Falesco Tellus

Falesco Tellus
I'm back from the USA and not a moment too soon. More about that later but I'd like to start with a bargain Italian wine from my home county of Lazio and from one of the countries largest producers, Falesco. I've mentioned the Falesco Tellus before but it's so versatile that I think it's worth its own blog entry.

2006 is a good vintage for the Tellus blend, 50% Merlot and 50% Syrah and it all works out rather well apart from a slightly strange finish this is a fantastic wine and great value for €6. Its a fairly new wine so might not be readily available yet but I'll source it for you and you can find retailers at the bottom of the page.

I mentioned Falesco a few weeks ago about how they are bringing new quality into Lazio wines and this bottle is no exception. The finish isn't terrible but slightly peculiar to my palate and for that I give the wine 87 points.

For those waiting for the USA update sadly I was stricken down by Florida Flu the day after I touched down, even having to call the doctor out. The entire two weeks were a bust although I did manage to get up to New York but didn't get the chance to sample many wines most restaurants offering Californian wines very strongly. The Italian wines on offer tended to be 3 times the price I'd pay back home and were brands I wouldn't consider, Ruffino, Banfi's lesser wines.

I visited one wine store in Florida, I wont name it, but of over 1000 wines on sale only fifteen were Italian wines without one Brunello for sale and only one Piedmont producer offering Barolo, Barbaresco, Nebbiolo d'Alba (Pio Cesare). I can't call my experience worthy of drawing any conclusions as I'd need to visit more areas but it would appear that, as with everything in the USA, brands dominate. There may be a lot of Italian wine in the USA but the majority is coming from the same producers.

So I'm happy to be back here in Italy getting cheaper Italian wine from Ebay or online. Last night was a very traditional "English" Italian meal. Spaghetti Bolognese is not nearly as popular with the Italians as we English think. The Falesco Tellus went very well with the meal complementing the meat nicely.

I've placed a wine order online and so waiting to be reviewed for the next few days are 12 wines including Zaccagnini's Montepulciano d'Abruzzo il vino dal tralcetto 2005 which got rave reviews from Wine Spectator recently, Antinori Brunello di Montalcino Pian delle Vigne 2001 and Planeta's 2006 Chardonnay .

We're facing strike action and a petrol crisis here in Italy, the roads have been blocked by hauliers demanding cheaper petrol prices so its possible the wine wont be delivered, it's possible I wont be food matching because there is no food in the stores! It's possible I'll be too weak to write on my blog and I'll die of starvation *boo hoo*.

Falesco Tellus 2006 - BUY - €6
Smart, blended wine that ticks all the boxes for wine under $10. Deep ruby red, not far from a purple colour with a full nose of licorice, mint, cherries, tobacco and vanilla, even some espresso in there too. Charming palate with silky tannins and a lot of fruit. Its simplistic, there are not multiple layers to this wine but it's a good quality solid red with excellent QPR. 87 Points

Where can I buy this wine?
Europeans - Superiore.de - €6
Americans - Corporate Wines - $11
Brits - Superiore.de - £4.50

Question of the Day?

What is your cheap everyday wine that plays the supporting role to Spag Bol and other standard pasta dishes?

Forza Italia, Basta Inghilterra

Apologies to those who don't follow the game of football (soccer) but last night was a pivotal night for the English football team. The qualifying stages of the European Championships played their final games last night and half of Europe held it's breath in anticipation of making the Top 16 clubs that compete in the European Championships Finals.

England always get through, the idea that England isn't a top 16 European footballing nation is ludicrous, after all we have Owen, Rooney, Lampard, Gerrard, John Terry, some of the best players in the world.

So, last night we had our friends Jack and Gwen over and opened up a lovely wine, the Antinori Chianto Classico Riserva 2001, in anticipation of a win or a draw over Croatia. England needed just 1 point to go through and were playing at the New Wembley, what could be simpler right?
WRONG.

England stunk. In the face of our wonderful Antinori, England were the cheapest bottle of straw covered Chianti you can find. Weak, insipid, uninspired and with a poor finish, I can not even give a score to this vintage. Shocking! 2 goals down in 15 minutes, only to pull them back in the second half and gave a nation hope. I knew we'd go on to lose. I've watched England compete in too many sporting events not to know, I've watched Henman at Wimbledon, the Rugby team, the Formula One drivers. I think all of us watching, live or on the box, knew that we wouldn't hold on, that we'd fall on our own sword and lose the game.

So, I'm giving up on being English. I'm just going to ignore my heritage and hide my passport because I'm tired of being a loser! Yesterday I applied for my Italian "Residenzia" at the local comune. I was expecting a long wait, an arduous task of to-ing and fro-ing but I was all done in 20 minutes! So now, I am officially a resident of Italy.

I can flash my Carta Identita at the airport and no one need ever know that I'm English again! My Team, that being the Italian football squad, are the current World champions. Oh yes, and My Team, that being the Ferrari Formula One racing team, are the current F1 champions.

So, for all you poor English readers with your rubbish teams and terrible wine I'm going to review another of my beautiful homegrown Italian wines, the aforementioned Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva 2001. This wine went wonderfully well with our "Burger Night", consisting, as you'd imagine, of burger and fries. The burgers were fantastic home made masterpieces so on this occasion, matching with the Chianti went very well. This wine would be well suited to a hearty meaty pasta dish and could easily accompany a nice steak dinner.

Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva 2001 - BUY - €20
Very dark colour in the glass, intense dark ruby red with some nice pinky looking hues. The nose is fruity, spicy with the most noticeable aroma profiles of blackberries and vanilla. On the palate we've got some good tannic structure and some noticeable acidity, the wine is well balanced and enjoyable with good length on the finish as well as warming alcohol. Mid to Full bodied wine. 91 Points

I really recommend this Chianti to you. If you've been exposed to bad Chianti in the past you're probably left with a negative "What the deuce" attitude about this wine. Chianti is a little devil, you have to be certain of what you're buying and I'm certain of this. Wonderful year for Chianti so please try some.

Where can I buy this wine?
Americans - Shopperswines - $25
Europeans - Italian Wine Shop - €20
Brits - Winedirect - £15.95

I'm afraid I have some bad news for you all. Tomorrow I leave for my vacation so there wont be a daily update on the blog. However, I am collecting material for a super dooper double blog entry about the USA's Italian wine scene. That sounds boring but really it wont be! Have faith!

Question of the Day?
What does your nation do best?