Italian Wines
Apulia
Molise
Umbria
Sardinia
Sicily
Unsorted
Apulia
90 Taurino Notarpanaro
The most balanced $13 Italian wine I've ever tasted. Astonishingly
well balanced with a smooth, medium length finish. My only complaint is
subjective in that I'm not sure I agree with the basic flavor of the grapes.
Negro Amaro and Malvasia Nera are the indigenous
suspects. ?now-2002 2/00
90 Patriglione Apulia
Totally delicious. Harmonious. Tannins still a tiny bit backward and heavy but
delicious mouth filling what can only be described as glorious Italian fruit.
$30 (RP: 2005+) 7/05
99 Taurino Notarpanaro
Surprisingly balanced. Solid fruit. Unique flavor. Good.
$18 2/05
Molise
90 Mastrobardino Radici
Very good. Lots
of flavor. Lots of tannin. Good value at $20.
10/96
96 Di Majo
Norante Ramitello
More fruit than you expected for $12. Somewhat OB (out of balance) with
an ordinary finish. Still much better than
similarly-priced key-aunties. (Aglianico/Prugnolo)
7/99
(2) Simple, pleasant, decent fruit. Still say it beats most
$15 Chianti 2/01
Umbria
97 Cantina Monrubio - Palaia (Umbria)
Fruity and fun and not overly tannic.
Let it breath a while and then just guzzle. This is
the kind of fun table wine people (used to) expect from Italy. Reasonably priced at $18. What? Unfortunately, that is
reasonably priced nowadays. This wine is fruity now and will be for another ?5-10 years. 12/99
00 Falesco Montiano
I liked it. Nice balance. Smooth tannins. Nice fruit (how Italians can make
merlot taste like a Sangiovese/cab blend is beyond me but...). Expect it will
drink well from now for maybe a gentle evolution of 5-8 yrs (probably would
keep longer, but I think it will be at it’s best by
then). $38 (worth $36-38) 11/05
03 Falesco Vitiano
“Consistently one of the finest values in the
marketplace, the 2003 Vitiano Rosso (34% Sangiovese, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon,
and 33% Merlot) spent three months in oak casks prior to bottling. Its deep
ruby color is accompanied by aromas of dried roses, strawberries, cherries,
currants, and spice box. With good density, loads of fruit, medium body, and an
elegant, clean finish, it is a character-filled Italian red to consume over the
next 1-2 years.” – RP
Agreed, although
six bottles (over a period of time) and you’ve pretty much had enough for a
year. $10
Sardinia
91 Argiolas Turriga
French oak and merlot qualities jump out at you, although it's actually Cannonau (Grenache), Malvasia Rosso, and Carignano. Medium bodied, dark brown flavor.* Tannins still
dominate a bit so I can't really evaluate it, and you should hold yours another
5 years. Worth $27. [3 GR] 12/99
* Dark brown flavor is the
new way to say “earth, leather, tobacco and tar.”
93 Argiolas Turriga
A little dry but good, odd grape flavor. Sticks. Seems in drinking window now. 12/04
Sicily
97 Regaleali
Good. Very nice, tastes like it should, like a nice $35 California cab, which you can tell was made in Italy (because
it says on the bottle). 2/01
Unsorted
90 Gasparini
Capo de Stato
Good, strong nose of cabernet. Medium body. The
flavor, which is top quality mud, is a bit hidden within the dark, brooding
structure. The finish is dominated by tannins. I wonder if a few more years
might reveal different flavor. I forgot how much it costs, but it's worth
twenty something. Best after 2004. 5/00
90 Gravello Librandi
I opened this and thought, "Oh, god, another dark brown one from a
non-region." But so then I just recorked it and put it aside for 2 days.
Then I had it again. Standard nose. Good mouthfeel.
Tannins really mellowed out over a couple of days. Not a bad finish. Even has a
hint of port-like sweetness, although the overall
flavor is still that non-descript brown flavor. $20 (worth $27) Next day: This
is really heavyweight flavor. If this flavor were Nebbiolo.
I would be going bananas over this wine.
The structure really was smooth – this wine is really a great deal at
$21 3/01
95 Feudi Taurasi
Horrible. Foul tannins. Essentially undrinkable. ?bad bottle?
Will try the other next time and compare. $23 worth (-) $3 [RP 90, now-2004] 9/05
01 Feudi Serpico
Tannins way over-the-top. Middle over-oaked. I’m not even so sure about the basic
grape flavor either for that matter. It will certainly be interesting to see
what happens to this monster over time, but for now, I would hesitate to buy
any more at $60. (worth ?) 11/05
03 Firriato Nero d’Avola
Chiaramonte
“The 2001 Chiaramonte, the house’s
regular Nero d’Avola bottling, provides eminent drinkability with its brambly,
minty, berry and black cherry fruit and lengthy, vigorous flavors. Only a
slight hardness, which may yield with time, keeps the score from going higher.
Drink: 2004-2008.” – Daniel Thomases
I
complete agree (except he’s talking about the ’01) (cost $19, worth $18) 9/06
04 Sportoletti Assisi
“The
Sportoletti family, one of the leaders in Umbria, produces superb wines from their
50-acre vineyard. A superb introduction to the portfolio, the 2004 Assisi Rosso
is a blend of equal parts Sangiovese and Merlot aged in used French oak for six
months. Its dense ruby/purple color is accompanied by a rich bouquet of
raspberries, cherries, earth, and high quality cigar smoke. It possesses a
terrific texture, sweet blackberry, cherry, and
strawberry fruit flavors, good glycerin, a delineated mouthfeel, and a lusty,
heady, complex finish with savory tannin. Drink it over the next 1-3 years. A gorgeous value!” – Robert Parker
I complete agree except I think it could
last 5-6 years. (cost $18, worth $20) 9/06
(2) Had again. Same opinion. Nice balance
for a < $20 Italian. Only thing keeping < $20 is a slight thinness on the
late palate/finish.
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