Italy

• Abruzzo
• Alto Adige
• Apulia
• Basilicata
• Calabria
• Campagna
• Emilia-Romagna
• Friuli-Venezia Giulia
• Liguria
• Lombardia
  • Franciacorta
• Marche
• Molise
• Piedmont (Piemonte)
• Sicily
  • Mt. Etna
• Trentino-Alto Adige
• Tuscany
  • Brunello di Montalcino
  • Chianti
• Umbria
• Valle d'Aosta
• Veneto
  • Prosecco
  • Soave
• Sardinia

Another really nice treat.  1999 was an excellent year and the better wines are in great shape.  This had a surprisingly deep purple color to it, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with black cherries and slight forest floor.  Medium bodied.  No real tannins.  On the palate, there is vibrant black cherry fruit.  Not a lot of complexity for a 22 year old Barolo but still drinking well.  Drink over the next few years, it certainly won't get better.  It will work better with food.  Pasta with mushrooms and a cream sauce would be good.  

What a fun treat.  This was decanted for sediment and served.  The label carried the name Banfi as an importer, so it would appear this is an original bottling.  Iced tea brown in color, clear and reasonably bright.  At first it appeared as though it might be corked but it was intermittent so perhaps just bottle age.  While this bottle seemed past prime, it did have some to offer.  Dried cherries, forest floor and mushrooms on the nose.  Medium bodied.  Tannins all resolved.  On the palate dried cherries, some stewed fruit with some forest floor.  There is a complexity to it and the acidity

From Magnum.  Pop and pour, it took about 45 minutes to open.  Deep garnet in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cherries, slight prunes, slight dark chocolate, raspberries and spice.  Full bodied.  Dry.  On the palate, cherries, raspberries, chocolate with an underlying earthiness.  Nice acidity.  Great mouthfeel.  This is still on the young side, but should be about at peak from a 750ML.  Drink over the next ten to twelve years.  This drinks well on its own but worked great with a variety of Italian foods.  

This is a nice, straightforward Chianti that is drinking beautifully right now.  Purple in color with some ruby swirls.  The nose is nice with cherries, baking spices and tea leaves.  Medium bodied.  An excellent backbone  of acidity.  On the palate, lots of cherries with a slight undertone of forest floor.  Nice finish.  Drink this over the next four to six years.  It is a nice choice for pizza or pasta with a tomato based sauce. 

This is a blend of 80% Sangiovese and 20% Sagrantino.  An excellent value.  Deep ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  Medium bodied.  Excellent acidity.  The palate has cherries, some black cherries and slight mocha.  Some depth.  Light tannins.  This is drinking well now and may improve a bit.  It will make excellent drinking over the next eight to ten years.  This will work great with pizza or pasta.  

From one of the most iconic wineries in Italy, this wine transcends the lowly status of Montepulciano d'Aruzzo.  This is still young but with a decant of about 45 minutes it opened nicely.  Deep ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  What a nose!  Cherries, black cherries, anise, Indian spices and slight black pepper.  Full bodied with a lush texture.  Perfect balance.  On the palate, this is tight but unwinds in the glass as each sip reveals something else.  Black cherries, cumin, cherries, slight floral notes over a clean earthiness.  Long finish.  Delicious.  We left a glass for our w

Opened and decanted for about an hour or two, this is still showing "modern" and young.  That said, once we started drinking it, it evolved beautifully over the next hour.  Deep ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is great with cherries, licorice, slight menthol and slight dried roses.  Medium to full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, lots of fresh cherry fruit with slight underlying tar and dried floral notes.  Great acidity.  Nice finish.  This is delicious.  Based on this bottle, another seven to ten years until peak.  This may end up easily doing fifty years.  Back

This is at peak it would seem.  Garnet in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is nice with cherries, roses, chocolate and a bit or orange peel.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, this has a nice complexity.  Cherries, some dried cherries over forest floor with some fresher notes, slight mushroom and char.  Nice backbone of acidity.  Nice finish.  This begs for food.  Mushroom pasta in a cream sauce would be a nice choice.  Long finish.  Drink over the next five to seven years.  

This was different and interesting.  One of the better Lambrusco's Tasted.  It is a blend of 30% Lambrusco Marani, 30% Lambrusco Salamino, 20% Lambrusco Maestri, 10% Lambrusco Grasparossa, and 10% Ancellotta.  It is made utilizing the Charmat-Martinotti method in which the secondary fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks.

This is made in the "arch" of the boot in southern Italy utlizing a similar method as Amarone.  The grapes are dried out on straw mats prior to being crushed, but the wine is fermented (mostly) dry.  This is a big fruity and ripe wine that even at age 12, is young.  Purple in color.  The nose has black cherries, cherries, tobacco, roasted herbs, anise and smoke.  Full bodied.  Dry.  On the palate flavors of black raspberries, black cherries over burnt forest floor.  Great texture.  Complex and layered depth.  Good acidity.