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!

Surprise: you can even drink red wine in Summertime!!

Maybe you are not a white wine drinker. And even if you are certainly missing the chance to taste amazing wines, there is nothing wrong with it. But in summertime when magazine's columns are all about "refreshing, crisp and cool" white wines, I am sure that your only desire is to find the right red to drink in a park under the sun!

You will then probably be surprised to know that there is plenty of choice to relive your thirst! Possibly you don't even know that most of these wines can be even slightly chilled. And no sommelier or wine expert would be shocked about that (and if they are...well then don't trust them!!).
If your first thought of good red wines for the summer days is Beaujolais,well, you are not wrong but I can tell you there is much more than that out of there! Keeping your choice in France but moving Western in Loire Valley you can enjoy the refreshing, crisp, light to medium bodied Saint-Nicolas de Bourgueil, Chinon and Saumur Champigny all made mainly from Cabernet Franc and all characterized by fruity aromas and good acidity. Particular scents of lead pencil (graphite) can be smelled in the first two. It is a must for people from Loire valley to serve these wines chilled in summer.
Leaving France for Italy, you can taste different things from various Northern regions. In Piedmont you can choose between a crisp and dry Barbera and a more tannic and less acidic Dolcetto. Both can be easy drinking wines especially in their youth. Dolcetto is full of ripe berries such as black cherry but can show liquorice aromas sometimes, while Barbera is definitely more about red fruit and plums. Moving further in Trentino Alto Adige there is a cheerful, unpretentious local wine called Marzemino that is extremely enjoyable. It is light, fruity with hints of violet and has a light body. Again I would chill a bit before drinking it! Same region but different wine: Lagrein. In this case you could actually choose to go lighter in colour and taste the great pink version. But if you'll go red then you will find forest fruits and vegetal flavours, a medium body and a fine bitter twist.
And there would be much more to list...Grignolino, Bardolino, Freisa....but I cannot list only Italian wines, so let's move to Bierzo. Mencia is the grape used in red wine production in this region of North -Western Spain, and can give very different wines depending on the producer and the style they choose. Most of them are subtle and original with an interesting complexity, a refreshing acidity and medium intensity of dark berries.
Last but not least...an unusual Austrian wine: St Laurent.The grape is originally from Alsace and probably related to Pinot Noir and very similar to this even if  more robust. It is characterized by a lively acidity and red fruit aromas especially fresh sour-cherry. It is a very elegant wine and can age well if produced in low yields.

And now finally, just to be sure that you will enjoy your wines at their best, please make sure you keep them in fridge for not more than half an hour....we don't want to loose their perfumes.
Cheers!