Tenuta Rapitalà Nero d’Avola

From - Sicily, It.
Grape - Nero d'Avola
Alcohol - 13.5% abv
Available from - Waitrose
Price - £8.99 (but £6.74 at the time of writing)

Appearance - Clear, medium intensity, ruby

Nose - Clean, medium+ intensity, red fruits of cherry, plum.

Palate - Dry, medium+ acid, medium+ tannin, medium+ body, medium+ tannin, medium+ intensity.  Long. Red fruit of cherry, plum and raspberry.  Black fruit of blackberry.  Pungent spice of black pepper.

Very good quality.  Drink now, but could age.

Recommended by a colleague, I was very taken by the smoothness and quality of this wine.  It is extremely good for the price, and is a cut above most at that price level, I think.

Bottega Ripasso Valpolicella Superiore 2013

From - Veneto, Italy
Grape - Corvina
Alcohol - 14.5%
Available from - lebonvin.co.uk (£24.50) Milan airport shop! (20euro)

Appearance - Clear, deep, ruby

Nose - Clean, medium+ intensity, youthful.  Sweet cherries, violets

Palate - dry, medium+ intensity, high alcohol, medium acid, medium+ intensity, medium+ tannin, full body, long length.  Red cherries, raspberries, chocolate, bramble.  Drinkable now, but could be aged.

Delicious, silky Valpolicella.  Really splendid but very expensive at £24.50 so one to drink when in Italy.  The alcohol is very well integrated and it has considerable, and very pleasant, length. 

Valpolicella Ripasso is so called because the wine is re-fermented with the skins of grapes used for 'passito' wines - (for example, Amarone).  This provides greater flavour and character.

 

La Monacesca Verdicchio di Matelica 2014

From - Marche, Italy
Grape - Verdicchio
Alcohol - 13.5% abv
Available from - Waitrose
Price - £10.99

Appearance - clean, lemon-gold, medium+ intensity

Nose - Clean, medium intensity, youthful, apple - pear - stone fruit - citrus (lemon) - minerality.

Palate -  Dry, high acid, medium+ length, medium+ body, medium+ alcohol.  Profile as per the nose, with the green and citrus fruit dominant.

This is a subtle and classy wine with impressive complexity that makes it really good value at this price.  The fruit and acid would make it a match for all sorts of dishes.  One to try.

Inama Vigneti di Foscarino Soave Classico 2012

From - Veneto, Italy
Grape - Garganega
Alcohol - 12.5% abv
Available from - Waitrose
Price - £18.99

Appearance - Clear, medium+ intensity, lemon-green

Nose - Clean, medium+ intensity, youthful with aroma of ripe pears, citrus (grapefruit and lime), and a touch floral.

Palate - Dry, medium+ acid, full body, medium+ length, medium+ intensity, with stone fruit (peach), ripe apples and pears, citrus (lime), stone minerality and maybe a touch of honey.

This is a beautiful, complex, full bodied wine, that I would be brilliant with a risotto, I reckon.

La Monetta Gavi del Commune Gavi 2014

From - Piedmont, Italy
Grape - Cortese
Alcohol - 11.5%
Available from - Waitrose, Ocado
Price - £10.99

Appearance - Clear, lemon-green with a medium intensity.

Nose - Clean, with medium intensity aroma of apples, limes and green herbs.  Youthful

Palate - Dry, with medium+ acid, medium body, medium alcohol, medium+ length and flavours as per the nose, plus a touch of almond.

This is a lovely, well balanced wine with plenty of length and a great match for oily or creamy dishes.  A treat.  Definitely a good one to go for if you fancy trying a Gavi.

Terredora Falanghina 2013

From - Campania, Italy
Grape - Falanghina
Alcohol - 13% abv
Available from - Majestic
Price - £11.99 (or £8.99 as part of a multi buy)

Appearance - Clean, lemon-green, medium intensity

Nose - Clean, medium- intensity, youthful, green fruit (apple), citrus (lemon),

Palate - Dry, medium+ acid, medium intensity, medium+ alcohol, medium+ body, medium length.  Green fruit (apple), citrus (lemon & lime), tropical fruit (kiwi, papaya).

An agreeable, fruity, refreshing wine with subtle complexity.  It has been lees aged, which influences the palate, but only just a touch.

Allegrini Corte Giata Amarone del Valpolicella 2011

From - Valpolicella, Verona, Italy
Grape - Corvina
Alcohol - 15%
Available from - thewinesociety.com
Price - £23

Appearance - Clear, deep, ruby.  Legs observed

Nose - Clean, medium+ intensity, youthful.  Black fruit (blackberry, black cherry, plums)

Palate - Dry, medium acid, medium+ tannin, medium+ intensity, high alcohol, full body, long length.  Black fruit (plums, cherry) sweet spice (vanilla), pungent spice (pepper).

Oustanding quality, can drink now but potential for ageing.

Having blind-tasted a dozen wines today, this was my favourite and I managed to grab the remaining half-bottle to take home.  I know it is pricey but it is sensational.  So super-smooth and full in your mouth.  It has a big score on the alcohol but you wouldn't know, as the alcohol on the palate is in great balance with everything else. A bit of time out of the bottle the black cherry flavour comes through so wonderfully.  The grapes were clearly nicely ripened as the tannins, although significant, are smooth rather than bitter.  Being an Italian wine it is a good food wine but I just sat with the bottle and a glass, and savoured the delicious flavours and long length.

I will be buying an Amarone again soon.

La Vis Vigneti Pinot Grigio 2013

From - Veneto, Italy
Grape - Pinot Grigio
Alcohol - 12.5%
Available from - Waitrose
Price - £9.99

Appearance - Clear and pale.  Lemon coloured.  Legs observed.

Nose - Clean, with medium+ intensity; youthful.  Green fruit (apples and pears), sweet spice (cloves) plus stone fruit (melon) and floral (honeysuckle)

Palate - Dry, medium alcohol, medium+  acid; medium body; medium intensity; medium+ length.  Green fruit (apple), citrus (lemon),

Good quality; can drink now, not suitable for further ageing.  Mid-priced.

I must admit this is one I tried before and was impressed.  This is very good value for money.  It retails at a tenner and is often cheaper.  It is surprisingly and very pleasantly aromatic, has good acid levels and reasonable length.  You could easily spend a bit more for a wine this agreeable.  Pinot Grigio fans, try this as soon as you can.

Valdo Oro Puro Prosecco Superiore

From - Valdobbiadene, Italy
Grape - Glera
Alcohol - 12% abv
Available from - Waitrose; Ocado
Price - £13.49 (currently one-third off this price)

Appearance - Clear; pale; lemon-green

Nose - Clean; medium- intensity; developed; pears and grapes

Palate - Dry; medium+ acidity; medium alcohol; medium- intensity medium mousse; medium body; medium length; Green fruit, lemon finish.

Balance - 8  Length - 6.5  Intensity - 4.5  Complexity - 4

This is a very nice, refreshing bottle of that wine that is all the rage currently.  It seems to be on fairly regular discount, as well, and has won a 'best sparkling' gong from Which? magazine.  A wine to drink as an aperitif, in my opinion, and  it has served this purpose as a pre-Christmas breakfast aperitif, today!

Araldica Corsini Barbaresco 2011

From - Piemonte, Italy
Grape - Nebbiolo
Alcohol - 14%
From - Waitrose, Taylor's Fine Wine
Price - £12.99

Appearance - Clear; pale; ruby; clear at rim.  Thick 'legs'

Nose - Clean; medium+ intensity; developing; floral, cherries; chocolate, vanilla

Palate - Dry; medium acidity; medium tannin; medium+ alcohol; medium body; medium intensity; medium+ length; Very red cherry, berries, cloves, chocolate, a touch of musk.

Balance - 7.5 Length - 8 Intensity - 7  Complexity - 7

It's a hit.

I was seduced into buying this one by the promise of coffee and chocolate flavours.  Although I could discern the chocolate, I couldn't get the coffee.  A fellow member of this household, interestingly, could discern the coffee but not the chocolate. Hopefully the coffee will come through with glass number 2.  It is surprisingly light and really agreeable, and with enough oak complexity, and plenty of length.  Being Italian, it undoubtedly designed to drink with food, so I'm getting the passata out as I type.  At 14% it would be very easy to get drunk quickly on this!

Here are some Nebbiolo grapes to get you in the mood.

Waitrose Bright & Fruity Italian Sparkling White

From - Veneto, Italy
Grape - Glera
Alcohol - 11.5%
From - Waitrose
Price - £6.49

Appearance - Clear, pale to water-white; almost colourless

Nose - Clean; medium- intensity; developing; apple

Palate - Dry; medium acid; medium- body; creamy mousse; medium- intensity; medium- length; apple, lemon

Balance - 8  Length - 4  Intensity - 3  Complexity - 3

This is a light and refreshing fizzy white, and is a bargain.  I used it for a tasting and it went down a storm.  It uses the Glera grape, which is the same as is used for Prosecco.  However, this wine is produced just outside the proscribed geographical area for it to carry the Prosecco name.  This, together with it being shop's own brand, means that it is much lower price than it would otherwise be.

Terredavino Barolo 2009

From - Piedmont, Italy
Grape - Nebbiolo
Alcohol - 13.5%
Available from - Waitrose
Price - £17.49 (although it's 25% off as I write)

Appearance - Clear; medium intensity; tawny

Nose - Clean; medium+ intensity; developing; alcohol, red and black fruit, vanilla, floral

Palate - Dry; medium+ intensity; medium+ tannin; medium+ alcohol; medium+ body; medium acidity.  bramble, liquorice, tea(!).

Balance - 9 Length - 6  Intensity - 7  Complexity - 7

Barolo is normally rather expensive, and considered to often be rather harsh.  The reviews of this wine suggested that it was rather more smooth, and also the price was good.

It is still fairly intense, but it is well balanced, I think.  I put it in my decanter about 90 minutes before drinking, which I think was important.  It is a great colour from the oak which also gives it some interesting flavours - I couldn't put my finger on one aspect but read a review that suggested black tea, and I can see that being very true.

This is a food wine, for sure, I can imagine it with an Italian dish, and carnivorous types would find it useful in view of the tannin.  It does have a significant amount of  tannic mouth-drying power, which would be a big turn-off for someone who doesn't normally drink reds.  They'd be better off with a lower-tannin red like a Pinot Noir.

I reckon that with the oaky flavours, a few years tucked away would make this very interesting, as the oak flavours develop and the tannin and alcohol mellows.

St Michael-Eppan Pinot Grigio 2013

From - Alto Adige, Italy
Grape - Pinot Grigio
Alcohol - 14%
Available from - Waitrose
Price - £11.99

Appearance - Clear; medium- intensity; lemon-green

Nose - Clean; medium- intensity; developing; pear, lemon, mineral.

Palate - Dry; medium acidity; medium+ alcohol; medium+ acid; medium+ body; medium intensity; medium+ length; apple, mineral, a touch of stone fruit.

Balance - 8 Length - 7 Intensity - 6  Complexity - 6

On request I have reviewed a higher-end Pinot Grigio.  This wine is has a lot of body, being high in alcohol, and I enjoy the mineral flavour.  It would make a great aperitif on a special occasion and I also imagine it being just the thing with a creamy Italian dish.

Vignale Pinot Grigio 2013

From - Veneto, Italy
Grape - Pinot Grigio
Alcohol - 12%
Purchase from - Waitrose
Price - £5.29

Appearance - Clear; pale; lemon-green

Nose - Clean; medium intensity; apricot and apple/pear.

Palate - Dry; medium+ acidity; medium body; medium alcohol; apricot, pear, lime zest; medium length.

Balance - 7 Length - 7 Intensity - 6  Complexity - 6

This wine delivers impressive value for money.  The length is good and the flavours are interesting.  Just the thing with a summer salad or on its own on a sunny afternoon in the garden.