Enjoy high-quality indie Italian wines
A lthough Oregon -- and especially Portland -- currently enjoys a certain "indie" reputation, the fact is we've always had this quality. It's in our go-it-alone politics and long-standing environmentalism.
And the most obvious example is in Oregon's wine industry. The state both pioneered and then persevered with pinot noir and pinot gris long before they became wine darlings elsewhere.
Not to mention Oregon's -- especially Portland's -- longtime love of Italian wines. Sure, today they are everywhere and everybody's favorite. But 20 years ago, such affection was rare in America. Not here. For reasons that could make a nice college thesis, Oregon took to small-production, high-quality Italian wines out of proportion to our demographics.
But even then it was for obvious wines, such as Chianti. True to (indie) form, we embraced the once-derided barbera grape variety, especially from Italy's Piedmont region. Today, natch, it's the new wine darling and commands both respect and high prices.
Barbera d'Alba "Scassa" 2006, Bruna Grimaldi: Local importers continue to seek Italian wine producers largely unseen elsewhere in America, such as small producer Bruna Grimaldi.
In addition to a fine Barolo, Bruna Grimaldi also creates an exceptional Barbera d'Alba, the sort of wine Oregonians have clutched to their collective bosom for years.
Everything lines up: a tiny production (700 cases) from a single vineyard called Scassa and made in a fashion perhaps best described as modern traditional. Although this barbera does see some oak, its use is so deft that you really can't taste it. Rather, it just smoothes off some rough edges.
In the 2006 vintage, Barbera d'Alba "Scassa" emerges as a rich, lush barbera that exhibits all the qualities of this variety when grown in a choice vineyard. It delivers like the finest barberas from Piedmont: an intense quality of wild cherries and minerals delivered with beautiful delineation and real polish. $21.95. (Distributor is Casa Bruno.)
Rosso Conero 2006, Lanari: One Italian region likely to see a first-ever fashionability in America in the next few years is Marche (pronounced mar-keh). On the east coast along the Adriatic Sea, the region is attracting attention. For example, a new restaurant called Urbino (a town in Marche) is set to open in San Francisco specializing in Marche cuisine. Both coastal and mountainous, the area offers seafood along with heartier stews and the like.
Then there are the wines. Not surprisingly, white grape varieties are grown to accompany seafood, notably verdicchio. (I recently recommended a 2007 verdicchio from the producer Sartarelli.)
Among red wines the standout is Rosso Conero (pronounced KONE-eh-row). Though classically composed of the montepulciano grape, the wine may now also get a dollop of sangiovese for more finesse.
The family winery of Lanari creates a terrific Rosso Conero from an 11-acre vineyard, blending montepulciano (90 percent) and sangiovese (10 percent). A deep blackish ruby color, it delivers classic Rosso Conero qualities of richness, depth and generous but not excessive scale with plum, cherry and blackberry notes. This is unusually refined. $14.95. (Distributor is Zancanella Importing Co.)
Rosso di Montalcino 2006, Caprili: Regular readers know that I am a fan of that "bargain" category in the ultra-expensive Brunello di Montalcino district called Rosso di Montalcino.
Years ago such wines were called "baby Brunellos" as the early-release Rosso di Montalcino often came from a producer's younger brunello -- a clone of sangiovese -- vines. (A Brunello di Montalcino can be released only after four years of aging.) But today, many Rosso di Montalcino bottlings come from vineyards planted expressly for this wine. These sites are almost always of lesser quality.
What you want is a Rosso di Montalcino from the same vineyard as a producer's full-fledged Brunello. Such bottlings exist, and this 2006 Rosso di Montalcino proves the worth -- in every sense -- of the designation, at least in the hands of a small, high-quality producer such as Caprili.
It's intense, dense and capable of rewarding several years of aging, if not more. (The flagship Brunello bottling is famous for aging for decades.) This is Rosso di Montalcino as it should be, but too rarely is. Serve in big glasses with salami or grilled meats drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil. $24 -- and worth it. (Distributor is Young's Columbia.)
Matt Kramer is a Portland wine critic and author. Reach him at 1320 S.W. Broadway, Portland, OR 97201