Italian Red Wine For Everyday
Italian Red Wine For Everyday – Italy is romanticized for many reasons, not least of which for its delicious wines. The combination of ideal growing conditions, exceptional quality and great value make Italy a favorite region for procuring wine.
Italian Red Wine For Everyday – A trip to Italy to tour Tuscany while drinking wine is on the top of many an oenophiles bucket lists for good reason — the country has over 1,000 wine regions. Visiting them all would take a lifetime.
Italian Red Wine For Everyday – If you think that for Italians, wine is just another drink, like beer or water, you are wrong. Wine is a huge part of the Italian culture and a must-have at a dinner table.
Italian Red Wine For Everyday – The importance of wine in Italy dates back to ancient times and Pliny the Elder, who is sometimes considered the first wine critic. From his work titled ‘Naturalis Historia’ (Natural History) comes the famous saying ‘in vino, veritas,’ or in English – in wine, there is truth.
Talenti Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, 2016
94 Points
Price $45
With varying altitudes and soils, Talenti’s diverse vineyards are dispersed through the southern area of Montalcino.
Making the wine since 1999, Riccardo Talenti amasses the different components to achieve an overall balance of ripeness, acidity and alcohol.
The 2016 is less immediately expressive and effusively fragrant than previous vintages.
Nevertheless, its discreet charms are apparent.
There’s an earthy, nutty tug underneath spiced red fruit, and it demonstrates Sangiovese’s weightlessness and tactile powdery tannins.
Tangy and mineral-driven on the finish.
Drinking Window 2023 – 2036
Cavalier Bartolomeo Vigneti Solanotto Altinasso, 2016
93 Points
Price $40
Cavalier Bartolomeo was founded in 1924 by Bartolomeo Borgogno, grandfather of the current owner, who learned to make wine from the grapes of his vineyards by his father.
After five generations, in part, the vineyards were renewed while the Nebbiolo da Barolo ones remained intact and immaculate.
Over time, the working methods have been updated both in the vineyard and in the cellar, paying careful attention to pruning, thinning, harvesting and with controlled fermentations.
Today the company produces a total of 15,000 bottles a year.
The company is located in the heart of the Barolo area, under the municipality of Castiglione Falletto, in the small hamlet of Garbelletto, which can be reached by taking the highway which from Alba heads towards Barolo, 300 meters before the Barolo – La Morra crossroads.
Cantina del Pino Barbaresco DOCG, 2016
93 Points
Price $50
The 2016 Barbaresco Ovello is released one year after its peers.
It undergoes two years of oak aging followed by 18 months of bottle rest before its commercial release.
This is one of my favorite expressions from Barbaresco, and the 2016 vintage is especially beautiful and elegant.
The wine offers an exceptional level of purity and finesse with light touches of wild berry, smoke, ash and balsam herb.
Some 6,000 bottles were made.
100% Nebbiolo, Ovello is one of the premiere sites in the entire Barbaresco wine growing region.
Perfectly situated in the hills above the Tanaro River with
S/SW exposure and limestone and sandy soil give this wine both elegance and intensity.
Delicious now and will age well.
Castello di Bolgheri Bolgheri Superiore,Tuscany, Italy, 2019
97 Points
Price $65
Great depth of colour.
Fascinating and decidedly graceful in the glass it shows guarantees in the memory of cherries, rose petals, grapefruit, geraniums, mandarin juice and wild thyme.
Medium-full body, radiant and centered in the luminous sip, it closes dynamic and precise, showing an elegance of a select few.
A little closed, but there’s ripe fruit on the nose and, behind it, notes of mint, pine kernels and liquorice, plus a hint of pepper.
Muscular palate with great depth, energy and grip, all a bit unknit at the moment but built for the long haul.
Drinking Window 2021 – 2030
Tenuta San Guido ‘Guidalberto’ Toscana IGT, 2016
92 Points
Price $50
This wine is showing exceptionally well in this classic vintage.
The 2016 Guidalberto (Cabernet Sauvignon and a smaller percentage of Merlot) opens to a full and generous bouquet and a beautifully rich and velvety appearance.
This edition of Tenuta San Guido’s mid-level wine offers a bigger aromatic profile, more texture and more volume as well.
Dark cherry and blackberry segue to spice, tar, leather and sweet fruit at the end.
The mouthfeel is elegantly shaped, silky and nuanced.
This may well be the best vintage of Guidalberto and you can get this wine at a great price too.
Ruby red limpid look, the aromatic range goes from red berries and spices to dark hints of tobacco and brushwood.
Well-structured and with velvet tannins, this wine will evolve over the next few years.
Blend: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot
Pair with Bolognese and other meat sauce pastas, grilled pork and beef, and roasts.
Nervi Conterno Gattinara DOCG, 2018
94 Points
Price $65
Haunting aromas of rose, wild cherry, kirsch, mineral and leather are the hallmarks of this silky, elegant red.
The wine is linear and balanced, extending on the finish with notes of fruit, spice, mineral and tobacco.
A rich red, exuding licorice, cherry, strawberry, floral and spice flavors.
The spice flavors are followed by iron and tobacco notes. Intense and harmonious, with excellent grip and a lingering aftertaste.
Pair with pasta and rice main courses (first and foremost, risotto), red meats, lamb, game and aged cheeses.
Very harmonious.
Drink now through 2033.
Montepeloso Eneo Toscana IGT, 2018
92 Points
Price $45
Montepeloso is an Italian wine producer located in Suvereto, a wine region south of Bolgheri on the Tuscan coast.
The estate has been owned by Fabio Chiarelotto since 1998, and is known for its Toscana IGT blends from various native Italian and French varieties including Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Lifted wild forest fruit with hints of jam and sweet vanilla. Spicy with nicely textured tannins.
Drinking Window 2021 – 2027
Le Volte, 2016
91 Points
Price $30
2016 gives us a Le Volte dell’Ornellaia with great balance and expressivity.
With its bright ruby-red color, intense scents of red berries and rose petals are clearly distinguishable on the nose.
While on the palate the taste is full-bodied and enveloping, characterized by dense tannins and a vibrant acidity which make this a highly pleasant and enjoyable wine.
The 2016 Le Volte dell’Ornellaia is terrific.
Bold, juicy and wonderfully expressive, the 2016 will drink well right out of the gate.
Juicy black cherry, lavender, spice, menthol and chocolate are all kicked up a few notches.
In 2016 Le Volte is especially dark and sumptuous, both of which add to its considerable immediacy and overall appeal.
This is an especially fine vintage for the Ornellaia’s entry-level bottling.
Tenuta Le Colonne Bolgheri Superiore, 2018
92 Points
Price $40
The wine boasts an intense ruby red color.
The aroma opens with a bouquet of ripe red fruits and is enriched with tomato leaf, pepper and slight herbal nuances.
Intense, fresh and elegant on the palate.
Earthy nose with opulent aromas of ripe plums, black cherries and blackberries.
Minty palate with juicy red fruits, elegant soft tannins.
Blend: 50% Merlot, 30% Petit Verdot, 20% Cabernet Franc
Drinking Window 2021 – 2031
Castello dei Rampolla ‘ d’Alceo’ Toscana IGT 2016
96 Points
Price $125
“D’Alceo” fully reflects the character of the vineyard from which it originates.
It is intense, warm, refined and elegant.
Well-ripened red fruits blend perfectly with delicate notes of cigar and tobacco – an amazing concentration with no heaviness.
Featuring concentrated flavors of blackberry, black currant, earth and leafy underbrush, this red is wrapped in a shroud of stiff tannins that upsets the balance a little.
Nevertheless, this will come into its own with decanting, a little aging in bottle or paired with grilled steak or lamb.
Delivers excellent intensity, energy and length.
Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot.
Drink now through 2029.
Ornellaia ‘Le Serre Nuove dell’Ornellaia’ Bolgheri 2018
92 Points
Price $60
Characterized by a lively ruby red color.
The 2018 Bolgheri Rosso Le Serre Nuove dell’Ornellaia is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot that is aged in oak for 15 months.
The wine shows depth, concentration and generous fruit weight that adds to the intensity and the textural importance of this abundant, full-bodied expression.
Late-season rains threw some challenges at the winemakers of Bolgheri, but this open-knit wine has emerged unscathed.
Le Serre Nuove dell’Ornellaia 2018 is a wine of great aromatic complexity, a distinctive feature of this vintage.
In the glass, aromas of berries, blackberry, raspberry and red cherry are accompanied by floral hints of wild rose and spicy notes of pink pepper and licorice.
On tasting, the wine has a good tannic structure, enveloping and balanced, with a crisp and savory finish.
Blend: 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Franc, 17% Petit Verdot
Italian Red Wine For Everyday – Italians drink wine all day – it doesn’t really matter what time it is. It is not unusual to go for lunch and see people drinking wine – aside from water, this is the most commonly ordered drink.
Italian Red Wine For Everyday – ‘Vino rosso fa buon sangue’ – say Italians, which literally means ‘red wine makes good blood.’
Italian Red Wine For Everyday – Italian Red Wine is The Key to Longevity
Italian Red Wine For Everyday – First of all – does drinking wine really makes you live longer? Well, studies seem to confirm it. In 1965, a group of almost 1600 Italian men went under examination, which included an ECG recording, blood pressure, serum cholesterol measurements, etc. They were observed for 30 years. According to the authors of the study, “during a period of 30 years, 1096 deaths occurred. Age-adjusted life expectancy for men assuming a mean daily quantity of 63 g of alcohol (range 4–7 drinks per day) was 21.6 ± 0.4 years, roughly 2 years more than men taking a mean quantity of 3.7 g (≤1 drink) and men consuming >10 drinks per day.”
Italian Red Wine For Everyday – The Benefits of Red Wine
Rich in antioxidants – darker grapes contain antioxidants such as resveratrol and proanthocyanidins, which are mostly responsible for keeping you in good health.
Lowers bad cholesterol – a study confirmed that certain wines, such as Rioja, which contains the high-fiber Tempranillo grapes, can lower the levels of body cholesterol in one’s organism.
Keeps the heart in good health – polyphenols – an antioxidant present in red wines – is known to prevent unwanted clotting, as it keeps the blood vessels flexible.
Reduces the risk of depression – a study performed on middle-aged and older people discovered that those who drink red wine are less likely to become depressed than those who don’t.
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