Davide Carlone Wines . . .

So far, what I like about these wines best, is that they are easy to drink.  Not quaffable, per se, but definitely all the parts are well integrated and you won't feel bad for drinking them now.  And the great thing is that no one knows about these (and the production is so tiny that most people will never know about it.).  But for you first early adopters, you can taste wines that are beautifully made, have a sense of place and are a real pleasure to drink.

Call me or email if you want to find out where to buy these great wines.  (310) 270-3747 or justin@rinascimentowineco.com

Boca doc

Vitigni: Nebbiolo 70%, Vespolina 30%

Epoca di Vendemmia: 10 Ottobre

Fermentazione: 8/10 gg sulle vinacce

Malolattica svolta al più presto con l’innalzamento della temperatura nell’ambiante cantina. A

seguire precipitazione statica naturale

Affinamento: 3 mesi in vasche d’acciaio, due anni e mezzo in botti da 10 hl. in rovere di Slavonia

Resa per ha: 70 q.li

Bottiglie: 2000 a 5000

Boca DOC

Grapes: 70% Nebbiolo, 30% Vespolina

Harvest Date: October 10th

Fermentation: 8 to 10 days on the skins

with malolactic following as soon as possible with the raising of the temperature in the winery.

No filtering or fining

Aging: three months in steel tanks, two and ½ years in large Slavonian casks of 1000 liters.

Yield per acre: 3,000 lbs

Cases produced: from 166 to 400 depending upon the vintage

Croatina Colline Novaresi doc

Vitigni: Croatina 100%

Epoca di Vendemmia: 10 Ottobre

Fermentazione: 8/10 gg sulle vinacce

Malolattica svolta al più presto con l’innalzamento della temperatura nell’ambiante cantina. 

A seguire precipitazione statica naturale

Affinamento: solo acciaio

Resa per ha: 80 q.li

Bottiglie: 2000 a 3500

Croatina Colline Novaresi doc

Grapes: 100% Croatina

Harvest Date: October 10th

Fermentation: 8 to 10 days on the skins

with malolactic following as soon as possible with the raising of the temperature in the winery.

No filtering or fining

Aging: only stainless steel

Yield per acre: 3,500 lbs

Cases Produced: 166 to 300 per year depending upon the year

Santa Caterina Vermentino 2012 Poggi Alti

All white pepper and fresh peach this is about as clean and crisp as you can get but the extra nine days on the skin during fermentation make the weight and body deeper than one usually associates with Vermentino.  Excellent.

found at Ava Gene's in Portland . . .

2001 G.D. Vajra Barolo Bricco delle Viole

Aglianico ripe for the picking from Musto Carmelitano . . .

Aglianico grapes ripe for the picking.

The picture above is from Musto Carmelitano.  Looks like harvest of the Aglianico from their vineyards in Vulture is just starting!

"Musto Carmelitano ranks high among my most pleasant discoveries of 2012. The estate makes three Aglianicos, all from organically farmed vineyards. The Aglianicos range from a younger- vines bottling all the way to the top-of-the-line Pian del Moro, which emerges from a parcel of 80 year-old vines. All of the reds are bottled unfined and unfiltered. I found the best of these wines transparent and just plain gorgeous. Readers should do what they can to taste these soulful, utterly intriguing reds." - Antonio Galloni - The Wine Advocate

The 2010 is tasting ready to go but of course has those big tannins associated with Aglianico but they are silky and the black pepper in the nose is almost overwhelming but then just pulled back enough to make it spicy and fun.

Francesco Cirelli foot trodding some grapes. Harvest has begun in Abruzzo!

Francesco Cirelli

Trebbiano d'Abruzzo for sure.

Yummy.  Don't drink too much of it, though!  It will hurt you.

Cirelli Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo - the perfect summer sipper . . . .

Cirelli Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo

The Cirelli Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo 2012 is tasting great right now.  Lots of cherry fruit and acidity and a little bit of that salty terroir thing going on, too.  It is also a critter wine, notice the beautiful butterfly, which I am sure is recognizable to all as the sign of freedom and transformation (okay, I am reaching here . . .) but whatever.  The wine is good.

The grapes for this wine were grown specifically to be direct press rose` and that has some advantages.  Lower alcohol and higher acidity would be the most obvious.  And now that the weather is getting really hot, and our rose` season is finally upon us, this is a great wine for those hot days.

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