Wine with Leslie: Italian wine is so en-Chianti-ng
If I am ever feeling jaded by wine, I look to Italy. It constantly surprises me — there is so much diversity and so many grape varieties and regions that you would need a few lifetimes to get a full handle on them all
I was asked recently if I ever get bored of wine, and honestly the answer is no. Of course, I also drink beer and cider, and sometimes a cold pils is exactly what you want to drink after a long wine tasting.
However, if I am ever feeling jaded by wine, I look to Italy. It constantly surprises me — there is so much diversity and so many grape varieties and regions that you would need a few lifetimes to get a full handle on them all. I was reminded of this recently by a bottle of Ramitello Biferno Rosso DOC from Molise in Southern Italy, made with Aglianico and Montepulciano grapes. There was a joyousness in the wine, not just in its ripe fruit flavours but in its vibrancy and verve: it reminded me of the joy that Italians take in living and that I hadn’t been to Italy since 2019.
I suspect many of you have not heard of Molise as it is a small mountainous region below Abruzzo on the Adriatic sea. The region has another DOC called Tintilia di Molise which is even more obscure than Biferno as it is focused around varietal wines made from the local Tintilia grape — the wines are usually dark, juicy and supple but are difficult to find.
Spend any length of time studying Italian wine and you learn to accept that every region of has DOC wines and grapes you have never heard of, and this diversity is energising.
O’Briens has an excellent Italian wine sale on this month and I feature a couple of their less expensive offerings here. I focused on their less expensive wines here but this is your annual chance to pick up some of their better offerings. For example Ascheri Barolo is at €30 and Ascheri Langhe Nebbiolo San Giacomo at €19 — both are a solid introduction to the Nebbiolo grape. From the Veneto you will find Musella Amarone at €35 and Rizzardi Villa Amarone at €36, and from Tuscany the Antinori Pèppoli Chianti is at €20 and Val di Suga Brunello di Montalcino at €32.
Selections on this page are a mix of Italian wines that I believe will bring joy to any table, and with the exception of Pinot Grigio (in rosé form here), all are from grapes rarely seen outside Italy. I haven’t featured Brunello di Montalcino often as it is rather pricy, but I particularly liked the example here and the Roero Arneis and Biferno Rosso should also be on your radar.
This is reduced from €15.45 and is a perfect springtime wine. Made on the hillsides overlooking Lake Garda — perhaps imagine yourself on a vintage speedboat or in one of the villas used for filming the last episode of . This is full of crunchy berry fruits with redcurrant and blackberry with creamy soft fruits hitting the palate first with a bitter cherry twist on the finish.
From Negroamaro and Primitivo, probably the two most important grapes of Puglia. As is often the case these days the grapes have been partially dried (Appissite) to intensify flavours and add a couple of grams of residual sugar. This is warm and ripe with chocolate and dark fruit aromas, ripe soft cherry fruits on the palate with coffee hints and a lingering hint of spice. Serve cool.
This organic wine is from the same family that makes the excellent Musella Amarone which is also on offer for just €35 (down from €44). I know it’s been raining a lot but this is as close to a ray of sunshine as a wine can get: onion-skin gris in colour, red berry aromas, textured and juicy with a citrus-mandarin orange tang and a zingy fresh finish.
An excellent find from a tiny DOC in the oft-forgotten Southern Italian region of Molise which is south of Abruzzo and north of Puglia. A blend of Aglianico and Montepulciano (80-20), this has soft blackberry fruit aromas with a touch of violets and is loaded with ripe soft, juicy, berry fruits balanced by mineral acidity and freshness. Ripe, luscious and delicious.
From a 6ha hillside between Asti and Alba that was once planted with cherry (Ciliegie) trees. Arneis is Piedmont’s best white grape and this is a fine example — mineral fresh and lemony with honeysuckle and wild herb aromas, zingy salty and clean on the palate but with floral lime curd accents and lingering almond flavours on the finish. Far more interesting than 90% of white Burgundy for the same price.
Brunello is the local name for Sangiovese Grosso around the pretty hilltop town of Montalcino near Siena — Brunello di Montalicino is a contender for Italy’s best wine. Dark garnet colour, strawberries and baked red fruits with an intriguing hint of hay and leather, supple, elegant and balanced with a gorgeous purity: taut and layered with lingering hints of tar.
Distilled at West Cork Distillers in Skibbereen, Blood Monkey is in the tradition of Dutch Genever rather than London Dry Gin. From a base of malted grain (as in whiskey), which gives it a creamier texture, this could easily be drunk neat.
Botanicals include Sichuan Pepper, Kaffir Lime and Rosemary in the standard Blood Monkey Gin, and the Spice Storm version has orange, cardamom, nutmeg and cinnamon which I slightly preferred. Cardamom shows prominently in the aromas and with a creamy soft palate and a nutmeg and pepper finish this made a fine Negroni and G&T but also worked well neat.
