We started out with 3 white wines. I was not impressed with any of them (I'm more of a red wine drinker anyway). Richard confirmed my thoughts on the white wines and told us that most Italian white wines aren't spectacular because Italians like to focus more on the reds. My favorite of the 3 was:
Orvieto Classico, 'Poggio Calvelli', La Carraia 2008.
This wine is from Umbria and retails at $20 per bottle. I tasted sweet apple and a crisp, refreshing flavor. It would pair very nicely with a light fish dish. It also paired well with the goat cheese from my cheese platter!
Out of the next grouping of wines (2 red wines), my favorite was:
Taurasi, 'Radici', Mastroberardino 2004.
This wine retails at $60. My tasting notes say: "dried cherry, rich, heavy, prune". It would pair nicely with a rich meal, like braised meat or game.
Next, we tried 2 wines that I really enjoyed. The first one was a Chianti Classico, that is a very easy-drinking red. My sister and I drank this a few times in Italy with dinner. The second wine brought back memories from a specific night in Sorrento with my sister. It was a Brunello di Montalcino. The bottle we had last night was a 2003 bottle. Here is the bottle my sister and I shared in Italy (a 2000 bottle):
This 2003 bottle retails at $50 per bottle.
Alright, next up was my FAVORITE wine of the night. I tasted it and just was in awe of how wonderful it was. The color was dark and dense and even the aroma was very rich and earthy. Recently I have really been enjoying heavier, full-bodied earthy wines. This wine came full-circle and hit every note on my palate. Richard also described it as a very "round" wine. It had some fruity flavors (dried plum and older fruits) and was very smooth. What is the name of this wine you ask?
Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, Vaio Armaron, Sergo Alighieri, Masi 2001.
(From the Veneto region)
The bottle retails at $70 (apparantly I have very expensive taste-- coming from the girl who enjoys jugs of "Little Penguin" wines).
The last wine was also amazing and the perfect grand finale of the tasting. Unfortunately we were told that you can't get this wine anymore and we were the last class to taste it:
Barolo, Azienda Agricola Falleto (Bruno Giacosa) 1999. (From the Piemonte Region)
This was another complex, smooth wine that tasted like dried plum, fig, and earthy flavors.
What a wonderful way to end the week!
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