Category: Italy

2016 Tenute Rubino Oltremé Salento Susumaniello

After really enjoying Vallone’s Susu, perche no another? This is modern, fresh and just the right weight, no too ripe not too fresh. No rustico here. Bright red cherry runs deep and long without bombast. The effortless first touch of Andrea Pirlo and a perfectly weighted palate sends this to a plate of pasta. Not sure how something with such simple self assurance but no little depth got Tre Bicchieri. It’s not oaky or built for keeping but has lovely even ripeness and the fine acid mingles well with the finest grade sandpaper tannins. A bit of nut and dried fruit skin says Salento. Wish my football team played with such composure.

13% alcohol. Diam again! 10 euros from the treasure trove of Enoteca Wine and More in Lecce.

93 punti.

2015 Vallone Salento Susumaniello

No matter how much you think you know Italian varieties along comes another to put your shallow understanding in its place. Andrea, the amazingly knowledgeable source of Pugliese wine wisdom and owner of the great Mama Elvira wine bar in Lecce, says Susumaniello is an old variety gaining new popularity for its relative freshness and medium weight. Other sources say it may be a cross of Sangiovese and an as yet unidentified partner. This savoury lovely bears out both views. Initially some coffee oak lifts the the odour, then sweet ripe cherries pushing into plum and a nutty savoury finish in an old leather chair. Just a bit of regional dried grape skin and some good natural acidity wound with fine tannin drag things along.

13.50% alcohol. Diam again, becoming a thing in Puglia! 11 euros.

92 punti.

2017 Feudi di Guagnano Diecianni Salento Verdeca

After a few more local bottles which were perfectly clean and perhaps made with safety first and a sensible business plan in mind for which nobody can be fairly criticised, a return to Feudi di Guagnano. One of the those recent bottles, however, did raise an exasperated sigh. A local blend of Fiano and Manzoni ordered with some amazingly fresh seafood pasta was made with an eye to the vast Savvy Bland market. More yeast than what could have been a taste of a special place. Expectations deflated.

So, back to a local Verdeca. Clean, fresh with a touch of Meyer lemon and camomile tea fragrance and a twist of green herb bitters. Deliciously simple, local and drinkable with the warm golden sun declining into the Ionian Sea. A perfect match.

88 points but true to its roots.

12.50% alcohol. Diam, bravo. 9 euros.

2015 Feudi di Guagnano Diecianni Negroamaro Salento

A couple of days in Puglia and a few glasses of local red later it was starting to seem as if there’s a common theme of size, maximum extraction and alcohol ripeness, and that despite avoiding the richest Primitivi. Last night’s dinner choice was a welcome relief. Medium weighted, moderately extracted and mouthwatering cherry fruit mingled with fresh natural acidity, properly integrated with some gentle fine tannin. Hooray, instead of tiring after a glass, the bottle emptied easily and just got more delicious. Brilliant with local veggie, fishy pasta as it should be. Now to try and find more of this sensitive producer’s wine in the local shops. Avanti!

13.50% alcohol. Cork. 16 euros on the osteria’s list, perhaps under 10 retail I hope!

91 yum points.

Other goodies by the glass from the Pugliese stiletto –

2016 Erbaceo Colle della Murgia, Greco di Tufo e Minutolo. Refreshing fragrant flower and green herb scented. Green melon, citrus and great acid.

2017 Polvanera  Rosato, Aleatico, Primitivo e Aglianico. Deep colour for a pinky, toffee, cherry and an endearing chalky tang to bring you back to the glass. Enough to fling rosé prejudices aside!

2015 Vietti Perbacco Langhe Nebbiolo

Irresistible buy thanks to the ragazzi from Boccaccio offering this at a bargain of two for $80. Shopping with a good friend meant one each. Happy days. Surly, tough and a bit reductive to open, putting back in the fridge for a couple of days to reflect on its mumbling adolescence seemed to help a bit. Seriously dry and proper Nebbiolo behaving like a traditional Barolo with not much front but plenty of cherry, tarry and dried rose grunt bringing up the rear. Savoury and needing some time to shrug off a bit of meaty sulphide perhaps. Real unresolved tannin and firm acidity. The other bottle bought at the same time was reported as being delicious and ready to talk straight from the sniff. Bottle variation maybe even from the normally perfectionist Vietti or the weird Biodynamic fruitlessly rooty days? Nonetheless a deliciously traditional stern Nebbiolo not without charm.

13.50% alcohol. Diam! $80 for 2 at Boccaccio.

92++ points. Sort of a guess really. Could be more.

2016 Carlone Davide Croatina Colline Novaresi

Italians seem to traditionally put their family name first, so perhaps it’s an azienda agricola run by Davide Carlone making wine from the only slightly obscure, in Italian terms, Croatina variety in the hills around Novara. Half the fun is learning the label code which in Italy can verge on the dastardly. Anyone for Montepulciano? Nonetheless, this is spotlessly clean, really fresh and delicioso. Loads of deep perfumed dark cherry fruit to smell and drink. The perfume is almost floral and old Catholic Church incense smelly but mercifully doesn’t cloy. All this richness and some real depth is put firmly in its place by brilliant Ital acidity and tannin. Classic Piemontese stone and earth notes add the food suggestions. Pasta, mushrooms and even non Piemontese pizza.

13.50% alcohol. Diam! $30 from Boccaccio.

94 punti.

2015 Poderi di Luigi Einaudi Dogliani

Well, it doesn’t say Dolcetto on the label anymore since the DOC got an upgrade to DOCG to reflect the quality and a special place. Probably has done little to generate brand recognition and has only encouraged the wine swots, guilty. The Piemontese themselves just get on and drink it with lunch and dinner. It’s said 2015 was perfect for the little sweet one and this bears it out, though there’s nothing faintly sweet here. Over three days it stood firm with dark, almost tart, cherry and bitter chocolate fruit and not a hint of oxidation. The texture dries and puckers enough to suit those of us who like Nebbiolo. Delicious if you get a ragu on.

14% alcohol. Cork. $30 after taking advantage of Rathdowne Cellars generous 20% off 3 bottles end of year.

94 Punti.

2001 Vietti Barolo Castiglione

A treat from a generous friend’s cellar. Opened a bit rusty looking and perhaps tired as you may expect after a fifteen year sleep. Over an hour the colour darkened and reddened. The extraordinary coiled power of awakening Nebbiolo stared to fill both nose and mouth with dried flowers, cherries and what can only be Langhe soil. The finish still extraordinarily fresh, rich and loooonnnnggg. The tannins firm, rich and melting like candle wax. No danger of underestimating how good Vietti’s basic Barolo can be. Must be a health tonic.

14% alcohol. Cork. Probably about $110 on release.

96 points.