Colombaia. This is my first experience of a red wine from San Gimignano. The taste is of liquorice and blackberries and one can feel the tannins. A nice wine.

Planeta and Fonterutoli, two producers from Italy

Planeta started their production of wines in 1995 and they have been producing many good wines since then. They have many different wineyards in Siciliy. On a airplane trip I found a bottle of Planeta Syrah Maroccoli from 2009. It is produced in the wineyard Maroccoli in the south western corner of Sicily near lake Arancio. The grape is Syrah which I have never drank so much of before. The colour is very deep red. The taste is of black peppar and red cherries. A very strong wine with long aftertaste which can handle spicy food very well. And I can imagine that this wine can be stored for several years before drinking.

I have not drank so much wine from Tuscany as there is so much different wines produced in Tuscnay. I received information that the Fonterutoli No 10 was a very good wine so I decided to try a bottle. Fonterutoli is owned by the Mazzei family and is situated in the heart of Chianti Classico. The No 10 is made of Merlot grapes with a small amount of sangiovese grapes added and it is from 2012. The colour is deep red and the taste is of red cherries with herbs and soft tannins. Very nice.

Two very good red wines from Italy.

Summer of wine continues

Three more Italian wines I have that has been excellent during this warm summer. First up is a Sauvignon wine from producer Winkl in Alto Adige. It is strong nice food wine. Very good.

Next is an older red wine from 2006 and from the heel of Italy the region of Puglia, namely Vigna Pedale from Castel Del Monte. It is strong and has a taste of cherries. A nice and good wine.

Chianti wines I don't drink that often but the Chianto Classico from 2008  from producer Castellani is very good. It has a strong peppery taste with cherries. Good wine.