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The Rest of Italy Notes from am Italian dinner accompanied by anything but Piemonte and Tuscany". The wines turned out to be a great surprise to us all, for the most part a humbling guessing game in terms of trying to blind taste, but a great learning opportunity. Sachetto Prosecco (Colli Trevagiani) pleasant an bubbly what more can one expect? 1998 Rubino della Palazzola (Umbria) - 80% Cabernet Sauvignon-20% Merlot blend aged in 100% new oak. Fairly dark wine with some floral element and some funky oak, a bit warm, and very approachable now, though it will hold for years. 2001 Cusimano Sagana (Sicily) this 100% Nero d'Avola was very good lots of oak in the nose, smooth in the middle and a spritz of lemon-acidity at the end. A grape to keep an eye on. 1999 Canua Sforzato (Valtellina) this unusual wine was quite light in colour. Produced from Nebbiolo grapes dried on mats, it had the definite late harvest indicators, yet was lighter in body than expected. It was better served this early in the meal than it would have been later with cheese. 1999 Planeta Merlot very well structured wine with a decidedly Bordeaux style of nose with only slight hints of the coffee-chocolate that you'd expect. The oak is ample yet not obtrusive and the wine drinks well now but clearly has time to go and should continue to improve. 1999 Azienda Agricola San Bonifacio Bradisismo (Veneto) an IGT wine made from a blend of 65% Cab Sauv, 30% Carmenere (although that isn't allowed on the label and Cab Franc is used instead) and 5% Merlot. An Italian Bordeaux, if you will. Dark, with a ripe nose showing a hint of band-aid. Big tannins and slight green note with good length and pepper at the end. I liked this a lot about $35 US and well worth it! 1997 Feudi San Gregorio Serpico (Campania) - Aglianaco is the major grape here, but others play a part. Dark, deep nose you had to work at a bit, cherries and vanilla, seemed leaner than the previous wines and a bit tighter, but we realised it was only in comparison, and that this was a well balanced wine with staying power. I'd give it a couple more years. 1990 Lungarotti San Giorgio (Umbria) Lungarotti is better known for their bargain priced Rubesco and the reserve version, Monticchio, both of which I find to be a bit rustic. This IGT blend of cab, sangiovese and cannaiolo has always struck me as much more refined. This one had a paler colour, an initial cheesiness in the nose, followed by cedar as it opened up, and was smooth with good acidity and some remaining soft tannin. As good as it will ever be, and will continue to hold. 1998 Illuminati Nico (Abruzzo) you'd be excused for not knowing this one. made from Montepulciano grapes done in recioto dried style. Better known for their Lumen IGT wine, they make this in smaller amounts and it doesn't seem to be very widely sold. It had a tartness but also a sweetness that went well with cheese and was 14.5% alcohol. Interesting wine.
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