Our church and school hosted a fundraiser over the weekend, one event being a zoom wine tasting of volcanic Italian wines. My wife and I were of course happy to support. We really liked two of the wines, but struggled with the third- which was very polarizing in the zoom tasting group overall. Big thanks to Dcanter wine boutique for putting the tasting together and walking is through the wines.
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2015 Roccolo Grassi Soave La Broia - Italy, Veneto, Soave (1/25/2021)
Very pleasant wine. This is a straw yellow color, on the nose a nice mix of pear, red apples, orange citrus, grilled pineapple, and a touch of smoke. On the palate, some crushed rocks, beeswax, saltiness, pear, lemon, and candied pineapple. There is a nice salinity and mineralogy to the mouthfeel that reminds one of a Vouvray (someone at our tasting mentioned Albariño which I guess I could see as well). There is a real refreshing acidity to balance the wine and drive it to a strong finish.
Very pleasant wine and an excellent QPR at $18-20. Another couple years may bring out some more complexity, but it’s drinking super well now. (91 pts.)
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2018 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso - Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC (1/25/2021)
Really pleasant wine. Light / medium red color and quite translucent. On the nose is some black cherry, raspberry, some cranberry, and a touch of sandalwood. On the palate, notes of cherry, raspberry, pomegranate, a touch of dark fruits. Three is a nice touch of sweet smokiness as well, like pork ribs off the grill (though the wine is not sweet) that helps bring a bit of extra depth to the wine. The wine has a nice tension with good acidity and a real juiciness to the wine making for very easy drinking. The overall excellent balance makes this a great drinking wine even if it is not terribly complex. Paired well with food, and though I doubt this is a long ager (had a bit left over for night 2 that wasn’t quite as good), it drinks super well right now. This is an overall excellent QPR at $17-20 and the kind of wine you can purchase by the case. (90 pts.)
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2017 Cantine Matrone Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio Rosso - Italy, Campania, Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio (1/25/2021)
I really wanted to like this wine but just couldn’t unfortunately. Nose is very Smokey - more like a campfire vs ashtray, but the smokiness is dense and crowds out the fruit (though there is some plum, cassis, and black cherry).
Palate is a bit odd. There is touch of carbonation when you sip - I noticed there were a few bubbles when the wine sat in the glass, but didn’t think much of it. Unfortunately the carbonation lends a bitterness at the start, while it goes away at mid palate it’s not pleasant. Smoke is the dominant flavor here, it’s strong, and there is a strong flavor of tar, rust, and some black cherry and black currant. The wine is very tannic, I got hit with a wall of tannins when I drank it and they overwhelm the mouthfeel. Acidity is medium.
We drank it the first time without decanting, which was a mistake. After letting it sit for a night, the acidity was a bit more pronounced which improved balance. A second day and some decanting improved the balance further, but the wine was still too smokey, tannic, and the carbonation was still present.
I could see this being a nice bottle in 10+ years when the tannin and smoke integrate, but I’m not convinced, and it’s not working for me now. (81 pts.)
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