A bustling line up of wines from all over Italy. After acquiring a glass, I headed straight for the bubbly but the N.V. Collalbrigo Prosecco Brut from Veneto was quietly tart and too intense--too cavalike. The N.V. Collalbrigo Ti Amo Brut was a blend of prosecco and pinot nero, and though it had some promising light cherry stem flavor, the alcohol peeked through on this one as well. Finally to my liking was the 2007 Corte Sant' Alda Soave Vigna di Mezzane, a blend of 80 percent garganega and 20 percent trebbiano. Soft and easy with some nutmeg, but also with great grey/white rocks, balanced, rich yet drinkable. Goes down very nicely. The 2008 Marco Porello Roero Arneis Camestrì also had a great entry, rounded and flavorful, stone/herbs/softness, perhaps a bit on the simpler side but good balance of concentration and a peppery finish, very nice. Not quite as impressed with the 2008 Germano Ettore Langhe Chardonnay Serralunga, which had lots of tropical notes and good richness--but a little too rich without reward for me. The 2007 Cantina di Santadi Vermentino di Sardegna Cala Silente from Sardinia was again rich and thick--but without being hot or too powerful. Still the spice and richness just weren't to my liking--though many others around the room were far more impressed. I had hope for some refreshing qualities from the 2007 Villa Matilde Greco di Tufo Tenuta di Altavilla, and indeed great texture combined with tasty grapefruit and a crunchy dry finish--lots of fun to drink this one.
Onto the reds, starting in Tuscany was the 2006 Vitanza Chianti Colli Senesi which was soft and rich, with good fruit and a good tannin grip. Nice enough. The 2006 Le Paturnie Rosso di Montalcino tasted too much of cherry cough syrup to me--easy and rounded, it had some fans, but I just found nothing there beyond basic generic red wine. The 2001 Vitanza Brunello di Montalcino, on the other hand, was in the running for one of the wines of the night--fantastic spice and tobacco, soft and integrated, drying tannins--in a very good place. The 2005 Cantina di Santadi Carignano del Sulcis Riserva Rocca Rubia had a weirder nose--olives or somesuch--but had solid good soft and spicy flavors, very grippy and very tannic. I adored the nose on the 2006 Terre di Balbia Calabria Balbium Rosso--funky earthy brownies--yum. Alas, though others had this as their wine of the night, I loved the delicious rich brownies, but found it a bit too rich for my tastes--though happily the wine was in no way too intense--I really enjoyed it. The 2006 Villa Matilde Beneventano Aglianico Rocca dei Leoni was soft, rounded, and tart--didn't really find anything wrong with or anything to admire.
The 2007 Corte Sant' Alda Valpolicella Ca' Fiui was likely my least favorite of the evening--rich buttery bitter raisins and matchsticks--very meh. The 2007 Azienda Agricola Cos Sicilia Frappato, on the other hand, was among the top wines for the evening. A nose of rotisserie, a wow texture of seductive smoothness, and great spice and great taste. Yum, yum, yum. The 2007 Azienda Agricola Cos Sicilia Nero di Lupo, however, was rich, concentrated, and sweet--and far too anonymous. The 2006 Azienda Agricola Cos Cerasuolo di Vittoria was a blend of frappato and nero d'avola and had good flavor of rounded blueberries, good to drink, not exactly refreshing, but not tiring, either, I'd revisit it. The 2006 Azienda Agricola Cos Cerasuolo di Vittoria Pithos was a similar blend, but this one was a bit too soft and a bit too easy, though it still had decent balance--it didn't catch my fancy.The 2001 Azienda Agricola Cos Sicilia Scyri was another nero d'avola and had a bit more raisin concentration, but the richness here was good and was actually refreshing, had a touch of light funk to keep things interesting, and interesting and tasty it was.
The 2007 La Casaccia Barbera del Monferrato was juicy and very tasty, great assortment of flavors here--I really liked this wine. The 2007 Anna Maria Abbona Dolcetto di Dogliani Sori dij But had a fantastic soapy nose, almost hoppy. Fairly solid approach with some brick and tobacco--fantastic stuff. The 2007 Sella Coste della Sesia Orbello smelled of hawaiian punch and didn't taste much more interesting than that. The 2007 Germano Ettore Langhe Nebbiolo Serralunga tasted cool, slightly developed, easy drinking back-and-forth between tart and sweet--didn't really win my affection. Also floating around were the non-Italian Texier “Ô Pâle” Mout de Raisins Partiellement Fermente--partially fermented vigonier, from what I was told--it was tasty grape juice, but to type the truth, I can't say I took as much fancy with it as others raved. Among my favorites for the night was the utterly resolved Les Crêtes Pinot Gris Vigne Brulant from Valle d'Aosta--soft but focused, excellent quiet resolve, superb stuff indeed. Quite a night as well.