A wine blog should provide expert tasting notes. Do not expect me to be the one to produce such notes; I know what I like but I have difficulty explaining the varied smells and tastes. Fortunately, my cousin Michael Bonadies, can provide professional tasting notes.

As followers of my blog know Michael encouraged me to get my head out of the Piemonte Region and focus on Southern Italian wines; the area of our heritage (our grandparents were born in Corleto Perticara, Potenza, Basilicata). While I was hydrating on Budweiser 25 years ago Michael was in the midst of a successful career in wine, journalism and hospitality. He wrote a book; Sip by Sip – An Insider’s Guide to Learning About Wine (the first thing I learned is that you sip wine, not gulp it), was a founding partner in Myriad Restaurant Group which started famous restaurants; Tribeca Grill, Nobu, Nobu London, Nobu 57, Centrico, Rubicon (San Francisco) among others, and is a past recipient of the James Beard Foundation Journalism Award for Magazine Writing on Spirits and Wine. Today Michael is a principal with Michael Bonadies Hospitality LLC.

Below are a series of tasting notes from wines in my cellar that Michael graciously shared with me knowing that I was going to post his comments. Thanks to Michael you can compare your tasting notes with his.

A note on the wineries; all are certified organic, most are sustainable and one is biodynamic or soon to be. They are small wineries that respect the environment. I encourage you to purchase these wines; you will see why my cousin and I are impressed the quality of Southern Italian wines.

 

 

Subject: Ragis 2011 Tasting Notes

Nose:  big bold aromas of black fruits–cherries and currants–and spice–clove, black pepper and all spice; hints of smoke and autumn

Palate:  rich, round and balanced but with tannin driven structure, ready to drink now

with lots of ripe fruit, perfect with salumi and cheese

This wine is available in the Boston market; the importer is Mucci Imports and I have purchased the wine by special order at Bin Ends in Braintree and  Federal Wine in Boston. The winery, Le Vigne di Raito, is located in Vietri sul Mare on the Amalfi Coast and has panoramic views of the water and the City of Salerno. The owner, Patrizia Malanga, was born in Potenza, making her a “cousin” of mine and Michael – part of our family!

Subject: Reale Cardamone 2013 Tasting Notes

Nose: bright aromas of black cherry, black pepper and clove, earthy hints of tobacco and cured meats

Palate: very drinkable with bright focused fruit flavors, fairly soft tannins and a long finish that is slightly dry.  Ready to drink right now

This wine is also imported by Mucci Imports and is available by special order in the Boston market at the stores listed above. Reale is an agriturismo located in the mountains of Tramonti on the Amalfi Coast and feature vines that are over 100 years of age. Luigi Reale is an accomplished chef with a cable TV show on cooking in Italy.

 

Subject: Reale Borgo di Gete 2010 Tasting Notes

Nose:  spice notes of cinnamon, clove and white pepper; black plums and black currants; hint of earth and tar

Palate: amazing focus due to a ripe but angular structure with tremendous concentration and firm tannins; well balanced, built to age, would love to taste this wine again in 10 years, then 20 years

Great wine, loved it!

Another wine imported by Mucci Imports and available at the same stores. Luigi Reale makes this wine solely from the tintore grape.

 

Subject: Agnanum Per e’ Palumm 2014 Tasting Notes

N: delicate aromas of red fruits–cherries and plums; spice–white pepper and nutmeg; and undertones of mint of tobacco

P: medium to light body, tart red fruits, tobacco and spice…fairly elegant but a dry finish

This wine is available in New York City, not Boston. Agnanum is located within the city limits of Napoli. For those of you living in the Boston area think of a winery situated in Quincy Point section part of Quincy.

 

Subject: Aglianico Cilento Cupersito 2011 Tasting Notes
N:bright, brilliant aromas of black fruits (cherries, plums, blackberries), chocolate, mint, nutmgeg, hint of minerality
P: tightly focused fruit, medium bodied, lively acidicity, a roughly elegant structure and grace

This wine is imported by Gemma Iannoni Selections and available in Boston. I cannot remember where I purchased, but please check  Gemma’s website for information. The owners Betty and Pasquale Iuorio were architects from Napoli before switching careers to winemaking. They make a bubbly aglianico, Il Fric. Bar Mezzana ristorante serves Il Fric – that is reason alone to go to Bar Mezzana!

 

Subject: Casavecchia Terre del Principe 2009 Tasting Notes
N: seductive aromas of red fruits, leather, spice, minerals and mushrooms
P: serious structure and focus, slightly dry tannins, long finish, great with food.

This wine is imported by Vias Imports and available at Eric Broege’s Concord store – Vintages. (He has a fabulous Piemonte wine selection for you Barolo and Barbaresco drinkers.) The owners of Terre del Principe, Manuela Piancastelli and Peppe Mancini, are our dear friends; the first friends we made in Italy on our first trip. My cousin Michael helped arrange the meeting. If you get the chance you should try the Piancatelli wine; a 70-30 blend of the pallegrello nero and casavecchia grapes; my mother’s favorite (as well as ours).

 

Last nights wines and tasting notes…all were great with the easter bread, cheese and salumi!!

Subject: Aglianico di Baal 2011 Tasting Notes

Bright, lighter, more approachable style of aglianico, inviting with aromas of black fruits, nutmeg, vanilla, leather and incense.  On the palate its bright fruit and lively acidity make it a great food wine and perfect for an al fresco meal of pizza rustica, cheese and salumi

Another Mucci Import wine; it is readily available at Bin Ends in Braintree. The Salerno family also produce olive oil for retail. The family introduced us to the beneficial contribution bees make in controlling a particular parasite.

 

Subject: Venditti Sannio Rosso 2010 Tasting Notes

A little bit of surprise, but not once I glanced at the back label and saw that this wine was a blend of Montepulciano (50%), Olvella (30%) and only 20% Aglianico it all made sense.  Approachable, and supremely drinkable, this wine offered red fruits, mint, white pepper and anise on the nose and delivered smooth easy drinking and an impressive finish with each sip.

This is another wine available at Bin Ends in Braintree. We refer to Nicola Venditti as the professor due to his extensive knowledge of the history of the Sannio wine region and the ease in which he explains it.

 

Subject: Luigi Maffini Cenito 2010 Tasting Notes

Great effort, …such a well made wine.  In the glass, it was all about elegant and layered aromas of black plums, black cherries, all spice, black pepper, roasted meats and a very seductive underlying minerality.  Each sip delivered power & grace due to the wine’s great balance between concentrated fruit, ripe but firm tannins and a bright acidity.  Didn’t want this bottle to ever end!

This wine is available at Vintages in Concord – when we visited  Luigi Maffini two and one-half years ago he told us his 2010 Cenito was his best vintage to date. Luigi and Terre del Principe have the famous wine consultant, Luigi Moio, assist them.

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