*T Bianco, 2006 (Tramin CS) - currently out of stock

Tramin are new to us and very welcome.  They are individualists with a distinctive style and we are pleased to list this and their Pinot Grigio (see below).  We had a bit of a spat about this one, partly because it does not quite fit our main policy of purity and indigenous grapes, being as it is a mix of Chard, PB and Sauv.  In fact we were quite sniffy about it until we put it on at a tasting and everyone raved about it.  So here you are.  Love it now.

£92.40 per case (equiv £7.70 per bottle)

Code: 260

*Pinot Grigio Vallagarina IGT, 2006 (Athesia)

This is a Pinot Grigio which has been going down well at parties recently.  It drinks very easily but has a bit more to it than the cheaper offerings in the PG category.  A rich beginning gives way to a bright fruit on the palate followed by a pleasant textured finish.

£93 per case (equiv £7.75 per bottle)

Code: 229

*Rami Falanghina, 2007 (Di Majo Norante)

From the undiscovered region of Molise, Falanghina is the grape (with a touch of Fiano).  Medium bodied with apricot and subtle citrus notes on the nose with a delicious almond and honey aftertaste.  Perfect with spicier foods - try instead of Reisling or Gewurtz, or just drink it on its own for a treat.

£102 per case (equiv £8.50 per bottle)

Code: 254

*Vermentino di Sardegna DOC: La Falesia 2006 (Vernaccia CS)

A late-ripening grape found mainly in Sardinia but also the principal grape of many Tuscan whites. Much sought after, this charming wine has crisp well-rounded fruit reminding us of pears with hints of spices. Good with seafood or just enjoyed on its own.

£102 per case (equiv £8.50 per bottle)

Code: 197

*Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico DOC: II Bacco 2006 (Coroncino)

Verdicchio is perhaps Italy's best native non-aromatic white grape.  Coroncino is a Verdicchio specialist, perhaps the specialist.  The nose has a hint of almond and the mouth is full of fruit.  Lucio Canestrari does it again. This vintage has more complexity than ever and is just getting better and better. We believe that even at this slightly higher price this wine is in the big hitter league.  We are ordering quite lot and will be drinking it ourselves if there's any left.... 

£105 per case (equiv £8.75 per bottle)

Code: 203

*Offida Pecorino DOC, Le Merlettaie, 2006 (Ciù Ciù)

What's this?  We didn't know either.  Lovely stuff that's what.  From the Marche and a close neighbour to Verdicchio (qv) comes this from the Bartolomei brothers whose great-grandfather was into and worked on the railways, hence the producer name. Tangy and fruity this is just the kind of wine we like to find - and you like to drink, we think.  Offida is a 2001 DOC and you may have known it better in its previous incarnation as (reds) Rosso Piceno wines. This is a blend of pecorino (so called because the sheep like to eat it allegedly), passerino and trebbbiano with a  yeasty nose, delicately floral, good depth on palate, a bit of vanilla, and a medium body / finish.  Yes, we're pleased.

£105 per case (equiv £8.75 per bottle)

Code: 254

*Pinot Grigio Alto Adige DOC, 2006 (Hofstätter) currently out of stock - awaiting new vintage

This is Hofstätter's selected grapes version of Pinot Grigio (the French Pinot Gris taken to new heights of sophistication) grown on the cooler slopes of the Alto Adige.  Honey and apple nose with complexity, leading to some sweetness on the palate, with a very good structure, well balanced with a fine finish.  Oak is handled well.  Excellent aperitif, or with pasta, white meat and shellfish.

£POA

Code: 125

*Pinot Bianco Alto Adige DOC, 2006 (Hofstätter) currently out of stock - awaiting new vintage

Martin Foradori at Hofstätter is a master craftsman.  Whatever he turns his hand to is worth looking at.  Like Tercic (another of our favourites) there is a signature quality to his wines and an indefinable style to do with extraction of flavour, but not by 'squeezing' the grape as it were.  It is rather that he gets to the essence of his fruit.  In Pinot Bianco and Grigio (above) this means you get to meet the grape in its purest form.  A meeting worth making time for.  Make a date!

£POA

Code: 126

*Soave, Le Bine, 2007 (Tamellini)

Tamellini is a tre bicchieri kind of guy, and this shows why.  Supple mouth and complexity - more like a chard in some ways but with that garganega freshness that is so N Italian. This is marked by seductive honey and nutty almond aromas added to typical characteristics of the Garganega grape; white stone fruit, hazelnut, aromatic herbs and citrus flavours with a pure mineral edge. Le Bine is the single vineyard wine with rich fruit and strength of flavour; and would go well with a mild goat’s cheese.
(We know the piccie is of a 2004 bottle, but we really do have 2007!)

£143.40 per case (equiv £11.95 per bottle)

Code: 279

*Gewurtztraminer Alto Adige DOC, 2005 (CS Tramin)

Tramin are good - no getting away from it. Clean, pure and with a crisp edge that seems to characterise all their wines. This is in the mould and for those who like the subtlety of Italian Gewurtz look no further.  Why not buy some Hofstatter Kolbenhof (see below) and put on your own wine tasting?  Can we come?

£121.80 per case (equiv £10.15 per bottle)

Code: 263

*Erbaluce di Caluso DOC: La Rustia, 2006 (Orsolani)

The Erbaluce, or Albaluce, grape is so named because it displays a fiery copper colour in the light of the autumn sun.  Orsolani is almost certainly best, and certainly the longest serving, producer of this rare and characteristic wine.  It offers a grassy nose, and a crisp attack in the mouth not unlike a sauvignon but less overwhelming, supported by a degree of complexity on the finish.  It can be drunk young but will hold up for four or five years.

£126 per case (equiv £10.50 per bottle)

Code: 116

*Rosato Rulander Trentino DOC: Castelpietra 200? (Nomi CS) currently out of stock - awaiting new vintage

The Italian rosé is produced by fermenting the Pinot Grigio grape with its skin for a short time to give a hint of pink in colour. This is a delightful wine – clean crisp and full of fun fruit which will really be noticed.

£POA

Code: 255

*Sauvignon Collio DOC, 2004 (Tercic)

Excuse us while we have a small rave about this.  First sampled with lunch at Tentazione with our importer we fell silent after the first sip.  To those used to the notes of new world sauvignon (or even much French) this is a contrast: a light clear and pure wine, with subtle but totally distinctive sauvignon character.  The flavours develop in intensity an hour or so after opening and go on doing so - it even improves overnight!  A perfect partner to something like risotto, parma ham with figs, or sea bass.  Forget Cloudy Bay and save money too.

£143.40 per case (equiv £11.95 per bottle) but please check price with us

Code: 211

*Ribolla Gialla Collio DOC, 2006 (Tercic)

Do you like subtle wine that is packed with layers of flavour and yet steals up on you like mist on an autumn morning?  Poetry. we think, on the tongue.  100% Ribolla Gialla, with, as in all Tercic wines, great care in the grape cultivation and harvest.  Vines about 40 years old and fermented in steel.  Bright, crisp and clean with floral notes on the nose and palate and a long finish, this wine is worth every penny in our view.

£157.80 per case (equiv £13.15 per bottle) but please check price with us

Code: 211

*Frascati DOC Superiore, Vigna Adriana, 2004 (Castel de Paolis) - No further stock but please enquire if interested

Typical Frascati this is not.  Flowers and oak on a perfumed nose, followed by a mouth full of almond and wood with amazing depth and complexity.  Quite unlike any other Frascati we have tasted.  It is made with 60% Malvasia and 40% other grapes blended, and the care in its making shows through.  Yes, it is more expensive than most Frascati around on shop shelves, but this is wine in a completely different league.

£POA

Code: 193

*Chardonnay Educato, 2006 (Elio Grasso)

We like the wines from Elio Grasso, so could not resist offering his only white for you to try. Much debate about the reason it is called ‘educato’ – well-bred, or learning to use international varieties in an Italian way – but the result is an intense blend of supple fruit with rich tones of honey and figs resulting from the careful use of oak. Really very good indeed.

£177 per case (equiv £14.75 per bottle)

Code: 277

*Gewürztraminer Alto Adige DOC Kolbenhof 2003 (Hofstätter)

Selected grapes from a single estate in Tramin, the home of Gewürztraminer, this is a wine of great intensity of fruit with overtones of peach, apricot, lychee even mango.  The concentration is marvellous without being overpowering.  Drink on its own, with shellfish or particularly foie gras.

£193.80 per case (equiv £16.15 per bottle)

Code: 246

Trebbiano d'Abruzzo: Marina Cvetic 2006 (Masciarelli)

A legendary wine which shows such intensity that it makes one shudder with pleasure when drinking it.  Not many winemakers could conjure up such a heady impact from the recalcitrant Trebbiano grape, but all it needed was the genius of Gianni Masciarelli to produce something quite transcendent.  We like to claim we found him first but now he is now more (see Montepulciano in reds section). 

£239.40 per case (equiv £19.95 per bottle)

Code: 241