Gin Gallery - A Room With A View
It was a tasting of Italian wines in a commercial building in TST. The office was decorated as a wine cellar with a view of Central at a distance. We tasted 9 wines throughout the evening, pairing with cheese and bread.
I was reading my tasting notes over the weekend, trying to remember which ones made an impression ….
Monte Grande Soave Classico 2007
There were 3 whites – Pinot Grigio, Soave Classico and Trebbiano d’Abruzzo. The Trebbiano was very flat, quite disappointing for all of us. The Pinot Grigio was aromatic and quite fruity, it will be a good aperitif.
The Soave Classico was my favorite. Soave is in the region of Veneto of North East Italy. The main grape variety is Garganega, from my WSET text book;” it has delicate flavors of almonds and can display floral notes and grapey fruit”. The wine showed apricot and was nutty on the palate. The length was long with a sweet aftertaste.
Of the 5 reds we tasted, there were 2 I remembered – Vitiano Umbria 2008 and Barrua 2005 from the region Serdegna.
Vitiano 2008
Umbria is in Central Italy, the Vitano 2008 was made from Cabernet Saugvinon, Merlot and Sangiovese – one third of each. The wine was medium bodied, showed red fruit and was a very smooth and balanced red wine. The vintage was young, but the owner of Gin Gallery told us it would be good for the next 10 years.
The Barrua 2005 caught our attention, because it came from the Sassicaia family – the famous Super Tuscan. The grape variety is Cannonaur, the color was deep ruby. On the nose, it showed floral and red fruit. On the palate, it showed red fruit and oak. One lady from our group made a comment that this wine smell and tasted the same, which most wines are not.
Well, if you are counting – 3 whites and 5 reds, then what was the last wine? In fact, it was the first wine we tasted. It was a sparkling wine made with champagne method. In the Champagne region, the sparkling wine would be called a Blanc de Blancs. It was made with 100% Chardonnay. The sparkling wine was a bit unbalanced and too acidic for my taste.
Barrua 2003
In the end, we all voted for our favorite white and red – the Soave and Barrua were the favorites for most of us!
Grape Wine Journey 
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