Heavenly wine from Abbazia Di Novacella

Abbazia Di Novacella in Alto Adige (South Tyrol) produces very fine wines. I have tasted some earlier but in 2013 I had the chance to visit the monastery and buy wine at the monastery. One wine that I bought were their white wine Praepositus Kerner from 2011. The Praepositus is their premium line. Kerner is the grape and is usually grown in German speaking countries. The smell is pleasent but the taste surprised me, especially as the alcohol level is 14% and I was expecting a very strong wine. Instead it is very elegant with an almost pear like taste with a lot of aromatic taste. A wonderful wine, unfortunately I cannot find it in Sweden.

Sardinia is a place I would like to visit and until then another wine from Sardinia. Aragosta is a white wine made from Vermentino grapes. It is of vintage 2013 and has a very good taste of apples and pears with acidity. A very good drinking wine.

Soave is a very nice place to visit and especially to see the beautiful castle. The wines from Soave classico is quite famous. I tasted the white wine Monte Tondo from 2012. It is of straw yellow colour and should be served very cold. It has a taste of apricots and some citrus. If it gets to warm it loses some of its charm.

Sparkling wine from new year

A tradition on new year is to drink sparkling wine. But the best idea is to start with the best wine first before ones taste buds have become numb.

A bottle which has been lying in my cellar for a couple of years now is a Ruinart brut Millésimé from 2000. It is dry and has a taste of apples, bread, some citrus and blood oranges. Very good and a perfect start of the evening. Very elegant sparkling wine.

A sparkling wine producing region that I have never tasted anything from before is Franciacorta in Lombardy in Italy. But this were to change after tasting the wine Lo Sparviero brut of vintage 2008 by the producer of the same name, Lo Sparviero. It is very nice, taste of citrus and bread. Lot of bubbles to start with so I had to let it rest a half a minute before drinking it.

Birthday and good wines

When it is time for my birthday it is always nice to celebrate it with good food and wines. This year the food was four cheeses from Italy, a tuscan brasato and a lemon meringue pie.

The first wine of the day were a Rotari Millesimato from 1999. This sparkling wine has character and tasted of citrus and bread. A strong vintage that worked very well with the cheeses. Next wine up was a Taurasi from 2003 from producer Di Prisco in Campania. Has a misfortune with the cork but after some struggle I could decant the wine. It is interesting how the older wines change their character with decanting. Just poured into the container it tasted very closed and not that good. But after an hour it had completely changed character. Now it was very elegant with notes of tobacco and liquorice. Very good. To finish the evening off were the sweet wine Kabir from island Pantelleria from producer Donnafugata. As usual one can through the smell say that this wine is from Pantelleria. Very good and full of flavour. Since this was from 2010 it didn't have the strong perfume tones of the 2012 vintage.

Sicily and the grape catarratto

Catarrato is a grape that is grown a lot of in Sicily which is used to make white wines. I have tried the wine Costantino by producer Azienda Agricola Costantino. It is wine from 2013 made by 100% Catarratto. The colour is straw yellow with hints of green. It smells very fresh and the taste is of citrus and grape. It is very nice and has a long aftertaste.

Lacrimarosa, or is it tears of joy?

One producer in Campania that I have wanted to try is Mastroberardino, however their wines are hard to get in Sweden unless one wants to buy six bottles. But I found their rose wine Lacrimarosa and I bought a bottle. The colour of this rose is very beautiful. Almost like the colour of a red grape. The taste is complex and is the best rose wine that I have tasted. The taste is of red currants, blood grape and some herbs. Not an easy drinking wine but a wine for food.

A region in Italy that I don't drink that much from is Liguria, but the white wine Vinodamare from the DOC Colli di Luni has found it self into my hands. The grape is vermentino and it is from 2012. The colour is very deep yellow shifting into orange. The taste is very strong and a good wine for seafood.

Two on the road

While being away on business i had the chance to try two different white wines. One from Chile and one from Italy.

Wine from Chile is not normally on my menu but it is nice to try new things. this wine is from producer Errazuriz and is from 2013 and the grape used is Sauvignon blanc. I had a couple of Sauvignon blanc of the years and they have tasted nice but this wine tasted all gooseberry and not much else. Not very nice to drink for me. I have had better.

Better is the wine Da Luca from Siciliy.It is made from pinot grigio and chardonnay grapes and is from 2012. It has a taste of apples, pears and some citrus and with a long finish. Decent wine.

Two white from Italy

Rocco Ventosa is a white wine from the region of Abruzzo in Italy with the designation IGP Pinot Grigio. So the grape is Pinot Grigio and the producer is Cantina Tollo. I bought it because of the region and I usually love Pinot Grigio wines.  But this wine is nothing special. Not bad but nothing that says anything to me. Rather bland unfortunately.

Planeta is a big producer in Sicily and I have loved their previous wines that I have drunk. The white wine Casa Planeta that I have tried is their family wine and with a nice price can be on anyone's table. The grapes are Grecanico and Chardonnay. The colour is of yellow with hints of green. The smell is of flowers and the taste is very fresh. Notes of citrus, green fruit and a good acidity. Good to drink as it is and also with food such as chicken or vegetarian dishes. With this quality I wonder why this is not in the regular range at Systembolaget. Planeta is one firm that I have to try more of. I wonder how their top brands taste when their table wine is this good.