The Wine

    

• Zenato – 2012 Alanera – Veneto, Italy

• Fuedo Maccari – 2012 Saia – Sicily, Italy

• Tenuta Sette Ponti – 2014 Poggio al Lupo – Tuscany, Italy

• Planeta – 2015 La Segreta – Sicily, Italy

• Altesino – 2013 Rosso – Tuscany, Italy

• Planeta – 2011 Burdese – Sicily, Italy

The Setup

A Young’s Market (wine distributor) rep hosted this blind tasting at Alessia’s Ristorante (Mesa, AZ). All wines were drunk while enjoying a charcuterie platter.

• For the purposes of this tasting, it was assumed Tuscany was “South”.
• Northern Italy is cooler than Southern: cooler climates generally produce wines with more acidity.
• Northern Italy generally utilizes a different winemaking style: Southern Italy tends to make easier drinking red wine, versus Northern where reds tend to have more tannin and can be bottle aged. Tuscany in Central Italy can make both styles, but the Sangiovese and Cab Sauv grapes that dominate this area are not difficult to recognize.
• The ringer:
  • Unusual winemaking processes commonly used by producers in the Western Veneto area (North) can produce fruity, rich red wines:
    • Appassimento – a process for drying of grapes and concentrating flavors (think raisins)
    • Ripasso – a process where additional skins from previously pressed fruit is added to the must to add structure

Wine Tasting Notes  & Comments

So, I landed five out of six for North/South growing region and the one ringer DID fool me. The Zenato wine was made Appassimento style and I thought it was Southern. The wine selections was great, but I missed having a traditional Barolo (North region) in the mix and it would have been fun to add a Dolcetto, Barbera (both North varietals), or Aglianico (South varietal) that might trick us. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is a classic southern wine and probably should have been represented instead of multiple wines from Sicily.

Before we begin with the tasting notes, an observation about my palate. I enjoy fruity wines with the best of them, but they need to have some structure. Flabby, grape juice tasting wines are not my favorite, in fact I can enjoy big, young Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. Keep that in mind when reading the notes below…

Zenato – My favorite wine of the night. Lots of fruit both red and black on the nose and palate. Medium-low acidity and tannin with a dark chocolate mid-palate and finish. There was an interesting almost tar-like finishing note, with violets. Something like the finish of a good aged Barbaresco… The wine had some structure, but the complexity was the real draw. This is a drink now wine. Best drinking window 2016-2018.

Fuedo Maccari – My number two from the list. Saia is one of the few wines coming out of Sicily with a reputation preceding it. This is a fruit forward wine of black fruit and dark chocolate, with medium acidity and medium-low tannins. There is a touch of sweetness. This is a lighter, softer wine, but a bit muscular compared to a typical Nero d’Avola. These Sicilian Nero d’Avola wines are fantastic value red table wines, but definitely don’t elevate to the level of product coming from better mainland producers. Saia is arguably the best of the Sicilian group, but will cost you a few dollars more. For those who enjoy a consistently fruity wine year over year, easy drinking – with some complexity, this would be a solid selection. Best drinking window: 2015-2019.

Tenuta Sette Ponti – This was a very disappointing, overpriced wine. I would choose their Crognolo label for much less money, or their Oreno label for a little more. High tannins and acidity make up its structure. The wine is not fruit forward and primarily presents an extremely bitter chocolate palate with some earthy character. You could say: “with some bottle age this may tone down”… but there is not enough balance to think it will improve drastically. The texture is good, with a long finish. Best drinking window: 2020-2030.

Planeta

La Segreta – Fruit forward with all red fruit on the nose and palate. The structure has no tannins and low acidity. The texture is slightly watery. This wine is past its drinking window. You can tell this is a drink now wine, that should have been drunk: 2014-2016. The 50% Nero d’Avola and 20% Merlot in this mix was a match made for a drink now table wine.

Burdese – Slightly fruit forward with red fruit on the nose and palate. Strong dark chocolate character on the mid-palate and finish. The cab franc adds a slightly spicy character. The structure was high in both tannins and acidity. This wine still needs more time in the bottle. Could make an effective food wine. Best drinking window: 2019-2022.

Altesino – Fruit forward with red and black fruits on the nose and palate. There was a forest floor character to the nose that blows off after about 20 mins. This is a very average Rosso di Montalcino with a very little bit of Brunello character. It is easy drinking and without much structure. The typical dark chocolate finish is there. Pretty decent, but maybe I just want to compare it too much with the much more expensive Brunello wines.

Fun Stuff

We invited our neighbors to join us and we all had a great time, including dinner afterwards. There were four other couples at the event and everyone enjoyed themselves. The rep from Young’s Market was fairly knowledgeable and added interest. If you haven’t tried a blind tasting, give it a shot. It adds a little extra entertainment to a tasting and the suspense of your assessment adds to the experience.