2009 Valadorna
Last night I realized it had been a hot minute since I drank anything Italian, so we did pasta for dinner and paired this delish ‘09...
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Category: Italy
2013 Michele Chiarlo Tortoniano Barolo
What a lovely bottle. This 2013 Michele Chiarlo is a wonderfully feminine expression of nebbiolo, drinking well at just 6 years of age. Tart red cherry and cranberry with herbs (fennel? definitely an anise note), big acid (almost sour candy acidity) and pretty well integrated tannins (big, but not harsh.)...
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1978 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva
Sometimes, when I'm lucky, a bottle of wine is more than a beverage. More than fermented grape juice. More than delicious or complex. Sometimes, wine is a living memory, encapsulated in smells and flavors. And in a few, rare, ethereal examples, sometimes wine is living history. That's how I felt...
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1983 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
I've been a fan of Emidio Pepe wines for a few years now. I wrote about my first experience with Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d'Abruzzo back in 2014 when I opened the 2003 vintage. It changed my perspective on wine, on what wine could taste like, and the beauty of drinking...
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Crazy for Chianti
When I began this whirligig obsession with wine a few years back, I snubbed Chianti. Much like the folks who snubbed Merlot after seeing Sideways, this wasn't based on knowledge or experience drinking it, just my perception of which wines were "fancy" or important. I had this image in my...
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2009 Masi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Costasera
I've got friends who are Amarone addicts and for a long time, I didn't see what all the fuss was about. Amarone comes from the Valpolicella district in Northeastern Italy's Veneto region, made from a blend of grapes (primarily Corvina) that have been dried. The grapes are picked in bunches...
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2008 Michele Chiarlo Barolo Tortoniano
Barolo is one of the iconic wines in the world. Made from the noble Nebbiolo grape in Piedmont, Italy, it's known for being powerful, high acid, high tannin, high alcohol and very long lived. In fact, until recently, the idea of drinking Barolo young would've been sacrilege. The last decade...
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2010 Renieri Invetro
Sometimes, I pick up a bottle of wine for a completely random reason. Like tonight. I bought this IGT Super Tuscan at Total Wine for one reason only, because it had a glass stopper instead of a regular cork. Oh, yeah, and it cost $14. The Vino-Lok system uses glass...
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2003 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
I had never heard of Emidio Pepe when I bought this bottle of wine. I was talking to a shop owner, asking questions and looking for something "interesting" and he pulled out this bottle. I was confused. Montepulciano d'Abruzzo from 2003? My general rule was to drink Montepulciano nice and...
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2007 Castello Banfi Summus
Right off the bat, I've got to say wow. Not to be too cheesy, but Banfi sure put the super in Super Tuscan when they made this wine. I'd been holding on to this bottle for a couple of years, ever since I went to a seminar with the winemaker....
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