Vino Nobile di Montepulciano

I haven't checked, but I suspect this week we have the longest title since I started, stopped, restarted, paused (etc.) this exercise. Loads of winey based observations on offer with this one, which is:

Week V (2021) Bonacchi Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano, 2017. Majestic £15.99 (£13.99 mix six)

Firstly, it is obligatory to observe that although Montepulciano is a grape variety, it is not used in the production of Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano.  This is because there is both a village in Tuscany (western Italy) and a grape from Abruzzo (eastern Italy) that share a name. The eastern wine is known as Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, being made from that grape in that region. This one, the western option, is a noble wine from the village of Montepulciano, made with Prugnolo Gentile.  

As I have observed before, Italy likes to be difficult to understand. In this case they could have referred to the grape they have used as Sangiovese, making it more familiar to many drinkers including me, but instead used the local synonym.

Under its more familiar name it is the key ingredient in all of the many variations of Chianti, such as Classico, Superiore, Rufina, Colli Senesi, Fiorentini, etc, etc..

The makers, Bonacchi, describe Prugnolo Gentile as giving Vino Nobile as the highest expression of the Sangiovese of this land. A proud claim indeed, considering all the competition. Are they right?

As ever, I don't know about that as I simply haven't tasted enough of the other available 'expressions', but there is no doubt that this is a good wine. You could look back a few posts to Week Q (2021) to find a definition of Good Wine, if you have nothing better to do.

I decanted the wine before trying it, partly because I have a nice wine decanting funnel and I like to watch the liquid run down all parts of the inside of the decanter to provide some pre-tasting visual anticipatory excitement, and partly because I expected I wouldn't finish it in one sitting and so was curious to see whether an overnight rest in something other than the bottle would tease out any additional flavours or textures.

First impressions were very favourable. The wine was four years old so it had had some chance to develop more flavours than those of the grapes and it was very nicely balanced in terms of acidity and structure. The tannin was present, underpinning the red fruit and floral foundations, and there were also some spice and leathery tobacco elements that came through afterwards and towards the finish. These are likely the results of its time spent maturing in oak and then bottle. This wine rewarded thoughtful appreciation in place of hurried swilling and I did enjoy it. On day one I drank it with a pepperoni and chilli pizza which was a mistake. I should have chosen something with less spice, but as I drank most of it after I had finished eating that was ok.

On the second day I drank it as an aperitif because a couple of red wine drinking friends were on their way round and there wasn't enough left to share! Had it improved? Not really, but it was still lovely.

Drink again? Yes, especially at the mix six price (or less, which I will explain on another occasion).

Unctuous

I simply can't pick an Ugni Blanc every time I need to find a white wine for Week U. To avoid the problem I have chosen a wine which is soft, almost treacle-like and packed with flavour; unctuous, you might allow me to say. It is:

Week U (2021) Noe 30 Year Old Pedro Ximinez Sherry. Majestic £22.49 (37.5cl)

As we are approaching the festive season this is an appropriate selection. Referred to as some, including those nice people at Majestic, as Christmas in a glass.

I have reviewed a 'PX' Sherry once before, in February 2019 since you didn't ask, when I chose it for Week X and I believe this demonstrates not only how versatile the wine is, but also how necessity really is the mother of invention. That wine cost about half as much as this one, on a drop for drop basis, and I liked it. 

This PX has been made by Gonzalez Byass, one of the biggest Sherry producers who also own all of these brands, and it has been aged by them in the traditional solera system where wines of multiple vintages are blended progressively over many years to create the final product. (If you have nothing better to do and to saving repeating myself, you could look back at my Ximinez, Pedro entry for more waffle on this subject.) In this case some of the wine will be at least 30 years old before bottling giving it plenty of time to mature slowly and develop all of the rich, figs, treacle, caramel, dates and spice flavours that characterise the style. Think of it as the perfect friend of a mince pie, but also really good mates with soft cheese and ice cream.

Is it worth the premium price? In truth, as it is nearly three years since I last tasted a PX Sherry I can't be sure, but it is a very nice drop.

It is not a wine that you are likely to want to guzzle, as it is too thick for that, but it is a real treat on the right occasion. Christmas is approaching (as is yet another mutated virus, so get your shopping done quickly) and despite that being something of a mixed blessing, I could be persuaded to look forward to a log fire, a pile of small short-crust mince pies and a thick, sticky glass of Christmas.

Buy again? The style, yes, but as I still have an unopened 70cl bottles of the Valdespina from Week X (2019) it won't be for a while as it does keep rather well. 

Trapiche

Not a grape but a winery. Trapiche was established in 1883 and has been producing wine ever since. They have had a good run of plaudits and awards in that time and have been included by Drinks International in their '50 Most Admired Wine Brands' five times between 2014-2019. They have a dozen or so sub-brands and this week we have one of them:

Week T (2021) Trapiche Oak Cask Malbec, 2020. £7 Tesco 

The Oak Cask brand comprises seven wines, five of them red, and I am intrigued to find and try the Oak Cask Pinot Grigio on another occasion. The other white is Chardonnay which is a more usual candidate for maturation in oak.

This week we have the Malbec. Known now as the Argentinian red Malbec began its life in Cahors, in the South West of France, and was a traditional component in the Bordeaux blend. It is still permitted, but lost out to Merlot in the mid-20th century as the lending partner that can be used to soften the more tannic Cabernet Sauvignon. So, it packed its bags and headed off for sunnier climes (ah, happy days) and found fame and fortune on the other side of the Atlantic.

Trapiche make other wines from Malbec and a little research reveals that their Gran Medalla wine costs around three times as much as this one, so we are dealing with a more modest offering here.  That is not a criticism, I am just wanting to taste it in the correct context. 

I think I have tasted this before. Some months back, possibly more than a year ago, I read an article somewhere (apologies to the author and publisher, as I cannot remember where) that recommended a Malbec available in Tesco. I bought some, liked it and even forwarded the recommendation to a friend who had enjoyed a previous recommendation. That was for Colome's Estate Blend retailing at ~£20 and made from grapes grown in four different vineyards all at different altitudes, up to those from Altura Maxima at 3,111m, one of the highest vineyards in the world. The problem is, as I get older, I can't remember if the previously recommended wine was from Trapiche or Trivento which is also available at Tesco for about the same price.

It doesn't matter, because this is the one we have and I can't believe that the Trivento can be much better. It is a big soft, damsons and violets wine with some subtle spice. The oak is evident but not unpleasantly so, it just reinforces the smooth comforting feel of the black fruits. It is reasonably lengthy and easy to drink.

The grapes were grown between 750-1,110 m above sea level and that indicates how high Altura Maxima is, if that was needed, and allows the heat of the Mendoza plains to be moderated by the reduced temperatures at that height, avoiding the result becoming 'jammy'. Once fermented it rested in a combination of French and American Oak barrels for a year before being bottled and released.

I like it and at the price I will certainly buy it again.

Setubal

 Recently I placed an order with the Wine Society for ten bottles of wine, all from Portugal. These are to be used in the coming week for an evening with friends at a north London branch of the University of the Third Age (U3A). I had selected three white wines, one rose, five reds and a very sweet fortified wine. The prices ranged from £5.95 to £40. The delivery was as scheduled, but there had been an error in the packing. Instead of the £40 red I had been sent a second bottle of:

Week S (2021) Casa Ermelinda Freitas, Vinha do Torrao Rose 2020. Wine Society £5.95

To the absolute credit of the Wine Society when I called to let them know of the error they immediately agreed to send the missing red and told me to keep the spare rose. When they then discovered the missing wine was out of stock, they replaced it with a wine priced at £46 without asking for further payment. If you like wine and are not a member of the Wine Society you may be missing out.

As this is Week S (2021) and the spare wine comes from the Peninsula de Setubal it seemed too good an opportunity to miss. I have been planning to select a Soave, but that can wait a year or two.

There are two sub-regions to Setubal, itself a coastal region South of Lisbon, one of which is also called Setubal and is closer to the coast and more to the South and West. This is mostly known for the sweet fortified wines such as the one included in my selection. Those are made from Muscat of Alexandria and are usually very sweet indeed. The other sub-region is Palmela, more Northerly and to the East. Here a local Portuguese variety, Castelao, is required to be used although, as with this wine, other varieties are permitted.

Here we have a blend with one international variety, Syrah, making up 40% of the blend and the required Castelao contributing 30%. The remaining 30% is from the powerful red grape, Touriga Nacional, renowned for its role in the wine for which the country is best known: Port.

The makers recommend the wine to accompany fish and salads. We drank most of it with a chicken casserole, mashed potato, carrots and Romanesco, The One's favourite vegetable. The last glass was drunk by my daughter to accompany a bath taken to celebrate my grandson falling asleep without too much persuasion.

It seemed to fit both uses acceptably well. It is a young, fruity wine in a strawberry and raspberry sort of way and has, as do many roses (especially at this price point) a noticeable sweetness that is not overpowering. According to the technical data available from the producer, it has only 4.5 g/l of residual sugar, and that is usually an indication of a quite dry wine. Perhaps its the fruit. It is quite enjoyable and a long way from the pink drink I commented on three weeks ago.

November is probably not the best time of year for a wine of this style and a warm summer evening would most likely make it more appealing. Having said that for just under £1 a glass (at standard measures) it is a lot cheaper than a pint in a pub garden.

Buy again? Unsure. If I find the need for this style of wine then it would be a good candidate. Otherwise I would probably pick something from Provence and expect to pay double. Incidentally, Setubal is pronounced something like 'Shtoobel'.