We tasted last night (5/21/07) w/ our SantaFe group some Teroldegos:
1. IlPodere dell'Olivos CentralCoast Teroldego ("Hommage to Elisabetta"; 13.5%) 2000:
Very dark color; st6rong plummy/black cherry/blackberry perfumed light toasty/oak
slight earthy complex nose; tart bit hard/lean some tannic/rough strong black cherry/
plummy ripe fruit light oak flavor; long plummy/black cherry/bitter cherry slight
toasty/oak finish w/ some tannins; still needs several yrs; great price at $13.00
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2. Nonno Zito Vincenza-Jennie CentralCoast Teroldego (13.5%) AmbullneoVnyds/SantaMaria
Winemaker: Jim Clendenen 2003: Very dark color; very strong toasty/new/Fr.oak slight
volatile/perfumey some plummy nose; tart bit tannic/bitter rather cherry/black cherry/
plummy strong taosty/Fr.oak flavor; long very taosty/newFr.oak/charred plummy/black
cherry/pomengranate finish w/ fair tannins; needs age; lots of deep/strong fruit
but pretty heavy new oak; all-in-all I liked this wine but not as much as the
IlPodere. Back-wrenching/hernia-inducing/forklift-requiring ultra-heavy/
Swartzeneggerian SQN btl. Fairly priced at $35.00.
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3. MezzaCorona DOC: TeroldegoRotaliano Reserve (13%; http://www.MezzaCorona.It) 2001: Very dark
color; deep black cherry/plummy/chocolaty bit licorice/earthy/walnutty slight tarry
big fruit nose; big/rich black cherry/licorice/plummy bit tarry/pungent big fruit
some cassis flavor; med.long big/black cherry/plummy bit tarry finish w/ light tannins;
lots of deep fruit w/ a slight bitter/tannic bite. Great price at $15.00
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3a.MezzaCorona DOC: TeroldegoRotaliano Reserve (12.5%) 1997: Very dark color w/ little
browning. strong perfumed/licorice/black cherry slight earthy fairly complex nose; some
tannic/astringent/bit dried out licorice/black cherry/plummy some tarry/pungent
flavor; med.long black cherry/plummy slight tannic/bitter/dried out some complex
finish; drying out a bit but still in good shape. There was a little funk in the nose
at first and some proclaimed it corked, but I was not getting corked, even the next
day when I tried it. Howard & Rhoda's archive. $14.00
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4. Bolognani Armito Teroldego IGT Vigneti delle Dolomiti (13%) 2001: Dark color; some
dusty/earthy slight perfumed/fragrant some black cherry/plummy bit perfumed talc
rather spicy/tarry/pungent interesting nose; tannic/rough dusty/earthy black cherry/
plummy bit pungent/tarry flavor; long black cherry/plummy some earthy/dusty bit
tarry finish w/ some tannins; a rather earthy/rough/rustic red w/ good fruit; quite
interesting red. Good value at $15.00
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5. Zeni DOC: TeroldegaRotaliano VignetoLealbere (13.5%) 2004: Very dark color; strong
black cherry/spicy slight Italianate smokey/ozone/mineral juicy nose; tart bit lean/
hard bright cherry some Zin/blackberry flavor; med.long light tannins rather black
cherry/smokey/licorice finish; very attractive Teroldego $24.00
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6. Marco Donati Bagolari DOC TeroldegoRotaliano (13%) MezzaCorona/Trentino 2003: Dark
calor; some dusty/earthy pungent/black cherry slight tarry/floral very interesting
nose; tart bit rough/rustic/tannic pungent/black cherry slight tarry flavor; long some
tannic ripe/black cherry light tarry/pungent dusty finish; very interesting wine.
$20.00
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7. Cavit Bottega Vinaia DOC: TeroldegoRotaliano (13%) 2002: Dark color; slight ozone/
minerallydeep black cherry/pomengranate charred/pungent/oak nose; softer plummy/black
cherry/pomengranate/ripe light charred/pungent/smokey/oak flavor; light tannic some
earthy/rough black cherry/pomengranate some charred/toasty/oak finish; needs a yr
or two; interesting wine. $24.00
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8. Foradori Teroldego Rotaliano (12.5%) Mezzolombardo 2002: Very dark color; deep plummy/
black cherry/pomengranate very minerally slight pungent/tarry complex nose; tart slight
bitter/tannic dusty/earthy/minerally black cherry/plummy complex flavor; very long
fairly tannic black cherry/pomengranate earthy/minerally complex finish; needs
some 2-6 yrs; wonderful Teroldego w/ lots of character. Great price at $19.00
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9. Foradori Granato IGT Delle DolomitiRosso (13%; 100% 30 yr old Teroldego) 2002: Black
color; beautiful floral/lilacs/perfumey very strong black cherry/plummy/pomengranate
some pungent/licorice/tarry/spicy very complex nose; tart bright cherry/black cherry/
pomengranate/plummy floral/lilacs/spicy some minerally/earthy complex beautiful flavor;
very long/lingering bit tannic/hard very floral/perfumed black cherry/plummy light
mineral/earthy finish w/ some tannins; needs another 2-6 yrs; terrific complex
Teroldego w/ wonderful aromatics. Fairly priced at $54.50.
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10. Cantina Rotaliana di Mezzolombardo Clesurae Teroldego Rotaliano (13.5%) 2000: Very
dark slight bricking color; bit earthy/dusty/minerally rather plummy/black cherry
slight toasty/Fr.oak lovely/complex flavor; very long/lingering smooth/polished
strong black cherry/plummy some toasty/oak finish w/ modest tannins; more balanced
and polished & svelte than the Granato; can still use a few yrs; a wonderful/complex
Teroledgo. Bit pricey at $91.50
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11. Poderi dal Nespoli Teluccio Vino de Uve Stramature (Sangiovese; 15.5%) 2004: Black
color; very ripe grapey/late harvesty spicy/plummy/blackberry/boysenberry complex
nose; off-dry lovely/complex/very spicy plummy/grapey/boysenberry/pomengranate/jammy
flavor; very long/lingering plummy/boysenberry/pomengranate very spicy complex finish
w/ some tannins; probably/might age well but no experience; reminds me a lot of a
PasoRobles late harvest Syrah but w/ more structure; terrific/interesting cheese
wine. $38.00/500 ml
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12. Tenuta Uccellina Regio Rosso Passito (13%; Extra ripe Sangiovese grapes) NV: Very
dark color; very intense late harvesty/raisened/pruney some alcoholic/hot very grapey/
intense fruit nose; fairly sweet very ripe/late harvesty chocolaty/plummy/raisened
bit hot/alcoholic flavor; long very grapey/pruney/raisened chocolaty/licorice
finish w/ some tannins; much more overripe/raisened/late harvesty in character.
$27.00/500ml
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More blatherings from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Teroldego: I've had probably a dozen or so of these wines over the yrs. Have, in
general, liked them as good/tasty/rustic Italian reds. When I saw the Clesurae
at Gomer's/MidTown at this stupid price, I was a bit taken aback. $90 for a friggin'
Teroledego..how the heck could that be?? Awwright...we'll just find out. So I
assembled as many more as I could find to make up probably the biggest Teroldego
tasting ever in the USofA. It was a worthwhile experience.
I, and the rest of the group I think, were pretty impressed w/ what Teroldego
can produce. I was getting a lot of black cherry/plummy/pomengranate charecter in
the wines w/ a bit of a hard/tannic bite. But quite a lot of fruit and none had
any of that nastiness you find in so many Italian wines. It reminded me some of
Dolcetto w/o the acid/tannic/hard bite; it reminded me some of Lagrein w/o the
earthy/dusty/rough character. It's a variety they ought to be planting more of in
Calif, where they would undoubtedly make the best Teroldego in the world.
The grape is apparently primarily planted to the Pergola Trentina, a pergola
system that trains the vines onto a canopy about head high to maximize
photosynthesis, whilst allowing the grapes to hang below. I'm not sure if this differs
from the pergolas used in the AltoAdige or not. I've only seen one pergola planting,
that was the Caymus Pinot planting out west of Sebastapol on the extreme Sonoma Coast.
It looks very labor intensive and probably a bitch to net for birds, if not impossible.
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2. Sangiovese: These were two wines Roberto had recommended to me. I had never seen
Passito Sangiovese before, so just had to try them. These are Romagna wines I
gather. The Uccellina were dried on trays for 60 days, a la Recioto. Presume
the Nespoli was done the same way. I much preferred the Nespoli to the Uccellina;
it was less overripe/pruney/raisened and had a very interesting spiciness to it;
overall just much more interesting. But I found both of these much more interesting
than most Amarones/Reciotos that I've had; less of that hard/bitter character.
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3. Clearly Foradori is the flagship wnry for Teroledego. But I was also highly impressed
by the Clesurae, though thought it too pricey. The Granato was easily my favorite
of the bunch.
TomHill
