on the road
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The Almost-Full Monty (Montefalco Sagrantino Anteprima 2014)
Back in February, I spent a handful of days in the charmingly-imposing Italian town of Montefalco, as the U.S. media guest attending the anteprima showing of Sagrantino’s somewhat-troubled 2014 vintage. Generally, the way that these things work is that we press-types get to sit around…
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My Name Is *Still* Nizza (Drinking Monferrato’s Older Top Reds With MyNameIsBarbera.com)
Hey, remember when I waxed all dime-store-poetic about the longevity and power of Barbera reds from the relatively-new, tippy-top-of-the-Asti-area-quality-pyramid region of Nizza? Well, I do. Anyway, if you’re curious how the highest-end Piedmonte Barbera wines fare when they have upwards of a decade of aging…
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Pert, Plus (Perticaia Recent – And Not-So-Recent! – Releases)
The name Perticaia is familiar to lovers of big Italian reds, but its meaning – “plow” in the local dialect – likely isn’t as well-known. It is, however, an apt description of how Azienda Agraria Perticaia has forced its way through to the top of…
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High Tension Wires, Low Tension Views (Mas de l’Abundancia Montsant Recent Releases)
Jesús del Rio Mateu, proprietor of the Masroig-area Mas de l’Abundància – doesn’t just have an enviable name; he’s also got an enviably amazing vineyard view, enviably old vines, and sits enviably close to one of Spain’s critical-darling DOs, Priorat. He also has an enviably-close relationship…
