All the new wines from the last container . . .

Tre Monti 

These are the new wines from Tre Monti above.  The Thea Bianco which will blow your mind is 100% Petit Manseng!  Who knew that it could create such a fantastic version in Emilia-Romagna?! The 2010 Tre Monti Petrignone Sangiovese di Romagna Riserva is back in stock.  This wine is tasting great right now.  And then there is the newest wine to the line-up, the "Doppio" Pignoletto Frizzante, a slightly sparkling wine that in Emilia-Romagna is paired with just about any salumi plate and is always the first thing you drink before dinner.

Oh, and the new 2013 Albana Secco "Vigna Rocca", just about the best mouthful of wine from this container.  And lastly, the "Casa Lola" Albana Passito, from air dried Albana grapes made in a late harvest style.  I actually haven't tried this wine as of yet so I hope that it is good.

Cirelli Trebbiano and Montepulciano are back in stock!

Cirelli Cerasuolo and Montepulciano 2013.

These new wines from Aia dei Colombi (the name means "are of the doves", so at one time maybe there was a dovecote in the area?) are going to become a staple for the Rinascimento portfolio.  The Falanghina is everything you would expect it to be.  Fresh and bright with a little prickle from being bottled early, it has that juicy fruit citrus flavor that you look for in Falanghina.  I am so excited.

Praesidium is a small winery in the mountains of the Abruzzo that produce only a tiny quantity of wine every year from five heactares of Montepulciano.  Current vintage is 2009.  They wines are aged for five years before release and can carry the designation of Riserva.  Two of those years are in tank, then the last three are in large Slavonian botte with a small proportion going into smaller, older French barrels. The Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo is truly a wine of power and even though it is a rose`, it will remind you more of a light red like Beaujolais.  Serve chilled.

I also bought a selection of the older wines from Praesidium.  The 2006 was a cool and long classic year and this wine is still showing primary fruit flavors and the tannins are just starting to integrate.

So far, this is my favorite of the older vintages.  Power plus finesse.  The tannins are totally integrated into the wine and the fresh fruit flavors of cherry and blackberry are slowly turning to more mature flavors while the acidity is still making the wine dance on the tongue.

And a blast from the past century, this is the 1998.  A wine that is ready to drink now.  

Nicola Ferrari is justly making a huge name for himself with his wines from Monte Santoccio.  I can't keep the Amarone in stock.  Here is the new 2010.  It is so over the top but at the same time, the acidity is bracing.  A true master of the Valpolicella region.

Four years in a row the Favaro Erbaluce has received three glasses from the Gambero Rosso.  The highest rating you can get.  Out of the thousands and thousands of wines tasted and rated every year, only a few attain the rating of three glasses.  The new 2013 is different in style than the previous few years because the weather was much cooler so the style of this wine is a little fresher than usual with lots of acidity.  It is going to be an Erbaluce that will age for a long time . . . if needed.  Most of it will be drunk soon enough!

New arrivals of G.D. Vajra Dolcetto d'Alba 2011 and Barolo Chinato . . .

The 2011 Dolcetto d'Alba from G.D. Vajra is in stock and tasting great.  From a really warm vintage, even though the stated alcohol is 12.5%, I would definitely say that this wine punches like it is heavier.  That ripeness of the vintage I don't feel in the mouth as much as in the nose, where the wine is unusually spicy, almost like it had seen some oak, but as I know this isn't the case, extremely exotic.  Clove and licorice seed come to mind.  But of course the wine retains that great acidity and sweet fruit of Dolcetto.

The new Barolo Chinato from G.D. Vajra is also in stock and if you haven't ever had a great Barolo Chinato, this is it.  Fashioned in homage to the Capellano Barolo Chinato, great friends of The Vajra's, this Barolo Chinato is a stripped down version, made from only 16 different herbs and spices using the Barolo Albe in any given vintage as the base.  The label depicts the herbs and spices in the wine.  Of course, the most prominent of the botanicals is quinine bark (which is "china" in Italian and, hence, the source of the drink’s name, Chinato).  Quinine is a natural anti-malarial compound and has been used for centuries to protect against that disease.  Quinine is the tonic in tonic water, just FYI.

For our purposes, the G.D. Vajra Barolo Chinato is a perfect digestivo to calm the stomach after a big meal and it is also most widely used as the amaro in cocktails.  My favorite cocktails using the G.D. Vajra is still one whipped up by Erik Adkins of Heaven's Dog  a few years ago.  Or you can add it to any Negroni recipe to make it extra spicy.

The Italian Fog

2 oz Millers Gin
1/2 oz G.D. Vajra Barolo Chinato
1/2 oz Apricot eau de Vie
1/2 oz lime juice
1/2 oz simple syrup

served shaken, not stirred

The Barolo Chinato can be ordered by the bottle and it comes in 750 ml.

Cheers.

Justin