cognitivebottletherapy

2022 Calcagno Ginestra Etna Bianco

There’s a train that winds its slow way up the volcano from near Catania to the wine nut’s destination of Passopisciaro nestling under its northern slope. So rich is the volcanic soil the line was originally built to carry the mountain’s products down to the coast. Now it carries school kids and wine hunters both back and forth. It’s an amazing contrast to go from the dry limestone of the baroque south east of Sicily to the green jungle of Etna’s sea facing rise. Due east from the train’s starting terminus at Riposto is the village of Milo at the refreshing altitude of about 800 metres above sea level. It’s where the rich from Catania would spend their summers and where Carricante finds a place to happily ripen. So much so Italian wine law says you can add Superiore to Etna Bianco. Don’t think this producer could be bothered. They did bother to break from vintage work to sell two thirsty travellers a couple of bottles when all in Passopisciaro was shuttered and closed. Would have been a terrible prospect, an evening looking at Etna and no wine. There’s a fine elegance, for want of a better word, to good Etna Bianco. Rich citrus, mint and a hint of white chocolate in floral honey all carried on a vapour trail of the most mouthwatering and pumice fine acidity. Just got more interesting as its reserve melted. On repeat, it always tastes better close to the vines.

13.5% alcohol. Diam. Seems like I got a bargain as this and a bottle of their Arcuria Rosso were €32 for both. Maybe got a discount for looking so desperate.

94 points.

2023 COS Frappato Terre Siciliane

Think I’ve only tried a COS bottle once before sometime in the early 2000s. A Pithos maybe. Memories of some lovely crisp fruit and a less than sanitary visit to the farm shed. Subsequent reviews I’ve searched have veered from the spectacular to the worst of down the sink candidates. Hoping for something more the former, a splash of euros on a very recent vintage of a favourite Sicilian grape. Here goes. Opened with a reductive and a yeasty natty edge, not in the sartorial sense. Settled down brilliantly overnight to a sparkling blast of pomegranate, raspberry and waft of the sweetest herbs. So fine a chisel has sculpted bright acidity and such fine tannin, you can’t see the gaps. Perfume and flavour float. When what’s called natural wine these days is this good, it’s like the difference between a live performance and making do with a YouTube version. A bottle of supermarket Cerasuolo looked contrived and sulphur leaden by comparison. Beautiful grapes, simple.

12.% alcohol. Diam. €24 well spent.

94 points.

2022 Planeta Cerasuolo di Vittoria

Maybe there’s a case for mixing Nero d’Avola with Frappato to make something greater than the sum of its bits? The wise regulators of Italian wine must think so, as it’s Sicily’s only DOCG. Personally in person as Montalbano’s bumbling Catarella would say, I really like the blend. Bit of chiaroscuro. This large producer’s version took a while to shed some stinky reduction. Eventually some sweet pomegranate, strawberry and raspberry, from Frappato maybe, and dark cherry bass notes, all medium of body and a swell of grainy Italian tannin and acidity bring some focus. Nice balance, grapes as good friends. Warm and friendly. Just like Sicily.

12.5% alcohol. Diam or Nomacorc, forgot. $15.

92 points.

2021 Castelluccimiano Bianco Catarratto Valledolmo Contea di Sclafani

From a fairly recent DOC I think up in the western hills of Sicily comes another native of the island. Castelluccimiano’s website has more information about the vineyard at an altitude of above 700m and some great photos of a rebirth of some old farming territory. In times of a changing climate you can only hope they’re surviving the drought afflicting much of central Sicily. This had a succulent depth of savoury citrus fruit with a bit of maybe local prickly pear. Having just tried some from a local market, maybe it’s valid. The local slang for the fruit is big bastard, great. Good sweep of dried herb and chamomile too. A pleasing chunk of ripe acid makes a plate of Sicilian sea creatures a good idea. I thought I knew a bit about the island’s wine but there’s so much more to discover. Doing my best.

13% alcohol. Diam, yes again. €15 ish.

92 or 93 for faith in a place.

2020 Serafini e Vidotto Recantina Montello – Colli Asolani

Ah Asolo, a favourite and very beautiful village in the Veneto near Treviso which was so loved by Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett that they turned the name into a verb. Hanging around the pretty village was Asoloing. S and V have made some of my favourite Italian Cabernets too. Their home is in the town of Nervesa della Battaglia, maybe apprehensive about the fight, probably not. Finding three different labels of theirs in the impressive Trieste Eataly mega store caused some dithering. Mrs CBT sagely suggested the one with the nicest graphics. With no indication of the grapes on the label or so I thought, it was sort of disappointing to find this wasn’t Cabernet but a super rare Veneto oldie, Recantina, der. The result was no disappointment, incredibly intense wafts of spice and sap like diving nose first into a freshly scythed herb bed. Loads of sweet fruit extract too filling the senses with red fruits galore. The texture of ripe dense sweet tannin mingled beautifully with mouthwatering acidity that lightened and matched the fruit loading. Another previously unacquainted Italian and love at first sight.

13.5% alcohol. Diam again. €19.

93 points.

2023 Cantina Gries Bolzano Lagrein Alto Adige

The train from Munich to the Veneto passes through the beautiful Alto Adige or Südtirol as Italy’s language complications would have it. There’s a lot of vineyards around Bolzano and the misty mountains, maybe the train passed by the source of this bright spark to the appetite. Lagrein seems to make wine with healthy rich extract without being weighed down by alcohol or tannin. Tart and mouth watering. Sour cherry, dry kirsch and mountain crisp to finish but still a generosity of fruit. A good bite of just ripe skin tannin. There seems to be some really well organised cooperatives up in the Alto Adige. Good to see growers banding together to make something more than the sum of its parts. Together we’re better, even it involves some spirited discussion, it’s Italy after all.

13% alcohol. Diam again. €13.

92 points.

2023 I Feudi di Romans Etichetta Bianca Friulano and Cabernet Franc Isonzo del Friuli

Wine prices in Italy are often half of those imported in Australia, thanks WET. Travelling for a few weeks does make some sort of budget necessary despite the extreme temptation of great bottles for less. Happily there are some good things under €10 a bottle to try. Both these bottles made by Azienda Agricola Lorenzon were under €8 from a local Trieste supermarket not far from the DOC of Isonzo itself. The Friulano has the typically restrained fruit of Italian whites but shows a rich savoury quality of dried herb, subtle yellow fruit and a twist of amaro, very Italiano, almond and soft but lingering acidity. Gets the appetite whetted indeed. The Cabernet Franc like other Friuli versions takes the wine memory to the Loire. This time the sort of lighter weight, fresh and crunchy version. Sparkle of red raspberry, cherry and leaf. A gustatory, nice word, twang of refreshing acidity brushed with a little gentle tannin. Really not the most concentrated fruit as it got a bit washed out by day three but delicious on day one. Neither white or red wine making showing more ambition than the fruit quality but just so and still sensitive to the need of a good mouthful to help all that incredible Italian food go down.

Both 12.5% alcohol. Both Diam, so far ten bottles and only one natural cork. €7.80 both.

Both 89 or 90 if food’s involved.

2022 Dorigo Cabernet Franc Friuli Colli Orientali

Spell check turned Dorigo into Dorito, maybe not a recommended food match. I wondered if this producer is related to one of the best Australian left backs who unfortunately played for both Chelsea and England. Secular things aside, it’s interesting that Cab Franc and Merlot are not recent international arrivals in Friuli. Very unsubstantiated sources suggest they either arrived pre phylloxera with pilgrims wandering back from France or were established by Napoleon which may be at odds with his supposed love of Burgundies. Nonetheless the two most offered reds around here in Trieste seem to be these Bordelaise upstarts, with Refosco and Schioppettino making the odd appearance. So, a random Franc from the supermarket shelf and a good result. Easily fooled into thinking this a good Loire version with just so Franc flavours of dark raspberry and sweet leafiness. Good sinewy tannins are carried by ripe acidity. Just medium bodied and not trying too hard. Good value from the shelves of Trieste’s Coop supermarket. Their deli section is impressive too.

13% alcohol. Diam. €14.

91 points.

2023 Livio Felluga Sharis Bianco Venezia Giulia

A long time favourite of Italian white wine, Livio Felluga’s bottles have always seemed beautifully made, just the right amount of extraction, just rich enough, clean through the middle and a satisfying minerally end. Finding yourself in the so elegant town of Trieste close to the source, this seems a good way to benchmark other adventures into the local white supply. There’s a lot of interesting indigenous varieties and some uncompromising skin soaking ways. This is no disappointment, opens clean and fresh with a slightly green, nettle thing. Then there’s pear, citrus and a fresh almond swell leading to a neat mouth watering ending. Maybe you can judge a producer by how good is their cheapest bottle? This looks like your money won’t be wasted on a special bottle.

13% alcohol. Nomacorc. €15 in Italy.

92 pleasing points.

Barbadillo Fino lot L23-142

Probably one of the best buys from Dan’s direct imports and surprisingly the stock turns over fast enough to put splendidly fresh bottles like this on the shelves. L23 equals bottled this year. Yes, Barbadillo are one of the biggest producers in the Sherry triangle but they’re extraordinarily good too. If you’re lucky enough to find yourself in downtown Sanlucar de Barrameda, a pilgrimage to the Taberna der Guerrita is obligatory. The list is chosen by a son of the business who also works as major influence in the wine making at Barbadillo. Another of those talented young people rescuing Sherry from its past. The Taberna has a great shop attached where the only non Marco de Jerez white was a Jura Vin Jaune, bit of a flor theme? If you want to see how good modern Fino can be, try this. Classic but clean smells of flor, estuary breezes, savoury olive brine and dried chamomile. Gentle but strong in the mouth, starting with chiselled flor, middling and ending with bruised apple and yellow peaches, floating on great acidity. All the good clean bits of good Fino. A bargain.

15% alcohol. Screw cap. $20.

93 points.