Marchesi Antinori Tenuta Montenisa Cuvée Royale

Marchesi Antinori is a big producer of wine in Italy and they own several estates all over Italy. One such estate is the Tenuta Montenisa in the region of Franciacorta in Lombardy, this esste is situated in the hamlet of Calino near Lake Iseo. Franciacorta is famous for their high quality sparkling wine production. For the Cuvée Royal the grapes used are Chardonnay, Pinot nero and Pinot Bianxo grapes. The wine was fermented in stainless steel tank and the second fermantion is done in the bottle before degorgement.
On the nose I get some brioche. In the taste I get pear, minerals and some brioche. A well-balanced very good Franciacorta. 

Vermentino from Tuscany and a Grechetto from Umbria

Codice V is a wine from producer Mazzei and is made of 100% vermentino grapes. I have tasted the 2014 vintage earlier and now the 2015 vintage is in stores. The smell is very good and the taste is of citrus, tropical fruits and the wine is very aromatic with good acidity. I like this vintage. Good quality over the years.

A grape which I have only tasted once before is the Grechetto grape. I tasted it when I visited Umbria earlier this year (2016). Sitting on the street in beautiful Norcia everything that one drink will taste good. On a sadder note I hope that Norcia will be completely rebuilt after the devastating earthquake a few months ago. But back to wine. Grechetto wine is almost impossible to find in Sweden. However on a rock cruise I found a bottle of San Giovanni Della sala from 2014 from producer Castello Della Sala (Marchesi Antinori). It consists of 50% Grechetto, 25% Procanico and 25% Pinot blanc and Viogner. Grechetto is a grape an Italian grape variety grown mostly in the Umbria region while Procanico is a local Umbrian clone of the Trebbianio grape. So this wine is very much Umbrian. The grapes used in this wine were picked separately and also fermented separately. The first impression of the wine that it is fresh and vibrant. The taste is of apples, light citrus, melon, peach, grapefruit and some mineral. I like this wine a lot. I hope that the next time I go on a cruise that they still have this wine on the shelves.

Beautiful Norcia in the evening.

The hills and mountains of Umbria.

White wine from Alsace and Umbria

I like white wine from the Alsace region in France. They are usually very good. A producer that I have tried some wine from is Cave de Turckheim. Now it is time for their Riesling from 2013 which is organically made. The smell is quite nice but for me the taste is lacking a bit. A bit to light for me with citrus notes. Not a Riesling I would buy again.

White wine from Umbria is not that common here in Sweden. I found a bottle Conte della Vipera from 2014 from producer Marchesi Antinori. This vintage contains 60% Sauvignon Blanc and 40% Semillion. So it is international grape varieties in this bottle. The wineyards for this wine is at 250-350meters of height. The taste is of pears and grapefruit and is very nice. I like this wine.