As usual, before Vinitaly my email box is full of invitations to events: press conferences, round tables, seminars, workshops, etc. And as usual, due to lack of time, I have to decline the most of them. But this time there was an invitation that intrigued me: a tasting of torbato.
This is a charming blend, layered and offering subtle nuances lending themselves to a broad array of food pairings. A soft nose offers up white flowers, pears, and Zweiback crackers. Apples, quince, and ginger snaps lead on the palate, finishing with lime and a touch of fresh ginger. Drink with crab
A beautiful wine, knife-sharp and fresh on the edge, rounded on the back with floral delicacy. Citrus, passionfruit, and white florals waft up from the glass on the nose. Lime and blood oranges lead, moving toward melon on the mid-palate, all with citrus zing and a hint of salinity. Fresh-squeezed
I first discovered wine at the tender age of nineteen on a trip to Italy -- ostensibly to learn how to sing. I spent that summer learning more about Umbrian and Tuscan reds than I did about singing and have been spoiled rotten ever since. It is a terrible thing
The nose is rich, with coffee, dark chocolate, smoked meat, tobacco leaf, and blueberries. Upon opening it is lush and sweet, with big blueberry and chocolate flavors. With a couple of hours, though, it seems to move from Barossa to the northern Rhone, showing blackberries, smoked meat, coffee, and olives.
Not a super-young wine, probably at its peak now, it has the distinction of being a Napa Valley red with only 13.7% alcohol: nicely restrained level. And nicely touched up with oak that is barely there – refreshing in a wine from this area (which unfortunately does affect the pricing).
If you find a bottle of this wine lingering in a wine shop, buy it. According to my sources, it averages around $15 – if you can find it. This is a very good red wine made with Bordeaux varieties of grapes, and it won’t get any better so drink
At first, the aromas of this deep purple wine are of just-picked grapes and new wine, but it soon evolves in the glass to a dark fruitiness. And on the palate, the wine is light at first, but becomes bigger and then gives up dark fruit with accents of wild,