Carpineto Chianti Classico Riserva ... the texture is silky smooth, the tannins soft and the finish long.

POSTED: 20 JUNE 2010

Old World wines at affordable prices

A decade ago, whenever I wrote in my Melbourne column about “foreign” wine, there would be a bucketload of correspondence gently — or otherwise — reminding me that Victorians didn’t need to drink wines from New South Wales or Western Australia, let alone France, Spain or Italy.

How the wine world turns! Recent emails have been full of requests for advice on a range of imports tasted by readers and it’s now rare to have a tasting without at least one “foreigner” — and that’s without counting the deluge of NZ sauvignon blanc!

While I remain totally committed to supporting our ailing Australian industry — in particular our chardonnay, the best of which is so much better than most imports at the same price point — I am delighted that we are now being offered quality and affordable Old World wines.

Our dominant retailers are doing their bit with direct imports and there are a number of specialist wine shops whose range and knowledge is formidable.

At a recent lunch, Tuscan winemaker Antonio Zaccheo from Carpineto produced a range of his wines at very competitive prices, including some great examples of Old World sangiovese. His Chianti Classico DOCG (2006, $22) and Chianti Castaldo DOCG (2007, $14) are both well crafted and tasty, albeit more austere and less fruit driven than most Oz reds.

The wines that shone, however, were the two Riserva wines — the current release from 1997 ($35) and the 1990 vintage which demonstrated the longevity of these delicious wines.

They’re mouth-filling, with soft sweetish berry flavours; the texture is silky smooth, the tannins soft and the finish long. The older wine had layer upon layer of varying flavours and still showed discernable fruit characteristics with hints of oak, vanilla and soft spices.

At the entry level, the Carpineto brand has a very drinkable red (2008) and white (2009) under the Dogajolo label for about $15.

Moving to Spain, Solar Viejo Crianza (2006, $25) — a tasty tempranillo from Rioja — also shows the stylistic difference to many local versions using this varietal. Dark crimson, with a little cherry and spice on the nose, this red fills the mouth with lashings of savoury flavours tempered by a continuation of the cherry and spice. A lovely example from the home of tempranillo.

Jeff Gordon is one of Australia's most experienced winewriters and is highly regarded for his always insightful, occasionally inciteful, commentary on matters grape. He has recently developed his own website — www.jeffgordon.com.au — which provides a new home for his pithy On the Nose column and also features a Thursday round-up of the weekly specials being offered by major liquor retailers.

NOTE: This column was written late in 2009. Jeff's latest reviews and comments will start filtering through to Oz Baby Boomer pages over the next couple of weeks.