Etikettarkiv: Italy

Italian red wines

Typical Chianti worth its price

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There are quite a few Italian green wines to choose between – and I myself am fond of the typical slightly sour cherry taste from the Chianti wines. The Gratena Chianti Fattoria Di Gratin 2013 is a DOCG wine (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita), and I find it well worth its 95 SEK at Systembolaget here in Sweden.

Chianti DOCG, from Tuscany in central Italy, is Italy’s most exported wine. The grape variety used is Sangiovese (but up to 20 % of other varieties are permitted in the blend). The Sangiovese grape is best known for its sour red cherry fruits, not so aromatic in its character, high in acidity and rather astringent tannins – and this Gratena Chianti shows much of this! I give it 81 points – especially considering its price! It also has quite a long finish with lots of fruits. There are also notes of oak, strawberries and a bit of chocolate. Alcohol 13,5 %.

This wine is best when combined with food with quite a lot of taste – like red meat of lamb dishes – since the tannins are rather astringent and need something in the food to digest it with. But pork or game dishes would also be very good, as well as a rich salmon dish.

Time to relax 🙂

Gratena

Italian red wines

Bio Fantini with notes of liquorice

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My aim is to try as many green wines as possible, to write my opinion about them and give them my rating. If you have a taste similar to mine, I hope that this could give you some guidance in your choice of quality green wines at good price. 🙂

I have now tried a bio Fantini Farnese 2013, which is a red IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) from the Abruzzo area in Italy. It is made from the black grape variety Sangiovese (the same used for Chianti).  Typical for this grape is that it is not as aromatic as Cabernet Sauvignon for instance, but high in acidity and with a typical slightly ’sour’ red cherry fruit character. It normally gives wines with rather astringent tannins and earthy aromas reminding of tea leaves.

This wine gets 85 points.  On the nose I sense red cherries, herbs and a bit of liquorice.

On the palate I taste cherries, slightly sour, with some herbs as well as liquorice. The acidity is quite high, and the tannins are there but not so astringent. The alcohol level is 12,5 %.

This wine is quite good, and the liquorice notes add something. I would say that it is worth its price (75 SEK at Systembolaget, nr 2344).

Combine this wine with food like barbecued pork and lamb dishes!

Enjoy 🙂

Fantini

Italian white wines

Fresh Pinot Grigio completes chicken dishes

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From Veneto in Italy I have tried a white organic Pinot Grigio (Pinot Gris) wine called P. Lex, an IGT wine which expresses many typical Pinot Grigio characteristics.

On the nose you find very fresh fruity notes of stone fruit like peach and nectarine.

On the palate it has the style typical of north Italy, with early harvested grapes with lots of fruitiness, giving a light and fairly neutral character with medium acidity. I do taste peach, ripe pears, nectarine, and some spicy notes.

It is a white wine very easy to combine with dishes like chicken and fish, but it is also pleasant to drink on its own. I give it 81 points.

In Sweden you can find the P. Lex Pinot Grigio at Systembolaget, normal assortment, at the price 89 SEK (nr 74879).

I wish you a great Saturday night! 🙂

Pinot Grigio

Italian red wines

Interesting Cab cuvée from Sicily

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Cabernet Sauvignon is one of those grape varieties to be found almost everywhere, and it often divides people into ’lovers’ or ’haters’… I myself quite like this grape variety which gives deeply coloured wines, with lots of tannins and strong aromatic aromas. The most typical wine is of course the Bordeaux blend with the Merlot grape.

But this time I will write about a blend with the Sicilian grape variety Nero d’Avola, and the Raccolto is an ecological wine. Sicily is the largest of Italy’s regions, and has the largest area under vines. Most wines are IGT wines – Indicazione Geografica Tipica – but many producers create reliable and affordable wines.

This is also the case for the Raccolto 2013, which I give 84 points. This wine is made of 60 % Nero d’Avola and 40 % Cabernet Sauvignon. The alcohol level is 14 %.

It has a dark ruby colour. On the nose it has as excepted aromatic fruity notes of blackcurrant and cherries, as well as hints of liquorice and some vanilla from oak ageing.

On the palate you will find quite a complex blend of blackberries and black cherries – but also violet and liquorice. There is also a hit of herbaceousness. This wine is full-bodied, with quite high levels of tannins that are slightly bitter. However, the total impression is that this is a wine that goes well with many dishes – like red and white meat dishes, as well as pasta (of course), lamb and game.

You can find the Raccolto in Sweden at Systembolaget’s normal assortment (nr 32452) for the price of 94 SEK.

Raccolto

Italian red wines

Montepulciano d’Abruzzo – spice and chocolate

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Italy is such a fantastic wine country, producing some of the best wines in the world. 🙂 The climate is also good for producing green wines, and I will now introduce you to the Valle Reale Montepulciano d’Abruzzo  DOC from 2010 which is an organic wine. The region of Abruzzo lies to the East of Lazio (where Rome is situated), and one of the region’s DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) wines is the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, made from the grape variety Montepulciano (not to be confused with the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG from Tuscany).

The Valle Reale vineyards are situated in a national park known for its wild wolves (you will also find a wolf on the label of this wine), and the quite harsh nature and climate give the grapes extra richness.

This wine gets 84 points. On the nose it has a pungent, spicy and fruity character, slightly gamey as well and hints of oak. Dark cherries and chocolate. On the palate it is a dry red wine with high acidity and quite high levels of smooth tannins. The alcohol level is 13,5 %. The flavour characteristics are spices, with dark cherries and plums. Oak and chocolate as well as herbs.

Food: The high acidity and levels of tannins, as well as the strong character of this wine, makes it perfect for spicy dishes of lamb and beef/red meat – preferably with herbs.

This wine can be found at Systembolaget’s ordinary assortment (nr 2355) for the price of 109 SEK.

valle reale