2001 Ronchi di Cialla 'Cialla Bianco' Colli Orientali del Friuli - Longest wine name winner and a cracking aged Italian white

This hard-to-find Italian white from Friuli, if you can get it, is well worth searching out.

I had no idea, until a couple of years ago, how well some whites can age.

I've had whites from Western Sicily that were 20 years old. Others from the Loire region in France almost as old.

Champagne, famously, can age very well. But other whites don't usually, as I suppose, most reds don't either.

Wine-searcher.com has a little information on this wine here. And if you are really keen you seem to be able to buy it in HK dollars here.

This one was a beauty. It opened up after 30 minutes in the bottle once opened, and has a richness and a texture you just don't seem to get outside Burgundy in younger whites (in my limited experience) 

More reviews are here. I'll be seeking out some older vintages from this under-rated region. 

We tried it at the ever excellent 10 Greek St in London, which has the best value wine menu that I have found in London (make sure you ask for the 'other' wine list)

Verdicchio Dei Castelli Di Jesi - Punchy italian white that represents good value

14.5% but don't let that put you off...

One of the many pleasures of travelling around Europe is the wines you find which you don't see much of at home. Or more likely, just hadn't looked at much.

This Verdicchio Dei Castelli Di Jesi 2009 I discovered in a restaurant in Prague after much googling of the wine list to match something with seafood.

I know almost nothing about the region, or didn't until I read a few articles, but this is a wine I would advise checking out.

It's not for the faint hearted though.

Here are my tasting notes from last night:

Dry, rich, reminiscent of bone dry white bugundy but with a focus that feels Italian. Restrained nose. The age of this 2009 is coming through. Strong acid, zero citrus/lemon (hooray) 

Slightly off bitter finish. High alcohol at 14.5 which adds to the texture, but you wouldn't know it was quite that much unless you checked. Definitely a palate cleanser but also so much more than that, lots of complexity. 

According to several reviews the finish is supposed to be of toasted almonds, but my palate is clearly not advanced enough for that. 

More about the region is here. The Riserva, as so often in Italy, is worth paying a few Euros more for, apparently. 

Wine-searcher makes it sound compelling enough simply by describing the location:

"The Castelli dei Jesi wine-producing zone encompasses the hilly territory around the town of Jesi in the province of Ancona. This area features fortified villages which were built here in medieval times, and which give rise to  the Castelli part of the DOC name. The terroir here is ideal for the production of mineral-tinged dry white wines, thanks mostly to its calcareous, clay and limestone-rich soils and a relatively dry maritime climate."

Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano Risera 2007, two good options

2007: Bad in Bordeaux but superb in Montepulciano

From a layman's point of view, i.e. mine, 2007 seems to have turned out quite well in Montepulciano.

Back in 2010 a blogger who undoubtedly knows more than I, wrote that the:

"2007 vintage was a nervous and aggressive vintage in Tuscany, with brambly acidities and sharpness that have yet to settle out".

Further thoughts and reviews are here.

I've been sampling the odd bottle of Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano Risera 2007 from a couple of sources over the last two years and I think the vintage must have moved on considerably from 2007.

The Riserva vintages are not made every year so one should have relatively high expectations.

Some interesting background on the region can be found on the Berry Brother's site here.

Interestingly, I had no idea how much smaller the production volume is when compared with nearby Brunello and Chianti. Berry's says that: "Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG covers only 820ha - compared to 12,000ha for Brunello di Montalcino and 7,000ha for Chianti Classico".

Berry's also writes that: "Stylistically, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano combines the richness of Brunello di Montalcino with the perfume of Chianti Classico. Without the limestone spine of other top Tuscan sites, the wines tend to be medium to full-bodied with firm tannins, lively acidity, fleshy strawberry and cherry fruit and hints of tea leaves. The best examples should age 8 to 15 years while Riservas can last for over two decades."

So if you want to tell your friends you are drinking a wine that is slightly off the beaten track, this is a good one to sample. I find rare tuscan steak and wild boar both go very well with these wines.

What I like about the two 2007 vintages I have had is that they, unlike some other good italian wines, don't break the bank when you drink them in a restaurant. That matters quite lot given how pricey a lot of decent, and a lot of frankly mediocre, Italian wine can be.

First up, the wine pictured is available in London's Boca di Luppo for about £45. That's not bad for such a good eatery (Boca is fabulous, eat at the bar if you can).

Here's the producer website. Retail prices seem to be about £18-20 in the UK. That makes it a bit of a gem in my book. Their description of it as "dry, harmonic, fruity and velvety, with an elegant texture and long finish" is a decent one. I would add that it has that lovely slightly aged, earthy Sangiovese tinge on the end and into the finish of a sip. For the price, retail or in Boca, it's a decent option indeed.

The second option is Avignonesi's Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano Risera 2007 which I think is even better than the Carpineto above.

I always buy it at Negozio Classica in Notting Hill, London, which is one of my favourite places to hang out. It's always relaxed there, the food is fabulous and the italian wine selection unsurpassed. The restaurant is part owned by the Avignonesi vineyard, a trend I would love to see more of, and the benefits are clear. 

The Avignonesi Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano Risera 2007 is not cheap, around £50-60 as a I recall it in the restaurant, but as a special treat it is unmissable. And it likely come with an expiration date given how limited general Montepulciano production is. Drink it while it lasts. 

Avignonesi Montepulciano Riserva 2007: Holy Mackerel

Best Montepulciano I've had, no doubt

The say Barolo is the king of wines, the wine of kings.

But most kings wouldn't turn down this Montepulciano Riserva 2007, unless they were seriously inbred and a fan of Black Tower instead.

That's entirely possible, Royals not being the brightest of our breeding stock in Europe.

However, that aside, this wine is well worth trying.

As you may know, they only make Riserva wines in Tuscany every few years, and you can see why when you try this one.

It changed dramatically in the glass. At first it was soft(ish), you could taste the age, the complexity and the fruit. Then it shut down and became quite tannic, almost rustic, as Sangiovese can often be. After another thirty minutes it opened up again, and kept it's more tannic edge, but that softness and slight hint of age came back on the mid-palate.

It's one of more complex Italian wines I have had recently. The 2007's are of course far too young to be be drunk now, but I have had quite a few recently (they have just been released recently in the case of Brunello, I believe) and from what I can tell, it's a great year, much better than 2006.

This website gives the wine a community score of 90. I'd score it higher, if I did such things. Gorgeous, fruity, aged and complex, with that tannic change, it's a journey in a glass. Buy buy buy.

I had it with medium rare steak and a rocket and parmesan salad at Negozio Classica in Notting Hill.

Neirano Barolo Collezione Marchesini 2007

There's a far better picture of this wine, here, where you can buy it for £19.99 a bottle, which I think is well worth it at that price.

I'd recommend it with the steak at the Cadogan Arms in Chelsea, where it sits quite reasonably on their menu.

Italian Gems: "Grandi Annate" 2006 and Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOC 2008

My friend and very picky food and wine critic Ben Brown (boy is he picky), has some Italian suggestions for readers:

Avignonesi Vino Nobile di Montep. DOCG Ris. "Grandi Annate" 2006

Tasting Notes: Vanilla, lavender and what I can only be described as caramel. Noise is deeply intense with a fabulous tannic structure

Cost: about 50 Euros per bottle.

Begali (Veneto) Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOC 2008

Tasting Notes: Ill come back to this another time, but this was a-m-a-z-i-n-g

Cost: about 45 Euros bottle

So whether they qualify as 'gems' at those prices, is up to you.

Here's where you can buy them.

Rosso del Palazzone Montalcino 05/08 blend is incredible value

I opened my new case of Rosso del Palazzone Montalcino 2005/2008 wines last night.

They are 'baby brunellos'. Produced right next to top Brunello vinyards, but sold at much lower prices, when available via a specialist merchant.

Interestingly, the vineyard is owned by Dick Parsons, former Time Warner CEO.

In an earlier post I said I hoped these would be a delicious bargain, and I may have been right.

My view it it's a superb bargain at £11 or so per bottle.

A huge bold nose, a hint of mustiness on the palate. In the glass it looks like a 15 year old left bank claret, and drinks a little bit like it too.

It's probably a little dryer, with a hint of perfumed smokiness and a finish that just keeps going.

I've only had a couple of small glasses and it will be interesting to see how the wine is today when it's been open for a day. Jancis Robinson says it keeps well.

There's no year on the bottle. I thought I was getting six 2005 wines and six 2008's. I'm now guessing it's a blend of those two years. Having re-read the website, that seems to be the case.

However it's been done, it's a triumph at the price. Go get some, I'd suggest.

Here's where you can buy it.

'05 / '08 Rosso del Palazzone, Montalcino, worth exploring?

Putting in my Christmas orders a little early, I've also just ordered a case of this.

It's a mixed case of Rosso del Palazzone Montalcino 2005 and 2008 wines.

At £11.45 a bottle it looks like a total bargain. I was in Chianti country back in July and loved the Brunello wines I tasted.

An Italian wines expert I was speaking with at Berry Brother's told me the 2002 is a stunner, along with I think 2000 and 2004.

This is an entry level version. Hard to get hold of apparently as production is limited.

According to Jancis Robinson:

"It is pure Sangiovese with a hint of the warmth of this corner of south-eastern Tuscany—much lusher than the average Chianti—but without any excesses of oak or alcohol. The wines, made with oenologist Paolo Vagaggini, are aged in varying sizes of cask. I would happily drink this any time over the next two years and would pat myself on the back for having found such an honest, pleasurable message in a bottle from Tuscany."

At less than £12 it's got to be worth a punt. I shall report back in the next couple of weeks.