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%.

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.

Ciampolete Rosso Di Montalcino

From Montalcino in Tuscany comes some of the worlds best wine. Rosso di Montalcino is the cheaper compared to the Brunello di Montalcino. Some years the producers don't feel that the Brunello is good enough to name it Brunello and then they can declassify it and sell it as Rosso di Montalcno. Usually a Rosso di Montalcino is a bit lighter than the Brunellos but can be equally good depending on what one like.

Ciampoleto 2013 is a Rosso di Montalcino from producer San Giorgio. As the rules states it is made from 100% Sangiovese. The ABV is 13,5%. The colour is ruby. The nose is of spices. The taste is very good. I can feel spices, black currants and cacao. Elegant and with complexity. An excellent wine.

Montalcino is an excellent place to visit. From the town one has a good view of the outlying Tuscan countryside. Very beautiful. From the castello one can see the town very well and the castle is also very nice with a winebar/store inside.

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.

Muscadet from Loire

Once in a while I leave Italy to drink wine from other countries and regions. But I usually always stay in the old world. La Saulzaie is a wine from Loire in France. It is made by producer Pierre Chainier from the town of Amboise. It is from the AOP Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine. The grape is 100% of Melon de Bourgogne. This is a grape that is a crossing between pinot blanc and Gouais blanc and is a green grape from France. The vintage 2015 has a very fresh nose and the taste is pears, citrus, mineral and some almonds. It goes very well together with seafood. A lovely wine.

Back to Italy we go to Vicenza. Here producer Torre Dei Vescovi producer a pinot grigio wine. the vintage 2014 is funny. When drank from straight after opening the bottle the taste is very tropical and sharp. But after leaving the bottle open for a couple of days the character has changed a bit. Now a bit more citrus and pear and less sharp. Interesting wine.

Wine from Marco Donati and Lungarotti

In Italy there are so many grape varieties and in the northern region of Alto Adige there are many that are indigenous to the region. When I hear the grape name Teroldego I always think of Alto Adige. And the origin of this grape is clouded in mystery but some its relatives are Syrah and Pinot Nero.

Producer Marco Donati makes a wine Teroldego Rotaliano, I have sampled the vintage 2015. This wine is made of 100% Teroldego grapes from the Mezzacorona-Campo Rotalino wineyards. The ABV is 13%. The colour is ruby red. The aroma of the wine is rich and intense. The taste is dry, dark fruits and cherries. It is rich and intense. A very good wine.

Going down to Umbria there are certain grapes that are only common here. One of them is the grape Grechetto. This is one of the grapes in the wine Torre Di Giano Vigna il Pino from producer Lungarotti. It contains the grapes Grechetto and Trebbiano. It is of the vintage 2010 so it is a white wine that can be stored for a very long time. The ABV is 13%. The nose is very good. The taste is deep and fruity. Some acidity with a bit of grapefruit in the aftertaste. This is definitely a food wine. A rare white wine that can be aged for a long time. Lungarotti produces so many good wines.

Dolcetto D'Alba by Scanavino

Dolcetto is an Italian grape variety grown in the Piedmont region in northern Italy. Producer Scanavino produces a wine using the Dolcetto grape called Dolcetto D'Alba and I could taste their 2014 vintage. It is lighter than the heavy barolos and Brunellos of Italy. The taste is of red currants, berries and has a sharpness in the after taste. A very good wine that goes well with food.

It has been two years since I tasted Planetas white table wine Casa Planeta. The grape mix is still Chardonnay and Grecianico. For this vintage is get a taste of citrus, grapefruit and some apples. A very fresh wine that is still very good.