Little ole wine drinker me (us?)

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And lesser known Italian reds:

from right to left,
2023 Monte Schiavo Lacrima di Morro d'Alba, Marche 13% - lacrima is the grape variety, native to the Marche region. (I thought it might have been from Alba, as in Barbera d'Alba - wrong!). Soft, fruity, soft tannin, hint of violet and raspberry, delicious. A very pleasant surprise.
2022 Casal Farneto Cimaré Rosso Piceno, Marche 14% - a blend of montepulciano and sangiovese. Much richer, fuller bodied, more chianti like. Dark red fruit, hint of spice, 'oak matured' and wears its high abv well. Well-made, excellent with any dish with a little or lot of red meat.
2021 Casal Farneto Luigiprimo Rosso Piceno , Marche 15% - oh dear, this was awful. It is not often I cannot drink a glass of wine. Far too big boned, too much alcohol, too much tannin and too much oak. Not balanced, barely any fruit. Even with cottage pie, I struggled. Gave the second bottle to a neighbour who likes this sort of thing!

Marche is the region east of Umbria, next to the Adriatic in central Italy, known mostly for the white wine verdicchio. A good area to visit if you like avoiding hordes of northern euro tourists, especially Brits. Rosso Piceno is usually reliable, unlike the last wine above, not typical.

 

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Lovely warm, sunny days calls for lovely, chilled whites as aperos. Both from Italy, like those in post #240.

2021 Chiesa del Carmine Indigeno Trebbiano, Umbria 13% - this was much better than expected, I would usually avoid trebbiano as it is often thin, weak and bland. I visited Umbria last year and discovered there are different versions of trebbiano all over Italy and in Umbria producers usually grow a better version. This had an intensity and length of flavour that was very appealing.

2022 Tenute Tomasella Friulano, Friuli 12.5% - zesty yet with depth, long, very good.

 

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And this from Romania.

2022 Jidvei Iluziv, Transylvania 12.5% - another pleasant surprise! Fresh and fruity; good; hints of sauvignon blanc perhaps. Modern , attractive label but tells us nothing! So look at other label and almost the only english words show the blend to be sauvignon blanc, riesling italian and muscat ottonel. Strange but worked fine.

 

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For those of you who enjoy strong, big-flavoured reds (13.5% abv), especially Italian, this is an absolute bargain.

Available from the Co-op at only £8.00, see here, or the Wine Society for £9.75, "A blend of montepulciano, aglianico and trebbiano grapes traditionally grown in Molise, south of Abruzzo in Italy. This combination has created a rich, cherry-scented wine with the aglianico grape adding some blackberry notes. It has spent 18 months in large oak barrels, giving a touch of vanilla on the finish."

Most folk would walk right by because it has no famous region or grape variety on the main label. The vintage is 2019 and is nicely mature. To find a wine over 5 years old at this price, this good, is astonishing. Highly recommended.

 

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For those of you who enjoy strong, big-flavoured reds (13.5% abv), especially Italian, this is an absolute bargain.

Available from the Co-op at only £8.00, see here, or the Wine Society for £9.75, "A blend of montepulciano, aglianico and trebbiano grapes traditionally grown in Molise, south of Abruzzo in Italy. This combination has created a rich, cherry-scented wine with the aglianico grape adding some blackberry notes. It has spent 18 months in large oak barrels, giving a touch of vanilla on the finish."

Most folk would walk right by because it has no famous region or grape variety on the main label. The vintage is 2019 and is nicely mature. To find a wine over 5 years old at this price, this good, is astonishing. Highly recommended.
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If you buy 3 bottles on a weekend or bank holiday you get a fiver off at the coop till June 26.

 

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If you buy 3 bottles on a weekend or bank holiday you get a fiver off at the coop till June 26.

Thanks for this...fill yer boots!

 

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Last night, polished off a lovely, refreshing Vinho Verde and wanted something to go with chilli salmon, new potatoes and green salad on the side. Rosé - yes, I know just the bottle. But not having tried it before, a trusted pink also chilling in the fridge as back up.
Well, this was superb, cannot recall having a pink like it.

The Heretics Blowhorn Pale Rosé 12.5%
The small print at the bottom of the label reads " Premium. Barrel Fermented. Pinot Noir Rosé". Nothing about where its from or the legal bits.
Second label:

"Wine of England" from the Crouch Valley, Essex. Astonishing. I had heard of a few producers making still english wine but not of this quality and my first from essex. For those of you near the Crouch Valley, you are in for a treat over the next few years as more chardonnays and pinot noirs come to market. However, you will need a full wallet, this retails for £29. Too steep for me but maybe just about worth it? This is serious wine. The good news is I have another bottle!