2006 Di Majo Norante Falanghina Campania Italy. 13.5% alcohol. $12.99 at Beekman in Glen Rock; imported by Winebow, New York.
Straw yellow color, clear hue, lovely, lifting aromas of pears, apples and spice, very good fruit tastes, with hints of honey, distinctive and interesting, very good acidity, long finish. A very intersting wine, worth learning more about. 3*+.
Notes:
Robin Garr has a very intersting article on this grape at http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvis ... 0406.phtml
Winebow: Di Majo Norante is a noble family dedicated to the cultivation of vines since the 1800s. Di Majo Norante strives to produce high quality wines at a price that is extremely affordable to the consumer. Riccardo Cotarella is the consultant.
The Di Majo Norante winery is located on the estate of the Marquis Norante of Santa Cristina in the region of Molise, along on the Adriatic Sea between Puglia and Abruzzo. The cultivation of vines in this area dates back to 500 BC when the region was inhabited by the Sanniti and the Osci, two pre-Roman civilizations. The estate has been dedicated to growing vines since the 1800s. In the 1960s a modern cantina was constructed and vines were replanted in the Ramitello area. Optimal exposure, constant breezes during the summer, excellent soil composition and a slope toward the Sciabolone and Madonna Grande valley, combine to create a particularly favorable environment for the production of wine.
[I don't see a discussion of the Di Majo Norante's Falanghina on Winebow, and the winery's website hasn't loaded for several days on my browser. It would be interesting to learn the history of this variety at this winery.]
Winery: http://www.dimajonorante.com/
Italian Wine Merchants: Falanghina—Poetic Muse
With regard to the grape’s profile, Falanghina operates in the space between Fiano and Greco di Tufo. That character, marked by the piney aromatics of Fiano and the fruity quality of Greco, was frequently diminished, as modern-day productions confined it to fairly generic blends. In recent years, however, it has enjoyed monovarietal representation, precipitated by the resurrection of the famous Falerno wine (crafted by Bacchus), which afforded Falanghina exclusive representation and the praise of the Roman poets. Producers representing a number of Campania’s delimited zones craft single-varietal bottlings of Falanghina, and while each interpretation reflects variations in soil and climate, many capture the grape’s trademark acidity and pear flavors.
Beekman: Di Majo Norante Falanghina, 2006 ($12.99) - Italy is full of local wines made from interesting indigenous grapes that are little known to the wine world at large. Falanghina from Campania has been called the “wine of Roman poets.” Although overshadowed by the newly approved DOCG status of Greco di Tufo and Fiano, Falanghina is showing its quality as it did long ago. This grape was once praised by the poets of classical Rome and graced the tables of emperors and dignitaries. Roman generals were said to have supplied this mystical juice to their conquering troops. Daniel Thomases, a wine reviewer for Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate, says, “The 1990s have seen a startling development of the quality of Falanghina, once considered suitable for large amounts of juice and little else. The variety is indeed healthy and vigorous, but more rigor in the vineyard and lower yields have demonstrated it is capable of real aromatic interest redolent of pears and resin with an important texture and depth. Benevento is the center of better Falanghina production, and the new bottles coming onto the market are a revelation of a complexity hardly imaginable just a few years ago.” Straw yellow with hints of green, this tasty wine has generous pomegranate-like fruit and a soft texture.