And Greco, but that doesn't begin with F.
There was a wine famous during the days of the Roman empire for being the best available called Falernian. It was much praised by Horace, a poet with a passion for hexameters, iambic verse and presumably a party and also appears in ancient graffiti on the ruined walls of Pompeii. It is not, sadly, available in the current era, however, it is believed that Falernian may have been based on the grape Falanghina, which is.
This week we have a wine made from an equal blend of Falanghina and two other Italian varieties from Campania, in the South-West of the country: Fiano and Greco.
Week F (2104) Triade, Bianco della Campania IGT, 2013. Waitrose £6.69
This is a bright, medium intensity lemon yellow wine with aromas of tropical fruit that reached my nose as soon as I had persuaded the faulty screwcap to relinquish its unnecessarily persistent hold on the bottle. Poor perforations meant that the entire cap and collar closure preferred to swivel around the neck of the bottle rather than agree a separation for my benefit. I was concerned that I would find the seal had been inadequate and that the wine would have been spoiled by oxidation and taken on a cheap sherry taste due to exposure to the air. The immediacy of the fruit aromas settled that fear.
The inviting fresh scent follows through on the palate where the dry wine has a pleasing, easy to drink blend of citrus, peach and pineapple accompanied by a zippy acidity, hints of vanilla and slightly oily feel. It is 12.5% abv.
It has a smoothness not universal among Italian whites and certainly not among Italian whites at this bargain price. It has much more flavour and indeed complexity than your average supermarket Pinot Grigio, even if the supermarket in question is never knowingly undersold (do they still say that?). Makes you wonder how this can be produced at the price point.
I can't explain the economics, but the producers, Orion Wines, work across many regions of Italy with growers and wine-makers to produce around thirty wines adhering to their simple philosophy to 'produce the best and most interesting wines possible at fair prices'. Can't argue with that.
In the case of Tirade Bianco della Camania this means harvesting the grapes late and then each of the three varieties is vinified independently, 80% in steel and 20% in oak, and then blended to produce the final wine. This doesn't sound like the cheapest production approach so it would appear that their expressed philosophy is more than a marketing slogan.
A definite find and an addition to the regular purchase list.
There was a wine famous during the days of the Roman empire for being the best available called Falernian. It was much praised by Horace, a poet with a passion for hexameters, iambic verse and presumably a party and also appears in ancient graffiti on the ruined walls of Pompeii. It is not, sadly, available in the current era, however, it is believed that Falernian may have been based on the grape Falanghina, which is.
This week we have a wine made from an equal blend of Falanghina and two other Italian varieties from Campania, in the South-West of the country: Fiano and Greco.
This is a bright, medium intensity lemon yellow wine with aromas of tropical fruit that reached my nose as soon as I had persuaded the faulty screwcap to relinquish its unnecessarily persistent hold on the bottle. Poor perforations meant that the entire cap and collar closure preferred to swivel around the neck of the bottle rather than agree a separation for my benefit. I was concerned that I would find the seal had been inadequate and that the wine would have been spoiled by oxidation and taken on a cheap sherry taste due to exposure to the air. The immediacy of the fruit aromas settled that fear.
The inviting fresh scent follows through on the palate where the dry wine has a pleasing, easy to drink blend of citrus, peach and pineapple accompanied by a zippy acidity, hints of vanilla and slightly oily feel. It is 12.5% abv.
It has a smoothness not universal among Italian whites and certainly not among Italian whites at this bargain price. It has much more flavour and indeed complexity than your average supermarket Pinot Grigio, even if the supermarket in question is never knowingly undersold (do they still say that?). Makes you wonder how this can be produced at the price point.
I can't explain the economics, but the producers, Orion Wines, work across many regions of Italy with growers and wine-makers to produce around thirty wines adhering to their simple philosophy to 'produce the best and most interesting wines possible at fair prices'. Can't argue with that.
In the case of Tirade Bianco della Camania this means harvesting the grapes late and then each of the three varieties is vinified independently, 80% in steel and 20% in oak, and then blended to produce the final wine. This doesn't sound like the cheapest production approach so it would appear that their expressed philosophy is more than a marketing slogan.
A definite find and an addition to the regular purchase list.
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