Wine from Abruzzo in London

Masterclass on wines from Abruzzo

I think I speak English pretty well, but I confess that when I walked into the building of the Haberdashers Company in London I had no idea what haberdashers do, I will keep your curiosity alive if you are also in the dark and stimulate you to do a little research!

Whatever the original purpose of the hall of the haberdashers, the UK Sommelier Association used it for an instructive and fun event on wines from Abruzzo, on the Adriatic coast of Italy.

I attended a masterclass by Peter McCrombie and spent a little time walking around the tables of the many producers who came all the way from Italy to let us taste some hidden gems.

Peter began by highlighting how Abruzzo is a land that suited to viticulture, and experienced a qualitative jump ahead in recent years. More focus now on local varieties after some attempts at introducing international grapes. There are 2 main production areas: inland mountains and coastal. Lots of parks in Abruzzo some 30% of land, great for the environment but it takes land away from viticulture. Until the renaissance vines were mostly found in the Peligna Valley but now whole region. 

Some 34,000 hectares of vineyard keep about 250 producers busy making wine, two thirds of which is now exported. The Consorzio was founded in 2002 and it now counts 200 members. Chieti is the main winemaking province in Abruzzo, followed by Pescara. Most vineyards use the pergola training to protect the berries from the scorching sun, some cordon.

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo requires 90% Montepulciano grapes and max 10% sangiovese is allowed, it is a tradition that goes back to the 1600s.

Pecorino was almost extinct back in the 90s, it has now enjoyed a great revival for its intense bouquet. After sangiovese montepulciano is the 2nd most planted variety in Italy. Pair with hearty pasta arrosticini, "If it grows together it goes together" as Peter pointed out...

The masterclass was flanked by a guided pairing led by UKSA Course Director Federica Zanghirella who illuminated those of us lucky enough to attend on the tricky pairing of Abruzzo wines with salami, which is difficult because salami is fat (requires acidity) and salty (but salt does not pair well at all with salt). So it is essential to find the right balance in the wine. (Not much we sommelier can do about the salami!)

Tasting notes from the masterclass:

1. I Fauri
Pecorino
A savory wine.
Score 88

2. Fonte fico

Same as above

3. Ficcanaso Rabottini
Trebbiano

Intense aromas complex long
Score 89

4.Masciarelli trebbiano
See above
Score 93

5. Bossanova 

Cerasuolo
Lower tannins, light color typical of this grape.
Fresh, could drink slightly chilled
Could go well with non-spicy Asian food
Score 89

6. Barone Cornacchia
Montepulciano
Smooth perfect balance
Score 89

7.Faraone
Montepulciano
Deep Ruby red. Spicy full bodied
Fruit concentrated maybe a little jammy
Score 85

8. Nicodemi
Moderate intensity
Smooth long
A bit jammy
Score 87

Tasting notes from selected producers I met in my walkaround

Marramieri
Trebbiano base
Fruits, balance, mod complex
Score 88

Anima
30yo vines
Complex and smooth
Score 92

Pecorino
Round mod long
88

Altare trebbiano
Good body, fresh, intense
Score 90

Cerasuolo rosé
Fresh citrussy
85

Montepulciano base
Steel and some used barrique
Fruity a bit on the rough side
83

Incanto
Montepulciano
Acciaio and 1 yr bottle
Mod complex and long
Might benefit from bottle aging
Score 87

Inferi
Barrique nuova
Intense complex and long
Still needs more time
92

Masciarelli

Pecorino
Intense mod complex and long
88

Blend pecorino trebbiano cococciola
Intense complex full bodied
93

Trebbiano
45yo vines
Complex nutty flavors and good bite some grip fragrance, complex and long
93

Montepulciano di base
Round, velvety
mod complex long
89


Marina cvetic 2020
Long complex majestic
Cd benefit from longer aging
92

Fontefico

see brochure my wapp
Pecorino
SMOOTH balanced waxy
88

Montepulciano glou glou
Easy does it, fresh suggested to drink chilled
85

Cocca di casa
Montepulciano
Natural fermentation
Then split wood cement and steel and then mix again
Fresh, intense, very long
A little more bottle aging

Score 86

Nicodemi
LE MURATE Trebbiano
Immensely aromatic
Smooth long 

Score 90

Pecorino
Aromatic smooth long
88

Rose
Montepulciano
Few hours of skin contact
Again aromatic, smooth and ling
89

Amarone Calling in London

Amarone masterclass

Sponsorship of the  consorzio Valpolicella for today's event in London organized by the UK Sommelier Association with a masterclass led by James Goode. 2200 growers, 300 bottlers, 6 cooperatives make up the exclusive landscape of Valpolicella where amarone in produced. James argued that because of the reputation of this wine we think we know it but in fact recent developments are generous with surprises.

Amarone is one of 4 styles of wine produced in the area near Verona: Valpolicella Doc, Classic, Valpantena and amarone. Moderate continental climate moderated by Lake Garda which plays a fundamental role in the vineyards. 

Of the main varieties produced, corvina is the queen with 56%, followed by rondinella with 20% and corvinone with 16%. Smaller amounts of molinara.

Amarone must have between 45% and 95%of corvina or Corvinone also between 45% and 95%, while Rondinella can be used between 5% and 30% of the wine. It is used to give color. Molinara is the least used, between nothing and 10% and it is known to confer acidity and sapidity to amarone.

Pergola training mainly, with some 25% guyot.

Appassimento is the famous method used to make amarone: drying grapes on straw or hanging in dry rooms. Mostly but not always it avoid botrytis.

After a few months the grapes lose up to 60% of the water and this results in concentrated polyphenols, sugar and aromas.

 

Some producers these days use controlled humidity and temperature, traditionalists don't and argue that the true nature of amarone lies in the unpredictability of the uncontrolled process.

Grapes are dried until December at least and then pressed to start fermentation. 30 to 40 days of maceration  and finally aging for at least 2 years (4 for riserva) in wood.

Below my personal scores of the wines. IMHO most of these are way too young, but some lovers of more robust taste might like them now.

La Romiglia, amarone Valpolicella 2021

Powerful aromas for this robust wine, tannins need more time in bottle. Give it 5 years at least.

Score 88

International WIne Group, amarone Valpolicella "vivunt", 2021

A well balanced, long amarone, would benefit from at least 5 years in the bottle.

Azienda agricola Giampiero Borghetti, amarone Valpolicella classico 2020

Underipe, drink now if you like your tongue to be grated a bit, or else wait...

Score 86

Massimago, amarone Valpolicella "Conte Gastone 2020“

A sharp wine, quite un-amaronish, powerful tannins yet to be tamed.

Score 86

Corte Figaretto, amarone Valpantena "Brolo del Figaretto" 2020

A fruity amarone, fresh and long. An unusual style but an interesting one.

Score 90

Montezovo, amarone Valpolicella 2019

Oak confers a spicy taste, but good acidity moderates the sweet ending for this wine from an exceptionally good year.

Score 91

Colle Cerè, amarone Valpolicella classico 2019

A solid wine, well built, a "big" amarone, powerful, complex and long.

Score 93

Monteci amarone Valppolicella classico, 2018

This was a difficult year andmade for a fresher wine, red fruits are evident, a youthful amarone that will benefit from more bottle aging.

Score 87

Zymè di Celestino Gaspari, amarone Valpolicella classico 2018

A ready amarone, with a perfect balance good length and complexity.

Score 93

Falezze di Luca Anselmi, amarone Valpolicella 2018

A bit jammy, a mature wine, drink now.

Score 86

Cantina Colle Archi, amarone valpolicella riserva "IS", 2018

An austere amarone with a perfect balance.
Score 92

Pieropan amarone Valpolicella riserva "Vigna Garzon" 2018

An intense, long perfectly balanced wine.

Score 92

Camerani Corte S. Anna, amarone Valpolicella Valzzane 2017

Amazingly fresh, a bit rough.

Score 86

Premium Australian Cabernet Sauvignon

Walkaround tasting in London for premium cabs from down under. Long associated with Bordeaux, this grape is widely planted around the world.

These are my tasting notes from the bottles I thought were the best of the day. I look forward to buying some of them and drinking them at ease with a good pairing of food. Meat yes, of course, but also hearty pasta, baked fish, roasted veggies and aged cheese.

Howard Park

Abercrombie 2010

Intense, round and long, can still evolve 4-5 years to round tannins to perfection.

Score 89

Larry Cherubino

Cherubino Margaret River 2013

Perfect balance, long and mod complex.

Score 90

The 2021 bottle is fruity, balanced, ready not, more limited potential.

RRP £42 Score 89

Budworth 2019

RRP £65 Score 94

Frankland River 2011

An incredibly sumptuous wine with compex tertiary notes and velvety consistency.

RRP £65 Score 96

Leewin Estate

Art Series 2019

Intense aroma, balanced and surprisingly ready now, maybe thanks to the French barrique.

RRP £50 Score 90

Moss Wood

Moss Wood 2001

Smooth, long an complex, almost creamy.

RRP £80 Score 94

The 2021 bottle is also ready now, less complex.

Score 90

Nocturne

Yallingup 2021

Balanced and long, best in 3-4 years?

RRP £ 32, Score 89

Single Vineyard 2022

Round, perfect balance, long, ready.

RRP £47 Score 92

Passel Estate

Passel Estate 2018

Perfect balance and very long, complex.

RRP 35 Score 93

Pessel Estate Lot 71 reserve 2017

An amazing wine with still 4-5 years of potential evolution.

RRP £55 Score 95

Stella Bella

Luminosa 2017

Intense, elegant, complex and long. An exceptional cab, destemmed and hot fermented (29 °C) with 14 days on skins, MLF in oak and 14 months in French barrels, mixed new and used.

RRP 58 Score 95

Vasse Felix

Vasse Felix 2016

86% cab, 14% malbec

A harmonious wine, it's got everything you can dream of in a cab: elegance, length, complexity, body.

RRP £38 Score 96

The Vasse Felix 2021 bottle turns out to be quite a bit lighter. Score 89

Tom Cully 2015

81% cab 16% malbec 3% petit verdot

A delicate wine still sports good complexity and length.

RRP £ 100 Score 90

Voyager Estate

Voyager Estate 2014 and 2018

Both vintages are superb cabs, with perfect balance and great length and complexity.

Steel open top fermentation and aged in French oak (half new) for 18 months.

RRP 66 Score 95

Woodlands 

2014 Matthew and 2020 Eleanor

Both bottles offer a perfectly balanced wine, very complex and long. Fruit is still there but it has evolved, especially in the 2014 vintage, into intriguing tertiary nuances. Wines on the border of exceptionality.

RRP £75 Score 95

Levantine Hill

Samantha's Paddock mélenge traditionel

65% Cab 15% merlot 7% cab franc 3% malbec

Tasted the 2017 and 2018 vintages, both sumptuous, harmonious wines that tower above the magnificent landscape of Australian cabernet.

RRP £110, Score 95

Mount Mary

Quintet 2016

Round and ready now, a smooth velvet wine.

RRP 80 Score 94

The 2021 vintage is still a bit rough at the edges, give it a few years in the bottle.

Penfolds

Bin 407 2022 and 2010

Predictable, the 2010 is ready now and, incredibly, so is the 2022.

Both round, smooth like velvet, very long.

RRP £75, Score 95

Bin 707 2022 and 2020

Both amazing bottles, at the top of the Penfolds range, with length complexity and fruit.

RRP £450!! Yes Four hundred and fifty! Score 95

Yalumba

The Caley Cab/Shiraz 2016 and 2020

77% cab, 23% shiraz, proportions can change from year to year

Two harmonious bottles continue the incredible series of this afternoon.

RRP £240 Score 96

Henschke

Cyril Henschke 2019

A long and complex wine, I know I sound repetitive but this is the theme today.

RRO 125 Score 94

Kaesler, Barossa

Age of Light 2018

RRP 65 Score 92

Penfolds, Coonawarra, 2020 and 2022

Bin 169

Surprisingly the 2022 is readier than 2010, or put it another way 2010 is fresher than 2020.

RRP 160 Score 95

Wynns Coonawarra Estate

John Riddoch 2010 and 2021

RRP £100, Score for the older bottle 94 and the younger one 92

Book review: The Chinese Wine Renaissance (*****), by Janet Wang

Ms Wang at the LWF 2024

  Synopsis

The Chinese have been making wine since the days of the Silk Road and they have a rich, yet little known wine culture. Their now thriving wine market is entwined with thousands of years of fashion, poetry, and art, and offers a window into the country's vibrant history and legendary tales.

This well-researched book offers a taste of China through a wine journey, setting the rise of grape wine against the fascinating backdrop of Chinese culture. In an accessible and comprehensive tone, this guide covers the relationship between Chinese philosophy and wine, the renaissance of grape wine in modern China, the different varieties of Chinese wines, how to pair them with Chinese food and explores wine etiquette and customs.

As wines from China are spreading to our shores and our tables, this book is an essential companion for all wine lovers interested in exploring new flavours while expanding their cultural horizons.

Review

An essential book to begin to understand the role that wine has played in Chinese society for centuries. We start from mythology and archaeology, up to the economy of today and the evolution of taste among consumers.

Meet the producer: Navarro Lopéz, Ciudad Real, Spain

A family-run enterprise for over one hundred years, Navarro Lopez has blended tradition and innovation and carries forward the best of Rioja wine making through its presence pretty much all over the world. Below are my tasting notes from a selection of wines that I received for review.

Elegancia 2019
Tempranillo 100%
The name says it all, this is an elegant wine
Paired with Chinese bamboo shoots, pork belly and brown rice.
Score 90

Chinese bamboo shoots and brown rice for an "elegant" pairing"

Vina trebolar 2022

Graciano, tempranillo, syrah and garnacha

A wine of stature, with plump structure, perfectly balanced, where the fruit has given space to secondary flavors. I can only imagine tertiary notes would develop in time but this bottle is ready now.

Score 94

Imperio Gran Seleccion 2019

Tempranillo 100%

This is a delicate tempranillo, this seems to be a recurring feature in Navarro Lopéz wines, a wine that tiptoes to your palate rather than exploding in your mouth. It is elegant and at its peak now. I think that its perfect structure could only suffer from prolonged bottle aging.

I paired it with braised duck legs and soya bean sprouts.

Score 91

Viña Valoria 2013

tempranillo 100%

A truly top notch tempranillo, with all you might expect from that and more. An intense aroma of ripe red fruits leaves you ready for enjoying a perfectly balanced and complex mix of secondary and tertiary flavors. 36 months in American oak confer a smooth elegance to this majestic wine. Great length. 

I paired it with shredded slow cooked pork accompanied by red peppers and a touch of spring onions for freshness.

Score 95

Meet the producer: Clos Mont Blanc, Catalunya, Spain

This post is the result of a meeting with Clos Montblanc of Catalunya at the online fair organized by Onvinum in February 2024 and I am grateful to the producer for the samples received which I tested and paired as noted below.

Unic 2022

Chardonnay 100%
A mellow chardonnay, round and balanced. I paired it with tomato sauce pasta with Spanish tuna and the moderate structure of both food and wine went well even though I would have liked a bit more acidity.
Score 83

Xipella 2023

An eclectic blend, Xipella makes for an honest straightforward wine that will go down well with a wide range of food pairings and consumers. This wine is balanced, moderately long and ticks all the boxes for a pleasant drink that is perfect now with the coming of Spring. It does not strike me for its freshness or for its complexity and this is why the first work that came to mind was straightforward. I paired it with spaghetti and mussels and it was a successful marriage in that both wine and food proposed medium structure and the moderate acidity did not overwhelm the sapid flavor of the seafood.  Enjoy it without thinking too much about it! Score 87

Xipella 2019

Carinena, cab sauvignon and syrah for this well balanced wine with a nore of ripe red fruits, and a palate with notes of chocolate. Well rounded tannins, long finish. I paired with Chinese oily tofu and it worked well, both dishes offering moderate structure and the gentle tannins contrasted amicably with the oiliness of the tofu. Score 90.

Chinese oily tofu with spring onions and asparagus

Inici 2018
garnacha negra 79%, cab sauvignon 21% in organic production

An elegant wine, perfectly balanced, complex and long. A rare gem with less than 3000 bottles produced.

Score 92

G de Gourmand 2021

A fruity and fresh wine despite the old vines (30+ years), almost delicate. I paired it with pizza.

Score 86

Taylor’s & Fonseca Port Chocolate pairing with Vinte Vinte Chocolate

Presented at the LWF 2024 by Pedro Martins Araújo, Master Chocolate Maker of Vinte Vinte, part of the Fladgate Partnership, and João Vasconcelos the UK Taylor's Port Market Manager. 

Port has a tradition of pairing with cigars, cheese and  chocolate, and it is to the last that today's session at the LWF was dedicated.

The suggested tasting technique is to let the chocolate melt in your mouth then drink the wine.

20/20 Chocolate is today's partner that provided all the samples paired to the port selection. The name is meant to be an homage to latitudes where cocoa is produced, and they started their business in the year 2020! 

Here are my tasting note:

1. Taylor's chip dry white port

Paired with 20|20 White Chocolate

1st white port made, in 1934.

Late fortification, let ferment longer, resulting wine is dryer. Their original goal was to compete with dry Sherry, but that is gone by the wayside now and chip dry (origin of this name unknown!) has no need to compare itself with competitors. Oxidative style, the wine is left in oak barrels to develop nutty style. 

Malvasia is the predominant grape. Great contrast of sweet choc and dry wine. Moderate intensity, balanced.

Score 88

Rrp 18

2. Fonseca Bin 27 reserve ruby, large oak barrels 3 to 4 years 

Paired with 20/20 dark chocolate 70%

Raisin plums, a few sharp corners in this ruby.

Score 86

Rrp 18

3. Taylor's LBV 2019

Paired with 20|20 dark chocolate 58%

Round smooth polished 

Cinnamon molasses. An excellent value port.

Score 90

Rrp10

4. Taylor's 10yo tawny 20 20 

Paired with 20|20 milk chocolate 35%

Pair by concordance, sweet choc and sweet wine

Very well balanced, long complex 

Score 92 

Rrp 20

5. Taylor's vintage 2003 since 1692!

Paired with 20|20 Grand Cru Dark Chocolate 70% Mexico Finca La Rioja 2019

Grand cru dark chocolate 

Intense nose of ripe fruit 

Very complex, long perfect balance 

Score 94

Rrp 90

6. Taylor's 50yo tawny Golden Age 

Paired with 20|20 Limited Edition Dark Chocolate 65% Peru

Gold color by aging in cask 

Change every year to clean old barrel, Port hates new wood! 

Angel share takes up to 98% over the decades! 

Highest altitude cocoa farm in the world in Peru 

Rrp 225 gbp 

Score 96

2000 bottles per year roughly

Meet the producer: Penafiel, Ribera del Duero, Spain

Second tasting of Penafiel wines for the Roving Somm, see my previous notes here on this blog. This second lineup is even more impressive than the first, and it is once more led by the exceptional Silencio de Miros. 

Thank you to Onvinum for making the introduction on the occasion of the online wine fair of February 2024.

See tasting notes below.

Alba de Miros 2022

Albarino 100%. A fresh breath of Spring in this wine that offers floral notes and pineapple in the nose and a balanced and moderately complex palate. Good length. I happily paired it with steamed mussels. A wine with no pretensions that stands up very well in its category. Score 88

Miros de Ribera Reserva 2019

Tempranillo 100%

I would call this an upper middle class typical tempranillo with full elegant body, round structure. This 2019 is ready but will still evolve for a few years. I paired it with baked lam. Watch the alcohol content, it is a strong wine indeed!

Score 90

Miros Roble 2022

Complex aromas of red fruits. A powerful expression of the tempranillo variety. Hard sensations prevail, probably needs some smoothening in the bottle for another couple of years.

Score 88

La Casa de las Locas 2022

Albariño 100%

This was an amazing albariño, intense nose, powerful structure, with complex floral notes and good length. I am used to think of this grape as a relatively easy one, but this wine challenged this taster to focus his full attention to discover its many nuances.

Score 93

Silencio de Miros 2019 

Top of the line Penafiel , this harmonious Silencio de Miros 2019. tempranillo 100% from their most prized parcel of land at 1000 meters above sea level. Nine months in French oak, this 15.5%abv comes in a beautiful wooden box.

A perfectly balanced wine with ripe red fruits that dance along with smooth tannins in a complex swirling of nuanced sensations.

I dared to pair it with slightly spicy red mullet and olives and it works out magnificently, another example where red wine does indeed go very well indeed with fish.

Score 96

Old vine wines with Sarah Abbott

Sarah Abbott, co-founder of the Old Vine Conference,  led a unique presentation of wines from old vines at the London Wine Fair 2024.

Old Vine Conference is a London based non-profit dedicated to the promotion of wines made from vines with decades of history behind them.

This is hopefully a good thing in many ways. First of all, of course, old vines usually make harmonious, complex wines with great aging potential. 

Also, it is environmentally useful to maintain the genetic diversity of vines, and maintaining old vines reduces the chance that some varieties might get lost forever.

So what is "old"? for the OVC a vine is "old" when it is at least 35 years old, a rule apparently developed in Barossa, in Australia.

Here are my tasting notes:

1. Villa Bogdano 185 bianco, Veneto Italy, 2018

81yo vines of friulano

This vineyard was originally planted in 1943, and it is now farmed according to EU organic rules (bio).

Moderately intense and still good freshness. Good complexity and length. 

Www.villabogdano1880.it

Rrp £ 23, score 89

2. Garage wine sauzal lot 95, Maule valley Chile 2018, 

No recorded age, monastrell 

Origins shrouded in mystery but these vines were were already old when Nivaldo the owner was a child and HE is now old... 

Ripe cherries, good balance, complex, delicate, fragile, not concentrated as expected, mature now, don't wait any longer.

Www.garagewine.company

Rrp £ 19, score 88

3. Plaimont Manseng Noir, côtes de Gascogne 

Manseng noir variety, young vines re-planted from old vines material.

Vibrant light perfumed wine, floral notes, delicate tannins, might be best enjoyed cool.

Www.plaimont.com

Rrp £12 score 87

4. Marchelle Wines Cinsaut, Bechtold Winery, Mokelumne River, California, USA 2020 

Vines are a whopping 138-year-old!

Intense, elegant, perfect balance, complex, ready now with some aging potential.

Only 77 cases made grab one fast!

Www.marchelleswines.com

Rrp usd 54, score 92

5. Louis Martini, Gnarly vine, Monte Rosso Sonoma valley, 2018

100% Zinfandel

Like the previous wine, this also comes from a 138yo vineyard.

Intense ripe cherries, elegant, complex, perfect balance, long. An exceptional, harmonious wine.

Ready now could yet evolve some in bottle. 

Www.louismartini.com

Rrp £ 61 score 96

6. Once and future, Teldeschi vineyard "Frank's Block" in Creek Valley, Sonoma, 2019

Zinfandel

120yo vines for this fruity, balanced very long wine. Ready now but tannins could perhaps become a bit rounder with a couple of years in the bottle.

www.onceandfuturewine.com

Rrp usd 50, score 89

7. Catena Zapata Malbec, m mendoza, Argentina 

Vines 94yo and 28 yo

Www.catenazapata.com

Plump mature red fruit and also complex long 

Rrp £75 score 92

8. Feudi di San Gregorio, Serpico, aglianico, Campania Italy 2016 

Vines 100+ yo ungrafted

Www.feudi.it

Fruit, alcohol, tannins still very much alive. Hopefully time in the bottle will help harmonize this wine. 

Rrp £60,score 86

Join the Old Vine Conference if you agree old vines often make great wines!

https://www.oldvines.org/membership