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SuperValu French Whites [Make Mine a Double #20]

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Here are a couple of lovely French whites from the excellent 2015 vintage, both fairly moderate in alcohol at 12.5% but very different in style:

Saint Auriol Chatelone Corbières 2015 (12.5%, €12.99 at SuperValu / Centra)

St Auriol Chatelaine Corbieres small

Corbières is the biggest Appellation Contrôlée within the Languedoc-Roussillon wine region of France, the central part of southern France stretching from the Spanish border across the Mediterranean coast up to Provence.  It’s obviously a sunny place so has long been the source of easy-drinking, fruity reds which are produced in abundance.  It is very much a region on the up, with a new wave of quality-conscious producers making their own wines with low yields rather than selling grapes to the local co-operative.

This is a white Corbières, which makes up only around 2% of the AOC’s production, so it is something of a rarity.  The wine is a blend of grapes popular in the Rhône, Provence and Languedoc – Marsanne, Roussanne, Grenache Blanc & Bourboulenc.  The vines face south-east so they get plenty of sun but not too much heat in the afternoon.

Each of the grapes adds something to the wine – there’s soft pear, apple and stone fruit, a touch of citrus and nutty notes – and a delightful texture.  The back label suggests drinking between 10C and 12C – so make sure it’s not served straight from a domestic fridge which would be too cold.

The back label also has another surprising snippet: the producer reckons the wine will keep for 6 years or more if stored well – if you are the sort of person who likes to see how a wine evolves and gains in complexity over time then this would be a great bottle to try it with!

La Vigne Des Sablons Vouvray 2015 (12.5%, €14.99 at SuperValu / Centra)

La Vigne de Sablons Vouvray small

Still in France but further north, Vouvray is made in the Touraine region around the city of Tours.  Touraine region wines can be red, white, rosé or sparkling; reds are made from Gamay, Pinot Noir, Côt (Malbec) and Breton (Cabernet Franc), amongst others with Sauvignon Blanc and Pineau Blanc de la Loire (Chenin Blanc) the main white grapes.

Vouvray is east by north east of Tours and is predominantly Chenin country.  The sweetness of the wines varies considerably from producer to producer, and particularly from vintage to vintage – warmer years mean more sugar in the grapes and usually more sugar in the finished wine.

This bottle by La Vigne des Sablons is off-dry or perhaps a touch sweeter, but doesn’t taste overtly sweet due to Chenin’s naturally high acidity.  The main notes are fresh and baked apple, drizzled with a touch of honey.  It’s dangerously drinkable!  A great introduction to Vouvray from which you could explore others.

 

Disclosure:  both wines kindly provided for review

 

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Chardonnays from California and Kent [Make Mine a Double #19]

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I have long being a fully paid-up member of the alternative ABC club – Always Buy Chardonnay (rather than Anything But Chardonnay) – whether it’s in or out of fashion makes no difference to me.  As long as it’s well made, I like all the different styles it comes in – oaked, unoaked, tropically rich or mineral and lean (and that’s without going into fizz).

Here are two which are very different in style – one from a well-known Chardonnay producing area, and another where (still) Chardonnay is almost unheard of!

Hush Heath Estate Skye’s English Chardonnay 2015 (11.0%, £16.50 from Hush Heath Estate)

HH SEC small

English sparkling wine is riding high at the moment – more and more producers are being set up and quality is constantly improving.  English still wines are still very variable, in my opinion. Many of them are based on less well known varieties which were created to survive and thrive in cool German vineyards, but are less than celebrated elsewhere.  Some Alsatian style wines have proved to be very good (e.g. Stopham Estate), but here is the first (still) English Chardonnay I have ever tasted.

Hush Heath Estate can’t claim anywhere near the same continuous history as a working winery compared to Beringer below – the current winery was only set up in 2010 – but the estate was created as far back as 1503 when Columbus* was still making his transAtlantic jaunts.   Hush Heath make quite a broad range of drinks, including the cider I reviewed here and award winning Balfour Brut Sparkling.

And it’s an absolutely delightful wine!  Not at all shouty, it’s gently delicious – in fact with both Golden Delicious and Granny Smith’s apple characters, plus a touch of citrus.  I detected a little bit of residual sugar on the finish (a few g/L, though I’m happy to be corrected) which adds to the juicy round fruit character and doesn’t make it taste “sweet”.

As my opening suggested, some people just don’t like Chardonnay, but I asked a friend who is among them to try this and she was pleasantly surprised – “If only all Chardonnay was like this”.  Truly a wine for both ABC clubs!

Beringer Founders’ Estate California Chardonnay 2013 (14.0%, €19.99 from stockists listed below)

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The Beringer Brothers were pioneers of winemaking in the Napa Valley, now the most prestigious wine region in the United States.  Their original winery is claimed to be the oldest continually operating winery in the Napa Valley (since 1876), which is rather notable if the prohibition era is taken into account.  In fact, Beringer was the first California winery to offer tours after the repeal of prohibition – inviting A list stars such as Clark Gable might have helped!

From 1971 to 2000 ownership changed hands a few times, until it finally became part of the Australian Fosters Group, twinned with Wolf Blass to become Beringer Blass, and is now the stablemate of other famous Treasury Estates brands such as Penfolds and Wynns Coonawarra.

The Founders’ Estate series is a step up from Beringer’s Classic range and “offer[s] concentrated expressions of the most popular varietals, steeped in quality that comes from Beringer’s history of crafting great wines from all over California for over 130 vintages“.  So how does the Chardonnay taste?  Like a well-made Californian wine!  Which should be no surprise, really.  The fruit is ripe and tropical, with a little bit of juicy red apple and pear.  There’s some oak here, but it’s not overbearing at all.  This isn’t Chablis but neither is it an oak monster.  Would be great with creamy chicken dishes.

Stockists: Clontarf Wines, Dublin; O’Driscoll’s, Caherciveen, Co. Kerry; Salthill Off-Licence, Galway; Hole In The Wall, Blackhorse Avenue, Dublin; Kellys Wine Vault, Clontarf, Dublin; La Touche Wines, Greystones, Co. Wicklow; Sweeneys, Glasnevin, Dublin; McHugh’s of Kilbarrack & Artane, Dublin; Amber of Fermoy, Co. Cork

 

Apple or pineapple?  The choice is yours!

 

* The Explorer, not the Harry Potter Director / Producer

Disclosure:  both wines kindly provided for review

 

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Sicilian Blends from Feudo Luparello [Make Mine a Double #18]

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Map_of_region_of_Sicily,_Italy,_with_provinces-en.svg
Credit: NormanEinstein

All of Italy’s regions produce wine, and most of them have indigenous grapes which are rarely seen outside the country – or sometimes even outside the province.  Although rightly proud of their native grapes, when exporting wines to other countries the lack of recognition can be an issue.  Italy’s southernmost region has a clever solution: blends of local and international varieties.  If consumers don’t know the local then they might still buy the wine if they know the other, and over time the local grapes get better known.

Of course, the blends have to work well as wines, otherwise they would be forgotten quickly.  Here are two Sicilian blends I tried recently which I think are very successful:

Disclosure: both bottles were kindly provided for review.

Feudo Luparello Grillo – Viognier 2015 (13.0%, €15.85 at winesdirect.ie)

feudo_grilloviogner 2

Grillo is a native Sicilian grape which copes well with the island’s sun-baked climate. Sometimes on the neutral side, it has received most recognition to date as the grape behind Marsala, Sicily’s famous fortified wine (One of “Frankie’s Rules of Thumb”: where regular wine is turned into another product (Sherry, Cognac, Champagne etc.) the underlying wine is usually bland as hell).

Careful viticulture, restricting yields and better winemaking techniques have allowed Grillo to be quite expressive, but Feudo Luparello add 30% Viognier in this wine.  It’s quite apparent on the nose, as Viognier is highly aromatic, with floral and stone fruit notes.  On the palate it adds richness, and almost a touch of oiliness (which I love in varietal Viognier).  It’s not a flabby wine as the Grillo keeps it on the straight and narrow with fresh acidity.

This is an interesting and versatile white wine which represents great value for money.

Feudo Luparello Nero d’Avola – Syrah 2014 (13.5%, €15.85 at winesdirect.ie)

feudo_nerodavola2

Nero d’Avola is the most widely planted black grape in Sicily – and indeed takes its name from the city of Avola in Syracuse – though it is held in considerable esteem.  It has been likened to Syrah / Shiraz by some, though personally I don’t find them that alike.  In the past it has been seen as a little rustic in character, but that was mainly down to the winemaking.

This red keeps the same proportions as the white – it’s 70% Nero d’Avola and 30% Syrah. Feudi Luparello is based in Pachino, just down the coast from Avola in Syracuse, so the vines get plenty of cooling sea breezes.  That sounds lovely, I hear you say, but what effect does it have on the wine?  The main one is to make it smoother and more elegant – there’s no hint of rusticity at all.  It is jam-packed full of juicy black fruit, with a touch of exotic spice.  Even French friends who had a taste grudgingly admitted that a “foreign” wine was pretty good!

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Make Mine a Double #17 – Achaval Ferrer Mendoza

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Provincia_de_Mendoza,_Argentina
Credit: Dbenbenn

If Argentina’s wine producers can be said to have a certain nobility about them, then Bodega Achaval Ferrer is royalty.

To my shame I hadn’t tasted their wines before the Wines of Argentina event earlier this year, but they made a big impression. More precisely, they didn’t make an impression by just being *big* (though there are very few 12% light-bodied Malbecs made in Argentina), but rather due to their elegance – probably the most elegant wines I tasted at the whole event.

Elegance doesn’t come without a cost, of course; apart from the pair featured below the range includes more expensive wines such as:

  • Quimera, a Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot (RRP around €35)
  • The Finca series, three single vineyard expressions of Malbec with a RRP of €85 – €90

The Mendoza series are blends from different vineyards across the Mendoza wine region.  Based on the idea that blends can be more than the sum of their parts, they are designed to highlight the qualities and characters of their varieties rather than be a transparent window onto the terroir where they are grown.  Though to be honest, given the strength and power of Malbec, wouldn’t translucent be more appropriate?

Bodega Achaval Ferrer Malbec Mendoza 2014 (14.5%, RRP €24 – €25, jnwine.com)

AF MM 14 small

This is a 100% Malbec wine made from 60 hectares of vines in the Perdriel (3,150 ft), Medrano (2,790 ft) and Uco Valley (3,608 ft) subregions.  Close to opaque in the glass, it has a highly perfumed nose, with a range of red and black fruits and a twist of spice.  The fruit is also present and correct on the palate, but elegantly presented rather than the punch in the gob which most Malbecs give you.  It’s hard to describe accurately, but this is a classy wine.

Bodega Achaval Ferrer Cabernet Sauvignon Mendoza 2013 (14.5%, RRP €24 – €25, jnwine.com)

AF CS 14 small

The companion Cabernet Sauvignon is also a 100% varietal, but made from just 15 hectares in the Agrelo (3,215 ft) and Medrano (2,790 ft) subregions of Mendoza.  It also has a beguiling nose, outrageous amounts of elegant fruit coming through.  On the palate it could almost be mistaken for a serious Pauillac, with black and red fruit plus hints of cedar and tobacco – though I don’t think a Pauillac of this class could be drunk so young! Fine grained tannins also add a bit backbone against which the fruit is framed.

Conclusion: Yes, this pair do showcase their respective varieties as intended – but I think far more than that, they showcase the care and attention taken in the vineyard, low yields and high altitude setting.  These are wines fit for a king!

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Make Mine a Double #16 – California Dreaming

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Wine is produced in all 50 of the USA’s states, and many of them are now seeping into the wine drinker’s consciousness – New York State (Finger Lakes), Oregon (Willamette Valley) and Shenandoah Valley (Virginia).  Despite this, California still accounts for around 90% of the USA’s total production, and is almost synonymous with American wine from a European point of view.

Central and Northern California
Credit: www.discovercaliforniawines.com

Of all the regions within California, the most well known are Napa and Sonoma in the North Coast (at the top of the map above).  The Central Coast also has a lot to offer, including Santa Barbara (the setting for Sideways).  Below are a couple of fantastic reds hailing from Santa Maria (area 71 in the map above) and Napa.

 

Cambria Estate Santa Maria Valley Tepusquet Syrah 2010 (14.5%, €24.95, O’Briens)

2016-05-19 22.02.09

This 100% Syrah is the sister wine to the Cambria Estate Julia’s Vineyard Pinot Noir which I reviewed recently elsewhere.

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Credit: Cambria Estate

Well, not quite the sister, as Julia’s sister Katherine has her own namesake vineyard next door.  The Tepusquet Vineyard is in the far south of Cambria Estate as it is the most protected from the elements, and is therefore a little warmer.

Internationally, the choice of synonym normally denotes the style – spicy and savoury Northern Rhône Syrah or big and bold Aussie Shiraz. In common with many US versions of the grape, this wine is labelled Syrah no matter what the style, but as it happens this is somewhere in between the two – as though Saint Joseph had a very warm year.  This spicy, savoury edge to the dark juicy fruit gives it versatility – lovely to drink on its own but would pair well with red meat dishes without overpowering them.

If you like South African Shiraz or Hawke’s Bay Syrah then this is definitely worth putting on your list.

 

Atalon Napa Valley Merlot 2004 (14.0%, €27.45, O’Briens)

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And so to the wine that dare not speak its name.  Merlot often gets a bad press, with the influence of Miles from Sideways still felt…

Jack: If they want to drink Merlot, we’re drinking Merlot.
Miles Raymond: No, if anyone orders Merlot, I’m leaving. I am NOT drinking any fucking Merlot!

Napa is rightly famous for its Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Chardonnay, but Merlot, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc are also planted there.  Atalon aim to produce Bordeaux-style wines from the different parts of Napa which exhibit elegance and complexity – words not always associated with Californian wine.

This is almost a varietal Merlot, with just a 3% dash of Cabernet Sauvignon, so this is right-bank in style – think Pomerol or Grand Cru Classé Saint-Emilion.  At 12 years of age it is still in its prime, with lots of black fruit, and still a little tannin.  I’d imagine it spent well over a year in American oak while maturing, but that oak is well integrated now, leaving just a little vanilla and spice.

This is a Merlot for people who don’t think much of Merlot – it is indeed elegant and complex, with far more going on than any other new world example I’ve tasted.

This is the finest varietal Merlot I’ve tasted in many years!

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Make Mine A Double #15 – Unusual Alsace

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Grapes at Domaine Christian Dock, Heiligenstein

There are a few types of Alsace wine that most wine lovers are very familiar with – Riesling and Gewurztraminer for example – and aficionados will also know about the Crémants and Vendanges Tardives wines.  However, here are a couple that are really off the beaten track – but no less delicious for it!

Christian Dock Klevener de Heiligenstein 2011 (13.5%, bought from producer)

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When Gewurz is great it can be really great – such as this pair.  However, even when it’s as good as that it’s not necessarily a supping wine – it can be so rich that one glass is fab, but enough.  This related grape is less expressive, usually drier, and much more quaffable.  So what the heck is it?

We begin with the Traminer grape which is thought to have originated in the town of Tramin an der Weinstraße, previously in the Austria-Hungary County of Tyrol and now in South Tyrol / Alte Adige in northern Italy (the town didn’t move but the border did). Traminer made its way north to the Jura mountains where it became known as Savagnin Blanc (not to be confused with Sauvignon Blanc), though it differs very slightly from its antecedent.  Here it is still produced for Savagnin table wine, Vin de Paille and Vin Jaune.

A pink-skinned mutation (of either Traminer or Savagnin Blanc) called Savagnin Rose then developed, and was allegedly taken north from Chiavenna in Italy (Cleven or Kleven in German).  An aromatic mutation of this then became Gewürztraminer (literally Spicy Traminer) in Germany and Alsace.

However, in the village of Heiligenstein (near Barr) and its surrounds in northern Alsace there are still some plantings of Savagnin Rose – known as Klevener de Heiligenstein – which is what we have here.  Further confusion is caused by Klevner (only 2 ‘e’s) which is either a synonym for Pinot Blanc or a blend which can contain Pinots Blanc, Gris and Noir plus Auxerrois.

Unfortunately production is fairly small so it’s a rarity, but if you ever come across a bottle then you must try it – still off-dry, soft and round but more subtle than most Gewurztraminers. Like its offspring I think it would be great with Asian food.

Christian Dock is a small family producer in the village that I happened to stop at in passing.  Like most producers they make the full range of Alsace wines and I recommend you try any you can get your hands on.

Domaine Zind Humbrecht “Zind” Vin de France 2013 (13.0%, RRP €23.95, jnwine.com)

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So first of all you may notice that this isn’t an Appellation Alsace Controllée wine, or any Appellation at all come to that, despite being made by one of the region’s most celebrated producers, Zind-Humbrecht.  This is because it doesn’t satisfy the AOC rules for Alsace and there is no junior Vin de Pays or IGP designation for the area so it has to fall all the way down to Vin de France.  And where does it fall short of the rules?  Chardonnay! *gasp*

This is a 50/50 blend of Chardonnay and Auxerrois.  You never see the former on an Alsace label as it’s not considered to be a local grape, but it is permitted in Crémant d’Alsace (as in many other crémants around France).  Occasionally a small percentage might find its way into a Pinot blend, but that’s strictly on the QT.

Auxerrois (this version of it, at least – it’s also the synonym for grapes such as Malbec and Valdiguié) is a full sibling of Chardonnay, as they both have Gouais Blanc and Pinot as parents (due to the Pinot family’s genetic instability it’s not always possible to tell the colour of a particular parent).  Although this is considered a local grape, it too nearly always ends up in blends.

Despite not being an AOC wine this was special.  It showed lots of citrus and white fruit, but also minerality and some pleasant reductive characteristics.  My friend Mags said it reminded her of a good white Burgundy – though at a much lower price!

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Make Mine a Double #14 – Wines With B-Rio

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With the Rio Olympics looming over the horizon, what better time to sample Brazil’s vinous delights.  What?  Brazilian wine?  Yes indeed, and though as a whole the country isn’t a viticultural paradise there are some tasty wines being made there.  Here are a couple from M&S that I tried recently:

Riosecco Sparkling Glera NV (11.5%, €13.29)

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Riosecco is a portmanteau of Rio and Prosecco, a not too subtle hint that this is a Brazilian alternative to Italy’s Prosecco.  Before 2009 the grape used in DOC Prosecco was often referred to as by the same name, which meant that other areas could use the Prosecco name without being made in the same region (…or even country). When the even stricter DOCG was created in 2009 the old synonym Glera was adopted, and that’s what we have on this Latin American bubbly.

It’s pleasantly fruity but refreshing and dry on the finish.  A better effort that many ordinary Proseccos.  Give it a try!

Araucria Riesling Pinot Grigio 2015 (12.5%, €13.29)

Riesling Pinot Grigio trimmed small

I tasted this without looking closely at the information provided and was a bit stumped – I just didn’t know what to make of it.  “Can I get back to you on this?” I told my notepad. Then, noticing the blend was 70% Riesling and 30% Pinot Grigio, it started to make sense.

It has the refreshing acidity and citrus bite of Riesling plus a bit of the rounder fruit and texture from Pinot Grigio.  This could actually pass for an Alsace blend from a cooler year – not quite as round as an average Edelzwicker as it doesn’t have any Pinot Blanc.  It’s a well made, modern wine which deserves to be sipped while sitting in the sun.

And just because I can, here is another Rio:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3W6yf6c-FA

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Make Mine A Double #13 – Gorgeous Gewurz!

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As I’ve hinted at many times, Gewurztraminer isn’t always a guaranteed winner with me – sometimes it’s glorious, but sometimes it doesn’t quite sit right – some of the elements out of kilter.  When the DNS Wine Club met recently for an all-Alsace tasting, two Gewurz were the value-for-money and money-no-object winners of the night – much to everyone’s surprise!

Sipp Mack Gewurztraminer Vieilles Vignes 2012 (13.5%,  €24.00 Mitchell & Son)

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Sipp-Mack has been a favourite producer of mine for several years, and one I was able to visit when over in Hunawihr a few years ago.  Their Rosacker Grand Cru Riesling is a regular tipple at Ely – the whole range has great depth of flavour.  At the time this wine was made the winery was “in conversion” to organic practices, and are now certified.

The helpful label on the back describes the sweetness of this wine as “medium” – and at 51 g/L of residual sugar it would never be mistaken for dry.  It’s one of the most remarkably balance Gewurz I’ve ever had – lots of lychee, floral and ginger flavours from the old vines but also acidity to balance that sweetness.  This is as good as some of the Grand Cru Gewurz wines I’ve had from other producers – a veritable bargain.

 

Léon Beyer Gewurztraminer Vendanges Tardives 1998 (13.5%, €39.90 Léon Beyer)

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I happened across the little shop front of Léon Beyer after buying several cases from Domaine Bruno Sorg in the same village of Eguisheim.  Leaving my wife in a souvenir shop I dashed through the wines open for tasting.  “The house style is dry” said the lady at the counter, “apart from the sweet wines”.  Although this might sound like nonsense, of course she was referring to the Vendanges Tardives (late harvest) and Sélection de Grains Nobles (botrytised grapes) dessert wines.  The dry wines were indeed dry, and lovely, but this late harvest wine really stood out.

Opening an 18 year old wine does leave you a bit on edge, but I needn’t have worried – it was magnificent.  And so fresh!  It didn’t taste in the slightest bit tired.  The Léon Beyer website give a drinking window of 10 to 20 years from vintage, but this tasted like it had another decade left at least.  Some measure of the wine’s rarity can be garnered from the fact that only 4 more vintages have been produced since the 1998.

Although not cheap at around €40 (for 750ml) in France, this wine was jaw-droppingly good.  If I’d had another bottle I might have been mugged for it by the rest of the wine club!

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Make Mine A Double #11 – Keep up your pecker with Pecorino!

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Offida (Credit: Pizzodisevo)
Offida (Credit: Pizzodisevo)

It’s no secret that I don’t like cheese – in fact I hate the damned stuff – so it should come as no surprise that a wine with the same name as a prominent cheese was waaay down the list of new tipples for me to try.

Thankfully, Pecorino doesn’t taste of its namesake cheese, though there are unconfirmed rumours that they happen to go well together.  I took the plunge a few years ago after I noticed it on the by-the-glass list at West (the restaurant of The Twelve Hotel in Barna, near Galway), which has an excellent list all round, put together by General Manager & Sommelier Fergus O’Halloran.

Since then I’ve tried many Pecorinos? Pecorini? Pecorino-based wines that I’ve liked. The majority come from the Marche region of Italy which doesn’t get as many wine column inches as Tuscany, Piedmont and others, but has its unique charms.  As an interesting alternative to the ubiquitous Pinot Grigio the white wines of the area are popping up in more and more merchants, supermarkets and restaurants.

Here are a couple of contrasting examples that I’ve tried recently:

Umani Ronchi Terre di Chiete IGT Pecorino 2014 (€14.99, Marks and Spencer)

Terre di Chieti Pecorino
Terre di Chieti Pecorino

{Disclosure: sample kindly provided for review on request}

This is a relatively straightforward example of the grape,which sports a modest 12.5% alcohol.  Healthy grapes are cold fermented in stainless steel tanks to retain fresh fruity flavours.  It doesn’t go through “malo” (malolactic fermentation) so keeps zippy acidity, but does spend four to five months on the lees for additional texture and flavour.

Compared to many Italian whites, especially though of the 1990s, this is a well made wine which can still do the main job of accompanying seafood, but has enough about it to be enjoyed on its own.  If you’re having smoked salmon anytime soon (you know the season to which I’m referring) then this would be a perfect partner!

Le Caniette ‘Io Sono Gaia Non Sono Lucrezia’ Pecorino, Offida DOCG 2012 (€29.95, Honest 2 Goodness)

Io Gaia Sono La Canietta
Le Caniette ‘Io Sono Gaia Non Sono Lucrezia’ Pecorino

Recognisably the same grape, but in a different style, this Pecorino is unlike any of the others I’ve tasted.  It’s oaked!  This might seems a strange thing to do to a fresh zippy grape, but then this approach has been followed for Sauvignon Blanc (Cloudy Bay Te Koko, Torres Fransola) and Godello (Rafael Palacios As Sortes) among others.

Whereas the Umani Ronchi above is an IGT, this is a fully classified DOCG.  Ripe grapes are hand-picked and collected in small boxes for minimal bruising under their own weight. The gentle treatment treatment continues in the winery, followed by 12 to 14 months ageing in barriques, plus 4 months bâtonnage.

This wine first came to my attention at an Honest 2 Goodness tasting attended by a large contingent from DNS Wine Club – it was the standout bottle from the whole tasting in my view.  Further reflection with a full bottle reinforced this – the oak is in no way dominant, and adds another dimension to the flavour profile rather than riding roughshod over the tangy citrus fruit.  This DOCG wine’s alcohol is a couple of notches higher than the IGT at 13.5% which matches the texture and mouthfeel well.

So how do the wines compare given their disparity in price?  Both are great wines, and great value for money.  For me it just depends on my mood, and what / who I’m drinking the wine with, which would determine which of them I popped open on any particular day.

 

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