TN: Some New Italian Reds...(long/boring)

We tried last night (2/15/12) some New Italian Wines:

  1. Badiali DOC: Lacrima di Morro d’Alba (13.5%) Morro d’Alba 2010: Very dark color; very strong black cherry/boysenberry
    quite perfumed/fragrant some earthy/dusty/licorice slight rustic beautiful nose; rather tart some tannic/hard very
    strong black cherry/boysenberry/framboise bit rough/rustic quite perfumed flavor; very long very strong black cherry/
    boysenberry bit tannic/hard/rustic quite perfumed finish; much like a Refosco but more high-toned character; a
    beautiful very perfumed wine at a great price. $20.00 (K&L)

  1. Luigi Giusti DOC: Lacrima di Morro d’Alba (13%; www.VinityWineCompany.com) Montignano 2009: Med.dark color; some unclean/
    goat pen/bretty/barnyardy slight floral/rose ppetal/perfumed/cherry almost cheap Chianti-like nose; rather tart unclean/
    bretty/batnyardy/goat pen/hot climate hard/tannic/coarse/rough slight rose petal/cherry flavor; very tart quite
    unclean/goat pen/barnyardy somewhat hard/tannic finish; way too unclean for my taste; inept winemaking destroys any
    Lacrima character. $19.00 (K&L)

  1. Ronchi di Cialla Rosso DOC: COdF (Schioppettino e Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso; 13%; www.RonchiDiCialla.com)
    2008
    : Med.dark bit bricked color; lovely perfumed/fragrant/high-toned some cherry/black cherry/Schio quite aromatic
    slight volatile/earthy attractive nose; somewhat tart some perfumed/cherry/Schio bit earthy/rustic fairly perfumed
    flavor w/ slight tannic bite; long some perfumed/cherry/high-toned/Schio bit earthy/rustic/rough slight tannic finish;
    a bit rustic but lots of high-toned character from the Schio; nice wine for the price. $16.00 (K&L)

  1. LaTunella Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso DOC: ColliOrientali del Friuli (13%; www.LaTunella.It; L4366) Ipplis
    2005
    : Very dark color; intense licorice/graphite/Kansas outhouse/pungent/tarry/ozone slight black cherry/boysenberry
    nose; very sour fecal/metallic/graphite/earthy/pungent/tarry coarse/rustic some tannic flavor; long quite sour somewhat
    rough/tannic/coarse/unclean pungent/tarry/fecal finish w/ fair tannins; a few interesting things therein but not very
    pleasant on the whole. $20.00 (K&L)

  1. urban legend Teroldego HollandLandingVnyd/Clarksburg (14.2%; www.ULCellars.com; Growers: Duke/Mike/Steve
    Heringer; Winemakers: Steve & Marlene Shaffer) Oakland 200
    : Very dark color; rather perfumed/aromatic slight alcoholic/
    volatile chocolaty/licorice/black cherry rather earthy nose; soft lush black cherry/earthy/grapey slight dishwater flavor
    w/ light tannins; med.long bit tannic soft/lush/fat licorice/black cherry/earthy finish; bit on the soft/coarse side;
    speaks mostly of Clarksburg and only slightly of Teroldego. $20.00 (K&L)

  1. Cantina d’Isera Teroldego IGT: Vigneti delle Dolomiti (12%) Trenntino 2007: Med.dark color; rather burnt/charred/smokey
    peculiar slight iodine/seaweed rather funky/complex nose; tart rather earthy/rustic/rough fairly charred/burnt/ozone/
    pungent slight licorice/black cherry strange flavor w/ some tannins; long tangy/metallic/flinty/charred/burnt/used
    fireworks slight licorice/black cherry finish w/ some tannins; not altogether unpleasant but rather weird/bizarre and
    not much Teroldego fruit. $25.00 (WE)

  1. Lachthaler DoP: TeroldegoRotaliano (12.5%) RovereDellaLuna 2009: Very dark color; lovely perfumed licorice/chocolaty/
    black cherry light toasty/oak some complex very attractive/interesting nose; soft bit tannic/rough/hard strong chocolatey/
    black cherry/licorice bit earthy quite attractive flavor; long chocolaty/black cherry/licorice/pungent light toasty/oak
    loads of fruit bit tannic finish; needs several yrs; easily the most characteristic annd best of these Teroldegos.
    $28.00 (MX)

  1. Endrizzi DOC: TeroldegoRotaliano SuperioreRiserva MasoCamorz (13%) LakeGarda 2005: Very dark color; strong toasty/oak/
    smokey bit earthy some black cherry/chocolaty/licorice rather modern-style attractive nose; tart bit lean/hard strong
    toasty/oak/smokey some chocolaty/black cherry/black cherry cola/pungent bit earthy/rough flavor w/ fair tannins; fairly
    long strong toasty/oak/smokey some black cherry/licorice/chocolaty/cola finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs;
    the modern winemaking style pushes down the Teroldego varietal character somewhat. $36.00 (WE)

  1. Endrizzi IGT Groppello di Revo (Raetica descendant??; 12%) 2003: Light rather brown/murky color; very strong oxidized/
    tired/wet-dog-fur unpleasant nose; old/tired/dried out/oxidized sour/tannic flavor; totally dead & gone. $25.00 (WE)

  1. Claudio Morelli Suffragium IGT: Marche Rosso (14.5%; Vernaccia Rossa di Pergola) Fano 2008: Med.dark color; strong
    grapey/chocolaty strong Fr.oak/charred/pungent very modern-styled nose; fairly tart bit tannic/hard strong Fr.oak/
    charred/smokey slight chocolaty/raspberry flavor; long perfumed talc/Fr.oak/charred/smokey slight chocolaty flavor w/
    fair tannins; any VernacciaRossa character has been destroyed by the modern winemaking style; boring & uninteresting.
    $23.00 (K&L)

  1. Cave des Onze Communes DOC: Vallee d’Aosta Tourette VinoRosso da Uva da Agricoltura Biologica
    (13%; Biodynamic; PetitRouge/Tourette) NV
    : Med.color; very fragrant/perfumed floral/peppermint/ribbon candy earthy
    bit high-toned/strawberry some funky/unclean/coarse nose; rather earthy/dusty some strawberry/high-toned/pepperminty
    some toasty/oak flavor; med. bit funky/unclean rather earthy/dusty slight floral/strawberry/pepperminty finish w/
    light tannins; some pleasant high-toned/Gamay-like character but a bit funky/unclean; Alice would love this. $24.00 (WE)

  1. Passopisciaro IGT: Roddo Sicilia (14%; Nerello Mascalese; www.Passopisciaro.com) 2007: Med.light color; light
    perfumed/aromatic rather earthy/rustic some bright cherry/strawberry/high-tomed almost Pinot-like nose; tart bit
    lean/thin bright/cherry/strawberry rather earthy/mineral/dusty flavor w/ light tannins; med.long earthy/mineral/dusty
    some bright/cherry/strawberry finish w/ slight bitey tannins; not the heavy/coarse/grapey character of many Sicilian
    reds and almost Pinot-like in character; nice/interesting wine but pricey at $35.00

And the same ole BloodyPulpit:

  1. Lacrima: I had a btl of this variety in my Prima IlC shipment last Fall and was mightly impressed by it. It had
    a nose redolent of black cherries & spice with a bit of a rough/tannic bite; quite a lot like Refosco but w/
    some of the high-toned notes of Schioppettino. It is a variety that is indigenous to TheMarches around the town
    of Morra d’Alba, and has nothing to do w/ the Piedmontese Alba. The Bidiali was probably the best Lacrima I’ve
    yet had (out of four) whilst the Giusti was marred by inept winemaking. It’s a grape, like Refosco, that they
    should be investigating in Calif, planting all up & down the State.

  1. RedLetterDay: Tonight’s tasting was a RedLetterDay for SteveCostigan. With four new varieties, he broke the
    100 mark of different varieties that he’s tried. A Ch.Nairac '07 was the celebratory wine.

  1. Groppello: This variety, unique to the shores of LakeGarda, is thought (along w/ the Reve grape from the Swiss Valais)
    to be a descendant of the ancient Raetica wine that was made famous by Pliny the Elder. This Groppello reminded
    me of nothing like the Raetica’s I used to drink w/ Pliny, but it was sufficiently oxidized & over-the-hill that it
    could have very well dated back to his time.

  1. Teroldego: Quite an interesting grape. Some like Refosco but mor high-toned character. It’s a sibling to Dureza, one
    of the parents of Syrah. Primarily grown in Trentino & AltoAdige. I particularly like the two from Foradori. The regular
    Teroldego is much more interesting, to me, than the IlGranito/high-end version. The best
    of the Calif ones I’ve had has been JimClendenan’s IlPodere. One blogger described Teroldego as a cross between a
    GrandCruBeaujolais and a Chianti/Sangiovese…a comparison that totally escapes me. It’s a grape that they should be
    planting all up & down the Coast in Calif.
    Tom

Tom, that was obviously a bad bottle of the Groppello as it should be extremely grape-y and bright red. It’s long gone (and should have been drunk sooner for sure) but we’ll credit you for it on your next order.

That Torrette was a HUGE hit at our bar and blew out of here. Alice WOULD have loved it!

Yup…I had a previous btl from you in June '08 and it was much as you describe. Quite nice.
No need for the credit…I was the one who gambled on it holding up. Sometimes you lose.
Tom

“speaks mostly of Clarksburg and only slightly of Teroldego”

there is something you don’t read in a tasting note everyday. Thanks for the interesting notes.

Interesting notes, thanks for sharing them. Two points worth mentioning;

Gropello de Revo is not quite the same as Groppelo from around Garda. It’s a single vineyard on the shores of the man made Lago Giustina in the Val di Non, north of Garda. Some very old vines there, with some more recent plantings as well. It’s the last remnant of what was once a fairly well planted region, back when subsistence farming was the main occupation of the valley.

Current thinking is that Teroldego is the child of Lagrein. Lagrein being a sibling of Dureza makes Teroldego a cousin to Syrah. It’s thought that the variety that crossed with Pinot Noir to create Lagrein, then crossed with Lagrein to create Teroldego

Tom,

Is Clarksburg the same town the Monkees sang about in “Last Train to Clarksburg”?

Thanks for the clarification, Greg. Wasn’t aware of that.
Tom

Well, Loren…there in the SacramentoDelta, the land is pretty flat & fertile/loamy. I find it gives the wines
a certain coarseness & earthy & loamy character. Not a lot in the way of high-toned notes. Though it’s
probably a bit cooler than Lodi, I find many of the Lodi wines far more interesting.
But Clarksburg is a rather neat farming community there on the outskirts of Sacramento. I usually whiz
right thru on SR 180 and really should stop sometime and absorb the local culture. They look like down-home
Kansas folks…my type of people (spoken w/ his finest “aw-shucks” Kansas twang).
Tom

As I bet you know, the song is “Last Train to Clarksville” and refers to Clarksville, TN.

Gawd, that Suffragium sounds downright horrid. Vernaccia rossa, if it is indeed the same as vernaccia nera (which I know mostly from the San Severino area of the Marche), is such a charming, engaging variety when made in a more pure style. A shame.

Tom, keep the Lacrima info coming! I’ve been enjoying Marotti Campi’s Orgiolo recently which is definitely in the modern but character-filled camp. I thought about trying that Giusti, but a Brett-bomb is not what I’m looking for from something like Lacrima. Brett is good for adding interest to less interesting grapes like Cab or Grenache . . . .