Tormaresca Pietra Bianca 2006

I'm going to start with a review from Iron Chef, since I didn't drink any "bloggable" wines this weekend. I had my eye on this wine and almost bought a bottle last week, but I bought the Tunella Campo Marzio instead - see Wednesday's post. (PS Chef Do I have the year right?)

Here is Iron Chef's review:

"A wine made of 95% Chardonnay and 5% Fiano in southern Italy, Puglia. I think this blog has tried all the Tormaresca line from Antinori now at ANBL. This is a rich wine with tons of creamy malolactic fermentation and well integrated oak. The nose is fun with peaches and zesty citrus aromas and lots of buttery vanilla. The palate is very expressive and textured- notes of oak, butterscotch ice cream, dried apricots and smoke. I could see this wine breaking the "Red Meat with Red wine" rule because of its strong favours and texture. An absolute stunner of a wine. WoW. WS gave it 87 points btw.

One drawback was that the cork was very wet, seepage around the foil might affect this wine.

Value: 4/5- although I hate spending that much on a white. It was worth it.
Score: 93"

Price: $28.99
Score: 93
Value: 4/5
Tasted: Oct 2008
ANBL UPC: 8026530000077

Tormaresca Bocca di Lupo 2003

I love this wine. Kelly says it's a manly kind of wine, and I'm a manly kind of guy, so maybe that's why. The nose is clean and elegant yet powerful - minerals, leather and violets. Well ok, it doesn't exactly smell like that, but that's what it reminds me of. It's got great structure and mouthfeel. The tannins are grippy but not at all harsh. Not a fruit driven wine. It reminds me of the Bouscassé Vieilles Vignes and in a different way it reminds me of a Barolo.

Wine Specatator gave it an 88, but noted that it "needs bottle age" and they tasted it more than two years ago. It must have developed, because right now this wine absolutely deserves more than that. With that said, while there's lots of interest and complexity here, when you look at the score keep in mind that this is probably my favourite style of wine. But this is an excellent example of the style and Kelly gave it the same score independently after tasting it blind. Here's her note: "Inky purple. Lush nose of violets, anise, plump blackberries, leather, tar. Same flavours are round and smooth on palate, with lots of anise, extra-firm and persistent tannins. Very long."

This is more in the old world style, but it could very well appeal to those who like a big new world wine. And if you do like the style, it's great value. (Note that Castel del Monte is in Puglia, inland from Bari, near the border with the province of Basilicata.)

Update Jan 2009: I tried another bottle with friends. While we all enjoyed it, the consensus score was a 91. I think this second score was more accurate and I was just more in the mood for that style of wine the first time I tried it. With that score I'd give it a 4/5 for value.

Price: $33.79
Value: 5/5 - 4/5 (2nd tasting)
Score: 93 - 91 (2nd tasting)
Region: Italy
Grape: Aglianico
Tasted: Sept 2008
ANBL UPC: 8026530000091