Recently in Italy Category
Time for an experiment. I'm not afraid of wine made for the price conscious consumer, perhaps as much out of necessity as anything else. But I tend to stick with tried and true favourites; those acknowledged bargains that, in terms of quality, consistently sit above their price points. I also tend to shop in the $15-20 price range for my everyday wines. Habit can mask new opportunities, so this evening the other half and I decided to visit our local 1st Murphy and purchase one dozen bottles, the total of which was not to exceed $120.
It was surprisingly difficult, not because I'm a snob but because there's actually a quite limited range of wines under $10. It turns out life is much easier when you have $15 to spend on a bottle of wine. Despite this, we emerged twenty minutes later with a full dozen. Here's the first.
Immediately odd. The bottle says "wine of Italy and New Zealand" and, according to the back label, it's a "skillful" blend of Hawkes Bay and Italian wine. I spent the majority of last week examining 2006 white Burgundy offers, so jumping from the obscurity of individual vineyards (or parts thereof) to a more transcontinental concept of regionality has my head in a spin. A nice golden colour, crystal clear. The nose is all about crisp green pears and that slight prickliness that, to me, is characteristic of Pinot Gris. So far so good.
A flavoursome entry that shows more pear and perhaps some sweet herbs too. Mouthfeel is thick and a bit oily, with relaxed acidity that sits on the right side of flabby, but only just. The mid-palate demonstrates a fullness of body that, in the moment, feels very satisfying but which trails off precipitously as the wine enters the back of the mouth. The wine's line shrinks back to a thin echo and passes to a soft, slight finish. I wonder if there's a little residual sugar propping up this wine's flavours of unripe pear and herbs?
Overall, this wine strikes me as well judged, extremely drinkable and entirely forgettable. At $A11.40, it's quite well priced and, for me, delivers an appropriate amount of value. Good BBQ or lunch wine, and a pretty good start to the bargain dozen.
Price: $A11.40
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: August 2008
The distinct sourness on the nose here is your first indication that this isn't a New World wine. The smoke and minerals on the nose are appetizing; the wine is a lovely, dark, inky color and offers up somewhat jammy blackberry fruit as well. Somewhat alarmingly, there also appears to be a fair amount of residual sulfur dioxide that sneaks in from time to time; it's kind of an off note, but it isn't too prominent and fades into the background easily enough.
In the mouth, the wine seems a bit thin... OK, compared to California red wine, it is perhaps a bit thin, but this is more properly described as elegant. There's a real fullness of fruit here along with a sort of menthol edge, fading out into a gentle finish with hints of pine resin, peppercorn, and cedar. The sourness makes a return as well, but it's well integrated into the overall line here. The softness of the finish is also a bit surprising, but also apparently quite typical for this grape variety (I had to look it up; this is the first lagrein I've ever tasted).
Oddly enough, this wine tastes green to me; if most red wines are red, this one is somehow green. It's not a capsicum/bell pepper green, but rather woodruff or basil. It's intriguing and a welcome change from your ordinary Friday night bottle of wine.
J. Hofstätter
Price: US $16.95
Closure: Cork
Date tasted: April 2008
In the mouth, the wine seems a bit thin... OK, compared to California red wine, it is perhaps a bit thin, but this is more properly described as elegant. There's a real fullness of fruit here along with a sort of menthol edge, fading out into a gentle finish with hints of pine resin, peppercorn, and cedar. The sourness makes a return as well, but it's well integrated into the overall line here. The softness of the finish is also a bit surprising, but also apparently quite typical for this grape variety (I had to look it up; this is the first lagrein I've ever tasted).
Oddly enough, this wine tastes green to me; if most red wines are red, this one is somehow green. It's not a capsicum/bell pepper green, but rather woodruff or basil. It's intriguing and a welcome change from your ordinary Friday night bottle of wine.
J. Hofstätter
Price: US $16.95
Closure: Cork
Date tasted: April 2008
A New World style from the Old World.
A truly inviting nose of dark berry fruits, bramble/undergrowth, some sweet spices and noticeable vanillin oak. Smooth, quite seamless, not overly complex. The entry and middle palate are again smooth, showing the same mix of flavours within a body of medium weight. There's no angularity here; no prominent acidity, no premature raspy tannins. Nothing, in fact, to dominate the round, pleasant fruit and oak flavours. Flavours are perhaps a little light on in the intensity stakes, which in a sense is appropriate for the wine's easy going structure. Finish is soft and of reasonable length. Despite being a bit light on, the wine does have a nice sense of balance.
I had this with pasta and goat ragu and, whilst the wine was generally a good match (the fruit sweetness in particular enhanced the sweet sauce), I would have preferred something with more structure.
Prunotto
Price: $A25
Closure: Cork
Date tasted: November 2007
This wine is a blend of 60% Pinot Blanc, 15% Sauvignon Blanc and 25% Chardonnay, from the Alto Adige region of Italy. Unusual blend from an Australian perspective. Fermented in stainless steel and left on lees for six months, but with no lees stirring.
I served this a bit cold, so the nose wasn't really able to express much when first poured. After some time in glass, the wine started to give off attractive, ripe fruit aromas and yeasty notes. The real action, though, is on the palate. The wine's entry is immediate and generously delivers bright flavours to the tongue, along with a nice dose of lively acidity. The middle palate sings with tasty fruit -- citrus peel and pineapple and an almost overripe muskiness -- underpinned and driven by really lovely acidity. Flavours drop off perhaps a little precipitously towards the after palate, but not entirely, so that a subtle echo of the wine's flavour profile continues to ride the wine's acid structure for a good amount of time on the finish.
I must say, I'm attracted to this wine very much. It's not a wine of great sophistication, but it is generous and has a structure that is entirely complimentary to its flavour profile. Recommended.
Kellerei Cantina Terlan
Price: $A29
Closure: Cork
Date tasted: November 2007
I served this a bit cold, so the nose wasn't really able to express much when first poured. After some time in glass, the wine started to give off attractive, ripe fruit aromas and yeasty notes. The real action, though, is on the palate. The wine's entry is immediate and generously delivers bright flavours to the tongue, along with a nice dose of lively acidity. The middle palate sings with tasty fruit -- citrus peel and pineapple and an almost overripe muskiness -- underpinned and driven by really lovely acidity. Flavours drop off perhaps a little precipitously towards the after palate, but not entirely, so that a subtle echo of the wine's flavour profile continues to ride the wine's acid structure for a good amount of time on the finish.
I must say, I'm attracted to this wine very much. It's not a wine of great sophistication, but it is generous and has a structure that is entirely complimentary to its flavour profile. Recommended.
Kellerei Cantina Terlan
Price: $A29
Closure: Cork
Date tasted: November 2007
At first smell, this wine offered up sour black cherries and shoe leather, with a very small amount of mousiness (or is that honeysuckle?). Dark, dark purplish red in color, the wine is surprisingly light in the mouth for a Zinfandel, with simple black cherry fruit complicated by that same slightly off-putting animalistic character reminiscent of Brettanomyces (but is it? I can't really tell). It seems sweeter than most zinfandels I've had before and definitely tends towards flabbiness. The finish is surprisingly long, but not particularly complex, ending on a sweet, raspberry Lip Smacker note. There's a potentially appetizing sourness about this wine that seems distinctly Italian, but on the whole the sameness of every sip quickly grows tiresome.
Ogio (but really fresh&easy)
Price: US $3.99
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: November 2007
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I was originally going to allow my native Californian out to whinge at great length about the, ahem, chutzpah of importing Italian zinfandel to California of all places given our state's long history of quality Zinfandel wine production - and then I double-checked my receipt for this wine and dropped the idea. $3.99? Never mind. The best California zinfandel I've had in this price range (Three Thieves) ran $10 per liter, so this is a steal. It's perhaps not correct (in that it's frankly too sweet), but it has definite potential as an easy drinking party wine. Caution: may result in unintended pregnancy.
Ogio (but really fresh&easy)
Price: US $3.99
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: November 2007
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I was originally going to allow my native Californian out to whinge at great length about the, ahem, chutzpah of importing Italian zinfandel to California of all places given our state's long history of quality Zinfandel wine production - and then I double-checked my receipt for this wine and dropped the idea. $3.99? Never mind. The best California zinfandel I've had in this price range (Three Thieves) ran $10 per liter, so this is a steal. It's perhaps not correct (in that it's frankly too sweet), but it has definite potential as an easy drinking party wine. Caution: may result in unintended pregnancy.
