Category Archives: Tasting Notes

Italy

Terredavino Erbaluce di Caluso DOCG, Piedmont, Italy

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Erbaluce di Caluso Terredavino

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grape variety: Erbaluce

Alcohol: 12.0 % vol.

Serving temperature: 8° – 10° C

Erbaluce di Caluso is a white grape that flourishes in an area north of the province of Turin. Loose, mineral-rich, morainal soils abound around the magnificent Lago di Viverone. Vines are traditionally trained here to the half-pergola, open on the south side, and they show luxuriant foliage and vigorous growth.

A 16-18°C cultured-yeast fermentation lasts some 10 days, and yields a wine that honours the erbaluce di Caluso grape: the light (luce) of the sun is reflected in its appearance, while the classic varietal touch of grassiness (erba) is evident on the palate.

Description

Colour: Straw yellow with greenish highlights

Bouquet: Appealing and crisply herbaceous, showing rich scents of wildflowers and hay

Palate: Dry, harmonious, marked by citrus fruit and a subtle mineral quality

 

Italy

Vietti “Tre Vigne” Dolcetto D’Alba DOC, Piedmont, Italy

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Vietti Dolcetto D'Alba

Grapes: 100% Dolcetto d’Alba.

Winemaking: the grapes are selected from vineyards located in Langhe region with an average of 4500 plants per hectare, with a production of 50 hl/ha. Soil is limestone-clay.

The wine is fermented in stainless steel to preserve Dolcetto’s black cherry, raspberry and blueberry fruit aromas. Malolactic in steel vats.

Aging: Stainless steel.

Description: Purple red colour, the Dolcetto has black cherry, raspberry and hint of blueberries aromas. An unoaked wine, this medium bodied red has soft tannins, moderate acidity and good balance.

Food Pairings: Grilled vegetables and casual dishes such as pizza, deli sandwiches and light pasta dishes.

Italy

Giulio Cocchi Brachetto d’Acqui DOCG, Piedmont, Italy

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Cocchi Brachetto d'Acqui

The most distinctive of sweet sparkling wines, Brachetto d’Acqui has had a steady presence in the Piedmontese wine history.

Giulio Cocchi presents this wine made of grapes from the typical DOCG zone, labeling it with the original liberty style poster dated 1932.

GRAPE VARIETY

100% Brachetto d’Acqui

VINIFICATION AND SPARKLING WINE MAKING

Bunches of grapes are harvested by hand and immediately pressed to obtain a very sweet and cherry red must, which will then ferment in autoclave. Thanks to this technique, the aromatic qualities of the grape pass to the wine, releasing its intense scent of rose and raspberry.

TASTING NOTES

Cherry red with light notes and a joyful foam; vibrant, fresh and stylish bouquet with an intense scent of rose; gentle, slightly tannic to balance the sweet aroma and grant a pleasant persistence.

It is the perfect party wine that goes naturally well with fresh fruits, pastries or elaborate desserts.

A young wine to be served chilled; ideal for bars and patisseries, it can be best presented in cup-shaped glasses with a garnish of wild berries.

Italy

Boeri Barbera D’Asti DOCG, Piedmont, Italy

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Boeri Barbera d'Asti DOCG

Vineyard

Bricco Quaglia in the hills in Bionzo, a small hamlet of Costigliole d’Asti.

Grape variety

Barbera 100%

Vine age

8 – 10 years

Soil

calcareous base, mixed clay

Aging

In stainless steel vessels at controlled temperature for 8 to 9 months

Tasting notes:

Color

intense ruby red, tends to acquire brownish hues with aging

Bouquet

intense bouquet when young, with pronounced spicy notes

Palate

Pronounced cherry and plum, with aging acquires notes of rich marmalades; a full and harmonious wine.

Alcohol content

13°

Serve at

16-18° C

Aging potential

3 – 5

 

Italy

2012 Barbaresco Rabaja DOCG, Cascina Luisin, Piedmont

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Cascina Luisin Barbarsco bottle shot

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Estate: One of the oldest, and finest, Barbaresco estates, Cascina Luisin is located close to the village itself, overlooking its prime vineyard of Rabajà. Roberto is gradually filling the shoes of his father, Luigi Minuto. There has been a renovation of the large oak botti, with Austrian Stockinger oak, along with a new family reserves cellar for all those magnificent old bottles. Alongside the structured Rabajà, this year we are also offering the second release of their old-vine Asili.

Full Bodied, Dry | 14.0 % alcohol

Tasting Notes: Roberto’s Rabajà recalls the damp and then hot vintage, while expressing its prime, “front row”, west-facing, deep, grey, marne-clay soils perfectly. A darker, almost ruby red, it’s very, cooly composed, noble even, on the nose, with dried roses, black truffle and clove notes. Broad, emphatic and square-shouldered with lots of juicy flesh on those heavy bones, ensuring Rabajà’s well covered for the years to come as it ages in bottle.

Italy

Banfi Sciandor Moscato D’Asti, Piedmont, Italy

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Banfi Sciandor Moscato d'Asti

Castello Banfi owns an historic 45 hectare estate in Strevi – Piedmont, named Banfi Piemonte.

Its vineyards are located between the towns of Novi Ligure and Acqui Terme, in an area passionately dedicated to producing the renowned traditional wines of Piedmont. The winery, established in Strevi in 1860, was purchased by Banfi in the late 1970s to complete its Piedmont estate.

The Banfi Piemonte portfolio boasts a wide range of products which includes unique sparkling wines, whites, and reds, all of them bearing the prestigious appellations of Piedmont.

Grapes grown in Strevi’s hilltop vineyards, traditionally dedicated to the production of Moscato grapes

GRAPE VARIETIES

Moscato 100%

PRODUCTION TECHNIQUE

The selected grapes are gently pressed. The must is then filtered and fermented in stainless steel tanks at controlled temperatures between 17-18° C until an alcohol content of 4,5% is reached.

DESCRIPTION

Colour: golden pale straw.

Bouquet: varietal aromas, delicate with hints of peach blossom and ripe fruit.

Taste: soft, well-rounded, reminiscent of honey, with subtle hints of raisins on the finish.

WINEMAKER’S NOTES

Soft and lively, Sciandor, our Tappo Raso wine, is made from ripe grapes grown in Strevi, the area more dedicated to the Moscato grape than any other region. This wine expresses, at their best, all the typical sweet and aromatic characteristics of this varietal.

Italy

Pio Cesare Gavi DOCG, Piedmont, Italy

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Pio Cesare Gavi

GRAPE VARIETY:

CORTESE 100%

VINEYARDS:

Sourced exclusively from hillside vineyards, in very select locations of the Gavi area, from families who have been producing grapes for Pio Cesare for generations.

VINIFICATION:

Fermentation at low temperature in stainless steel tanks.

AGEING:

In stainless steel tanks with extensive lees contact.

NOTES:

Fresh, clean and spicy aromas. Salty, with ripe fruit and rich, complex flavor. Great ageing potential.

Italy

La Spinetta Barolo Campè, Barolo DOCG, Piedmont, Italy

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La Spinetta Campe Barolo

Denomination – Barolo

Grape variety – 100% nebbiolo

Alcohol content – 14.5% ABV

Awards – 97 pts James Suckling, 94 pts Vinous

Vineyard – Campe vineyard with calcareous soil and vines 52-58 years old

Winemaking – alcoholic fermentation for 7-8 days in temperature-controlled rotofermenters; malolactic fermentation in oak, aged for 24 months in new, medium toast French oak barrels, followed by 9 months in stainless steel vats and 12 months in the bottle.

Unfiltered and unclarified

Tasting notes – Intense, vibrant ruby red with aromas of rose petal, raspberry, mint, and sweet tobacco. Beams of tannin give the wine much of its shape and overall energy, but it is the translucence of the fruit that is the most unique signature. Can age for 25-30 years.

France

Château La Mission Haut-Brion 2011, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux – France

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Château La Mission Haut-Brion 2011, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux – France

About– In 1682, the Lazarist Fathers, a community founded by Saint Vincent de Paul, received the estate as a legacy from Madame Olive de Lestonnac. The monks worked hard for over a century to restore the estate to its former glory. Subsequent owners – a series of illustrious families – followed their example, up to and including the purchase by Domaine Clarence Dillon in1983. The owner of La Mission also own Château Haut-Brion which is a First Growth.

Blend/Grape Varietal– 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc.

Tasting Notes– The 2011 is a big, sexy, smoky, classic La Mission displaying lots of road tar, graphite, barbecue, meats, mulberry, black currant and blueberry notes. It is full-bodied with sweet tannin as well as an expansive, fleshy style.

France

Château Bernadotte 2011 Haut Medoc, Bordeaux – France

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Château Bernadotte 2011 Haut Medoc, Bordeaux – France

About– Château Bernadotte in Saint Sauveur, close to Pauillac and just beyond Saint- Estèphe, is a 30-hectare vineyard owned at this time by Château Pichon-Lalande, which is in turn owned by Louis Roederer Champagne who acquired both in 2007. The château was built in 1860 and named after Maréchal Bernadotte, then restored in 1989 by its previous Swedish owners.

Blend/Grape Varietal– 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot.

Tasting Notes– The wine reveals a supple and ample attack. The palate offers a lush fruit as well as much silk, followed by an important tannic richness.