Meeting 461

      Meeting 461 - -"Wines from Italy"

                  Friday 11th August 2023

             Speaker:  Martin Keogh, Grape Minds

Martin Keogh

        It was a treat to listen to Martin Keogh - a new speaker for us at the Berkshire Branch. Grape Minds opened in Summertown, Oxford some years ago and has now more recently opened a branch in Wallingford.
       Martin provided us with a lightening trip around Italy. Starting with a Falanghina Sparkler. The wine lived up to it's leading white grape of Campania. Soft fruit and flowery on the nose and full of fruit on the palate. A very pleasant start to the evening. The following whites gave a good coverage of still whites from across Italy. The Sicilian Zibibbo ( Muscat of Alexandria) had a nose of nettles and fresh grass and citrus fruit on the palate. Quite acidic but with a clean full finish, it was quite popular. The Gavi was quite light in all respects but offered a pleasant prospect for a sunny afternoon. The following Verdicchio from Marche had a slight rustic nose but was smooth with a light acid clean finish. Again quite popular but with a very wide range of scores. ( Was there something a bit edgy about one of the bottles?) The final Al Cantara Occhhi was accompanied by Mark's salad. Full on the nose with a hint of tropical fruit. Smooth easy drinking and a clean acid finish.
       For the reds Martin took us up to Alto Adige. The teroldego lived up to it's reputation. Deep cherry with a purple edge, stone fruit damson on the nose and full plum fruit on the palate. Good tannins combined with plenty of fruit, this could be worth holding on to for a few years. The Tenata Fortecole was similar in respect of a stone fruit nose with a matching palate of damson and sloe. Plenty of tannin but a little lighter on the acid. Still a good one to hang on to for a while. The final two reds were a leap upwards. The Zenza (Puglia) Primitivo (Tribidrag!) had an open fresh nose of stone fruit which went with a real mouthful of plums, cherries and sloes and tannin. Finally, the Amarone which was served to accompany the main meal, lived up to all our expectations. Dried Corvina and Rondonello grapes produced a concentrated wine which was smooth, a real fruity mouthful and fully justified the position as wine of the evening.
       Mark's white wine food accompaniment was a tomato salad, burrata (Puglian cow's milk cheese made from mozzarella and cream) together with n'duja (a spicy spreadable pork sausage from Calabria). The main meal was duck breast & duck leg bon bon with summer beans and peas together with crushed new potatoes. Both courses matched the food perfectly. Altogether an excellent evening.

The Wines	Cost(£)**	Score
Aperitif: Dubl Sparkling Falanghina NV (12.5%)	£20	7
The Whites: (1) Colomba Bianca Zibibbo, 2022	£10	7+
(2) Ke Bonta Gavi, 2021 (12.5%}	£11	7
(3) Verdicchio de Metallica 2021 (13.5%}c	£16	7+
(4) Al Cantara Occhi Di Cinmu, 2021 (13.0%)	£26	7
The Reds:
(5) Cantine Lavis Teroldego, 2021 (13.0%)	£12	7+
(6) Tenuta Fortecole(Montepuluciano/Sangiovese 13.5%), 2019	£18)	7+
(7) Zensa Primitivo, 2021 (13.5%)	£12	8
The Supper Wine:
(8) Torre Falasco Amarone (15.5%) 2018	£35	9

** Price to Members