Started with an Etna Rosso a few weeks back, and it kind of broke our brains. Now we're chasing that profile.
Most recently: 2015 Corte Normanna Sannio Aglianico Riserva. Serious wine. Dark plum, leather, cracked pepper, iron-and-ash minerality. Firm tannins but totally in balance, and the 15% showed zero heat. This one stuck with us. QPR was off the charts as well.
Bierzo Mencía, Xinomavro, and Frappato are all on our radar. What else should we be exploring? What are you drinking in this space?
by scysewski
5 Comments
Not sure if it’s exactly in the style you’re looking for but I had the GD Vajra Langhe Freisa Kyé recently and it was gorgeous
Not going to suggest grapes, but wines from the Canary Islands, campania, reds from Greece will fit your profile of volcanic, mineral, fruit forward. Don’t sleep on exploring whites as well.
oh man you’re in for a ride. if the aglianico hit that hard definitely look into taurasi specifically, same grape but the best examples from irpinia have this insane volcanic intensity that’s hard to match. mastroberardino radici is a classic entry point and still punches way above its price.
for xinomavro, naoussa is the region you want. domaine thymiopoulos and kir-yianni are both great producers. fair warning the young stuff can be pretty tannic and angular but give them a few years and they develop these gorgeous dried rose and tar notes that feel super nebbiolo-adjacent.
also if you havent gone deeper on etna beyond a generic rosso, try some single contrada bottles. benanti and girolamo russo are doing incredible stuff up there right now. nerello mascalese from a specific site is a completely different animal than the blended entry level wines. and one kind of left field pick, look into croatina from oltrepò pavese in lombardy. super earthy and rustic in the best possible way, not well known outside italy at all but exactly the vibe you’re chasing i think
Have you tried Chiavennesca?
High altitude nebbiolo from Valtelina Superiore is hard to beat for QPR as far as Nebbiolo goes. I would highly recommend Ar.Pe.Pe’s “Inferno” vineyard and bottlings. They have old stock available for a good price – the 98′ was unreal last time I had it.
Have you tried other nebbiolos from outside of the Barbaresco and Barolo production zones?
There’s a tonne!
Gattinara, Ghemme but especially ‘La Boca’ a tiny appellation that almost went extinct. The top producers are Le Piane and if you can get your hands on the stuff: Bernardo Vallana. Library releases are available from Le Piane. Super good!
Check out wine from Pico Island in the Azores as well