A life full of BUTs!

I have always thought that flexibility is the key to a good life! And I say this because I believe life is full of little exceptions. My life statements are very often followed by a BUT!

I strongly prefer self organised and possibly slightly adventurous trips BUT had one of my best holiday ever on a all inclusive package in the Red Sea. 

I adore strawberries BUT detest any strawberry based food: jam, ice cream....

I don't watch romantic comedies BUT 'When Harry met Sally' is on my top 5 favourite movies ever!

I try not to eat junkie food BUT can't resist to Nutella.

I don't like that much Chardonnay BUT can do a couple of exceptions....

 

Salute!

Pure class in a glass

Some wines are pure expression of the outstanding beauty of the places they are coming from.
Some wines don't need any food to give their best.
Some wines stand out for their class and delicacy.
Some wines can show staggering purity and intensity of flavours.

I think that Olivar Cesconi falls in all these categories.
This white wine, produced from a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon on the hills around Pressano, in Trentino Alto Adige, has the power to recall the atmosphere of this beautiful region.
The undulating green fields, the clear sky, the fresh breeze and the shadow of the magnificent and stately Dolomiti mountains.

All this in a glass of wine, together with aromas of white flowers and stone fruits, a touch of melon and a hint of vanilla. In the mouth it is distinguished with the mix of aromas coming back. A good minerality and a long, lingering finish.

Some wines should be drunk more often.
The Olivar Cesconi is one of them!

SALUTE!

A glass of wine a day...

Wine has always been part of everyday life and diet in Italy and it is quite common to hear people saying that a glass of wine a day with your meal  is a very good habit.
And there is no doubt about it. Several researches have now proved more than enough that a regular moderate drinking is absolutely not dangerous. On the contrary a lot of substances contained in the wine can have several beneficial effects,as said, if drunk with moderation.
What was once called the French Paradox on a CBS program in the 90's doesn't surprise anymore.
The benefits of wine are now well known. And I could list them all to you, but I am sure you won't find the reading that exciting; going through the beneficial effects of resveratrol or flavonoids etc can be a bit boring....
That's why I much prefer giving you my wine carousel of the week...


MONDAY: ....I hate Mondays. The weekend is too short. Ditto.
I need something that cheers me up, something warm and deep. A wine to wrap me up.
A Vin Santo. From Selvapiana. 2004.

TUESDAY: Already absorbed by the weekly routine. Tuesday night is the best for a good movie and a relaxing glass of Pinot Noir. Fruity, refreshing a with a hint of spices. From Delta.

WEDNESDAY: Tough day, Wednesday. Last weekend is just a memory and next is too far away. I need a wine to remind me what do I love about my job (and wine)....a Pieropan Calvarino. The elegance made Soave. A fresh minerality that it's so easy to drink that one bottle is never enough.

THURSDAY: We're getting there. I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel. I need something easy and simple on Thursday: the freshness of a Picpoul de Pinet, for example.

FRIDAY: The day to celebrate the upcoming weekend with a nice dinner and a nice wine. Ata Rangi Craighall Chardonnay. Full, round and juicy.

SATURDAY: It's friends time. A lunch out or someone coming over for dinner. A good reason to open a bottle of Renacer Malbec Clasico not only an extraordinary wine with a perfect balance of fruit , tannins, body and price, but also my boyfriend's favourite at the moment!

SUNDAY: Back home is family day. When I was a child the whole family used to reunite at grandparents' house for a good homemade lunch, possibly lasagne. At the time I was not allowed to drink and now I'm too far away from home to enjoy my Sunday the same way. So I'll raise a glass to my memories: a glass of Cesanese del Piglio.

Salute

Just to say I don't drink only Italian wines...

Reading my posts you may be thinking that I am one of those `wine nationalist` that only drink wines coming from their own country. I can't hide that I like Italian wines and, of course, this is what has been filling my glass for most of my life. This is mainly because in Italy there is not that much market for foreign wines but since I moved to London my palate has eventually discovered (ad enjoyed) the rest of the world.

And to prove you this I'll tell you about few wines that I have tasted recently...

Let's start with bubbles. And, to shuffle cards, let's choose it English! And Blanc de Noir.
Furleigh Estate Blanc de Noirs 2009. No trace of Chardonnay in it. Only Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Fresh strawberries and some candy lemon peel. Biscuity notes and a hint of smokiness. In the mouth it's round and the strawberries come back with more red fruit and pronounced intensity. Vibrant acidity and a medium long finish. Good level of complexity and extremely enjoyable.




Let's follow with something that was missing from the first wine....
some Chardonnay, from Australia this time.
Shaw and Smith M3 Chardonnay 2010. This wine is extremely charming with elegant notes of ripe golden apple, stone fruit and perfectly integrated vanilla notes coming from 10 months in oak. High acidity in the mouth, good minerality and a long finish....Top-notch!




Third place (but only in chronological tasting order) is for an Austrian wine, the Heinrich St Laurent 2011. St Laurent is a grape variety that, for long time has been thought to be connected to Pinot Noir especially due to their similar behavior in the vineyard. It is mainly found in Austria but also present in Germany and Czech Republic. But let's come back to the specific wine...it shows intense dark berry fruit notes, dark cherries and blackberries, some smokiness and a hint of cloves. In the mouth is a bit young but already soft and velvety, deep and long.



Let's finish with something from Argentina. And from there it cannot be anything else than Malbec. I know that Argentina can produce other wines and Malbec is actually native from South of France, but no one can argue that Malbec expresses at its best in the South American country and it is certainly one of the most representative grape of the Argentinian wine production.

The wine I left at the bottom of my list is one of my favourite: Bodega Renacer Punto Final Malbec Reserva 2009. The fruit here is dark ad deeply ripe. There are dark cherries, blackberries and plums followed by a touch of spices, cloves and vanilla and some developing notes of liquorice and leather. High acidity, full body and mature tannins and a rich texture complete the experience in the mouth. A long almost chocolaty finish for this great wine. Great with food and on a winter, cold evening.

Salute!

A well deserved bottle.....

Sometimes that's how things go...I start writing a post and something or someone distracts me, so the post lays there for weeks. Then I find it again and I remember that I decided to write it because the wine I wanted to talk about was really worth, so I look up for my notes and I carry on........

Few weeks ago I was forced in bed due to a really nasty bike accident. Outside the weather was fabulous; a very promising beginning of English spring. And I was feeling miserable for the pain and because I couldn't move. I behaved for almost 10 days and tried to be very healthy....so I think no one can blame me if at the end all I wanted was a big and good bottle of wine.

I went to my cellar (a couple of shelves in a corner of my humble little house) and found what I was looking for: a good and not pretentious white Burgundy.
It is weird how, even though I generally don't like Chardonnay, especially when  it is oaked, I always allow the Burgundy exception to this statement.

The wine was (yes, the bottle is empty now!) a JC Boisset Cote de Nuit Villages Le Creux de Sabron 2006 (such a long name!). I remember buying it on a staff sale thinking it would have been red....but luckily the surprise was not disappointing.

It delights you with exotic notes of pineapple and mango, mixed with ripe apple and a delicate hint of pear. The oak is elegantly integrated. At the palate the acidity is extremely energetic. The fruit is coming back. The apple is rich and juicy and the pineapple leaves you with a lingering finish. And all is harmoniously balanced with a medium texture, a sort of delicate creaminess.


A very well deserved bottle!

A biodynamic Burgundy Domaine

I have been really lucky in my life, having the chance to taste extraordinary wines, especially French.
The wines of Domaine Leflaive are on this list. But it was a while since I had tasted something (maybe due to the recession) from this multi-awarded historical producer of amazing Burgundy whites.
This is why my heart was filled of surprise and excitement when a very good friend of mine kindly decided to open for me a bottle of Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Le Clavaillon 2004. And that's why I decided to share this moment and a bit of information on the Domaine.

The wines are now produced by the third generation of the family. The business is managed by Anne-Claude, grand-daughter of Joseph, the man who decided to focus on the family vineyards, buy more hectares and replant the vines in the 20s. The winery has then converted to biodynamics since 1997 showing the world that even such big names can produce such big wines working in the most natural way. 2004 is a very important vintage from this point of view as it was a wet and cold season whit high risk of powdery mildew (oidium). But the Leflaive biodynamically cultivated vines were strong and the grapes healthy and the result is a nectar that will age very well.

The wine is a great example of extremely firm and elegant Chardonnay, with a good complexity of developing leesy aromas, toasted nuts and smokey notes. It has a clean, full and creamy structure balanced by a vibrant acidity and a mineral character. It is a great wine, even though I found it was not totally expressing itself: lacking a bit on the fruity side and not as long on the finish as I would have expected.

Then after browsing a bit on the net, I realised that I tasted it on a root day ....bad day to taste a wine especially a biodynamic one! But, hey...I don't have a second bottle...if you do, please let me know!!

Are you drinking Glera or Prosecco?!

Has anyone ever heard of Glera? Certainly not that many, at least not before 2009. This is the year when names and appellations have slightly changed in Prosecco.

To legally protect this wine from the venturous productions coming from countries such as China or South America, and to defend its origins, the name of the grape, since then commonly referred as Prosecco, has been changed to Glera.

Prosecco is actually a clone of Glera. And Glera is a really ancient grape variety grown mainly in the area around Trieste in Friuli Venezia Giulia and more specifically around a little town called Prosecco and later spread in Veneto. I know that now the story could sound confusing, but it's not.

The good thing is that the name of the wine has not changed and of course neither its taste. But now when you will be buying a bottle of Prosecco you will be sure that it will be coming from Italy. Two top appellations (DOCG) have also been created: Prosecco di Conegliano Valdobbiadene and Colli Asolani produced in Veneto in the heart of Prosecco evolution and development, and one minor (DOC) in an area in between Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia, where the grape has its origins. But on the back of the label as it happens for a lot of Italian wines, you could find Glera grape specified.

Once said that and leaving the boring legal part on a side, either if you call it Prosecco or Glera what you will have a light, fruity and refreshing aperitif. And please do not even try to compare it to Champagne. This is a totally different thing. Better or not it depends mainly on taste, but totally different.

Champagne is champagne. It is made from 3 grapes: Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. It is produced in Champagne region only. And the second fermentation takes place in the bottle. Finally a long ageing period on the lees gives the wine a deep complexity and buttery and yeasty notes.

Prosecco is Prosecco. It is made from Glera. It is produced in North of Italy. The second fermentation happens following the Charmat method in bulk tanks to finally being bottled under pressure. The resulting wine is fruity, fresh and aromatic.
The only common thing is the presence of bubbles, and even the bubbles are different!!