It has been quite a while, but finally I am catching up with the last of the Vinitaly reports. Saturday was an amazing (and long) day, and by the end we had tasted an incredible number of wines.
The day began in the Veneto pavilions again, first at a new producer we sought out, Marion. A newer small, family-run production, Marion's wines have been getting great reviews, but are still quite unknown and difficult to find. We began with the 2007 Valpollicella Classico, and then the 2005 Valpolicella Superiore, which is dried for 40 days, and thus really a step up toward Amarone. We then moved to the 2005 Teroldego IGT and the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon IGT, which is also made with a partial drying of the grapes. The 2004 Calto, a blend of Valpolicella and Amarone, was next before finally getting to the 2004 Amarone, which was quite good. We finished with the 2002 Passito Bianco, a sweet white dessert wine that was different but quite good. Overall, this was a great tasting from an up-and-coming producer that I hope to be able to drink more of in the future.
Next we finally made our visit to our friend Tiziano Accordini of Stefano Accordini. After meeting Tiziano last year, Dad was soon contacted by his new importer and they have been able to set up tastings of his wines in Pensacola and get the wines in stock there. Since our return this year, Tiziano has made a visit to the States including a stop in Pensacola where he dined at my parents' house before hosting a tasting the following night. Tiziano has quickly become a good friend, but he also makes some fantastic wines.
We began with the 2008 Valpolicella, which is still very young, but has some potential. Next was the 2006 Ripasso, which is a definite step up. The next wine was the 2006 Passo IGT, which includes 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot in the blend. We then moved on to the Amarones, with the 2005 Amarone normale followed by an outstanding 2001 Il Fornetto Amarone. We finished with the 2005 Recioto, a great example of this type.
Our final stop of the morning was with Tommaso Bussola and his wife Daniela. We met Daniela last year, and she was again a gracious host this year, along with her husband, who is an amazingly talented winemaker. Again, we tasted through an incredibly deep lineup of wines. Up first was the 2006 Valpolicella, followed by the 2004 Valpoliicella Ca del Laito Ripasso, and the 2004 Valpolicella Superiore TB. Unfortunately, this final Valpolicella had some sort of issue, whether there were bad corks or some oxidation that occurred. The Bussolas are very disappointed and not sure what happened, but it only happened with this wine in 2004. From there we quickly rebounded with the 2004 IGT L'Errante, which is modeled on the Quintarelli Alzero (but not quite to that level yet). The Amarones were up next, beginning with the 2003 Amarone Classico. It is a good wine, but the 2004 Amarone Vigneto Alto raises things to another level, though it is a little on the sweet side. The best of the group was the 2004 Amarone Riserva TB, which is a little more balanced and a truly great Amarone. To conclude, the Bussolas had three dessert wines for us, starting with the 2006 Passito Bianco Peagna. We then has the 2006 Recioto and the 2004 Recioto TB Riserva, which is quite sweet, but really a great Recioto.
After all this, we were certainly ready for lunch. Not only were we hungry, but we also needed to refresh our palates as we began what would be an epic afternoon.
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