Tasted 24th May 2011

Trinacria Rosso 2010 Sicily, Italy 3.99
35% Nero d’Avola, 35% Frappato, 30% Nerello and Sangiovese. Macerated for 4 days on skins at 27°C and fermented in stainless steel
tanks, followed by full malolactic and storage in stainless steel until bottling. Alc 12.2%, TA 5.40g/l, pH 3.40, RS 3.0g/l. Available from
Waitrose Wine Direct and 253 branches.
Pale colour, like Beaujolais. Light, cherry nose. Light and fruity taste, but not sweet. Very good for the money, but you’re not going to fool anyone that this is an expensive wine.

Vignale 2010 Valpolicella, Veneto, Italy 4.99
Buyer’s Highlight - One of our most remarkable wines this year. So drinkable, so enjoyable, so natural.
70% Corvina Veronese with 30% Rondinella. Planted on clay - calcareous soils at a density of 3,000vines/ha and Veronese pergola
trained. The grapes were hand-harvested in gloriously sunny conditions and were extremely healthy. Softly pressed, then macerated
and fermented with selected yeasts for 8 - 10 days at a controlled temperature of around 28°C in stainless steel tanks. Winemaker Paolo
Grigolli. Alc 12.0%, TA 5.8g/l, pH 3.4, RS 5.0g/l. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 253 branches.
Quite a stinky, farmyardy nose, which is something I like very much. Nice. Good taste. Light/medium body, with lovely balance of oak/fruit. Easy drinking, but that’s not all. The price is ridiculous. +

Moncaro 2010 Rosso Piceno Superiore, Marche, Italy 4.99
60% Montepulciano and 40% Sangiovese from the DOC Rosso Piceno Superiore area. Vines are 8 - 30 years old, planted on clay and
sand at an altitude of 150 - 350m and a density of 1,700 - 3,500vines/ha. The grapes enjoyed a cold maceration and were fermented
with selected yeast at a controlled temperature partly in cement and partly in steel tanks. Matured in a combination of oak barrels,
cement and steel. Winemaker Giuliano D’Ignazi, with consultant Riccardo Cotarella. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Alc 12.5%,
TA 5.1g/l, pH 3.55, RS 5.0g/l. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 160 branches.
Cherry nose. Sweet and fruity. Pleasant enough.

Saluti Vino Rosso NV Vino da Tavola, Italy 5.99
70% Nero d’Avola from Sicily with 30% Sangiovese from Emilia Romagna. Both varieties were harvested by hand in September 2010, with
average yields of 10tons/ha for the Nero d’Avola and 8tons/ha for the Sangiovese. The two varietals were fermented separately (with
skin contact prior to fermentation) in stainless steel tanks. Full malolactic and no contact with oak. Winemaker Gaetane Carron. Suitable
for vegetarians. Alc 12.7%, TA 4.3g/l, pH 3.5, RS 5.76g/l. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 248 branches.
Love the packaging – it’d look great in my kitchen, with its red and white stripes. Farmyardy, leathery nose. It says “no contact with oak” but there’s a lot of savoury yumminess there. Nice taste. Spicy and very likeable. A very good price.

Recchia 2010 Bardolino, Veneto, Italy 5.99
Buyer’s Highlight - Raspberry coulis in a glass!
65% Corvina Veronese, 25% Rondinella and 10% Molinara. The grapes were fermented at coolish temperatures of 20 - 22°C for around
4 days in stainless steel. Subsequent storage in stainless steel and bottle. Alc 12.4%, TA 5.9g/l, pH 3.33. RS 2.7g/l. Available from
Waitrose Wine Direct and 218 branches.
Bright and exciting nose. Young, cherry fruit. Nice rustic, juicy, cherry, flavour. This is good. Light, certainly, and light–coloured, but a great little picnic wine.

Sicilano Wild Cat Nero d’Avola 2009 Sicily, Italy 6.49
100% Organic Nero d’Avola from the hills around Trapani at an altitude of 250-400m. The vines are planted on clay soils at a density of
5,000vines/ha and yield 8,000kg/ha. The grapes were hand-picked and traditionally vinified in stainless steel fermenters at controlled
temperature of 24 - 26°C for 10 days. Alc 13.5%. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 158 branches.
Sweet, heady, aroma with a little compost. Pretty tannic but beautifully perfumed. The flavour lasts very, very well. An interesting wine.

Inycon Nero d’Avola/Frappato 2010 Sicily, Italy 6.69
70% Nero d’Avola and 30% Frappato from vineyards in and around Menfi. Vines are planted 3,800 - 4,200vines/ha, guyot or spur-pruned
and manually harvested. Fermented for 8 days at 22 - 25°C with selected yeast. 100% natural malo in tank. Majority matured in stainless
steel with a small % in oak. Bottled May 2011. Winemaker Domenico de Gregorio with consultant Owen Bird. Suitable for vegetarians.
Alc 12.8%, TA 5.55g/l, pH 3.42, RS 3.5g/l. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 239 branches.
Nicely farmyardy, stinky nose. Spicy, southern taste. Nice, actually. Juicy, refreshing and a bit rustic. Like it.

Alois Lageder Krafuss Pinot Noir 2007 Alto Adige, Italy 27.99
100% Pinot Noir hailing from the Krafuss estate vineyard near the village of Appiano-Montagna at an altitude of 430 - 450m facing
southeast. Vines are planted on loamy, chalky soil with glacial deposits and have a cool microclimate. Planted in 1991 with selected Pinot
Noir clones at high density in a wire-trellis system, the vineyard is in conversion to Demeter Biodynamic. Extended fermentation/
maceration lasting 18 days in stainless steel tanks. Then matured for 12 months in barriques (a mixture of oak from Nevers, Alliers and
Vosges, with one-third of the barrels new). Winemaker Luis von Dellemann. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Alc 13.0%, pH 3.6,
RS 1.6g/l. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 3 branches.
Pretty heavy bottle, and an interesting lable. Very, very pale colour. Think Volnay. Oh my goodness, it has the most beautiful aroma. And now I’ve seen the price. It is just beautiful on the nose. Smooth, elegant, perfumed, and absolutely lovely. *

Vinchio-Vaglio I Tre Vescovi 2009 Barbera d’Asti Superiore, Piedmont, Italy 8.99
100% Barbera d’Asti. Vines are 20 - 25 years old, with a yield of 7.5tons/ha and planted on a mix of sandy, argillaceous and calcareous
soil on steep slopes. Grapes were hand-picked, destalked and pressed before a temperature-controlled maceration in stainless steel
tanks. Matured in French oak casks for 9 months. Winemaker Giuliano Noè. Alc 13.5%, TA 5.2g/l, pH 3.6, RS 3.4g/l. Special Offer: Save
25%, £8.99 - £6.74 from 29/06 to 19/07. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 247 branches.
Rustic and oaky nose. Nice. Just right. A good example and worth trying.

Canaletto 2010 Chianti, Tuscany, Italy 6.99
A traditional blend of mainly Sangiovese grapes. The fruit was harvested in Oct 2010, destemmed and soft crushed. Fermentation took
place in stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature of 25°C, and lasted around 12 days with frequent remontage to extract colour
and achieve soft tannins. The juice was left in contact with the skins for 8 - 10 days and full malolactic was carried out. Aged for 3
months in large Slavonian oak barrels. Winemaker Massimo Tarter. Suitable for vegetarians. Alc 13.0%, TA 5.10g/l, pH 3.65, RS 3.0g/l.
Special Offer: Save 25%, £6.99 - £5.24 from 17/08 to 13/09. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 252 branches.
Not a particularly inviting nose. Dry and just not that interesting.

Poggiotondo Cerro del Masso 2008 Chianti, Tuscany, Italy 8.99
80% Sangiovese, 10% Merlot, 5% Syrah and 5% Colorino from Alberto Antonini’s own 50ha estate, with high density plantings at
6,250vines/ha on marine chalk and calcareous soils. Guyot trained with yields around 9tonnes/ha, manually-harvested in late-Sept to
early-Oct. The grapes were destemmed, lightly crushed and fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel at 28ºC with a 6 - 7 day
post-ferment maceration. Malolactic took place in tank followed by 10 months in 225l French oak. Winemaker Alberto Antonini.
Alc 12.5%, TA 5.7g/l, pH 3.55, RS <1.0g/l. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 234 branches.
Some tropical fruit on the nose – certainly led by fruit. More savoury in the palate. Nice balance. Fair price.

Querciabella 2008 Chianti Classico, Tuscany, Italy 19.99
95% Sangiovese and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon from biodynamically run vineyards at 350 - 500m altitude and with a southerly exposure.
The grapes were hand-picked into 6 - 8 kg crates with an average yield of 35hl/ha and moved immediately to the cellar, where they were
destemmed, not crushed, and macerated/fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats for 12 days. Matured in French oak
barriques - 10% of them new and 90% one- or two-years-old, from the forests of Allier, Nevers and Tronçais. After 10 - 12 months, the best lots
were selected, assembled for the final blend and bottled. Alc 13.5%, RS 2.1g/l. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 20 branches.
Dark fruits and vanilla. Not too ridiculously oak/vanilla aroma. A lot of oak on the palate. Nice, spicy and vibrant. Good.

Cantina del Pino 2007 Barbaresco, Piedmont, Italy 26.99
100% Nebbiolo, harvested Sept 2007 with a yield of 30hl/ha. Grapes were sourced from 3 different vineyards, located in Barbaresco and
Neive village, at an altitude of 300m. The soil is limestone with high calcium content. Long alcoholic fermentation of 25 days in vats with
controlled temperature, then aged for 1 year in small French barrels, followed by a further year in large casks. Winemaker Renato Vacca.
Suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Alc 14.5%, TA 5.5g/l, pH 3.60, RS 2.2g/l. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 127 branches.
Very, very plain label. I like a still small voice. Very pale and brick red, like a Barolo. Beautifully fragrant. Woody but also with fragrant liquorice (no, me neither). Very, very woody and beautifully fragrant. Why do I always like expensive wines? This is stunning! Move over Barolo. *

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