This is the first of two collections of tasting notes that don't fit in to my themed reports, focusing on the following regions, the first three of which we do not regularly cover:
Alto Adige
Trentino
Veneto
Piemonte
See also Walter's collection of central and southern Italian tasting notes.
The 111 reviews are grouped by region and then, regardless of colour, in descending score order.
ALTO ADIGE
2011 vintage. 100% Vernatsch. ‘I wanted to be free to do what I...
Grapes come from the Trattmann estate in Mazzon, the latter...
Clearly a mature white wine but not oxidative. Still taut and...
Almost like a Vernatsch with strawberry and raspberry, but pale...
100% Vernatsch. A touch of oak on the nose. Great purity of...
60 days on the skins, part in amphora, aged for 10 months in...
Mazzon is known as a Pinot Noir cru site. Lovely vigorous...
The grapes come from the Ganger vineyard, a monopole owned by...
One month on the skins. Dark ruby with an orange rim. Ripe nose...
2009 vintage. Medium deep ruby with orange tinges. Talcum and a...
100% Vernatsch, aged for two years in large oak casks and cement...
100% Sauvignon Blanc. Almost buttercup yellow. Lovely honeyed...
Old vine Vernatsch with a tiny quantity of Pinot Noir.
Palest of...
Unusual deep yellow. Exciting, almost powerful ripe yellow fruit...
Brilliant straw. Chalky nose with lemony apple fruit. Proper...
Half the grapes were fermented in tonneaux.
Brilliant straw...
100% Pinot Noir, called Blauburgunder here.
Mid ruby. Sweet Pinot...
Half the grapes were fermented in oak, the other half in...
Pale ruby. Much more complex and intriguing than the 2011 (‘now...
Lustrous mid ruby with orange tinges. Sweetly perfumed and with...
Mature but still amazingly fresh and poised on the nose. A...
Impenetrable dark ruby. A little sweeter and deeper on the nose...
2010 vintage. 100% Lagrein, but judged as ‘not typical’ by the...
2012 vintage. 100% Teroldego. Whole bunch fermentation.
Impenetra...
Lagrein planted with a north-westerly exposure. Half is trained...
100% Lagrein. Deep nose with leafy notes. Really fine and not...
Vernatsch. Palish ruby with a broad rim. At first stalky, then...
100% Sauvignon Blanc. Brilliant yellow. Soft and sweet yellow...
60 days on the skins, part in amphora, aged for 10 months in...
Almost a bit like Alsace and late harvest on the nose. Honeyed...
Mainly Chardonnay, but with all other white varieties of the...
Old vine Vernatsch with a tiny quantity of Pinot Noir. Late...
Almost pitch black ruby. Sweet dark fruit nose with savoury...
The winemaker here is Patrick Uccelli. Fermented in old...
Brilliant lemon. Resin and stones and a little waxy on the nose...
Watery yellow with a green tinge. Still fresh but with a clear...
Completely different from the 2014, with real concentration and...
Almost a little earthy and leafy yet ripe on the nose. The...
From a site in Bolzano. Aged for one year in barriques, 30% new...
Lots of minerality and savoury hints, and so different from the...
60% Viognier with the balance being Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and...
Fine, nutty oak and apple nose. Citric acidity and creamy oak...
‘Lagrein is always cultivated on sandy moraine soils in Bolzano...
Single vineyard. 60 days on the skins, part in amphora, and aged...
Impenetrable dark crimson. Quite pure dark fruit nose with a...
Palish straw with a green tinge. Fresh lemon and tropical fruit...
Schiava. Palish crimson. Fragrant, sweet and a little chalky on...
Lemony yellow. More stony on the nose than the 2012 vintage...
Just mid ruby with the beginning of orange tinges. Subdued...
Super-heavy bottle. Pale ruby with orange tinges. A little dusty...
Very watery yellow with a green tinge. Chalky and floral, and a...
15% was fermented in new oak and went through malolactic...
Palish green straw. Piercing but not brutal on the nose, with...
‘We were the last to harvest here, because in September we had a...
This year for the first time in a burgundy bottle. ‘Rondell is...
Deep ruby. Subdued like the 2014, but with a more focused, ripe...
Soft, fresh and pure. Fine and pretty much still closed. Finely...
Deep ruby with an orange rim. Chalky cassis and bell pepper on...
Very dark ruby with a very narrow orange rim. Subdued yet...
Dark mature-looking ruby with a bricky narrow rim. Slightly...
2009 vintage. Impenetrable dark violet crimson. Firm nose of...
15% is fermented in barrique. Brilliant straw. Elegant oatmeal...
100% Vernatsch (Schiava). Pale crimson. A nose of strawberry...
More youthful-looking with the beginning of orange tinges. Fresh...
Fermented in stainless steel and aged in both stainless steel...
Just mid ruby with orange tinges. A little closed and brooding...
Impenetrable violet crimson. Really closed and reluctant on the...
TRENTINO
This is the current vintage, first released in 2013. The grapes...
60% Solaris, 40% Bronner, crossings from Freiburg, Germany, and...
Nosiola grapes that were dried for 10 days in the plastic crates...
100% Nosiola macerated on the skins for 12 hours before pressing...
Impenetrable dark violet. Deep, dark, chalky sweet nose with a...
A rosé more than anything, and the juice was only kept for a...
Fermented using indigenous yeasts, with only one pigeage and no...
Only stainless steel. Impenetrable violet ruby. Almost explosive...
Lagrein aged in barriques and tonneaux and 10 hl vats ‘but not...
VENETO
Corvina, Rondinella, Molinara and Sangiovese fermented and aged...
Flowery white fruit and blossom nose. Fresh almost citric peach...
80% Corvina, 10% Rondinella, 10% Molinara. Biodynamic. Aged for...
Deep ruby with a brickstone rim. A little more intense than the...
2014 vintage. Quite foamy for a frizzante when pouring this into...
Much less fragrant than the Extra Dry, and a little honeyed on...
80% Corvina, 10% Rondinella, 10% Molinara. An ambitious, more...
A look at the back label states 15%, so the alcohol content has...
Impenetrable, deep, lacklustre ruby with orange tinges. Fresh...
Ridiculously heavy bottle. Dark, dark ruby. Intense, complex...
PIEMONTE
Almost impenetrable crimson. Beautiful, lifted violet and...
Concentrated ruby with orange tinges. Youthful cherry and...
‘We release this on the market four years after the harvest...
Deep ruby with the beginning of orange tinges. Clean, deep nose...
An Australian wine, but tasted in Alba, because Dave Fletcher is...
Nebbiolo fermented for 10 days on the skins. Aged for 10 months...
Pale yellow. This wine always reminds me of Eden Valley. Lemon...
From the Bricco Viole and Bric Berton vineyards. Deep, violet...
Youthful mid ruby. Lovely Nebbiolo fruit with a touch of oatmeal...
Intense yellow. Ripe, peppery quince nose with hints of bread...
Impressively concentrated crimson. Spicy and a little savoury...
Just mid ruby with a broad watery orange rim. Pretty and lifted...
‘Difficult growing season, but we are happy with the result...
Aged for two years in large oak casks (25-50 hl).
Just mid...
Lightly sparkling due to a slight refermentation in the bottle...
Riesling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Nascetta. Riesling dominates...
Just mid ruby with the beginning of orange tinges. Firm...
Intense crimson. Proper concentration, density and lift on the...
VSQ (Vino Spumante di Qualità) from Piemonte. 100% Nebbiolo...
VSQ (Vino Spumante di Qualità) from Piemonte. First vintage 2006...
Giuseppe Vajra’s stab at recreating the Nebbiolo Jefferson might...
A selection of two vineyards (Coste, Fossati). Lustrous violet...
Violet crimson. A little tight on the nose. Blackberry with...
Mid crimson. Lifted blueberry and a touch of ink. Perhaps a...
Violet crimson. Tight nose of blackberry, and a little inky...
