All Italian

Italian week. The above three went head to head. Two are from a Sicilian winery, Calatrasi. Their Terre di Ginestra, Nero d'Avola, 2006 had a cranberry shortbread nose with an easy drinking, medium bodied profile. Sharp and focused but followed up by some warmth and spice, it offers red berries. Good food wine. "OK" overall, not good value for $20. A step up was their "651", Nero d'Avola and Syrah, 2006. Dark wine. Raspberry nose. Medium-full bodied with moderate and well integrated tannins, blackcurrants, spicy, very old world style. Good wine. Still, not good value for $29. Third up was the Villa Cafaggio, Chianti Classico Riserva, 2005. Truffles on the nose. Medium bodied, raw meat, iodine, earth, dried cherries. Crisp and clean though, don't think this is a "dirty" wine. Classic Chianti, good wine and great with food. It was a gift, so can't tell you how much it goes for in Canada; it retails for $20-25 in the US, which is about right.
Later in the week tried a "Gambero Rosso" two glass wine (their scoring scale is one to three glasses), the Poderi del Nespoli, Prugneto, Sangiovese di Romagna, 2007. What the hell does all that mean, you may ask. Well, a poderi is basically a "farm", Prugneto is the vineyard name, and sangiovese di Romagna is the grape type. It refers to the clones of sangiovese grown in the region of Romagna; these clones are generally considered poorer cousins of the noble Tuscan sangiovese used in Chianti and super-Tuscan reds. So, I had mixed expectations - and ended up with mixed feelings about this one. Medium red in colour, sweet whiff of plums, light to medium bodied, nice fruit (cherries and plums). Initial sweet attack but this dries out as it goes down. Juicy finish. Not bad, quaffable. I guess you can say "simple label, simple wine". BTW, you gotta love the simplicity of the label! $14 is too much for this weekday wine.
Cheers!!