Tag: Italian Wines

VinNatur Natural Wine Tasting NYC 2025

Published on by Bruno DonaggioLeave a comment

On January 12-13, I attended the VinNatur wine tasting which was curated by the Natural Winemakers Association and was open to both the public and to members of the trade.

The Association, which was founded in 2006, has 300 members from 12 countries. Their mission statement is “respect the soil, the environment and the natural cycle of life” by elimination the use of invasive and toxic agents in the grape growing and wine making process.

This was the first time I was aware of this organization and have never attended a tasting from them. Their mission statement says that they represent 12 countries, but this tasting was an all-Italian event (they did manage to squeeze in one table from Spain).

The tasting was held at an event space at 29 Norman Avenue in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Natural/Biodynamic wines are a niche category that has been increasingly growing the past few years with all the major worldwide wine growing regions having their share of winemakers and growers adhering to the natural winemaking philosophy.

The tasting had a good representation in attendance from the various wine regions of Italy. I like to start a tasting with the sparkling wines and there were many Lambrusco to sample which is an underrated favorite of mine. There were also many Pet-Nat (petillant natural) wines on hand, and it looked like that every table had at least one version of it. It seems like that the ancient way of making fizzy, sparkling wine fits right in with the natural wine making ethos.

It was an interesting tasting with many of the winemakers on hand to passionately explain their wines. I was getting a lot of the barnyardy and cooked fruit notes that you often get on these low intervention wines.

Some of what I sample:

NV Casa Belfi (Veneto): Went through carbonic maceration, fizzy clear light purple, earthy red cherry nose, crisp light fruit with grippy tannins.

2018 Incontri Toscana Rosso (Tuscany): Opaque dark red, stinky, cooked fruit on the nose, chewy and smoky red fruit ending with firm, silky tannins.

2019 Gratavinum “Rocaforts” (Priorat): One of the few non Italian wines at the tasting, 100% Grenache, clear light brick, stone and red fruit on the nose, silky, moderate fruit with crushed stone notes on the finish.

2019 VNA Wine Pinot Nero Nº 6 (Lombardy): Clear medium brick, roasted nuts on the nose, chewy red licorice fruit with cooked fruit notes, nice balance on the finish.

2019 Terramante “Foglia Tonda” (Umbria): Clear light purple, grapey, stone notes on the nose, dusty red fruit ending with toasty tannis.

2020 Giovanni Sallemi “Russo”(Sicily): Clear medium purple, smoky tar on the nose, chewy black pepper fruit, tart finish.

2021 Timpe D’Arancio “Incocciato” (Sicily): Clear medium purple, sweet tar on the nose, tight and stinky with an earthy finish.

2021 Andrea Pilar Syrah (Umbria): Clear medium purple, tar on the nose with chewy, dusty fruit ending with earth notes on the silky tannins.

2021 Cantina de Malandrino “Malandrino” Rosso Volcano (Sicily): Clear light brick, tar and leather on the nose, cherry red tar fruit, silky tannins.

2021 Terramante “Pitch 15” (Umbria): Clear medium purple, tar and crushed red fruit on the nose, dusty red fruit ending with a mouthful of tannins.

2022 Torre alle Tolfe Cilegiolo (Tuscany): Made from the Cilegiolo grape variety, opaque dark red, closed nose of red leather and roast nuts, dusty fruit ending with firm tannins.

2022 Madonna dei Monti Barbera D’Asti (Piedmont): Opaque dark red, purple rim, roast meat and cigarette smoke on the nose, chewy, cooked fruit notes, firm tannins.

2023 Cantina del Frignano Rosato (Emilia Romagna): Fizzy clear light red, earthy red cherry nose with some earth notes on the fruit.

2023 Camillo Donati Lambrusco (Emilia Romagna): Fizzy light purple, crushed rocks on the nose, rosemary notes on the moderate finish, crisp and drinkable.

Wines from Romagna Master Class

Published on by Bruno DonaggioLeave a comment

On October 24th, I attended a Wine Enthusiast Master Class; An Exploration of Wines from Romagna, presented and curated by Jeff Porter.

Emilia-Romagna is one of the 20 regions in Italy located in the north central part of the country with the eastern half bordering the Adriatic Sea.

The largest city in the region is Bologna where the oldest university in Europe, the University of Bologna is located. This region is also home of some of the most famous food products in the world. Those would include Parmesan cheese, Prosciutto di Parma ham, Mortadella, Balsamic vinegar, Tortellini and the pasta dish, Ragu Bolognese to name few.

This tasting focused on the eastern half of the region, specifically Romagna. Even though the food products are world famous, the wines from this region are not with the exception of Lambrusco, a fizzy red wine in both sweet and dry styles that pair well with the various cold cuts of the area. The still wines definitely don’t have the recognition of the wines from the regions directly to the north such as Piedmont, Tuscany and the Veneto.

The master class poured 10 red wines from some of the 16 subareas of Romagna. The majority of the wines were produced using organic methods and fermented in stainless steel or concrete.

The tasting for members of the trade was held at the Arlo Soho Hotel located at 231 Hudson Street in Manhattan.

Master Class

2019 Monografia/4 Riserva (Marenzo): Clear medium red with a brick rim, sweet tar on the nose, tight with some roasted nut notes, bitter almonds on the finish with firm tannins.

2021 Cadisopra (Marzeno): Opaque medium brick with a brick rim, sweet tar on the nose, tight red fruit with slate notes, firm tannins.

2021 Condé (Predappio): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, tar and graphite on the nose, juicy red fruit ending with firm tannins with slate and graphite notes on the finish

2021 Notturno (Predappio): Opaque black with a purple rim, dusty crushed black fruit on the nose, juicy black fruit with spice and slate notes on the finish, some heat.

2021 Ombroso Riserva (Bertinoro): Clear dark red with a purple rim, dirty tar and graphite on the nose, tight black fruit with slate notes, big tannins.

2021 Vigna Baruccia (Mercato Saraceno): Opaque black with a purple rim, violets, tar and dark chocolate on the nose, chewy and dusty black fruit ending with firm, silky tannins.

2022 Godenza (Predappio): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, sweet dirt and dark chocolate on the nose, tight with graphite notes and firm tannins.

2022 Classe 33 (Serra): Opaque dark purple with a purple rim, dusty slate and graphite n the nose, juicy red fruit with graphite notes, silky tannins, nice balance.

2022 Il Colombarone (Bertinoro): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, closed nose of plummy violets and slate, juicy and silky bright red fruit ending with firm tannins.

2023 Papasse (Modigliana): Clear medium purple, dusty crushed raspberry and slate on the nose, juicy red fruit with firm, dusty tannins.

Vino Noble & Art

Published on by Bruno DonaggioLeave a comment

Avignonesi is a winery in Tuscany, Italy with vineyards surrounding the town of Montalcino. They specialize in Vin Nobile di Montalcino. Vin Nobile is a D.O.C.G (Denominazione D’Origine Controllata e Garantitta) and not surprisingly in this part of Italy where the Sangiovese grape is King, their DOCG wines are made primarily from the Sangiovese grape, specifically the Prugnolo Gentile Sangiovese clone.

They also produce wines outside the DOCG classification with international grape varieties such as Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Those wines that are outside of the DOCG and are classified as I.G.T. (Indicazione Geografica Protetta).

Avignonesi’s stated mission is “working every day to become a good ancestor, nourishing the land and people, creating a better world for those to come”. They focus on organic and biodynamic wine practices.

On October 3rd the winery held a wine tasting in collaboration with artist Amrita Marino who created artwork for the event. The tasting was held at a Chelsea art gallery located a 541 West 25th Street in Manhattan.

They served one white and seven red wines from their portfolio.

2022 Da-Di Rosso: A field blend of various red grape varietals, clear light purple, tar, rocks and crushed red fruit on the nose, dusty leather fruit with a firm finish.

2014 Vino Nobile di Montalcino Vintage Release: 100% Sangiovese. Clear brick in color, perfume of tar and mint with tarry, silky red fruit, medium bodied.

2020 Vino Noblie di Montalcino: 100% Sangiovese. Clear light red with a brick rim, graphite on the nose, dusty, licorice fruit with firm, dusty tannins.

2020 Vino Noble di Montalcino “Poggetto di Sopra”: 100% Sangiovese. Clear dark brick, closed nose of tar ending very tight and tannic.

2021 Grifi: Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon. Opaque dark red with a purple rim, tar, graphite and crushed black fruit on the nose, chewy and dusty fruit with silky tannins.

2020 Desiderio: 100% Merlot. Opaque dark red with a brick rim, big perfume of sweet crushed black fruit and dark chocolate, chewy with stone and mint notes on the fruit, great balance.

2019 50 & 50: A collaboration of two wineries, 50% Sangiovese and 50% Merlot. Clear medium brick with dusty graphite on the nose, firm with tight dark fruit.

Wines of Abruzzo Master Class

Published on by Bruno DonaggioLeave a comment

Abruzzo is one of twenty regions in Italy. It’s located in the central part of the country on the east with a coastline along the Adriatic Sea.

The region is mountainous with three different national parks and is considered the “greenest” region of Italy. It’s pretty much off the tourist trail.

Not surprisingly, they make wine. The notable red variety grown in the region is Montepulciano and for white wines that would be Trebbiano.

On September 30th, Vinous, an online wine magazine, hosted a master class of the wines of Abruzzo presented by Eric Guido.

The event was held on the 60th floor at Manhatta Restaurant located at 28 Liberty Street in lower Manhattan.

At the master class they served four whites, all made with 100% Trebbiano Abruzzese and nine reds all made with 100% Montepulciano.

It was an interesting tasting, most of the wine made in this region is red and when young the reds are very dark in color and full bodied.

Wines of Abruzzo

2021 Ciavolich Trebbiano d’Abruzzo Fosso Cancelli: Medium to dark gold, peaches and green herbs on the nose, tight, firm, with lime notes on the finish.

2022 Amorotti Trebbiano d’Abruzzo: Slightly cloudy light gold, sweet earthy nose, moderate fruit with ripe and earth notes on the fruit, good grip.

2021 Tiberio Trebbiano d’Abruzzo Fonte Canale: Clear dark gold, sweet kiwi, tropical fruit and slate on the nose, firm with tart lime notes.

2021 Francesco Cirelli Trebbiano d’Abruzzo Anfora: Clear dark gold, sweet candy and asparagus on the nose, full fruit with cooked vegetable notes, firm finish.

2020 Cantina Tollo Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Riserva Mo: Opaque dark red with a purple rim, slate and dark chocolate on the nose, chewy dark chocolate fruit with good structure.

2020 Marina Cvetic Montepulcino d’Abruzzo Riserva San Martino Rosso: Opaque black with a purple rim, sweet violet and barnyard on the nose, chewy fruit with slate notes ending with mouth filling tannins and crisp acids.

2021 La Valentina Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Docheio: Opaque dark red with a purple rim, stinky, cooked vegetables and crushed rocks on the nose, chewy and chunky with good structure with bitter almond notes on the long finish.

2021 Torre Dei Beati Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Riserva Cocciapazza: Opaque black with a purple rim, dark chocolate and cooked fruit on the nose, tight and concentrated with crushed rock notes, tight tannins.

2020 Castorani Montelpuciano d’Abruzzo Riserva Podere Castorani: Opaque black with a purple rim, perfume of tar and slate on the nose, chunky with big tannins.

2020 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Vecchie Vigne Branella: Dark purple with barnyard on the nose, bright black fruit with firm tannins and crisp acids.

2020 Tenuta Terraviva Colline Teramane Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Lui: Opaque black with a purple rim, crushed peppercorn and barnyard on the nose, chunky bright red fruit with tight acids.

2021 Fattoria Nicodemi Colline Teramane Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Cocciopesto: Opaque black with a purple rim, slate and crushed black fruit on the nose, chunky with green herb notes ending with very firm tannins.

2019 Illuminati Colline Teramane Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Riserva Pieluno: Opaque medium red with a brick rim, perfume of tar, leather and violets, silky red fruit with crushed rock notes ending with firm tannins.

Wine Enthusiast Sip of Italy

Published on by Bruno DonaggioLeave a comment

On September 10, Wine Enthusiast magazine held another in their “Sip” series of wine tastings. The last one was Sip of South America and this time around it was Sip of Italy.

The event was an opportunity to sample Italian wines from 50 wineries from all the geographic Italian wine regions.

Coming on the heels of Suckling’s great wines of Italy tasting the previous week, the start of the month of September was full of Italian wines. I attended the trade tasting in the afternoon and there was a tasting open to the public that evening.

The event was held at City Winery located at 25 11th Avenue on the west side Manhattan.

I wanted to sample as many Amarone as possible before moving on to the other regions.

Some of what I sampled:

2021 La Collina dei Ciliegi “Prea” (Veneto): Clear medium gold, spicy cinnamon on the nose, full juicy fruit with floral notes, good balance.

2022 Bozen Sauvignon Blanc “Mock” (Alto Adige): Clear light gold, peachy grass on the nose, moderate fruit with good acidity and balance.

2015 Pasqua Amarone “Mai Dire Mai” (Veneto): Medium opaque brick, tar and mint on the nose, juicy red fruit, firm finish.

2017 Santi Amarone (Veneto): Clear light brick with a tarry nose, chewy and tarry, ripe fruit, long finish.

2018 La Collina dei Ciliegi Amarone “Ciliego” (Veneto): Opaque dark brick, smoke, tar and ripe prunes on the nose, firm, chewy leather fruit with a smokey grip at the end.

2018 Zenato Amarone (Veneto): Opaque medium brick, crushed black fruit on the nose, chewy ripe fruit with a good grip and nice balance.

2018 Bolla Amarone (Veneto): Clear light brick, smokey black cherry on the nose, dusty, chunky black fruit ending with silky tannins.

2018 Covalli Amarone (Veneto): Clear light red, closed nose of woody tar, bright red fruit with bitter almonds on the finish.

2018 Santi Amarone (Veneto): Clear light brick, roasted nuts on the nose, juicy bright red fruit, nice balance.

2019 Cesari Amarone (Veneto): Clear medium red, smokey tar on the nose, big fruit with leather notes and good structure.

2019 Sartori Amarone “Reius” (Veneto): Clear light brick, sweet spices and roasted nuts on the nose, juicy, silky with slate notes, firm tannins.

2019 Ruffino “Modus Primo” (Tuscany): Opaque medium red with a brick rim, toasty pickle juice on the nose, chewy black leather fruit with firm, silky tannins.

2022 Gaddo Bolgheri Rosso (Tuscany): Clear medium brick, smoky black cherry on the nose, chewy, dusty black cherry fruit, good grip.

2022 Cascina Gilli Freisa “Il Forno” (Piedmont): An obscure grape varietal, clear medium brick, raspberry and red leather on the nose, bright red fruit, firm finish.

Suckling Great Wines Italy NYC 2024

Published on by Bruno DonaggioLeave a comment

Wine writer and wine critic James Suckling, presented and hosted another one in his series of wine tastings.

The Great Wines Italy wine event was held in New York City on September 4 & 5 at the Altman Building, an event space at 135 West 18th Street in Manhattan.

The two-day event featured 380 wines from 163 Italian wineries that rated 92+ points on Sucklings rating scale, .

Most of the Italian regions were on hand but the region with the most representation on the Wednesday I attended was definitely Tuscany. That’s not surprising considering the popularity of the wines of Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino.

There was a nice selection of the Brunello and Chianti but not very many Super Tuscans. To begin with, I focused my energy on the selection of Amarone and worked my way to the Brunello’s.

Some of what I sampled:

2018 Ripa della Volta Amarone2019 Tinazzi Amarone Aureum Acinum
2018 Masi Amarone Costasera2015 Farina Amarone Mezzadro alla Fontana Riserva
2010 Tenuta St Antonio Amarone Lilium Est Riserva2016 Sergio Alighieri Amarone Vaio Armaron
2018 Paradiso di Cacuci Brunello di Montalcino Riserva2019 Picini Brunello di Montalcino
2019 Altesino Brunello di Montalcino Montosoli2019 Altesino Brunello di Montalcino
2019 Carparzo Brunello di Montalcino2019 Carparzo Brunello di Montalcino Vigna La Casa
2017 Castelli Martinozzi Brunello di Montalcino Riserva2018 Ruppiano Famiglia Berselli Brunello di Montalcino
2019 Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino2016 Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino Poggio alle Mura Riserva
2019 San Polo Brunello di Montalcino2019 San Polo Brunello di Montalcino Podernovi
2019 Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino2019 Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Montosoli
2019 Uccelliera Brunello di Montalcino 2019 Voliero Brunello di Montalcino
2017 Villa Matilde Taurasi Petrafusa2020 Inama Cabernet Colli Berici Bradisimo
2017 Perla del Garda Merlot Garda Leonatus2019 Nino Negri Valtellina Valgella Vigna Fracia
2019 Giusti Montello Tenuta Abazia Umberto2020 Marco Bonfante Barbaresco
2019 Casteani Maremma Terra di Casteani

Zachys Escape to Tuscany Italian Tasting 2024

Published on by Bruno DonaggioLeave a comment

Zachys has been a family-owned seller of fine wines and spirits since 1944. As with most wine shops they will host tastings for consumers at their store. On occasion they will hold a more intensive tasting that you need to buy a ticket to attend.

I’ve been to a few of those ticketed events, and they have been worth the cost of admission and the hour train ride to Port Chester as they can be counted on to pour quality juice for whatever theme they are pouring for that day.

They held one of those ticked tastings on Father’s Day weekend last June. The “Escape to Tuscany” was a tasting of 50+ Italian wines from the (mostly) 2021 vintage.

In addition to the wines, they had a handful of premium spirts on hand to sample. That included single malt Scotch from Dalmore, Laphroaig and Port Askaig, Tequila from Hiatus and Italian malt whiskey from PUNI.

Some of what I sampled:

2021 Vallepicciola Bianco (Tuscany): 100% Chardonnay. Medium gold with a floral nose, tight with nice acidity with lime notes.

2021 Fattoria le Pupille Piemme Bianco (Tuscany): Clear yellow with a floral nose, moderate fruit with a touch of sweetness in the back end, good balance.

2019 Vallepicciola Migliore (Tuscany): Bordeaux Blend. Opaque dark red with tar, dark cherry and cigarette smoke on the nose, silky, smoky fruit with silky tannins and a good grip at the end.

2021 Tenuta Luce Luce (Tuscany): Opaque medium purple, closed nose of tarry meat, tight red fruit ending with big tannins.

2021 Le Serre Nuove Ornellaia (Tuscany): Clear dark red, earthy, black cherry nose, crushed dark fruit with oak notes, gritty tannins.

2021 Poggio Valente Le Pupille (Tuscany): Clear light brick, red cherry tar on the nose, juicy red fruit, good grip. long finish.

2021 Greppicaia I Greppi (Tuscany): Opaque medium red with a brick rim, tar, smoke and graphite on the nose, silky, violet and tarry fruit with a red cherry finish. good grip.

2021 Tenuta di Biserno Il Pino (Tuscany): Clear medium red, closed nose of tar and barnyard, chunky dark chocolate fruit ending with firm, gritty tannins.

2021 Tenuta di Beserno Berseno (Tuscany): Clear medium red, crushed red cherry on the nose, red cherry fruit, moderate acids, long bitter cherry finish.

2021 Voliero Rosso di Montalcino (Tuscany): Clear light brick, spicy tar on the nose, silky red fruit with moderate acidity and firm tannins.

2021 Antinori Guado Al Tasso (Tuscany): Clear medium red, black cherry and barnyard on the nose, cherry dark chocolate and dark black fruit, great balance and a long finish.

2021 Torre Alle Comete Campo Alle Comete (Tuscany): Clear medium red, perfume of earth and smoke, chewy, silky fruit ending with firm, silky tannins and a long finish.

2021 Montepeloso Nardo (Tuscany): Clear medium red, earthy tar on the nose, silky fruit, silky tannins with a good grip on the great finish.

2021 Montepeloso Eneo (Tuscany): Clear light brick, earthy, smoky dark chocolate on the nose, silky and smoky fruit with smoke notes on the balanced finish.

2021 Castello dei Rampolla Chianti Classico (Tuscany): Clear medium reds, earth, tar and leather on the nose, tight silky red fruit ending with dusty and firm tannins.

2020 Felsina Fontalloro (Tuscany): Clear light brick, earth and tar on the nose, chewy red leather fruit with firm acidity.

2019 Brunello Revisited

Published on by Bruno DonaggioLeave a comment

Brunello del Montalcino is an Italian red wine made from 100% of the Sangiovese Grosso grape grown around the town of Montalcino in Tuscany, Italy.

They produce a regular Brunello and a Brunello Riserva. According to the DOCG rules, the regular Brunello has to age a minimum of four years and can be released on January 1st of the fifth year. The Riserva an extra year.

That means the current release, the 2019’s, were released in January of 2024. In November of 2023, the Consorzio del Brunello, an organization representing the Brunello estates, held their Benvenuto Brunello tasting in New York City for members of the restaurant trade which was a pre tasting of the soon to be released 2019 vintage wines.

This was an opportunity to sample the wines before they were released to the consumer.

Those pre release tastings can be a little tricky. The wines have just been bottled and they are awkward at this point and a little rough around the edges, but you take that into consideration when tasting.

Keeping that in mind I attended the event and tasted many of the 2019 wines (and a few 2018 Riserva).

I have to say that at the end of the day, I wasn’t that impressed with the wines, knowing that they were way too young to be drinking at the time.

Since then, I’ve been hearing a lot of accolades about the vintage. Accolades such as “an excellent vintage”, “vintage of the decade”, etc., so I was hoping to be able to try the wines again with a few more months in the bottle.

Fortunately, that opportunity came on May 4th at Zachys wine shop. The wine store, located at 30 Midland Avenue in Port Chester New York, held a consumer tasting of the 2019 Brunello di Montalcino.

Zachys is a wine store in business for 80 years. As most wine stores do, they hold complimentary tasting for customers. On occasion, they have more intensive tastings that purchasing a ticket is required for. Those tastings are worth the hour ride on Metro North since they can be counted on to pour quality juice.

They poured 25+ Brunello, a handful of grappa, and a trio of some excellent organic Sicilian vermouth from Naturlale.

The tasting was very different this time around. The wines were starting to drink well, still young and some more accessible than others, but I enjoyed the quality of the wines overall.

Some of my highlights:

2019 Brunello di Montalcino

Val di Suga: Clear medium brick, tar and leather on the nose, earth notes and nuts on the fruit with silky tannins.

Val di Suga “Poggio al Grancho”: Clear light brick, sweet cherry and bacon on the nose, tight with gritty tannins.

Talenti: Clear light brick, dark chocolate and roast meat on the nose, silky fruit, good grip, nice balance.

Cal di’Orcia: Clear light red, perfume of roses and dark chocolate, balanced, silky red fruit, long finish.

Castelgiocondo Frescobaldi: Clear light red with a brick rim, forest floor and dark chocolate on the nose, firm finish, nice balance.

Piancornello: Clear medium brick, perfume of roast meat and vegetable, silky red fruit with a nice balance.

Poggio Salvi: Clear light brick, perfume of barnyard with earthy fruit and firm but silky tannins.

Castello di Camigliano: Medium brick with a perfume of red tar, silky fruit, firm, silky tannins.

Casanova di Neri: Clear medium red, earth and dark chocolate on the nose, silky red fruit. firm fruit.

Casanova di Neri Tenuta Nuova: Medium brick, perfume of barnyard and dark chocolate, silky red fruit with dusty tannins

Biondi Santi: Clear light brick, tar and cigarette smoke on the nose, tight fruit with a bitter cherry finish.

Tenuta Luce: Clear light red with a brick rim, crushed red fruit and green herbs on the nose with silky red fruit.

Banfi: Clear light red with a brick rim, forest floor and dark chocolate on the nose, firm fruit with a nice balance.

Pioggiotondo: Clear light brick, dark chcocolate on the nose, silky chocolate fruit, firm tannins.

Pelagrilli Siro Pacenti: Clear medium red with a brick rim, barnyard and sweet black fruit on the nose, chewy dark fruit ending with firm tannins.

.

Slow Wine @ Eataly NYC 2024

Published on by Bruno DonaggioLeave a comment

Slow Wine is an organization that seeks to “preserve simple, traditional ways of living and eating and that wine, just like food must be good, clean and fair, just not good”. They support and promote small scale wine makers who use traditional techniques.

Every year they host a tour in which they showcase wineries that follow their philosophy.

This year that tour will take them to Washington DC, Austin, Denver and San Francisco. On March 19th the tour came to New York City.

The event was held at Eataly Downtown located at 101 Liberty Street in lower Manhattan.

They had a walk around tasing and seminars for members of the trade in the afternoon with an evening session for consumers.

I would say that about three quarters of the wineries at the event were Italian with a handful of wineries from other countries.

I attended the trade tasting in the afternoon and as in previous events in the past, it was a lively event. These trade tastings are obviously about the wine but it’s nice to have something to snack on while sipping. Sometimes that’s some cheese and crackers but not surprisingly at Eataly they put out a nice spread of food for the attendees. Besides some excellent cheese and charcuterie, they served pasta and some really good pizza.

Some of my highlights:

2020 Authentique Wine Cellars Riesling “Brementown” (Oregon): Clear light gold, petroleum on the nose, peachy fruit with a nice balance.

2020 Donum Estate Chardonnay “Year of the Rat” (Carneros): Clear medium gold, tropical fruit notes on the nose, juicy lime notes on the long finish.

2021 Grgich Hills Sauvignon Blanc (Napa Valley): Clear light gold, herbaceous, tropical notes on the nose with herbaceous notes and crisp acids on the finish.

2021 Grgich Hills Chardonnay (Napa Valley): Clear light gold, tropical fruit notes on the nose, surprisingly light and crisp on the fruit.

2022 Unti Vineyards Vermentino (Sonoma): Clear yellow gold, sweet nose, medium bodied with kiwi notes, good structure.

2016 Paradigm Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville (Napa Valley): Opaque medium red, crushed black fruit and green herbs on the nose, tight, concentrated, dusty black olive notes on the fruit, nice finish.

2019 Unti Vineyards Aglianico (Sonoma): Opaque dark purple, oak notes on the nose, concentrated and dusty fruit, silky tannins, nice finish.

2020 Crocker & Starr Cabernet Franc Blend (St Helena): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, smoky crushed dark fruit on the nose, chewy and tight with a nice structure and a long finish.

2020 Ceretto Barbaresco “Bernadot” (Piedmont): Clear light brick, smoky roast meat on the nose, toasty light fruit with firm tannins.

2020 Terrabianca Croce Chianti Classico Riserva (Tuscany): Clear medium red, dusty sweet nose with dusty fruit and a nice balance.

2021 Crocker & Starr Cabernet Sauvignon “RLC” (St Helena): Opaque dark red, dried herbs on the nose, chewy dark chocolate fruit, good structure and balance.

2021 Unti Vineyards Sangiovese (Sonoma): Clear medium red, tar and cigarette smoke on the nose, medium fruit with a nice structure and a balanced finish.

2021 Donum Estate Pinot Noir “Three Hills” (Sonoma): Clear light red, earth and cola on the nose, juicy cola fruit, good balance.

2021 Scarzello Nebbiolo (Piedmont): Opaque dark purple, tar and leather on the nose with silky red fruit and silky tannins.

2021 Casa E, di Mirafiore Nebbiolo (Piedmont): Clear light red with a classic nose of tar and leather, sweet fruit ending firm but balanced.

2021 Podere Il Carnasciale “Carnasciale” (Tuscany): Made from the obscure Caberolot varietal, opaque dark purple, sweet herbs on the nose, silky red fruit, balanced and a long finish.

Benvenuto Brunello NYC 2023

Published on by Bruno DonaggioLeave a comment

On November 28th I attended the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino Benvento Brunello New York City stop of their world tour.

This was to showcase to members of the Restaurant trade and Media, the upcoming release of the current vintage of Brunello. Since according to the DOCG regulations, the regular Brunello have to wait 5 years to be released and 6 years for the Riservas, this was the 2019 vintage for the regular Brunello and 2018 vintage for the Riservas.

The event was held at the Public Hotel on 215 Chrystie Street in the lower east side of Manhattan.

The set up was similar to what they had during Covid era and was a sit-down tasting. You would download an app with the wines that were available, and you would order up to five wines at a time to sample and they would bring the wines to your table.

Since they wines that were served were the new releases, I thought that they were still very young and could have used some more time in the bottle to smooth out the rough edges. On the 2019’s for the most part I was getting a lot of bright red fruit with very crisp acids. The 2018 Riservas were more appreciable with more dark fruit and earth notes.

Some highlights:

2019 Argiano: Clear light brick, smoky tar on the nose with nice red fruit, good balance.

2019 Carpineto: Clear medium red, earthy nose, juicy fruit with tar notes with a nice balance of moderate tannin and acid.

2019 Casisano: Clear light red with a brick rim, tar and barnyard on the nose, juicy red fruit with moderate acids and a dusty finish.

2019 Donatella Cinelli Colombini: Clear light brick, tar and leather on the nose, with firm, dusty red fruit.

2019 La Fornace: Clear light brick, sweet tar on the nose, red fruit with firm acids and earth notes on the finish.

2019 Nardi: Clear medium to dark red, tarry nose, juicy, earthy full red fruit, firm finish.

2019 Pacenti “Rosaldo”: Clear medium red, tar, anise and earth on the nose, chewy black fruit, nice and balanced, drinkable.

2018 Caprilli “AdAlberto” Riserva: Opaque medium red with a brick rim, tar and dark chocolate on the nose, red fruit with gritty tannins, anise notes, nice balance.

2018 Corte Pavone Riserva: Clear medium red with an amber rim with juicy black fruit and slate notes on the firm but balanced finish.

2018 Donatella Cinelli Colombini “Vento” Riserva: Opaque dark red, dusty tar and anise on the nose, chewy fruit with tree bark notes ending with big tannins.

2018 La Serena “Gemini” Riserva: Clear medium brick, sweet perfume of tar and smoke, tarry fruit with firm acids.

Other producers I sampled:

ArmillaCapanna
BanfiCol D’Orcia
La FioritaRuffino
Val Di SugaFanti
UccellieraSanpolo
TalentiIl Poggione
CortonesiElia Palazzesi