Italy Vs France- The Result

Well, the votes have been counted and verified and we can officially announce a shock win on behalf of Italy. The French wine was the stinker of the night and at €24 I can safely say it's among the worst bottle of wines I've tasted. The colour and nose was all Bordeaux and for a moment I thought Italy was going to be shown up! The palate was insipid, very very watery with no finish at all. This was the worst Bordeaux I've ever had. We can not really call this experiment any kind of contest but for what it was, Italy trumped up some beautiful wines. Thanks to the anonymous recommendation for this wine as the worst Bordeaux, on that you were correct. That it would be better than any Italian wine, you were very wrong!

The biggest shock of the night was the Petit Verdot, this is the wine I recommend most highly to buy at €10! This wine outshone the Barbaresco and the Brunello di Montalcino! Amazingly total agreement on the the best wine, the Petit Verdot and the worst wine, the Pauillac.

Although the first bottles were open at 4pm the food was not ready until 8pm so, to accompany the food, and because most of the wine was gone, I opened a magnum of Giacosa Barolo Falletto 1998. Everybody enjoyed this wine and it was truly exceptional. This bottle was the best Italian wine I've ever had. Maybe it's the turkey talking but I truly can't think of another bottle I've tried that beats this. Consider the fact it is still improving, I highly recommend this wine for a special occasion. The aromas flew out of the bottle with no decanting. We really should have decanted the wine as smelling the small amount left this morning it has taken on a different character but, straight out of the bottle, it was a beautiful wine.

Tasting Notes

Casale del Giglio Petit Verdot 2004 - BUY - €10

Dark purple in the glass, very deep intensity. A little timid on the nose but aromas of spice, berries and cherries with the most intense smell profile being blackberries. Shockingly refined and balanced on the palate denoting a classier wine that the price, some nice fruit on the mid palate. A really enjoyable and easy drinking wine. The lack of intensity on the nose is the reason this missed 90 points. Perfect for dinner parties. 89 Points

Fontanafredda Barbaresco 2000 - PASS - €18

Noticeabley purple/brown in the glass with some orangey hues. A lovely nose of candied cherries and vanilla extract with a hint of cinnamon. Very weak tannins and acidity through roof let this down badly, mid length finish and a medium body complete this so/so wine. Really disappointing from Fontanafredda in a stellar year for Barbaresco - 79-81 Points

Angelini Brunello di Montalcino 2001 - BUY - €30

Dark ruby, edging on purple colour with significantly lighter hues. Very expressive nose, spicy with some cherries but the most overwhelming smell is orange rind. The palate is tannic and drying but pleasantly so again with orange on the mid palate. Totally unexpected flavour profile from a Brunello which caught me off guard but nevertheless it's a very enjoyable complete wine. 90 Points

Baron Phillipe de Rothschild Pauillac 1999 - PASS - €24

Close to purple in the glass with an almost artificially sweet nose of cherries and flowers with strawberries as the standout aroma. The palate is revolting, insipid, watery, the weight of the wine and the tannic content reminded me of drinking Ribena, thin, no finish, sugar water. In fact, I would take Ribena any day over this wine, even Vimto. It's very difficult to score a wine you dislike so intensely but for colour and nose alone I give it 74 Points

Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto di Serralunga D'Alba 1998 - BUY - €275

From Magnum: Pale brick red colour, looks a little dirty and cloudier than the other wines we had but the hues were surprisingly dark for the age. A beautiful expressive nose the second it was uncorked, berries, cherry, strawberries; acres of ripe fruits. The palate was like velvet with complimentary tannins and exceptional length. Breathtaking. The wine came from magnum. 97 Points

As far as Italy Vs France goes it was obviously a tongue in cheek contest with only one winner possible but was an exciting experiment anyway. Everyone had fun and now we all have a new everyday drinking wine to rave about, the Casale del Giglio Petit Verdot wins the QPR award. Wines like Giacosa's Barolo are wonderful and have their place in my heart but it's the everyday drinking wines, the supermarket bargains, that can be the most exciting discoveries. After all, not every meal is a thanksgiving slap up.

Where can I buy this wine? (The Petit Verdot)

Europeans - Vinaoi - €8.30

Americans - Quality House Wines - $27

Brits - Everywine - £5.97

Question of the Day

What will you drink on Thanksgiving/Christmas day?

Battle of the Dolcettos

Giacosa Dolcetto d'Alba 2006 Vs Voerzio Dolcetto Priavino 2005

Anyone who knows Italian wine will know that these two superstars of the Italian wine world are about as different as Parmigiano and Buffalo Mozzarella. One is a huge producer of world famous Barolos and Barbarescos with a massive output of 500,000 bottles a year whilst the other has a tiny portion of Piedmontese heaven and a tinsy winsy production of 35,000 bottles a year. Both are considered among the very best winemakers in Italy and both produce some of the very best, if not THE best Barolos in the world. This is undeniable, indisputable and its a good job we are not here disputing it. What I find amazing is the difference in their Dolcettos.

This week I was lucky enough to spend time in the company of some of the most knowledgeable connoisseurs in Italy at the St Regis Hotel, Rome. The discussion, as it invariably does, turned to Barolo and then, as it never does, to Dolcetto. It's generally agreed that Dolcetto is for the proles. A poor wine for the grape pickers of the Piedmont, not the reserve of the wine quaffers in the capital. This sent me red. Not the usual bright red I go when any alcohol passes my lips (damn these ruddy English cheeks), but red because Dolcetto .... is my guilty little pleasure.

So this weekend I decided to crack open two Dolcettos by the very finest producers in the Piedmont. In the red corner, Bruno Giacosa's Dolcetto D'Alba 2006 and, in the blue corner, Roberto Voerzio's Dolcetto Priavino 2005. I fully expected nothing but pleasure and delight for myself as well as my invited houses guests, instead I may have turned a member of our group off Italian wine for life.

How? Let's just say, having championed Roberto Voerzio all evening the Dolcetto Priavino was a complete... turkey! I've never tasted a more expensive Dolcetto, and at €15 I have to give this wine a huge pass. It pains me to do so as Roberto Voerzio is my favourite wine producer in all of Italy. Simply put, there is no VFM here. Have you ever opened a bottle with high hopes and found yourself going back to it every 15 minutes to see if it just needed time? Last night was comical. I waited for the Voerzio wine to throw me a bone, it never did, this wine has NO finish. The wine has a fine dark purple colour and a nice nose of cherries, dark fruits, licorice and a little smoky tobacco but was so light and dead on the palate, the finish lasted just 3 seconds which, as it was so terrible, came as a relief! "It needs a few more years in the bottle"? I'm glad I didn't buy a case.

Bruno Giacosa's Dolcetto d'Alba saved the night. Last month, I sampled and reviewed the 2005 which scored a massive 91 points. Dolcetto is a very simple wine so to score a Dolcetto 91 is huge. The 2006 needed more time in the decanter and is not quite as fruity as the '05 and for this I'm marking it down to 89 (still a huge score for a Dolcetto). Both these vintages are roughly €10 and available from http://www.wineshop.it/ and even in general winestores.

Full tasting notes to follow...

Bruno Giacosa Dolcetto d'Alva 2006 - €10 - BUY
A dull dark purple/violet with interesting ruby reflection, full bodied to the eye. Knockout nose, so strong that the glass had to be left for 30 mins. Characteristic nose of cherries and vanilla, very clean and with just a hint of spices and pepper. Full out attack on the palate, medium body, good acidity and balance with a mid length finish of berries and a touch of plum. Smooth with balanced tannins. Decant for a minimum of 1 hour. 89 Points

Roberto Voerzio Dolcetto d'Alva Priavino 2005 - €15 - PASS
Intense dark purple colour in the glass verging on black. Superb and strong notes of cherry, dark fruits, licorice and hints of tobacco on the nose. Very pungent nose that mellowed over time. Surprising light bodied on the palate, tannic and drying with a short, sharp finish that lasted only 3 seconds. The wine improved after several hours of decanting, but only a little. 83 Points

Question of the Day

I know many wine experts who like to believe they are completely uninfluenced by their expectations of a wine when tasting non-blind. I clearly returned to the Voerzio because of my expectations, had the wine been from an unknown supplier at €3 it would have taken its trip down the sink much sooner. Have I been unjustly harsh because of my high expectations? So todays questions is: To what degree does your expectation of a wine effect your tasting notes and scores?