Help with Italian wines

For some reason that list displays very poorly in my browser.

LeviD is your man if he shows.

I have really enjoyed the COS wines that I've had. But I'm having trouble reading the others.
 
originally posted by Brad L i l j e q u i s t:
Help with Italian winesI am very clueless about Italian wines and we are going to a16 in SF on Saturday. Any suggestions off this list?

http://www.a16sf.com/wine_list_7.8.08.htm

I had an Occipinti last week that I thought was great.
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Movia, 'Puro' Ros, Slovenia 1999 (Pinot Nero), cool stuff, oxidized and i believe no sulfer. radikonesque, but not at the same level, imo.

Cantine del Taburno, Taburno 2006, falanghina, nice, easy drinking stuff.

Emidio Pepe, Trebbiano dAbruzzo 1995, wonderful. very traditional. i tend to prefer valentini, but this is great. very atypical for the appelation, but in a really good way...


Valentini, Trebbiano dAbruzzo 2001, young but wonderful.

Palazzone, 'Terre Vineate', Orvieto Superiore, Umbria 2006, very tasty, great minerality. easy drinking.

Terre Nere 'Guardiola', Etna Rosso 2005 (Nerello Mascalese), i'm a big fan of mark de grazia's mt etna wines.

Emidio Pepe, Montepulciano dAbruzzo 1980, don't know anything about the vintage...

while i am by no means the italian expert, i enjoy the above wines. but, i know nothing about this restaurant, is there a reason to go other than the wine?
 
Scott's suggestions are pretty spot-on.

I had the 1980 Pepe Montepulciano d'Abruzzo about a year ago and it took an hour or so to open up (said opening was accompanied by blaring aromas of nail polish) but it's a really interesting wine. I had the same problem as SFJoe and the page formatted poorly so I was unable to read the prices, but it's probably worth whatever they're asking. Likewise with the Pepe or Valentini Trebbianos, as they're both wonderful wines.

The wine crew there really know what they're talking about, so I'd have no hesitation asking their advice as to what they'd recommend. They know the menu really well and spend a lot of time in staff training sessions so they know the list. The joint can get loud, but the food and wine are worth the din.

-Eden (I like wine lists with a lot of stuff I've never heard of)
 
I would agree with the previous suggestions, and add these of my own:

Pietracupa, Fiano di Avellino 2006: a truly excellent mineral, smokey, and lean take on Fiano. The Pietracupa Greco 2006 is also nice, but I prefer the Fiano by an edge for drinking right now.

Farro, 'Le Cigliate', Campi Flegrei 2006: a benchmark bottling from the South. Basically the definitive mineral/volcanic version of Falanghina. Paradigmatic. I sell several bottles each evening.

Poderi Foglia, 'ConcaBianco', Roccamonfina, 2006: good, and decent value

Vestini Campagnano Le Ortole, Pallagrello Bianco 2004: very good

Capichera, Vermentino di Gallura 2006: too expensive, but quite good

La Monacesca, 'Mirum', Verdicchio di Matelica Riserva 2001: this late harvest Verdicchio ages well. A bit more soft on the palate than some of the other suggestions.

Marco de Bartoli, Grappoli del Grillo 2006: the best Grillo made today, bar none. Also, it is here offered at a very good price (it is usually around $100 in NYC). This does have some oak treatment, so if you object to that sort of thing, be advised. But supernal Grillo, and on the level of 1er Cru Chablis.

Borgo di Colloredo, 'Gironia', Biferno Bianco, Molise 2005: excellent value for someone who likes round and honeyed and soft

Molettieri, Vigna Cinque Querce Taurasi 2004: benchmark, lean and animale Taurasi. 2004 is a great Taurasi year. This needs decanting if drunk today.

Terredora di Paolo, 'Fatica Contadina' Taurasi 2001: Meaty and iron laced, with dark tones. Really sauvage at times. Very good.

Vestini Campagnano, Pallagrello Nero, Terre Del Volturno 2004: The benchmark Pallagrello Nero, even after the winemaking change. Far and away the best Pallagrello Nero you can find today. Not cheap, though.

Notaio, 'La Firma', Aglianico del Vulture 2004: Very good. A bit more middle of the road in style than the Molettieri or the TDP. Full bodied. Very easy for most people to like, I think.

Soletta, Riserva, Cannonau di Sardegna 2003: A personal favorite. I hand-sell several bottles each evening. Decant and enjoy. Really excellent value for the money.

I have only recommended wines and corresponding vintages with which I am very familiar. There are a couple of other items that I might think about, but I haven't had that particular vintage. I would be very curious about the Ippolito wines, which are not currently available in NYC.

Basically, speaking as someone who works in a Southern Italian restaurant and is responsible for the wine list there, I would say that A16 offers one of the top 2 or three Southern Italian wine lists in this country today. I'll let you figure out where the other one or two top lists might be found.
 
Omitting vintages as they are probably largely wrong by now anyway (list says July).

Whites/sparkling - any of these would go nicely with A16's various seafood apps
Collestefano Verdicchio di Matelica - waxy, salty, nice acid
Marisa Cuomo Fior d'Uva
Vini Biondi Gurna

Sparkling
Movia Puro Ros - bottled on the lees; should be disgorged tableside which is a bit of a show. Had a taste of the 2000 last week and it needed a bit of air to flesh out.

Reds, less precious
La Sibilla Piedirosso - bit vegetal, savory, elegant, tasty, just ask Levenberg.
Ippolito Liber Pater - haven't tasted, but frogman liked it.

Reds, more precious
Contrade di Taurasi Riserva - old school and wonderful, probably my overall red pick from the list.
Paternoster Aglianico del Vulture 'Don Anselmo' - some oak here but my, what a wine. Young, decant, etc.
Campagnano Casavecchia & Pallagrello Nero - haven't tasted, but would love to.

A pass for me, maybe not for you
Molettieri Taurasi - excellent producer, but far too young & likely to be a tighly clenched tannic vise. The '99 is still a baby.
Palari Faro - lovely starting material that is smothered in too much NFO.
Passopisciaro - concentrated, yet impressively light-bodied, but it pushes the envelope on ripeness.
Terre Nere Etna Guardiola - was intrigued by these wines initially but am finding myself less enamored of them with each subsequent bottle.

And if you are a high net work individual then by all means proceed straight to the older bottles of Valentini and Pepe.
 
One wine stands out: 1989 'Fiorano' (Semillon) an excellent value at $198. If you buy it, open it immediately and give it alot of decanting/air...it's still a baby. BUT, it will change amazingly. Truly a great wine!
 
Just a couple of nits about some names that came up...

I had the Passopisciaro '05 with lunch very recently and it was not showing well. Disjointed and odd. It was the inagural vintage. I like the '06 quite a bit, however, in a sort of easy to like way. I would also stay away from that particular Don Anselmo, but YMMV. Contrade di Taurasi (Lonardo) is for some and not for others. I'm never really sure who will like it and who won't. Cuomo Fiorduva is a bit much for me, one glass and I'm done.

Thor: I had a bad run with Benanti, as three bottles in a row of 2001 Pietramarina have been corked (I've never had one that was not corked). I think there may be a larger problem and have decided against opening further bottles in favor of sending back the batch.
 
Understood about Benanti. My only recent experience was in Oslo, and it was a good one, but I don't usually see them around here.
 
originally posted by Levi Dalton:

Molettieri, Vigna Cinque Querce Taurasi 2004: benchmark, lean and animale Taurasi. 2004 is a great Taurasi year. This needs decanting if drunk today.
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So, I just had my last bottle of 1995 when Bwood was in town. Took a while to open, but was really good, if not great. My experience with latter years in the 90s led me to believe that there was something spoofy going on. Was I mistaken? Was it just a short-term, oenologist backed experiment gone awry? What's going on there now?
 
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
Just a couple of nits about some names that came up...

I had the Passopisciaro '05 with lunch very recently and it was not showing well. Disjointed and odd. It was the inagural vintage.
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I thought the '04 was the first? (at least I had a bottle of it, and delicious) You think the 05 might just need a little time to sort out?
 
Vestini Campagnano, Pallagrello Nero, Terre Del Volturno 2004: The benchmark Pallagrello Nero, even after the winemaking change. Far and away the best Pallagrello Nero you can find today. Not cheap, though.
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Benchmark? How many pallagrello neros are out there?

Notaio, 'La Firma', Aglianico del Vulture 2004: Very good. A bit more middle of the road in style than the Molettieri or the TDP. Full bodied. Very easy for most people to like, I think.
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Obviously from a good vintage, they must have improved their winemaking prowess since I last tried this(a 1999 I think) that was spoof-city. How was the wood on this?
 
Passopisciaro '05: http://www.passopisciaro.com/vini/ lists only 2005 and 2006 for Passopisciaro. I have never encountered an '04. I didn't think that the 2005 was going anywhere good when I tried it recently, and I didn't think it was worth the money, either. But bottles do vary and time may sort things out. Foti is obviously doing some good work, but I think that Passopisciaro may be basically for early drinking. There may even be some partial carbonic at work, although I don't know that.

Pallagrello Nero: see also Poderi Foglia and Villa Carafa, among others

Notaio: the winemaking is overseen by Prof. Luigi Moio, of Cantina del Taburno, Caggiano, and formerly of Vestini Campagnano. His style may verge on spoofy at times. I was no Notaio fan myself, but then the '04 "La Firma" came along and I think it is very good. It is also a wine, as I said, that I think a lot of people would like, as in fact I have witnessed at my own restaurant. The Caggiano "Goti" '04 is also excellent. Very, very excellent in fact. And Cantina del Taburno has been doing things quite well, although some might find the "Bue Apis" to be a bit much.

Molettieri: 1995 was the first vintage. Giovanni Molettieri has taken a larger role with each passing year in assisting his father Salvatore. I am not aware of a less spoofy Taurasi available today, although I would be happy if someone pointed out one to me. I guess some might say Lonardo, but I would disagree based on the texture of Lonardo.
 
Salvo Foti is doing some great work. i thought passopisciaro was all carbonic, certainly seemed like it on release. It was lovely a year ago. Etheral yet supremely nervous. It did not seem like something that would benefit much from holding
 
Been sort of on a Benanti hunt of late.

Tonight I had the 1998 Benanti Lamoremio (equal portions of Nerello Mascalese, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Nero d'Avola, Nerello and Cab from Etna, and the Nero d'Avola from Pachino in south east Sicily) from magnum.

Pretty good. The cab doesn't overwhelm or stick out. The wine has matured nicely and drinks well over the course of several hours, although there are no profound changes in the wine or profound moments for the drinker. The wine seems like it could age well for a few years longer, although there is a bit of a rusty/dusty edge to the palate that some might object to. Personally, I find it confusing to have these grape varieties blended together. I'm not saying it is a bad combination, just one I am not used to outside of one experience with a younger Lamoremio, and my mind just keeps trying to pick this apart and figure out where the Nerello ends and the Nero starts. I guess philosophically I prefer one grape from one place, and this breaks both of those rules, but who am I to say? I like some Bordeaux, after all. Although this is more like Cab and Pinot (is anyone else getting bored with Pinot these days, btw? Very decent burgundy is often leaving me cold these days as my palate becomes more Italianate and looks for more bitterness) than Cab and Merlot.

If this were the average level of quality in Sicily, then all would be very well. Some days that goal doesn't seem so far off.
 
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