Wine Each Week – Drusian Valdobbiadene Prosecco

In the late 1860s, Italy had just made its first sparkling wine. Unlike Champagne from France, Prosecco from Italy is usually is produced using an alternative method whereby the secondary fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks not inside individual bottles. This makes the wine less expensive to produce and it can be produced in greater volume.

Drusian is no stranger to Prosecco and this iteration (Superiore DOGC Brut to be precise) is made from traditional 100% Glera and grown on clay and limestone soils offering slightly tart citrus notes, baked sourdough bread, lime, and delicate carbonation. It scrubs the palate clean, offers a bright acidity and is poised to work with any number of diverse foods from light to heavy pasta/risotto dishes to fish, even veal. At this price and of this quality, this is an admirable wine.

ORIGIN: Valdobbiadene, Italy

ALCOHOL: 11%

PRICE: $16/ 750ML

SCORE: 90 POINTS

Wine Each Week – 2015 Marco Felluga, Collio Bianco Molamatta

Italy is a wine playground - there are more indigenous grapes here than any place else, grapes you’ve never heard of. And that’s a good thing.

For Marco Felluga, his family has been making wines since the mid 1850s, and these days the winery’s portfolio is strong, especially among their white wines, what the region of Friuili is best known for.

Comprised of 40% Pinot Bianco, 40% Tocai Friulano, and 20% Ribolla Gialla, this wine fully expresses its region. The Pinot Bianco was fermented and lightly aged in smaller oak barrels, while the other two grapes saw no oak and were fermented in stainless steel tanks. This allows not only the retention of the crisp acidity, but a textural component from the wood. There are subtle notes of lemon verbena, guava, white peach and mango. The sea is only 12 miles away so the vineyards site naturally gets cooling influences, aiding the acidity and adding complexity. If you’re in Venice, the region is less than a two-hour drive away.

ORIGIN: Collio, Italy

ALCOHOL: 13.5%

PRICE: $26/ 750ML

SCORE: 90 POINTS

Marco Felluga

Wine Each Week: 2014 Ruffino Riserva Ducale Oro Chianti Classico

Ruffino’s wines had such a reputation that the Duke of Aosta, (that’s him on the label) made Ruffino the official wine of his royal family. 

The 2014 Ruffino Riserva Ducale Oro Chianti Classico Riserva Gran Selezione, first produced in 1947, is mainly Sangiovese (85%), with Merlot and Colorino fermented as separate lots then blended together. The wine was aged for one year in traditional large, neutral oak Slovenian casks. After a year, the wine was transferred into small barrels for another 12 months of aging. Neutral oak allows the blend to fully integrate and develop a more elegant and complex flavor profile without being altered. The wine then spends four months in bottle to allow it to settle before release.

This offers earthy blackberry, huckleberry and boysenberry notes, cherry, rhubarb, violet, cherry, and plum, a light sweet vanilla that hugs the edges but allows the fruit to shine through. The oak treatment is limited and the tannins are mild to medium. This is a rounded expression than past years and is exactly what you want from a Chianti - structure, balance, food friendly and simply fun to drink.

ORIGIN:

ALCOHOL: 14.5%

PRICE: $40.99/ 750ML

SCORE: 91 POINTS

RUFFINO

Flipping You The Bird: Improper Wines For Thanksgiving

There is this weirdly compulsive thing these days to pair wine with your food, as if searching for and experiencing the “perfect pairing” is tantamount to Indian Jones discovering the Covenant of the Ark. Yes, I admit I’ve written about that too (uh, the pairings, not the Ark), and certainly wine and food are crucially important – not to mention I’ve reviewed restaurants professionally for a decade. The point being…drink whatever the hell you want with whatever the hell you want to eat. No more elusive pairings and “ideal” wine for turkey day. Having said that…I would like to see these wines on your table.

2014 IL Tascante

Soft and quiet, this is not a loud wine; it’s understated and you’ve probably never had this grape before – Nerello Mascalase. Grown on volcanic soils on the north-east slope of the volcano Mt. Etna in Sicily, there is an earthiness, a mineral note, a chalkiness with this wine. There is muted raspberry, cranberry, and rhubarb with back notes of Bing cherry. Though aged in Slovenian oak barrels for 18 months, you hardly notice any oak at all, more a testament of the lithe but structured fruit. And it is this subtleness that makes this wine so compelling. Well, that and the fact the family has been doing the wine thing for two centuries. ($50)

2015 Sonoma-Loeb Pinot Noir Dutton Ranch

Out of the Russian River Valley the good folks at Sonoma-Loeb turn out a lot of great wine and this Pinot, from a well-established vineyard is part of a great lineage. All Pinot all the time this make-up of clones 667, 777 and 115 was fermented using native yeast and aged for just 11 months in French oak. 11 months is correct because you don’t want this beautiful fruit to get lost in some kind of cedar box. Black cherry, red currant, candied cranberry, star anise, cola and soft baking spices round out this rich, but pure iteration of Pinot. Great acidity and mild tannins make this work with damn near whatever you put on the table, or, better yet, get some cheese and have at it. ($40)

2016 Ritual Chardonnay

Chardonnay, again, really? Yes, really. This bright crisp Chardonnay from Chile is expressive, young, and fresh with a tanginess and food-worthy acidity. You’ll easily pick up on the lemon curd, kiwi, gooseberry, lime kefir, and green apple notes, and more subtly the hazelnut, mango and quince. The fruit hails from the Casablanca Valley, just 18 miles from the coast, and is whole cluster fermented in concrete eggs (which helps immensely with viscosity) and then gets a wee bit of oak time, so you’re left with a robust white wine that plays well with others. ($21.99)

2016 Steele Viognier

Viognier, the odd named grape most people mispronounce, is one of those, cool-if-it’s-done-right wines. And Jed Steele does it right. All the way from Lake County, this offers lychee, honeysuckle, Meyer lemon, lime curd and sugared almond. A beautiful viscosity and silkiness makes the floral components of this wine that much more provocative. It’s fermented in stainless steel so it retains a bright buoyancy but is not too heavy and flowery. A mere four month of oak time allows this wine to achieve a balance of fruit, acidity and wood. ($19)

The 300 - Chianti Classico

Chianti Classico celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2016.  To celebrate I tasted two of Ruffino’s both wines are named for the Duke of Aosta, (that’s him on the labels) who made Ruffino the official wine of the royal family after journeying across the Alps just to try them. Now that’s dedication. Like any defined wine region Chianti has many strict rules that govern the wine from there, such as Chianti Classico where wines must be aged for at least a year, be a minimum of 80% Sangiovese, have a maximum yield of 7.5 tons/hectare (just under 2.5 acres), so you’re yields are about three tons per acre, right in the middle of that sweet spot. Italian wine can be a little confusing, but know this - Chianti on a label is different than Chianti Classico. My focus here is classic Chianti.

The Riserva Ducale Chianti Classico Riserva ($24.99), first produced in 1927 is 80% Sangiovese, 20% Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Fermentation, aided by racking and punch downs, took place in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats for 10 days, followed by another 10 days of maceration on the skins. The wine underwent secondary malolactic fermentation to enhance its texture, then was aged for 24 months in oak, stainless steel, and concrete vats. The Riserva Ducale spent an additional three months in bottle before release. So what’s in the bottle? There’s soft mild fruit, cherry, raspberry, rhubarb with savory tobacco, white pepper, and herbaceous underpinnings. The limited oak does not over power yet helps make this more round in the mouth, filling all the edges.

The 2011 Ruffino Riserva Ducale Oro Chianti Classico Riserva Gran Selezione ($40.99) was first made in 1947 is 80% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot fermented as separate lots. The wine was aged for about one year in traditional large, neutral oak Slovenian casks. After a year, the wine was transferred into small barriques for another 12 months. Neutral oak allowed the blend to fully integrate and develop a more elegant and complex flavor profile without being altered. The wine then spent four months in bottle to allow it to settle before release. With the Oro you’re immediately hit with classic Sangiovese, cherry, rhubarb, violet, cherry, and plum. There’s a light sweet vanilla that hugs the edges but allows the fruit to shine through.

When the Moon Hits Your Eye – The Ultimate Guide to Italian Wine

People think I'm Italian. I'm not. I’m something of a global mutt, but I do like to drink and write about Italian wines, and as a wine buyer, I’ve always had some cool Italian wines in my wine departments. For many people Italian wine is a confusing, convoluted subject. Just like France there are a myriad number of rules that govern what wines can be made with which grapes and what percentages, not to mention that some of the names are long, laborious, tongue twisters. Good for us that Dr. Wine has come out with yet another volume, the most comprehensive, about Italian wines. The Ultimate Guide to Italian Wines 2017, authored Daniele Cernilli, AKA Dr. Wine, breaks it all down. I recently had lunch with the Good Doctor in Santa Barbara, tasting through several Italian wines he was showcasing, and I can tell you firsthand, Doc knows his stuff. As a brief side note the eight wines he brought were terrific and I found two of them the 2016 Torre Rosazza Pinot Grigio, and the 2012 Velenosi Roggio del Filare (a blend of 70% Montepulciano and 30% Sangiovese) to both be exceptional.

Dr. Wine

The book is broken down by region, starting with Abruzzo and ending with Veneto. He discusses each region and gives specific detailed info on them, then lists the wineries as well as their best known wines, all rated by points, price and an overall star rating of the winery a, “historical evaluation based on the reliability and prestige of the winery.” As comprehensive as the book is, it is all text; you’re not getting pretty pictures and maps, sidebars of places to eat or anything else. You’re getting Italian wine. This also allows this tome to be so inexpensive for its size (over 500 pages). Every wine lover needs to know and understand the great wine regions of the world. Sure, this won’t make you an expert, but it will give clarity to Italy’s many growing regions and, better still, if you’re traveling in those regions, this will hone your visits to some of the best wineries they offer.

The Ultimate Guide to Italian Wine 2017
Published by MD Communications, Rome
581 pages/$20

Italian and English Versions

Locations, Locations, Locations…Wine

Wine is a global affair, yet most wine production facilities/wineries, only make wine from one place – where they are located. Some have a few vineyards in say France and California, or something like that, (Paul Hobbs for example has vineyards in California and Argentina) but few wineries offer wines made by them from places across the globe in a single portfolio. Yes, it’s been done before, but with little success. But Locations Wine is finally getting it right.

Just after the 2010 harvest, Dave Phinney was at the Charles de Gaulle airport, lamenting how existing wine regulations were limiting his ability to make the kind of wine he wanted. He joked about possibilities, imagining what he could do if there were no rules. What if you could blend across French appellations? What if there were no rules. Standing at the airport a taxi pulled curbside and he noticed the very distinctive “F” sticker on the license plate. His mind exploded with thought and possibility. What if he could take this idea and do this not only in France, but also in Italy, Spain, and Portugal? Since great wine is made all over the world, what if you could produce a range of wines across all of the major wine regions of the world paying homage to each country? Enter Locations, with wines from California, France, Portugal, Texas, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Oregon, and Washington. Pretty impressive. I sampled through three of the wines – line priced at $19.99 - the Portuguese being my favorite of the three, though terrific quality with all of them.

The Italian, a blend of Negromaro and Nero d’ Avola offers black berry, brambleberry, pomegranate and cedar, bing cherry.

The Portugal blend of Touriga Nacional, Trincaderia, and Touriga Franca is full of black cherry, black berry, rhubarb, cassis, boysenberry and is earthy and vibrant.

The French Rosé, all Grenache, is strawberry, hibiscus, rose water and violets with a bold acidity, and that mineral/earthy quality that Grenache offers. Locations Wines is a capital idea that lets you travel the Big World of Wine.

Piemonte, Pecchenino & 90 Points

Italy. Dolcetto. Kinda makes a lot of sense. As a counterpoint to far too many high energy, robust red wines from California with aggressive fruit and high alcohol, may I present the subdued San Luigi Dolcetto from Pecchenino, a fourth generation wine family in the Piemonte region. Wine is meant to be consumed with food and the breadth of this wine was on display when I used it with a habanero bbq pork and Swiss fondue. Ah yes, a food wine - that’s a novel concept thee days. Yes this Dolcetto has minimal oak aging but it offers subdued black cherry, blueberry a slight raisin/prune note, rhubarb compote, lanolin, resin and cedar – frankly a bevy of layered flavors designed to work with your meal, whatever that might be. The tannins are soft, yet firm, there is a slight acidity and all this adds up to be a terrific value.

ORIGIN: Dogliani, Piemonte, Italy

PRICE: $22/ 750ML

ALCOHOL: 13%

BOOZEHOUNDZ SCORE:  90 POINTS

If it’s Tuesday it Must be Tuscany: The Wines of Frescobaldi

Frescobaldi is a wine name nearly synonymous with Italy and Sangiovese. The history of the Frescobaldi family begins around the year 1,000, during Medieval Florence times. The Frescobaldi’s quickly became a family of wealth and power (unlike my clan). Perhaps most notably Dino Frescobaldi played an important role when he rescued his poet-friend from exile, a guy named Dante Alighieri, who wrote a little piece called the Divine Comedy. Not to be outdone Gerolamo Frescobaldi was an early composer of Baroque music. The family started wine production at the beginning of the year 1,300, and Frescobaldi wines became so well known that they were served at the Papal Court, and the Court of Henry the Eighth. It’s not known if any of his eight wives ever got to try a Frescobaldi wine, but we’re pretty sure, if they had, they would have liked them. Currently Frescobaldi owns five estate sites throughout Italy and chances are you’d had one of their wines. A recent tasting of several of their wines shows why they dominate. The Montesodi 2011 ($30) is all Sangiovese, soft and mild with black cherry and cedar and a medium finish. The Nipozzano Vecchie Viti 2011 ($33) is 90% Sangiovese and the other 10% made up of Malvasia, Nera, Colorino and Canaiolo, resulting in a smooth, bright fruit wine with a nice touch of acidity. The Castelgiocondo Brunello 2008 is 100% Sangiovese and has a nose of earth, mint, and eucalyptus with palate flavors of restrained bright red fruits. What’s impressive is that the quality of their wine has held the course of time, and that’s one for the ages. FRESOBALDI

And check out my Q&A from INTOWINE.COM I did with Leonardo Frescobaldi for more in depth info on their thoughts of wine, consumerism and ratings.

Saint Margaret's Juice

The best Pinot Grigios from Italy give off a vibrant acidity, which is why they work so well with food. Pinot Grigio is typically an inexpensive wine, rarely oaked (frankly any oak defeats the point), therefore it pairs well with other foods - cream sauces, grilled fish, even pork. Santa Margherita is the best selling Italian Pinot Grigio in the U.S. and sells 75,000 cases, just under a million bottles, mass produced and delivered to your local grocery store. Sure, other places in the U.S. make it, most notably in California where the “Cal-Ital” varieties (I hate that phrase) do pretty well. The 2010 Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio isn’t a departure from the 2009, or any year for that matter since they aim for a consistent, successive line of palette-numbing identical wines year after year (true farming doesn’t allow this but that’s another story). So is this worth dropping a Jackson on it? Well, it doesn’t do much for a hand crafted true Pinot Grigio which excels at mild citrus and mineral flavors, acidity and a beautiful simplicity. This wine lacks the true expressive nature of what the variety should be, so do not confuse this wine with actual Pinot Grigio. There’s a weird metallic note in the back of this and frankly it doesn’t taste like much. It’s not a bad wine mind you, it’s just not Pinot Grigio.

$19.99/750 ML – 12.5% Alc.

BOOZEHOUNDZ RATING:  79 POINTS