Thursday 3 January 2008

Farnese Montepulciano D’Abruzzo 2006 (Recommended)

Another Montepulciano from Farnese. I’m sure I’ve made this statement before but a highlight for me, when wading through samples, is finding standout wines below say $15. What makes this wine so special is that it will likely trade under $9 and it blows most local industrial wines away. And it comes from a vineyard on the other side of the world.

Very fresh and simple style. I’d like to use the term ‘light’ but this wine isn’t, it’s a genuine middle-weight. Zingy red berries run right through the nose with good presence and depth. Palate is similarly well built with a well rounded structure; berries and floral fruits, and the fruits never get heavy or dull. Quite remarkable for a cheap wine. Great intro to Central Italian reds.

p.s - some Aussie makers better start waking up to the fact some imports are starting to make a big impact on the value-for-money equation. We had a 2005 Southern Rhone GSM from Tardieu Laurent recently that sells for $25 and is quite simply better that any other Barossa or McLaren Vale GSM we sell for a comparable price. We will find more examples like this over 2008.

No comments: