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FIVE-STAR SPOT:
Verona on
balmy opera
nights is enchanting,
the perfect setting
for a rousing
evening of Aida.
But Valpolicella,
Soave and
Amarone bathe
the town too.
Best place to
sample them is a
bench at the
atmospheric
Bottega del Vino
in Via Scudo di
Francia round the
corner from the
Amphitheatre.
820 different
labels to choose
from - pride of
place was a 1990
Amarone. And you
can eat well too.
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1: TORRE ERCOLANA (Lazio)
This is far and away the rarest wine I’ve ever tried to track down. From Lazio (not one of the great areas you’re probably saying), but this is the stuff of legends.
Produced only in great years and from the best of the vineyard, it was created by Luigi Colacicchi, one of Italy’s most notable 20th Century composers, at his Anagni estate now run by Marco Trimani.
A Cabernet / Merlot / Cesanese mix, it has powerful claret associations but, unlike most great Bordeaux, so little is made that it’s sold at a price-and-a-half many moons before it’s ready for market.
I got my hands on the 1988 (wonderful) but your best chance is to order via the estate (phone 064469661). If you find it anywhere else, help a needy friend ... email me first!
2: PATRIGLIONE (Puglia)
One of those vini da tavola that make a nonsense of the DOCG rules, this is a master-blaster power source in any classification ... created with panache by Cosimo Taurino, at the estate in Guagnano, near Lecce in Puglia, now run by son Francesco.
A mix of Negroamaro (90%) and Malvasia Nera, it comes from the oldest vines, hand picked at the peak of ripeness. If ever there was a wine that changed the whole image and wine industry in this deep south corner, this is it. Expensive. Rare. And worth every penny.
3: SCHIOPPETTINO (Friuli)
A river of good to excellent whites flows out of Friuli north east of Venice. But there are a couple of brilliant reds ... Refosco and, for this list, Schioppettino. It comes from a truly local grape, Ribolla Nera, in Colli Orientali and I know of little more than a handful of producers.
I first came across it while enjoying a balmy evening at a pavement cafe in Rome’s Piazza Navona watching a fire eater. He wanted to try it too but his taste buds were a bit out of sorts. It was so good I put it on my search list. The result: a cracker from Girolamo Dorigo and his land around Buttrio. If you want even more power with elegance, Davide Moschioni does a partially dried version that is a mean 16 degrees, a humdinger and a half!
4: BOLGHERI VERMENTINO (Toscana)
It seems a cheat to pick a white when there’s everything from Sassicaia to Brunello to pick from. But that would be too easy. Not a lot of people buy Tuscan whites, and when they do Vernaccia isn’t always a match for a decent Burgundy.
Antinori’s innovative Vermentino, from a grape that does wonders in Sardinia and from an estate along the road from the country’s priciest red, achieves that with ease.
Softer than Sauvignon, gentler than Chardonnay, it’s to my mind about the best white I’ve encountered in Italy. Expect to pay around a tenner and it’s reached Selfridge’s already.
5: SCIACCHETRA (Liguria)
White, sweet dessert wine that is a true Italian secret. Produced in the Cinqueterre, five villages nestling in one of the world’s most beautiful settings, there’s just about enough to reach the merchants in La Spezia just along the coast, who tuck it away pretty sharply.
Believe me ... you have to see that coastline; and try tasting the wine while watching the sun set on the horizon.
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6: SAGRANTINO DI MONTEFALCO (Umbria)
Great thing about Italy is the abundance of unique grape varieties ... Sagrantino is one of them, found only around Montefalco. I came across it after a visit to Assisi and Spoleto and, on the way back to Perugia, we stopped at Montefalco.
We nearly never left. The wine is astounding ... Amarone-ish and, like quite a few on this list, there’s not a lot of it about. Caprai (Marco, though dad Arnaldo’s name is on the label) makes the best known. Wimbledon Wine Cellars in London (see UK Directory page) sometimes have it.
7: CANNETO (BASILICATA)
You’re unlikely to run across a lot of Basilicata wines, which is rather a shame. From time to time one stunner, Canneto, turns up in London but is as likely to be left on the shelf as Britney Spears.
Created by the D’Angelo brothers at their Rionero in Vulture vineyards, it’s 100 per cent Aglianico from the best and oldest vines. Don’t be put off by the IGT classification; it’s a truly class act. My first bottle was memorable, the difficulty of finding the next one is why I always buy TWO of any wine nowadays.
8: GUTTURNIO (Emilia-Romagna)
Now this one came out of the blue. We had toured the stunning mosaics of Ravenna, straggled back past the race track at Imola and wondered what else the day had in store.
The answer was Gutturnio, picked at random off the restaurant wine list. Wow!
From the Colli Piacentini, it’s a mix of Barbera (more) and Bonarda (less) and has all that smooth richness of true Barbera.
Cardinali at Castell’Arquato produced the version that knocked me out. Il Poggiarello do another I’ve since encountered. Both are stunning ... Barbera at prices remote from Piemonte levels. It comes in Classico and Riserva versions (but a warning: my enthusiasm doesn’t run to the frizzante version that’s fairly prevalent).
9: VALTELLINA SUPERIORE (Lombardia)
I walked into a little restaurant in Barnes in south west London (no name, no phone, it’s packed enough already) and saw this on the wine list.
They weren’t keen to see it go, no doubt the proprietor knew what a mistake he’d made even just tucking it away on the menu.
The producer was Nino Negri, from an estate in Chiuro now owned by one of the top Italian wine groups. The wine is 90 percent Nebbiolo, like Barolo and Barbaresco but in no way the little brother they kick around. It’s one of Italy’s 21 DOCG wines and is not only startlingly good, but also startlingly good value.
10: TEROLDEGO ROTALIANO (Trentino)
Don’t be put off by the name, it’s worth getting tongue tied over. From a local grape of the same name (well, the first half anyway), deep, dark and full with a startling perfume, it will last for years and won’t make too big a dent in your pocket.
I’ve seen it in Majestic stores and a few others have discovered it too. Best of those I’ve tasted come from Elisabetta Foradori’s estate in Mezzolombardo. And if the label says Granato, you’ve hit the jackpot, it’s the very best of the lot.
THESE are my choices of wines a street away from the usual stock you find on shelves here. They reflect the astonishing variety of Italian wines and hopefully will set you hunting. If you find something you think I should include, email me at:
wineblackbooks@yahoo.co.uk
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