Three white wines from Piemonte

Piemonte is one region of Italy that produces very good white wine but it is not that well known. One bottle that I have tried 2,5 years ago is the Gavi di Gavi from producer Roberto Sarotto of the vintage 2016. Gavi wines are made from the Cortese grapes. So I wonder what 2,5 more of ageing has done to this wine. With age the pear has become more dominant while the citrus has been toned down and is more to the back and the aftertaste. A bit different compared to the last time but a lovely wine.

Next one is the Langhe Arneis from producer Voghera. The vintage is 2018 and the ABV is 13,5%. Arneis is a little known grape from Piemonte. It is a crisp and fresh wine. Taste of citrus, gooseberry, and some pear. A nice young Arneis.

The last wine is the Langhe Favorita from producer Tenuta Langasco. The vintage is 2016 and the ABV is 13,5%. Favorita is a grape that is mostly grown on the the left bank of the Tanaro River in the Roero district near Alba. This grape is closely related to the Vermentino and Pigato grapes. Nowadays this grape is in decline due to popularity of Cardonnay and Arneis. The taste is of pear, citrus with almost some perfume in the back. A nice and interesting wine.

All these wines come from the Langhe region of Italy. A very beautiful area full of rolling hills and beautiful villages.

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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Gavi and Chardonnay from Fontanafredda

Fontanafredda is a big producer of wines from the Piemonte are and especially Barolo and Barbaresco. However this time I have tried two white wines from Fontanafredda. First up is their Gavi wine from 2016 which contains 100% Cortese grapes. The ABV is 12% and the grapes were harvested in mid September. In the taste I get apples, minerals and some citrus. A very good and well balanced wine.

Next up is Fontanafreddas Chardonnay from 2017 which has an ABV of 12,5%. This wine has a quite varied taste. Some apples, gooseberries, minerals and some citrus. A good Chardonnay.

Three white wine from Abruzo, Gavi and Soave

The Italian white wines are not as famous as the red wines but there are many different white wine grape varieties in Italy and so many regional styles.

Starting from the south in Abruzzo we have the wine Sprezzatura from producer Azienda Marramiero. This wine is made of the grape Trebbiano D'Abruzzo, vintage is 2016 and the ABV is 12%.  This wine I think is only produced for the Swedish Market as I cannot find this wine on the homepage of Azienda Marramiero. When I nose it I smell pears. The taste is of minerals and citrus and the wine has a long fresh taste. I quite like this wine.

Going up north to Veneto and the Soave we find the wine Soave by producer Brigaldara. I tasted some of their red wines when I visited Verona earlier this year. This Soave wine is a white wine from 2016 and the ABV is 13%. When I nose it I can smell elderberries. The taste is of elderberries, pears and some melon. I like this one also.

The last wine is from Piemonte and the region of Gavi. It is a Gavi wine called Spinola from producer Castello Di Tassarolo. A Gavi wine is made of 100% of Cortese grapes and this wine comes from the Municipality of Tassarola. The vintage is 2016 and the ABV is 13%. The taste is fragrant and I get peaches and flowers and it is very good. I definitely want to taste more of these Gavi wines.

A trio of Italian white wines

I have tasted three Italian white wines from south to north. The first is the wine da Sergio made by the grapes Inzolia and Cardonnay. It is from the big producer Mare Magnum based in Montalcino. The vintage is 2016 and the ABV is 13%. The wine is light and fresh with some tropical fruits. A wine for a very warm summer day.

For the second time I tried a Roero Arneis from Piemonte. It is by producer Matteo Correggia and the vintage is 2015. The ABV is 13%. It has a fresh acid citrus taste with some almonds in the aftertaste. A good wine.

Gavi is a white wine produced in Piemonte in a limieted area. If the wine is produced within the commune of Gavi it is allowed to be called Gavi di Gavi. Gavi wines contains 100% Cortese grapes.  Producer Roberto Sarotto makes the wine Di Capo which is a Gavi di Gavi. The vintage is 2016 and the ABV is 12,5%. The taste is of citrus, grapefruit and some grey pears. A lovely wine.

Back to France and then Italy again

It has been a while since I drank French wine and when going through some wine in the corner of the cellar I found a bottle of Rochemorin from 2005, which I had totally forgotten about. It had been there for almost five years. Chateau De Rochemorin is in the region of Pessac-Leognan in Bordeaux and is a Grand Vin de Bordeaux. The colour is very dark straw yellow. It has a big taste of gooseberries. I had it with lentil soup and it overpowered the soup and also were to strong for pork schnitzel. However, it went well with breasola with Parmigana cheese.

The Italian wine Michele Chiaro from DOCG Gavi is a bit similar to the Rochemorin but lighter. But this wine is younger, from 2011. The colour is light straw yellow with some hint of green. It also has a taste of gooseberries but with stronger notes of citrus and a very dry aftertaste. A good wine.

From Sicily to Germany

Sicily, one of the best places to visit in Europe.

Sicily also has many interesting wines and local grapes. One grape is the fiano grape which is grown in Sicily and in the Campania region of southern Italy. The wine Delicio from producer Canicatti is from 2009 and is made by the Fiano grape. It is a strong wine and very interesting. Much try this grape more in the future.

Going up further north in Italy we come to Lombardy and the village of Gavi. The producer Ricossa Antica Casa makes a wine just called Gavi. It is made from cortese grapes grown on the hills of Gavi. The vintage is 2012. The strong taste is of grapefruit and I would love to have this wine together with fish.

The last wine is the wine with the curious shape of bottles, namely a wine from Franken. I have tried sweet wines from Juliusspital and they have been excellent and this time it is a dry wine (trocken). It is a 2012 Silvaner kabinett trocken. Very dry and with an alcohol level of 14,5%. Very strong and a taste of pears and green apples but with a lot of acids.  Not your normal easy drinking wine. An excellent wine.