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+--- Thread: Flight of Italian Reds (no, not the Bumblebee) (/thread-7379.html)
- wondersofwine - 12-29-2003
Visited Aux Delices Restaurant and wine bar and Vintage Wines retail shop while in La Jolla for Christmas. (Thanks for the earlier tip, Winoweenie). Couldn't convince any of my relatives to do the wine tasting with me. They wanted to be outside on one of the few sunny days we had in San Diego area--imagine that.
For $5.00 received small pours of six Italian red wines. Also enjoyed a delicious lunch of pork tenderloin in a creamy marsala sauce with bell pepper strips and other veggies.
#1 2001 Bruni, Moresco Sangiovese Capalbio--Tuscan blend of 85% Sangiovese, 15% Canaiolo Nero $10.99 per bottle
See-through purple-red with cherry flavors, a little spicy on the finish. Pleasant food wine that might fit the good value category.
#2 2001 San Vicenti, Chianti Classico $17.99
About the same color and density as the first wine. More mouth presence. Dark cherries in nose and flavor and more tannic than the first wine. Needs some time.
#3 2000 Avignonesi, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano $15.99
I have a bottle of this (possibly a different vintage) at home. I liked this one with the pork dish. It was a slightly darker purple-red with flavors and nose of dark fruits-- mulberries, currants, dark cherries and had a rather long finish. Again a good value I would say.
#4 2001 Bochis, Dolcetto di Dogliani $13.99
Denser wine, less see-through. Unusual nose. Quite tannic and noticeable wood. Medium-long finish. Didn't do much for me.
#5 2000 Arnaldo Caprai, Rosso di Montefalco $13.99 Less dense than the Dolcetto. Nose: vanillin and fruits Flavors: dark cherries, plum--noticeable Merlot in the plum flavor. Wine bar notes: "Super concentrated blend of Sangiovese, Merlot and Sagrantino is a real crowd pleaser. Cocoa spice and deep black fruit make for a good food wine." Good value wine. Several others were tasting the flight of Italian wines at the same time and one man at the table next to mine said #5 was his favorite.
I liked it also. Numbers 3, 5 and 6 were my favorites but 3 and 5 were possibly more food friendly or versatile than 6.
#6 1995 Nozzole, Il Pareto 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Pale garnet. See-through. Faint brandy nose. Flavors of dark fruits including currants; a little spice on the finish. Seems ready to drink but not displaying too much in the way of secondary flavors. Nice to drink by itself. Not particularly well matched to the pork tenderloin. Wine bar notes: "Cedar, smoke, currants and a healthy dose of new oak --goes with roasted meats."
For five dollars this was a nice tasting.
I browsed the Vintage Wines shop and came away with a Tobin James Ballistic Zinfandel (I think IK reported on this), a 2001 Simi Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Girardin Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles (premier cru white Burgundy). The red burgundies were sparse and best vintages sold out or too expensive.
I edited to corrected some misspellings but still not sure if it is 100% correct.
[This message has been edited by wondersofwine (edited 12-29-2003).]
[This message has been edited by wondersofwine (edited 12-29-2003).]
- Innkeeper - 12-29-2003
Both Capalbio and Canaiolo Nero are new ones for me. Understand that the Capalbio DOC has both white (50% terbbiano and others usually including vermentino) and red (50% sangiovese and others usually including cabernet sauvignon. So, the 85% was the red one. Can find nothing on Canaiolo Nero.
[This message has been edited by Innkeeper (edited 12-29-2003).]
- Thomas - 12-29-2003
Canaiolo is an old grape of the Chianti region that is used in classic Chianti blending. I never heard it referred to as canaiolo nero.