THE ITALIAN JOB

Hurry up with the wine!

Our March Tongham Tasters’ evening was dedicated to Italian wines and pasta.  It was not our first Italian evening and I doubt if it will be our last.  This was our 18^th monthly tasting session and it proved to be our most popular as we had fourteen wine enthusiasts along for a fun Friday evening.    As we had such a big crowd we added a few bottles of wine and added some more food but still kept the evening’s cost at £10 per head.

Healthy food!

I had prepared some homemade butternut squash ravioli in sage butter sauce to go with the white wines and a homemade beef ragu to go with penne rigate and the red wines.  Jane had prepared a pair of lovely loaves – olive bread and sun dried tomato bread to keep with the Italian theme.  We also had some crudités and hummus and a selection of cheese.  At the end of the evening I prepared some homemade Italian pear sorbet to provide a dessert.

But enough about the food, what about the wines!   Obviously they were all Italian but two via Sainsbury and seven via FromVineyardsDirect.  Who would win out – the supermarket or specialist retailer?  Below are the wines in our descending order of preference.  All were blind tasted and scored out of 20 based on look, smell, body, taste, length and enjoyment.  Scores are in the order John E, Jane, Ian, John S, Jill, Clive, Steve S, Yvonne, Sheila, Andy, Chris and Lilly.  Steve W and Kathryn also attended but didn’t score the wines.

1. Pietracupa Bolgheri DOC 2007 Tenuta Moraia Tuscany Red 13.5% Sainsbury £11.99

Four of our team voted this their top wine and another five had it in their top three wines of the evening.  I bought it back in 2009 on the recommendation of Jancis Robinson in the FT who had said it was a particularly posh wine for Sainsbury.  She described it as French Claret style and our tasting confirmed this.  Unfortunately not available any more but a great treat for us tasters.  It was a bigger red than many we try with good structure and acidity a classic Medoc taste and a hint of chocolate.  The most expensive wine of the evening and this was a 2009 price but also the best red wine by some way.  Our scores were 17.5, 16, 17.5, 15, 13, 16, 15.25, 16, 14, 13, 13 and 14.  It is a shame that Sainsburys don’t have more of this!

2. Roero Arneis Anterisio DOCG 2009 Cascino Chicco Dry White 13% FromVineyardsDirect £9.95

I had put this in the tasting as I regard it as a stunning white wine and most of our tasting team agreed.  One of the team voted it the best of the evening and another six had it in their top three. From the Roero area of Piedmont near where they grow the grapes for Barolo this is made with the rare Arneis grape.  This wine will appeal to lovers of minerally wines such as Chablis, Sancerre or Albarino.   It is well rounded with a definite zing!   Our scores were 16, 15, 14.5, 13, 11, 15, 14.5, 12, 13, 12, 16.5 and 17.5.   A great value white wine.

3. Barbera D’Alba Granera Alta DOC 2009 Cascina Chicco Red 14% FromVineyardsDirect  £10.95

A wine from the same maker as the Roero, the performance of this wine surprise me.  It again comes from Piedmont and is a red made from the lighter Barbera grape rather than the more powerful Nebbiolo grape of the local Barolo and Barbaresco wines.  This was a very fruity wine, although Clive likened its smell to a gas meter!  It got two top votes and another five top three scores and thus did very well.  Individual scores were 12.75, 17, 13, 11, 12, 16, 12.5, 16, 12, 11, 17 and 18.  So, quite a variety of score for this wine but definitely one to consider if you like softer fruity red wines.

4. Collalbrigo Prosecco Spumante Brut DOC NV Sparkling Conegiliano 11% FromVineyardsDirect  £9.95

Sparkling wines almost always do well at our evenings and this one was a good little Prosecco with nice small bubbles and a good fruity minerality.  It actually got three top votes but a few had in their bottom half and hence it missed out on the podium.  Scores were 14, 12, 14, 10, 9, 14, 13, 13, 15, 14, 16 and 15.5.  If buying a dozen bottles from FromVineyardsDirect, it is well worth throwing in a few bottles of this very nice Prosecco.

5. Prà Soave DOC 2010 13% Monteforte d’Alpone Dry White  FromVineyardsDirect £10.95

For a top quality white wine like this one to only come in the middle rankings just shows the overall quality of the wines in our Italian evening.  This was a Soave from a top independent producer and is dry but not too acidic and with a good flavor.  Well done to Jill who spotted this was a Soave.  Two of our team voted this their favourite wine of the evening and another two had it in their top three.  Scores were 14, 15, 13, 13, 14, 13, 14, 17, 10, 11, 15.5 and 14.  If you’ve never tasted a top Soave, treat yourself to a few bottles f this wine.

6. Valpolicella DOC Classico 2006 Fratta Pasini Red12.5% FromVineyardsDirect £10.45

This is a wine that tastes quite powerful but isn’t that alcoholic.  Some thought it was an Amarone as it had sweetness reminiscent of one.   I thought it had a zest of orange peel on the nose and some thought it had a raspberry taste.  One person had it as their top wine of the evening and three others had it in their top three.  Scores were 14, 15, 16.5, 13, 15, 18, 11.5, 12, 13.5, 9, 14.5 and 15.  These were very good score for our sixth favourite wine.   This is definitely a wine for those looking for good less alcoholic reds under 13% abv.

7. Casa Catelli Rosso Toscano IGT 2009 Red 14.5% FromVineyardsDirect £9.75

This is a very good value wine and it got one person’s top vote and half of us had in our top four wines.  However, four of our team had it in their bottom two and hence its seventh place showing.  I think it depends on whether you like acidic Old World food wines or something more modern.  This wine is very firmly in the former category.  It has good tannins, a hint of parma violets and according to some, probably led on by Clive, a hint of cycle inner tube.  Scores were 15.25, 19, 14.5, 10.5, 8, 17, 13.75, 14, 10.5, 11, 7.5 and 6.5.  If you into Old World reds this could be a Super Tuscan wine for you and good value at under £10.

8. Rosso del Palazzone Vino Rosso NV Il Palazzone Montalcino Red13.5% FromVineyardsDirect £11.45

I have really enjoyed this wine on a number of occasions and enjoyed it with the pasta so was disappointed that our team didn’t agree with my rating.  For me this deserved a lot better than its lowly place.  Nobody really hated it but only Clive and myself had it in our top three.  This is an unusual wine it that t comes from two different vintages, 2005 and 2008, and results from overproduction of a good producer’s Brunello and Montalcino.  Scores were 16.25, 14, 15.5, 10, 9.5, 17, 11.75, 13, 12.5, 10, 11.5 and 12.5.  If you like the Sangiovese grape you should consider trying this although it is obviously not everyone’s cup of tea!.

9. Verdicchio del Castelli di Jesi DOC Classico 2010 Dry White Taste the Difference 13% Sainsbury £5.29

This wine was by far the cheapest in our tasting and even though it has been recommended by quite a few of the press wine critics, such as David Williams, Anthony Rose, Victoria Moore and Fiona Beckett, it couldn’t compete with the quality wines on offer tonight.  However, it did help reduce the average price of the wines down to near our ten pounds standard.  Frankly it is drinkable but not very interesting.   Scores were 11, 12, 10, 8, 10.25, 12, 9.5, 11, 11, 9, 11 and 11.  This wine proved my theory that it is very difficult to find good white wines at under £7.50 and press recommendations in this price range don’t tend to indicate a real bargain.

After 9 wines it's difficult to stand straight!

So Sainsbury took top prize but the FromVineyardsDirect wines proved to be very consistently good wines.

So another good Tongham Tasting evening came to an end.  It was good to have some new tasters – Andy, Chris and Lilly – alongside our regulars. 

Next month Clive will be hosting us again and serving us six interesting wines of his choice.  The theme will be "Democracy and Discount - Buying Quality or Selling Quantity".   This evening will be on Thursday 12^th April in Poyle Road, Tongham and start at 8pm.   As usual everyone is welcome and if you are interested read Wine Circle at the top of this page.

Thanks to Clive for the pictures of our evening and Jane for most of the preperation whilst I was enjoying myself in Sancerre!