Abruzzi wines of Tenute Santarelli and Marchese de Cordano, Feb 20/3

The Date and Time: Wednesday, February 20, 2013   4Pm to 9PM
The Event: a sampling of three wineries (Tenute Santarelli of Abruzzi,
Marchese de Cordano of Abruzzi, and Tenute Santarelli Canada). The
winemakers were supposed to be present, but a storm held them up in
transit, and they did not arrive until about 7 PM. I had to leave by 6
PM. They were expected by 5PM and were bringing more wines.
The Venue: Posticino Ristorante, Queensway
The Target Audience: wine buyers and wine writers (but we all got short
notice)
The Availability/Catalogue: everything is available by consignment.
The Quote/Background: Tenuta Santarelli also makes wine with the
Mohawks, from maple sap and maple syrup. There is a dry wine, a sweet
wine, and a demi-sec sparkler. While I enjoyed these maple wines, I
thought the sparkler and the still dry wine could have had more of a
maple presence. Since these were made from the sap, perhaps a dosage of
real maple syrup could have been added. As it was, the sap wine was
very close in flavour profile to grape white wine.
The Wines:

 

**** BEST -- Four Stars (91+ in Quality/Price Rating terms):
-Tenute Santarelli Maple Ice Wine NV, $29.95 375 ml
-Marchese de Cordano Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Trinita 2004, $18.75

 

***1/2 BETTER -- Three and a Half Stars (88 – 90 in Quality/Price
Rating terms):
-Marchese de Cordano Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Aida 2008, %13.60  14% ABV
-Marchese de Cordano Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Trinita 2005, $18.75
-Marchese de Cordano Brilla Cococciola 2010, $17.50 white
-Marchese de Cordano Diamine Pecorino 2010, $17.50  white
-Tenuta Santarelli Equilibrio Rosso IGT 2010, $14.70 14% ABV
[montepulciano, merlot, cabernet]
-Tenuta Santarelli Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Il Piccolo Gatsby 2010 IGT,
$12.65, 14.5% ABV

 

*** GOOD -- Three Stars (85 – 87 in Quality/Price Rating terms):
-Tenute Santarelli Maple Venerable White Wine 2011, $12.45
-Tenute Santarelli Maple Sapling Sparkling Wine NV, $14.45
-Tenuta Santarelli Il Brindisi Primitivo 2010 IGT, $12.65  14% ABV
-Tenuta Santarelli Le Prataiole Pinot Grigio Puglia IGT 2010, $12.65
14% ABV

 

The Food: we were well-served with platters of appetizers (fried
calamari, salumi, breads, salads, cheeses) and sparkling water.
The Downside: the winemakers were unavoidably late, due to weather, and
so I missed tasting more wines.
The Upside: I was glad I had a chance to try the maple wine.
The Contact Person: caliber@winevintages.com
The Event's Marketing Effectiveness and Execution (numerical grade):
88.

 

Chimo!  www.deantudor.com