My consumption of Italian wines continues to increase, thanks in great part to the wide variety of grapes and styles present. Thus, I have two full entries just covering Italy from head to toe.
Up first was the 2004 Brandini Langhe Rosso. I was not familiar with this producer but picked up a bottle at one of the local shops on a recommendation. For the price (around $20) this was a fine bottle of wine, offering nice cherry notes. I drank it over multiple days and it held up well. It's a nice bargain from Piemonte.
Next was the 2007 Zenato Valpolicella, the entry level wine from one of my favorite producers. The 2007 Valpolicella isn't amazing, but it's a solid bottle. I think I prefer the Brig'aldara in '07, but there's no complaints about the Zenato either.
Moving south to Tuscany, I had the 2006 Volpaia Chianti Classico, another perennial favorite. Volpaia makes high-quality affordable wines from Chianti, and this one from the excellent 2006 vintage is no different. It's a great food wine too. Volpaia is one of several wineries I plan to visit on my trip to Tuscany in June.
My final wine was from further south in Campania, the 2004 Vinosia Taurasi. I picked this up originally just because it was an affordably priced Taurasi - only later did I learn it had been receiving some rave reviews. I can certainly say it warranted those, because this is an excellent representation of Aglianico, and even better when factoring the price (around $24 here). It is still a bit young for a Taurasi, with some tannin, but not overwhelming. However, the bottles I have since bought will wait for just a bit to see how they develop. I highly recommend searching this wine out if anyone is interested in learning more about the wines from Southern Italy.
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