Wassa Matta With You? Wines from Central and Southern Italy - WSET 3.9

This week's class started off horribly - which is appropriate, I guess, as it was Halloween....

My first mistake happened before class - when I went for dinner at Pokéritto. Pokéritto is like Subway except it's for Poké - basically sushi rice, seafood and other stuff. I look forward to going here every class and so I had my usual (tuna, shrimp, crab, bunch of other stuff) but this time I picked the sweet chilli sauce, thinking it would have a tiny bit of heat, like sweet chilli potato chips.

Nope. Couldn't be more wrong.

I enjoyed the spiciness of the food, but I think it made me screw up my wine tasting - at least the first two wines. Mama mia!

Central and Southern Italy wine regions - courtesy Wine Folly

Central Italy has those wonderful Apennine mountains going down the middle so the great wine sites are in the hills of these mountains, facing south, if they are in the best sites. Altitude helps as well because this is a hot climate. Although there are lots of regions, Sangiovese grape is king, no matter the name.

The most famous region is Tuscany or Toscano - which contains Chianti, the oldest wine region in Italy. The Sangiovese is expressed as red cherries, plum and dried herbs and can be regular Chianti, Chianti Classico (grown on traditional sites, usually on hills and aged for 12 months), Chianti Classico Reserva (aged 24 months) and Chianti Classico Gran Selezione (aged 30 months).  In Southern Tuscany there are two excellent wines, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (confusingly, not to be confused with Montepulciano D'Abruzzo). On the coast are the Super Tuscans - basically wines made from international varieties like Cab Sauv, Merlot and Syrah rather than Italian grapes.

East of Tuscany is Umbria where the Orvieto DOC (remember, DOC means the lower of Italy's top tier and DOCG is the top of their top tier) makes a light bodied white containing Grechetto and Trebbiano grapes. Trebbiano is a neutral grape used for a lot of blending. Sagratini di Montefalco is another DOC that makes super tannic red wines.

Lazio is the region around Rome and, in the Frascati DOC, they make a medium bodied white from Malvasia and our mixing friend, Trebbiano. East of Lazio is Marche where Verdicchio is used to make high acidity whites in Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi DOC and a red blend of Sangiovese and Montepulciano (the grape, not the place) in Conero DOC.  Finally, in Abruzzo, the ever confusing Montepulciano d'Abruzzo is made from the Montepulciano grape which is famous for a rubber smell and a purplish colour.

The first wine we tried was from Marche and was a Sartarelli Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico ($26). I was totally off on this wine - I do struggle with the whites at times - so I am relying on my group's skills for this tasting note rather than my own. On the nose, this wine had pear, lime and citrus flavours while on the palate, there were also almonds and a minerality expressed as wet stone. This wine had medium everything - acidity, alcohol, body, finish - and was rated as a Good wine that should be drunk now.

Next, from this part of Italy, was a 2015 Toscolo Chianti Classico ($29). I fared better on this one, getting red cherry, red plum, and cedar on the nose with tobacco and wood spice on the palate. This dry wine had high acidity - ready to cut through a tomato based pasta dish - and medium or medium plus in most other areas. It was Very Good and should be consumed now.

From the same wine region was a 2012 Sassetti Livio Brunello di Montalcino ($90). This was a medium garnet wine that had pronounced intensity on the nose - those same aromas of cherry and plum but also with cedar, game and farmyard. Developing on the nose, it also had similar tastes on the palate. This wine had high acidity, medium plus tannins, full body and pronounced intensity. A balanced, complex wine with a long finish, it was rated as Outstanding - with definite ageing potential.

The last wine from Central Italy was a 2016 Illuminati Montepulciano D'Abruzzo ($20). This had black fruits like black cherry, black plum and black currant on the nose as well as violet and cedar. It was on the cusp between youthful and developing. On the palate were similar flavours with smoke and balsamic vinegar added in. This was a high acidity wine with most other areas being medium. A balanced wine with some complexity, it was rated as a Good wine to drink now.

Southern Italy is hot and dry, especially inland. The vines there have traditionally been bush trained (the vine literally looks like a bush) to protect from the sun but some trellising has been used more recently. The best vineyards are, surprise, on the slopes of the Apennines.

Campania is the region around Naples. Three of the grapes that are grown are Fiano, Greco, and Aglianico. Fiano di Avelino DOCG makes a medium to full bodied white wine with stone fruit and medium acidity. It can age where it develops tastes of wax and honey. Greco di Tufo DOCG makes a high acidity white wine with tastes of green apple, stone fruit and passion fruit. This, too, can age and can have honey and mushroom flavours. Aglianico is made in the Taurasi DOCG (a great wine for the price) and is a high acid, high tannin red wine with black fruit and an earthy flavour. The Basilicata region is in the instep of the heel of Italy and also makes Aglianico in the Aglianico del Vulture DOC.

In the heel of the boot is Puglia. There they make Negromaro and Primitivo, both red wine grapes. Wines made here can be high yielding, 'lake of wine' type wines but there are good quality wines available as well. Negromaro can be full bodied with medium tannins and acidity and tastes of baked red and black fruit. The best can be found in the Salice Salentino DOC. Primitivo is genetically the same as Zinfandel and has a similar taste profile to Negromaro.

On of the islands off the west coast of Italy is Sicily. Nero D'Avola is a red wine grape with full body, medium acid and tannins, and tastes of plum and black cherry. The Etna DOC of Sicily makes both Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappucio which can be elegant, fragrant red wines with high acidity and tannins and tastes of sour cherry, strawberry, and cranberry.

The white wine that we tried from Campania was a 2009 Feudi di San Gregorio Fiano di Avelino Pietracalda ($41). This was the other wine that I flubbed, thinking it was the Verdicchio - so the notes here are, again, thanks to my brilliant group! This wine had stone fruit and pear on the nose and on the palate. The Fiano was dry with high acidity, medium body, medium plus intensity and a medium plus finish.  It was balanced and complex and earned a Very Good rating.

Also from Campania was a 2011 Taurasi Aglianico also made by Feudi di San Gregorio ($50). This lovely ruby wine had tasted of blueberry, black plum, stewed fruits, earth and charred wood on the nose and palate. It was a high tannin, medium plus acidity, full bodied wine with a long finish. It was balanced, complex and had an intense flavour and was Outstanding. You could drink this wine now or your could age it for a few years.

From Sicily was a 2016 Feudo Maccari Nero D'Avola ($26). This is a great pizza wine having black plum, cherry, cedar and black cherry on the nose and palate. Most other areas were medium but it was a pretty balanced wine and earned a Good rating. Definitely good for food!

Finally, we had a 2015 Benanti Nerrelo, also from Sicily ($25). This was the last wine of the night and I find that sometimes my palate gets a little tired. This was a fairly delicate wine (think Pinot Noir) and after some of these full bodied wines, it sort of got lost. It was a light garnet wine with aromas of cherry, raspberry, strawberry, cooked fruit and smoke, On the palate it seemed to have the same flavours but less intense (hence, its delicateness). Lynn assured us that it was a Very Good wine that would pair well with salmon or tuna.

Italy has so many wines and we've just scratched the surface. Luckily, we had two weeks looking at the vast numbers of wines and regions. Next week we are apparently tackling Spain and Portugal together which seems like a rather daunting task, seeing as there are so many areas, especially in Spain. I guess I will just have to 'press' on in my 'thirst' for wine knowledge!

Ciao!