2010 Luigi Cataldi Madonna Pecorino “Giulia” IGT Terre Aquilane
Medium to full-bodied, elegant, bone dry; balanced, with moderate acidity. Very appley, with citrus, mineral, and lightly floral notes. Good/very good; not one to keep too long, though.
This cuvee differs from the Cataldi Madonna Pecorino IGT Alto Tirino in that it is only aged in stainless steel, whereas the other, more expensive wine gets five months in barriques.
2010 Produttori del Barbaresco Langhe DOC Nebbiolo
Medium-bodied, elegant, well balanced, with moderate acidity. Somewhat piney, with cherry, earth, and meaty notes. Very good, as always, and a nice introduction to the Produttori style.
2009 Azienda Agricola Inama Soave DOC Classico Vigneti di Foscarino
Rather tight nose. Medium-bodied, moderately acidic, smooth, with notes of pears, apricots, minerals, and some butter. Very good.
2008 Azienda Agricola Savignola Paolina Chianti Classico
85% Sangiovese; the rest Colorino and Malvasia Nera. Medium-bodied, smooth, well balanced, with moderate acidity and rather lightweight tannins. Shows somewhat floral, mixed berry and cherry notes, with hints of minerals and spices. Very good; personally, I think that this producer is underrated.
2007 Fattoria di Petrognano (Selvapiana) Pomino DOC Rosso
60% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 20% Merlot. Medium-bodied, with moderate acidity/somewhat dusty tannins; shows mixed berry, sour cherry, crème de cassis, and earthy notes. Slightly tart finish; otherwise good.
2007 Geraldo Cesari Amarone della Valpolicella DOC Classico
70% Corvina, 20% Rondinella, and 10% Molinara. Full-bodied, well balanced, dry, moderately tannic, with notes of dark fruits, dried cherries, fruitcake, and fresh herbs. Very good.
2006 Coldisole (Lionello Marchesi) Brunello di Montalcino DOCG
Moderately full-bodied, lightly oaky, just barely off-dry, with moderate underlying acidity/moderate tannin. Shows dark berry, dried cherry, spice, and vanilla notes, with just a hint of leather. Sort of in between the traditional and modern schools of Brunello, perhaps. Very good – nice QPR Brunello for $29.
2004 Agricola Goretti Sagrantino di Montefalco DOCG “Le Mura Saracene”
Full-bodied, with moderate acidity, and very dry tannins. Shows notes of dark berries, earth, spices, meat, and gravel. Aromatically interesting, but a bit stiff, and lacking in elegance. Not in the same league as Caprai and Bea.
2004 Domini Castellare di Castellina I Sodi di San Niccolò IGT Toscana
Castellare di Castellina is quickly getting to be one of my favorite Tuscan producers - I really enjoy the wines, and the prices are quite reasonabl compared to other Tuscan names that I regard as being in the same class.
85% Sangioveto/15% Malvasia Nera. The name of the wine refers to the difficult to work soil (‘I Sodi’) and an abandoned church in the vineyard (‘San Niccolò’).
Aerated for about 30 minutes before pouring. Nose of dark berries, cherries, carnations, earth, and spices. Full-bodied, well balanced, with soft, velvety tannins; and good underlying acidity. Really elegant, with almost a Burgundian sensibility. Very floral, lightly earthy, with blackberry, blueberry, clove, meat, and leather notes. Too hard to resist now, but should keep well into the future. Excellent/outstanding.
The bird on the label this time is the Common Rosefinch, Carpodacus erythrinus.
Although some sources list the IGT for this wine as Colli della Toscana Centrale, this bottle is clearly labeled as IGT Toscana.
2001 Azienda Vinicola Bosco Nestore Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC “R”
A local retailer brought this in in the past couple of months - it is unusual to see mature Montepulciano on the market, aside from the expensive stuff like Emidio Pepe and Valentin, if you can afford those. (I'll have to try those eventually, though.)
Medium-bodied, well balanced, with moderate acidity; somewhat tannic, rather earthy, with mixed berry and baking spice notes. Good+; solid food wine.