I am looking for recommendations on Occhio di Pernice Vin Santo wines. Avignonesi seems to be the way to go based on a few quick searches, but it is pretty pricey, so I am looking for something more affordable.
Cant really give a price range and I may even buy a few Avignonesi. I recently had 1998 Vittorio Innocenti Occhio di Pernice Vin Santo which was about $100 for a 375ml. I am happy with it for the price, but hoping to see what else is out there and always looking for a bargain.
My one and only Occhio de Pernice experience was at Avignonesi. Extraordinary! I was thinking about that wine recently prompted by a thread asking opinions about the most versatile red grape varieties. I was pondering Sangiovese as a possibility. Good luck.
P.S.We tasted the OdP at a luncheon at Avignonesi that included a tour and a look at the grape drying racks. And I know what you mean about pricey. At that same luncheon we had a delicious balsamic vinegar that we thought of bringing home as a gift for our neighbors until we saw the price. Gulp!
This will sound crazy, but hand on heart, I think Avignonesi’s version is good value (or at least it was a few years ago when I last checked). It’s certainly the most intense wine I’ve ever tasted and probably the most complex. Would I buy even a half bottle now? Possibly not, but if I did I know I’d be getting something that is good enough to be a once in a lifetime experience.
I suspect fans of Seppelt’s 100yo vintage para liqueur have similar feelings.
Aside from the truly exceptional Occhio di Pernice Vin Santo from Avignonesi, the only other I’ve had was a 2003 Vin Santo del Chianti Classico Occhio di Pernice from Badia a Coltibuono, always a favorite Chianti Classico producer for me. For 1/3 the price of the Avignonesi, this was a good introduction to the style years ago.
In my experience, Recioto della Valpolicella is a completely different animal.
“this brings us to one of Sangiovese’s most fascinating albeit challenging traits: its incredible variability in nearly every aspect, including morphology or form, site sensibility, evolution during cultivation, and of course, final results” ~Kerin O’Keefe~Brunello di Montalcino Understanding and Appreciating One of Italy’s Greatest Wines
a paragraph later she quotes Dr. Bandinelli “Sangiovese does not have the genetic stability of other grapes. While variations among clones of other varieties, including Cabernet and Merlot, are very subtle, the differences among Sangiovese’s numerous clones, and even differences among individual plants of the same clone, especially in terms of its performance, are extraordinary.”