Velenosi, wines from Piceno in Marche, Italy

Velenosi is a wineproducer in the Piceno area of Marche in Italy. They produce all kinds of wines, from red to sparkling wines. The company started in 1984 by Angela and Ercole Velenosi. The heart of the company is situated in the town of Ascoli Piceno in Marche. They have several vineyards located in the area and also in the area of Castelli Di Jesi.

For this tasting session I have tasted two of their white wines. The first one is the Verdicchio Dei Castelli Di Jesi Classico. The Verdicchio grapes come from 100 meters above sea level. The grapes are handpicked. For the vinification the must is aged in stainless steel tanks. The vintage is 13% and the vintage is 2019. In the nose a floral smell. In the taste a pear, grapefruit and citrus. It is a very fresh and crisp wine and goes very well with spicy food.

 

The second wine is the Rêve offida DOGC Pecorino. And I have to say that this bottle is the heaviest I have ever lifted. Massive amounts of glass must have been used. This wine contains 100% Pecorino from the Offida area. The hand picked grapes comes from 200 meters above sea level. Half of the wine is aged in barriques while the half of the wine is aged in stainless steel tanks. After 24 months the wine is blended together before the bottling.The ABV is 13% and the vintage is 2018. In the nose I get white fruit smell. In the taste I get pear, grapefruit, tropical fruits and an oak influence. A quite rich wine and very good.

 

Yet again excellent white wines from Marche and Velenosi is a producer to watch. Hopefully in a couple of weeks I will try some of their red wines and maybe even some sparkling wines.

Tordiruta, Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi, passito 2011

 Passito is a sweet wine type from Italy in which the grapes are dried in the production process. The Tordiruta, Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi, passito 2011 is made of 100% Verdicchio grapes and it comes from the area Castelli di Jesi in Marche. The exact location is the village of Castelplanio. The grapes are dried for 12 weeks before the pressing. The fermentation and maturation red one in oak barriques for 12 months before being bottled. In 2016 the Tordiruta was the chosen sweet wine for the Nobel prize dinner.

In the nose I get a smell of honey and dried fruit. The taste is of dried apricot, honey and citrus. An excellent passito.

Two white wines from Ciu Ciu in Marche

It is interesting to try two different wines from the same producer. Here the producer is Ciu Ciu and they are situated in Marche in Italy. They own apprimately 185 hectars of land there. The first bottle is called Arbinus and is a Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi classico from 2016 with and ABV of 2016. The second bottle is called Evoè and is made of Passerina grapes and is from 2016 also and the ABV is 13%.

The Arbinus is a wine consisting of 100% Verdicchio grapes which is one of the big grapes in Marche. I get some light flavours with some strong apples. A quite easy drinking wine, not bad but nothing exciting.

The second wine Evoe is made from 100% Passerina grapes and these grapes are only found in the Marche region in Italy. In the taste I get pears, citrus and some minerals. This wine is much more interesting than the Arbinus wine.

Two nice wines but the Evoe wine is the better for me and more interesting.

Garofoli, excellence from Marche

I have drank wine from the producer Garofoli in Marche earlier and this time I have tried two different expressions from Garofoli. One is the white wine Macrina and the other is the red wine Novello.

First up is the white wine Macrina from 2016. This is from the Verdicchio Dei Castelli Di Jesi DOC Classico Superiore. This wine is made in Marche in the region of Colline Dei Castelli Jesi.  The grape is of course Verdicchio. The ABV is 13%.  Maturation has been done in stainless steel tanks. It has a nice nose of flowers and white fruits. The taste is of melon and pears, I get a crisp grapefruit in the finish. Good structure and a very good Verdicchio Dei Castelli Dei Jesi.

Next wine is something of a rarity for me, it is a red Novello from Marche. The vino Novello is a young wine and it is from this year, 2017. From what I have read is that vino novello is similar to its French cousin Beaujolais nouveau. But since I have never drank Beaujolais nouveau I have no idea what the taste will be. One thing is that there will be less tannins compared to a normal wine. The taste I get is red fruits, some violets and some acidity. A young good table wine. I am very surprised by the quality.

Two different sides of Garofoli and both wines are very good. So far I have tried three wines from this winery and all of them have been very good so far.

From Jesi to Alsace

Verdicchio is an Italian grape variety which is grown primarily in the Marche region of Italy. One of the two DOP is the Verdicchio dei Castelli Jesi. In this region the producer Pievalta produces their Verdicchio wine. The farms are situated on either side of the Esino river valley and the production if organic and for those who are vegans this wine is completely vegan.
The Pievalta Verdicchio dei Castelli Jesi is made of 100% Verdicchio grapes and the ABV is 13%. The colour is light hay. The taste is citrus and has a good freshness. A very good wine.

Going to Alsace where many good white wines is produced. Producer Michel Fonne is a new experience to me. The wine Pinot Gris Roemerberg is from 2007. Quite an old age for a white wine. Michel Fonne is situated in  Bennwihr. Michel Fonne uses the sweetness scale on this wine and it shows a 4. So the wine is semi sweet. A 1 means a completely dry wine. This wine is fruity almost some apricot and surprisingly fresh for the age. If I drank this wine blind I would say that the age of the wine would be a 2013 vintage. An excellent wine and I will try more this producer in the future.