Tuscania - a small walled city northwest of Rome and the setting for many posts to come…No, this is not the start of my new book, just a phenomenal episode in my life, a time to sit back and reflect on what’s important in life. And, as all the day-to-day worries wash away and I look out over the countryside from our beautiful country house (rented, of course), a few permanent and essential things still stay in my mind – family, friends, a sense of awe in this world and, of course, wine. After all, what would a visit to Italy be like without wine? I shudder to think, honestly.
Have only been in Italy a few days and haven’t tasted too many wines as we’ve been trying to get our bearings and recover from the red-eye flight out of San Francisco. But, we picked up some wines at the local store that I’m excited to taste – 2007 Vermentino Maremma Toscana and 2006 Bonacchi Rosso di Montalcino. The funny thing about these wines is, and I have to be honest here, I have no idea what they’re going to be like. For all I know, I could have bought the wines that are the Italian version of Thunderbird or Boones Farm, although somehow I don’t think that’s the case (I wonder if Italian’s have even heard of fortified wine…).
To set the stage, my Italian wine knowledge is fairly limited. I know I like most Italian wines, but am torn when it comes to Nebiollo and Chianti....and that’s about it. So, you can look at this one of two ways. The first is that most of what I’m going to taste in Italy will be new to me, with very few preconceptions or thoughts about what the wine “should” be or taste like. A pretty pure experience, actually. The second is that anyone reading these blog posts that knows a lot about Italian wines will either be sickened by my lack of knowledge or compelled to comment and let me know the error of my ways. I’m hoping the latter will be the case…but, if not, I’m okay with going into a wine region pretty unknowledgeable. Wine is discovery and this trip is all about discovering new wines in a setting that provides a new look at culture, beauty and those parts of me that get lost in the day-to-day ups and downs of the world (sorry, had to wax poetic there for a minute – I am in Italy, after all).
I’ll get to the Vermentino and Bonacchi in a later post, but wanted to tell you about a wine we had at dinner last night. First off, the dinner was amazing…a small pizzeria / trattoria in Tuscania starting with a rustic antipasto (meats, cheese, bruschetta, peppers, etc.), then on to a pasta dish (my wife ordered one of the best pasta dishes I have ever tasted) and finally a tournado filet. A beautiful spread, one that came close to overcoming our embarrassment at not knowing enough Italian to order efficiently (at one point near the start of the meal, I thought they were going to call over the whole kitchen staff and even people off the street to make sure we ordered correctly – comical, to be sure).
With the dinner, we had a 2006 Avignonesi Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. The first thing I noticed is that the alcohol level was relatively low, at 13.5%. I’m not sure I buy into the argument from old world wine people that high alcohol is always bad, but I will say that whenever I have a lower alcohol wine – like this Montepulciano or something like Chateau Plince – I always seem to savor it just a little more than I do a wine with lots of alcohol. There’s no heat on the back end, just a focus on the juice. This was one of those wines. Spectacular with all three courses of the meal and very well balanced, with medium body and a blend of blackberry, earth and espresso. A healthy does of acidity (the pucker factor is pretty high on this wine, but it allowed it to cut nicely through all the rich pasta and meats of the meal) and a very long finish, this is a wine that I will most certainly try to either seek out when I get back home or buy some of when I’m here. Overall, a great first Italian wine experience (well, at least the first Italian wine tasted in Italy).
What you should do: Buy it. Cost us about 20 euros at the restaurant, so probably about $15 – 20 at retail in the US. This one is on my list of keepers from Italy (always nice to go 1-for-1).
My rating: 89
Note: Most of the time we’re in Italy, we’ll be in areas that don’t have internet access, so will update when I can, maybe even after I return, but will do my best to keep the updates coming.
Gadget
0 Response to "Avignonesi 2006 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG"