Well, I received a visit today from Marco Turano of Vinifera Imports, and their local agent Herb, owner of Josulete Wine Distributing. It was particularly neat because my friend Reed was in for lunch, sitting next them, and so joined in for a bit of wine tasting!

Marco pulled out about a dozen wines from their Italian portfolio, so we got down to some serious tasting! I was primed and ready to run, thanks to a few interesting wines that Shawn of L&L brought in a bit earlier:

‘00 Speri Amarone, which was opened two days prior, still showed chocolately power, but was also lacking vibrancy and freshness. Too bad, but not horrible, and certainly deserving of another go ’round. I’m not a big Amarone fan in any case.

‘03 Turkey Flat “The Turk” is an Aussie blend of mourvedre, carignane, grenach and shiraz, and boy is it plush. Loads of peppery berry aromas, it progresses perfectly to the palate showing good depth and balance. Not bad at all for an Oz fruitbomb! I liked it!

‘03 Turkeye Flat Shiraz (Barossa) is their big player, but this is oddly unaromatic, but elegant on the palate. Sweet, dark fruit

‘04 Selak’s Ice Wine (Marlborough) is a nice artificial process (i.e. frozen) sticky, with a decidely super sweet, apricot core. Very good, though it should have been colder.

The Italians went like this:

‘04 Cascina Chicco Roero Arneis “Anterisio” (Piemonte)~ very nice, though warm-ish, with crisp, ripe green fruits and melon over a slightly salty savoriness. Acidity seemed good, and this is certainly ripe. Pretty nice.

‘04 Firriato Grillo “Altavilla della Corte” (Sicilia)~ Soft, plush palate with juicy melon and fig fruits flecked with white pepper. Sweet golden apple lingers on the finish. A good wine from this new-to-me producer!

‘03 Fattoria Paradisio “Maestri di Vigna” (Emilia Romagna)~ The nose is very pretty, with small red berries, eucalyptus, red flowers, and cherry. Very supple and soft on the palate, thought he profile is quite engaging. Well done sangiovese, and quite different from the Toscana model.

‘03 Brigaldara Valpolicella Classico (veneto)~ Big, rambunctuous nose of ground black pepper. Bright reflective ruby in color. Velvety and richly textured up front, it’s built around ripe cherry fruit. Progression is excellent, as the pepper recurs on the palate,too. Depth and elegant, this is one of the best Valpos I’ve had!

‘01 Barberani Lago di Corbara “Foresco” (Umbria)~ sangiovese/cag sauv/cab franc/merlot. Powerful, woodsy, “wild berries on the bush” quality, with silky texture and a nice, ripe core. Lots of juiciness lingers on the long finish.

‘03 Braida Barbera d’Asti “Montebruna”~ the last Braida I had, the ‘01 Ai Suma was way too intense for me. The is somewhat alcoholic on the nose, but the ripe fruits cloak nicely, masking the heat and foiling the acidity. Just a kiss of wood, it’s almost totally integrated and this bootle is doing great.

‘02 Firriato Nero d’Avola “Chiaramonte”~ Goodness, but what a loud nose this wine has! It smells slightly funky over the red, racy furit. Surpisingly elegant, it is a dense wine with plenty of grip and a savory, drying finish. Very ripe fruit.

‘03 Firriato “Santagostino” Rosso “Baglio Soria” (Sicilia)~ This nero d’avola/syrah blend talk a big game, starting with a captivating nose of raw, garlic rubbed steak! Serious and darkly fruited on the palate, this lasts long on the palate. Well done if just slightly generic seeming. I liked it, actually.

‘00 Basilisco (Basilicata)~ dark and saturated, with plum skin, leather, and alcohol aromas. Plush yet firm, tannic yet generous, and sporting surprising depth and detail. The scale is up on this across the board, so it is actually balanced. Very ripe dark berries permeate the wine. Long. Excellent. All aglianico.

‘00 Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino~ Huge, gorgeous nose with blackberry velvet aromas. It actually smells thick! Very supple, with full mouthfeel, and positively soaking in vine-sweetened berry! Wow.

‘01 Carpineta Fontalpino “Do ut Des”~ This is a Tuscan sangiovese/merlot/cab sauv blend that really shows like the racy Italian thoroughbred it is. The sangio rules the roost, here. Saturated, slightly funky/bretty aromas lead to a vibrant, richly earthy palate. Long and mouthcoating, this is really original tasting, despite the blend. Love it. Do ut des is Latin, meaning apparently, “a favor in return”.

‘04 Dante Rivetti Moscato d’Asti “Riveto”~ Typical aromas, but super sweet on the palate; this was warm, and I think would have showed much better had it been chilled. Unctuous.

‘04 Braida Brachetto d’Acqui~ slightly dull garnet with a touch of fizz, the aromas are slightly musty, the wine smelling like a freshly fermented grape crush. Oh, it’s so plush and flowery rose on the nose and palate! Lovely fruit, great body…. what else do you like?

Later in the day, I cracked a brand new ‘01 Marcarini Barolo Brunate, wich is smashing, and a real classically styled Barolo that stands in sharp contrast to the ‘00 Massolino Barolo Parafada I opened after it. This Massolino tastes like a tart cherry Jolly Rancher plucked off a freshly asphalted sidewalk! Not quite “yuck!”, but close!

I’ve got some cool stuff lined up for the tasting tomorrow, and I look forward to hosting the event. More on that later, I’m getting tired here.