Tag: Italian Wines

I like going to night wine tastings. The vibe is more casual that the day tastings and they end up being a lot of fun. Thursday night I attended one of those tastings. The Friulian wines of Livio Felluga who is celebrating the 30th vintage of their signature wine, Terre Alte. They’re doing the celebrating with a vertical tasting of the wines. Terre Alte is a white wine from Friuli that is a blend of the varietals, Friulano, Pinot Bianco and Sauvignon. The Pinot Bianco and Sauvignon mature in stainless steel while the Friulano stays in small oak casks.

The event was held at Tom Colicchio’s Riverpark restaurant at 450 E 29 Street with the congenial winemaker, Andrea Felluga in attendance to talk about his wines. The wines in the vertical were all poured from magnums.

2011 Rozzato. The starter wine, a blend of five white varietles with a pretty nose, very floral with dried mushroom, balanced with good acidity.

2011 Terre Alte. First wine of the vertical, ripe white flowers, lychee and cinnamon on the nose with moderate fruit, some lime notes, crisp and balance with touch of heat at the end.

2009 Terre Alte.  Moderate yellow with burnt rubber notes on the nose with tight, light fruit, crisp, a little one-dimensional but drinkable. My least favorite in the vertical.

2007 Terre Alte. Dark gold in color with a very pretty nose of aromatic white peaches with mouth filling fruit, balanced with nice mouth-watering acidity on the moderate to long finish.

2006 Terre Alte. Medium gold with white flowers and canned peaches on the nose with honeyed fruit, well-balanced with nice acidity on the long, honey finish. Lots of layers of flavors going on. My favorite of the flight.

2001 Terre Alte. Medium yellow with a complex nose of spice and earth, moderate body with some lime and earth on the crisp finish, tight on the back end. Tasty.

1998 Terre Alte. Golden in color with dusty, barnyard on the nose with moderate, complex fruit, tight, tart, mouth puckering at the finish with some of the alcohol peeking through at the end. Still an interesting wine at this stage.

Very enjoyable vertical of nice juice.

 

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I attended an event on Saturday afternoon presented by wine writer Antonio Galloni and his wine blog Vinous. The event was titled “Tuscany in the City, Tuscany: A Study in Terroir”.

Fifteen wines were poured with the owners and or wine makers from those properties on hand to talk about their respective wines and properties. The event was held at Del Posto restaurant located at 85 10th Avenue. The wines were poured by several of the city’s top Sommeliers that were in attendance.

It was a sit-down tasting and the wines were poured and tasted in four flights with each flight a different expression of Tuscan wines.

Flight 1: Chianti Classico Reserva

2010 Fontadi Chianti Classico Reserva “Vigna del Sorbo”. Dark red with a nose of violets and toasted sweet cherries with dusty fruit and firm tannin on the finish.

2010 Fattoria di Felisina Chianti Classico Reserva “Rancia”. Dark red with an amber robe with grapey, black licorice and a bit of cooked fruit on the nose, I thought the grapiness blew off after a few minutes. It was tight with a dusty finish. In my opinion the wine needs some more time to come together.

2008 Castell’in Villa Chianti Classico Reserva. Medium red with a nose of dried herbs, thyme and was very tight with crisp acids on the finish.

Flight 2: 100% Sangiovese

2010 Isole e Olena “Cepparello”. Dark red with a big nose of black cherry with toasty and dried herbs notes on the fruit.

2010 San Guisto a Rentennano “Percario”. Dark red with a floral perfume of red cherry and cooked vegetable with tight and dusty fruit with a mouth-full of tannin with mineral and salty notes.

2010 Poggio Scalette “Il Carbonaione”. Dark red to black with notes of roasted meat and burnt rubber on the nose and was chunky and somewhat unbalanced.

2010 Podere Forte “Petrucci”. Medium red with a perfume of red cherry and dried herbs with juicy fruit framed with balanced tannin and acid.

Flight 3: Sangiovese & Bordeaux Blends

2010 Antinori “Tignanello”. Dark red to black with black cherry and mint with a dash of barnyard on the nose.

2009 Castello dei Rampolla “Sammarco”. Medium to dark red with a big perfume, floral, tar, slate with some barnyard, tight with a big hit of mouth puckering tannin, a bit jarring.

2010 Agricola Querciabella “Camartina”. Dark red with red cherry, mint and dried herbs with some barnyard on the nose, chunky, tight with firm and balanced tannin and acid at the end.

 2010 Castello di Ama “L’Apparita”. Dark red with prunes, dark plums and mint on the nose with bright, tart fruit.

Flight 4: Bordeaux Blends

2010 Tenuta San Guido “Sassicaia”. Dark red with red cherry and roasted meat on the nose and was plummy with tart cherry on the finish.  A little disappointed in the wine.

2010 Le Macchiole “Paleo Rosso”. 100% Cabernet Franc, dark red to black in color with bell pepper and tar on the nose and was chewy and dusty with mint notes and a big grip at the end.

2010 Tenuta dell’ Ornellaia “Ornellaia”. Dark red to black with roasted coffee and dark chocolate on the nose, velvety with notes of crushed rock, slate and dark berries on the fruit with mouth filling tannin on the finish.

2011 Tenuta di Trinoro “Rosso Toscana”. Dark red with a purple robe with roasted, ripe vegetable on the nose with bright cherry fruit that was chewy and chunky with tight tannin and firm acids on the finish.