Two older red wines from Italy, Capo di Terra and Syrah Maroccoli

Time to taste two older red wines from Italy. The first red wine is the Syrah Maroccoli from the producer Planeta in Sicily. The grapes for this wine comes from the estate Cantina Ulmo near Menfi in Sicily. It is made of 100% Syrah grapes and the vintage is 2010. The ABV is 14%. It has been two years ago since I tasted this vintage so it will be interesting to see how two years has changed the wine.The spicy tones in the wine remains but the extra two years has toned down the strength a bit leaving a more complex wine. Very good.

Next up is a wine from Valtellina in Lombardy. It is the wine Capo di Terra from the producer Conti Sertoli Salis. The ABV is 12,5% and the vintage is 2009. The grapes used are Nebbiolo. I get black currants, plum and some tannins. A bit lighter than I expected maybe due to the 12,5% ABV. A nice wine that is easy drinkable despite the age.

As a bonus review a younger red wine from Sicily. The de Aetna from Terra Costantino is made of 90% Nerello Mascalese grapes and 10% Nerello Cappuccio grapes. The vintage is 2016 and the ABV is 13,5%. In the taste I get strawberry, oak and red cherries all superbly balanced by a high acidity. A very good younger red wine.

Sparkling wine from Franciacorta

Montenisa is a sparkling wine from Franciacorta in Lombardy in Italy. Franciacorta produces very good sparking wines and is compared to Champagne. This wine is very good and the taste is more complex than compared to a Prosecco and the taste is of bread and apples. The grapes used for this wine is Chardonnay, Pinot bianco and a small quantity Pinot Nero. It has been stored on bottle for 30 months before being sold. Montenisa is like a good Champagne but the price is better.

Sparkling wine from Franciacorta

Montenisa is a sparkling wine from Franciacorta in Lombardy in Italy. Franciacorta produces very good sparking wines and is compared to Champagne. This wine is very good and the taste is more complex than compared to a Prosecco and the taste is of bread and apples. The grapes used for this wine is Chardonnay, Pinot bianco and a small quantity Pinot Nero. It has been stored on bottle for 30 months before being sold. Montenisa is like a good Champagne but the price is better.

Prosecco and the Pinot

Italy produces a lot of good sparkling wine. I have drunk some Prosecco and they are usually light and fresh. The Carpene Malvolti brut is not different. It has a very good taste of citrus and pears and is very good.

The next sparkling wine comes from a region which I don't drink so much wine from. Lombardy does not produce so much famous wine except for their sparkling wine made in Franciacorte and Oltrepo Pavese. The wine Oltrepo Pavese DOP Pinot Spumante is a sparkling wine from the producer Bersano which is a big producer in Lombardy. This wine is made of Pinot Noir according to the Charmat method. The taste is of apples and bread but still light and well tasting.A good sparkling wine made for aperitif or light meals.

SurSur and Lugana

This time I have tried two different white wines from Italy. One in the extreme north while the other from Sicily in the south.

From producer Donnafugata I have drank several wines and they have all been excellent. Their white wine SurSur from 2013 is a new experience. It is made of the grape Grillo which is a grape widely used in Sicily and is used also for the production of Marsala wine. SurSur has a good smell and the taste is excellent. It has notes of grapefruit, peaches and some aromatic notes and has an excellent structure. Goes very well with seafood. Very good wine and the white wines from Sicily continues to impress me.

From the south to the north of Italy. The wine Lugana from producer Casello Bondoni on the western side of lake Garda in the Lombardy region. Very close to Switzerland. The grapes used for this wine is the grape Trebbiano di Lugana and the alcohol level is 13%. The colour is yellow with almost greenish tints. The taste is of peaches, pears and herbs. Good structure and very fresh. A nice wine.

Ca' del Bosco Curtefranca Bianco

A wine that I have tasted is Ca' del Bosco Curtefranca Bianco from Lombardy in Italy. It is produced in the same region as the more famous sparkling Franciacorta wines but due to the elevation of the sparkling wines to the Francicorta DOC the still wines had to choose the name Curtefranca DOC. The Ca' del Bosco Curtefranca Bianco is fro 2013 and contains 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Bianco. It has a taste of apples, pears and minerals and is very good. Highly recomended.  Ca' del Bosco also produces a sparkling wine which unfortunately I cannot buy at this moment.