Ornellaia - Cannot resist the temptations of life!

Dear Wine Lovers,

I'm writing this review dressed in a charming tuxedo because I'm going to tell you about a special dinner with special collegues and with a special wine.

In each field there are masters that naturally stand out, because they are unique, rare, inimitable; there are no schools to learn that. You have it in your dna or you don't. This goes for each profession, each person, each painter, poet and obviusly winemaker as well.

In Italy we have some masterpiece wines famous all over the world, them are our trademark in and outside the country of the world of wine and we are really proud of that. Like a Ferrari car or an Armani dress, we're also really famous and appreciated for some of the best wines in the world.

I have to get back to my main train of thought. Back to reality (it's 7am o'clock in the morning - at my desk - writing this post and listening an amazing Jazz CD of Blue Mitchell - now playing "When I Fall In Love" - tks to Mamone for this marvellous gift).

Ok, here I am again. As I was saying, a couple of weeks ago, two of my special friends and I (Cesare and Roberto - they are also my collegues) decided to go out for a wine tasting dinner, we went to a really cosy restaurant, soft lights, warm ambient and with great food. We started with a good bottle of Barbera D'Asti Superiore Riserva "Tredici Lune" and then we opted to have an experience that any wine lover should have at least one time per year, we asked for a King. I enjoyed introducing this masterpiece wine to my friends because they had never tasted it before.

Ladies & Gentleman, it's with great plesaure, wearing a glossy pair of tap shoes that I introduce you to 'The Wine':

Ornellaia 2007 by Tenute dell' Ornellaia

A lot of you know this wine for sure, we're in the Bolgheri area (again!!!) here we have a remarkable selection of grapes of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. A perfectly balanced expression of the relationship between soil, nature, man and poetry. This wine at the nose is opulent, full of notes as dark chocholate, black cherry and a lot of leather, yes leather, like horse saddle you know? Its wonderful! Tasting Ornellaia you'll have one of the best wine experiences of your life, in the mouth its elegant, silky and so so sexy. On your palate you will have a long finish, mature cherry notes, chocolate, roasted coffee, vanilla, violet and "oak memories" for hours, till you brush your teeth (so... that night don't brush them).

Ornellaia is the kind of wine that you cannot have every week or every month, this is a wine that you should sip just one or two times per year, you cannot go to the "Louvre" every day, right?

Christmas is coming... so, if you love wines, you could think of treating yourself to a gift like a bottle of Ornellaia.

We have to celebrate life... and the life will celebrate back ourselves!

Have a nice day and thanks for being here.

Angelo D'Alessandro

thedeliciousworld@gmail.com

Montesodi Riserva 2007 by Frescobaldi - That's life!

Dear Wine Lovers,

Autumn is our season and I'm just reminiscing over of my favourite wine ever.

Today I'm coming back on well-known territory and I'm going to write about a Wine that I had presented to you two years ago.

If you really love wines and if you really want to live a magical experience without spending a fortune, pls listen to me and go online to buy this miracle in a bottle.

Last saturday one of my best friends visited me with a surprise, a basket of wonderful fresh porcini mushrooms (see pic), here in Italy in this period it hasn't rained enough and mushrooms are unavailable; but my friend Claudio is a super-hero and he found some of nature's marvellous gift.

Non-scheduled lunch, with a special friend, I have to invent something.

In this 1 hour we sat down tasting an appetizing lunch and first of all "smelling" a unbelievable wine named...

Ladies & Gentleman and the Oscar goes to (suspence, music growing up with strings, horns, timpani):

Montesodi Riserva 2007 by Marchese Frscobaldi

Five minutes of standing ovation, as for the Big Luciano Pavarotti at Madison after "Nessun dorma... Vincerooo".

Ok, I know that a wine like this isn't the best match for a dish of "Paccheri with Porcini mushrooms" but I wanted to taste that wine and share it with my friend so, I dared and I won!

Here we have "the Wine" in my opinion; a Sangiovese cru selection of Montesodi Vineyards, in the Chianti Rufina area, near Florence.

400 meters above sea level, here there is the best environment to produce one of the best wines in the world.

Montesodi is a King, a really opulent wine, with a dark-inky ruby red impenetrable colour, leave it rest 10 mins in the glass and then smell "the dream", you'll find all the aromas unique and rare, you'll fall in love just smelling it (no tasting notes today - you have to try it and write me).

Tasting Montesodi you'll live a thrilling experience, rich, powerful, dense, exciting. The finish is very very long and unforgettable.

For my palate, this is one of the best wine in the world, a wine to celebrate life... and every day should be good to do it.

If you need some suggestion on how to buy this gem, write me in private and I'll give you some good web-addresses.

I hope to see you here for my next review, I really appreciate your interest in wine and your friendship.

Live your life deeply and do it with style.

Angelo D'Alessandro

thedeliciousworld@gmail.com

Rosso di Montefalco by Arnaldo Caprai - Regular but talented wine for all budget!

Dear Wine Lovers,

After a lot of requests, I decided to cite at least one regular wine per month, with "regular" I mean all those kind of wines that are found on the supermarket shelves.

There is a rule in my mind, also shared with a lot of wine lovers, that there is no decent wine above 7-8 euros per bottle. So I'd like to share my personal opinion with a fast recap.

Prices between:

300-7000 EUROS = wines for crazy-insane people

150-300 EUROS = wines for rich people

80-150 EUROS = wines for experts or fake experts with great self-esteem

40-80 EUROS = wines for wine lovers with an enthusiasm crisis

7-40 EUROS = wines for those of us who has understand everything

2-7 EUROS = unleaded fuel

Don't worry, there are a lot of good wines for daily use, easy to find and that you can enjoy without spend too much money.

Today I'd like to introduce you one of my favourite cheap wines, really well-done and with a price between 9 and 11 euros (depending on the distributor):

Rosso di Montefalco by Arnaldo Caprai

A lot of you know for sure that when I say "Montefalco" ( Umbria hills) that its one of the best place in the world to see marvellous landscapes and taste one of the most ancient, native and gorgeous wines of the world based on "Sagrantino" grape.

The father of this wine is the famous: "Sagrantino di Montefalco", here one of mine reviews on this gem:

http://wineloverscorner.blogspot.com/2009/11/sagrantino-di-montefalco-arnaldo-caprai.html

Here we have the little brother, "Rosso di Montefalco", that also includes the Sagrantino grape but for the minor part, because it consists of the Sangiovese grape (70%), Sagrantino (15%) and Merlot (15%). Sangiovese gives power, Sagrantino gives character and Merlot gives rotundity.

The colour is wonderful and will make you happily satisfied, its really brilliant ruby red, pls look at its colour for 30 seconds and then put all your nose in the glass (trust me) and smell; intense aromas, the wine is young, fresh, simple but also seductive. On the palate is powerful, a rich of mature red with fruit notes and with a lovable vanilla spices finish.

I always enjoy this wine and I always have some spare bottles in my cellar for some unscheduled dinners with friends.

Are there any other excuses not to begin to live & discover the delicious & magical world of wine?

...and remember stay thirsty, stay foolish :)

Angelo D'Alessandro

thedeliciousworld@gmail.com

Perlato Del Bosco by Tua Rita - Disruptive Talent

Dear Wine Lovers,

First of all thanks to all those readers that post comments or that write me in private for advice. These things keep the "social passion" live!

Have I ever told you that I love Tuscany? Oh, I'm sorry I know, I don't want to seem monotonous but wines, landscapes, good food, life... there's no best place in the world to find all these "ingredients" !

Yes Tuscany is really an amazing place and the wine culture totally rules! I've some "Chianti" bullets in my belt but today I want to talk about a traditional "new" wine from Bolgheri that a special person, named Laura, gave me for my last birthday (in June).

I've talked a lot in this blog on wines from Bolgheri, I know, but today I'm going to present a traditional Tuscan wine produced in an international Tuscan area, Bolgheri.

Ladies & Gentlemen:

Perlato Del Bosco by Tua Rita

Usually in this Tuscan area the wines are based on international grapes like Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and so on and the Tuscan native Sangiovese grape is not ever a fundamental components of wines from Bolgheri, for this reason we call them "supertuscan", which are international grapes planted in Tuscan soil (just to cite some of these: Sassicaia, Ornellaia, Solaia, Guado al Tasso, Grattamacco, Sapaio etc..).

This wine, Perlato Del Bosco, is based on 60/70% of Sangiovese grape and the rest on Cabernet Sauvignon with a minimum part of Syrah (all character grapes).

The colour of this wine is powerful and full of dark violet nuances that will paint your glass; at the nose is gorgeous, overflowing and maybe excessive hints at the start but this wine has a extraordinary capacity, and changes every moment, changes in a couple of minutes, unusual and admirable.

Tasting this wine you'll have the same sensation, the first sip will confuse you, the second one will make you fall in love with it. You'll find deep inky flavours, mature cherry, alcoholic note very strong but not annoying, potent intensity and a very long finish (you won't clean your teeth).

This wine contains an old tradition but also a good modern character, it is really sure of itself, has charm and courage and I loved it.

Maybe this product is unusual and only for "trained palates" but if you're looking for something "different" from a really famous area such as Bolgheri, this could be the right product for you.

Because normality and calmness sometime frighten more than madness, no?

Relax and let yourself go... this wine could help you do to that!

Angelo D'Alessandro

thedeliciousworld@gmail.com

A great white from a tiny land!

Dear Wine Lovers,

today I'd like to talk about something really new for me. The wine that I'm going to introduce you was given to me by a special colleague named Julius and I want to dedicate this review to him and thank him for his wonderful thoughts.

I was born in Milan and when people from Milan want to go to the sea, they go to the Liguria region, a really small patch of land about 150kms from downtown Milan. The only problem is that during summer months, all "the city folk" move there so you could probably reach New York (swimming) in the same amount of time that people from Milan reach the Ligurian sea.

By the way, the Liguria region offer a lot of wonderful landscapes and "the south" of this region is really amazing.

I think that this wine comes from one of the most romantic place in the world, the "Cinque Terre" area (Five Lands), five little villages located in the middle of Cinque Terre National Park, a World Heritage Site protected by UNESCO.

Near the "Cinque Terre", in the wonderful picturesque town of "Portovenere" there is one of my favourite restaurants named "Le Bocche" (one of best sea view restaurants in the world) but today I have to focus on this "surprise" so, relax yourself, take off your shoes and enjoy this sensual experience:

Cinque Terre DOC by Luciano Capellini

As you know I'm not a big fan of the white wines but sometimes, when I meet a "white" like this, I can get really enthusiatic.

This wine reminds me of "spring time" and is composed of "Bosco", "Arbarola" and the famous "Vermentino" grape planted in a gorgeous and scenic terraced vineyards. Intense yellow colour with golden nuances, amazing at the nose, springtime flavours, lemon, green apple and with a good minerality. The palate is the same but more "fun", crispy, really well balanced, with nice body and with a enjoyable finish.

This wine could be a match for some aromatic wines of the Dolomites region (my favourite whites) and it has been a really welcome gift.

Since the autum is coming and the "BIG REDS SEASON" is starting, we have little time to say goodbye to the summer and what better way to do it than with a fresh wine like this.

This new wine experience taught me a lot, I had no expectations of this region but I've been very impressed by the quality of this wine and talent of the winemaker.

It is the journey of life that enriches our lives, let's enjoy it!

Angelo

Enchanting mountain poetry

Dear Wine Lovers,

Welcome back, I really hope that you've had a nice summer.

This year I've been to lovely United States a few times, for work reasons, so this summer I've choosen to spend all my holidays in Umbria. That place that I love and that I often compare to paradise named "La Palazzetta Del Vescovo" (see my last review).

When I travel, I try to make my choices of local wines, in Umbria you have a lot of choices, from the classical and inimitable Sagrantino di Montefalco to a lot of amazing blend wines produced in that area.

One night, a special friend of mine as well as a master sommelier, Stefano from "La Palazzetta Del Vescovo" invited me to try something new. He's really talented and I usually trust him but this time... well you guessed it, this time he hit the target again (as usual).

I was in Umbria but on my table had "landed" a wine from the marvellous Dolomiti mountains, but we're not talking about Lagrein or Pinot Noir grapes, here we have something new, something really special... ladies and gentleman:

Rosso Faye by Pojer e Sandri

I can't wait to go to visit this wine producer beacuse their wine has driven me totally crazy!

The "big guy" is composed by Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc (which has an incredible colour), Merlot and Lagrein (dolomiti's character). Just for that "grapes team" you should imagine what I'm talking about on.

Rosso Faye is fermented in wood tanks, and then 1 year in French barrells, almost all new and the last year in the bottle.

Wine Lovers, really, I've been surprised by this wine. I love it. The colour is deep, brilliant with tinges of dark violet (OMG). At the nose you can smell all the fruits of Dolomiti mountains underwood. When you taste Rosso Faye you find all the power, the elegance and the long finish of a masterpiece wine.

I can compare this wine to something really special because we have all the "phisique" of Bordeaux wines, mixed with Italian talent, the muscle of a Super-Tuscan and with the velvety touch of the Dolomiti mountains thanks to the gorgeous Lagrein grape.

I suggest you go visit this producer because, in my opinion, Pojer e Sandri is a really innovative company and they've give us a really innovative and fabolous wine.

Keep your dreams alive,

Angelo D'Alessandro

thedeliciousworld@gmail.com

My trip to heaven and back (And People who make a difference)

Dear Wine Lovers,

I've just come back from my annual trip to Tuscany + Umbria, this year, as always, I had the opportunity to see amazing places, meet special people and of course drink fabolous wines.

Today I want to highlight just two (of many) experiences that I had during this trip. The first one is related to life, the other regards a masterpiece of wine and both include extraordinary people.

Upon arriving here I usually ask myself "Could this be the heaven?" Green fields, blue sky, nights full of stars, amazing landscape, peace and serenity in the air, great food and a lot of the best wine of course... yes, this is the paradise that I've always imagined but how could I have a real proof of concept of heaven?

The answer is that... something really similar to the "Heaven" really exists, its a small "Relais/Boutique Hotel" with just nine wonderful rooms, nestled in the Umbria's hills and called:

La Palazzetta Del Vescovo

OMG, I've seen many places all around the world but this is really something special, this is notjust an hotel, this is a place for the heart, a caress for the soul.

I'm talking about a charming luxury country-house surrounded by the sound of silence and with a really stunning view on the hills, vineyards and olive trees. At the "Palazzetta Del Vescovo" everything is perfect, starting from the breakfast and finishing with a dinner at the highest level. During summer you can also enjoy a gorgeous infinity-view-pool and during winter, springtime or autumn, a lot of fireplaces will warm you during your wine tasting sessions.

What is the secret of this place? Why do I love this place so much?

The secret is in the owners, people who make a difference; they are Paola & Stefano and they really know THE ART of making you feel welcome and at home right from the beginning of your holiday. Everything there, is so so special.

Try the "Palazzetta Del Vescovo", I can GUARANTEE that will be a unique experience for you. I'm seriously guaranteeing it.

Now it's the time to talk about wine. I've tasted a lot of great wines at the "Palazzetta Del Vescovo" as well, Stefano is a talented Sommelier, but I'd like to tell you a story, a story of another person who makes a difference producing wine, a man who has brought to life a dream and turned it into wine.

While I was on my way back to Milan, I wanted to make a detour of about 300 kms to go to Bolgheri, the famous and only Bolgheri, heart of special and powerful reds. Here on my blog I've talked a lot about Bolgheri and about his SuperTuscan wines, but today I have to tell you about the "man" that I've just mentioned, his name is Massimo Piccin and he's the owner of "Podere Sapaio".

I met "Podere Sapaio's" wines in a restaurant near Milano in the winter of 2007 and I fell in love with them at first sip. In my mind it stuck with me that I would have to discover this wine better as well and the person who was behind this amazing product so, I felt that this could be the right moment to go visiting "Podere Sapaio".

I arrived at Podere Sapaio around 4pm and I met Alessandro, a really talented ad passionate guy that has been working for Massimo since 2008 and today is managing the whole production chain. He showed me the vineyards, the amazing tasting room (near Massimo's house) and then we went to the "Sapaio Cellar".

There were 3 bottles of wine waiting for me and I felt like a child in a theme park.

While Alessandro was wisely telling me the story of Podere Sapaio and the production details, Massimo Piccin joined us and so I had the opportunity to meet him in person and have the privilege to taste wines with the creator of one of my favourite wine.

Podere Sapaio produces just two lines of product, "Sapaio" and "Volpolo". They are both wonderful products, two Bordeaux blendings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. The first one, "Sapaio", its a Bolgheri Superiore DOC, with 18 months of barrique aging (almost all new) and then 10 months in the bottle (a big guy); really powerful wine, I love it, very complex bouquet, woody spices and with a long lovable finish (a King). I've tasted a 2008 and it has been a great experience (I can't imagine what will happen at this 2008 vintage in 2 or 3 years of further maturation).

The second line's product, named "Volpolo", is another really good product, nice structure, a pleasant bouquet with a lot of mature black currant berry fruit, coffee and dark chocolate as well. Fresh and mineral finish, less structured than the "Sapaio" but a really great wine (I can't call "him" entry-level), high quality-price ratio, really reccomended.

I'm talking about two really super-wines, Massimo Piccin was able to give life to a different interpretation of wine, creating an innovative wine, thinking just about the quality and not a the amount of production.

I pick a phrase from Podere Sapaio's website: "We aim to convey the best part of ourselves in our wine"...and it's true, I saw and I tasted exactly that in Podere Sapaio's wines.

Massimo's TALENT, PASSION and first of all the Massimo's GENEROSITY is deeply rooted in the wine. You have to taste these products, I'm sure that you'll understand all the special things present behind the wine. Amazing experience.

If you calculate that Massimo built Podere Sapaio in 1999 and the first bottle of wine came out in 2004, you now know that I told u a story of a young man that has been producing a master-piece wine in Bolgheri's land and I can absolutely say that here we have another person who makes a difference.

Today I wrote this post all in one breath, emotions moved my fingers on keyboard and I hope that those emotions have arrived to your heart.

Live your life. Live it deeply.

Angelo D'Alessandro

thedeliciousworld@gmail.com

Messorio by Le Macchiole - I had a dream...

Dear Wine Lovers,

I'm so so sorry because I've been absent for a long time, I've been very busy and with no time to sit alone (me and my lovely glass) and write some reviews.

I'm so happy because last night I had a dream... even better... I lived a dream.

As you probably know I love Tuscany, I've written a lot of reviews on my lovely SuperTuscany reds, but yesterday night something really special happened and it has rekindled in me the desire to write.

I discovered one of my new favourite wines ever:

Merlot Messorio by Le Macchiole

OMG!!!

I'll start from the location... this wine is produced in one of the best places in this marvelous heartland:

Bolgheri

Oh... I absolutely love Bolgheri hills, I think there's nothing better than waiting for the sunset on Bolgheri hills, listening the sound of the sea-wind, enjoying the landscape and tasting those incredibile and unique wines that grow only on that unique terrain.

I had this bottle in my winecellar for about 5 months and I was waiting for the right moment to taste it (bad idea). Like I wrote many times before... everyday should be a special enough day to reward yourself with the best wine that you have in your cellar. Don't wait.

So... I had to "stretch my mind", rest myself and think about a lot of things after a long day at work. I was in front of my cellar thinking for the right choice... at the moment my wine cellar is not really well-stocked, I've just got a couple of bottles that I bought during my last trip to Napa Valley (on last May) and a couple of Chianti Classico Fonterutoli and Castello di Brolio, that's all, but I didn't hesitate, I couldn't hesitate so, I had a shower, put on some comfortable clothes, put on my favourite smooth Jazz compilation and I picked the best bottle that I had... Messorio by Le Macchiole.

I love the Merlot grape, also last week, when I was in New York, I tasted a Cakebread Cellars Merlot from Napa and I really really loved it, huge and full bodied red wine (a big guy).

Ok, back to my Italian Merlot... the colour of Messorio speaks alone, I poured it into my glass and then I was stunned to watch it and admire it as if I had producted that wine myself. Ruby dark colour, clean, brilliant, aromas of red fruit and Italian spices, on the palate is powerful, gorgeous, silky, with really balanced "regal" tannins, hints of "great wood" that I love with a long and unforgetable finish. I really needed something like that.

I'm not a wine-technician, I love wine, I love drink great products and enjoy them, that's all, so I prefer to tell you "the story" outline the subject, I love to tell you the feelings, places, sensations.

Now the summer is starting and I think that I have to wait at least 3 months to taste a wine like this again. Will I be able to wait?

It has always been my greatest defect that I can't resist the temptations of life... or maybe that's the secret of life?

Angelo D'Alessandro

thedeliciousworld@gmail.com

Al Paradiso di Frassina - the magic of music in the world of wine...

Dear Wine Lovers,

first of all a sincere Happy New Year, we just landed in a sparkling 2011!

Today I don't want to talk only about wine but I absolutely have to tell you a magical story.

I received a book, for Xmas, called "L'Uomo che sussurra alle vigne" ("The man who whispers to the vineyards") and once time again I realized that the world of wine will never cease to amaze me.

This book tells the story of a lawyer from Milano, a wine lover like us, that "one day" decided to change his life, closing the Attorney's Office and moved to Tuscany to spend the rest of his life in contact with nature, between the vineyards, near one of the best grapes in the world, Sangiovese grape, so he moved with family (dog included) at Frassina, on the hills around Montalcino.

Up to here, nothing really rare or unique, could be a story already heard, but this man, Mr. Carlo Cignozzi, isn't only a successful lawyer who has decided to make a radical change, He is a pioneer and I'm going to explain you why...

He has always been a big fan of wine and apparently also a very curious person, who loves experimenting; in fact, some time before moving in Montalcino, he had red on the web that in China some scientists were studying the influence of sound waves on the musical growth of vegetation.

Do you think that this thing really work? (I think he has heard this question several times)

Mr. Carlo Cignozzi, lawyer, wine lover and also musician, decided to give confidence to this experiment and, once planted vines around his house, he has installed a set of audio speakers and began "to water" the vineyards with Mozart's music for 24 hours a day.

Isn't that crazy? Oh, yes it is, you can be sure!

By Brunello purists, this operation was seen like as a pure marketing strategy until one day, the University of Florence, in the person of Professor Mancuso, showed an interest in wanting to deepen this experiment.

Is it true that the music could have a positive influence on plant growth?

to avoid falling into a trap, the university researchers, along with Mr. Cignozzi and Professor Mancuso, decided to plant two cuttings of Sangiovese grapes from the same family, on two small portions of the same soil and with the same exposure to the sun; the only difference is that one of these grapes was "watered" with music for 24 hours a day and the other was not.

the results?

sit down.

The Sangiovese vineyard "whith the music" is growing three times faster than the other "without music", and pay attention please, the first one has produced 400% more fruit than the other.

Studies have shown that sound frequencies, in this case of the classical music of Mozart, not only allow to have grapes helthy and numerous, but also keeps away predators, parasites and insects.

Why Classical? because classical music of masters like Mozart or Bach, including the famous "Fibonacci sequence", also present in nature with many examples (see Fibonacci series in nature on Wiki).

Today Mr. Cignozzi is producing one of the best Brunello di Montalcino in the world and a couple of years ago, "Mr. Bose" in person (world-leader in audio speakers) decided to finance the project of Mr. Cignozzi installing 50 of their best "outdoor speakers" among the vineyards of Paradiso estate, today called: "Il Paradiso di Frassina".

Honestly, I have not tasted the wines produced by Mr. Cignozzi but I can't wait to do that!

At the moment, at "Paradiso di Frassina" are produced three types of red wines led by "Brunello di Montalcino Mozart Selection".

Now, We have just to visit the "Paradiso Estate" and taste this famous wine in the company of music that, as in the real paradise, there will certainly be!

Do not allow anyone to stop our dreams...

Angelo D'Alessandro

thedeliciousworld@gmail.com