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| Abbona |
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Marziano Abbona is the man behind the deeply colored, ripe
wines from Piemonte. He makes two cru Dolcettos di Dogliani: “Papa
Celso” named after his father and “Suri Munta” from
a neighboring vineyard. Papa Celso is the richest and most impressively
structured of the two with a deep, dark purple color and lush fruit
on the palate. Abbona uses closed stainless steel tanks at controlled
temperatures and Marziano often pumps the juice over the musts in a
brief but energetic system of maceration which tends to extract more
color from the skins while leaching less tannins. He uses a touch of
new oak and a long period of bottle aging that results in a wine of
great power with incredible finesse. The labels are beautiful too – a
nice addition to anyone’s table or shelf.
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| ERA di Cantine Volpi |
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ERA is an organic winemaking project between an Italian producer,
Cantine Volpi, and the largest importer for organic wines in the U.K.,
Bottle Green. Bottle Green already has successful projects in Argentina,
Australia, France and Spain and they were looking for quality sources
of organically grown fruit from Le Marche, Abruzzo, Sicily and Apulia.
The juice for these bottlings is brought to the Volpi Cantina in Piedmont
where Carlo Volpi oversees the vinification and bottling in his state
of the art cellars. The Nero d’Avola comes from 20 hectares located
400 meters above sea level in the zone of Trapani, Sicily while the
Primitivo comes from a low yield vineyard located in the Salento region
of Apulia. Bùcaro is the latest Volpi project using 100% organic
Montepulciano from Abruzzo. It is barrique aged and made in a modern
style showing ripe fruit, full body and robust tannins.
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| Tenuta La Meridiana |
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Tenuta La Meridiana is situated a few miles south of Asti,
in the hills of Monferrato, a region that is the shrine of winemaking
in Piedmont. If it’s Barbera and Nebbiolo you’re after,
well, you’ve come to the right place. The Bianco Family is focused
on Barbera both from a traditional method, and recently, from a very
contemporary perspective as well. Take note of the recently released “Rivaia”,
a 60% Nebbiolo and 30% Barbera, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon “Super
Piedmont” blend that shows amazing concentration along with a
full-bodied richness that will leave you begging for more.
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| Monchiero |
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Barolo has been made at Montanello since the 1200’s.
The Monchieros took over the 44 acre estate in 1954 from which they
produce about 1,250 cases of Barolo each year. In 1989, they also bought
two small vineyards nearby , Le Rocche and Roere. Both estates are
located in Castiglione Falletto, a region renowned for Barolos of rich
bouquet, velvety texture, power and great longevity. The area boasts
of such famous Barolos as Ceretto’s Bricco Rocche and, in fact,
the Monchiero Le Rocche vineyard is contiguous with Ceretto’s
Bricco. The Monchiero Barolos drink great when they are first released,
but in the true tradition of Barolo, they are particularly exceptional
after 5 to 10 years.
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| La Zerba |
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To find truly exceptional Gavi, we thought the right move was
to work with a producer who did nothing but Gavi. Allow me to introduce
you to Luigi Lorenzi of La Zerba! His Gavi’s are of exceptional
quality because his vineyards are in the Tassarolo - the best Gavi
growing region in Piemonte. High elevations of approximately 1,500
feet along with rich calcareous soil mixed with tufaceous and siliceous
rock translate to rich aromatics and velvety textures. Gavi is made
primarily from the grape Cortese and appears to be indigenous to this
area. At its best, Gavi is fruity and aromatic, occasionally with mineral
notes and a tangy, citric finish. La Zerba is all of this and adds
complex flavors of ripe apple, almonds and a subtle mineral flintiness.
The finish is long and memorable! In 1998 Gavi was awarded DOCG status.
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