Terre da Vino 2009 “La Casa in Collina” Barbaresco

Posted by Keith Wallace on May 10, 2013 in Wine Reviews | 0 comments

Lange wine review

I am always looking for good values for Nebbiolo. The high quality $20 bottle is a rare and wonderful thing.  Typically that takes me to the larger Langhe region, plus Gattinara and Roero. The well-known regions of Barolo and Barbareso are rarely under $3o, and when they do dip below that price point  they  are almost never worth drinking.

This is the exception that proves the rule. Linear tannins that build out a complex structure of bitter herbs and tar. The plushness of sweet cherry and black fruit come open up quickly. Flavors and scents of toast and licorice are flowed by a salinity that finishes with burnt earth and   spices.

Terre Da Vino 2005 “Essenze” Barolo

Posted by Keith Wallace on Jan 31, 2013 in Wine Reviews | 0 comments

This is a under-the-radar barolo negotiant that deserves a bit of attention. The pricepoint is excellent for this level of Barolo. Blended from a few of the top vineyards in the region, including Bussia in Monforte d’Alba, Annunziata in La Morra, Ravera in Novello, La Volta in Barolo, Scarrone in Castiglione Falletto and Gianetto in Serralunga d’Alba.

Beautifully perfumed of ozone and patchouli, and a breeze of jasmine. Very pretty and delicate fruit and an elegant frame of tannin. The finish is of fresh roses and iron. A very good value for a Barolo.

Cantalupo Primagenia

Posted by Keith Wallace on Sep 13, 2012 in Wine Reviews | 0 comments

Antiche Vigneti di Cantalupo “Primagenia” 2005, Piemonte

The Colline Novarese DOC is located in the smaller cluster of designated zones in northern Piemonte that includes Gattinara and Ghemme, two familiar names for devotees of Nebbiolo. The regulations for both allow for the inclusion of Vespolino, a blending grape that also shows up with Bonarda in the Oltrepo Pavese region of Lombardy.

Wines from the Novarese area are noticeably smoother, softer, and able to be consumed earlier than their Langhe cousins. There is less earth and tar and the floral aspects more subdued. This Nebbiolo-Vespolino blend from Cantalupo in the town of Ghemme is indicative of its origins…fresh, food friendly, more cherry and raspberry than typically woodsy Nebbiolos from farther south. The tannins are already mild, the acidity keeping the fruit bright throughout.

Like Chiavennasca from Valtellina this is another version of one of Italy’s noble red grapes that illustrates the diversity of Italian wines and serves as a point of comparison to more renowned Nebbiolos.

Giuseppe Cortese 2007 Nebbiolo, Langhe

Posted by Keith Wallace on Jul 25, 2012 in Wine Reviews | 0 comments

The Cortese winery is located in the coveted Rabaja region of Barbaresco, and produces magnificent bottles from their vineyard.

This bottle is the hidden gem of the vineyard: it is sourced from the same vineyards and vinified in the same manner as their much more expensive Barbaresco bottlings. The only difference is that it is sourced from a hectare of the winery’s youngest vines.

Year in and year out, Robert Parker loves to call Guiseppe Cortese wines “pristine”. That is both a great compliment and the perfect description of these wines. The wine sings with deft balance. Earth and flowers rise and sway, giving way to waves of tannin that softly fall away into a long and languorous finish.

La Ca’ Nova 2007 “Bric Mentina” Barbaresco

Posted by Keith Wallace on Apr 12, 2012 in Wine Reviews | 2 comments

A brilliantly crafted Barbaresco. Bric Mentina is an estate bottling from this excellent producer, and pushes me to be a bit more poetic than I can usually muster.

This Barbaresco has a Buddha-like simplicity, yet

it also holds a rich earthen depth. On the surface,

this Nebbiolo-based wine radiates fresh cherry, strawberry,

and persimmon;  Underneath, it spools into gravel, underbrush

and long- burnt trees. Aromas of  roses and chrysanthemum rise

upwards, and a whiff  of something more, something

not quite corporeal. 

Yeah, I said I was going to hit you with poetry. Didn’t say it was going to rhyme. Or be any good.