PETIT WEEK IN WINE | February 21st - February 25th 2024 | |
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TASTING FLIGHT:
A Winter Tour of Italy
Iconic Wines from Marche, Tuscany, and Puglia
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Given the quick sell-out of our Winter Tour of Italy event on Saturday night, we wanted to continue the theme with this week's Tasting Flight (albeit, with a slightly different lineup from Saturday's composition) for those of you that may have missed out on tickets. We've curated four sub-regions of Italy that delight with exemplary wines that pair perfectly with these last days of winter. And It all starts tonight!
We start our excursion in the hidden coastal gem of MARCHE for a refreshing Verdicchio di Matelica and then we are off to TUSCANY for Vino Nobile de Montepulciano and a Super Tuscan from Carmignano that is composed of Sangiovese, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Our journey ends in PUGLIA with a bold Primitivo (a relative of Zinfadel...) that is loaded with dark-fruit and known for its signature finish.
These four curated wines make up our $25 Tasting Flight and will leave you astonished that they're all $50 or less - true value for Italian 'wintery wines' from varietals you'll want to get to know!
I hope to see you in the store & tasting room this week. Join us for all things Italiano as we're grateful to be stewards for your wine journey.
Ciao!
Mark
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PARK ROAD:
5:00 - 7:00pm Wednesday
5:00 - 9:00pm Thursday-Friday
1:00 - 9:00pm Saturday
1:00 - 7:00pm Sunday
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SOUTH END:
5:00 - 9:00pm Thursday-Friday
1:00 - 9:00pm Saturday
1:00 - 7:00pm Sunday
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MARCHE
The eastern wine region of Marche in Italy has long been the spiritual home of the Verdicchio grape, one of Italy's most distinctive and widely loved white wine grape varietals. The stunning mineral rich soils of Marche help these grapes reach full ripeness, expressing much of their excellent terroir in the bottle, and the warm Adriatic climate assists in producing fruit of extraordinary quality, ideal for fine wine production. This has been the case for almost three thousand years, as Marche is a truly ancient wine region, favored by several civilizations over the millennia who recognized the excellence of the soil, the native grape varietals and the climatic conditions. Today, the wine industry of Marche remains strong and robust, with over sixty thousand acres under vine, and dozens of quality wineries producing excellent white and red wines for international wine lovers.
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TUSCANY
Tuscany is central Italy’s most important wine region—and the country’s sixth largest wine-producing region. It offers a diverse selection of internationally recognized wines from both indigenous and international varieties in an array of styles. Stretching from the Tyrrhenian coastline inland toward the Apennine Mountains, Tuscany spans multiple elevations, expositions, soil types, and climatic conditions.
Tuscany is also renowned for the Sangiovese-based Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, which is made near the hill town of Montepulciano. These wines show similar characteristics as Chianti Riservas. Another Sangiovese-based wine, Brunello di Montalcino is a world-class red that often vies with Barolo for the reputation of Italy’s finest and most age-worthy wine. It must be made with 100 percent Sangiovese grapes.
The region’s other most significant red wines are the famed Super Tuscans. A local take on the classic Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah (and sometimes Cabernet Franc), these wines were developed, in part, as a reaction to the restrictive regulations in Tuscany during the 1970s. At the time they emerged, they were considered some of the region’s best reds.
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PUGLIA
Puglia, also known as Apulia, is a long, narrow region comprising the heel of southern Italy's boot. Puglia is a major producer of both wine grapes and table grapes. Its name comes from a-pulvia, or “lack of rain” in Roman. The terroir is influenced by a sunny, warm Mediterranean climate with breezes from the Adriatic sea and fertile soil rich in limestone. The Puglian wine region is divided into three subregions: Foggia in the north, Bari and Taranto in the center, and Brindisi and Lecce in the south.
After Veneto, Puglia is tied with Sicily as the second biggest wine region in Italy. The Puglia area is mostly home to grape growers, rather than wine producers. However, there are winemakers producing quality wines in Puglia in smaller quantities. In addition to grapes, Puglia produces 40 percent of Italy's olive oil.
The two most popular and widely available wines from Puglia are Salice Salentino and Primitivo. Primitivo tastes of dark fruit like fresh figs, blueberries and baked blackberries. There’s a distinct dried fruit-leather character to it as well. The word Primitivo doesn’t mean primitive in Italian, but actually means early ripening since these grapes accumulate a lot of sugar early in the season. The early ripening means resulting wines are big, luscious and full of fruit. However, what’s fascinating about Primitivo is that sometimes the grape bunches ripen unevenly, so green grapes will get harvested along with the ripe ones.
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COLLESTEFANO
Verdicchio Di Matelica DOC 2022
Marche, Italy
$30 btl/retail
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Fabio Marchionni farms his vineyards organically, and has become something of a cult producer given its outstanding & consistent quality. Collestefano is textbook for the Matelica style – bright and crisp with floral notes and a hint of pine.
Varietal: 100% Verdicchio. The Matelica zone is further inland and at a higher elevation than the more common Verdicchio di Castelli di Jesi. Matelica wines tend to be brighter and more elegant whereas the Castelli di Jesi wines often have a little more fruit and heft.
Tasting Notes: It has a bright straw yellow color with greenish shades, a pure fragrance of vegetal notes, ginger and cardamom. The Collestefano also reveals a deep note of cedar both in the nose and palate that is sorrounded by its usual exuberance and a citrus/almond touch on the finish.
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CROCIANI
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
Riserva 2019
Tuscany, Italy
$50 btl/retail
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The hilltop town of Montepulciano lies in the south of Tuscany near the town of Siena. Susanna Crociani blends Sangiovese with a little Canaiolo & Mammolo, and traditional winemaking methods encourage extraction of voluptuous fruit character, with a distinct mineral and subtle oak influence
Varietal: 75% Sangiovese, 15% Canaiolo, 10% Mammolo. Spends two and a half years in barrel and a further six months in bottle prior to release.
Tasting Notes: Of a medium intensity and ruby red color in the glass. This 2019 has hints of red fruits and citrus notes, perfectly integrated with balsamic and slightly toasted tones. On the palate it is soft, with good structure and concentration, with worked tannins and capable of a medium-long finish.
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PIAGGIA CARMIGNANO
"Il Sasso" Mauro Vannucci 2021
Tuscany, Italy
$50 btl/retail
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Gambero Rosso winner as "one of the best wiineries in the region of Carmignano, rather, in Tuscany". Winemaker Mauro Vannucci delights with this Tuscan blend full of charming elegance.
Varietal: 70% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot. Fermented using ambient yeasts, maceration for at least 18-20 days. Aged in French-oak barriques for at least 15 months, plus at least 6 months in bottle before release.
Tasting Notes: Marasca cherries jump from the glass with elegant hints of balsamic and spice. Secondary notes of rich currants, some sweet spices and hazelnuts also appear with time. The wine is full and enveloping on the palate. Lots of juicy fruit on the medium- to full-bodied palate with firm tannins and a fleshy middle. Flavorful, ripe finish to close.
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PRODUTTORI DI MANDURIA
"Lirica" Primitivo di Manduria 2020
Puglia, Italy
$29 btl/retail
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Produttori di Manduria is the oldest active wine cooperative in Puglia. It was first established in 1928 and then converted in to a cooperative in 1932. Manduria is considered the birth place of the native Primitivo grape, and this bottling is exemplary of the varietal.
Varietal: 100% Primitivo. Macerates for one week, and ages for six months in large oak casks.
Tasting Notes: Medium deep ruby red. Intense and elegant nose of ripe dark fruit,cherry, plum, sweet spices like ginger and aniseed with discreet oak. The palate is dry, medium to full, with a rounded texture and elegant tannin, a well-balanced freshness underneath with a rather long and broad spicy finish.
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mark@petitphilippe.com | www.petitphilippe.com
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