made with 100% Sangiovese from Tuscany this red from Lunadoro is a pretty tannic and bold. Reasonable amount of red fruit, redcurrant and cherry and medium in body and finish, its well suited to a BBQ. Its easy drinking and not the big red you might think of from Tuscany.
At £15 a bottle is a bit overpriced. £10 or less is the right price for this, at £15 I would want more on all levels.
Lunadoro, Prugnanello, Rosso di Montepulciano, Tuscany, Italy
Tuscany chucks out hundreds of different great quality wines and a lot more good wines each year and this Poggio Badiola, Toscana is the latter. Its a blend of 70% Sangiovese, and 30% Merlot and it gives you aromas of black fruit such as blackberries, black cherries with spice and tobacco. These follow into the flavours but there’s also a toasty under tone in there I think. The finish a bit short and not quite as fully flavoured as I would like, even at £14 a bottle. This medium body, dry red is better with food, pizza, meat dishes or hard cheese.
Mazzei, Poggio Badiola, Toscana, 2015, Tuscany, Italy
Piedmont in Italy does some excellent wine and this Montalbera Ruche di Castagnole Monferrato, La Tradizione is a great example.
A lively red in colour with a smell of raspberries, violets and blackberries. Tasting this you get a sense of balance between the dryness, tannins and black fruit. This is a long lasting wine with the flavours lasting and you wanting to have a second glass.
At £20 a bottle its a bit pricey but very good.
Montalbera, Ruche di Castagnole Monferrato, 2015, Piedmont, Italy
Felsina Berardenga is a great producer and makes amazing Chianti Classico wine. A younger Chianti would be deep ruby in colour with aromas of redberries, cherries and notes of spice. There would be flavours of these with dryness and medium tannins that should be well integrated. 14 years old and these are still here, a little softer maybe and a little less vibrant in colour but so good, wonderful, fabulous and worth every penny.
At £20+ a bottle for the younger versions, a can’t see 2006 available, its worth a few bottles and opening every few years to see the developments that may occur, or dont occur.
Felsina Berardenga, Chianti Classico, 2006, Italy
Case D’ Alto is an organic vineyard in Campania, Italy and makes DOCG wine. This guarantee level of quality is not always what its meant to be.
Its made with the Fiano grape and has decent straw coloured with floral notes on the nose and a fresh clean taste, slight minerality on the taste with flavours of pineapple, melon and grapefruit.
Its a decent wine but the silver medal at the Decanter World Wine Awards I think is a little generous.
Case D’ Alto, Eclissi Fiano di Avellino, DOCG, Campania, Italy
ToYou get red fruits of stawberry, cherry, raspberry with chocolate and earthy notes on the nose that are then added to with vanilla, sour cherry and herbs. Its a medium body wine that has firm but not overpowering tannins.
Its a pretty classy wine, good flavours but “not to in your face”. At £20 a bottle its not cheap and I suspect that there are better Italian reds out there, but I’m not disappointed.
Have with red meat, tomato based dishes or strong cheese.
La Gerla, Rosso di Montalcino, 2016, Italy
Amarone was a wine that i could not see the point of the generally high price tag, this classico from Giusti shows why you may have to pay a high price to get a real cracker of a bottle.
At 16.5% alcohol strength this is a bold wine with a capital B. Its dry, but as about 30% of the grapes are dried you get a sweetness which is very seductive. There are aromas of cherry, plum, herbal and vanilla notes. These follow through in the taste and you get a long finish and real smoothness to boot
At about £40 a bottle is not cheap but its a great wine.
Giusti, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2012, Veneto, Italy
Claudio Alario makes some great wine. This “Valletta” is made with 100% Barbera grape from the Barbera d’Alba DOC in Piemonte, Italy.
You can read what comes next or you can just buy it, it’s absolutely beautiful, wonderful, magnificent.
Its a bold, dry with a big hit of balanced acidity that makes it so smooth. There aromas of cherry, smoke and plum thats joined with vanilla, pepper, sweet spices, nutty, cassis and dried fruit flavours, so much going on. Its the wonderful balance and smoothness that I love.
At £23 a bottle its not cheap but so worth it, Magic in a bottle.
Claudio Alario, Barbera d’Alba Valletta, 2017 from Piemonte, Italy
Prosecco gets a bad name as there is a lot of rubbish stuff out there but Maschio Cadoro produce some good stuff. Get a good one and it’s a viable alternative to Champagne. Many people don’t like the full on Champagnes with there bready, toast notes. Prosecco with its fruity and easy drinking can go down a treat.
This is one of the better ones out there, there’s peardrop on the nose which is joined with subtle hints of citrus and peach. Light and refined sum this Prosecco up.
Maschio Cadoro, Valdobbiadene, Prosecco Superiore 2017, Italy
Aromas of grass, grapefruit and citrus, although the citrus is more a hint. This medium colour but slightly heavier than you expect from a french Sauvignon Blanc.
I want to say this is acidic but the dribble taste says no. The grapefruit is quite domineering, theres tropical fruit flavours and hints of apple in there but it all makes for a harsh wine. This got a bronze at the Decanter International Wine Awards with 88 points but I can’t see why, sorry but I would expect far more balanced fruit flavours for a wine that got a medal.
At about £10 a bottle there’s better out there. Not one I’ll try again.
Tenute Cadorin Le Favole, Vigneti Castello Sauvignon Blanc 2017, Italy