Cà dei Maghi, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, Italy
At £40 a bottle this Cà dei Maghi, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico from Italy is not cheap but its flipping great, there’s plenty of red fruit with notes of chocolate, oak, vanilla, dried fruit, raisins and cherry. It’s on the sweet side but there’s boldness and smoothness overflowing with great length.
Cantina di Negrar, Appassimento, Italy
At £10 a bottle this Appassimento from Cantina di Negrar has got to be the bargain of the year.
This dry, smooth red wine has soft tannins and decent lengh. Plenty of cherry, plum, chocolate and spice aromas and flavours. It’s not overly complex but has enough for you to sip and enjoy over the evening on its own or with food.
Majestic wines have a real corker here, worth few bottles when you want to treat yourself.
Scriani, Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripasso, 2019, Italy
As you would expect from a Valpolicella classic this is very good red wine from Scriani. Its on the dry side, bold but smooth with plenty of red and black fruit flavours. It’s got excellent length of the flavours and even went well with salad but better suited with pasta dish or a lump of red meat.
At £18 a bottle it’s not cheap by red wine standards but decent for the quality of a Valpolicella.
A pretty colour, nice bottle and interesting label doesn’t always make the wine inside great but this Rosé from Lake Garda is rather good. Everything is subtle from the red fruit aromas and flavours to the crisp, dry feel in the mouth. Its a bit expensive at £13 a bottle but if you ignore the price it’s very enjoyable in the garden on a summers evening listening to birds sing.
Pasqua, ’11 Minutes’ Rosé 2021, Lake Garda, Italy
LaSelva, Prima Causa, Rosso Toscana, 2018, Italy
Made with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot this blend from LaSelva in Itlay isn’t bad. Its a dry red with firm tannins and decent lengh. There’s the typical black fruit flavours with licorice and a little oak in the back ground. I can’t help feel that there’s something missing from this wine and I can’t think what. All the components are there but the pulling together is missing something.
A good wine but not one to go back to in a hurry.at about £10 a bottle it’s decent value.
St. Michael-Eppan, Montiggl, 2017, Riesling, Italy
Riesling is not a wine that I would expect to come out of Italy but this one from St Michael Eppan is pretty good. It’s a dry wine, fairly bold with good length on flavours. On the flavours and aromas side rheres peach, green Apple, lemon, hints of grapefruit and undernotes of minerals with a little honey in a background, a very pleasant surprise.
At £25 a bottle it’s to much at recommend, good but not that good.
Marco Scolaris, Ribolla Gialla, 2018, Collio, Italy
With aromas and flavours of citrus, lemon and grapefruit, apple and melon with a richness in the mouth this is quite a white wine from Marco Scolaris. It’s a wine to sip or have with food rather than to be guzzled. Pair it with fish, soft cheeses or cured meats.
I’m not sure it’s worth the £15 or more per bottle, but then again it’s an interesting wine.
Villabella, Fracastoro Riserva, Amarone Della Valpolicella, Italy
I’m sure you can get bad Amarone but this one from Villabella is not one of them, quite the opposite. Decanter wine magazine save this 90 points and I can see why.
It’s a bold wine but pretty smooth and also not necessarily particularly dry, there’s softness and sweetness in this bottle too. You get flavours and aromas of plum and blackberry, blackcurrant, chocolate and tobacco. Theres oak and a smokiness in there.
Drink with food, BBQ in the garden is a good starting point. At £20 a bottle it’s reasonable value for what you are getting.
Mate Marinaia, Toscana, Italy
Italian red wine is normally as a very high quality if you spend the money and £30 a bottle you expect something quite special and this Mate Marinaia, Toscana is just that.
Made with sangiovese grape medium bodied wine with good subtle tannings, quite dry and balanced acidity. You get lots of flavours ranging from sour cherry and cranberry to blackcurrant and plum with tobacco and Oak notes coming through which are all well-balanced.
Tenuta Carretta, Canorei Romero Arneis, 2013, Italy
It’s my first time having this Tenuta Carretta, Canorei Romero Arneis, 2013 from Italy and it was quite wonderful. It’s quite a boldwine, dry with reasonably acidity.
There are massive amount of flavours in here with a melon, apple, citrus – limes and lemons with an open vanilla, buttery undertone and frankly it’s magic.
It’s £15 to £20 for bottle but it’s worth it it really is.