TNs: Two Italian QPR's

WINE TALK
1

2004 Cavallotto Barbera Vigna Del Cucolo
Color still a deep, opaque reddish-purple, with some lightening around the rim. Nose with black & red fruits, seemingly “sharpened” by the wine’s acidity. A cascade of sweet fruit on the palate, well-rounded, nice finish, almost guzzle-able. I guess one might wish for a little more structure, and there is nothing here to suggest that this wine will be capable of developing any further complexity or nuance with additional age, but right now it provides some tasty, fruit-forward Barbera, perfect for some bread and cheese and an eggplant parmigiana (which is what it will be consumed with in about an hour [cheers.gif] ). Although the 2004 may no longer available, you can pick up the '05 version of this wine for about $25 a bottle all in.

2005 Tasca D’Almerita Lamuri Nero D’Avola
Lighter in color than the Barbera, a dark translucent red in the glass fading to brick around the rim. An “earthy”, berry-scented, almost cru Beaujolais-styled nose. Sweet, crisp red fruits (primarily cherry) on the palate, with a slight dryness to the finish, but altogether a very nice wine, with an interesting aftertaste on the finish. I find this wine more “intellectually” engaging than the Barbera, although I’m not sure if I prefer the total package. About $20 all in.

2

Bob,

I know what you mean when you say the one was more intellectually challenging, yet you were unsure if you liked the whole package. These are the toughest wines to assess!

For me, being engaged in a wine is the highest reward, and so even if the “big picture” isn’t perfect, that it prompted me to think scores it big points.

3

In the interests of complete disclosure, my wife clearly preferred the Barbera, and it is certainly the more hedonistic wine right now - so we had a 50-50 “tie” regarding wine preference in the Hughes household tonight. For the record, we both liked the eggplant parmigiana [welldone.gif] .