Trebbiano vs Grüner Veltiner

It is fun to try two different wines and compare them. This time I tried a Trebbiano D'Abruzzo and compared it with a Grüner Veltiner. The Trebbiano wine from Abruzzo if manufactured by producer Orlando Contucci Ponno and is called Adrio and it is from 2015. The Trebbiano grape is one of the most planted white wine grapes in Italy. This wine is very fresh, has a lot of fruit with green apples in the mix. I could also feel a bit minerals. It is very good but should be drank young.

The Grüner Veltiner wine is from producer Leth in Austria and is of the vintage 2016. This wine is very similar to the previous wine. Very fresh, with fruits and apples in the taste. Also some minerality. I would not be able to feel the difference between these wines in a blind tasting.

I recommend both of these bottles. Very good fresh young white wines.

Bruichladdich, the classic laddie

The Classic Laddie from Bruichaddich is made from Scottish barley and then matured in American and French oak. It is un-chill filtered and uncoloured. It has been bottled at 50% ABV which is good as then I can choose how much water to add. This is a whisky which I have completely changed my mind about when drinking it the last year. Sometimes it takes time to appreciate things.

The smell is the sea, with some fruity aromas. The taste is a bit aggressive due to the high ABV. A bit sour in the taste but some citrus and fruits. A bit fiery after-taste due to the alcohol. The ABV feels like it is much higher than 50% . With some water I get a dryness in the after-taste. Must be the tannins from the oak. I also get like a salty taste in the mouth. It is young and vibrant, quite interesting and I believe that this whisky need some time to open up, let it oxidise in the bottle for a couple of months to let it shine. Definitely a non typical Islay whisky and definitely not for everyone.

Mastroberardino, older white wine from 2007

Old white wine is very rare. I have only drank old white wine from France.  Mastroberardino is a producer from Italy that produces older white wine. They have old wine from the grapes Fiano and Greco di Tufo. I managed to buy a bottle of their Greco di Tufo wine from 2007. It is made of 100% Greco di Tufo grapes and it is from the Greco di Tufo DOGC in Campania. All grapes are from the estates of Tufo and Petruro Irpino at heights of 450meters. The wine was refined for nine months in steel tanks before being bottled for at least four years before being sold. 

The colour is straw yellow. I can smell fruit and dried fruits. The taste is quite intense with a taste of fruits and dried fruits. Sometimes it almost feels like a dry passito wine. Very interesting and I have never tasted anything like this before. I don't think this wine is for everyone as it may be to intense. Now if I can find their Fiano wine also.

 

Passito wine from Marche and then to Etna

I don't drink so much sweet wine nowadays unfortunately as some sweet wine is the best wine that can be drunk. The Dorato is a passito wine from Marche and it is produced by Garfoli. It is made 100% Moscato grapes and has the vintage 2013. To make a passito wine the grapes are dried before making the wine. This wine is then matured in wood for six months before bottling. The colour is golden yellow, not as amber as many passito wines has. The smell is very aromatic with fruits and dried fruits. The taste is intense, full of dried apricots and tropical fruits. A very good wine. Not as good as the Pantelleria passitos but it is much cheaper.

Nerello Mascalese is a red grape that is grown in Sicily. For the wine Ciure it has been used to produce a white wine. Terrazze Dell'Etna is the producer and the vintage is 2014. The taste is very good. Minerals, citrus and some apples. I thought I was drinking a Carricante. Highly recommended.

Compass Box, Enlightement whisky

The whisky Enlightenment from Compass Box is an interesting whisky. Compass Box makes something called blended malt whiskies. Which are single malt whiskies from different distilleries that they blend together into a blended malt whisky. Not to be confused with blended whiskies which contains grain whiskies also.

Enlightenment was made to showcase the problems with the Scottish whisky laws as Compass Box wants to write all the information they have of the whisky on the bottle, however laws states that only the youngest whisky age can be written on the bottle. So if this whisky contains 1% four year old whisky and 99% 30 year old whisky, the only thing that can be written on the label of the bottle is 4 years old.

Enlightenment contains the following whiskies:4 8.2%  Clynelish (first fill American oak barrel), 36.7%  Glentauchers (first fill American oak barrel), 10.8%  Balblair (first fill American oak barrel) and 4.3%  Mortlach (rejuvenated American oak barrel). Since I both like Balblair and Clynelish this was one of the reasons that I bought this Whisky.

The colour is quite light despite being first fill American oak barrels involved. The nose is very light, a bit flowery. The taste is quite aggressive and there is something covering the mouth, maybe some young whisky. A metallic taste in the mouth in the after taste. A bit citrus in the taste but I don't like this whisky at all. It is like a mix gone wrong. It seems like Compass Box has taken the worst of the distilleries and put them together instead of what I liked about the different distilleries. Definitely not worth the price that I paid even if this is one limited edition of 5922 bottles.

The smell is the best thing about this whisky while the taste is the worst thing. Interesting but there are better and cheaper whiskies to drink instead of this one.

Baron Aime and Bolla

Not everything that sparkles comes from Champagne. Sparkling wine is also produced for example in Cremant de Bourgogne. Here they do sparkling wine according to the traditional method, there the second fermentation is done in the bottle. Baron Aime is a sparkling wine from this area. It consists of the the following grapes, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Aligote. The ABV is 12%. The taste is of apples, citrus and bread. It is like a mixture between a Champagne and Prosecco. A very good sparkling wine.

Bolla is a big producer in Italy and they procude the wine Tufaie Soave Superiore, which is a white wine from Soave of vintage 2014. It has and ABV of 13 % and consists of the grapes Trabbiano and Garganega. The taste is of pears, citrus and is fresh and good. A perfect wine for seafood.

Castello Banfi vs Lungarotti

Castello Banfi is the biggest producer of Brunello di Montalcino wines in Tuscany while Lungarotti is a big producer in Umbria. So here I will try a Brunello versus a cheap normal Umbrian wine from Lungarotti.

I read that Castello Banfi produces 10% of all Brunello di Montalcino in Tuscany. The Brunello that I have is from 2008. So nine years of age at this date in 2017. The colour is a bit darker than previous Brunellos that I have had before. The taste is powerful but I am lacking an elegance. Dark cherries and red currants but a lot of tannins and oak. Not yet structured and feels like it would need six to seven more years of ageing. But will it bring elegance? Don't know. Feels like a wine that has been made to please Parker.

The Cadetto from Lungarotti is from 2014 and it only says that it contains traditional Umbrian grapes. Which probably means anything that grows in Umbria and a big possibility that a big part is Sangiovese. This is a much lighter red wine than the Brunello. Easy drinking and a taste of red berries and liquorice. Enjoyable and nice.

In this contest Lungarotti wins a clear victory. The Castello Banfis Brunello is to much tannins and oak for me. I have had much better Brunellos than Castellos Banfis.