David’s ‘Everyday Italian Wine’ – 43
Each Friday, David Brenner of Villasfor2 in Abruzzo selects a delicious, top-value 'Everyday Italian Wine' for you to enjoy at home – or on your Abruzzo vacation !
Moli'. Di Majo Norante. 2006
Whether it's down to some astute choices, or just a happy accident, we seem to have been on a bit of a roll lately discovering good, new, everyday Italian wine. This week, that roll continues, with a white wine from Molise, the small region to Abruzzo's immediate south.
Though it can trace its heritage back to Roman times, Molise wine isn't (yet) a modern headline-grabber. There are only three DOC areas. One – the catch-all 'Molise DOC' – was only awarded this status in 1988. The other two – Biferno and Isernia – came into being just a little before that in the early 1980s. Of these, Biferno produces the best wine: and the best producer in this best area is Di Majo Norante, with vineyards on the coastal strip of Molise inland from the port of Termoli.
Di Majo Norante has been making wine for over 200 years and latterly have pioneered the blending of traditional Molise grapes varieties with more mainstream central/southern Italian grapes. The brand-name Moli' - is the 'house white' (and there's also a red version) made predominantly from the Falanghina grape, blended with Malvasia and Bombino – one of the local heritage varieties.
Thanks to the bewildering complexities of Italian DOC rules'n'regs, this wine only carries basic IGT status – (don't even begin to ask why) – but is one of those classic examples that prove again and again that IGT doesn't mean 'ordinary'. On the contrary, this is a good wine.
It's an unusually deep golden colour for a dry white. The initial scent as you uncork the bottle is unmistakably that of ripe pears, while in the glass, you'll get hints of green apple and citrus – though without the least degree of astringency – and quite a long flinty, mineral finish. For me, this is very much a wine to accompany food, rather than to drink on its own.
Which leads to the enjoyable question of what food to team it with ? If you fancy being a little adventurous, Chinese cooking would be good – but not too spicy. In fact, this Molise wine would go particularly well with any seafood, poultry or pork prepared with a light touch on the spice-grinder. But no tomatoes. They'd clash horribly.
At A Glance…
- This week's featured wine: Moli'
- Vintage: 2006
- Producer: Di Majo Norante
- Designation: IGT
- Grape: 70% Falanghina; 15% each of Malvasia and Bombino
- Strength: 12.5%
- Closure: Plastic cork
- This bottle cost: €4.45
Di Majo Norante
I don't think I've ever seen a list featuring so many grape varieties. There are 14 Molise wines featured – made with at least the same number of different grapes ! You'll know the mainstream – like Montepulciano, Sangiovese, Aglianico and Muscat; you might not have come across some of the others – like Tintilia and Prugnolo (a Sangiovese variant). So choose your bottle carefully. Top red is the 14% Montepulciano/Aglianico 'Don Luigi' blend with a year in wood. But for a cheaper introduction to Molise wine, you won't go far wrong with either of this 'entry level' Moli' white or its stablemate red.
Click on the pictures in the text for larger images – and if you like Italian wine, check out last week's 'Everyday Italian Wine" and bookmark this site for future weekly posts.
Next Week: from a little-known Italian white to a very well-known Italian red: Barbera D'Alba from the ever-reliable Fontanafredda. It's a wine you'll enjoy drinking at home – and on your Villasfor2 Abruzzo vacation !
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