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

This is a dessert wine made from  Groppello, Marzemino, and Moscato Rosa grapes in Lombardy, Italy.  It does not appear to be available in the US at the moment (sadly).  10% Alc and sold in 500ml bottles.  What a treat.  Deep salmon in color.  The nose has oranges, simple syrup, pine and malted milk.  Slightly sweet on the palate but with a great backbone of acidity.  Lots of minerality along with some nice fresh strawberry notes.  Slight tannins.  A long finish.  This is meant to be a dessert wine so food pairing can be an issue.  This would be great with fresh fruit or a lighter fruit tar

Light green gold in color.  The nose has minerals and limes.  On the palate, a wet rock quality.  Good acidity.  Oily texture.  Very food friendly for lighter/medium weight foods.  Nice finish.  This retails for around $17 and is a very nice value.  While it might drink well for a few years though, the freshness will probably disappear by next summer, so I would drink soon.  This would be great for fall clambakes!

Light silvery gold in color.  The nose is nice with mostly pears but also some lemons and nice mineral undertones.  A fair amount of medium sized bubbles.  On the palate, this is slightly sweet.  It drinks easy.  The lemon carries thru along with slight minerality.  Very food friendly.  Easy drinking, not complex but enough to stand up with food.  Good end of the day/start the evening wine.  

Deep golden in color, starting to show some oxidation.  The nose also shows it but still there is some honey quality.  On the palate, this  is slightly sweet.  Past prime but still with some life to give.  Honey and slight peach fruits.  A bit of acidity.  A nice finish to a meal.  

Wow!  Incredible.  Opened, decanted and it was singing and drained quickly.  Ruby in color, just a bit of browning on the edges.  The nose is ethereal.  Cherries, dried cherries, slight tar, dried roses in an intoxicating perfume.  On the palate, this is just getting to maturity.  A wonderful texture that is velvety yet slick.  Each sip makes you want another one.  On the palate, this still has light tannins; just enough to grip.  Great acidity.  Layers of fruit, tar and earth.  Long finish.  Worked great with food.  No hurry as this has a couple of decades left, but no regrets about drinki

This was a new wine for me.  Apparently, in some vintages it will have some Petit Verdot or other international varietals but in 2011 it was 100% Sangiovese.  They really nailed it in this very good if not great vintage.  Purple in color.  The nose is cherries with some sandalwood and slight vanilla.  Clean and bright if still young.  More open on the palate, but at the same time, this is quite tannic.  A very structured wine.  It needs some time flesh out but it is very deep and yet elegant at the same time.  Cherries, macerated cherries and slight coffee notes on the palate.  Good acidity

Pop and pour, this was pretty tight, so the wine was decanted which helped.  Still, it probably needs five more years but has a couple of decades of life left.  Drank side by side with the regular 1999 version of this wine.  Ruby in color with some purple, lighter than the 99.  The wine in general, however, is a much bigger wine.  The nose is gorgeous with cherries, black cherries, sandalwood and dry Earl Grey tea.  On the palate, this is tightly wound, but it already shows great layering and complexity.  A wonderful texture; slippery yet bold if that makes sense.  Great acidity.  Long fini

This was decanted for sediment and then drink over a few hours.  This was drunk side by side with the 2012 Riserva which was interesting and fun.  This is a deep ruby with some purple at the core in color.  Darker than the 2012.  It seems to at peak right now.  Not showing old age but certainly mature, tannins resolved and getting close to sliding downhill.  The nose is earthy with damp tea leaves, cherries and just a hint of sandalwood.  Complex and layered with funk, forest floor and cherries.  Very good acidity.  Worked very well with food.  Nice finish.  This was probably never an amazi

From a Magnum.  This is a very nice wine and a crowd pleaser.  Not to big and fruity but enough of everything to please everyone.  It does not, however, resemble an Amarone.  Basically, a Valpolicella in an Amarone bottle?  Is that a problem?  Only depending on price and what one is looking for.  Purple in color.  The nose has cherries and canned cherries with a bit of minerality.  On the palate, a nice backbone of acidity.  Good cherry fruit.  Fresh and bright.  Light tannins.  Nice finish.  This is food friendly and would work with a wide variety of foods.  Nice finish.  

This is painfully young.  Great stuffing but really needs at least five more years and probably more.  For all the talk about modern styles of Barolo's and making them more accessible, even the average ones still need a decade or more.  This is ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose is dusty with cherries, macerated cherries and dried roses.  On the palate, this has firm tannins.  Sour cherry fruit.  A very nice finish.  Plenty of upside on this wine and it is probably still out in the marketplace.  I am told it retails for around $50 which is a great price for a Barolo of this quality.