WTN: Some Unusual Italian Reds....(long/boring)

We tasted last night (2/22/16) w/ my SantaFe group some Italian Wines:
1. Cornaro Marzemino IGT: Veneto (Frizzante; 11%) Cantina Montelliana/ColliAsolani/Montebelluna NV: Dark color;
quite grapey/licorice/strawberry/blackberry very fragrant nose; tart frizzante grape soda pop/very grapey/
blackberry/Lambrusco-like fairly dry flavor w/ light bitey tannins; med.long rather tart/frizzante very grapey/
blackberry soda pop near-dry finish w/ light tannins; an absolutely frivolous little wine that resembles many of
the dry Lambruscos. $16.00 (WE)
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2. Marco Donati Marzemino Orme Dd'OC: Marzemino (13%) Vallagarina/Mezzocorona/Trentino 2011: Very dark color; very
strong blackberry/black cherry cola/licorice/pungent bit earthy/loamy/dusty fairly complex nose; very tart dry/
austere intense licorice/blackberry cola/strawberry rather earthy/dusty bit grapey flavor w/ ample dry/austere
hard tannins; very long dry/austere/tart/hard earthy/dusty rather fragrant black cherry cola/DrPepper/licorice/
strawberry finish w/ ample hard/austere tannins; a serious Marzemino that needs age; resembles many of the
Piemonte Friesa's I've had. $32.00 (WE)
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3. Forlorn-Hope SanHercurmer Delle Frecce Barbera ShakeRidge&Rorick vnyds/SierraFoothills (13.82%; 225 cs; 100%
stem inclusion) 2014: Dark color; strong Barbera/spicy/Italian sausage rather fragrant/perfumed slight earthy
quite attractive nose; quite tart rather lean/austere/savory very dry quite spicy/Italian sausage/fennel
flavor w/ light austere tannins; very long dry/austere very tart/savory quite spicy/Barbera/Italian sausage
rather lean/tight/wirey finish w/ modest bitey tannins; quite a pretty Barbera that'll bebefit from a few yrs
of age; has that savory/salado character of Piemonte Barbera. $30.00
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4. Unti Barbera DCV (14.7%; 1475 cs) 2013: Very dark color; strongly toasty/smokey/charred/oak/pungent slight
wet wool/reductive rather intense blackberry/raspberry/boysenberry/DrPepper/spicy/ripe nose; soft heavily
charred/pungent/toasty/burnt/oak strong black cherry cola/DrPepper/boysenberry rather ripe mouthfilling flavor
w/ ample hard tannins; very long/lingering strong charred/burnt/oak very strong ripe/black cherry cola/boysenberry/
DrPepper bit roasted peanuts finish w/ lots of hard tannins; loads of ripe Barbera fruit underneath all the
charred oak; a very unusual rendition of Barbera. $30.00
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5. Unti Segromigno DCV (14.5%; 83% Sangio/17% Montepulciano; Rosso Piceno style; 1550 cs) 2013: Very dark color;
strong black cherry/dried cherries/pungent/licorice bit Sangio/floral/cherry light charred/burnt/oak slightly
earthy/rustic very interesting nose; lightly tart light pungent/burnt/oak strong black cherry cola/licorice/
dried cherry slight earthy/rustic flavor w/ modest ripe tannins; very long/lingering strong black cherry cola/
dried cherry compote/licorice some charred/toasty/oak finish w/ some hard tannins; lots of ripe fruit and a bit
on the rustic side but quite structured and needs some age. $28.00
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6. Picus Dd'OP: Rosso Piceno Superiore (60% Montepulciano/40% Sangiovese; 13.80%; TricanaImprts; L13-345A)
Poderi Capecci/SanSavino/Ripatransone/Marche 2011: Very dark color; beautiful fragrant bright/cherry/Sangio quite
spicy bit dusty/rustic nose; lightly tart bright/fragrant/cherry/Sangio/dried cherries bit perfumed/insecticide
light dusty/rustic flavor w/ light hard/gritty tannins; very long bit austere/dusty/rustic bright/Sangio/cherry
some perfumed/insecticide (think Raid) finish w/ light hard tannins; quite a lovely Sangio and needs several yrs
of age; attractively priced at $22.00 (WE)
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7. PaoloBea Pagliaro DOCG: Sagrantino Montefalco Secco (14.0%; #11007 of 12900) Umbria 2006: Med.dark color w/ much
browning; rather dusty/earthy bit funky/smokey/herbal/tobaccoy/cedary somewhat fragrant/perfumed bit Chianti-like
complex nose w/ a paucity of fruit; rather perfumed/tobaccoy/herbal/dried rose petal rather tart/dry fairly
complex bit oldChianti-like flavor w/ light gritty tannins; very long rather dry/austere/tannic tobaccoy/cedary/
herbal/dried rose petal complex finish w/ light gritty tannins; not much fruit left but quite an interesting/
complex wine that resembles an old Chianti somewhat; bit on the pricey side. $68.00 (Gom)
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8. Tessano VaIdiO: SanMarino (Riserva; 14.5%; Sangiovese; www.ConsorzioVini.SM) ViniTipici di SanMarino 2001: Dark
color w/ light browning; somewhat earthy/dusty/roustic classic Sangio/black cherry/cherry some tobbacoy/pungent
rather interesting nose; fairly tart/lean rather austere/hard/earthy/dusty/rough slight Sangio/black cherry
flavor w/ light hard/rough tannins; long hard/austere slightly dried out/tobaccoy/cedary light black cherry/Sangio/
oldChianti finish w/ light gritty/hard tannins; not a bright & shining example of Sangio and rather rough/
rustic & pricey. $35.00 (WE)
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9. Pileum DdOCG: Cesanese del Piglio (13.5%; www.Pileum.It; VitisImprts) Piglio/Frosinone/Lazio 2011: Dark color w/
some browning; lovely aromatic smokey/pungent very spicy/cherry/black cherry rather volatile/EA nose; rather
volatile/EA/hot/fumey smokey/pungent black cherry/black cherry cola rather interesting flavor w/ light drying/bitey
tannins; very long aromatic aromatic/volatile/EA/fumey strong cherry/black cherry cola finish w/ light angular
tannins; quite an interesting wine underneath all the EA, resembling a bit Sangio, but a bit too fumey for me.
$26.00 (WE)
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10. Ucellina Burson IGT: Ravenna Rosso (14.5%; VitisImprts; Longanesi grape) TenutaUcellina/Russi/Emilia-Romagna
2007: Very dark near black color; rather stinky/pungent/skunky/reduced strong black cherry/black cherry cola/dried
cherries compote/RCCola bit mousey/hantavirus/funky rather strange nose; bit tart rough/coarse strong black
cherry cola/RCCola rather sour bit funky/mousey flavor w/ ample hard/rough tannins; long bit funky/mousey strong
black cherry cola/RCCola/DrPepper sour bit oaked finish w/ ample coarse/rough/hard tannins; a bit on the funky/
unclean side and rather coarse/rustic but some interesting things therein; bit pricey at $38.00 (WE)
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And more ramblings from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Marzemino: A grape variety that originated in the Veneto; then migrated to Trentino/Friuli/Lombardy/Emilia-Romagna.
Trentino is where it enjoys its greatest success. Tereldego X ?? ---> Marzemino, which makes it a sibling of
Lagrein. Mozart, in DonGiovanni, extols the excellence of Marzemino.
Of these two Marzeminos, most everybody preferred the Cornaro. A very likable wine, but I thought the Donati
to be much more of a serious wine and better displayed the true glories of Marzemino. This is a grape they should
be planting all up&down the Coast in Calif. BryanHarrington, in fact, makes a Marzemino from the Hux vnyd in
Lodi. It is quite good.
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4. Unti: The wines of George & Mick Unti up in Healdsburg. They are doing some very interesting things w/ Italian
varieties. Both of these wines had a strong signature of burnt/charred/pungent oak, particularly the Barbera,
that I found in their Syrah a few weeks ago. In both wines, it was slow to dissapate; but the wines were much
better then next day after an overnight breathing. The Barbera was loaded w/ ripe fruit, very Calif in style,
and reminded me of some of the Special Select Barberas that CaryGott made at Montevina in the late '70's. Despite
the strong charred oak signature in these two wines, they are both well-structure & loaded w/ ripe fruit and
I think they'll evolve into very interesting wines w/ time.
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6. RossoPiceno is a wine made in the Marche region East of Tuscany. It is a blend of (30%-60&) Sangiovese w/ the
balance Montepulciano. It is so rare that there is no Wikipedia in English entry.
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7. Sagrantino: This is a variety unique to the Montefalco area of Umbria. It has one of the highest tannin levels
of any red grape. It waddled in the throes of obscurity, making a very sweet passito wine until some producers
started making a dry version in 1976. Since then, it has gotten a lot of traction, and very high prices.
Arnaldo Caprai is probably the most famous and credited for reviving the fortunes of the region. PaolaBea
is also one of the top producers.
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8. SanMarino: This is a tiny country sandwiched on the border of Emilia-Romangna and Marche. Its tiny wine industry
is based primarily on the Sangiovese grape. This is the first SanMarino wine I've tried. Not tempted to return
again. I think they do better w/ their stamp industry than their wines; based on this solitary data point.
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9. Cesanese is a grape of unknown origins that is pretty much unique to the Lazio region. Unrelated to any other
known grape. It was a variety virtually unknown until US porn star, Savanna Samson, released her first vintage of
Sogno Ono, the 2004, based mostly on Cesanese. Robert Parker awarded her wine a 91 and her movie a 98; commenting
that it was loaded w/ gobs of hedonistic....whatever those movies have.
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10. Antonio Longanesi bought property near Ravenna/Emilia-Romagna, right on the Adriatic, in 1913. He noted this very
old oak tree that had a grapevine growing high up into the branches (how much of viticulture was in Italy many
yrs ago). He liked the taste of the grape. His son eventually propagated that grapevine into a vnyd in 1956.
The vine was named Burson, which means "big bag", Antonio's nickname. It became officially known as Uva Longanesi
in 1972. It is a very rare grape and not identical or related to any other known grape variety. They should be
planting it all up&down the Coast of Calif.
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2. I was out in SoCal a few weeks ago and went into SantaMonica's WineExpo and asked Roberto if he had any weird
Italian $hit. Many of these wines were what he suggested.
Tom

[Jenise]

Love your background on the cesanese. I've actually had one, and I'm fairly certain it was from the region immediately around Rome, an 'M' word. Took it to a blind geek-out called something like "Italian Wines Not The Usual Suspects, Sangiovese Forbidden" where it showed quite well in the way things do when geeks taste something they've never heard of but love it, very Cornas-like.

Thanks, Tom. I an always depend on you for finding the obscure.

1. Reading between the lines, and reading the lines as well with your choice of descriptors, I honestly can't tell if you liked the Barbera more than you disliked it. Maybe, upon review, you were trying to be kind to Mick because you've followed him blah blah blah. (And he is a great guy with a great vineyard.) I don't think I would like the Barbera. Sounds contradictory and disjointed and un-barbera like to me.

2. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the writeup on the Burson---although apparently it was not the best example of Burson to write up. Sorry for that. I have a special place in my heart for the Burson, saved from extinction as it was by the local community. And I was inordinately impressed by a bottle of Burson sitting at a table at a sidewalk pizzeria right beside the tomb to Galla Pacidia in Ravenna, staring at a marvellous tutti di frutti di mare pizza with a surly, resentful octopus splayed right in the middle and looking at me with baleful eyes. Ah, indelible memories.

Thanks, Tom. I an always depend on you for finding the obscure.
1. Reading between the lines, and reading the lines as well with your choice of descriptors, I honestly can't tell if you liked the Barbera more than you disliked it. Maybe, upon review, you were trying to be kind to Mick because you've followed him blah blah blah. (And he is a great guy with a great vineyard.) I don't think I would like the Barbera. Sounds contradictory and disjointed and un-barbera like to me.

Well, Hoke....that was not clear-cut. Most of the people hated it. It was not very pleasurable drinking. But, I think, underneath
all the oak and reductive stench, there were some pretty good things. It's not one that I'd much enjoy drinking, but I think it'll
turn out just fine down the road.
Tom

Love your background on the cesanese.

Well, Jenise.....I thought sure the backgrounder would lead somebody to post a pic of Savanna.
As you well know...these boys around here often act like...well...teenagers. But they let me down!!
Tom

Bea is indeed a terrific producer tho a tad idiosyncratic ,not easy to find and he is, as you point out, pricey..I love the zins and syrahs that Mick and George make but I have not been able to find the love for the Unti Barbera and Segrimino..am not a fan of these 2 Unti wines