More of the reds
Continuing with my advice on what wines to sample if you were to try one new wine a fortnight (the weekly target was too ambitious): red wines in Europe, outside France.
First would be four wines from Italy: Barolo from Piedmont, Chianti and super Tuscans from Tuscany, and Amarone from Veneto.
Barolos are made from the Nebbiolo grape in the area near Milan (Alba), and are noted for both their ability to age (by law a Barolo must have had at least 38 months of ageing, of which 18 months should have been in wood) and having aromas of “tar and roses”. Called “the wine of kings”, Barolo is made in two distinct styles: Traditional (aged for at least 10 years) and Modern, using smaller oak casks, which allow the wine to be savoured earlier. Good Barolos can be expensive: the Vietti Barolo Castiglione comes for ~10,655 in Bengaluru.
Mind you, the same region and grape also produce the Barbaresco wine, which can be a bit confusing, since the only difference is in the specific areas where the grapes are grown, and in the ageing criteria for the two wines.
On to Chianti: the Sangiovese grape comes from the Tuscany region around Florence, and Chianti Classico wines (with the black rooster seal) come from the heart of the defined area. With notes of sour cherries and red fruit, a Chianti is probably the best-known Italian wine — try a Querciabella Chianti Classico (~4,520 in Bengaluru) to understand the wine.
Super Tuscans are blends made in Tuscany using Sangiovese and, say, Cabernet Sauvignon and/or Merlot or other French grapes. Since the amount of Sangiovese was below the stipulated 80 per cent, authorities refused to classify the wines — however, people in the US started calling them “those super wines from Tuscany” and the name stuck. Super Tuscans are expensive: a Brancaia IL BLU will set you back by nearly ~10,000, while wines like Tignanello, Solaia, Sassicaia or Ornellaia can cost much more.
Then there’s Amarone, made from a combination of grapes (principally Corvina) in the Valpolicella area of north- east Italy (Lake Garda here was where Deepika Padukone’s wedding with Ranveer Singh took place). Uniquely, the grapes are allowed to partially dry on straw mats for two to three months before being processed. The resulting wine is rich and strong, with distinctive flavours.
Moving on to Spain, which actually has more land under wine grapes than either France or Italy. Spanish wines on my bucket list would include a Rioja (Tempranillo grapes), a red wine from the Priorat area (blends), and Spanish Cava.
The Rioja region is located in North-Central Spain along the Erbo river, about 300 km from Madrid. The best wines (termed Reserva and Grand Reserva) are oak-aged and can stay for years. Wines from wineries such as Bodegas Muga, Marqués de Murrieta and Bodegas Roda have high ratings and cost upwards of ~5,000 for a bottle.
Priorat is a small hilly area about 150 km west of Barcelona that make its wines principally from Garnacha (or Grenache) and Carignan, with bits of French wine grapes thrown in. What makes it interesting is that most of the vineyards are composed of very old free-standing bush vines, with no trellises to support them — yields are low and wine quality very high. Wines from the top producers (such as Alvaro) can be expensive.
Cava is the methode traditionelle sparkling wine made near Barcelona from the Macabeo, Parellada, and Xarel-lo white wine grapes, and is either a white or a rosé. Cava wines are like Champagne, only at half the price, and worth exploring. One of the few decent Cava brands available here is the Gramona Gran Reserva (~4,100 in Bengaluru). Also look for the top labels from Codorníu, Juvé & Camps and Freixenet.
We’ll go to the New World to wind up this series — cheers!