Tucked away in the heart of Umbria is Montefalco, the quintessential Italian wine producing town. Steeped in history and staunchly resistant to conforming to the global wine palate, Montefalco gives its name to the DOCG wine, Montefalco Sagrantino. Rumoured to have been brought here from the middle east by Saint Francis, or perhaps even ancient Greek in origin, the Sagrantino grape is similar in a way to it’s Tuscan neighbour Sangiovese, yet shows a considerably wilder edge in youth. In fact the grape’s boisterous tendencies in adolescence have no doubt contributed to the legal requirement of ageing Montefalco Sangrantino for at least 3 years, 12 months of which must be in oak.

Softening and smoothing out these rough edges is the key to making great Sagrantino. Developing and maturing the grape’s naturally aggressive nature into elegance and grace, balance and harmony is often an exercise in both patience and understanding the potential of this mysterious and frustrating grape. Frustration and lack of patience nearly got the better of Sagrantino growers in the 1960s when the grape verged on extinction. But for the courage of a few brave and perhaps even crazy wine makers, Sagrantino would have long sine disappeared. Following … Read more…

Tasca d’Almerita is one of the leading players on the Sicilian wine scene, making a number of wines from both indigenous and international grape varieties in the Sclafani countryside between Palermo and Enna. Their 100% Nero d’Avola named ‘Lamuri’ is a customer favourite while ‘Camastra’, a blend of Nero d’Avola and Merlot, is also hugely popular. A white wine named ‘Nozze d’Oro’ made from Inzollia and Sauvignon Tasca has an increasing following and although not cheap, their Chardonnay is of the highest quality.

One wine in particular though has stolen our hearts and continues to wow us every time we pull the cork. Created in the early 1970s by Count Giuseppe Tasca, the Rosso del Conte is considered to be one of the founding fathers of high end red wine in Sicily. Over the last 40 years it has mirrored the company’s forward thinking approach to modern wine making and has often led by example in the quest to make premium quality Nero d’Avola. A wish to also craft a wine as age worthy as Bordeaux’s Cabernets, led the family to practise careful experimentation with oak ageing, something of a first in Sicly. Such maturation has led to a refined an … Read more…

The 2004 Barolo vintage was one of the most hyped vintages of the decade and in a region where outstanding years come once or twice in ten, the excitement was justified. A good deal of the wines are already being enjoyed, fragrant and perfumed, yet displaying a backbone suitable for years of cellaring. Many of the top wines were tipped to go on proudly until 2035 and nothing yet suggests otherwise. If anything, they are likely last longer.

The long 2004 growing season was ideal for the development of those hallmark Barolo aromas of rose petal, tar and leather, the subtle beauty of which have long kept Barolo elevated as the ‘wine of kings and the king of wines’. Lengthy, slow maturation on the vine is crucial for the Nebbiolo grape, a grape traditionally among the last to ripen in Italy, to achieve not only it’s legendary aromatic complexity but also a phenolically ripe tannic structure.

After the very tricky vintages of 2002 and 2003, where both excessive rain and excessive heat contributed to some very disappointing wines, 2004 was a much needed bonus for many producers. Glorious sun shine in September meant the majority of producers were harvesting by … Read more…