Priorat - inky and deep

We opened a bottle of 2006 Priorat DOC, The Terraces from Alvaro Palacios, based in Gratallops, Catalan with great anticipation. It was deep, inky and rich on the eye and nose. It had fruit heavy aromas, a lick of oak and a heavy base that has an alcoholic reducted edge. We both tasted it and there was a 'ummmm' hanging in the air, complex dark fruit with a fresh finish, acidity cleaning the mouth and leaving a dead heavy fruit deposited - fresh yet rich. Long lasting and ever changing. This Catalan wine was slightly chunky to start but soon streamlined and became silky and mouth coating.
Scored it at 91, I liked it but at a price of over £22 is it good value........?

Blind Tasting Result - MmmmH..... Not quite right....!

Well - I was quite surprised when I saw what it was - but there again maybe not!

I said Italian / Spanish at a first snifter - and you should always go with your first thoughts ( esp when you find out they were right later.......) !



The wine was a Supertuscan ( actually not so super in this case), and was a mix of 70% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot......
It was ' Piccini Supertuscan 2008 IGT' made by Antonella Conti, who is a good maker. It came from Tesco (and is exclusive to Tesco's I think ) on a special offer at under £5 when I bought it.
A Super tuscan wine is a relatively new concept, and it is a Chianti wine ( made in Tuscany's Chianti wine region ) but uses grapes that have not been allowed within the wine rules of the region, they use  Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and / or Syrah in alot of the cases. The see a more detailed description of the term SperTuscan follow this link. There have been alot of very, very good and expensive SuperTuscan wines that can age for decades, but I am sad to say this was not one of these. It was a watered down version where alot of the fruit was overshadowed by the clumsy oak used in the maturation of this wine - what a shame. When the fruit did show through it was a fresh cherry with a hint of plum, but thin in flavour.

I guessed a right bank Bordeaux - so Merlot dominant - but with Cabernet ( Sauvignon and /or Franc in it as well)..... So nearly there - I think as it often said on my report - 'must try harder' and  'a bit sloppy in the final details'.....How the truth hurts!

A bit about IGT on the label - what does it mean.
The letters IGT mean Indicazione Geografica Tipica and this certification fits producers who were not creating wines within the standard DOC ( Denominazione di Origine Controllata ) and DOCG ( Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita  ) regulations. Many producers who did not agree with the rules that the regulations imposed on them when producing DOC and DOCG wines, chose to make wine their own way ( often involving non-Italian grapes ) and now the IGT designation has become a well respected certification, and it is definitly one I look for when wanting something a little bit special in Italian wines - and I will say a few Italian waiters in Italy are impressed that we drink IGT wines knowing that they may be a bit of a 'find'!
Similar moves have been made by Southern French wine producers, they have moved out of the Vin d'Appellation d'Origine Controlée ( AOC or AC ) regulations and make wine under the Vin de Pays more relaxed rules.

This wine currently retails at about £6 at Tesco's - when in stock. But if you like Italian wines - try Piccini Memoro, it is an interesting wine made in a New World way, grapes from different areas brought together to make a homogenous un-Italian blend ( I feel ) - do try it and email me with what you think.
It is again the same wine maker Antonella Conti, and the blend of grapes is Montepulciano, Nero d'Avola, Primitivo and Merlot, all grown in different Italian regions. It is also non-Vintage cuvee, this means that the grapes have come from different vintages, stored carefully and used when needed. Described as ' 12 months oak casked Montepulciano from Abruzzo, the solar Nero d’Avola from Sicily, the colder climate (Veneto ) merlot and the Primitivo wine from Puglia ( some of this has been made in the passito way ) ' and was produced by Tenuta Piccini to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Italian unification. It has fresh and plush red fruits, ripe and tasty tannins, juicy and delicious - and goes really well with alot of Italian / meat / vegetarian dishes.

Enjoy!!

Tesco's Finest Douro DOC 2010 Portugal

Tesco's Finest Douro DOC 2010 is a wine that we bought after a Tesco wine tasting in London, I had failed to get round to tasting it there, and ordered a case from them because I quite fancied a slurp...... it was only after I ordered that I realised that it had been discounted and then got another discount from the tasting..... so ended up only paying £3.02 a bottle (instead of around £7 per bottle), I will try to stop this clouding my judgement slightly!

Anyway, to get to the wine itself, it is deep ruby and has black glints at the rim which is wide. On the nose it has a jammy black fruit character wrapped in warm spices, not unpleasant but warning that this is a young wine from a hot area I felt. When I tasted it the influence of the jamminess continues on the palate, cherry and blackcurrants in abundance and chunky oak spiciness, the fresh acidity supplys a happy lift to the wine and the alcohol does not feel over warm. The tannins are quite green and chalky, drying on the mouth. Overall I did not find the wine unenjoyable, but it felt a little disjointed, chunky oak, jammy fruit and a slightly hollow mid palate, but at this price - who am I to complain! Maybe it will improve with time - if I let it......
The wine maker is Antonia Barbosa and this is a wine that has won quite a few awards, IWSC and Decanter so go forth and enjoy.

Anselmi 2011 San Vincenzo IGT

We tried a real summery wine last night, a white wine  from Monteforte  in the Veneto region of Italy which is actually the Soave DOC area ( they decided  to leave the Soave DOC  but have gone IGT registered instead ) it was a blend of 70% Garganega, 30% Chardonnay and Trebbiano ( or Sauvignon Blanc its close cousin). The vines are grown near the top of a hill on volcanic / tuff ground, picked at the end of September / start of October. Destemmed, cold maceration, pneumatic pressing followed by fermentation at 16C in stainless steel and then bottled 3 months before sale. Roberto Anselmi, the maker/grower, is regarded as one of the leading white wine makers in Italy. He uses high density planted vines, trained carefully, uses green harvesting to produce the best fruit to make his wines from.

I bought it from a shop in Birmingham called Loki when I was shopping with a friend.

The wine, Anselmi 2011 San Vincenzo IGT, a golden straw yellow, had apple, floral notes with a tropical edge ( kiwi, melon...), on tasting it the crisp acidity balanced the fairly full body with the well integrated alcohol. Flavours of apricot, green apple with a hint of asparagus were followed by a long cirtic finish and a slight toasty edge with a touch of minerality. This is a wine that pairs well with alot of fish, chicken, vegetarian foods and is a lovely wine with pasta which is what we had with it - delish.