{"id":24,"date":"2008-03-30T20:41:47","date_gmt":"2008-03-30T20:41:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kenswineguide.com\/blog\/?p=24"},"modified":"2008-04-02T21:08:19","modified_gmt":"2008-04-02T21:08:19","slug":"italian-red-wine-varietals-blind-tasting-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/?p=24","title":{"rendered":"Italian Red Wine Varietals, Blind Tasting Results"},"content":{"rendered":"

On February 29th<\/sup>the KensWineGuide.com Tasting Panel met to review Italian red wine varietals.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>We broke the tasting into 3 distinct groups.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>We reviewed 5 Chianti Classicos and recommended 3 of them.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>Then we tried 9 Barberas.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>From that group we recommended 7 of them.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>In a 3rd<\/sup> mini tasting, we reviewed some Italian reds made from indigenous grapes or blends.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>We recommended 3 of those wines.<\/font><\/p>\n

\"BadiaAll 3 of the Chiantis that we recommended received a score of Very Good.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>The one that we found most interesting and likable was the 2005 Badia a Coltibuono Chianti Classico \u201cSelezione RS”<\/strong><\/a> $17.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>This wine was medium bodied, nicely balanced, and very food friendly.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>The other good news is that it is only $17 and they made a lot of it.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>The panel scored this wine 88.0 (Very Good).\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>The other two wines that we recommended was the 2003 Colognole Chianti Rufina<\/a><\/strong> (87.38) $15 & the 2005 Badia a Coltibuono Chianti Classico<\/a><\/strong> (87.0) $23.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>Although not in this tasting, we recently tried and reviewed the 2005 Querciabella \u201cChianti Classico”<\/a><\/strong> for $29.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>We highly recommend this wine and scored it Very Good+.<\/font><\/p>\n

\"ViettiIn the second half of the tasting we explored one of my favorite Italian grapes, Barbera.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>As mentioned above, we tried 9 and recommended 7 of them as Very Good or better.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>Two of them qualified as Very Good+.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>So which wine won?\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>The winner was the 2005 Vietti \u201cScarrone\u201d\u009d from Barbera D'Alba <\/strong><\/a>$37.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>The panel scored this wine 91.75.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>This wine was clearly our winner.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>It nearly won by 2 whole points.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>This wine is well balanced and\u00c2\u00a0complex.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>It delivers very concentrated and delicious blueberry flavors.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>The panel could not say enough good things about it.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>They were pairing it with Châteaubriand and Steak Diane.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>The runner up was not exactly shabby.\u00c2\u00a0 \"Sottimano<\/span>The 2005 Sottimano \u201cPairolero\u201d\u009d Barbera D'Alba<\/strong><\/a> $32 scored an even 90.0.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>This wine shows concentrated dusty blackberry flavors with hints of dark chocolate and oak.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>Again the panel felt passionate about how this wine would pair so nicely with Veal Marsala<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> or a grilled Angus burger with mushrooms and Swiss cheese.<\/font><\/p>\n

\"RenwoodFrom there we had a little bit of a surprise with that little\u00c2\u00a0bird from Renwood flying into 3rd<\/sup> place with their 2005 \u201cAmador County\u201d\u009d Barbera<\/strong><\/a> $23.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>This wine was very different than those from Italy<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> but showed how diverse the grape can be.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>The panel was a bit mesmerized by this wine from the start.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>I'm not sure if it was the raspberry bouquet with hints of spearmint, almonds, and toffee or the distinguishly different juicy cherry flavors with notes of spearmint and vanilla.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>This is a wine you must try to find and enjoy.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>We really liked it and scored it 89.0.<\/font><\/p>\n

The other recommended Barbaras were as follows:<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

#4 2006 Villa Guida \u201cSuri\u201d\u009d Barbera d'Asti<\/a><\/strong> $13 (88.75)<\/font><\/p>\n

#5 2004 Vietti \u201cTri Vigne\u201d\u009d Barbera d'Alba<\/a><\/strong> $21 (88.5)<\/font><\/p>\n

#6 2005 Boroli \u201cQuattro Fratelli\u201d\u009d Barbera d'Alba<\/a><\/strong> $16 (87.25)<\/font><\/p>\n

#7 2005 Marchesi di Gresi Barbera d'Asti<\/strong><\/a> $17 (87.0)<\/font><\/p>\n

\"MasiIn the mini tasting of indigenous Italian red grape wines and other Italian red blends\u00c2\u00a0we tried 9 wines and recommended 3 of them as Very Good.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>Many of the wines that we did not recommend were Good, but just not Very Good.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>All three of the recommended options are good bargains.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>My favorite was the 2006 Masi “Bonacosta Valpolicella Classico<\/strong><\/a>.” $15.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>If you are looking for an enjoyable everyday Italian red this wine offers you a terrific value option.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>This wine from Valpolicella is made from 70% Corvina, 25% Rondinella, & 5% Molinara.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>This quaffer displays very tasty black cherry flavors with slight hints of oak.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>We would pair this very food friendly wine with lasagna, spaghetti with meatballs, and even pizza.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>The panel scored this wine (88.5) Very Good.<\/font><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\"CusumanoThe next wine we recommended was the 2006 Cusumano “Benuara”<\/strong><\/a> $15. <\/span>This wine was made with 70% Nero D'Avola & 30% Syrah.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>It has good acidity and displays concentrated and lush spicy cherry and fig like flavors with some hints of dark chocolate.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>The panel really enjoyed this wine and scored it an (88) Very Good.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>Finally, we recommended the 2004 Feudi Di San Marzano “Primitivo\u201d\u009d<\/strong><\/a> $11 from Puglia<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>On the palate, this wine is round, easy to drink, with palate coating black current flavors with hints of black raspberry and oak.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>The panel felt this wine was a great deal and would pair nicely with beef stew.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>We scored this wine (87.5) Very Good.<\/font><\/p>\n

As you can see, we found a lot of interesting red wines made from Italian varietals.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>Many of them were bargains.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>We definitely suggest that you try them and see for yourself.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>Finally, if you are into some higher end options, you should try some of the new release 2001 Amarones from Masi<\/strong><\/a> that we just reviewed and a 2004\u00c2\u00a0Tuscan blend of Sangiovese and Merlot from Sette Ponti<\/strong><\/a> that we enjoyed as well.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>We look forward to covering Italian Reds again next year.<\/font><\/p>\n

Enjoy & Cheers.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>Ken<\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On February 29ththe KensWineGuide.com Tasting Panel met to review Italian red wine varietals.\u00c2\u00a0 We broke the tasting into 3 distinct groups.\u00c2\u00a0 We reviewed 5 Chianti Classicos and recommended 3 of them.\u00c2\u00a0 Then we tried 9 Barberas.\u00c2\u00a0 From that group we recommended 7 of them.\u00c2\u00a0 In a 3rd mini tasting, we reviewed some Italian reds made […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47,46,45,48,11,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-amarone","category-barbera","category-chianti","category-italian-red-wine","category-kens-wine-guide-tasting-panel","category-wine-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}