Barolo and Barbaresco , a comparison between two Fontanafredda wines

Barolo and Barbaresco are two famous wine producing regions in the north of Italy in the province of Piemonte. Barolo is situated southwest of Alba while Barbaresco is northeast of Alba. The saying is that Barolo is the king while the Barbaresco is the Queen. The king is more powerful and the Queen is more elegant.

I had the chance to try two wines from Fontanafredda. One Barolo from 2011 and one Barbaresco from 2012 so I could compare them. Both are made from 100% of the grape Nebbiolo. The grapes for the Barolo wine was picked in beginning of October while the grapes for the Barbaresco were pickes at the end of September. Also the rules for a barolo stipulate at least three years of ageing while for barbaresco it is two years.

I had tasted the Barbaresco a couple of months earlier so the Barolo were news for me. Both wines have an excellent taste but the difference between them is that the Barolo is more powerful and lacks some of the elegance of the Barbaresco. I also felt that I should have stored the Barolo maybe two more years before drinking while the Barbaresco is ready for drinking now.

So right now I prefer the Queen. Maybe that will change in two years time when I make another comparison.

Wine from Sicily and Friuli

I have drank a lot of good wines from Sicily. A new acquaintance for me is the wine Nero D'Avola and Feudi del Pisciotto from 2012. It consist of 100% of Nero D'Avola. The taste is of black berries and spices. But for me it is lacking in depth, something that other Nero D'Avola wines has.

The second wine is from Friuli in the far north of Italy bordering Slovenia. It is by producer Casali Roncali and is from 2014. The grape is 100% Pinot Grigio and the taste is of fruits. Nice.

Wine from south to the north of Italy

From Sicily comes the white wine Adenzia of the vintage 2015 from producer Baglio Del Cristo Di Campobello. It contains the grapes Grillo and Insolia. The taste is citrus and tropical friut. Nice and good.

From Sardinia comes the wine Monteoro of the vintage 2013 from producer Sella E Mosca. It is made with the grape Vermentino which is one of my favourite grapes. Good taste with some nice acidity.

Finally from the north comes the wine I Frati lugana. This wine is from the area near Lago Garda and is made of the local variant grape of Verdicchio. The taste is of pear, tropical fruits, a good acidity and a bit aromatic. Very good. So good I went and bought another bottle of this wine.

Montefalco vs Chianti

This time I have tried one wine from Chianti and one wine from Montefalco. Chianti is situated in Tuscany while Montefalco is in Umbria which is just east of Tuscany.

The wine Brolio from 2013 by producer Barone Ricasoli is from the Chianti Classico region. It contains 80% Sangiovese grapes and The rest Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The taste is of cherries and herbs but I found it lacking a bit. Not as powerful as I wanted it to be.

The wine Montefalco rosso is from 2011 by producer Antonelli in Montefalco. It contains 70% Sangiovese, 15% Sagrantino and 15% Montepulciano. It tastes of cherries and has tannins but these tannins are soft and good. A wine that can be stored for several more years and will age well due to the Sagrantino added to the wine.

For more about Montefalco see my blog post about Montefalco.

The wines of Montefalco in Umbria

Umbria is a province in Italy lying east of Tuscany. Umbria reminds me a lot of Tuscany with the food and the nature but still it is very different. For example Umbria is less famous so it is less tourists there and there are some high mountain ranges. Maybe Umbria is most known for the town of Assisi which is the birthplace of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Assisi is a very beautiful place. But maybe to much tourists at some times.
Another very beautiful place in Umbria is Castelluccio near Norcia in Umbria. It is a small village situated at 1350 meter height in the plains of Castelluccio. Pictures cannot describe how beautiful and tranquil this place is.

The food is a bit similar to Tuscan cooking with some big differences. One is the use of black truffles, which is delightful part of the Umbrian kitchen.

The most famous wines of Umbria comes from the small town of Montefalco. This town is quite interesting as it is very medieval and has small narrow winding streets with good view of the surrounding countryside due to the height of 473 meters.

The wine of Montefalco were not much known to me before I visited Umbria. First there is the wine called Rosso di Montefalco which must contain 60-70% Sangiovese with some 10-15% Sagrantino and the winemakers other choice of red grapes. And then the wine must be aged for 18 months. Since Sagrantino has a lot of tannins it makes for a wine with more tannins than the usual wine.
Then there is the Rosso di Montefalco riserva which must be aged for 30 months. This wine is quite rare since the wine producers tend to focus aging for their Sagrantino wine. The Montefalco Sagrantino must contain 100% of Sagrantino and must be aged for at east 30 months. Sagrantino is an indigenous grape to Umbria and is grown primarily around Montefalco. This grape has one of the highest tannic levels in the world and in the restaurant in Assisi the waiter warned us that we would be looking like that we had eating a lemon if we were not used to it.

Back to the wines that I tasted during this trip. Tabarrini Rosso di Montefalco from 2012 were very good.

The first ever Sagrantino di Montefalco that I tasted were a wine from 2011 by Cantina Fratelli Pradi. The waiter warned us and it is strong in tannins but went very well with the strong food. Can be stored for many more years.

At a ristorante in Noria I tasted a Rosso di Montefalco by producer Arnaldo Caprai from 2012. Very good.

For the last evening in Umbria I has the wine Rosso di Montefalco by producer Tenute Delcerro from 2012. Yet again a very good wine.

There is also one more wine from Montefalco that I didn't have the chance to taste and it is a passito wine made from the Sagrantino grape. That will be a thing to be done in the future.

When leaving Umbria I felt a bit sad as I felt really t home there. Leaving Norcia and the beautiful town square. I will be back one day.

Going back in time to the eighties

Fortified wine from Rivesaltes can be quite old.  Rivesaltes is an AOC for sweet fortifies wine in Languedoc, France. The wine I tried were from 1988 and the alcohol level were 17,5%. It is called Ambre Hors d'Age.To be called this the wine has to be stored at least for five years. The colour is amber as usual with old sweet wines and the taste is a bit like sherry. Dried fruit with a bit nutty taste. Very good too a dessert. The producer is Vignerons Catalans.

A good Vermentino wine from Tuscany is the wine Villa Vallemaggiore. It has a taste of citrus and apricot. It is made in Maremma. Very good.

Some fine wines from Italy and France

Wine from France I usually don't drink so much of except the Alsace region. Alsace produces may good white wines. Domaine Rieflé produces several different white wines and the one I had the chance to try is their Gewurztraminer Bonheur Convivial from 2013 is made from 100% of Gewurztraminer. The taste is of Elderberries and is very aromatic. Very good.

Italy has many different grapes and wine regions. One that produces good white wine is the Verdicchio Dei Castelli Di Jesi. Fattoria San Lorenzo has a wine called Di Gini which is made of 100% Verdicchio. It has a taste of apples and some citrus. A sharp taste so not for everyone but I quite like it.

Bacio Della Luna is a prosecco from Italy. It has a good apple and citrus taste and is quite light. Your typical good prosecco.

When in Tucany I drove by Castello Banfi which is situated in a beautiful area of southern Tuscany. For the first time I had the chance to try their wine, namely a Rosso Di Montalcino from 2013. The taste is rich and of black currant and plums and many soft tannins. This wine could probably be stored for several years before drinking. Very good.