Friday night pizza TNs: Three Italians

WINE TALK
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I continue to look for silver linings in this very gray cloud, and one of them is the ability to walk down to the cellar at lunchtime and do a little 'Search & destroy". So a trio of Italian wines with nothing in common other than the fact that I hadn’t seen them in a while. I know for many folks who only lean traditional that Scavino remains a controversial wine, but the '93 was truly singing today, and I like a Conterno as much as the next guy.


Good acidity for lift, sweet/ripe primarily red fruit on the palate, nice persistence. Everything I want in a Barolo on a Friday afternoon. IMO, '93 is the most underrated vintage of the decade - while I still think that the '89 BdF is my personal favorite from Scavino, this wine is not significantly inferior to the '89.

  • 2013 Feudo Montoni Nero d’Avola Vigna Lagnusa - Italy, Sicily, Sicilia (4/10/2020)
    Not bad - my recollection is that I have been so-so on this wine in the past, but this is okay today. I can’t speak to the vintage, but one of my frequent concerns with Sicilian Nero d’Avola is the tendency in warm vintages to display overripe/roasted fruit, but this comes across as pretty fresh & balanced right now, if not overly complex.
  • 2016 Fattoria Rodáno Chianti Classico - Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG (4/10/2020)
    Pretty good for a “run of the mill” Chianti - the more I drink wines from 2016 in Chianti, the more I become convinced that this is one of those rare vintages where a rising tide lifted all boats.

Not overly complex, but pretty easy & delicious going down, with nice typicity for a Chianti.

Posted from CellarTracker

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My family is also making pizzas tonight. I just opened a 2010 Felsina Chianti Classico Riserva. Herbal nose; cherry and bright acidity. Yummy. This is in a good place.

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Thanks for the notes. I’ve been neutral on Rodano in the past…tend to prefer Castellare de Castellina from that neighborhood. Sounds like a good one.

Scavino…I’ll take your word about the quality [wink.gif]. Sipping a 2006 Sandrone at the moment.


RT

4

Nice notes as always Bob. I’ve never had Montoni, but I had a stellar 2017 Gulfi Nero d’Avola with homemade pizza the other night. Really classy for the varietal; fresh fruit with tar and just “chewy” enough, for lack of better term.

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Still wondering how long nero d’avola ages. Putting a Gulfi Neromaccarj 2001 to the test. Probably ought to drink it soon, eh?

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Not exactly alike but I kinda lump Dolcetto and Nero d’Avola together. Earthy fruit and some puckering tannins and they both usually age better than expected. Not long agers but better than expected.

Tom

7

Hmm. Every time I drink Nero, it seems tannic enough to last a long time, and maybe need long holding. Every time I drink dolcetto, it seems like I should have drunk it last week. If at all.

Maybe it’s just a matter of the producers we’re drinking.

8

I feel the same way about dolcetto

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We had a Zoom wine tasting with a group of relatives last night. We all went to Tuscany last year and one of our visits was Tolaini. We had all ordered wine that we tasted there delivered home. We had pizza and opened a 2015 Al Passo, a 2014 Valdisanti and a 2011 Picconero. Fun night.

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Yeah, re: comparing Nero d’Avola to Dolcetto, I would be more in Lee’s corner than Tom’s.

To me, Dolcetto is kind of like rose’ - you can age it, and I have aged it, but after opening an aged bottle, I often wonder why I bothered.

While I can appreciate a good Nero d’Avola (and at least IMO, Gulfi is the gold standard there), almost 100% of the time side-by-side I will prefer a Nerello Mascalese.

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Agreed