Wine & Spirits - August 2020 - 45

FOCUS: LIGHT ITALIAN REDS
flavors of fresh cherry and pomegranate propelled by a streak of salinity. Serve it at cellar
temperature with lighter dishes like poultry
or even freshwater fish. § Artisanal Cellars,
White River Junction, VT

with a burst of juicy red-berry flavor brightened by notes of orange pith. Mouthwatering acidity drives the wine, and calls for a
match with spicy sausage or salumi. § Dalla
Terra, Napa, CA
277477

91 | Cantina Andriano

277686

90 | Durin

$22

2017 Riviera Ligure di Ponente Rossese ^
The Basso family tends more than 250 separate plots throughout the terraced slopes
around the village of Ortovero in western
Liguria. Antonio Basso selects fruit for this
rossese from vineyards of varying altitudes
and exposures, fermenting the grapes with
ambient yeasts and aging the wine in stainless-steel tanks. The wine is fragrant with the
scrubby herbs that surround the vineyards,
and the flavors are of crunchy red berries
laced with orange peel and wild thyme. Pour
it lightly chilled with poultry or mild cheeses. §
North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA
277462

90 | Ka' Manciné

$25

2018 Alto Adige Bocado Vernatsch ^ This
pure schiava (labeled vernatsch, the Germanic name for the variety) is infused with
brisk acidity that surges through fresh strawberry and raspberry flavors, keeping the fruit
tones aloft as the wine gains notes of smoke
and damp leaves with exposure to air. The
balance of dark and light flavors is appealing,
as are the savory notes on the finish. § Banville
Wine Merchants, NY
277835

$48

2014 Rossese di Dolceacqua Angé ^ Angé
is a small south-facing parcel of the Galeae
vineyard, and the wine is denser and more
structured than is typical for rossese. The
fruit fermented spontaneously with 70 percent stems, and aged for ten months in used
French oak barriques, giving a meaty wine
with chewy tannins that encase flavors of
blueberry and dried cherry. Layers of licorice
and black olive lend complexity and depth,
yet the wine shows hints of oxidation that
weigh down the fruit flavors, making it a bit
more ponderous than Ka' Manciné's other
two bottlings recommended here. § Artisanal
Cellars, White River Junction, VT

91 | Kellerei Kurtatsch

$20

2019 Alto Adige Sonntaler Alte Reben
Vernatsch Schiava ^ The fruit for Sonntaler
is chosen from this 190-member co-op's oldest vines, some planted in 1933. Aged in large
Slavonian oak casks, the 2019 is bright and
lifted, with snappy red-berry flavors and
zippy acidity that make it eminently crushable. Serve it lightly chilled. § Wine Icons,
Tewksbury Township, NJ
277740

90 | In der Eben

$33

2016 Weinberg Dolomiten Sankt Anna ^
Here's a schiava that's firmly in the naturalwine camp, fermented on ambient yeasts,
aged in large oak casks and bottled unfiltered. It shows a gamey funk that blows off
with air to reveal flavors of tart berries and
blood orange accented by peppery spice.
The texture is lightly chewy and leesy, with a
slight edge of volatility that will cut through a
plate of polenta and sausage. § Satyr Picks, NY
277589

90 | J. Hofstätter

$20

$31

2018 Alto Adige Kolbenhofer VernatschSchiava ^ Martin Foradori Hofstätter refers to
schiava as an easygoing wine for intellectuals, a wine that you quaff in youth but begin
to appreciate more as you grow older. That
description applies to his 2018 Kolbenhofer,
a juicy and lively wine that, with time in the
glass, reveals layers of smoke and game.
More than a porch pounder, it shows a balance and complexity that belies its friendly
persona. § Frederick Wildman and Sons, NY
277795

2017 Vigneti delle Dolomiti Römigberg ^
The Lageder family harvests fruit for this
wine from the 20-acre Römigberg vineyard,
where the pergola-trained schiava vines
(some planted in 1945) are farmed biodynamically on soils of dolomitic limestone
and loamy moraine deposits. The wine opens

2017 St. Magdalener Classico ^ The Spögler
family has owned and farmed this estate
since 1893, but sold their produce to local
cooperatives until 2008. Their St. Magdalener is made with fruit from pergola-trained
schiava planted in 1940, and includes a small

S C H I A VA
277505

92 | Alois Lageder

90 | Larcherhof

$21

percentage of lagrein that deepens the color
and adds some black fruit tones that balance the juicy raspberry and cherry flavors.
It's firmly structured, ready for robust dishes
like wild boar ragù. § Vias Imports, NY
277781

88 | Elena Walch

$16

88 | Kellerei Kaltern

$18

87 | Alois Lageder

$16

2018 Alto Adige Schiava (Best Buy) ^ This is
taut and crunchy, with a medley of red and
blue fruit flavors brightened by a twist of
orange zest. With air, notes of tar and grilled
game emerge, along with hints of peppery
spice. § USA Wine West, Sausalito, CA
277579
2018 Alto Adige Schiava (Best Buy) ^ Fresh
and easygoing, this schiava offers flavors of
summer strawberry and cranberry edged
with notes of blood orange. Its light tannins
are just raspy enough to cut through a plate
of speck and soft cheeses. § Enotec Imports,
Denver, CO
277503
2018 Vigneti delle Dolomiti Schiava (Best
Buy) ^ This wine's flavors of strawberry and
raspberry are primary and bright, framed
by mild fruit-skin tannins and accented with
notes of orange zest and smoke. § Dalla Terra,
Napa, CA

VESPOLINA
277594

91 | Cascina Preziosa

$37

90 | Boniperti Vignaioli

$23

2017 Coste della Sesia Vespolina ^ At his
7.4-acre estate in Alto Piemonte's Castellengo hills, Gianni Selva Bonino makes just
three wines, including this bright and juicy
vespolina. Working with consulting oenologist Cristiano Garella, he ferments the grapes
with ambient yeasts and ages the wine for
eight months in large casks, giving a structured wine with a slightly gritty texture and
pleasantly tart red-berry flavors. Decant it for
an hour to give those fruit tones time to come
to the fore. § Grand Cru Selections, NY
277593
2017 Colline Novaresi Favolalunga Vespolina (Best Buy) ^ Gilberto Boniperti farms
just under two acres of vespolina around the
town of Barengo, in the southwestern corner of Alto Piemonte. He vinifies this wine
entirely in stainless steel, allowing the variety's brambly berry flavors and pert peppery
notes to shine. The wine feels ripe and fruity
coming off the warm 2017 growing season,
almost like a peppery Russian River Valley
pinot noir, which should give it broad appeal. §
Grand Cru Selections, NY n

WINE & SPIRITS

AUGUST 2020

45
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/durin+rossese+riviera+ligure+ponente+liguria+italy/2017
Wine & Spirits - August 2020

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