We tasted last night (11/18/15) More New Italian Wines:
1. Unti Verdicchio DryCreekVlly (12.6%; 70 cs; TA: 0.53, pH: 3.90; Aged: concrete eggs; 76 cs) 2014: Light gold
color; pleasant stony/mineral light floral/lavendar perfumed/attractive nose; bit soft slight tangy rather
stony/mineral/chalky very light floral/lavendar pretty flavor; med.long pleasant chalky/stony slight floral
finish; a pleasant enough white but just that. $24.00
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2. LaGinestraia Pigato DOC: RivieraLigure di Ponente (13.5%; www.TanaroRiverImports.com) Cervo 2014: Light gold
color; lovely perfumed bright/floral/toilet bowl cleaner/perfumed talc almost R-like beautiful nose; very tart
crisp/bright/vibrant/spicy floral/apple blossom/toilet bowl cleaner somewhat saline/mineral very aromatic flavor;
very long tart/crisp very bright/floral/apple blossom some mineral/saline finish; this wine has a laser-sharp
floral character that makes it the best Pigato I've yet had; stupid/silly price. $20.00 (WEx)
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3. Ronco delle Betulle Bianco DOC: FriuliColliOrientali (13%; VillaOleis; www.roncodellebetulle.It; 70% Fruilano/
25% Pinot Bianco/5% Ribolla Gialla ) Adami Ivana/Manzano 2012
: Light gold color; quite fragrant/perfumed
floral/apple blossom/cherry blossom slight mango/pineapple/ripe bit valve oil very attractive nose; lightly tart
slight mineral/tangy fragrant floral/apple blossom/mango/pineapple lovely Friulano flavor; very long bright/
fragrant floral/cherry blossom fairly tart slight mineral/valve oil finish; a lovely Bianco at a terrific
price. $20.00 (BWM)
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4. Schiopetto Blanc des Rosis IGT: Bianco VeneziaGiulia (14% www.Schiopetto.It; Tocai Friulano/Pinot Grigio/
Malvasia/Sauvignon/Ribolla Gialla) Capriva del Friuli 2006
: Med.gold color; bit earthy/nutty light honeyed/figgy/
ripe lemony/pineapple bit pungent very interesting bit complex nose; softer bit nutty/piney/pungent somewhat
figgy/pineapple/ripe/mango/honeyed complex flavor; very long bit piney/pungent/honeyed/mead/graham cracker
pineapple/ripe/mango rather complex finish; showing some complexity w/ age but doing quite well; quite an
interesting wine on the riper side. $20.00 (Gom)
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5. Ronchi di Cialla Friulano DOC: FriuliColliOrientali (12.50%; www.RonchiDiCialla.com; SoilAirSlctns)
Cialla/Prepotto 2013
: Light gold color; very slight phenolic/resiny/skin-contact some herbal very perfumed
floral/mango/spicycarnations beautiful nose; fairly tart very floral/perfumed/mango/pineapple slight herbal
slight phenolic/skin-contact beautiful/perfumed bright/zippy flavor; very long/lingering strong floral/mango/
pineapple/carnations/pears slight phenolic/skin-contact very perfumed finish w/ no evident tannins; a very
perfumed example of Friuliano and one of the best Friulianos I can recall; beautiful wine at a great price.
$20.00 (WEx)
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6. Ronchi di Cialla CiallaBianco DOC: ColliOrientali del Friuli Sottozona Cialla (13.5%; #4881 of 5610;
60% Ribolla Gialla/30% Verduzzo/10% Picolit) 2011
: Med.dark gold/burnished bronze color; strong phenolic/resiny/
cidery/skin-contact quite honeyed/orangey/figgy/ripe/appley/graham cracker complex very perfumed nose; bit
tart rather phenolic/resiny/slight cidery/graham cracker very perfumed/honeyed/orangey/ripe figs complex flavor
w/ very light tannic bite; very long/lingering strong phenolic/resiny/skin-contact/cidery very perfumed honey/
graham cracker/ripe figs/pear/apple/orangey complex finish w/ little tannins; a beautiful complex skin-contact
white at a very fair price. $35.00 (WEx)
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7. tercic RibollaGialla DOC: Collio (13%; www.GranFondoWine.com; Selezione di JeffMorgenthal; TelentenyImports/NYC;
www.tercic.com) Tercic Matijaz/SanFloriana/Collio 2013
: Light gold color; stony floral/perfumed/spicy bit
peppery/RG slight valve oil almost R-like/aromatic lovely RG nose; fairly tart rich/lush quite floral/carnations
light peppery/RG/spicy slight stony/mineral quite perfumed lovely flavor; very long bit spicy/peppery/RG very
floral/carnations bit mineral finish; a beautiful perfumed/peppery RG at a great price. $23.00 (WEx)
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8. CantineBuglioni IlDesperato IGT: Bianco delle Venezie (12.5%; 100% Garganega; www.WilsonDaniels.com; Lotto 113)
S.Pietro in Cariano/Verona 2012
: Light gold color; rather earthy/loamy slight grapey/overripe somewhat coarse/
Sardinia-like bit piney/terpentine slight floral nose; soft/fat bit mushy rather grapey/simple/coarse/earthy
flavor; med.short soft/fat/overripe simple/coarse/earthy/grapey finish; lots of ripeness but rather coarse
and lacking in either structure or interest; pretty dull white. $20.00 (AV)
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9. Unti Montepulciano DryCreekVlly (14.6%; Aged: 35% new Fr.oak for 13 mo; TA: 0.60, pH: 3.65; 425 cs) 2012: Dark
color; very strong toasty/vanilla/oak some earthy/plummy/blackberry bit dusty/loamy very interesting nose; soft
strong plummy/blackberry/bit licorice/raspberry strong vanilla/oak somewhat earthy/loamy bit rustic flavor w/
light smooth tannins; very long strong vanilla/oak rather blackberry/plummy/raspberry/bit licorice/pungent
slight rustic/earthy/loamy finish w/ modest smooth/round tannins; shows some of the brightness of DCV fruit
alongside the rustic/sauvage character of Montepulciano; quite an interesting red that could use a few yrs
of age. $35.00
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10. Unti Segromigno DryCreekVlly (14.6%; 76% Sangiovese/24% Montepulciano; TA: 0.62, pH: 3.60; Aged: 13 mo. in
620 gal Fr.foudres; 1145 cs) 2012
: Med.color; light vanilla/oak strong bright/Sangio/cherry/raspberry/DCV spicy
light earthy nose; slightly tart bright/cherry/Sangio/raspberry/very spicy light earthy light vanilla/oak
flavor w/ light lean/wiry tannins; very long strong bright cherry/Sangio/black cherry/raspberry/quite spicy
light earthy/loamy/dusty light vanilla/oak finish w light lean tannins; the DCV terroir give this a bright/
zippy character that works well w/ the cherry fruit of Sangio w/ the Montepulciano lending a bit of a
rustic character; quite a nicely done Calif Sangio. $28.00
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11. InstitutAgricoleRegional Cornalin DOC: Vallee d'Aoste (13%; www.Iaraosta.It; A.I.Slctns) 2013: Med.color;
some earthy/dusty very strongly cracked black pepper/spicy strong blackberry/black cherry cola rather complex
beautiful nose; bit soft/muddled/dishwater plummy/black cherry cola somewhat earthy/loamy/dusty slight black
pepper flavor w/ light tannins; med.long rather earthy/loamy/dusty light plummy/black cherry cola slight
black pepper finish w/ light/soft tannins; lacking in structure & impact; a beautiful nose but fails badly
on the palate. $23.00 (WEx)
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12. Casata Monfort DOC: TeroldegoRotaliano (13%; TricanaImprts; www.cantinemonfort.it) Lavis 2013: Dark color;
very strong black cherry/black cherry cola/licorice classic Teroldego light earthy bit complex lovely nose;
bit tart very strong black cherry cola/blackberry/spicy/bit licorice/pungent light earthy/stony flavor w/
light/smooth tannins; very long slight earthy/mineral strong black cherry cola/blackberry/plummy/licorice
somewhat complex finish w/ light/gentle/graceful tannins; a terrific expression of Teroldego at a great
price. $19.00 (WEx)
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13. Ryme Aglianico LunaMattaVnyd/PasoRobles (15.8%) 2008: Very dark color; strong earthy/dusty very strong
plummy/blackberry/boysenberry some minty/eucalyptus rather toasty/oak complex nose; bit soft very strong
boysenberry/plummy/blackberry/licorice/ripe some minty/eucalyptus light earthy/rustic/loamy flavor w/ light/
rough tannins; very long/lingering intense plummy/boysenberry/blackberry/licorice/RCCola some minty/eucalyptus
bit earthy/rustic/loamy finish w/ some rough tannins; not developing at a very fast pace; shows some the rustic
side of Anglianico and lots of ripeness w/ straying into the overripe/jammy side of some Paso reds; quite a
good expression of Calif Anglianico.
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14. Idlewild Barbera FoxHillVnyd/MendoCnty (14.6%) 2014: Very dark color; strong toasty/smokey/oak very spicy/
Barbera/Italian sausage/fennel bit blackberry/blueberry light earthy/dusty/peppery very interesting/attractive
nose; bit tart/lean/rough very strong Barbera/spicy/Italian sausage bit earthy/dusty some smokey/oak flavor
w/ modest tannins; very long somewhat tart/hard/lean strong spicy Italian sausage/Barbera bit blueberry/
blackberry finish w/ some hard tannins; speaks strongly of Barbera and quite an interesting wine; needs
several yrs. $39.25
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Stuff from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Pigato: This is, of course, the name they use in Liguira for Vermentino. Known as Favorita in the Piemonte.
Vermentino is grown in Sardinia, where it makes rather coarse/clumsy wines and Tuscany, where it makes
dreadfully dull wines. It makes some very attractive wines in Calif, particularly TablasCreek and Ryme.
But this Ligurian rendition was probably the best rendition of Vermentino I can recall.
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2. Ronchi di Cialla: I've had a few of the RdC wines in the past and liked them quite a lot. Our visit there
last month w/ Ivan Rupuzzi and his mom, Dina, made a real believer out of me. Definitely one of my top-most
producers of wines in Friuli. Father Paolo was the one responsible for rescuing Schioppettino from oblivion.
RdC specializes in working w/ native/indigenous Friulian varieties. They are one of the few wineries
working much w/ Picolit and, particularly, Verduzzzo..a variety that doesn't get a whole lot of respect.
These two whites were equally impressive. I was struck by the incredible perfume both of the wines displayed.
The CiallaBianco showed definite signs of skin-contact in its making, but the RdC WebSite makes no mention of it.
It had a definite phenolic character, but not one that dominated the fruit. And not oxidized like many of
the orange wines. It's one I plan to take to RibollaFest next Summer.
Anyway...a winery worth checking out. Wish they were more available.
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3. Tercic: This was a producer I'd not heard of before. Given his Slovene name, I was expecting this to be a
skin-contact RG. It was not. I was mightly impressed by this wine because of its aromatics & structure.
They specialize mostly in whites, with only a few reds. We were staying in Mossa last month & I recall seeing
a sign pointing to this wnry. Wisht I'd have taken the time to stop in for a visit. This is clearly a top-rate
wine producer making very good wines at very attractive prices.
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4. Buglioni: Garganega is the grape that is used to make so many nameless/faceless Soaves in the Veneto. Being as
it was a Wilson-Daniels Import, I was expecting a lot more from this wine. It didn't deliver that.
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5. Cornalin: Also known as Cornalin d'Aoste. A viriety that probably originated in the Swiss Valais, where it is
known as HumagneRouge. When I first smelled this wine, I got my hopes up very high. But, alas, it failed
miserably on the palate to deliver what the nose promised.
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6. CantineMonfort: This was a new producer for me. I am a huge fan of Teroldego and try every one I see. This
one very much impressed me. They make a large range of wines from a variety of regions in the Trentino Plain.
I wish to find more of their wines to try.
When we visited last month ElisabettaForadori and tasted thru her wines, I was in Teroldego Heaven. This
Monfort Teroldego struck me as good, maybe better, than her basic Teroldego...at a far cheaper price.
Definitely a producer I'm going to try to track down more wines from.
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7. Unti: George & Mick Unti are making some very interesting wines up in the DryCreekVlly, w/ a focus on Italian
varieties. Their recent Fiano and this Verdicchio are quite pretty whites. But it's their reds are the ones,
particularly the Italian varietals, that most interest me. Most exciting, they are the only growers (to my
knowledge) of LaCrima de Morra d'Alba in Calif...a variety they should be planting all up & down the Coast
of Calif. Very good growers as well..SteveEdmunds Rocks&Gravel comes from UntiVnyds.
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8. DryCreekVlly: This is an area that I've long thought should show more interest in Italian varieties. The
bright fruit you often get from DCV grapes would, I think, work well w/ many of the Italian varieties...
particularly those from Southern Italy. Ferrari-Carano has long grown Sangiovese...jumping on the Calif
Sangio bandwagon before the wheels sorta fell off that wagon. I haven't had it in a number of yrs and should
revisit it...but the early ones seemed much too over-oaked for my taste. DavidCafarro is making some interesting
Italian varietals..at least the few I've tasted. DaVero, further South, does some interesting Tuscan-based
varietals...though the wines seem pretty pricey for what they are. But I think Unti is doing about the most
interesting job w/ Italians in the DCV.
Tom


Edited by TomHill (11-25-2015 10:30:47)