Two wines from the mountains of Italy

Several mountain regions of Italy produce good wine. Two of them are Valle D'Aosta and Trentino-Alto Adige. The first bottle is the Petit Arvine from Les Cretes in Valle D'Aosta. Petit Arvine is a grape mostly planted in Switerland but also in Valle D'Aosta due to the close proximity to Switzerland. I have visited Les Cretes and it is situated in a beautiful spot in the valley of Aosta. The wine is of the vintage 2018 and the ABV is 13,5%. I get pear, lemon and some grapefruit on the taste. Powerful but quite fresh.

Next up is a wine from Trentino-Alto Adige and the producer Abbazia di Novacella or Stiftskellerei Neustift as it is known in German. The wine is Praepositus Riesling of the vintage 2017 and the ABV is 13%. There is a lovely smell on the nose. On the taste I get minerals, some peach, honey and some citrus, Lovely clean riesling.

White wine of Valle d'Aosta

I had the chance to travel to Valle d'Aosta in the northwester corner to try some of their wine and also to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the mountains.

For the white wines of Valle d'Aosta I mostly focused on the grape Petit Arvine. This grape was introduced into Valle d'Aosta in the seventies by the Institut Agricole of Valle d'Aosta.
First up the producer Chateau Feuillet and their vintage 2017. I find this wine to be dry and mineralic with fresh green apples. Absolutely lovely taste.

Next is a Petit Arvine wine from Grosjean, it is called Petit Arvine Vigne Rovettaz of vintage 2016 and ABV 13,5%. Thi swine is produced from grapes growing at 550m at the Rovettaz vineyard. It is very fresh with minerals, apples and some grapefruit. Yet another lovely wine.

The we have the producer Les Cretes which I have visited earlier and tasted several of their wines. This time their Petit Arvine wine is from 2013. Here I find peaches and minerals with some acidity. Losing some freshness due to age but gaining some complexity instead. The Petit Arvine grape showing their ageing potential.

These Petit Arvine wines are defintaly something to look for if you can find them. Since Valle d'Aosta has a small wine production.

Older red wines from Italy and Spain

It is quite interesting to try older red wines and this time I have tasted two older red wines and also a younger red wine.

The first older red wine is the Marques De Arienzo Reserva from 2004. This I found at a lower shelf and I had forgotten about it. I think I bought it in 2010 and had been forgotten. It is a rioja wine and it is made of the Temopranillo (85%) and Graciano and Mazuelo (15%). The colour is dark red with a brownish tint indication an older wine.In the nose I get a smell of red and black currants. In the taste if get dark cherries, black currants and some tannins. I think that it has reached maximum maturity and it should be drank right now. As I don't feel that it will increase in complexity. A very good wine but I don't think that it increases so much in complexity by this long aging. 2-4 years of aging is recommended.

The net older wine is a wine that I have tasted before. It is the Les Cretes wine Fumin from Valle D'Aosta. The vintage is 2009 and the ABV is 13%. In the taste I get a dark fruity taste with red sour cherries and some black currants. In the aftertaste I get some viols and oak. I like this wine and it ages very nicely. I think that this wine can be stored maybe for 5 more years.

To finish it off I go with a younger wine from Veneto and it is a Castelforte Appassimento from 2014. The ABV is 14%. In the taste I get red fruits with some spices. A quite easy drinking wine.

White wine from Valle D'Aosta and Sardinia

I tasted the red wine Fumin from the producer Les Cretes in Valle D'Aosta a month ago and now is the time for their white wine Petite Arvine from 2014. It has an ABV of 13,5%. This grape Petite Arvine is a native grape of Switzerland and was introduced in the Italian region of Valle D'Aosta in the seventies. When I tasted this bottle it reminded me of a Chardonnay. Fresh and fruity with some citrus and minerals. Very good and Petite Arvine is an under-appreciated grape.

Vermentino is a grape that I like a lot. I have tasted everything from excellent wines to just decent wines. The wine Piras from Cantina Gallura is one of the excellent wines. The taste is very aromatic with citrus and some pear notes. The flavour of this wine is very deep. Buy it if you can find a bottle. The vintage is 2015 and the ABV is 13%.

Les Cretes, wine from Valle D'Aosta

Les Crêtes is a producer in Valle D'Aosta. I visited them in the Autumn of 2014 and they are located very beautifully. The label is based on the landscape around them. The fun with producers in Valle D'Aosta is that this valley has so many interesting local grapes. One is the grape Fumin. Funnily enough in the sixties it was suggested that Fumin should not be produced any more due to that Fumin could not produce a good wine. Nowadays, it is recognized as the most famous grape in Valle D'Aosta.
Les Crêtes has a wine made from Fumin. I have tried the vintage of 2011. The colour is dark red and almost ruby like. The taste if of black currants, coffee and liquorice. Very nice and good. And I think that this wine can be stored for a many more years. In comparison I would say that this reminds me of a red wine from Montalcino.

If you are near Les Cretes, please visit them.

 

The landscape of Valle D'Aosta is  amazing with the beautiful valley and the wine growing on the sides.

From white to red and north to south

One regions wines that is impossible to find in Sweden is Valle D'Aosta in the northern part of Italy bordering France.  Many of the grapes used in Valle D'Aosta is more French than Italian. One grape used is the Petite Arvine. It gives a white wine that I like. I have tried the producer Les Cretes wine made by this grape with no oak. The colour were straw yellow.  The taste is of fruits, minerality and lingering grapefruit. Very good, fresh and rich. When I visited Valle D'Aoste I had the chance to visit Les Cretes. It is beautifully situated in the Aoste valley and is nice to visit. Still have their Fumin wine to taste.

Down in Sicily the local grapes Gracianico and Catarratto were used to produce the wine Lausu Bianco from producer Costantino. The taste is of apples, strong citrus and an aftertaste of grapefruit. Very good wine.

A couple of weeks ago I had the chance to sample a bottle from producer Mazzei. Now is the time for yet another of their bottles. Namely their Belgvardo Serrata from 2012. It is a blend of San Giovese and Alicante aged 12 months in barrels. The nose is very strong and it smells very good. The taste is rich and complex. Dark cherries, sage and vanilla. Very good.